Health and fitness in any form pretty much did not exist for me between the dates of April 10th and May 25th. The week before the wedding involved me medicating my stress with wine and chocolate on pretty much a daily basis, then the honeymoon involved pizza, cocktails, humongous breakfasts and everything my food-related dreams are made of. Then, the few days after I got back I was still in holiday mode, and eating my way around everything naughty in our cupboards (I stocked up on Mini Eggs before we left, which was both my best, and worst idea of all time). During the honeymoon we did an awful lot of walking and lugging backpacks around, so although I didn’t manage to get out running, we did stay pretty active throughout (it wasn’t a complete slob-fest!). Nonetheless, on a diet of carbs, carbs and more carbs, it’s no surprise that I put on a few pounds and watched my belly grow from getting fairly flat pre-wedding to a very well-developed food baby.
I’m not beating myself up about this – after an enormous amount of stress, pressure, and busy-ness in the months and weeks leading up to April 17th, four weeks of eating, drinking and chilling was just what the Doctor ordered. But now I’m back into a routine, I want to keep on top of my health and fitness to make sure I feel good inside and out. I’ve not been feeling 100% since we got back; jetlag, thrusting myself straight back into work and hoovering up all of the chocolate and crisps in the house have made me feel sluggish and fatigued. Bread in various forms (tiger bread and pizza being my main weaknesses) have been on the menu almost every day, but I’ve started to face up to the fact that it just does no wonders for my digestive health. After eating a couple of tiger bread baps at a barbecue last weekend my stomach was so swollen I had to lie down. It is mainly bread that does this and I’m not sure of the cause (whether it’s wheat, gluten, or something else) – but I know that if I want to feel good and not like I’ve swallowed a football, I need to give it the swerve (a very sad sentence indeed).
I’ve been so tired and busy since I got back that I haven’t been meal planning or food shopping properly either, and dinner has usually been something I’ve grabbed on the way home from work, or a mish-mash of things from the fridge or freezer. I want to get back to prepping and planning meals in advance and making sure I fit lots of protein and veggies into my meals. It’s when I don’t plan and just grab things in the shop (or from a takeaway) that I make bad choices, so being more prepared will definitely help.
// vest: soas gingham run tank – fushi wellbeing – £40
// capris – legacy sportswear – £35
// trainers from nike outlet @ gunwharf quays
My fitness and exercise is going slightly better. I decided to ease myself back into exercise by trying to run most days since I got back from honeymoon (rather than getting straight back into the gym or signing myself up for classes and PT sessions). I haven’t been doing longer runs but just little jogs around the block to get back into being active again. I also signed up for the Runner’s World Run Streak, to run every day between May 25 and July 4. I’ve managed running every day so far (13 miles in total this week) but I’m beginning to wonder whether it might be taking on too much. I went to a Boot Camp class on Wednesday that was so hard I couldn’t walk the next day, but I still had to run, and then on Friday I woke up with a cracking headache, so had to come home and run after work in the evening, which just doesn’t work for me at all. On Saturdays I go to a boxing class from 8-9, but because I was out for the day, I had to get up at 6.45 and run to the class, which was hard work! We’re away so many weekends over the coming six weeks that I’ll have to pack my running gear for two or three weekends away staying at friends’ houses, and running definitely won’t be on the agenda! I need to have a think as to whether it is going to fit around my lifestyle, or whether sticking to a few runs a week, coupled with Boot Camp, Boxing and Yoga classes, will provide more balance.
I’ve also been wearing my FitBit Flex since Tuesday, and have been chuffed that I’ve met my step, distance and active minutes goals every day so far. I hope I can carry on with this level of activity and start to get rid of those unwanted lbs and build my strength back up. I started to get some good shoulder definition and some muscles in areas I hadn’t seen before in early April, but that’s all disappeared now so I want to build some more lean muscle and tone up to start to get my confidence back again.
How are you getting on with your health and fitness goals this month?