Hi.
Is anyone still out there?
I know it has been a while but Mr Man and I have finally made the move to our very own East End abode and we were without internet for some time. I must admit though, it has been quite refreshing sitting down and talking to eachother in the evenings rather than just sitting on our respective laptops in our own little worlds or watching i-Player. In my evenings I’ve taken to having long baths while listening to the radio (who knew, what a pleasure!), cooking up healthy little storms, going to Zumba classes, catching up with friends and even just sitting by our Juliet balcony. It has been nice.
Anyway, back to the title of this post…
This blog has been due a flab burning update for some time. I don’t know if I’ve been putting this off for a reason or it’s just that I’ve filled the page with much more interesting items than the size of my derrière but here we go.
I’m so ashamed to admit this but here goes.
I have suspended my membership to BMF. Basically my shin has kept on causing me grief so when I was going more than once a week it was causing issues in being able to keep up with the group. If it wasn’t my left shin that was annoying me, my left ankle would decide to play up. After several months of this I realised it’s not normal to have pain for so long and just put up with it. I also felt like after 16 months of attending I had plateaued, even after seeing my fitness getting to levels I’d never seen before in the first year. So I’ve decided to take a break from it until winter and focus on different exercise, much of it less high impact. I plan to return in September – quitting BMF for good is not an option as I genuinely love it and don’t think you can get a better workout in London; plus, I’ve made some very lovely friends and would miss the social aspect if I quit for good.
This is not goodbye BMF, it’s see you later, soon hopefully.
What’s the plan now you ask?
I have sold my soul. I hate to admit this after prattling on for so long about the benefits of exercising outdoors, but Virgin Active has an amazing set of classes, is less than 10 minutes to get to from home and is on my way to work. It even has air-conditioned changing rooms so you’re not sweating like you’re back in that spin class as soon as you start blow-drying your hair. So far I’m quite impressed (perhaps because I know this is a temporary measure so am making the most of it) and think the higher than average cost is actually worth it.
In terms of workout, I’m going back to what last seriously worked for me when I wanted to keep a very tiny figure having lost a lot of weight in India: working out every week-day morning plus squeezing in a couple of evening sessions when my muscles aren’t killing me. Cardio will feature most days and weights/toning at least a couple of times.
It’s only been a few days but I’m enjoying the morning workouts so much more than I thought I would, though it does help if I have a shot of Matcha before I leave the house so I’m half-woken up by the time I arrive. Doing spin at 7:15am doesn’t feel as masochistic as it sounds, nor does boxing. I know this makes me sound like a complete nut-job but I have actually done this before and I know my body can handle it. Let’s hope this hard push over the next four months really works.
In the past few weeks I’ve started to visibly notice my weight drop. I’ve cut carbs out as far as feasible after 2pm after listening to Jillian Michaels say that carbs at night are like little sponges that soak up any fluids then just sit in your tummy for ages. As a known carb addict I thought cutting down on them would be rather hard but it turns out that it’s actually very easy. Dinner now consists of low-fat curry without rice (but more vegetables added in) which is much tastier than it sounds, lots of grilled chicken, prawns and haloumi, fresh home-made hummus and salads which I’m getting more creative with. Pomengranate has become a regular feature, as have mangoes and toasted seeds. We’re still eating out occasionally but probably are a bit fussier than normal. With just 15.5 weeks to go to the wedding I’m happy to see some cheekbones back and the surprise sign of my collarbone. I think UK size 10 (6 in America) is almost on the horizon!
I will talk about the other things I’ve tried (including Bikram Yoga and Zumba) in another update soon.
Weight loss to date? About four kg, half-way there!! As the fable says: slow and steady wins the race, but hopefully in a great dress this time.
What’s new with you world? How’s life?
I will get there but it just takes time to do some things properly.
