Being healthy

I'm by no means the healthiest person around - I'd say I'm distinctly average in my quest to be healthy, lose a few pounds, try to establish good habits, and not let it get in the way of me going out and having fun. I don't have loads of weight left to lose (having lost nearly 3 stone in the last 12 months), I don't hate my body - I just want to be healthy, look after my body, and look my best for my wedding in November.

I really kicked into action last January - I'm not sure what was different this time, but something just worked. A combination of tracking calorie intake (via MyFitnessPal - definitely check it out if you haven't already) and running regularly with some yoga chucked in for variety, saw me make some serious headway last year. But it was gradual - a couple of pounds a week at most, usually less - and I allowed myself some nights, weekends, hangovers and holidays "off", so I never felt deprived. And I even started to ENJOY running. Outside. In the cold. Dodging tourists and buggies. Yep.

Run Forrest, run!

And then Christmas happened. Oops. I managed to put on about 10lbs in the 3 weeks between my work Christmas party and going back to work on the 5th of January. Oops. My body mass is now 60% cheese.

So I'm logging some of my runs, good days, and bad days here to give me some extra motivation to keep going as I try to get back on track and work towards a better me.

One of the hardest things I find is making myself go out for a run after work. I get home about 7pm most nights, and after a long day at work and battling the tube home, the last thing I feel like doing is donning my running gear and going out in the rain. I don't have a trick for this yet - I just need to make myself go out asap, before I get too comfortable, and definitely not sit down otherwise it's game over. Leave your tips in the comments below!

So after a week back eating healthily, and my first few runs of 2015, I've dropped a couple of those pounds. My runs hurt my legs more than they have in months, but at least I'm doing it. And it will get easier.

Here are a few things I've found really work - I'll be spending the next few weeks trying to get back on top of them!

• Sleep lots and drink lots of water - if your body isn't fuelled with these basic things, you'll eat for energy and turn to quick sugar fixes. And your skin will thank you too.
• Walk wherever you can - my last job was close enough that I could walk to and from work, which took about 45 minutes at a very brisk pace. So I was burning off about 400-450 calories every day, avoiding the stress of the tube, and saving £120 a month in tube fares. My commute to my new job is a lot longer, so I get the tube, but I still get off a stop early and walk the last bit, and I make sure I pop out for a 20-30 minute walk at lunchtime every day.
• Log everything you eat, and all your exercise. Calories in and out are the main thing that will make a difference. But it will also motivate you to see your miles stacking up in Map My Run, and you'll be informed to make better food choices when you know how many calories are in things. You might not fancy that Mars bar so much when you realise you need to run 3k to burn it off.
• Cook fresh food. I'm lucky that both me and my other half enjoy cooking, finding it therapeutic to chop stir and create after a long day. But even if you don't, try to make as many meals from raw and fresh ingredients as possible. You'll avoid the salt and sugar that's in processed foods, and again, once you know what's in your meals you can make more informed choices and tweak recipes to suit you. Plus homemade recipes tend to be more nutritious as the veg is fresh, and way lower in calories as you can avoid the fat, salt and sugar in the ready made versions. And you might even find you enjoy cooking.
• Don't be too anal or deprive yourself - yes, you need discipline, but deprivation leads to rebellion. And the only way to rebel against a diet is eating a whole block of cheddar.
• Don't think "I'll start on Monday" or similar. I heard people talking about turning over a new leaf in October. That means they'd written off 2+ entire months of the year. And if I can put on 10lbs in 3 weeks of indulgence, think how much damage I could do in 2 months.
• Find exercise that works with your lifestyle. I often work long days and have random evening work commitments, so I imagine if I tried to do a weekly class on a Tuesday I'd have to cancel it more often than I made it. But my weekends are fairly consistent, so I do a longer run on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and a shorter run on at least one evening after work. I also really struggle with giving up my evening time to exercise, so if I've had a bad day and just want to start chilling out as soon as I get back, I crack out my yoga mat and a YouTube yoga tutorial (like Lesley Fightmaster's*) which I can follow on my laptop while I start to unwind and listen to music or watch something brainless on telly. 

What are your top tips? I'd love to hear them!

Ax

*You should only do yoga unsupervised if you're already confident in your posture and positions - don't want you hurting yourself, which is completely possible when you're doing some intense stretching. Be careful!!