Patience is a virtue!

Ah, patience.

In weightloss (it never happens as quickly as you'd like!)
In love (starting to think I'm terminally single)
In blogging (I'll get better I promise!).

So I was bored at work today for a few mins and put a start of a blog post together. It's a general ramble, and will include pics of my Supernatural convention - and possibly those side by sides I promised in 2013 - but as I didn't have the pics on my work computer I didn't finish the post.

However, I just wanted to let you know that I'm working on getting better at posting, and getting better at losing weight (we'll forget the failed fast day today LOL) and getting better at fitness.

You know, I can hold a (shaky) plank for 35 seconds now! Woot to me!  The extended arm one, not the one with the elbows on the ground.  I'm doing a 30 day plank challenge with a friend and we are extending it to 60 days because my core is suuuuuper flabby.

Planning on going to the gym tomorrow so if the blog post doesn't get posted from work (don't tell my boss!) then it'll be this weekend. But it's coming! :D

Be healthy, loves.
<3

Well, woo hoo to me!

:) Hello sweeties!

So, since last we spoke things have been moving - and rather surprisingly - in the right direction (weeee!). I'll update the weigh-in page later on as I'll need to figure out how to display it eg: do I keep the old weights and measurements or do I just start fresh from when I 'started over' again at the beginning of April?

Anywhoo... that's made me quite chirpy.

I've started a new plan called 5:2 - or intermittent fasting - where for two days a week you eat 500 calories in a day (600 for men) and for the other five days you just eat normally. Thankfully there's hardly any calories in vegetables! I had a very large salad the other day with tuna and a little cheese and it only came to 262 calories!
I'm finding it a lot easier when I fast at work which is odd as I used to eat out of boredom, but I can't do it at home as I live by myself so there's no one to distract me or tell me to put down those waffles! LOL. *sigh* One day I'll get the hang of weekend fasting, one day.

So far (I only started last week) I'm down 1.4lbs, so I'm pleasantly surprised by the change. Especially as even if I had started this last October I doubt it would have worked with that medication I was on so I'm feeling good that I'm on the right path now. It's been a long time coming and I intend to make the most of it!

I'll still be keeping up the gym after my few days away next week - and I'm going to start going to Yoga classes to help my back (I've been scared in the past that I would over stretch and completely do myself a disservice... I still have that fear a wee bit). I won't be going to the gym on a fast day - I don't know how people can do that!  If I'm burning 700+ calories I do not want to be passing out on the treadmill! LOL, not attractive.

Do you ever have moments where you just feel like your life is changing?
I'm starting to get that butterfly feeling and it's exciting! :D
This time in 4 months I will be in Orlando - let's do this thing!

Be healthy, loves. <3

Suitably embarrassed.

I realise it's been FAR too long since I posted.... it's almost that time of year again where I go to my Supernatural convention, and I haven't even posted the photos from last year! 
I suck. I'm sorry.

But I think posting them now would make me feel pretty bad as I've somehow managed to put back on 12lbs (was a bit more but I've lost a few!) and I'm feeling very shameful, as I should.

*TMI warning*
I started taking a new birth control pill last October (not for that reason) and it increased my appetite so much that from November to March I basically ate everything in sight. It was horrific, I can't believe I let it go on for so long but it made me slightly depressed. Okay, a lot depressed and last winter was the worst I've ever experienced. 
However now I am over my denial (I was still fitting in the same clothes... just) and I am finally on a different pill which has decreased my appetite somewhat so I am now able to go more than 2 hours without eating a kitchen.  It has given me the potential for losing weight and I am happy about that.

So stay tuned folks, let's see if this year I can finally get this chub OFF!  I'm going to Orlando in September for the new Harry Potter themepark expansion - DIAGON ALLEEEEYYYY!! - and I want to be able to fit into the rollercoaster seats and feel like I can fit in them comfortably without having the (usually super cute) staff have to force the bars or harnesses down... again.

LOL how's that for a non-scale goal ;-)

Be healthy my lovelies!  I'm slightly more active on my Twitter account, you can find me at @RunRaineyRun :)

p.s... maybe I'll post side-by-sides of my convention pictures from the past few years... depending on how they turn out this time lol!

Be careful - don't break your own heart!

So I'm finally getting round to what this blog was meant to be about; running.

Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves, jogging. ;-)

After being sick last week, and losing a bit of weight in the process, I've started jogging this past weekend.  Nothing major, just a half hour walk/jog in the early morning whilst the sun was out and not many people around to see me. I really enjoyed it actually.  

The only thing that concerned me was my heart rate. They say that your maximum heart rate is 220 - your age, so for me my maximum heart rate is 189bpm, but my heart rate monitor was telling me that I was getting up to 99% of my heart rate quite a lot, and you're not meant to go above 90%.  

I wasn't even jogging fast or anything! Man, I am out of shape. It'll come down as I get better with my cardio and fitness, but it did make me think of how often I strain myself without even thinking about it, it's kinda scary. I don't want a heart attack before I'm 50! (or at all, if possible, kthnx)

But, good points this week: 
- I have a new heart rate monitor and I love it! I have the Polar FT7.  
- I actually went out jogging and didn't die
- I went out jogging twice!
- I gained weight this week (well, I *am* and athlete now! LOL.) but I did lose some inches which is awesome!
- I'm feeling chirpy, which always helps in whatever situation
- I can now fit into size UK16 trousers! And one recent top purchase was a (albeit stretchy) UK14!
- I won £5 on the Euromillions lottery, LMAO. Gotta start somewhere, right?

What are your good points for the week?

P.S... an off-topic post about the Supernatural weekend will be coming soon with some photos and side-by-side pics from last year and this year. It's quite the eye-opener (or at least it was for me!)

Sickety sick

Bleh. 
I hate being sick. Especially when I have 2 days to get better before I go to a Supernatural convention (it's a TV show - check it out!).

The only good thing about being sick is that's really the only time I lose a decent amount of weight. 5lbs so far this week. Woah.

It all started with a migraine on Saturday evening, and since then I've gone downhill. Fuzzy head, stuffy nose, swollen glands, piercing ears, scratchy throat (I'm talking like the late Barry White here, not sexy on a woman lol) and I've lost all will to eat. The last time I ate was 5.15am yesterday (it's now 9am today) and that was just a little pot of Activia fat free yoghurt.

No one likes it when they're sick, but if we can lose a bit of weight do we let it slide? On the upside, I'm back in one-derland! WOOHOO! :D

Be healthy, loves.  <3

x

Don't be a slave to the scale!

The scale is a liar.

It will tell you that you're a failure the second it gets a chance.

But you're smarter than that. You know you can always beat the scale.  Even when you've had a hard time keeping to your calorie goal, you can still beat the damn scale.

Take measurements. Yeah, the scale will never suspect that.
Take measurements and log them like you do with your weigh ins. 

I may be showing a pound and a half gain since the start of the year (boo, hiss) but if you check my weigh ins page you can see I've logged two sets of measurements.

I may have started the year lighter than I am now, but since I started the gym at the beginning of the month I have lost an inch under my bust, a quarter inch on my waist and half an inch round my ever-determined-to-stick-out-like-Princess-Leia's-hair-buns-hips.  I can't believe it!

The scale lied to me. 
It told me I was failing on my journey.
Well, if it was wearing pants they'd be on fire.

Though I may not be losing the fat like I'd hoped, I'm showing myself that I am improving on my shape even now. My work trousers are still tight but they're a size smaller than they were a couple of weeks ago! My gym programme incorporates resistance training along with cardio which is helping me tone up - even slightly (I've only been a couple of handfuls of times) and when I put my mind to it I am going to show that scale - and the world - what I'm made of.

When you're feeling down about not getting a certain number on the scales, I hope you remember this post - and I hope you take your own measurements to back you up. You CAN do this, sometimes the world is slow to pick up ;) 

Want to tone up? Start lifting!
Ladies, you won't get all bulky like Mr Universe - regular lifting improves muscle definition (and building more muscle helps burn fat faster) - you only 'bulk up' when eating at a massive surplus and taking 'supplements'... if you catch my drift.  Seriously, resistance training and lifting will get you into a smaller size before you can say "Hey, these trousers need a belt."

I may not be there yet - but I'm closer than I was yesterday!

Finally waking up

Having the sun finally make an appearance has had a dramatic effect on me. I feel like I'm actually 'waking up'. It sounds crazy, but after the winter and supposed 'spring' we've been having, being able to feel the sun on my skin feels amazing. Scotland may be green and pretty, but only because it rains so much lol.

Can you believe I was so early for the gym this morning it wasn't even open yet? LOL! I was like a proper little gym bunny standing outside with a few other people waiting for the doors to open. And the London Marathon was warming up on the TV screens so I thought I'd have a go on the treadmill (it's not on my usual programme). 

Man I'm sore now BUT I walk/jogged for 35mins and made it 3.46km by intervals of walking 2mins at 6km/h, jogging 1min at 7km/h at a 1% incline and even jogged for a full 3 mins at the end at 7.5km/h! 

I'm so fracking proud of myself! 

And there was a guy in there who was checking me out (LOLz, I think he was actually just looking for attention) - he started doing pull ups every now and again on the TRX machine inbetween the other weights bench while I was running. He went back over when I changed to the TRX but only left just as I made a point of looking over at him to save him from having to come back over, because his arms must have started to hurt by then. HA! I almost LOLed right there on the mat but I held it together. 

Also, there were two people on treadmills behind me and when I heard them talking I had a teeeeeeenie voice in my head whispering not to do it, but I only slightly hesitated to start jogging, I still did it! That's actually almost as big an achievement than the walk/jog itself. I love this gym.

I'm sorry I haven't blogged in forever... part of me got lazy... part of me was in some kind of dragged-out winter rut. But if you've seen the weigh-ins page I have still been logging weight for the better or worse! But let's hope this weather holds out til I can become obsessed with running!  Fingers crossed my back decides to play ball!
 
I 'only' have 6 months until the Backstreet Boys cruise, I need to get my shit together!  60lbs to go!  GAME ON.