Have you been watching the Commonwealth Games? I have to admit that as a rule watching sport on TV is as about exciting to me as watching paint dry, but I loved watching the men's triathlon event a few days ago. It was particularly inspiring for me as the winner, Bradley Kahlefeldt turned to triathlons after suffering stress fractures in both legs, like me and unable to run or cycle had taught himself to swim. Just goes to show what can be achieved! Yep, watching those guys has got me all motivated again and not before time as Penny the Blob has returned once more. Funny how you talk yourself into bad habits isn't it? After injuring my leg I was unable to exercise, so I decided I might as well go the whole hog and eat whatever I liked - just while I was recuperating of course. I knew it would catch up with me, four months of pigging out tends to have that effect and I could feel the weight gradually creeping on again. I thought cutting out the alcohol would help and indeed it probably would have made a difference, but when you're eating enough dinner for three people every evening it's kind of hard to tell.
So when I hopped on the scales this morning to discover I had put on a total of six kilos in four months, I knew I had to take action. It feels more like 16kg than six and I reckon it looks like it too. I feel bleurgh - tired, lacking in energy and pretty down on myself. None of my clothes fit nicely any more and I don't like what I see in the mirror. It's not a good look when you go out somewhere and have to worry about your zip giving way every time you sit down! I feel really cross with myself too, for letting myself get like this. I really thought that this time I had cracked the weight loss thing and got the balance right, I was feeling fantastic until I injured my leg. After that, every day I stuffed another huge dinner down me, or grabbed an extra couple of potatoes or cleaned up the kids' leftovers I would tell myself 'tomorrow I won't eat so much, tomorrow I'll be good'. It's the portions that do it for me you see; I can eat a LOT. I can easily put away more than Noel does in one sitting. It's not so bad eating enough to sink a battleship when you're running it off each day, but with no exercise it just stays put. I'm only 5kg away from the heaviest I have ever been and I never want to go there again.
So I'm ready! I'm going to tackle my unhealthy lifestyle head on and I'm going to use the Vault to help me do it. There are so many tips to get motivated in there - healthy recipes and eating recommendations, exercise tips and regimes that have worked for other members, without having to resort to expensive gym fees. I'm going to do things properly too, so I don't injure myself again - last time I decided to get fit I went from doing no exercise whatsoever to running 3km on the first day, 4km the next and so on. Is it any wonder my poor old bones were feeling the strain! The old saying of 'don't run before you can walk' is definitely true in my case. If I hadn't gone overboard at the start I wouldn't have got hurt and would not be in this position now.
Some friends of mine bought a treadmill a few years ago and it was only a couple of weeks before it was dragged out to the garage to gather dust. I hinted heavily that I would be keen to borrow it but unfortunately this wasn't forthcoming, though they did give me the number of the company they bought theirs from and said you could hire them at a monthly rate. With the colder months and shorter days approaching I thought this would be worth checking out - that way, I could walk whenever I liked, even at night if it meant I could fit in some exercise, so I gave them a call yesterday. The lady on the other end of the line was very helpful but I couldn't help being a bit flabbergasted when she told me it would cost $150 a month to hire one! Needless to say that idea went out the window.
Nope, the Vault is the way to go! Just by typing in 'weight loss' on the Vault search, I found 118 tips! Typing in 'exercise' gives me 80 tips, 'gym' gives me 52 - need I go on? The question is, where do I start? Watch this space for my new Vault-style fitness plan!
