I went over points yesterday. I freely admit it, although I'm not proud of it. I had one of those days when I was easily distracted and just couldn't seem to get enough food. Practically zero work got done, and my emotions fluctuated all day. I have these days intermittently - it feels like I've just zoned out a bit, and I'm about half a step out of synch with everyone else all day.
Part of it, I think, comes down to my still virtually non-existent activity levels. When I'm exercising regularly, I feel hyped, focused, energetic and happy. The first couple of weeks of injury, aside from feeling frustrated and and a little bit stir-crazy at not being able to leave the house really, I didn't notice any other downturn in my feelings from the lack of exercise. But I think, now I'm out of that initial "I hurt" period, I'm noticing the side-effects of prolonged laziness. I've not been getting out into the fresh air. I've not been getting into the brightly lit studios with loud rhythmic music and the shared sense of adrenaline and achievement.
The less exercise I do, the more sluggish I feel, and the less I feel like I want to do any. I finished work last night and made excuses not to go swimming - my shoes had developed a hole in them, so I had to stop at the shops after work and get some new shoes. Then I ended up hosting friends round at ours last night, so I had about 20 mins between getting home and them arriving to grab some dinner and tidy up. No swimming.
So how about a compromise - I won't do anything tonight, but I will do something tomorrow afternoon. I was going to go to Body Balance tonight, but honestly I feel so tight that I don't think I'd get anything out of it - I doubt I could reach my knees right now, never mind my toes. I will however ask my friend to book me in for next week's class and I'll work on getting loosened up by then. Tomorrow afternoon I'll get my bike out and head for a gentle ride up the hills. Fresh air, sunshine, some time to myself, and exhilarating views. I'll take it steady and opt for the gentler inclines and stop to rest if I need it. But I will go out.
The other part of yesterday's meh-ness was my food I think. I looked at it, and at the last couple of days - carbs, sugar and artificial stuff, not enough fruit and veg. There were too many snacks yesterday, and then I found myself unwilling to say no to homemade pizza which the boys bought round for everyone last night. I'd already had my dinner, so I wasn't hungry, but the willpower was lacking. Or the will to use the willpower. It wasn't the worst over-eat - 9 points over, but it was unnecessary.
Today, I'm eating fruit - lots of fruit. I had yoghurt and fresh raspberries for breakfast. I had a banana and a nutri-grain bar mid-morning. I've got a nectarine for a snack this afternoon, but I've eaten a good solid lunch, so I shouldn't feel too empty. I'm going to Merry Hill (huge shopping centre) after work with Bec - she's shopping and I'm returning stuff - so at least I'll be strolling round all evening, and away from the fridge. I'm going to make soup over the weekend and get back to my veggies.
I need to boost my energy, and not with caffeine either, so it's back to fresh foods, fresh air and exercise. Fingers crossed, I'm going to be able to start spin class again next week too!
Showing posts with label eating patterns. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating patterns. Show all posts
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Saturday, 15 August 2009
Exercise is good, eating not so much
Could someone give me a kick up the arse please, as I seem to be going a bit wrong somewhere at the moment.
The exercise is good - I'm building it into my everyday life, and I getting to the point where I want to do it. Yesterday, I finished work slightly later than expected, then went clothes shopping for slightly longer than expected, so it turned out to be around 5pm before I made it home. I had been going to go for a walk on the hills yesterday afternoon, but then stuff got in the way and it didn't happen. I kind of sat there for 5 mins when I got home thinking about it, then thought well, I don't want to eat dinner for at least an hour, so I could either sit here and regret not doing some exercise, or I could do some. An hour? That's a hill-walking length of time if ever I heard of one!
So I went out, and was actually out for an hour and a half. I ended up going up the Beacon and back (the highest point on our local range of hills) which is quite a long trudge straight up (45 mins pretty much continuous steep climbing, door to summit), but worth it when you get there. It's good to get to the top and feel you've achieved something.
My eating however, doesn't seem to be so great. On the surface, it looks fine, but look closer, and I'm a subtle point or so over here and there. It doesn't seem much, but given that the scales don't seem to have wanted to budge down much over the last 2 weeks I'd say it's influential. Apart from occasional fluctuations when they tease me with a new low weight, they then bounce right back up to where they were. I have got to get a handle on it. I don't know if this is because I'm so much happier at this weight that I'm getting a bit complacent, or if I'm just letting life get in my way, but I've got to make some progress again. I haven't even managed to lose that ridiculous holiday gain yet and I'm due back off on another holiday on Wednesday!!!
On the flip side, I got an insight yesterday into what I would look like if I were a size 10/12. I was trying on a jumper dress in the shops and I looked in the mirror to check it out. I swear to god they had the most ridiculously flattering mirrors you've ever seen. They lied. I was looking at them for a good 5 mins trying to work out exactly how much they were flattering me, and must have looked pretty puzzled as the changing room attendant actually came over to ask me if I was ok! I'd certainly like to look like that in real life though - way cool!
So the message here generally, is that the exercise is good, but I need to tweak my eating slightly. I'm going to a flipping beer festival all this afternoon and evening, so no better place to start. Luckily, I'm not a massive fan of beer, and I'm pretty much a drinking lightweight at the moment so that puts paid to me taking in too many calories from alcohol. Maybe I'll have a look at what my friend Becky's doing and copy her. She's naturally one of these very slender people, and they always say we should pick up their habits, so I could do worse than to do whatever she's doing, right?
Continuing yesterday's thankful theme: I love that I can go climb a big hill and enjoy it, and then have enough energy left to still walk comfortably to and from the pub later, and I'm grateful that I have such beautiful hills right on my doorstep to go explore.
The exercise is good - I'm building it into my everyday life, and I getting to the point where I want to do it. Yesterday, I finished work slightly later than expected, then went clothes shopping for slightly longer than expected, so it turned out to be around 5pm before I made it home. I had been going to go for a walk on the hills yesterday afternoon, but then stuff got in the way and it didn't happen. I kind of sat there for 5 mins when I got home thinking about it, then thought well, I don't want to eat dinner for at least an hour, so I could either sit here and regret not doing some exercise, or I could do some. An hour? That's a hill-walking length of time if ever I heard of one!
So I went out, and was actually out for an hour and a half. I ended up going up the Beacon and back (the highest point on our local range of hills) which is quite a long trudge straight up (45 mins pretty much continuous steep climbing, door to summit), but worth it when you get there. It's good to get to the top and feel you've achieved something.
My eating however, doesn't seem to be so great. On the surface, it looks fine, but look closer, and I'm a subtle point or so over here and there. It doesn't seem much, but given that the scales don't seem to have wanted to budge down much over the last 2 weeks I'd say it's influential. Apart from occasional fluctuations when they tease me with a new low weight, they then bounce right back up to where they were. I have got to get a handle on it. I don't know if this is because I'm so much happier at this weight that I'm getting a bit complacent, or if I'm just letting life get in my way, but I've got to make some progress again. I haven't even managed to lose that ridiculous holiday gain yet and I'm due back off on another holiday on Wednesday!!!
On the flip side, I got an insight yesterday into what I would look like if I were a size 10/12. I was trying on a jumper dress in the shops and I looked in the mirror to check it out. I swear to god they had the most ridiculously flattering mirrors you've ever seen. They lied. I was looking at them for a good 5 mins trying to work out exactly how much they were flattering me, and must have looked pretty puzzled as the changing room attendant actually came over to ask me if I was ok! I'd certainly like to look like that in real life though - way cool!
So the message here generally, is that the exercise is good, but I need to tweak my eating slightly. I'm going to a flipping beer festival all this afternoon and evening, so no better place to start. Luckily, I'm not a massive fan of beer, and I'm pretty much a drinking lightweight at the moment so that puts paid to me taking in too many calories from alcohol. Maybe I'll have a look at what my friend Becky's doing and copy her. She's naturally one of these very slender people, and they always say we should pick up their habits, so I could do worse than to do whatever she's doing, right?
Continuing yesterday's thankful theme: I love that I can go climb a big hill and enjoy it, and then have enough energy left to still walk comfortably to and from the pub later, and I'm grateful that I have such beautiful hills right on my doorstep to go explore.
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