Five Kilos of Fun

As part of my Curves membership I am weighed and measured every month to keep me on track. Well, being the rebel I am, I managed to evade the girls last month...but not the case today.

I felt so naughty and guilty because every measurement was higher than last time (well the bust being an extra 5cm was the only welcome one) and poor Nicky did not know what to say. I could tell she wanted to chastise me but instead we set some goals and talked about my self indulgent holiday. We decided it's just a glitch in an otherwise successful fitness campaign...a five kilo one!

In October I was so proud of the fact that I had lost 8 kilos and I felt amazing! I could squeeze my abs and had no front tummy bulge. The girls were so proud of me and used me to promote the gym on occasion.

Gosh, I even strutted my stuff in front of everyone at the fashion parade for the Girls Night In...groan.

So my five kilo weight gain is embarrassing and I wanted to hide from the girls who had supported me when I lost it. My body fat has increased by 4% since November...a big jump. Five kilos may not seem like a huge weight gain to some, but I am a small build... and at my age I know just how hard it was to get rid of. Yet I let myself get in this situation again.

What is it with self sabotage? Everyone does it, we can turn a blind eye and ignore the issue if we want to...well my eyes are wide open again now. Christmas and the cruise are my excuses but now I need to look at where I went wrong...and fix it. The best way to do it is to go right back to the beginning and do what I first did to lose weight. Logical hey?

So, I am back to tracking my meals using the Curves Complete Program. I have made tonight's dinner already so I can eat when I get home from the gym...the time when I am starving!

The meals are healthy and filling. Last night was a chicken enchilada with homemade salsa and yoghurt (no sour cream anymore), and a salad. Yummo.

I am back to wearing my pedometer. I recorded 8000 steps yesterday so that it is a good start. As long as I do a decent walk at lunch time I should get to 10000 most days.

And I am back at the gym four nights a week. Mon to Thursday after work, no excuses. I still get home by 6.30 in time to prepare dinner.

So, there it is, not only have I planned the route I am going to take, I have made myself accountable by publishing it here and sharing it with you.

Wish me luck! Am I the only one pushing towards an extra dress size after Christmas?

Fitness Fun With My Boys

Fifteen years ago when I first discovered that I was going to have twin boys, I must admit I was a little freaked out. Initially because of the fact I was going to have two babies, and then because those two babies were going to grow into boys. OMG! I couldn't imagine having two hyper-active beings like my little brother Mark. Because I had a four year old daughter already, I really thought I was more suited to being a mum of girls. Silly thing, isn't it?

Last year when the skater dudes started high school

As you can imagine, the boys have certainly been adventurous. We used to call them Search and Destroy because they demolished everything in sight...on purpose. Now that they have grown into teenagers I have tried to find common ground with them, things that we can do together to bond, despite the fact that I am their Mum...and female. Last year the boys joined Little Athletics and I became an Athletics Mum, cheering them on at tournaments and taking them to training. This term I will be a gymnastics mum...just watching mind you. The boys are getting stronger, growing up and trying out new sports....and I can finally join in on some things with them.

With the flooding downstairs we eventually gave up on having a lounge room. Lounge suites are big and heavy things to cart upstairs, and they take up too much space. When we are all camped upstairs during a flood it is pretty squishy.

We had a ping pong table set up until we got bored with it, and now our lounge room is a home gym. 

                                     

The boys got this gym set from Santa a few years back. It has flooded twice as we can't readily move it, but it is still operational.

We all have bikes to ride around the farm. I am not really confident on the dirt road yet but have been for a few small rides down to the bridge.

I picked up this Elliptical Trainer secondhand and it usually gets moved outside to enjoy the view while training.

Last weekend the boys and I drove into town (Gympie) to check out an interesting area to train. Not sure if too many towns have one of these. I have not seen one elsewhere.

Interestingly enough, it is set up in the grounds of the Senior Citizens centre, but as it was 35 degrees we had the gym to ourselves.

Lachlan on the cross-trainer

The boys make great models for the gym equipment, I think. No bias there at all, ha. There are no weights. Most of the machines use perpetual motion and your body weight to function, so there is pretty strong resistance.

Cameron lifting his own body weight

It was lovely to spend some quality time with my boys. It's been several years since we have mucked around at a playground together. I used to love those moments when they were little and happy just to swing...hang on, that was Lauren....oh yeah the boys used to go nuts climbing to the top of things and scaring me half to death. Maybe it is much more fun now they have matured :)

Anyway, I am glad I was holding the camera and not them because no 46yo Mum looks great after working out in the heat...unless they are supermodel material.

What do you and your family do together? If you have teenage boys, where do you find common ground?

What is Mindfulness?

A glimpse of my property from the side of the road on an
early morning walk

Mindfulness is a word I keep hearing lately - in magazines, on the net and (which I thought strange at the time) at my doctors surgery. It's not a new word, nor is the practice of mindfulness a recent one. It has been instrumental in Buddhist and  Hindu teachings for generations, is taught in universities and practised by medical practitioners. By consciously seeking to improve my health and wellbeing I have now identified that what I have been doing actually has a name. So what is mindfulness exactly?

In simple terms (because I love simple), mindfulness is about slowing down, taking the time to live in the moment and making a conscious decision to appreciate the here and now. The crucial part of this definition for me, and for those I know who could benefit from this philosophy, is the 'conscious decision'. I have always been a firm believer in looking on the positive side of things and I often joke to my kids, especially when we are in the middle or aftermath of a crisis (like a flood) that we need to put our rose-coloured glasses on and look for those bright sides, or wake up and smell the roses as my nanna used to say. With a flood, for them it may be that they get new stuff or get to replace something that was broken anyway, or a couple of days off school. For me it may be that I get to have a clean and organised downstairs with less clutter once the hard work is all done.

Bright sides (and roses to smell) are not always obvious and sometimes you do have to look for them, to make that conscious decision. When we flood if I don't look ahead, past the clean up, and search for a meaning or reason to appreciate the here and now, I would go insane. It is okay to be cranky that your house is flooded but at the end of the day, being thankful for your wonderful family and everyone being safe is my 'appreciating the here and now'.

In my day to day life I work full time from 8.30am-5pm so I plan my mindful moments. In the mornings I go for a walk, listen to the birds sing and occasionally come across a kangaroo or two if I am lucky. I appreciate the early morning light shining through the leaves of the trees, and am mindful of the fact that I am so lucky to be up and about to witness it. Why would I want to sleep in?

These walks on the road and wanders through the garden not only help keep me fit, they also set me up for my day at work. Rather than just rushing out stressed like I used to with kids in tow and a messy kitchen left behind, I now leave with a sense of peace and accomplishment because I have made the conscious decision to appreciate the here and now.

The bridge over Six Mile Creek, which is the source of
our flooding, even looks good in the morning

After watering the garden, my fresh bread which I put on timer in the breadmaker overnight, is ready to slice. I inhale the wonderful aroma as I walk in the door and pull out my bowl of oatmeal that is still warm in the microwave. I then grab a cup of coffee and a slice of buttered toast, and read the daily news before I wake the hubby and kids....bliss.

There are many more examples of mindfulness I can think of such as my daily walk in my lunch break and my gym workout after work (which gives me time to process my day), but I am curious...what do you do that is mindful? Do you take the time to smell the roses? Have you heard of mindfulness before?

Jean Hailes for Womens Health, who have a free magazine for women, have a great article on mindfulness this month. Check it out here Jean Hailes Mindfulness. Subscribe to their magazine while you are there. They post it to you for nothing and it is very informative.

Cheers
Tanya