exercise – Just another Christian woman…

Greetings all. I’m away at the mo, so catching up on my posts using the app on my tablet. Apologies if the post looks a bit wonky.

I’m using this #AtoZ to share about being a ‘Clumsy Carb Cutter’ for the last 3 years. As well as changing my eating habits in that time, I’ve also changed my activity level. I joined a running club for a few months and then took out a 6 month gym membership. I learned a lot from both of those groups, I gained confidence and strength, but I never stopped feeling self-conscious working out in a group setting.

These days I walk regularly in good weather, often with a friend, but I also do other exercise when I’m on my own at home. This I call ‘jumping around‘ 🙂 It’s a combination of aerobics, step aerobics, a bit of work with my 3kg dumbbells, a bit of work with my kettlebell, and a whole lot of dancing. I put my favourite lively music on, earphones in, and I go for it. Because I’m alone, there is no self-consciousness.

I can only really dance like there’s no one watching, if there’s no one watching. 🙂

I don’t count the exercise (or any steps my Fitbit counts) against calories. Exercise is purely for health and strength. It’s not for an extra eating allowance. So if MyFitnessPal picks it up and rewards me with calories, I delete them.

Jumping around is one of my favourite things to do. It makes me feel great and I get to shake off the day and reset my mind. The beloved is used to me saying, “I’m just going upstairs to jump around.” He knows to leave me to it and that I’ll probably be in a better mood by the end of it.

I highly recommend it. What do you do for exercise? Continue reading “J is for Jumping Around” →

I’ve had a few requests for an update, since I wrote my blogpost about giving up sugar, almost 5 months ago. So, here you go…

I went off radar when my sugar withdrawal started. Mainly because, as well as dealing with the eating issues, I also had to do something about my sedentary lifestyle. My health and well-being were suffering. I decided that apart from having to sit at a desk to work, anything that kept me in the chair too long HAD TO GO! That included sitting looking at a blank page – not getting any writing done.

amo-in-running-gear So I ignored the blog for a while and joined a running club. I don’t do real running. I call it ‘enthusiastic walking’. The dark evenings don’t stop me, I’m kitted out with illuminous arm bands and a headlamp, (these do stop me, but only from running into a tree). Most of the time I want to die (of embarrassment and lack of oxygen, alternatively), but I am glad to be doing it and I feel the better for it.

I’ve been asked for ‘before and after’ photos too. I’m always nervous about them. Cos usually they sound the death knell of any efforts to lose weight. I do think I’m in the best frame of mind I’ve ever been though. In a blog post about dieting, which I wrote eons ago, I said the fatal words, ‘I think I have a handle on the eating thing now.’ That signalled a major falling off the wagon. I wonder if a sugar addict like me ever gets a real handle on it. Probably not, but I’m certainly winning at the moment.

I wasn’t confident enough to take a ‘progress’ photo until after the first stone had gone. Already my favourite comfortable top was starting to hang (a little) and I could see my face changing. I can’t even bring myself to post photos from before that. I don’t think I even ‘saw’ them at the time. I see them now and I can’t believe it. I’m not ashamed of them, just very sad that I waited so long to sort myself out.

I know lots of people don’t like to let the scales rule their progress, but I have to have that weekly accountability. The photos are great and the fact that now I’ve had to buy smaller clothes is fantastic, however the numbers still mean something to me. I try not to get hung up on them, but they do help.

amo-3-and-a-half-2 So, if I lose 1lb this week, I’ll have lost 3 and a half stone. I’ve been using myfitnesspal since 2012 but never got anywhere near this number until I vamoosed processed food and sugar from my life. I can’t begin to tell you how different I feel, in every way. I have been praying for years about my weight. Asking God to help me and show me what I need to do. I really believe that this is the answer to those many years of prayer. I’m not saying I won’t ever make a blunder, or lose the plot. I just know that this is the way I can conquer my addiction.

And now it feels like time to get my bum back into the chair – but not for too long. I’m looking forward to writing again, and finding a balance between my writing life and my active life.

Thank you so much to those who’ve been with me on this journey. And thank you blog followers for sticking with me. Hopefully… normal service is resumed.

Whatever that is! 🙂 x