Feel the Fear and do it Anyway

This morning we finally tried Les Mills Britomart.

We were nearly at Britomart when I had a wee ‘freak out’ moment. My stressed out comment to Mark was “shit this is just like going to a party where you don’t know anyone; in my 20’s I would have had a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other”. Gin Gym and tonic anyone?? #Damn.

Let me explain. I have been going to Les Mills New Lynn for a very LONG time. It is my comfy, happy place. I know the staff there. I know how to work the machines. I know where everything is. Obviously, I am not very good with change. *cries*

Nevertheless, we decided that to save ourselves from the trauma of peak hour traffic (morning and night) we would try going to Les Mills Britomart 3-4 mornings a week. This means we avoid the morning traffic, get a workout in, get to work early and consequently we can leave work earlier. #Win.

On entering I discovered where the changing rooms were by discreetly following the woman in front of us and looking up to see the sign that said changing rooms.

I found a locker.

I found a cross trainer that looked like it could be good. I started my heart-rate monitor and climbed aboard. I successfully navigated the start-up instructions but could not figure out how to actually start cross-training; seriously why won’t my legs make it move like it is meant to? There were nearly tears. So I hopped off and went in search of a different machine. I found one and it worked. #Phew.

After 20 minutes on the cross-trainer I decided to try the treadmill. That was pretty easy to use and I had a nice view of Quay Street. Mark came and trained next to me which was highly entertaining.

After one 45 minute cardio session these are my thoughts:

Pros

- Smaller gym and fairly easy to navigate

- Parking is convenient (and close to cafes with coffee)

- Lots of different cardio machines; variety = HappyNess

- A nice view of Quay Street

- Fantastic shower heads that have adjustable heads

- Shiny new facilities

- Cardio equipment that picks up my heart-rate monitor and has plugs for iPod's etc.

- Missing peak hour traffic

- Being at work early

Cons

- I honestly think I could be the only overweight person at this gym? No really....I think I am!

- My gym shorts and t-shirt do not match; neither does my underwear

- The treadmills are not as good as the ones at New Lynn

- Queues for the women’s showers

- 50 billion (slight exaggeration) very young women trying to style their hair with hair dryers and/or straighteners

- No women’s gym?

I will definitely persevere with this gym. I will try all the equipment until I find machines that I love. Then I will be comfy here. I still love the New Lynn branch and will be going there on weekends and holidays. 

I put together a training schedule for the next 10 weeks to incorporate much more exercise. I also needed to allow for the 3 events I have signed up for from mid-March to early-April. It might seem like a lot, but seriously I have a lot of weight to shift before the next family wedding. I have highlighted in pink what I have done so far. I got the template idea for the training schedule from a Prior Fat Girl blog. I hope Jen doesn't mind?

What do you love/hate about trying a new gym?

2012 Project 52 – Week 8

19^th – 25^th February

I have been a bit slack with taking photos this week. However, on Friday I had a perfume party at home. I used to sell Le Reve years and years ago and I miss having beautiful perfume to wear. So when the specials came through at the beginning of this year I knew that it was time to have a party and get some new goodies. They finally have my favourite fragrance as part of their range so buying some was not negotiable.

I had a full day’s training at a university (I was the trainer) and managed to get home earlier. I then cleaned for about 2 hours in preparation for my visitors. Honestly, people think I am a clean freak but to be honest I normally do a crazy clean before people come around or come to stay. I made sure that I had some healthy nibbles like fruit, wholemeal crackers and hummus etc.

The girls came around and we had a fun evening laughing, trying perfume etc.

Also, my best friend’s husband went out with Mark on the boat to do a bit of exploring.

So really it was a fabulously productive day/evening.

P.S. I managed one walk and one bike ride last week. Pretty slack to be honest. However, my Zumba DVD's arrived...I am beyond excited about trying those out! 

2012 Project 52 – Week 7

2012 Project 52 – Week 7

12^th – 18^th February

I am completely in love with My Fitness Pal to help me track my food and exercise. It is making me seriously accountable for the amount of calories I have been eating for years. It is kind of scary actually! I am also loving Cadbury Perky Nana’s as well…they are amazing. I think I ate one every single day last week. They are NOT conducive to weight loss really.

There are a couple of things that I really love about My Fitness Pal. One is the barcode scanner to add food to your diary. This speaks to my inner barcode “geek”.  Secondly, I love that I can see what my friends eat each day…nice to get different ideas for lunches and snacks and to see what works for them.

I still have not been back to the gym since Friday 16^th December, 2011. That makes me feel really grumpy at myself for being slack. So tomorrow (Tuesday 21^st) we are going to try a new branch of our gym. It means that I have to be super organised and make sure gym bags are packed, lunch is packed and ready to grab out of the fridge and go. Also, the most important thing is making sure that I have my favourite gym songs loaded on my iPod; as I have found that this is crucial to me tuning out the world when exercising.

Mark and Justin have also told me that I will be biking with them on Tuesday and Thursday this week. I am FREAKING out right now!

Wish me luck!

Clothing for Exercise and The Beach

My sister and her husband bought a gym in the latter half of 2011. She has a client that has not exercised for quite some time and wondered if I could suggest some places where she could get some larger gym gear.

This got me thinking.

It really frustrates me that overweight and obese people are told to exercise/lose weight/get fit but there do not seem to be any of the large sports apparel companies making a stylish range of clothing for bigger women and men. I could be wrong though.

Years ago I got really excited as I flipped through a women’s catalogue and loved the different clothing for Yoga, Pilates, running, walking etc. The anti-climax as realising that they did not do them in my size and I probably would not look good in the clothes.  Do these companies think that while we are trying to get fit and lose weight that we do not want to look nice and feel comfortable in their latest gear?!

Most people that are trying to make changes in their life realise that in the first few months they will have to make do with what is available, but wouldn’t it be nice if there were some more options available so that we feel more inspired to exercise?

I normally buy from the big red shed, but sometimes the clothing does not always fit that well. I want something that is going to last longer than say 3-6 months. I am sick of buying cheap men’s t-shirts as well!

Another friend told me about Big Love ActiveWear and I am seriously tempted to order a few pieces from there. I think that my sister’s client actually ordered a lot from them.

I ended up getting some fantastic sports bras (and service) from Avokado in Newmarket, although I have bought them from Rich Lingerie in Greenwoods Corner as well.

I might have had things from Ezibuy in the past as well.

Do not even get me started on good quality swimming togs with adequate support!

 

Where do you get your sportswear and togs? Hook me up!!

The Journey

“Never compare your journey with someone else’s. It’s a marathon with no finish line. Someone else may start out faster than you, may seem to progress more quickly than you, but every runner has his own pace. Your journey is your journey not a competition.” Author Unknown

I saw a link to a shortened version of the above quote and it got me thinking.

Yesterday, I came across another photo of an extended family member who is about three-quarters of the way through their weight loss and fitness journey. They look absolutely incredible; actually they are stunning! I am ashamed to say that my first thought after seeing the photo was jealousy. That is terrible right?

By rights I should be in so happy for them (and I am). They have put in a huge effort and I know that it took them a while to get their head in the right space to even truly begin their journey. Gradually things that were hard to begin with turned into habits and now those habits are firmly fixed and have become part of their lifestyle. They exercise regularly and focus on what they eat.

My second thought was anger; anger at myself for not digging deeper to find the motivation to get more active and make healthier choices.

This all leads me to my point. I have realised that I am the only one that can truly change me. Yes, I can have support from friends and family but at the end of the day I am the one that needs to accept that I need to make changes and then put these changes into effect. I need to be truthful with myself about food, fitness and excuses.

I want to be fit and healthy for me. I also want to be fit and healthy so that I can help my parents with the things that need help with i.e. cleaning, water-blasting, gardening etc.

So to get in the zone I have started using MyFitnessPal (Nessoldfield) to track my food and exercise daily. Now that I follow a few people I know on MyFitnessPal I can honestly say that it is really interesting to see what other people eat throughout the day; and to see what works. 

I am part of a private weight-loss group. I have registered for Round the Bays. Now all I need to do is get back to the gym and stop making excuses.

I promise not to compare my journey to anyone else’s as it is MINE. 

P.S. I probably should stop talking and blogging about it and just 'Do It'.