Monday 26 March 2012

Must push things forward...

I'm thinking this morning about how I'm going to shift this 4th stone. What I need to do further to what I'm already doing & how I can improve the changes to my lifestyle I've already made.

I'm a firm believer that no matter what & no matter how hard you are trying there is ALWAYS room to improve or modify your own actions and behaviour.

So I've been looking at my food diary (through My Fitness Pal) and my exercise (through Nike+) and looking at what's slowing me down.

In the past 2-3 weeks I have maintained my 3 stone loss, but not lost any more. Which I've been frustrated about. When I looked at my Nike+ readings I saw that so far this month I've walked 85.29 miles, which I'm really pleased with, 87.77 miles is my record for a month, and I still have 6 days of March left to walk lots more & smash that target! So, in terms of exercise how do I step it up?

Firstly, I've now started a weekly Pilates class, which is extra exercise I wasn't doing before, is also great for helping ease my back, build up my core strength & help to tone. Positive.

Secondly, I need to try and work on my speed. At the moment I walk at an average pace, and although speed hurts my back after a while, I definitely need to build up to a much faster rate of walking, to really get my heart pumping & burn those calories!

Thirdly, I'm going to try cross training again, the physio had said I should avoid it, but that was a few weeks ago, and I think if I take it slowly, and stop if I encounter any pain, then I will be fine. I will only use it a couple of times a week (probably at the weekends) and I'll just see how I go!

It is still in the food department where I need some even stricter self control. I am so proud of what I've achieved up to this point, but I know in terms of choices I sometimes make and my calorie levels on some days that my grade is 'could do better'!

I'm realistic about my relationship with food. I love it. And that will never stop. But I'm also lucky because I love and enjoy ALL types of food, not just the high fat, high carb, high sugar stuff. So in terms of balance of all the food types and groups I think i do fine. What I still need to work on is portion control at times, because mostly I am doing fine on this now, but every so often I have a blow out & consume far too much at once. This I have to say is usually a take-away based slip up, or eating-out....and this is where my other problem with food is. My relationship with food is emotional. It always has been- I celebrate with nice food, I commiserate with it, it's a treat on special occasions and a pick-me-up on sad. And honestly, I don't think that will ever change. I don't think I'll ever see food just as fuel, but I also know I can control this emotional cycle better than I do at times.

I've accepted that I eat in an emotional way, so does my whole family, and Liam. And we will never stop enjoying that, but I do need to take that extra step back and say "do I need this?" "how much am I going to regret this?" before I dive in.

Don't get me wrong, I have been doing this. A lot. I have resisted bigger portions, and very tempting foods over even just the past couple of weeks, but there are a few things I haven't resisted that I just didn't need. A take away, a couple of chocolate digestives at work, a few cheeky spoonfuls of melted chocolate, and finished chocolates (when I've been making them as gifts!), a packet of walkers ready salted crisps (my absolute favourite!!), some of Liam's homemade bread ... I did thoroughly enjoy all of these treats, and I won't stop having some treats, but I just know that I can control myself even further. I can just stop for a few more seconds before I launch in & think harder about whether I really need it. It's actually the regret that I hate more than not shifting the weight. So if I resist it can only be a win:win situation. Then when I do have a proper treat (which is usually planned and part of our weekend plans) I can relax, enjoy it, go with it & not feel guilty.

My last area where I really want to push for change is my drinking. Not alcohol, as I don't drink alcoholic drinks barely at all (due to an allergy) but the fact that I don't drink nearly enough water. When I've looked back on my food diaries I've realised that some days I've just drunk 4 cups of tea & nothing else! This is so bad for me, I know. So in the past week I've made a really conscious effort to drink as much water as I can manage. I've been bringing a bottle to work and drinking all through the day, and I've proved to myself I can do it, and I'm hoping it will help speed up the weight loss, and generally improve my health, give me more energy etc!

That's the plan anyhow!

I just keep focussing on my goals...

•to feel happier and more confident with how I look on our wedding day

•to feel more confident and content with my body ready for our honeymoon to Cyprus.

•to be fit & healthy to help improve my chances of getting pregnant when the time comes for us to try starting a family.

•and eventually to be a fit and healthy mum, who can run around and play with my kids, and live a long time for them!

What more could I want for motivation?

:-)

I can do this!

Come on 4th stone, be gone!!!

Love

Luce xxx