Discovering what healthy living looks.
Happy Easter everyone!
I hope you’re all enjoying yourselves this weekend. I’ve written a little something for familiesonline.co.uk all about Easter and chocolate. I’d love to here what you think, and as this was written a few weeks back, I can also share that mummy over here did eat a lot of chocolate! Oops! I’ll try again next year…
Chloe x
Before having my daughter I was certain I’d go back to work full-time. As my maternity leave came to an end I had an overwhelming feeling that I just couldn’t work full time, but I definitely didn’t want to say bye-bye to my career. A potentially long story short, I became a freelance writer/editor hoping for…
What I didn’t anticipate was the amount of guilt I had over…
Mum guilt affects 5 in 5 mums*
Where am I going with this? From time to time I find it reassuring to hear how other mums feel the same – be it working** or stay-at-home mums. I was about to share several snippets from various bloggers and articles I’ve read, when I stumbled across the below which says it all so wonderfully; and I love the suggestions on how this blogger (follow @dippyeggplease) aims to let go of her mum guilt – so have a read!
www.selfishmother.com/letting-go-of-the-mum-guilt
While it’s obviously not nice for anyone to feel guilty over so many things, I’m thankful to those below who have shared their honest thoughts and experiences of this parenting malarkey – because it really isn’t always easy and I’m glad it’s not just me that can feel ridden with all sorts of guilt.
Notes
* No actual studies were carried out, I have made this up but I bet it’s true!
**Why do working mums have a label, you really don’t hear people say he’s a ‘working dad’!
This year I set myself a couple of New Year’s resolutions. Some I broke quite quickly and others I’m continuing to practice, one of which includes being ‘body positive’. If you’re wondering what, why and how, then read on.
“It’s a sign from a greater power!”
While browsing through my ‘recommendations’ on ASOS, a bright pink book appeared and on the front was a girl with a big smile and amazingly colourful hair. Seeing this picture instantly cheered me up and so I was intrigued to find out what it was exactly.
Body Positive Power by Megan Jayne Crabbe aka @bodyposipanda
When I enlarged the photo I was sucked in by the tagline “How to stop dieting, make peace with your body and live”. Some may say discovering this book was just down to a very clever shopping algorithm, but I say it was a sign from a greater power telling me to snap out of my body shaming ways!
Megan Jayne Crabbe bravely shares her own body image issues which led to anorexia and – during her years of ‘recovery’ – episodes of binge eating and yo yo dieting; until she found body positivity. She tells readers how she’s finally escaped the ‘cult of thin’ and details what the body positive movement means.
I bought the book as an early Christmas present to myself, but have only been reading it since the New Year. A few chapters in and I have felt liberated, a desire to wear the clothes i’ve been telling myself I’ll buy when I drop 3 dress sizes and an urge to dye my hair pink! I’ve not done the last one yet but these pages have been touching, emotional, inspiring and challenging.
If this was a complete book review, i’d say BRILLIANT, 5 STARS!
I’ve not finished reading Megan’s book, so this isn’t a complete book review, but it has made me think very differently towards diet, exercise and my past weight loss experiences. All of which has left me feeling motivated to beat my obsession with being ‘thin’ and the constant guilt I have when eating.
Instead, I’d love to learn/ re-learn (because i’m genuinely interested in it) more about good nutrition and healthy eating. In the meantime, I’ll work on accepting what i’ve got and enjoying everything else around me; because I’ve spent far too many years overthinking and stressing about food and my weight. That said, I’ll still be blogging about it for many years to come!
One step at a time eh!
Thanks for reading,
Chloe x
For those who read my last post, I’m pleased to share that the prosecco I consumed NYE has now left my system and I’m ready (11 days later) to get back to business (a.k.a. my usual routine alongside blogging about weight loss things). However, this year I’d like to share more of the heathy weight loss tips, advice, theories and recipes I come across and just a touch less about my personal ups and downs on the scales. Reasons being?
1.I’d like my blog to reflect the efforts i’m making in being more body positive and leading a healthy lifestyle, when it comes to food and exercise – not just that number on the scales.
2. I’m also conscious that multiple posts just about my weekly weigh ins might be a little bit of a boring to read (do let me know if you disagree) and let’s face it, I can go on a bit revealing clear signs of verbal diarrhoea, or blogger diarrhoea. Is that a phrase? You know what I mean – I’m doing it right now! I’m also guilty of bragging about any weight loss I have, and because I have a major sweet tooth, gains our not uncommon when i’ve been a bit ‘bingey’! It hurts so much to reveal when I’ve gained – it’s all very emotional you know! I am actually laughing as I write this, but it can feel pretty pants to share details of a gain, even though it’s a normal part of any weight loss journey. It’s not that I won’t share those details ever, just in moderation!
So, hopefully I can do all of those things throughout 2018 and provide an interesting read to anyone who stumbles across these pages.
Thanks for reading and see you soon,
Chloe x
Hello 2018! I’m excited you’re here and I can’t wait to see what you have in store. After a few too many prosecco’s last night, I will keep this post brief but I’ll be back again soon with my New Years resolutions and general health and fitness chit chat!
Chloe x
Weight Watchers have announced some changes to their plan and if you’re already a member like me, you don’t have to look far to find a mixed bag of reactions to the announcement. I’m for one am over the moon to learn about the Weight Watchers Flex programme and here are 3 reasons why I already love the improved Weight Watchers plan and the flex effect!
1. More food, less guilt, healthier choices
The beauty of Weight Watchers is that you can eat anything you like, but with the expertise of Weight Watchers there is a wealth of material at your fingertips to help guide on what foods are best for healthy living and weight loss. The recent changes to the plan include a wider range of foods, mostly protein, that you no longer need to be count as part of your daily allowance. I love this because once again it will steer me towards foods that are healthy, will fill me up properly and (I hope) will stop me from overindulging on chocolate when I’m in one of those moods…
An example;
If I have 2 SmartPoints remaining at the end of the day and I’m hungry, I more often than not opt for a low calorie chocolate bar. I know this won’t fill me up but i’m a sugar addict (i’m working on that) and I think it will at least take the edge off my hunger and give me my sweet fix. Only problem is that one bar often leads to more (if I’m having an off day) and then I get myself in a vicious cycle, as I’m annoyed with myself for having eaten multiple chocolate bars then i’m like “well I’ve done it now so i’ll keep going”! However with more zero foods on the list, and foods that I tend to have around or i’m intrigued to try, I can now fill myself up on good things and i’m hoping this will help me to still enjoy a sweet treat but not go crazy on them as i’ll genuinely be full. I hope that makes some kind of sense!
2. Increase fuel for exercising
As my fitness improves and I’m exercising more, I’ve struggled to satisfy my post-workout hunger. I’ve read a lot about eating protein after working out (and in general) but I couldn’t quite get my numbers right when it came fitting in the extra protein into my Weight Watchers SmartPoints allowance; not that it couldn’t be done, I just needed the professionals (aka Weight Watchers) to spell it out for me!
3. Change can be good to get past a plateau
Completely my own doing, but I have been losing and gaining the same few pounds for last few months. I’m so excited to see if the Weight Watchers Flexible programme will help me get past those same pesky pounds and into the next stone down.
I’ll keep you posted!
Half term just gone me, my daughter and our besties headed off to Wisley Gardens in Surrey. Over the years I’ve heard of it but I hadn’t really thought of it as a place for young children, which I’ve come to learn was very foolish. This gorgeous setting is a great place to take kids and if you’re a Fitbit fan like me, you will definitely earn yourself some steps exploring all that the gardens have to offer. If you’ve not been before and you’re interested in heading somewhere new this weekend over the festive period, here’s a bit about our day out at RHS Garden, Wisley.
The Gardens
You can’t help but be impressed with these grounds and this post probably won’t do it any justice. Just believe me when I say that it is simply stunning and extremely varied. For example, there’s a Glasshouse which is home to tropical plants and a waterfall; a whole garden filled with unusual wood carved seats and statues; a large dinosaur that my daughter was fascinated with; and a kids park.
Park and soft play
The park for little ones is huge and surrounded by picnic benches, which is where we enjoyed our lunch. There’s also an indoor soft play and throughout the year you can find plenty of events on just for children.
Special events
This half term there was pumpkin carving, storytelling, a puppet show and lots of other activities for children to get involved with; and I’ve just seen there’s lots on at RHS Wisley over Christmas too – including stories with Santa!
Food and drink
There are several cafes were you can pick up lunch, cakes, coffees and so on. There are also plenty of places dotted around to sit and enjoy your own food if you fancy taking a picnic with you. That does keep costs down and saves on queuing during busy lunch periods. That said, the coffee and cake I had was delicious!
See you soon Wisley!
www.rhs.org.uk/gardens/wisley
I’ve been a little quiet lately when it comes to sharing my weight loss stats and that’s because i’ve been slowly gaining weight (well losing and then gaining what I lost) – since I got to my weight loss goal in March. Whilst I feel slimmer in some ways and definitely fitter, that pesky number on the scales has been rising and we all know I’m a little bit obsessed with the scales. So, here’s what i’m struggling with and how I hope to turn it around. Plus, should I hide my scales?
My trouble zones
Evening snacking: When it’s dark and my daughter is in bed I seem to snack like there’s no tomorrow. It feels like it’s a bit of me time and for whatever reason, my hands and mouth seem to constantly want food in them! But, i’ve got a couple of strategies…
I used to snack on frozen grapes. Because they’re frozen they take longer to eat and being grapes you get that satisfaction of going back for more. Does that make any sense? I kind of got out of the habit of eating them, especially when it’s a little colder, but i’m bringing grapes back! Also, when colouring with my daughter the other day I found it surprising therapeutic and kept my snacking hands busy, so I may actually get some of those adult colouring books and pencils which I used to think were a bit gimmicky – you win, i’m buying you!
Events: I’m guilty of admitting defeat before an event has begun. “Oh I’ve got a party and I know i’m going to be terrible so i’m going to be a massive piggy”. Instead of creating a game plan and making healthy choices during said event, I don’t track (and I usually track everything I eat and drink) and get carried away with the old prosecco, which eventually leads to drunken munchies. My strategy for this one is…
I must plan ahead and track what I’m eating and drinking during the moment. So that I feel better about those occasions where I will eat and drink more (but could do it more sensibly), I could go for a buggy run before the event to hopefully balance out any extra indulgences.
Tiredness:
Like many people, I tend to eat more when I’m tired, I just need to go to bed earlier!
To weigh or not to weigh: that is the question
While all of this has been going on, I’ve had more compliments lately on looking slimmer (people probably just being nice, but I’m taken those compliments vey seriously haha) and my stomach does feel flatter. Being able to complete a 10k run in a decent time I hope is evidence too that my fitness levels are ok, so why do I care about the number on the scales? I don’t know. It’s been my marker of good health for so long, I guess it’s tricky to abandon them.
Sometimes I think ‘should I just hide the scales’, as they can really get me down if I put on weight on when I feel like I should of lost a few pounds. Plus, I do love my Weight Watchers group, so perhaps I should bin my home scales so that I only weigh once a week at my meeting (as opposed to several times a week). That said I’d really like some Fitbit scales for Christmas!
My plan of attack
So that’s where i’m struggling and this is my successful weight loss plan in a nutshell…
Thanks for reading this brain dump, I really appreciate it.
Chloe x
I have a ‘challenging’ relationship with food, hence why I have this blog. I’m constantly trying to lose weight and see that number on the scales drop; even though I know I should be focussing on being fit and healthy.
I use food as a treat when I’m happy, to comfort myself when I’m sad, to fill a void when i’m bored, or to calm my nerves when I’m anxious or even angry. So basically I’m always eating or thinking about food.
That said I thought I’d be able to hide all of this from my toddler. As time goes on however, I’ve been noticing just how much I use food as a solution to a tantrum, tiredness or to just get her in the buggy. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t this is awful behaviour here and there but I do it all the time. Keeping in mind my food history, I’m worried I use food as a tool rather than for fuel far more than I realised.
Thankfully my daughter doesn’t seem to be mimicking my behaviour and gorging on food, she’s actually the opposite and eats little and often when she’s hungry, but if I don’t change something soon I fear it will only be a matter on time until she follows me in my footsteps. So what’s the answer?
I don’t know, but I’m doing the following and I hope it helps me to build a healthy relationship with food that I can pass on to my daughter, without feeling ashamed.
7 steps to conquering my poor relationship with food
1. Acknowledge unhealthy food behaviours
My first step is to acknowledge when I’m reaching for food for reasons other than hunger and immediately devise an alternative solution. For example, instead of cheering my daughter up if she’s being a bit grumpy with a packet of quavers, we’ll play dressing up instead. Or if it’s me, I’ll write down how I’m feeling and why – try to deal with the real reason why I’m in the kitchen or distract myself with a herbal tea!
2. Think of food as fuel not as a treat or solution
Learn to think of other activities as treats if something good as happened or if i’m reaching for food out of boredom. For example, enjoy a relaxing bath, get my nails done, call a friend, plan a night out. That kind of thing.
3. A day is not just about breakfast, lunch and dinner
Plan my day around fun things to do with my daughter, work, events, seeing friends and family… not around breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks!
4. Surround myself with healthy foods
I’d like to make it easier for myself and healthier for my daughter by not buying or keeping unhealthy snacks in the house. She loves cucumber these days and as just started to eat humous – I feel very chuffed with that! Plus, I can have some of that too without feeling guilty, which brings me onto my next step…
5. Healthy portions
I must stop finishing my daughters’ food! Poor girl, I really don’t give her long to finish her plate and before we both know it i’ve woofed down the lot! So, we either have a healthy plate to share or I eat at the same time and sit on my hands once i’ve finished my portion.
6. Encourage mindful eating not mindless eating
My daughter can be slower than others to eat her food, or she needs a bit of encouraging to start before she gets hangry, and for that reason i’ve got into the habit of having a TV show on when we eat. Distracting her into eating/ bribing her to keep still. So, I’m trying to talk more about our food and have her help me prep food to engage her over mealtimes. That said, I’m not stopping TV altogether when we eat… because sometimes I like it too and I think that’s ok!
7. Keep active
I feel so much better for being active, it curbs my overeating and I’m setting a good example for my little one. I genuinely love running and I love my phil&teds running buggy. It also makes me feel proud that my daughter recognises when I’m getting ready for a run and seems excited to come with me and have a little sprint herself. We’ve also been swimming more and about to try out some dance lessons. I was always a bit nervous about sport when I was younger and I would love my daughter to grow up feeling excited to try a new activity and not shy away from it like I did for so many years.
Hello September! How did you get here so fast? Although I’m clearly not at school and my little one is too young to be affected by term times, I still view September as a great month to embark on new challenges or to finally conquer ones set earlier in the year – and for me, that means focusing on the 10k fun run I have coming up in just a week’s time!
With the big run just around the corner, I feel the need to create a little checklist for myself so that I’m full prepared for the event. So, here are a few things I’ve realised during training that are pretty essential for me to have a successful run, alongside some goals I’d like to achieve this month.
1. New music
On days when I’ve been flagging in energy my playlist has kept me going. I love Spotify (or anything similar) for creating a playlist and the suggested songs that are often thrown up based on what I’ve listened too previously are usually pretty good. So, this month I must create my final event day playlist! Any recommendations?
2. Food for fuel
More than ever before, I’ve really noticed that eating properly before a run can make a huge difference to how well I jog. I’ve mainly been running in the morning, after porridge and banana or a protein shake with lots of fruit and veg in – plus, giving myself a hour or so after eating before heading out. It’s also helped to eat protein and carbs fairly soon after a run, so that I don’t feel completely fatigued. Eggs, rye bread, chicken and some veggies has been a good post-run lunch for me. On days when my inner piggy has dictated the menu (chocolate), I’ve not only felt rubbish in myself but I’ve not run as well either. So, this month I’d like to (again) focus on food as fuel and to enjoy treats here and there – not to finish the day having eaten just sugar!
3. Posture perfect
Running with a buggy is super easy and fun to do, however I’ve learnt through training that is worth spending a bit of time to look at your posture. Since I’ve upped how often I run with my buggy, I noticed my shoulders aching a little more than usual. I was recommended this video to watch and it’s got some great tips, so here is a little link to it. www.runningbuggies.com.
4. Run 10k with my running buggy
The above goals aside, my ultimate achievement for the month will be to run 10k. I’ve been training with my Phil&Teds Sport running buggy all summer and I absolutely love it. Before having a baby, I had no idea that running buggies existed, and thank goodness they do. Without mine, I wouldn’t be able to run as nearly as much, due to childcare not being that easy of an option for me. My daughter genuinely loves going in the buggy too and she gets so excited when I say lets go for a run. The sense of freedom I get from it all is simply amazing, plus its helped me regain my fitness and confidence (for several reasons, I really thought I wouldn’t be able to run again again having my little one).
So, here’s to September goals!
Side notes – I was asked recently If I recommend the Phil&Teds Sport buggy and I definitely would. It’s really lightweight, easy to fold down if you want to take it in the car to explore new routes, has a quick and reliable brake system (which you can use in two ways) and great wheels that make it easy to go between pavements and off-road terrains.
Photo is a little pic from a recent buggy run, I spotted one of those outdoor gyms!