The Running Girl

When I started my weight loss & lifestyle change at the beginning of the year, I hated running. I'd never done more than the occasional sprint as a teenager and was convinced it just wasn't for me.

Then I signed up for the Race For Life in aid of Cancer Research UK for the third time. It's an event where you walk, jog or run 5k and people sponsor you to do so. I'd said at the end of the previous 2 times we'd walk it that I would run the next one, but hadn't yet. Well why not have a go this time, I thought.

I had heard about the Couch to 5k plan and local fun runs that are organised at my local park and thought these would be great to get me there. I honestly didn't know if I had it me to actually run 5k but I figured there was no harm in trying.

The couch to 5k is a 9 week plan but I managed to it in 12 due to having to repeat a few weeks. It was tough but I was very proud for having completed it.

I then started the fun runs at my local park. You sign up on their website, they send you a wrist band which is scanned when you cross the finish line, then you get a text to your phone with your time.

I did 2 of them before I ran the Race for Life which really spurred me on. On the day itself the conditions were completely different to what I'd been used to - hills instead of flat, forest instead of tracks, heat instead of cool overcast. I managed a not too shabby time of 38 mins, which I was proud of despite having done better times. I was just proud I'd managed to do it at all!

I've been really enjoying these fun runs up to now. I find I push myself so much harder in a more competitive environment. At the end of the day, I'm only really competing against myself but watching the other runners and keeping pace with them is great motivation. The pic I've included is some of my times so far. It's a bit up and down but I think there is a gradual improvement.

Some of the recent benchmarks for me have been a personal best time of 32mins 41secs and 3 weeks ago (the run before last due to a break from these particular runs) I managed to run the whole way without walking - both of which I've not been able to recreate again yet!

My current goals are to again run the whole way without stopping and to get my time closer to 30mins. I could try to progress to 10k but I'm not planning to yet for 2 reasons - 1. I need to improve my 5k and 2. I think I would get bored running for that long.

As I never thought I'd get to this point, I'll never say never as you don't know what's round the corner!

Almost there?

Sorry I've been a little neglectful lately!

It's been a good 2 months since my last update so I'm sorry I've not been writing much. By no means have I been as neglectful with my healthy lifestyle. Yep, I'm calling it that now, not a diet anymore. 

I know when I started this I didn't have a set weight lost goal but as the weight started dropping off, more people started asking me 'how much more do you have to lose?' and as I was actually losing weight this time, I did start thinking of that finish line and where to set it. I figured the target my Noom app was setting me was as good as any - 67kg or 10.5st.

Well, here we are now, 7 months since I started what was to become my life changing diet, and that goal is almost within reach. My weight loss has slowed down since the big boom at the beginning, from an average of 2lbs a week to 1lb a week. Since my last weight update in April I've lost another stone, bring my total to approximately 3st in 7 months. And that overall goal? Its only another 7lbs away.

I've set myself a few targets over my journey which I can very happily tick off now - lose a load of weight before my 30th (tick), run the 5k Race for Life (tick - in a time of 38 mins, not too shabby), drop to at least a dress size 14 (tick and then some - more on that to follow), improve my diet and reign in the amount of unhealthy food I was eating (tick), maintain an average calorie intake of 1400kcal a day (tick). 

Out of all the goals I set myself, there was one I failed to meet (sad face) and that was running while on holiday. I took my running stuff with me, was really excited about doing it, but the reality of running in a place I didn't know kind of took the shine off - I didn't really know where to go and didn't fancy running in circles around the camp. And that beach we were really close to - there was only 1 access point quite a way from our caravan, down a steep cliff to a not-the-best-quality kind of beach. But I'll be the first to admit these are probably just excuses, but for the first and only time so far, they won.

Coming back from that holiday really left me in a very strange mindset. I'd never dieted this successfully before and whenever I'd taken a 'break', by the time I'd got back into dieting again I was back to where I started, if not even worse off. So my mind couldn't really cope with having a break from a regular exercise routine. I'd managed to not go too wild with my diet and we'd been out doing a lot of sightseeing, so I hadn't been completely inactive. However when I returned from my hol, my mood was really low. I felt like I let myself down and when I finally got back into exercising, I'd be back where I started and have undone all the good work I'd done. I'd started doing a free 5k fun run in my local park and was due to do one the day after I got back from the holiday. My mind was in such a bad place though that I couldn't face it, I thought I'd embarrass myself. 

The following day I was back to Zumba and even though I was down I was still determined to at the least do this. I could do it before I even started so I could do it now, I told myself. That day was also weigh in day. I'd convinced myself to prepare for a gain as I had been a little indulgent over the holiday and not exercised. To say I was pleasantly surprised to have lost 1lb is an understatement and gave me a big reminder that I wasn't back where I started. It got me back in the right frame of mind and I noticed a big difference when I finally got back to running 2 days later. I was able to push myself further and faster and did a really great time considering it was after a day of work.

So I mentioned earlier that I had hit my target of a dress size 14 and then some. Well yeah, I'm in a size 10! I have never in my adult life wore a size 10. The smallest I have ever been is a 12. I am still really struggling to get my head around this and it is making shopping an absolute nightmare. Ideally I would try everything on but having a 2 year old makes this process difficult. So I'm guessing and probably being too generous. I'll buy size 14 trousers/jeans as I get a 'muffin top' in a 12, not thinking that they give after wear, so a few weeks later they end up loose. I'm finally accepting I'm a 10 up top and have bought a couple of things in this size that fit well, so maybe it is starting to take root now.

Luckily (and yes, I mean luckily) I don't actually have much money to buy new clothes and this led me to discover Refashionista! I'm hopefully going to amend my old wardrobe into a whole new one without having to worry about sizing at all - just make it all to fit! I've had a sewing machine since I was 21 and have only used it once or twice, so its about time that got a workout.

Well this was only supposed to be a short update but I guess I had more to tell you than I realised! I'm going to try to update little and often instead of these big binge updates which will make my blog much more readable and hopefully more fun, so please stay tuned!

My First 5K!

It took 12 weeks but I did it!

I finally finished couch to 5k! As I say above, it took 12 weeks instead of the 9 in the plan, but I got there in the end. It was a massive achievement to finally finish it and I was very proud of myself. I have to say that this plan had its frustrating moments, and if I had written it I would have added maybe 1 or 2 extra weeks to make the transition from interval to straight running smoother. Overall I found it challenging but achievable and would definitely recommend it to people who haven't ran before but would like to start. It breaks you in gently and builds your confidence so before you know it you're hitting a 20 minute run!

In the last week of the plan where you are running for 30 minutes, I was using my Noom app, which I use to track my calories, to also track the distance I was running. It turned out I that while I was now running for 30 minutes, I wasn't quite hitting the 5k mark, I was at about 4.7k including warm up walk. The couch to 5k plan only gives you timings, not distances, and I needed something a little more specific to running than Noom to help guide me to the next stage. 

I discovered the Nike Running App which will track your run, play your own music and give you updates every kilometer in your ear as to how far you have run, how long you have been running, and your average pace. I had finished the couch to 5k on the Sunday, done Zumba Monday, planned a day of rest on the Tuesday, and then my next run was the Wednesday to try out the new app.

I had no idea how I was going to do. I knew I could run for 30 minutes but at the pace I had been running, this wasn't quite 5k. I was doing the run after a day of work so I had to allow for that as well. However, I was pleasantly surprised! I managed 4.4k in 32 minutes but had an average pace of 7 minutes 30 seconds. When I set myself the challenge to run the Race for Life, I knew I could walk that in 50 minutes as that was our time the last time we did it. Therefore, I wanted to be able to run it in less that 40 minutes. According to that average pace, I was on track to do that so I was really pleased.

My regular running route has been in my local park and of a weekend I had noticed what seemed to be an organised running group, usually because I was running in the opposite direction to them! I had heard about the fun runs from various sources and thought they would be good practice for my Race for Life. I wasn't really sure I was ready but after that Wednesday run I felt more confident and decided to give it a go. I signed up using the Great Run Local website and also joined my local organizers facebook page. After I posted and people responded in a friendly way, I was all fired up and ready to go! 

I set myself the goal of running it in 35-40 minutes. Typically I couldn't set the app up right and was already off and running before it was tracking me (which is why it says 4,91k in the pic left). Once I settled into the run though I found it hard work but achievable. I tracked myself against a group just ahead of me and just focused on pacing myself. I was amazed when the app repeatedly told me my average pace was just over 6 minutes! At one point I did think I would be the last to finish as the people in front of me started to pull ahead, but a quick glance over my shoulder reassured me that whilst I was near the back, I wasn't last. 

I crossed the finish line in an official time of 33 minutes 33 seconds. I was amazed! The competitive atmosphere really made a difference to how much I pushed myself, and this was only a practice!

The Race For Life is now only 2 weeks away. My plan is to fit in at least another 2 runs this week with another fun run on Sunday, another 2 runs if possible the following week with the main event on that Sunday! My aim now is to at least maintain my time but to try and get as close to 30 minutes as I can. Wish me luck!!

If you area reading this and would like to say 'Well done!' for my achievements, I would be so grateful if you could support the cause that started the journey for me. Just a £1 donation to our Race For Life sponsorship fund would be massive 'Go On Girl!' to me and would have the added bonus of going to the very worthy cause of Cancer Research UK. You can donate securely online here or text PNKS84 £1 to 70070 from a UK mobile.

Ok, sales pitch out of the way! Other than my running, it has not been a great diet week for me. I have had a naughty eating weekend for various reasons and my running has been my only exercise this week. I haven't weighed myself yet this week but I doubt I will have lost anything. I'm staying positive though as we all have off days, I will be back on the bandwagon tomorrow and will give it another good try. I do feel those old thoughts of giving up coming back and some old habits seem to be rearing their ugly heads. It is a constant battle to keep them at bay and some weeks are easier than others. 

Recently it has been tough, ironically not helped by the fact that I am comfortable with my size at the moment. While I would like to be smaller, I'm currently the smallest I have been for many, many years and its hard to find the same drive I had at the beginning. I'm determined at the very least to not get back there so I know I won't put on all the weight again, but it is still a fight. That fat girl inside me is doing her best to take control, but right now she's not winning and hopefully she won't.

Recipe: Slow Cooked Ratatouille with Chicken

Slow Cooked Ratatouille with Chicken (serves 4, approx. 487 kcal per serving)

I only discovered this recipe the other day but have fallen in love with it. As someone who isn't a massive veg fan I thought I would struggle with this but it was delightful! (The picture above doesn't do it justice I'm afraid) Its super filling but really low in calories. It freezes well, I had another portion for lunch today. As it was slow cooked it came out a little bit soupy as you need very little water when slow cooking and the ingredients seem to release their own moisture. You might chose to reduce the stock or leave it out completely if you want it a little thicker.

It was taken from a book called 'One Pot' by Igloo Books and the original recipe wasn't using a slow cooker, however the recipe here is exactly how I made it.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, diced
• 2 red onions, sliced
• 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 red pepper, sliced
• 1 aubergine, sliced
• 2 courgettes, chopped
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 250ml chicken stock
• 4 tomatoes, chopped

Method

1. Prepare the ingredients as detailed above and add them to the slow cooker. Give it a good stir to mix everything well together.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours, stirring occasionally.
3. Serve!

Recipe: Chicken & Potato Curry

Chicken & Potato Curry (serves 2 (or 2 and a little one) Approx. 416kcal per serving)

I found this recipe on the Weight Watchers app the last time I was trying that particular diet. That diet may have ended but this recipe stuck with me. Its a really tasty and filling alternative to regular curry and rice and low in calories. Its another one my son loves to have as well.

Ingredients

• 2 chicken breasts, diced
• 400g potatoes, diced
• 1 carrot, grated
• A good handful of frozen peas
• A good handful of sweetcorn
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 tsp curry paste
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 200ml chicken stock (+ a little extra for frying)

Method

1. Parboil the potatoes for 10 minutes then set aside.
2. Fry the onions for a couple of minutes to soften on a medium heat. If the pan becomes a bit dry, use a splash of the stock to moisten.
3. Add the chicken, the garlic and the curry paste and fry for another 8-10 minutes, again using a bit of the stock if the pan becomes dry.
4. Add the carrots, sweetcorn, potato and peas and stir until all are coated with paste.
5. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 minutes until the potatoes are fully softened.

Battling Onward!

Still fighting towards that finish line!

I was reading through my previous blog posts last night as I've been feeling like a bit of a failure recently. I beat myself up too much I think as I haven't failed, I've lost over 2st now! I hit that milestone last week. 2st 1lb to be exact, in 4 months. The last time I lost a significant amount of weight it took me about a year to lose 1st. That is certainly not a failure. 

Yes, I've been finding exercising hard recently and I have cut it back, but I've not given up. On that score I've almost completed week 9 of couch to 5k and am now running for the majority of 30 minutes, 3 times a week. That is also not a failure.

I am only doing zumba once a week now but with more umph than ever before. I'm finding the routines easier and enjoying them so much more as a result. I can push myself harder now and feel a real sense of achievement from doing so.

Yoga is falling a bit more by the wayside, I'm managing once a week on and off. But when I do kick my butt into gear I can really feel how much more flexible and stronger I've become. It really is great for the mind as well as I do feel more peaceful, positive and happier once I've done a session.

I also read last night that when I hit my 30th birthday goal I set myself the following goals - 

"As of Wednesday I'm back on the diet wagon and heading off to my next set of goals. I want to be comfortably in those size 14 clothes within a month. I'm running the Race For Life in May and want to be jogging the 5k in about 30mins by then. I'm going on holiday in June and plan to lose as much weight as possible by then and hopefully be somewhere close to my 10st goal. I'm even looking forward to fitting in my running on holiday by running down the beach near where we're staying. I love the beach and I'm actually looking forward to it - to exercising on holiday!!"

Well, I'm in those size 14's comfortably. I've been in them for a few weeks so I forgot about this goal but its now been a month since then and I've definitely achieved that. I'm on track to run the Race For Life. It might not be in 30 mins, at the moment if you include warm up and cool down I'm doing approximately 5.2k in 40mins. But I've still got 3 weeks to go, thats a minimum of another 9 runs, so I might be able to tighten it up a bit. Even if I don't though, I will still run the majority of it and thats good enough for me, its better than previous years where I didn't run any of it! 

Also, since that big milestone I've lost just short of half a stone. I'm 11st 12lbs so just short of 2st off my 10st goal. I'm still on track for those runs down the beach on holiday which is about 2 months away.

Another big achievement for me is that I've set up a Facebook group to try and provide a space for people to discuss their diet issues where myself and others can help and offer suggestions. Its still new and I need to build it up a bit but I'm proud its there. I've purposely kept it private so peoples posts aren't broadcast all over facebook and only members of the group can read whats posted, but if you would like an invite we'd be more than happy for you to join us!

My husband has also directed me to a free learning site where I can learn more about health and nutrition as it has become a big passion of mine. It would also mean I would actually be qualified to talk about all this and offer proper help and suggestions. I need to find time but once I do I'm really looking forward to that. 

I think sometimes we all need to remind ourselves how far we've come and what we've actually achieved. It can be a bit easy sometimes to tell ourselves we're doing something wrong or we're not up to scratch. I have heard people out there beating themselves up because they don't eat right all the time or they're not managing to get their 5 a day, or they don't exercise as much as they'd like. Sometimes it will be like that, but it doesn't mean you've failed. There's nothing wrong with a treat or a break now and again, just so long as you don't go too far with it - remember everything in moderation. You've only really failed if you stop doing all the hard work you've put in and let your old habits take over again.

Running On Empty

‘If it is important, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse’ - unknown

 

I’ve been going through a tough patch over the last few weeks. It probably started after my birthday. I think, like having reached the end of a 100m sprint, I had hit the target of my birthday and needed a rest. I had gone all out for 3 months and I think my reserves were slightly depleted.

Party Time!

March in my family is always ‘party season’. The amount of births and marriages mean there are more celebrations than in any other month of the year. I’d managed to battle through until my birthday but then I seemed to run out of steam. I’d managed to mostly keep up the diet and exercise, until I hit one particularly party-heavy weekend where there were events both the Friday and the Saturday. I hadn’t planned to indulge, I kept telling myself and anyone who’d listen that I’d only have a couple of drinks. However, at the Friday party in particular, there was a great atmosphere coupled with lovely generous people buying my drinks – who could resist?! I did calm things down the following night and then did only have a couple of drinks. If you didn’t count the alcohol, I had managed to stick to my calorie allowance (bar one slice of pizza!) so on that score I shouldn’t have done too much damage.

Exercise however was a totally different matter. I hadn’t gone to the extreme where I was hungover or vomiting everywhere, but I was feeling a general malaise on the days following and couldn’t get motivated. It may have even been the late nights that wiped me out more than the drinking as I was in bed past midnight both nights. As a mum of a toddler I’m usually tucked up by 10pm!

 

I did my last run on the Thursday but no amount of talking to myself could get me back in gear until the following Tuesday. I went for a run and afterwards broke down in tears. I felt like I didn’t have anything more to give and I was finding it too hard. I had found the previous week of my couch to 5k plan harder than I had expected anyway, but this particular week nearly finished me off completely. I was frustrated, disappointed and drained. 

I knew I had to repeat that week of my plan and I found out that other people have also had to repeat weeks, which did give me a bit of a boost, but I had to have a good talk with myself. Was this really all worth it? Or was I going to stop here and say ‘I gave it a try but this is as far as I could go’? I had already done better than I ever expected and was at a comfortable stage now, despite not being at my final goal. I knew I would look like a failure in the eyes of some, but who cared what they thought if I was happy?

I knew I didn’t want to stop here unless I really had to. I had set myself the goal of running the Race For Life, the 5k fun run for Cancer Research UK I was participating in with my family and friends, and it meant a lot for me to get to that point. I’d achieved great results so far, I obviously could do it, so why stop where I didn’t really want to? Of course it was hard, as the saying goes – nothing worth having comes easy. I wasn’t doing this because it was easy, I was doing it because I was getting results. 

The next day I weighed myself and I had put on about half a pound. Well, I said to myself, time to make a decision now. The weight was starting to go back on so I had to sort myself out. I had decided I wasn’t going to give up but maybe I needed to take it a bit easier on myself for a little while until I got back on track. I could do this though, I told myself, I’m stronger than I think. I went to work and spent the day talking myself into going for run to see how it went. I got through it having to push myself a fair bit but I didn’t break down in tears this time and started to feel more positive. 

Yoga Progress

My head was still not in the right place however and I really needed something to get me back on track. I decided to have a go at a bit of yoga as I had been progressing really well with that and it is well documented that it is supposed to be good for the mind as well as the body. It did turn out to be just the thing I needed – for the first time I managed to get my head on my knees in a seated forward bend and was centimetres off doing the same in a standing forward bend. It really gave me a boost to see the progress I had made and I did feel more like I could do the same with my running.

From then on I gradually pushed myself more and managed to complete that week of couch to 5k ending with running for 25 minutes without stopping. I wasn’t quite as exhilarated as when I had completed the 20 minute run 2 weeks earlier, but I did feel better and that I could do this, just at a slower pace.

I’m currently on week 7 of the couch to 5k plan which is 3 runs of 25 minutes without stopping. I’ve had to repeat it a second time as I was really struggling getting through the runs without walking and I don’t want to move on until I’m doing it a bit more comfortably. I’m feeling more positive but it is still a struggle for me. I’m persevering though as I know the results are worth it and the feeling of letting myself down if I did stop is not worth stopping. I've just completed the 2nd run of the week for the second time and I have definitely noticed it is getting easier. I can now run for pretty much 25 minutes without stopping. I did trip on tree root and fall flat on my face today, luckily there was no one to see it, but even that didn't stop me for long. I also lost another 2lbs this week which does hammer home the point about doing it for results. When I got back on the exercise wagon, the weight came off again. 

I will end with a little motivational picture I found which really spoke to me when I was finding it hard – the person you really are is a lot stronger than you think if you push yourself.