I'm going to be honest, i've been feeling a little bit lost lately. October was so busy as we'd just moved and I think I underestimated how time consuming unpacking and organising a flat is especially with a 5 month old baby that wants to grab everything. Mila is becoming super active, which is exciting and amazing to see but it's also exhausting and really doesn't leave much time for myself. Then just as I thought I was getting it together Mila fell ill, I fell ill and everything just kind of fell to pot really.
We've hardly got out of the house this week, something I feel like is a massive part of maintaining my sanity and even though i'm growing everyday as a mother I'm not growing any of my other interests. I haven't bought any new clothes in months let alone look at a fashion magazine and I just don't really feel like myself right now. I pour all of my time and energy into this tiny little human that i've realised I've just completely forgotten to take care of myself and I feel like i'm just getting by which isn't me at all.
So it's time to get back to myself and the way that I know best is getting back to exercise. I've totally been inspired by the lovely Kirsty from Tracking Twenty (see her post here) with her Bounce Back mission and I thought that it's time that I make a start myself. Before falling pregnant I had just completed my first 10K and i'd say I was in the best shape i'd been in for years. I had a balanced healthy lifestyle and that's exactly what I want to get back to. After having Mila I quickly got back to my pre baby weight but I wasn't being healthy, so as soon as I stopped breastfeeding I started putting weight on. One stone of extra weight later and I feel like it's time to make a change. We've also started weaning Mila and we encourage her to eat what we eat so there's never been a better time to get healthy again. So in an effort to motivate myself and keep myself on track i'm going to be documenting my process of getting back to exercise, losing a little bit of weight on the way and getting back to a healthy lifestyle.
MY GOAL
I've always found that having a goal weight in mind is a massive incentive for me to get back to eating healthily. Overall I would like to lose a stone and a half but I want to do it slowly and I want the changes I make to be something that becomes a part of my lifestyle rather than just to lose the weight and revert back.
I'm probably a little bit crazy starting a health kick around Christmas time when there's the most temptation around but for me that is something that spurs me on. I want to be able to enjoy Christmas and not feel guilty about indulging slightly and if i've been leading a healthy lifestyle I feel like i'll appreciate it far more. So my mini goal is to of lost half a stone by Christmas in the aims that I can enter the New Year having made a good start.
RULES OF THE GAME
Personally I find having 'rules' to stick to help me to make better choices and to not fall off the healthy wagon. Also for the initial goal of losing weight I do feel like I need to be stricter with the aim to be slightly more relaxed once I reach my target and focus on maintaining my weight rather than losing.
1. Live by the 80/20 rule
Overall I will be trying to loosely follow the anti-diet by The Londoner. She advocates that 80% of the time you are good and 20% of the time you are 'bad' to allow for the odd treat. I'm initially going to follow this idea but be slightly stricter for the first two weeks, more like 90% good and 10% bad. My plan is to have 2 days a week no carbs, 1 day a week meat free and once a week - most probably on a Sunday I can allow myself a sweet treat.
2. Do 15 minutes of Yoga 5 days a week
I know that this doesn't sound like much but 15 minutes of Yoga is achievable for me to do on most days and where I can I'll do 30 minutes or more. There will obviously be the odd days that I won't be able to which is why i'm aiming for 5 days but I've always found Yoga to be super beneficial in my exercise plan.
3. Do cardio 3 times a week
I already do a mum & baby fitness class once a week which is pretty intense and I want to incorporate a run once a week into my schedule as well as doing some circuits. Again I want to see how I go for the first couple of weeks and I'll try and schedule more exercise in if I'm not getting the results that I want.
4. Drink when the baby drinks
One of my major problems is that I don't drink enough water - a lot of the time I probably eat when in fact i'm thirsty. So my new rule is to drink everytime I give Mila a bottle which is around every 3 hours at the moment, that way I know that i'm drinking enough,
5. Snack more
I have a real problem where I either skip meals or leave it too long between meals and then I end up having a HUGE meal or don't feel satisfied by my meal and end up snacking later on. So i'm going to be snacking more on the right foods, lots of fruit & veg and healthy snacks.
6. No eating after 8pm
Ok so this is one I probably won't always be able to do as occasionally Joe gets home late from work and we have to have dinner around the 8pm mark, but where I can I won't be eating after 8pm.
7. Cut out fizzy drinks & sweet treats
I've always had a sweet tooth and it's most definitely one of my worst habits. So in a bid to start my journey off well I am going to completely cut out fizzy drinks and only allow myself a sweet treat once a week. For the first two weeks at least I will be completely cutting out all junk food - that means no pizzas, chocolate, crisps, takeaways and i'll be really focusing on clean eating.
8. Weigh myself and take a progress picture once a week
This is one that is very important for me as I can sometimes fall into the trap of weighing myself too much and getting too focused on the numbers. So limiting it to once a week means that is a fair representation of the week and not something I get too attached to. Also the progress pictures will help me to see what a difference the healthy eating is making to my overall appearance and will help to motivate me.
9. Keep a food diary
For the first two weeks at least I'll be keeping a food diary - there's something about having it written down on a page that helps me to not have that 'odd biscuit' and keeps me focused. I've always found this useful when trying to be healthy.
10. Only eat when i'm hungry
My last rule is to only eat when i'm hungry. I'm most definitely an emotional eater, had a bad day? Well then I must need some chocolate. Managed to finally get Mila down for a nap after an hour of trying? Well I need to reward myself with some biscuits. Even though I don't think i'll be able to completely cut out my emotional eating having a better relationship with food and limiting using it as a 'reward' or too make me feel better will hopefully help me towards achieving my healthier lifestyle.
So those are the rules that I'll be following for now and they'll probably change as I go but hopefully that will get me off to a good start. My plan starts tomorrow and i'll be back next Monday with my first update! Wish me luck...
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