Just recently I have been flagging a bit when it comes to my health, fitness and general wellbeing goals!
Any of you who regularly read my blog will remember my post earlier in the year, A Cows Milk Allergy!? Where I discussed how I had been diagnosed as being milk allergic. Since then I’ve been pretty good: I cut out dairy immediately, and thought a lot about what I was eating, I started to exercise a bit more regularly and to just generally be healthier.
…but now I’ve got lazy again!
Over the last few months I have become a little less focused on the exercise and have slacked off a bit. This has resulted in me feeling sluggish, and a bit meh overall. However, I am going to document my health kick…this is so that I am accountable for my own heath and wellbeing.
Darling James has signed us both up for a wide range of runs, both short and long, in an attempt to kick start us into gear. The first two were actually postponed and then cancelled due to the latest lockdowns here, but there is another coming up in November that I hope will go ahead. We’re currently training for that and it’s a 10km.
So…
I am going to track my health and wellbeing journey on here over the coming weeks and months to show my progress. I will pop up photos and videos and just generally be accountable for my own progress.
But first I’ll start with a few tips that helped me last time round. I don’t pretend to be any font of knowledge about these kind of things, but last time I had a health kick these are the things that worked for me…it’s just sticking to them!
Things that helped me last time
Start with the right gear
My starting point was to buy a few new pieces of gym gear.
When it comes to leggings, I gravitate towards Lululemon’s Align products, as they just feel amazing. I bought a pair of basic Align leggings for hot yoga about six or seven years ago and I LOVED them. They’re looking a little worn now, but still going strong. I would live in them if I could get away with it!
I can’t get away with wearing the Align sports bra, so I have to go for something with a little more support; I chose the Energy Bra. Again, I’d live in these if I could. They’re just the right amount of strappy and support. They come in a regular version and a longline version, I prefer the longline version, but both are cute.
Although I love Lululemon, any gear that makes you feel good is the right gear for you. If you feel best in jogging bottoms, then fantastic. Do you like hot pants, go for it. Wear what makes you feel happy 🙂
Trainers are very important as well!
I have come to realise after being in New Zealand for a while that when I say trainers, no-one knows what I’m talking about. So when I say trainers, I mean the footwear I wear to train in; runners, sneakers etc. But anyway, trainers are very important and I would heavily suggest that you go somewhere that will tell you the best kind of trainer for your exercise style and fit them for you. I have two pairs; one pair for everyday running and one pair of trail running trainers:
- Everyday: Mizuno Wave Ultima 7
- Trail running: Mizuno Wave Kien 2
It makes such a difference to wear the correct footwear. I remember thinking that my dad was so funny when I was a child with his multiple sports gear…now I know! I pretty much struggled with muscle pains until I bought a pair of trainers that was right for me. Don’t get me wrong, running still gives me aches and pains, but at least I know its not because I’m wearing the wrong footwear!
Don’t start with everything all at once
Ease yourself in, otherwise you’ll become overwhelmed and possibly a bit shell shocked!
If you’re anything like me, you’ll need to start with a short amount of exercise and build up. Remember that you can’t just imagine that you’ll be able to run 10km and actually do it. I mean you might, but it’s unlikely. I generally find something that looks interesting online and stick to that to begin with, then when I’m into the swing of exercising, I change it up a bit. The last few that I have tried worked really well:
- The Guardian newspaper has a great article on The Official British Army fitness programme. It’s a 16 week programme that aims to get you to the point of being able to pass the fitness test to get into the British army.
- Runners World have a great six-week ‘Couch to 5k’ plan.
Once I’ve got to a point where I exercise and it doesn’t feel terribly awful, I start to add in my own ideas and change it up a bit. I like weights, so I change up the exercises to add in some weights.
…but add in variation when you’re ready
These are by far the biggest thing for me and I mean variation and enjoyment in all of the healthy bits of my life…food, exercise, clothing!
If all I do is run, I get bored. If all I do is weights, I get bored. If all I do is yoga, you guessed it, I get bored. However, if I spice it up a bit by doing some running, some weights, some yoga, and then some other types of exercise (roller derby, swimming, ballet, barre, etc), I love it and can’t get enough.
Similarly, if all I do is eat the same three meals, I get SO bored. Variety is the spice of life or something…
…and don’t worry if you start off a bit shit!
When you start something new you might not necessarily be very good at it. The very first run that I did outside was so hard. I was terribly slow, I had to keep stopping and I just really didn’t want to be there. I couldn’t even run for three minutes without feeling like I was really struggling.
But now I love it, I’m still not very fast and I’m still not very ‘good’, but I really like running!
Think about what you’re putting into your body
They always say ‘You are what you eat’, and mostly I’ve found that to be quite true; When I eat crap I feel crap! Try to ease into healthy alternatives, swap them out bit by bit until you’re happy with what you’re putting on your plate or bowl.
My favourite things lately are:
- Berry smoothies: Made with almond milk, banana, a handful of berries, a big dollop of coconut yogurt, and sweetened with either dates or honey. If you want to, you can also add protein powder to a smoothie.
- Vanilla matcha: My current choice is the Nuzest Vanilla Matcha Clean Lean Protein. It’s powdered protein, and I take this as I struggle to get enough protein, but it’s also really tasty when mixed with almond milk!
- Roasted vegetable bowls: I really enjoy roasted kumara, carrot, red onion and beetroot with baby spinach and Mexican or Moroccan spices. When topped with falafel and dairy free yogurt or mayonnaise it’s even better!
- Couscous and tinned salmon: I like the Thai red curry salmon paired with a handful of veggies.
I try to make sure that I’m getting a well rounded diet made up of different things each day. I get bored otherwise!
Sleep well
I heard recently that the average adult (aged above 25 but under 65 years) needs between 7-8 hours of sleep per night to remain fairly with it. Some rare people can deal with 6-7 hours or need 8-9 hours, but generally the average population need 7-8 hours. Any more or less and you’re not giving yourself time to regenerate from the day.
I always feel better when my sleep has been good and my brain has had time to rest.
Apparently the way to do this is to stick to a schedule; Build your last half an hour into a nighttime routine. I have a sort of routine – I get my pj’s on, I brush my teeth, I brush my hair and then I get into bed…sometimes I read and sometimes I read the news on my phone. I am trying to have put my phone down for at least a half hour before getting to bed.
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