Weight loss and Exercise
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| My breakfast I have never been a couch girl and have always been active. But there’s a difference between being active and getting your heart pumping. So what did I do? The most important thing I believe if you want to lose weight or get fit, is that it is not about will- power but all about your mental state and your mind set. You have to be ready and motivated inside and that’s about it being personally rewarding to you rather than losing it because you are going on holiday or it’s a new year which is an extrinsic motivator. That is short term.
Running-When the original shielding kicked in, I had headspace to grief (I didn’t need to wear the ‘mask’) and I could deal with daily life and so I stopped comfort eating but gradually. So instead of the 150g bag of crisps it was half a bag then a small bag etc. I also knew where my downfall was so I would ask my mum to take away the packet otherwise I would have eaten most of it by the time I got to the place to put it away. I started focusing on this small achievement as I had lost half a stone (not because I was weighing myself, but I could feel it). This propelled me to change my mindset as I felt good. I focused on this small achievement and decided to do the couch to 5km app which has been setup by the NHS and teaches you to run. I didn’t let my obstacles discourage me or the climb from starting, which were I couldn’t leave the home and I was self-conscious of running in the back garden so as the home is semi- detached, I used the side entrance of about 6 feet to walk and run on the spot. I also did about 20 skips; 20 star jumps and 20 sit-ups. I was also dancing with my daughter daily for 30 minutes putting music on YouTube and playing with her in the garden. I kept my exercise simple and fun and made no other changes to my diet. As I progressed with the 0-5km, my weight started falling off and I got fitter. I reset my mindset and attitude. It was tough as when I first started dancing, I had to sit and rest on the sofa after a song when the adverts played and with skipping, well 20 skips was tough too! I slowly gave up the bag of crisps each night and once I finished the 0-5 km App (if a week was harder, I repeated it the next week) my aim was to run for an hour. I couldn’t find an app I liked so I decided to run for an hour while watching TV that I enjoyed such as Line of Duty, only saw the last episode in the current series when my mum was watching it last year, so I watched series 1 - series 6, The Fall, India’s best dancer. This kept me motivated and focused as my mind wanders off if I am bored. This also meant I could run for an hour, rain or shine, literally on the spot. I also have arthritis in my knees so it meant I could still run as inside it has less impact on my joints.
Pace- I realised I needed an iWatch (you can get a Fitbit or something else for much cheaper though and it's only needed if you want to become a fitness fanatic )like previously so I could track my pace, distance and heartbeat. The iWatch was the game changer for me because even though I was continuously losing weight, I started getting fitter as my watch showed me what I was capable of such as running a km in 3 minutes but what I have come to realise is that exercise is not a form of punishment for my body. I can challenge my comfort zone of my pace and because I could do this through my watch, I believed in my potential and challenged myself and adapted. Now I know my comfortable running pace is 1km in 4minutes. I run four times a week for an hour and usually it is 15km. I l always warm up and warm down by marching on the spot. I run on the spot which means, whatever the weather, wherever I am, I can continue to do this. I run bare foot in my socks. The only exception I take my socks off is when I shower daily, swim, or it is 35 degrees outside. This means I go through about one sock a week as I get holes in my heels!
Strength training-I also realised I needed to do weights again and core strength exercises to build my muscles and get strong as I used to carry my brother on my back wherever we went if things weren’t accessible and I wanted to be able to carry my daughter in the future too if she became tired and lifting the heavy rucksack and suitcases again like I did with Arvind. So, I got my weights out that I used to use when Arvind was here. They are very light- 2.5kg each but enough for what I wanted to achieve. I also wanted to strengthen my leg muscles so got weighted ankles- the same kgs. I also did the usual sit ups, press ups, reverse flyer, bench dips etc. One example I can give is I use our oil-radiator to do my bench dips so we can adapt to use items around the home to work out.
Now I aim for strength training 3 times a week and I also do 300 skips too when I do strength training. Remember I could only do 20 skips and I have built up the number of skips gradually. If there isn’t time for exercise on a busy day or in general, skipping is one of the best forms for exercise as it works out all the muscles but most importantly the heart and you can do 10 mins in the morning and 10 mins in the evening. Walking up and down the stairs is also another form of great exercise.
Dancing-In the beginning as well as the 0-5k app, I was dancing for 30minutes with my daughter. She would choose the fast songs on YouTube; usually Indian songs and we would copy the dance move. Trust me they are fast. One example is if you want to check it out is War, Jai Jai. I had to sit down after each song when the advert played! And my watch said I did about 4kms when we finished our session. Now for an hour I can dance without a break and my watch tells me I have done 15kms. So, it’s taking your time at your pace. Because I saw the amount of kms growing each day, my confidence begets confidence. When I was running or dancing and saw a fast pace for a 1km that meant I had the speed which made me cultivate more speed and strength to hold it. I dance daily.
Food- this was the change I made last and slowly. Once I was able to cut down on the crisps, I started having smaller meal portions, portions I should be having, and instead of having toast three times a week, it’s when I fancy it. I have porridge, with fruit and nuts for breakfast, a bowl of fresh fruit which I have always had but most days I now have a bowl, of salad as a snack too, instead of reaching for the biscuit tin or chocolate. I eat three meals a day but my timings for eating vary. I’m lucky as my mum does the cooking and from scratch and cooks early so if I’m hungry after running 15kms and know fruit won’t fill me up, I shall eat lunch at 10.15am. Before I would eat a jacket potato with cheese, vegetables, chicken and baked beans but now I have a jacket potato with mozzarella (I’m lactose intolerant so now where I can, I have almond milk instead) and vegetables. I'm lucky as I had my mum who cooks all our meals and she has really supported me in this. If you are not as lucky as me, you can have beans on toast or basmati rice with peanuts and cashew nuts, both are good in carbs and protein. Mum cooks raw peanuts and cashew nuts in fresh lemon juice. I usually have this when I fancy it as love those meals too. I have always drunk 1.5 litres of tap water from the fridge though. Now I drink between 3-4litres of water and in the summer much more. I have a glass of warm water with fresh lemon when I wake up, and then throughout the day, I have a cup of tea, a latte, a diet coke and a cup of fresh mint tea. I have only had sugar in my latte but what I did was, slowly cut it out, so one week I had then half. a tea spoon, then one quarter and then none. Make changes slowly rather than drastically.
For me fad diets are hard as I can’t stick to it long term as it wouldn’t work when at work, on holiday or abroad. I made incremental changes which meant better habits and its lasting progress as I have kept it simple. I have also realised that one bad day does not ruin everything and it’s what you do tomorrow that’s important. But I don’t deprive myself from, eating anything if I want to eat it. That’s so important.
Also don’t lose the joy for the sport in your goal chasing. I have always loved dancing and running so chose two forms of exercise that intrinsic motivate me and I find personally rewarding. You need to choose something you enjoy and love that way it’s not a chore. What started off as a goal to lose weight, is now something that I do to keep healthy and fit mentally as well as physically. Also, I now eat anything without piling the weight on
If anyone wants to ask me anything, happy to be asked or want more advise etc, please ask away. |
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| what I eat and my portions |
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