Exercise Can Be Fun!

Part of the Thorpe to Milldale walk
Yesterday was a fabulous bank holiday Monday! The weather was glorious and we made the most of the Peak District which is right on our doorstep!

It can be difficult getting the motivation to go for a run and to exercise on the weekend, so why not get out with your family or friends and do something that doesn't feel like you're exercising?!

The countryside is beautiful and there are always plenty of walks with fantastic scenery. There are easy walks, moderate and more difficult walks and you can soak in your surroundings.

My mum, fiance and myself visited Dovedale and did a 6 mile walk from Thorpe to Milldale and back. It was very busy but once we got past the famous stepping stones it got much quieter and we could walk at our own pace. It was a pleasant walk which was relatively easy with just one part that was a steep bank to walk up and back down again. It took us just over two hours which went by very quickly.

It's good to find alternative ways of exercising so doing the same thing all of the time doesn't get too boring. We are going to try and get to the Peak District at least twice a month to do alternative walks and take in the beautiful scenery.

On another note yesterday was weigh in day. I lost a pound which I guess is ok considering I had a three course meal at the wedding on Saturday and didn't do any exercise and we went out for dinner on Thursday. And it's definitely better than putting any weight on!

But I was quite disappointed with myself yesterday. I was on the early shift at work and as it was a bank holiday, treats were brought into the studio. I ate a large danish pastry and as I was eating it I regretted bringing it near my mouth. Another presenter brought in a packet of my favourite biscuits. At 118 calories per biscuit I knew they were a big no no so I was very pleased I never opened them and resisted...but when we got to Dovedale everyone was eating delicious looking ice cream so I had a single scoop of caramel crunch. So it was a good job we did that 6 mile walk just to burn off the danish and ice cream! And then we again went out for dinner and I had chips and cottage pie...I went for the small portion but I still felt sluggish and disappointed with how I'd eaten. I definitely let myself down.

Today I will get back on track!

New Size 12 Top and Some Confidence

One of my friends got married yesterday and I was doing a reading. Now I'm not the most confident person but I'm much more confident than I was 4 years ago before I started work - so I was still very nervous about doing this reading.

Obviously I wanted to look my best because so many eyes would be on me. I saw a lovely leopard print top in Next and decided to try a size 12...and it fits :) and the size 16 trousers I would wear with it are now very loose! Of course I didn't end up wearing this outfit, instead I wore a dress that I had for my hen party back in June which is also quite loose now. It's times like this where it makes it very worthwhile. There is so much satisfaction and I also felt fabulous when standing at the front of the church in front of 200 people (of those I only knew about 20). I know I still have one and a half stone to lose to reach my target but I know I am doing it and I know I will reach my target.

It'll be my fifth weigh in tomorrow and I'm hoping I'll have lost 2 pounds. I haven't had the time to go for a run since Thursday and I had a three course meal at the wedding yesterday so this afternoon after work I need to make up for it. I'm really tired and cold and really just want to go home and snuggle up in my bed but I need to get motivation. I'm hoping that by mid-day the rain will have cleared and I can go on a nice long bike ride and my reward will be...SLEEP!

It's a bank holiday weekend and Monday is supposed to be a nice day so when I finish work at 1pm, we'll go for a nice 5 mile walk through Dovedale. I'm really looking forward to it and am praying the weather forecast will be right

Part of the Mow Cop Killer Mile.

It really does get easier!

Whenever I've joined the gym (on two occasions and it's lasted a week) or whenever I've gone to exercise classes people have always said it gets easier...I never believed them, after all, that one session almost killed me and I didn't enjoy it one bit! I could never understand these people who went to the gym everyday and enjoyed it...what was there to enjoy? Why would you want to put yourself through that everyday?!

But....with my new found energy, enthusiasm and motivation, I can see where they're coming from. It really does get easier. Yesterday I didn't have time to go on a long bike ride so I decided to go round the block. At the end of the ride there are a couple of banks to go up. They aren't steep but they're quite long. Last year I did the same bike ride and I couldn't even make it a quarter of the way before I had to get off and push all the way home, but I managed to go all the way around taking no breaks yesterday.

Tonight I went for my run and managed to get a little further up Lime Kiln Bank. I'm going to keep running up it until I can run all the way! And hopefully in time I'll get quicker too. Because I know it will get easier!

And with all this running, I think I need something to aim for...something to train for. So in April 2011 I am going to run the Mow Cop Killer Mile. It's exactly what it says, a big steep lane that is exactly a mile long. Lime Kiln Bank has nothing on this - I'll have 550 ft to climb.

Hopefully in 8 months, running will have got so much easier that it won't be a killer mile!

The first pair of running trainers I have ever owned - I love them!

The Beginning

Gone are the days where I could go into Topshop and buy size 8 clothing and look good in anything!! See in the last 8 years I've gone from walking everywhere to driving everywhere instead. I've gone from eating healthily to going out for meals every week and eating too many take aways.

The weight has steadily crept on. I'd look in the mirror and think I'm going to do something about it. Holidays were booked and I vowed to lose weight. I've been a bridesmaid on a couple of occasions and didn't want to be the fat girl next to the skinny ones. But after two weeks of eating healthy I'd get bored and would carry on being all the things I didn't want to be.

I got engaged 5 years ago and we got around to setting the date in 2008, plenty of time to get back down to a nice size 10...but as usual it didn't happen. I brought my dress twelve months in advance, it needed to be taken in so I thought I still had plenty of time to slim down. Where do the months go? Before I new it we were in July and I was still a size 14!

Back in May we booked up for a three week trip to Australia and you guessed it I decided I'd go on a diet. Yeah, it lasted a week and then I couldn't give in to the temptation of chocolate buttons. Mmmmm the giant ones, let each one melt in your mouth to make the packet last as long as possible. A packet a day doesn't do the waistline any good!!

Then on the 26 July I decided I was going to eat healthy and go swimming - my favourite exercise. I went to Tesco's stocked up on fruit and brought a new fitness game for the Wii. I went to our allotment and brought home tons of veg. This was it, I was going to do it.

I thought about Australia and how all the girls on the beach will be perfect and I'd be there in a costume regretting not sticking to that diet. I thought about my new family who I'll be meeting while I'm over there and my cousin who is beautiful and slim. I didn't want to be in pictures next to my skinny cousins and me to be sticking out like a sore thumb.

Now whenever I start a diet, from day one I think I wonder how long it'll be before I get bored. Will I last more than two weeks? And this time was no different!!

But it turns out it was. Because I'm now in my 5th week of healthy eating and EXERCISING!

I've never enjoyed exercising. Whenever I went for a run or on a bike ride I'd be in too much pain after 5 minutes and then I'd never want to put myself through it again. But after doing a week on my new Wii game, I decided to ditch the car and walk where possible and I started running. I found a pace and stuck too it. I got my Dad to come on a bike ride with me. He took me up all the hills and I hated it but he spurred me on and kept telling me to think about our time in Australia, we'll be on the beach and I'll be trim, toned and in a bikini.

And now here I am on the 23rd of August, just starting my 5th week of operation bikini body! So far I've lost 10 pounds and I feel so proud, but it's just starting to get tough! I've gone from not wanted to touch cake and chocolate to craving it. But, I stick to 2 slices of Dairy Milk or a mug of hot chocolate and that's doing the trick. I have no idea where the will power is coming from but I need it to stay!

Last week I went out and brought a proper pair of running trainers and a proper running outfit. I never thought I'd see the day but I love my trainers. I couldn't stop looking at them and went out straight for a run to break them in.

I'm lucky enough to live right beside the canal so this is where I started to run, this way no one could see me. But now I'm more confident and don't mind running on the main roads or around the park. I don't care what people think because I'm already 10 pounds down and now I'm getting used to it I can run further. I've gone from thinking omg I tired when can I stop. When I start to feel I can't run anymore I set myself targets to run to and end up passing them.

Yesterday I went on the Sunday afternoon bike ride with my Dad and I was so much better! Yes the banks hurt my legs but they didn't kill me! I didn't need to stop. On the final couple of banks I usually have to stop half way up. My Dad goes ahead and waits for me, but yesterday I cycled on past him, I didn't need to stop. I couldn't get the grin off my face.

But today was a good day!! I live near quite a steep bank on a main road. Its a very big bank (around a mile long) so I usually walk all the way up and then continue running. But today, I'd already ran for 25 minutes without stopping and as I neared Lime Kiln Bank, I told myself I could run up the first steep part of it. I was doubting myself but thought about lying on the beach in my size 10 bikini. And just at the right moment The Killers 'When We Were Young' started to play. Fantastic, one of my favourite songs - I cranked it up as loud as my ears could take and went for it.

As I neared my target point where I told myself I could stop my legs started to give way. They started to slow down but I told myself I had to keep going. A long line of cars were waiting for the lights to change to green, I imagined they'd probably be watching me, waiting for me to give in. I couldn't let them see me fail, I had to keep going. And I did! I just about made it to where I told myself I could stop and when I did I felt elated! I wanted to cry with happiness and pride.

Four weeks ago I would never have run on a main road let alone run up a bank like Lime Kiln but I did. And it shows how far I have come. I'm becoming immune to exercise - now I just have to keep the motivation!