Hello September!

Tag: activity

03
Sep
2018

Hello September!

Although I’ve not been in school for quite some time, September for me still feels like the start of a new year and a chance to embrace new (or old) goals and to get stuff done! Holidays have come to an end, there are less and less social functions to attend and getting back into a routine actually feels good. This month has already started with a huge positive…

Post-holiday happiness
I write this post after a two week vacation in Italy, which was absolutely amazing and I was able to witness two of my best friends get married. I’m well and truly still in a happy holiday bubble, but instead of having post-holiday blues (which may still come), I feel rejuvenated and excited for the rest of the year. Towards the final days of my holiday I was delighted to see a little feature in Weight Watchers magazine of me and my daughter.

Weight Watchers
The article is all about how Weight Watchers encouraged me to get back into exercise after having my daughter. Seeing the feature made me feel so proud of the many healthy habits I’ve adopted since being a Weight Watchers member. The holiday I’ve just taken was a huge example of how different I am compared to trips away pre-Weight Watchers.

A healthier me
Over the course of two weeks I went for several jogs, walked lots, swam, went to the gym and enjoyed plenty of healthy food choices with a few treats thrown in (aka wine and ice cream). A younger me would of binged on unhealthy food just because I was away and would of left all gym clothes at home. That same person would of returned home a stone heavier and feeling terribly guilty about all the indulgences. Then I would of fall into a downward spiral of feeling horrible about my weight and myself.

For some this may sound crazy and a bit dramatic, but this has been a previous consequence of many holidays. I know a lot of people who are able to go away, eat what they like, come home happy and not give a damn about any fluctuations in weight – so please don’t take this as me saying you’re doing anything wrong. It’s just for me that ‘letting go’ approach on holiday meant eating everything and anything and then feeling rubbish about myself after.

“Fruit salad mummy?”
I’m also incredibly proud of daughter who appears in the magazine article. She is such a confident little thing and was both hilarious and well behaved during the photoshoot. It’s for her that I also want to continue eating well and exercising regularly – I want to be a healthy mum that can play without getting out of breath within seconds and to set a good example of how to eat well. On holiday when we were talking about the day ahead she would often ask if I was going to eat a fruit salad again for breakfast. It may sound silly, but hearing her recognise me eating something healthy made me feel great.

Support
I’m so thankful for Weight Watchers for encouraging all of the healthy habits mentioned above. Joining the programme has deepened my interest in nutrition, has encouraged me to try new sports and in turn has led me to meet whole host of fantastic people who continue to support me as I work towards my health goals.

Never sporty
I was never a sporty kid at school and if you told me then that I would one day enjoy running, spinning, long walks and would even have one-on-one personal training sessions, I would of burst out laughing. Weight Watchers taught me the importance of exercise and gave me the confidence to try new things and discover activities that I could keep up long-term. I am also so thankful for the several PT’s I’ve been in recent contact with, who have helped me embrace lifting weights and have giving me extra guidance on what to eat for good health and effective weight loss.

A negative outlook
I have to admit, that until I saw the final Weight Watchers article mentioned and had a little September inspired overview of how far I’ve come, I was feeling less positive about myself and weight. Whilst I’ve lost a lot of post-baby weight and am proud of all the healthy decisions I made on holiday, I’ve been feeling frustrated that I’m not at my goal weight. I got there last March and somehow it’s crept up a bit. However, with this new month and feeling inspired I would like to announce that I will draw a line under that, and do my best to get to that goal, but ultimately to continue to work on leading a healthier life for the rest of my life.

Thank you for reading this mind dump,
Chloe xx

25
Sep
2017

10k complete!

Categories: Fitness, Phil & Teds Sport Running Buggy, Reviews

This weekend I ran 10k and it’s the best i’ve felt running in a very long time. I completed the hilly route in 59 minutes and 49 seconds! I never thought I would be able to run 10k after having my little one, let alone do it in under an hour; and I still can’t believe I was able to train for it with my toddler thanks to my running buggy. Today, I am very very happy!

Close friends of mine will know that I struggled (like many mums) to jog for quite some time after having my daughter – I needed to regain my strength and it wasn’t always possible to go running due to a childcare. So completing the 10k this weekend is a huge achievement for me.

As you know I trained for the 10k with my running buggy and I honestly can’t recommend running buggies enough, for the sense of freedom and to simply have a reliable buggy that you can do so much with. From strolls, to errands, to 10k runs. I love my phil&teds Sport running buggy and wish I had invested in one from when my daughter was tiny. I’ve had several buggies since being a parent, but there’s no way i’m rehoming this one!

Thank you to everyone who gave me a cheer on the way round the 10k route – it really made all the difference!

Chloe x

15
Sep
2017

How do I stop my daughter having food hang-ups?

Categories: Baby & Me

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.

26
May
2017

Can you walk your way to weight loss?

Categories: Baby & Me, Fitness

In this post I’d like to pay homage to walking – yes, that free and simple thing you do to get from A to B. It’s the first form of exercise I did after having a baby and it definitely helped me build my fitness, lose weight and feel better (especially when I had no idea what I was doing as a new mum).

Plus, there are a lot of other benefits for you and baby…

Walking and weight loss
Like lots of women I really struggled to walk towards the end of my pregnancy. Walking was uncomfortable, awkward and terribly slow. Once my little one arrived I thought things would go back to normal fairly quickly but that wasn’t quite the case.

I had my recommended six week check up with a doctor and was given a thumbs up to start being more active. I thought I’d give running a go (as I used to jog pre-pregancy), but that really wasn’t a good idea. It hurt a lot and definitely didn’t resemble any kind of running style I’ve ever seen before! I had to start from the beginning – step by step – and that’s when I really became obsessed with my Fitbit. Walking was my main form of exercise and even now when my weight goes up a little or stays as the same, it’s often when I haven’t walked as much.

Is 10,000 steps achievable?
The recommended number of steps to walk each day is 10,000, which may sound like a crazy amount, especially if you desk bound with work and so on. That said, I’m often surprise at how many i’ll complete just getting ready to go out and about, or if Ii’ve given the house a clean the house. If you couple that with a ‘scheduled’ walk, it doesn’t take too long to reach that 10,000 step goal.

Walking with a baby
When my daughter was small, walking with the buggy was also a good way to encourage a nap if needed and she slept really well during our walks. She’s now 2-years-old and likes to walk (run) just as much as me. Nowadays we’ll take the buggy with us as she still gets tired after a few sprints, but it’s a great excuse to get out, feel as though I’m exercising and I’m sure it helps her sleep through the night. (Which has taken us a long time to achieve!).

Plus…
Walking often can dramatically decrease how at risk you are from type 2 diabetes, a stroke and even certain types of cancers. So it really is pretty amazing. For a full list of the benefits take a peak at the NHS website.

Can you walk your way to weight loss?
Yes! I strongly believe you can and walking is definitely an underrated form of exercise. With that in mind, let’s go for a walk!