Waisting away...

Bugger I wrote a long arse post here and the computer froze and saved nothing of it so I'll have to rewrite this later....

ON YER BIKE!

For mother's day (it's in march in the UK) I got a wonderful surprise: A new bike! it's been lovely to use and I've started traveling around the park (which is hilly as hell!) to get in shape and as well to travel to the gym. I've even signed up for some charity bike events in order to get me motivated to stick to training. It's been great (painful but great) I just need to make more adjustments to the bike (like a better saddle seat OUCH!)  So far in May I'll be doing the Thames bridges bikeathon , and in Sept I'll be peddling all the way to Paris!

My justgiving site is : www.justgiving.com/mama594

I'm also going to put a lot of stuff on ebay inorder to raise money for Richard House :  London to Paris fundraiser

Roller Derby Queen....

My birthday came and went and I got a lovely , lovely pair of roller skates. Retro style , quad wheels  in pink and black. the boots have embroidered pink flames...I LOVE THEM!!  With them some sparkly pink legwarmers , a bunch of leggings , hotpants and protective gear. Why  you may ask?

This year I'm going to try my hand at Roller Derby. I'm an experienced skater but most of my skating was either at the park or at a roller rink bopping to some 80's tunes after school ...I've not actually speed skated , not tried to maneuver at fierce speeds whilst people try to knock you down. Also it's been err...15 years since I've been on skates. I went off to see a local roller derby team training session  to watch what they do and I was getting excited. I love quad skates more than inlines and it was quite fun watching these types of skates in a different light other than bopping to some cheesey George Micheal on a hen night in some night club. My first go was two weeks ago...I learnt a few derby falls. Yes I practiced throwing myself to the floor and trying to pick myself up as fast as possible and some sliding techniques. Had a go at some stops and played the weirdest game of freeze tag. After two hours I was spent but already eager to do the next session. Got back home and soaked in some salts. I really had a ball . So now I have to study the rules of the game and try to actually apply what I learn admist other experienced players but that is awhile away.

Right now I have to think of a good derby girl name ....

"Chocolate Manslaugther" ?

Nursing Hazzards

It's nearly 1am and I am at work. It's barely the start of my night shift and already I've been snacking on whatever just to keep myself awake. These are the hazzards to being an nurse. I get little sleep , I work long shifts (12hours shifts) I get little breaks (a total of barely an 1hr in the 12 hours)

I work in a children's ward so parents loyally , cheerfully show their gratitude by bringing boxes of chocolate biscuits , cakes and pastries. Due to the crap nature of our breaks I tend to snack on whatever there is on hand to snack on. Another of the hazzards to my work is when I'm off I am so spent that I barely want to do something active like exercizing or going to the gym but I can't anyway because those precious moments I do have off I have to fit in errands , quality time with the family and friends (whatever friends I've have left  since I am not available for whatever social event they may invite me to because I'm working that very day or night)

so

since the start of my nursing career in July 2007 I have gained 21 lbs. So I need to figure out some sort of routine to avoid snacking , resist the chocolates , stop eating canteen turkey burgers because I've no time to grab a healthy option.  I can't drop my job so I need a hints and tips for a better regime that can fit my topsy turvy nursing schedule.

any thoughts?

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2008!

New year full of hopes , wishes and chaos to come. Had a fun and busy 2007. Marred with sadness. My sister in law passed away on Dec 7. She would have been 38 on the 9 of Dec. It was unexpected death and one of contributing factors was her weight. Poor circulation and excessive weight.  She left 3 young children and husband behind. It does make you think.

It's been so easy how I've slowly been creeping up the scales since my new job. I work long shifts , I work erractic shift patterns. So when I'm off , I'm tired but I've began to not eat right. KFC , Pizza take aways , chocolate , chocolate and more chocolate. My birthday is in 30 days.  and I've gained 20lbs since my last post here so it's time to get back on a healthy routine!!

8 secrets of the naturally slim

I found a shop here that stocks prevention magazine...although I tend not to bother reading amercan mags anymore prevention is cheap and a good size to carry on the tube.  Inside was an article about  the habits of the naturally slim.

8 Secrets of the naturally slim

1. They choose satisfied over stuffed

On a fullness scale of 1 to 10, the slim stop eating at a level of 6 or 7

kinda agree I've known friends that finish off a plate not because they are hungry but they feel they need to clean the plate off.  I eat slower than some of my friends and co workers do...take a bite have a chat (not with my mouth full of course) I'm always the last to finish a meal when out with mates.

2. They realize hunger isn't an emergency

Most of us who struggle with extra pounds tend to view hunger as a condition that needs to be cured. Thin people tolerate it because they know that hunger pangs always come and go....

My husband does this ...his stomach rumbles and there's a panic to need to eat. His parents do the same thing when we went on holiday with them his mum was in a panic because it was 12pm lunchtime and we've not stopped to eat. We ended up stopping at a cheap quickie mart grabbing anything because they needed to eat instead of just waiting to eat somewhere nice or at the destination we were meant to be at.

3 They don't use food to cure the blues

It's not that thin women are immune to emotional eating but they tend to recognize when they're doing it and stop.

Bollocks , they just vent it out differently. I tend to know when some of my friends are down because they stop eating

4 The eat more fruit

Lean people on average have one more serving of fruit and eat more fiber and less fat per day then overweight people do...

I've got vegitarian friends that I've yet to see chomping on some fruit

5 They're creatures of habit

Thin people have what can be called a food groove- the majority of their meals consist of well-planned staples...

ha! ha! yeah right!

6 They have a self control gene

Researchers at Tufts University found that the biggest predictor of weight gain among women in their 50s and 60s was their level of disinhibition, or unrestrained behaviour.

ha! ha! two words : Amy Winehouse.

7 They're movers and shakers

On average, slim people are on their feet and extra 2 1/2 hours per day-which can help burn off 33 pounds a year....

OK I agree with this one of the things I've seen about "naturally thin" friends is that they are very active

8 They sleep well

They snooze 2 more hours per week compared to overweight people...

probably correct

I found this article to be quite funny as I compared it to the habits to my friends who can be catergorized as "size 0" candidates. To them food isn't their vice.

I think it does have to do with your perception of eating and what part does food play in your life.

week review 5 & 6

these two weeks I've been trying to get settled into my new job. My exercise have decreased and although I eat well during the week day it's the weekend where I lose control. I've now began to increase my jogging . The moring jogs actually pep me up much better than a cup of coffee before the morning commute!

Big top

I've not done reviews for week 5 & 6 will do shortly.....

On sunday  Jessica and I started our Tiny tops sessions at The circus space. The space is a workshop for dancers , jugglers and acrobatics to improve their skills as well as a rehersal space. The great thing is that it's also a place for mere mortals to learn as well.  Anyway it was a full hour or tumbling , handstands , balancing and hoping around like a bunny (yeah , literally) It was lots of fun and after the hour I was knackered but jess was still bouncing like a demon. My calf muscles still ache!

I'm in!!

Today the parcel letter arrived it was from Shelter  I've been awarded a place in the Berlin Marathon

I'm so excited! I'll be running for Shelter which is a UK charity that work towards promoting decent housing for all.  My goal is to raise £1,200 for the charity so if you feel generous please have a look at my fundraising sites as I'll be doing a lot of runs this year!

My shelter funraising site donate here

I've started training already.  Wish me luck!!

Week 4 review

well it's week 4. Can't believed I've managed to stick to it. Woo hoo! I'm actually enjoying it but it drives you crazy keeping an eye on what I eat and writing down things ...urgh.

Weight

The weight is coming off slooooowly. I've managed to drop off what I've gained at my last placement so now I'm back to square one. what I weighed when I first started this blog...neh nyanch!

Exercise regime

It's all over the place really. I am working out and I've enjoyed it . Now that I've started working , Jess is off school for half term and Vince is injured it's not been easy trying to workout. I've actually miss my workouts around the park.

Motivation

there's highs and lows particularly in the morning when I check the scales...mergh. Although I'm not seeing changes there I'm feeling more toned. My clothes fit better. I actually feel more energetic and oddly enough this week I was missing my workout sessions. The more I see changes the more enthused about doing more and more.

Calorie counting

Feck it!  I'm sick of the fussy maths and I hate label reading , getting misleading info from labels. Love it when they say big and brightly on the front of package  "only this few calories" and if you read the label on the back "only this few calories if you consume 3 teaspoons of it"  I'm alternating the amount of calories I eat per day by eating between 1363-1600 cals. No matter how busy it gets I've managed to not skip meals.

No coke! yay! I've managed to reduce my coca-cola drinking . No headaches , no irritability and no bloating. It feels great. I'm now sticking to green teas , ginger and lemon tea with a bit of honey.

My goals for weeks 5-8

I hope to increase my walks to runs.  I need to do more ab work. I need to drink more water.

Tommorrow is the start of week 5 let's see how it continues....