Day 8: 1+ hour of exercise, 1241 calories (far too few!), 74g of carbs (brilliant!), 4 pints of water and 4 cups of green/herbal tea. Supplements: 1 cod liver oil, 1 multivitamin and 1 neurozan (supposedly good for brain function and performance).
I didn’t eat enough yesterday. It was just one of those days. I went into the kitchen a number of times thinking that I should make something, but the whole idea of eating was quite simply too tedious. I had an avocado with smoked salmon and some sour cream for dinner and that was all I could muster.
Yesterday, I tried low-impact jogging. Yes, I know that jogging is a high-impact activity, but over the last week I have learned that it doesn’t have to be. A couple of times a week, I share the jogging track with a Japanese lady. The first time I saw her she made me laugh, because her style was sooooo funny! But as I checked her out I realised she had figured out how to get the movements of a jogger (especially the arms and the waist) to fit into her walk. At the same time, there was this black woman who was running when I arrived and still running when I left an hour later; she said when she first started her fitness programme she couldn’t even run one lap. She had started out with short stretches and gradually seen her energy and stamina increase and now she runs for over an hour.
As my joints can’t handle any high-impact activities, I figured low-impact jogging might be something for me. After seven days of brisk walking, I was no longer wet-faced with a racing heart beat on my way home. I’m ridiculously afraid of joint injuries as I know it can cost me months on crutches or even in a wheel chair, but yesterday I tried Ms Japan’s jogging style for about 2×30 seconds at the very end of my walk. It felt ok. It’s slower than walking but moves more of the body. Best of all – it doesn’t hurt as you put no extra weight or strain on your feet and legs. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to run for hours, but I would like to keep the level of difficulty up, so I think I’ll try to add more and more of those little micro jogs into my routine. After we’ve moved, I hope I can start some kind of cross training to have an alternative to my walk for rainy days. Or just to start build a bit of muscle again.
This morning I woke up by myself for the first time in ages – and it was only 7am! I tried to go back to sleep but it was impossible – my body was ready and rearing to go. I picked up my laptop and checked my mail etc, but an hour later I just had to wake my little girl up and see if she was going to come for a walk/jog. And she did! In fact, I don’t think she’s ever been that easy to get out of bed!!
Day nine of the New Fitness Regime is here and I’m feeling happy, energetic and optimistic. 11 days to the Adidas Women’s 5K Challenge in Hyde Park and now I feel confident that I can do it! How about you? Fancy building some confidence whilst getting back in shape? Stop procrastinating and join me for a fun-filled and inspirational journey towards a better future! I know you can do it!
