Welcome to October / BMI, baby!

It's been a long week.  Although it was my birthday last Monday, it was overshadowed by the triple threat of:

• returning to work after 2 weeks off
• The-Virus-Which-Refuses-To-Die despite antibiotics and every lozenge and decongestant imaginable;
• the impending doom of jury service.

So as you can imagine, I've had better birthdays, although the lovely presents and cards certainly softened the blow of another year on the slippery slope towards The-Next-Big-Landmark-Birthday....

Work wasn't that bad after all. I'm trying to adopt a more positive attitude to avoid the stress and anxiety of the past few months repeating itself.  

The virus still refuses to die, although the cough is no longer coming at millisecond intervals.  Could do without my voice breaking up in mid-phone-call at work though; I start speaking as myself and end the sentence as Barry White.  

Oh and the jury service....along with a couple of hundred other people, I attended court but wasn't selected. It turned out to be a very unsettling week for this couple of hundred people, as we had to phone court daily - twice daily some days - to find out if we were required.  Happily it was all resolved by Friday and we can all get on with our lives as normal for another couple of years or so before the dreaded citation envelope drops through the letterbox once again. 

I ended the week with a sense of triumph and a delicious birthday dinner with faithful travelling companion at our favourite local Indian restaurant.  

Talk of food brings me onto one of this blog's regular topics....I've tried lots of different ways to lose weight, but one thing is clear.  It has to go. 

My health's not as great as it used to be, and the doctor told me my blood pressure is "slightly high" which after the stress of the last few months, doesn't surprise me in the least.  I've been reading a lot about BMI - no, not the now-defunct airline, although I wouldn't mind another holiday! - body mass index, which defines whether you are 'normal', 'overweight' or 'obese'.  http://www.nhs.uk/tools/pages/healthyweightcalculator.aspx?WT.mc_id=101007 

Obese starts at 30, and my current BMI is 29.  So major alarm bells are ringing all over the place.  I've decided not to go for any quick fixes, but focus my next weight loss and fitness plan over the next 12 months, between now and my next birthday.  To get my BMI down from 29 (overweight/borderline obese) to 25 (overweight/borderline normal) will actually involve losing 24lbs which is a big ask.  But over 12 months that just works out at losing 2lbs per month, which sounds so much easier and 'do-able'.  Here goes....

Detox? Nah....no thanks :)

As a follow-up to my first Universal Contour Wrap last Sunday, I decided to do a mini-detox which involved cutting down on soft drinks (I can't totally give up my diet Pepsi/diet Irn Bru), drinking more water and completely cutting out coffee.  

The first couple of days were fine, and were helped by an enjoyable couple of days off work, however by the time Wednesday arrived I was like a bear with a sore head - literally, as the headaches were unbearable - and was an agitated, anxious wreck.  Everyone who knows me, knows that I'm normally a very laid-back, calm and cheerful person but even my boss noticed that I was "flat" and she thought my depression was back again.  No, I told her, I'm just detoxing! 

By yesterday (Friday) I'd had enough.  At 8.30 last night, I fired up the coffee machine and everything was ok with the world again.  I'm still cutting down my soft drinks intake and drinking more water though, and with the temperatures finally dropping a couple of degrees I'm back on the exercise regime.  With 7 weeks to go till our next holiday, it's time to start paying in sweat.  Once again.  

But firstly....it's coffee time :)

Wrappers' delight!

As a follow-up to my last post, I had reached the point where drastic measures were required.

I'd been thinking for a while about trying the Universal Contour Wrap to kick-start my inch loss regime.  This is a treatment offered in many beauty salons and involves being smothered in clay and wrapped up in bandages, then when they are unwrapped after an hour or so, you should have lost some inches as all the horrible toxins are removed from your body.  So far so good, however it has to be said that in these times of reecession and watching your money, the cost of around £200 for 3 treatments is a bit steep. 

Happily, there is another, cheaper way to do this treatment - at home.  The Universal Contour Wrap people sell a "Self-Slim Kit" which includes all the equipment you need for approximately three treatments, and it only costs £40.  One other thing you need for the treatment is a "sauna suit" which is a top and pair of trousers made of silvery metallic-plastic material, which you put on after wrapping up the bandages.  This costs £35 from the Universal Contour Wrap people, however you can get it at the moment from Argos for £6.99. 

So, I ordered the Self-Slim Kit and bought the Sauna Suit, and was ready to transform myself yesterday morning into a spacesuit-wearing bandage-wrapped mummy, all in the cause of inch loss.  You must measure the areas where the clay is being applied before the treatment, and note the measurements so that you can compare this with the results after the treatment.

The 'Slim Clay' is applied first.  This is rather runny, so it's a little bit more difficult to apply than expected.  The bandages are soaked in warm water then the water is squeezed out and you proceed to wrap the bandages around the area you are treating. After applying the bandages, it's on with the "spacesuit" and lie down and relax for 60 minutes. 

After the 60 minutes, it's off with the spacesuit, unwrap the bandages, wipe off any extra clay and then the moment of truth - measuring time.  You need to be very careful that you are measuring the exact same area before the treatment to get the correct result.  Over the waist and thigh-to-knee area which I treated yesterday, there was an inch loss of - are you ready? - 8½ inches in various places.  The skin is so much smoother and there has been a definite reduction in cellulite. 

Of course this treatment is only a quick-fix, and long-term results are only guaranteed with a healthy eating/exercise regime.  As it is a detox, it is a good idea to keep the nasty toxins away for a while, so I'm having a few follow-up 'healthy days', drinking lots of water and avoiding coffee and cola.  Which is a major challenge as caffeine is my drug of choice.  However, it is a small price to pay to get started on what will be a long task ahead.  This time there are no goals, no targets, no deadlines.  I'm focusing on inch loss rather than weight loss this time round, and not becoming a slave to the scales. 

My big fat summer

Who'd have thought it? The summer of 2013 has been a surprising revelation.  More or less, since the end of May, the weather up here has been, on the whole, dry, warm and pleasant...and the last couple of weeks have given us continental temperatures which are more Greece than Glasgow.  Holiday clothing (and all the horrors that brings) has replaced the usual anoraks and umbrellas which symbolise the relentless rain and low temperatures which characterise our Scottish summer.  Usually, if we get a couple of dry days, that's our summer.

But having a few weeks of sunshine, dry weather and clear skies has completely changes our lives and given us a glimpse into what life could be like if we actually had proper, defined seasons.  People are smiling more, they're in a better mood, they're being nicer to each other.  We're all happier. 

For the first few months of this year I struggled, not just with my usual winter blues/SAD but also with stress and anxiety, and completely lost my confidence.   (One particular benefit of this nice summer has been the vast improvement in my mood and getting my confidence back, particularly at work, which has helped me through all the challenges presented by a heavy workload and staff shortages).

However, in the first half of the year, I turned to comfort/binge eating, gaining a stone over a short period, and my physical health plummeted.  Where I previously power-walked uphill to work, it became a struggle to even power-crawl.

You will know from previous posts that I did try to get the weight off, but these were only very short-lived with no commitment.  Over recent weeks, the realisation about what I've been doing to my body became very apparent, firstly going on holiday and then during the recent hot spell.  All those summer clothes hanging in the wardrobe, which can't be worn because they don't fit any more.  Going into fitting rooms and not recognising the person staring back at me.  How did I allow this to get so bad?  It has finally given me the motivation to do something about it. 

Sunshine!

It's such a rarity to have a day without rain, or gale force winds, and even more rare to have a warm day.  Today, unusually, we had a beautiful dry and warm day.  It is probably the only dry and warm day we have had for months, and life will be back to normal tomorrow with the return of the wind and rain :(

Needless to say, my back "garden" a.k.a. jungle, hasn't seen a lawnmower all year.  Until today when we had the annual ritual of the first cut of the year, closely followed by me complaining all night about aches and pains and how flippin' exhausted I feel.  In other words, the usual.

The little fitness regime does seem to be paying off though, as I am actually beginning to feel fitter and today I was able to walk uphill and downhill without the aid of the knee support bandages.  Getting there slowly but surely!!

Snow is falling all around me...

....well not actually at the minute, but the fact remains that the last few weeks have been pretty freaky on the weather front as we had a lot of snow, which as usual managed to bring the place to a standstill, and some very icy winds which made Scotland feel more like Siberia.  Last week it was snowy and sunny at the same time.  You know all about that British obsession with the weather? Well, who can blame us when it's so unpredictable!  At least the snow has stayed away for Easter weekend.

During one of the coldest spells a couple of weeks ago, the boiler at EuropeCrazy HQ developed a major fault which resulted in us being left with no heating/hot water for various periods of time and a continuous 48 hour spell.  No wonder I was comfort eating (more about that later....)

I thought it would be a good opportunity to post a pic of my two little Easter chicks.  Aren't they cute?  These are knitted by the mum of one of my friends at work, who is shortly due to deliver a little chick of her own in May.  There's a massive baby boom in my office at the moment which makes me wonder -was the TV really that bad a few months ago?? :)

So what happened to the fitness regime, I hear you ask?  Well, sad to say, it crashed and burned.    The snow/bad weather put paid to my long outdoor walks, I've been comfort eating and snacking relentlessly, and some days I'm so mentally and physically exhausted that I have no energy to exercise after work. 

But with only 7 weeks to go until my holiday, can it be turned around?  I think it can, although not with as significant results as I'd hoped for.  If I'd continued the February fitness regime I might have been looking at a dropped dress size by now.  Oh well these things happen....as that well-known saying goes, "the diet starts tomorrow" and it'll once again be time to start paying in sweat.  And that's no April Fool! 

Weight loss and fitness 2013: Part 5 - Crikey! More good news.

Bit late with this one as I should have published it last Friday but anyway here goes....

I tried very hard to keep the momentum going and got yet another good result, with another 2lbs off, making it a total of 5lbs lost in 2 weeks.

My fitness levels are on the up, as demonstrated by a 2.5 mile lunchtime walk in town last Wednesday which took 30 minutes and involved some rather steep climbs.  However since Friday, my willpower seems to have taken some time out and I've decided to take a break from the scales this week.  Next weigh-in will now be on 15th March.

Weight loss and fitness 2013: Part 4 - Shock Result!

A lot has happened in the 7 days since my last post.  After the long walk last Saturday I threw myself into a pretty punishing exercise regime involving aerobics, dancing, weights, drinking water, walking and long sessions on the mini stepper, with the help of the sauna belt/shorts which I bought last week.  It wasn't all work and no play though, as I set out to prove this week that the only thing which really works for me is exercise, and that I could continue to have a few treats along the way.

By Thursday, my body ached all over, but there was no pain when I took to the scales to discover that I had lost no less than 3lbs this week!  That's a shock result, as I'm not one of those people who loses a lot of weight very quickly - as all those years on Weight Watchers Online would testify.

Needless to day I'm very happy with the rewarding end to what's been a non-stop week.

I'm not walking today as it's snowing outside and there's lots of housework waiting to be done :( however I'll be back into the exercise routine again today after a couple of days' break from it.  Not expecting to lose so much weight next week but will start to focus on inch loss: after all, that's my main goal this time so that I can get back into my holiday clothes for the cruise which is now just 3 months away....

Weight loss & fitness 2013: Part 3 - Keep on Walking!

Let's be truthful: it's not going well.  For every one step forward there has been several steps back.  And there has been weight gain.

However I have been galvanised this week for one very good reason: the holiday is booked.  As I mentioned the other day over at EuropeCrazy, we're going on a cruise and I'll need to get myself ship-shape (groan). 

I've decided to focus on improving my fitness and losing inches over the next three months, and thanks to the offers of the week in Lidl I now have two extra weapons in my war on weight!  Ladies and gentlemen: sauna shorts and sauna belt!

 

I do a lot of walking in my day to day life: I'm lucky enough to work in the town where I live so I walk to and from work, and at lunchtime.  However despite all this walking I still don't feel as if my fitness is as good as it should be.

 

So I have decided to introduce longer walks into the fitness regime, and I'm just back from the first of these today.  Thanks to Google maps, I drew up a 2.4 mile route taking me around various streets in town.  It only took 35 minutes for me to walk the route, and was surprisingly effortless!

Weight loss and fitness 2013: Part 2

It was weigh-in week this week, and no real surprise that I haven't lost anything.  But a nice surprise was that I haven't gained anything either.

I have had an utterly miserable week, my mood's been at rock bottom and when I feel like that I can't stand being around people (with a couple of notable exceptions).   I have also been experiencing nasty headaches and needless to say there has been a whole lot of comfort eating, no exercise and no self-discipline.  I hate feeling like this, but I've been there a million times before and know that this feeling will only be temporary. 

So I have decided yet again to make another fresh start, as time's getting on, chop chop, we're almost at the end of January!

Next update in 2 weeks.

Weight loss and fitness 2013: Part 1

Since my previous post when I announced that I was quitting dieting, I have honed my plan and set out my targets for the year ahead. 

Initially I wasn't going to weigh myself but changed my mind and now the weigh-ins will take place fortnightly and I will measure on alternate weeks. 

Almost three weeks in and things are going reasonably well, considering that I'm still polishing off the great post-Christmas mountain of sweets!  I have lost 2lbs so far, but am particularly delighted that I've lost 4 inches from various places.  That's probably thanks to the mini-stepper and the extra walking. 

It's only the beginning and there is a long long way to go, I'm not expecting miracles overnight but I'm hoping for some big results by the time of my holiday in May.  (I'm very excited about that: expect an announcement within the next four weeks or so, all being well). My plan will have three phases: between now and May, between May and September, and between September and Christmas.

January hasn't really been easy though.  Stress, almost daily headaches and a nasty sinus infection so far.  I've also been very tired, too tired to blog.  Nice things have happened too, though, and on the whole I'm keeping the January blues at bay.

Fortnightly updates to follow....