Expect things of yourself and then you can accomplish them

Wow, it's been so long since I wrote this but feel it's a good time to start again as I'm currently 1 stone away from my weight goal and 2 months away from my D-Day (the mini marathon).

So a couple of friends have signed up for the mini marathon and I overcame my fear of all things related to the word marathon and signed up myself.  I started bootcamp just under a year ago and I have never and I mean never spent this long doing anything.  Don't get me wrong, I've fallen off the wagon and put on a couple of pounds here and there and I've fallen off the exercise wagon too but I know how I feel when I exercise and it is rejuvenating...... F*ck the spa treatments and the relaxation b*llox, exercise and general wellbeing are where it's at people.  

Positive thinking is a HUGE impact factor.  When I began this journey, and it is a journey that will continue for the rest of my days, I was so nervous about how I would feel doing bootcamp! Would I be able for it? Would it be for me?  Will I actually stick to it?  The answer to all those questions has been an overwhelming YES.  When I made my way to the field for my very first class I 'wanted' to do it.  I was sick of convincing myself that I looked ok, I had my size 16 jeans and they fit me so that was ok, right?  But even though it took a huge amount of effort to get into the exercise gear after coming home from work and being 'mum' and 'wife' for a few hours, it was and is 1 hour out of my day. You are given the gift of 24hrs, instead of making excuses as to why you can't do something, think of the reasons you can do it.  If you can't spare an hour out of your 24hrs then you have a problem that you need to fix (you have too much to do and you will kill yourself!).  Kung Fu Panda is a wise panda 'today is a gift, that's why it's called the present'

I have this tendency to say to myself 'I'll lose 3 stone and it'll be grand'.... sometimes the bar is set a little too high straight away and while I may have 3 or 4 stone to lose, for me I work better when I have smaller goals and it encourages me to continue.  I know that I can literally do anything I want to if I put my mind to it, we all can but I find I get annoyed if I say 'I'm gonna lose 3 stone' and then I don't cause I get pissed off trying to get there.  When I first started bootcamp I couldn't lose the weight, I was doing lots of exercise and not losing what I felt I should be losing but then I joined WW and this time I have set smaller goals, 7ibs in 3 weeks (totally achievable by anyone) and low and behold I was down a stone in no time. 

As I say, fell off the wagon a few times but this is life but only you can make the decision to stop making excuses and make every day count and not just cause you've a wedding to go to or a holiday to go on but because you want to be a better you.  You know how you feel when you exercise, you know how you feel when you don't eat as much, you know how you feel when you're all dolled up looking fabulous and you know how you feel when you tell yourself you can do something and you do it.

Be positive, say some positive words everyday and I guarantee you, you will 'feel' positive.

It is a marathon guys and girls, NOT a sprint so step by step, day by day lets do this friends, lets make our lives count.  

Healthy Eating, Healthy Living and the Indulgence of a Captain Morgan or two!

Well well, it's been far too long altogether!!! Thought I'd touch base with you.  If any letters are misssing from my words here, it's because my 2yr old just refuses to let me have keys on my laptop and has systematically beaten it up until keys have fallen off... pure bully!!!!

Anyways, it's been a while since I've done any running so I'm gonna try now, with the brighter evenings to get out and run a bit.  June bank holiday is fast approaching and my goal of completing the 10k mini marathon has not changed so I need to get focused.  I think, to be honest, I did my 5k in October and I felt like I had achieved something I had never achieved before and I took the foot off the gas as they say. 

I just started a new job which will take up the next few days but after this initial training, I will work for 5 days and have 5 days off so with Conor in creche a couple of mornings even when I'm off, I should have some time to pelt it down to the field and reintroduce the patrons of Kilbogget Park to the JellyBellyRun. We also got a punchbag recently, so my fabulous blue belted husband is gonna give me some training on the bag too, Katie Taylor watch out ey!!!!

I have lost 2 stone since beginning Bootcamp and dieting last May and I am not looking back.  I do have a different opinion and mentality towards food and exercise now.  I don't believe in depriving myself of anything but I do think it's important to be focused Monday to Thursday.  Keeping a note of what you eat can be eye opening... If it goes through your snacker, put it on a tracker!!!!  You will be surprised if you've never done this before, tracking what you eat can be key if you're not losing weight.  And I mean, everything you eat.  Even if you say, 'I only have a dash of milk in my tea so that doesn't count'- how many cups a day do you have??  That doesn't amount to nothing over a week!!!  So, give it a go.... See what you come up with. 

So, until the next time, remember it's a marathan NOT a sprint.  Take it step by step and travel with the change, don't try to race ahead xxx