I’m five months into my new year, new me journey so let me tell you how it’s going Bridget Jones style:
Diary entry: 11th May 2021
Weight: 10 stone 2 lbs (6 lbs less than at the start of the year – muscle weighs more than fat right?)
Alcohol units: too many
Calories: too many
Exercise: going well…I can now comfortably pull off 3 sets of 10 full press ups, I can not only touch my toes but place my palms on the floor and I ran a 10 mile race last weekend in 1 hour 22 mins.
This basically sums me up and shines the spotlight on my main issues. I am pretty fit and healthy, probably fitter than I have been a for a long time. But I really struggle to not over-indulge and the old adage, you can’t outrun a bad diet is spot on.
My problem is that I am trying to live more in the moment and stop over planning and organising the life out of…well, life.
“You only live once”
“We’re here for a good time, not a long time”
All very well and good but how do you balance that with trying to maintain a healthy diet? How do you manage not to undo 3 months of really healthy habits on a two-week holiday binge-fest? Or even one month of dieting in one over-indulgent long weekend? It’s easy done!
If you relate to this, let me tell you you are not alone!!! It’s a constant struggle for me. I’m lucky that I don’t need too much motivation to exercise as I enjoy it. So that bit’s cracked…so what I really need to do is address my diet habits.
I don’t eat badly, I have started eating more protein, good fats and veggies…and carbs – well there’s a question. Carbs: friend or foe? When should you eat them? Should you cut down? So much to discuss they deserve a blog all of their own (watch this space!) So no, my diet is not too bad. But I also have an evening eating compulsion, and that’s when I overeat. Something happens about 8pm and it’s like I have have no control. A switch flicks on and I…Must…Have…Snacks!!!
I also drink more than I should – I have cut this down, but it’s still too much. I read somewhere that cutting back on the alcohol could be the difference between being lean or being nearly lean. I should write that on my fridge door!
So my goal for the next month..until I go on holiday in June…is to really focus on my diet. I am not totally cutting out alcohol or drastically reducing my calories and depriving myself of everything I like though. All that would happen is that I would go on holiday in June, drink all of the wine, eat all of the food and undo all my efforts thus far. And I think that is what I have learnt about myself…if I take it too far and cut out everything, I will just fall off the wagon and undo it all. So small changes, ones that I can keep up and don’t send my body into total shock…hopefully this will be sustainable. Then I’ll make another small change, and so on and so on. My body won’t even know changes are really happening. I’ll sneak up on it and suddenly…ta dah…I’ll have the body of erm…Jennifer Aniston? Ha, yeah, right! (if she had two children, a full time fairly sedentary job, no personal trainer and no free time). Being serious though, I will feel a bit more comfortable in my own skin (and clothes) and that’s worth aiming for.
So, I’ll go on holiday in June, drink some of the wine, eat some of the food and let my hair down without going totally overboard. At least that’s my plan…I’ll let you know how I get on!
