A peaceful weekend

Hellooooooooo, my lovelies!

This weekend has been gorgeously peaceful, although as per usual, I champ at the bit for more things to do when I do finally get a chunk of craved-for downtime.

I’ve had a quiet weekend of tasty food, some gentle company, and some much needed Autumn / Winter sunshine and fresh air.  Friday night was spent with friends for a bonfire night get-together – it turned out the rain postponed our fireworks til Monday night, but much home-cooked food was consumed and the chat flowed (along with the mulled cider – dangerously nice stuff, but I stayed away this time in favour of my trusty vodka and slimline) and we played with sparklers out in the yard at midnight when it finally dried up a bit.

Yesterday, to make up for some of Friday night’s indulgence, I took advantage of waking up ludicrously early, and shoved off to the gym for a much needed work-out.  I feel a bit like I’m turning to flab at the moment, as I haven’t had as much chance to work out as usual, but it doesn’t seem to be showing up on my fitness just yet.  Running on the treadmill went surprisingly well, as I found myself churning out an easy 20 mins barely out of breath, and 20 mins on the X-trainer and 20 mins on the new computer spin bikes (they’re awesome -  more on these in a second!) rounded out my workout. 

Oh my god – the bikes??  They rock!  Weighted fly-wheel spin bikes that are hooked up to a computer and flat-screen monitor – they’re like an adults computer game.  You sign in with your own profile, and pick out mountain-biking tracks to spin round – the computer automatically adjusts the resistance to match the track and you have to break and steer (yes!!  They have moveable handle-bars with resistance) to stay on track.  You race against a pack of cyclists of varying skills level, depending on what level you’re working too, and as you progress you unlock new, harder tracks and more competitive adversaries to race against.  If you’ve got to stay indoors, then this is definitely a fun way to do it :o)

After a mooch into town for a bit of shopping, I had an enjoyably lazy evening in front of the tv, taking in the delights of Strictly Come Dancing, X Factor and whatever other trash was on.  Through a bit of mindful eating, I managed to fit in a takeaway for traditional Saturday night status and still save plenty of points to bank against Friday.  Result!!!

Today it was time to remove my lazy carcass from the house and go for a nice Winter walk with Jo.  We did this same route a couple of years ago and I remember it being far worse – nice to find it was just my crappy fitness.  Scrambling up hills, slipping and sliding down there and chat,chat, chatting the whole way, we cruised round a rather nice 5 miles, during which we saw turkeys, geese, deer and pheasants.  And what follows a walk?  Why Sunday Roast!  And cheesecake!!  And I still get to bank points at the end of today!!  Check.  Me.  Out! :o)

Amongst other things I’ve been checking out the gym schedule at what will be my new gym in a couple of weeks time.  I’m actually gutted to be leaving my current gym as I’ve been a regular there for 5+ years now, and I’m friendly terms with all the staff – it’s like a second home for me, but I have to admit that I’m excited about my new one!  For one thing, it’s literally right by work, which means morning and lunch-time classes become a very real possibility.  Also, the class schedule rocks!  I mean, hell, there’s a Strictly Fit class – ballroom dancing fitness???  Oh hell yes!!!  Also much circuits, spinning, Combat and yoga / pilates / Balance, and even some kick-boxing and Core class – all my current favourites, plus exciting new possibilities.  And the whole things only a 10 / 15 min walk (or 5 mins bike) from my new flat – winner!

So, the weekend’s near an end, and just for once, I damn near balanced out on a points front.  With new Weightwatchers starting tomorrow, I wanted to make sure I stood a good shot of having a clean week and seeing how good it really is.  I’ve spent a bit of time this evening going back over the weekend’s tracker and making sure that I’ve filled it in properly from the lists, rather than quick entries, so they’re able to convert the points properly at the changeover tonight. 

Since Friday’s protein breakfast was such a success, I’ve decided to keep this up for a bit and see if I can curb my snacking at work and get a bit more of a handle on it.  It’s definitely my downfall at the moment, so that would be awesome to conquer it.

Right kids – I need to go and clear some of the mountain of washing up in my kitchen – see you tomorrow for the great unveiling of new Weightwatchers … and hopefully the kick up the arse I need to get my that last little jump to goal!