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Getting Physical

I was doing fabulously well with food and exercise until COVID hit. 

It was the perfect storm for me. I'd also found out I was pregnant and then I (like so many others) was stuck at home with 2 young kids: 1 of which needed schooling.

However, this post isn't to do with COVID or pregnancy. That is a post in of itself and I'm undecided as to whether that will ever, ever get written. It's not because I don't want to talk about it but because in looking back, I'm looking forwards. This blog is to get me to my endpoints. 

So side stepping that swiftly...

Food and Nutrition 

For my physical wellbeing, I've worked with a nutritionist called Sam Jones. Origin Nutrition

I started my nutrition journey in September 2023 and it's really changed how I feel about food, how I eat and most importantly how I physically feel and look. He's been a real life changer and it's all about eating well and smartly rather than any diet nonsense. 

I got to the point where I couldn't stop obsessing over food and I was eating for eating sake. It really wasn't doing me any good and with his help it's reset all of that so I have a much better relationship with food. I'm not eating all the kids' leftovers anymore.

The issue I've got is shoehorning regular exercise into my daily life. My youngest was in preschool 2.5 school days. I managed to swim regularly once a week while he wasn't with me but it's definitely not been enough. 

Also, this doesn't account for child sickness which means I can't get out and my routine is derailed. In fact, it takes great determination not to simply give up when these things happen but then I'd never do anything and that's not an option.

Swimming

Swimming has been amazing for me. I'm lucky there is a small pop-up pool 5 minutes away on an industrial estate costing £5 for a 45 minute session. I'm usually but not always alone in the pool which is warmed for kids lessons. It's perfect for me! I don't know if pop-up is the best way to describe it, but it's not purpose built.

I spend about 35 minutes with my headphones on (specific ear induction ones) really going for it and pushing myself. It's not a chore. In fact, it's the way I de-stress. I can go in feeling awful and come away happy. It's like the water washes all the crap away. I feel at one with the water. 

Swimming is my sport. If everyone has one, it's mine. I was swimming unaided before I started school at the age of 4. I ended up swimming at County level but I gave up because I didn't enjoy it anymore. 

Whatever I do, I have to include 1 session of swimming a week. I've been reading Fast Exercise by Michael Mosley and I know that HIIT is by far the best to get bang for your buck. So somehow I'll incorporate a HIIT type workout as part of this. Not sure if it's as easy to do with swimming but I'll give it a good go! Swimming for me goes beyond the physical and touches the mental, emotional and spiritual side of me too. I also know that swimming alone won't get me to where I want to be. 

To Gym or Not to Gym?

My original plan was to get some adjustable dumbbells with a barbell for my 43rd birthday. I had this plan of doing all my strength and HIIT training from the comfort of home. I'd use YouTube videos from people such as Joe Wicks and Caroline Girvan. 

I thought the gym would be too expensive and travelling there and back would eat into precious time I couldn't afford to waste. I also thought this was the way to future proof my exercise routine. Invariably life changes and I thought it would get to the point where the gym would cease to be an option and an established at home work out routine would win the day.

However, I have very limited space, so while the idea was feasible, long term it would've been difficult for me to progress perhaps. 

Strength training is really what I want to do and, through a recommendation, I've found a little gym that has no joining fees and a lowish monthly fee, where I can cancel anytime. It's worth a try I think. The idea is to go straight after school drop off on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday and spend no longer than 1 hour there. If I can't do what needs to be done in an hour or less than I'm doing something wrong. I'm taking advantage of their free app for joining that will include them tailoring a workout for me. After that I'll be checking in with a personal trainer to make sure I'm pushing myself constantly.

Why am I Doing This?

I'm doing this for so many reasons. We all know the benefits of exercise on everything. Personally, I'm not where I'd like to be. 

I have lost 4kg since September 2023. Calorie deficit is the main way to lose weight. That and getting your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) up. 

Exercise helps physiologically especially if you are building muscles and getting your heart pumping but what we eat does the heavy lifting.

Well I've sorted my nutrition so it's in a good place. Not over zealous but balanced. I now need to maintain and build muscle and lose the belly fat.

I look fine. My BMI is normal and my clothes fit and nobody would say I need to lose weight but I am carrying too much belly fat. Based on my genetics and family background I really do need to lose fat in this area. We have high cholesterol, diabetes, metabolic syndrome etc etc. You name it, we have it in the family. 

I've been reading The 8 Week Blood Sugar Diet by Michael Mosley and it's been really insightful. He talks about TOFIs, Thin on the Outside, Fat Inside. It's the visceral or internal fat that gets into the organs such as liver and pancreas etc that's the real problem. So I need to shift this fat. This is the real indicator of my health and it doesn't look good. Lack of sleep, stress and hormones all play a role in encouraging this harmful fat to gather here.

My Childhood Ideals

When I was growing up I was obsessed with books, TV and film. The women I looked up to were Ellen Ripley (Alien Franchise) and Sarah Connor (Terminator 2) in particular. 

Why? 

They were so very unusual to see. Women who were physically and mentally strong. They weren't afraid. They dealt with everything head on and you wouldn't want to get to fight them in any respect. They'd outsmart you and physically whoop your ass at the same time. Also, being lean didn't mean weak and skinny. They were strong and muscular at a time when obvious muscles on a woman was seen as unsightly and masculine.

They are still the women I inspire to be. I was in awe of them and I still am when I think of the actresses and the characters they portrayed.

In the 80s, girls and women were usually portrayed as weak and needing help, very much like the old Disney film princesses. Being strong physically and mentally didn't fit with that vision of girls and women that was so ingrained in society. Fortunately that's not the case anymore and thank goodness for that. Those stereotypes serve no one.

*Featured image was created using Microsoft CoPilot Designer powered by DALL-E 3

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Location: United Kingdom

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