Changing lifestyle & Walking to be Fit.

Over the years I have been fortunate to be pretty fit and healthy.I have tried my hand at various sports and although I've never been particularly brilliant at any of them I've not been awful either. My basic level of fitness has been good. Six years ago I ran the London Marathon and before that I was running four times a week in order to train. I've enjoyed playing football once a week, tennis, skiing.

Blimey! I sound like a complete sports freak!! But I'm not and as I say I have never been particularly brilliant at any of this. The main thing thing though, and the most important thing, was that I was getting out, trying my best and having fun. My heart, lungs and muscles were active, as was my mind.

Over the last couple of years my activity has slowed down, dropped off and has been replaced by ... well, basically by sitting on my fat backside eating crisps and drinking wine...

This has begun to worry me. I am 50 now and I don't want to turn into a big fat unhealthy couch potato. I find running harder these days because I end up with sore knees and hips and its just not as enjoyable as it used to be. So I have started to create a new regime of exercise. I have begun yoga classes once a week and plan to practise yoga at home too. I have also started adult ballet classes once a week.

But I have been wondering what else to do that will raise my heart rate, be enjoyable, but not pound my joints. I read a really interesting blog post from Morgan Prince today over at Shaking Away the Cobwebs. She was saying what I had been thinking. She goes out walking, makes time for a 30 minute walk each day and she has started yoga. She shared a great yoga video for beginners too. I read it and thought Yes! This is the way!

The thing is, we all are in such a rush these days. My Granny used to walk everywhere, even into her 80's and she was as fit as a fiddle. Now we want to get everywhere quickly. The journey is an inconvenient part of our day that we want over as quickly as possible. Even the times I have walked to work I have been worried about how long it has taken, how long it will take me to get home. Hurry, hurry, hurry.

So today I have decided to take a leaf out of Morgan's book and make time for myself. My walking will be 30 minutes to an hour of exercise, probably 3 or 4 times a week - sometimes more, sometimes less. And in that time I can take photos, fill my lungs with fresh air, think and get my heart working. I went out this morning ...

I had such a lovely walk and my heart rate went up, my muscles were working, my lungs were working. It felt great and I could wear my normal clothes. No changing into sports bra and running kit - just put on my walking boots and head out the door. I came back happy and full of beans. 

If I can keep doing this I will be walking about 6 to 10 miles a week as well as my ballet and yoga. And the walking is free, which is excellent! I am determined not to let my body go to seed and I want to invest in my future. I don't want to look at myself in 5 years time and think "God! What went wrong?!"

We only have one body and I have been lucky enough to be fit and healthy for the last 50 years. Now I need to make a conscious effort to try and be fit and healthy for the next 50!

Horizon and Dr Michael Mosley's 5:2 Fast Diet ... starting week 3.

So ... today is my 5th fasting day since I started Dr Michael Mosley's Fast Diet 2 and a bit weeks ago. I am determined to follow his programme, not only to lose weight, but to benefit from the amazing differences it appears to make to a person's chances of developing heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimers.

I have read his book and then re-read parts of it, but until last night I had not watched the Horizon documentary in which he first put forward his thoughts. My old blog friend Urban Cynic suggested I watch to get a fuller understanding of his ideas and I am grateful for the advice as I found the programme very interesting and it has made me even more determined to continue.

It is an hour long documentary, but it is well worth watching. The results of fasting seem really quite startling and the effect on the human body quite remarkable.

I am still experimenting with a way of fasting that suits me. I have had days where I felt fine, days where I felt ravenously hungry. Today I have had a glass of water and a mug of chai black tea. I don't feel at all hungry and plan to wait until I do feel that I need something and maybe have a couple of poached eggs, possibly some nice crunchy raw carrots or a tuna salad. I don't want to spend my day obsessed with food!!

It is interesting to see how many hits my posts on this subject have received and also how many people I know are actually following the plan. I have not heard a single bad review. Everyone I know who has started it has felt the benefits. I think its a case of being flexible, listening to your body and experimenting to find what suits you.

I definitely feel more alert, less sluggish and really don't feel the need or desire to fill myself with rubbish food! I will measure and weigh myself tomorrow and see if I have lost any weight, but, to be honest, having watched Horizon last night the weight loss side of this is the least important thing. As I head towards 50 I want to be as healthy as I can be both physically and mentally. I will check back here soon!!

Dr Michael Mosley's Fast Diet ... I have begun!!

I am currently sitting at my laptop in the kitchen eating a bowl of porridge. It is delicious! It is also my breakfast of choice these days, even on my fast days. ... Yes, I did say 'fast days'. I might have to explain that ...

I had noticed a couple of friends at work looking particularly well and rather slimmer than usual - not that they were particularly overweight to start with - and I mentioned how well they looked. It turns out that they had started Dr Michael Mosley's Fast Diet and were enjoying the benefits of said regime. At first I was skeptical  but as the book was selling for only £2.95 and my friends were so enthusiastic I bought it, read it and decided to try it for myself.

Now you may be thinking "fast?? That sounds a bit radical and unhealthy" but this idea is not about starving oneself. It is also known as the 5:2 diet or eating plan and involves intermittent  low calorie days. The book explains far more eloquently than I can here how it works, but, briefly its like this ...

In days gone by we humans would eat well some days because we had hunted well and then we might not eat as well or at all for a day or two. Over the last fifty years or so we have, in the Western world, developed a grazing habit. We are rarely hungry ... we eat because its time to eat and we eat portions that are too large. We eat too much meat, too much processed food. Dr Michael Mosley researched into the history and science of fasting and came up with the Fast Diet idea. This was not a flash in the pan and he self experimented with startling results. Not only did he not die of hunger, but as well as losing weight  ...and  most important of all, his blood test results revealed fascinating changes in his make up:

• His fasting glucose levels had gone down. 7.3 down to 5.0
• 
  
• His cholesterol levels had reduced.
• 
  
• His Triglyceride level had gone down ( high levels are associated with increased risk of heart disease) 1.4 down to 0.6
• 
  
• His IGF-1 level had reduced from 28.6 nmol/l to 15.9 nmol/l (I am no scientist but this is apparently a measure of cancer risk and may also be a marker for biological ageing)
• 
  
•  His BMI had gone from 26.4 to 24
•  His body fat from 28% to 21%
• His waist size from 36 inches to 33 inches
• His neck size from 17 inches to 16 inches

He looks upon this scheme as not so much a diet as a way of life forever. You eat normally for 5 days a week and then on 2 days you eat a quarter of your normal daily intake. For normal daily intake women should be eating about 2000 calories a day and men 2400. So, on split days you eat 500 calories as a woman and 600 as a man.

I started the diet last week. On Monday I ate porridge for breakfast with a teaspoon of honey and a cup of peppermint tea. This came to just under 200 calories. The trick (probably a bad word that and not terribly scientific!) is to leave 12 hours between your intakes of food so for the next 12 hours I drank water and peppermint tea only. Then I ate an Innocent curry which I knew was 316 calories. This was yummy but not ideal as I don't like eating foods I haven't cooked myself from scratch, but the range is fresh and I wanted to be absolutely sure of the calories.

I have to say I found that first day quite hard. I felt ravenous, but my hunger reached a certain level and then got no worse. I did get a headache, but I think that's because I didn't drink enough water. I was determined to reach the 12 hour mark and felt quite a sense of achievement when I did. Cooking my curry I looked at it in my bowl and was amazed that even after one day of fasting the quantity looked huge!! I savoured every mouthful ... chewing slowly and enjoying every burst of flavour! When I finished I felt really full ... bizarre!!

The following morning I woke an hour earlier than usual and felt oddly alert and full of energy. I can't quite explain it, but all this week I have felt somehow ... cleaner, more awake. And although this was not a fasting day I had no desire to cook a huge fry up for breakfast. On non-fast days you can eat what you like, but I enjoyed my normal healthy fare. I did get a twinge of guilt as I made myself a milky coffee, but then remembered that on this day I could drink milky coffee if I wanted. The feeling of glee was lovely!!

My second fast day was Thursday and as I was at work all day it was somehow easier. I suppose the trick is to just keep busy. I made sure that I drank lots and the dreaded headache did not appear. In fact I felt great! I ate 500 calories again and it was definitely enough. The great thing is also that even when you feel hungry you know that tomorrow you can eat normally again. Anyone can make it through one day can't they?? And you feel a sense of achievement when you do finish the day.

Before I started I measured myself ... weight, waist, hips and I also treated myself to a posh weighing scale which measures fat percentage, water, bone, muscle. I worked out my BMI and, as I already knew, I am obese. God, but that's hard to write ...

I am not going to reveal my measurements to you yet, but I do plan on keeping this blog updated with my progress and opinion and if it goes well I shall reveal all!! Stats that is ... don't get too excited. One of the things that I really like about this is the health benefits that the plan appears to have. I am heading towards 50 and if I can reduce my weight while at the same time reducing my risk of heart disease, cancer and diabetes then that is fantastic. I also love food, love cooking so this will enable me to still enjoy the odd cheese board without pangs of terrible guilt. The strange thing is that I don't crave anything at the moment, other than healthy foods ... 

So ... my thoughts on the Fast Diet at the moment are very positive. If you are doubtful then I recommend you read the book and perhaps keep checking back here to see how I do!! 

Am I changing... or is it very hot in here??

As I sat down at my computer just now I was feeling fine... and then... whoooosh... I am hot, sweaty and bright red.I have noticed this a few times this week - for no apparent reason. Oh... good.... grief.... Am I going through... the change?? I have never had anything like this before without having had to run about 6 miles beforehand.

I am 46 so it is entirely feasible that I may be getting hormonal, but I am somewhat surprised. Its not all that unpleasant a feeling - just a bit odd. And I do seem to be developing a habit of opening windows wherever I go. The other day my colleague looked at me quizzically as I opened yet another window, face red as a beetroot, as everyone else in the room shivered, 'Having another flush?!' she quipped.

Does this mean that I will be getting dead elegant and distinguished now or merely that I will have to take out shares in antiperspirant?

A healthy week all round...

I can't believe it has been over a week since my last post! Time flies and all that... Still, it has been a good week. I have walked to work and back ( once only, but hey, once is better than nothing!) and I even went for a run. If I haven't lost weight when I weigh myself this Sunday I will scream!! My appetite seems to be shrinking too. I am actually enjoying what I am eating - lots of fruit and veg. My portions are soooooooo much smaller, but I don't feel hungry. I am trying to eat more slowly, to savour my food rather than gulping it down like a dog!!

It is incredible how I have let myself get into the habit of grazing constantly. I feel much healthier eating the way I have since I started my diet.I think I should just eat like this forever.Really.

I think that so many of us in the Western world have it so easy. We have no idea actually how much food our bodies need to live healthily. We no longer eat to live, we live to eat.The flavour and texture of foods become what we crave, rather than eating to give ourselves energy to live.

My veg box arrived this afternoon and I was excited to open it.It comes from a company in Devon called Riverford. I have had my veg from them for years now, but it still delights me to see how fresh and plump their veg are.If you get a veg you don't know what to do with you can just go to their website and click for a recipe. I recommend that even if you don't get your veg from them! This year, for Christmas, they sent me through a lovely folder to keep my recipes in. They send recipe cards each week. I love their whole ethos about organic and recycling.I now cook things that I never would have gone out to buy by myself - purple sprouting broccoli, beetroot, asparagus, different sorts of cabbages. And I like looking forward to the seasons when certain veg will reappear - wet garlic,hispi cabbage,new potatoes. Yum.

I plan to grow my own potatoes again this year. Last year they were very successful. My garden is only tiny so I grew some in containers on my patio and they were delicious - easy to grow too.There really is nothing quite like digging up some spuds just before you cook them.Ho hum... I am turning into quite the hippie!!

In 17 weeks I shall be a snap dolly!!!

Yes... I know this is a cliche, but as it is a new year I feel the time has come to.... lose weight.I wish when I was 22 somebody had told me that being 8 stone 7 was pretty good and healthy ( that's 119 pounds I think ). I have always thought of myself as overweight, although I know that I am not huge.I have always worried about my weight and over the years have varied from 8stone 7... up to 8.12.... then 9.7 and so on.

I got to a stage where I was always on a diet and that, as we all know, is not healthy.After 2 children I was up to 11 and a half stone ( 154 pounds ) and it was time to do something. I joined a class and over the next 9 months I lost 35 pounds and gained in confidence and happiness.I managed to keep it off for a long time and have led a health, sporty life... running, walking, swimming.

But.... I am now back up to 10 stone 10 and that is NO GOOD!!!! So.... it is time to act.I have set myself a goal.... 1 pound a week loss for 17 weeks. My aim is to be 9 stone 7 or 133 pounds.That will be fine. At that weight I will be a size 10 ( UK ) and I will be much healthier.

So far ( yes, I have already started!) I have lost 2 pounds in this, my first week... so all is good. I just have to keep going and keep healthy. I aim to start running/ walking again this week if I can fit it in with the aim of running a 10k in September with my sister-in-law. If I can do it I will run other races as well, but my main aim is to be fit, slim and happy.I am sick of seeing myself ballooning and at the age of 45 I need to think more healthily.

me... a little too bulgy, but trying to be fit.

 

So... wish me luck!! I will mention it occasionally on here, but not manically!! The last thing you need is a run down on everything I consume each day!! If you have started a diet for the new year let me know how you are getting along.... maybe we can help each other!!