Fit, Healthy, Free

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Caroline Murphy

New member
It's the 1st of October, 10:28 on a Saturday morning. I am currently sitting in bed with my duvet wrapped around me, typing on my lovely purple HP laptop that unfortunately I managed to step on so now only half the screen is visible. I've been thinking about bringing it back to the shop and asking if it's possible to get a replacement for at least 2 months now. And I haven't done anything about it yet.

The same issue applies to my body. I'm at the point where my body is more or less healthy. I have a pudgy stomach but nothing too awful. I am in a healthy weight range for my height (at the higher end, but still). I used to be more than 2 stone heavier. Now that was an awful time. And I somehow managed to escape from that miserable food-fuelled existence and start exercising and eating better and getting myself back to an acceptable size.

Now I want to take the far better starting point that I'm at now and push on from here and get in the best shape of my life. I want a flat stomach and to feel fit, healthy, strong and beautiful. And free from the guilt of not trying and putting my life on hold. I am ready to race forward and build a new routine for myself.

My basic plan is as follows:
1. Do at least 1 form of exercise every day. This can range from going for a run to a pilates or yoga class to playing a game of tennis.
2. Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks daily.
3. Get 8 hours sleep every night.
4. Always do some form of exercise before work. This clears my head and sets me up for the rest of the day. And work is extremely stressful at the moment, so I need to implement this more than ever.
5. Cut out alcohol completely.

I am really serious about this and I am not giving up this time. I am aware that it's going to be very challenging. The plan starts on Monday. It's the only day to start these things really. The weekend will be spent recharging and getting myself psyched up. I have a few things coming up this month that might seriously impact what I have set out to do but I can only live in the here and now. I will deal with it if/when the time comes.

Exercise Plan (week 1)
Monday - 6K; pilates
Tuesday - Rip60/Spin; tennis & swim
Wednesday - 2/3 SHU; pilates
Thursday - Spin/Rip60; tennis
Friday - 6K; yoga
Saturday - Spin/Upper body circuits
Sunday - 6K; tennis

The golden rule is 1 form of exercise per day, so the above could alter, but this is what I will set out to do anyway.

Food Plan (week 1)
M/W/F -
  • porridge, chia seeds, blueberries, milk
  • apple & nuts
  • chicken, pasta, 5 salads
  • boiled egg, spring onions, cucumber
  • veggie chilli

T/T/S -
  • scrambled eggs, spinach, tomato, 1 slice toast & butter
  • banana, strawberry & spinach soya milk smoothie
  • fish, quinoa, 5 salads
  • yoghurt & nuts
  • potato & lentil curry
I am leaving Sunday open for the time being but it will probably be a bit more relaxed. I will add a nighttime snack to my plan if I find I am too hungry.

Anyway, that's all from me for the moment. I will check in tomorrow and update you on how the weekend has panned out so far and then Monday will be the start of the real updates as I make my way towards my dream bod.

Thanks for reading,
Caroline
 
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Hi, Caroline & welcome to the forum. It sounds like a great plan! Your food sounds both delicious & nutritious. Leaving Sunday open is also a good idea. Welcome to our community xo
 
  • Butterfly88 - Thank you!
  • Jerryscrap - Reported.
  • cate - Thanks for the welcome, happy to be here.
So, as mentioned, going to kick off the plan properly on Monday. I thought it might be interesting for you to hear what I consume on a day when I have no strict routine and I'm a little bit hungover. So yesterday, I had:
  • 4 chocolate hobnobs
  • milk from the carton
  • coffee and milk
  • bottle of Club Orange
  • a few cashew nuts
  • eggs Florentine and one of the best cappuccinos I have ever tasted
  • 2 slices toast with butter
  • mandarin
  • lamb tagine with rice, carrots, broccoli
  • apple and banana crumble with ice cream and cream
  • coffee and milk
It could have been worse. I went home for dinner so that saved me from the inevitable pizza takeaway last night.

I also followed golden rule #1 yesterday and went playing tennis for an hour.

I'm meeting a friend for lunch today and then we're going for a massage - can't wait for that. I was all good intentions about going for a run beforehand but I'm feeling remarkably lazy right now. I have a few more hours to get my ass in gear however.

That's all for now, chat soon.
 
  • cate - Hmm, way too much sugar though.
So today was meant to be kickoff day and of course I didn't get up on time to go for my run before work. I have a pilates class booked in this evening but I needed the run.

I weighed myself this morning - 11 stone 8 1/4 pounds. A little bit too high for my liking. I've been in and around 11 stone 7 for the last year now, which is fine because I can cope with it, but to push this down 1 and a half stone is the real challenge. I just know I would look so amazing.

I went for a massage yesterday and I was looking at myself in the mirror afterwards and my body looked almost good. I just have way too much belly fat.

Food yesterday:
  • slice of toast and butter
  • 2 cups of coffee
  • toasted sandwich with ham, cheese, tomato, some crisps on the side and chips with ketchup
  • coke
  • milky way double bar
  • 2 glasses prosecco
  • fruit kebab
  • fruit sorbet
  • 1/2 bottle white wine
  • 1 very large gin with lemon and tonic water
  • veggie chilli
Walked into town and home, which was about 40 minutes, but doesn't really count as 'official' exercise. Still, better than nothing.

Obviously, the booze is the main reason I didn't get up this morning. You are meant to get just one prosecco after your massage, but there were other women there who gave me an extra glass. So when I went to Tesco afterwards, I was already on the booze train and bought the half bottle of white wine. Sigh. Such a fucking disaster. Once I have two glasses of anything, it's all over.

Foodwise, I went out for lunch, so that's where the chips creeped in there. I was pleased with myself that I made dinner anyway.

I'm rethinking my exercise plan slightly, adjusted to the following:
Monday - Pilates class
Tuesday - Run 6K
Wednesday - Run 2/3 SHU; Pilates class
Thursday - Run 6K; Tennis
Friday - Spin/Upper body circuits
Saturday - Run 5K
Sunday - Run 6K

A lot more realistic at this point.
 
Welcome Caroline
Too much too quick can create disappointment. Your goals are great but even if you only achieve 80 to 90% of it! you will see good results. Good luck forming good habits!
 
What Brawny said. Be proud of what you can accomplish, even if it isn´t all the things you were planning. Official exercise doesn´t burn more calories than unofficial movement, so good job on the 40 minutes. I´m sure there would have been a lazy option to get from a to b and you didn´t take it. How was Pilates?
 
Hmmmm. :blush5: Maybe I was thinking it all sounded delicious :)
I'm getting better at self-restraint when it comes to wine, but Prosecco is very moreish. Hope Pilates was good!
 
  • brawny77 - I know, I'm just impatient. I've been at the same weight for a long time now. I guess I should be thankful for that in some ways, but it's time to press on. And unfortunately, when you have less to lose, you have to be so much stricter with diet and exercise.
  • LaMaria - Pilates was good! It was a little bit more advanced than my usual class but I enjoyed it.
  • cate - I don't think I will ever have self-restraint when it comes to wine. It's either all or nothing with me.
So, yesterday. No run but pilates class. Exercise goal reached.

Food:
  • weetabix and special k with milk
  • coffee and milk
  • apple
  • 2 mini mars bars and 1 mini milky way (damn you work kitchen with your chocolatey delights!)
  • massive ham and cheese toastie with coleslaw and relish
  • tea and milk
  • scrambled eggs with tomatoes and spinach; 2 slices of brown soda bread, 1 with butter, 1 with pesto
  • peppermint tea
Way too much bread and not enough home-cooked meals, but it could have been worse. I woke up hungry this morning which is always a good sign.

I didn't go for my run this morning but I think I will go after work instead. I feel like this week is really dragging already. Had an early night last night, nearly got my 8 hours I'd say! A good night's sleep is the key to a happy life, I truly believe that.

Till the morrow.
 
Good sleep is extremely valuable in a lot of ways. I don't think you had that much bread, did you? Unless you were going low-carb, that is :p
 
A good night's sleep is absolutely essential to me. Sometimes I feel really down & then I remember that I didn't sleep well the night before. I think people underestimate the importance of sleep.
 
  • LaMaria - The sandwich I had at lunchtime was super size, so that's where the too much bread thought came into it.
  • cate - Absolutely. And I decided not to get a great night's sleep last night because I was up for all hours!
Hi guys.

Today is already an unbelievably shitty day. I am going through a work crisis and a crisis of confidence at the moment and I am not dealing with it in the correct manner. Or not even correct, but in a helpful manner. I'll go through yesterday's food first and then get into the moaning.

Food:
  • porridge, blueberries, chia seeds, milk
  • soya milk smoothie with strawberries, spinach and banana
  • 2 mini mars bars and an oat chocolate biscuit
  • apple
  • mandarin
  • latte
  • coffee and milk
  • chicken salad with pesto pasta, cucumber, tomatoes, pepper, spinach and celery
  • grilled salmon with pesto pasta, lamb's lettuce and tomatoes
  • 3 pints of Indian Summer
  • an entire bottle of white wine
The day went well foodwise. I didn't do any exercise, but if I'd stopped just before all the alcohol, it would have been a healthy day more or less. I've discovered that I actually really enjoy cooking my dinner and prepping my lunch for the day before when I come home from work now. Before, I used to think of it as a boring chore but now I find it really relaxing. And it takes no time at all once you get into the habit of it.

Anyway, all the alcohol is why I'm so sad today. I seem to have replaced eating crappy food with drinking a lot of alcohol and smoking a lot of cigarettes. Anything that has a detrimental effect on my physical appearance and my overall mental well-being seems to be my go-to. I was out in a bar last night and I was looking at myself in the mirror and I just looked so old and withered. I'm too young to be feeling like this already!

I don't know why I can never be secure in my looks. I seem to need constant validation from outside sources that I am attractive enough for the world. It's insane. I want to be 'perfect', but in my misguided journey to be that way, I constantly sabotage myself at every turn, so even 'great' is not accomplished.

Anyway, I'm sad and I need to change it.
 
I´m pretty sure if you´d felt better generally you´d also have seen a better-looking person in the mirror. That´s not meant as criticism, but rather a promise: we rarely have a good handle on how we look objectively and even how other people see us depends largely on circumstance. I´m sorry you´re having a rough time at the moment. Have you considered seeing a counselor a couple of times to help you work on your coping strategies? If that is something you struggle with in general now may be the perfect time to change things.
 
I'm sorry you are having such a hard time Caroline. :iagree: with everything LaMa said. Feeling good about ourselves is so important
LaMaria said:
Have you considered seeing a counselor a couple of times to help you work on your coping strategies?
Click to expand...
I think that's a good idea too. I saw a counsellor years ago after I lost a lot of weight & still felt the same about myself. I think I only went 3 times & it really did help a lot. I still remember & use her strategies when I feel myself being negative about myself or starting to "drown my sorrows". It is nothing to be ashamed of. Sending you a great big hug, xo Cate
 
  • LaMaria - I haven't considered seeing a counsellor in a long time. I went once last year when I was offered a permanent contract for my job and I had a full blown panic attack about it. Which is so strange to me now considering how much I like it here. I'll think about it.
  • cate - Thanks for the hug, much appreciated. :)
So, yesterday actually turned out not so bad in the end. Obviously, I woke up feeling like a bag of shit, so I decided to work from home for the day. Then, it turned out that I couldn't access some websites from home, so I went in for the afternoon, which was far better than lying in bed feeling sorry for myself. I had such a good few hours at work, the people here are just fantastic. I'm really lucky.

When I went home, I ordered pizza and hung out with my housemates for the evening. Also very enjoyable. I went to bed early and feel so much better today both physically and mentally.

I didn't do any exercise yesterday, that's to be expected really.

Food:
  • mini breakfast of 1 sausage, rasher, fried egg, black pudding, white pudding, 1 slice toast, butter and ketchup
  • glass of coke
  • tea and milk
  • bottle of coke
  • 1/2 white bagel with garlic and herb cream cheese and tomatoes
  • 1 slice brown toast with butter and slice of edam cheese
  • 2 mini milky way bars
  • 1 grape
  • handful of fruit, nut and soya snack mix
  • apple
  • 1 scoop Ben & Jerry's pecan ice cream (the whole thing was melted so I had to put in the freezer, then didn't get a chance to get back to it, thank God)
  • 5 slices pizza of parma ham, cheese, tomato and rocket
  • 4 cups of tea
  • peppermint tea
  • camomile tea
That's the lot more or less. You can clearly see where salt replacement was happening.

I woke up this morning still a bit tired, but I brought my running gear to work and I'm hoping to do a 5k at lunchtime. I have tennis tonight anyhow.

I think the 'free' part is such an important element of my thread title. Free from the demons that make me overindulge. That's what I really want. The fit and healthy part will follow if I can manage it.
 
All it takes to make me feel better is a couple of good food and exercise days in a row. That makes me feel like even though I am not satisfied with where I am, at least I am doing something about it. It doesn't make me quit feeling angry with myself for getting overweight and not very healthy but I do feel like I have a plan and I am working my plan....so....keep working your plan Caroline!
 
  • LaMaria - Sadly, the feeling better didn't last.
  • brawny77 - I'm the exact same, a few days back on the wagon and I feel great.
Hi. Something really terrible happened in work yesterday and I went on a massive bender. I am in work right now feeling terrible. But still standing.

I went for a lunchtime run! Felt amazing after it. Sadly though, I skipped tennis to go drinking. :(

Food:
  • spinach, strawberry and blueberry milk smoothie
  • 1 1/2 weetabix, cornflakes and milk
  • 2 shortbread choc chip cookies
  • 1 choc biscuit
  • 2 jaffa cakes
  • some Ben and Jerry's pecan ice cream
  • 2 slices brown bread with banana and peanut butter
  • teas and coffees
  • 7 pints of beer
  • 2 slices brown soda bread with tomato puree, pesto and butter
  • about a million cigarettes
Have one more drinking day to get through and then it's back to the drawing board at the weekend and working out a new life plan. Time to regroup.
 
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