It has been nearly 2 months of the new me, and I have been thinking about what have I learnt so far.
1. It is easy to fit in a bit of exercise every day. For years I have worked through my lunch breaks. On a construction site this is a very easy trap to fall into because everyone eats at their desk, and I also know that this is very easy to do in all sorts of work environments. Like I am sure most others, I don’t actually get paid for my lunch breaks, so I was giving whichever company I worked for around 120 hours a year for free! I don’t know about you, but they don’t pay me enough to get 3 weeks’ worth of free labour.
So now instead of working, I put my music on, my earphones in, set the timer on my phone for 15 minutes and walk. When the alarm goes off, I set it again for 15 minutes and head back to the site. I normally walk at a reasonable speed, normally doing about 1.5 miles in total. I have a couple of play lists, both of which have Geno by Dexys Midnight Runners as the first song. This I find is a good one for getting me into a good rhythm to start. If the wind is blowing in a particular direction along the sea front I tend to walk with it on my way out and against it on my way back. That means I have to walk a little harder/faster coming back in order to make it in the 15 minutes (because if the added resistance of the wind blowing against me) therefore burning more calories. (Just one of my weird probably unfounded beliefs.)
2. Small differences to the way you cook food can make a huge difference to the fat/calorie content. Now I have always cook relatively healthily. This is mainly thanks to learning from my Mother who has also cooked tasty healthily food. I love cooking with fresh meat, fish and veggies. I have lots of recipes and I would like to think that they have all tasted pretty yummy.
So what are some of these small differences? For things like stir fries and curries I used to start with heating a couple of tablespoons of oil in my wok can (that can be around 240 calories straight off!). Now I either dry fry my ingredients or I use a couple of squirts of one of the spray oils you can get, (1 calorie a squirt). With the curries, instead of using the pastes you can buy that are loaded with oil, I now have a very well stocked selection of spices and cook off them in the dry pan). Obviously investment in a really good solid non-stick pan is essential.
Also look and see if your favourite ingredients have a super low fat version. You can be amazed at the difference in the fat content.
3. Really read the food labels properly. These are a complete minefield. Part of the Rosemary Conley thing is what you eat has to be less than 5% fat. Which surprisingly enough is very easy to do. But you have to be very careful, don’t go by what is on the front of a packet of food when it comes to checking the nutrition values out. Turn it over and read how much fat is in 100g/ml. As long as it’s under 5 its good, but don’t forget to look at the calories for a serving.
They also try and catch you out with big labels saying things like “20% less fat!” “Low fat” etc. Again look at the nutritional values, more often than not you will find it isn’t that great. Oh and those supposedly healthy breakfast/cereal bars/biscuits are one of my pet hates, you think you are having something lovely and healthy because that’s how they are branded and sold to you, but have you seen their fat content!?
4. It’s good to step outside the comfort zone now and then. I like my comfort zone. It’s what I know, it makes me feel safe and ummm comfortable. Going to these classes have been a big step outside mine. Building up the courage to go along to your first meeting is a big thing, and pretty scary. I don’t like rooms with lots of people in, and it’s even worse when they are total strangers. I of course had nothing to worry about and I now love going along.
Zumba is another example where I took a big step outside my CZ. I mean really me, a big fat bird prancing around in my uncoordinated mad way in a room full of people?? Give me a break! But again I bit the bullet and went to my first one, now I go at least 3 times a week! I still make sure I stay at the back of the class, but I’m there. One day I might be in the middle of the class or even at the front, but again that is fighting my fear (I think that the right word) of being in amongst a lot of people, being on the edge I can just about cope with at the moment.
These steps out side my CZ might not be doing anything massive, but to me as someone who would rather melt into the background for fear of making a fool of herself they are pretty big steps, and you never know me taking these baby steps might one day lead to some great big ones. (sussssh don’t tell anyone, but I have future plans forming in the deep recesses of my brain).
5. Reading about others success stories is a great motivator. I love reading the stories of people who have managed to lose weight. I have quite a few who’s stories I read over and over again because they were so like how I am now. It makes me realise that it can be done, and it’s OK to have a blip now and then, and if you do you can ‘get back on the horse’. It’s great to read about things they did, how they felt, and how they feel now.
I find those who have lost just 2 or 3 stone just as inspiring as those who have lost 10 stone or more. Each person had their own private battle and won, and if they can do it, surely so can I or anyone!
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