I'm a self-proclaimed winner then! I'm struggling to follow the nutritional advice but I'm not going to quit. I don't want to quit. I'm just struggling at the moment. Getting it wrong more than getting it right which means I've 'only' been losing 1lb a week. I want to lose more each week but can't find the willpower, the motivation or the inspiration.
I 'fessed up to Gareth today and he gave me a right old talking to (a.k.a. "Inspirational pep talk") while making me hold a plank for at least 10 million minutes, each one. Thanks Gareth - I needed that. The straight talking, not the plank.
Who needs to put the effort in? Me. Who gets the benefit out? Me.
Nicola, a friend who has lost several stone recently, gave me one amazing piece of advice that's been rattling around in my brain (not much there to hit against - hubby a.k.a. editor) ever since.
'If you eat something you are trying to avoid, you will regret it the next day but how often do you look back and regret not eating something'. So far, I can't think of a time where I regretted not eating something! I just felt in control and that the previous day had been a success. I'm trying to think of this each time I'm tempted. Do I want to regret this tomorrow?
I'd love to hear any good advice on how you kicked yourself back into shape and found the willpower again?
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The one thing that isn't needing any inspiration or improvement is the fitness side of my grand action plan. I've gone fitness mad! I'm working out with Gareth twice a week and I've added a third session a week with his colleague, Lottie. Fellow Laydieeees - if you'd prefer to work out with a female trainer, Lottie is great, tough but fair.
Add to that, swimming a mile 5 days a week (that's 5 miles people, 5) AND I've started doing a workout DVD with a friend once a week (yay! thanks Jo!) AND Hubby and I have been cycling 8 miles each Saturday in preparation for our cycling holiday in Austria AND we've been cycling on grass in the week for a couple of miles. No, not THAT sort of grass. Mainly to walk the dog but also to get us out on the bikes. As I said, I've gone fitness mad! I don't recognise myself anymore. I seem to be wearing my trainers on a daily basis and constantly washing gym clothes or towels or swimsuits... This is from the person who used to hate exercise. I used to do it because it was one of things that had to be done like cleaning the toilet but I never enjoyed it. [Editor's note: I quite like cleaning the toilet. Prefer it to exercise.]
On holiday in Antigua a few years ago, I wondered why some crazy people would work out in the gym ON HOLIDAY. They didn't have to work out. Their children were in the kids club so they had every opportunity to sit by the pool, sip a (very strong) cocktail and read a book. In fact, now after seeing my friends parenting young children, they had earned that right!
But instead they headed to the gym... and ran on these moving carpet machines... and bounced up and down on plastic skis that didn't go anywhere... why? WHY? I honestly couldn't see the attraction of working out while on holiday. Surely, 'On holiday' is just another way of saying 'Eat, drink, be merry, be lazy, sleep in the middle of the day, go ahead! You're ON HOLIDAY' right? 'On holiday' is just a quicker way of saying all of that which leaves you more time to slurp on your cocktail and read another chapter. It's a win, win.
Thinking back, it was a very well equipped gym, big, hardly anyone in it (!), air conditioned, loads of different machines to use. I would love it now. And no doubt once bored with reading for 4 hours straight, I would now hop off to the gym for a quick hour of peaceful burning (Muscles that is. I wouldn't try to burn the gym down. Not with me in it anyway. I'd wait until I'd left. Leave a slow burning device or something that couldn't be traced back to me. I've been watching too much Jason Bourne).
Anyway... exercise has become fun. All of it, whether with Gareth, Lottie, swimming, on a bike or jumping round a lounge with Jo - it's all good! Who'd'a thought it?!
