Day Two and Three

I’m so chuffed with myself these last couple of days. In the past I would make any excuse to get out of going to the gym or swimming (I was only lying to myself), but now I feel like something has changed in my head. Maybe it’s my head and body finally catching up with each other and making me realise I can’t go on forever at this weight and being so unfit.

Wednesday morning I got up at 6am and went for my C25K run. I still found it really difficult and couldn’t do the entire running as the program tells you to, but I managed to do one more bout of it than on Monday – so it was a small success. Yet again, after I completed my run, I felt totally energised and for the rest of the day I was in a great mood and slept like a baby at night.

A friend told me about an app that she has been using to help her lose weight called www.myfitnesspal.com. It’s a really simple site to use which calculates – based on your height, weight and age ­– how many calories you should be eating to help you lose weight at an achievable and sensible rate (1lb a week). It has a food diary and a record of most food’s calorie, fat, carb and protein content so that you can really see exactly what you are putting into your body. I absolutely love it as it helps me make an informed choice of what to eat.

We all think we know what’s healthy or unhealthy, and we can all read the nutritional facts panel on our food, but what’s great about this is it also has the servings size, not just per 100 grams, so that you can see exactly how many calories you are consuming – as well as carbs, protein and fat. Oh I forgot to mention the best bit about the app is that it is all completely free! There is also a community section where people can post either inspirational stories and photos of weight loss or chat about any other weight issues and get moral support from others online. I absolutely love it and find it’s far better than the other online diet tools. I can’t recommend it enough! So that was Wednesday.

Thursday was supposed to be one of my rest days but the weather here was so hot and muggy all I could think of was getting in a swimming pool to cool off, so after work I dashed home to de-fuzz my legs first (It’s been a long winter lol) and almost ran down the Jardin de Reuilly thinking the pool closed at eight. I got there to find there had been ‘une probleme electrique’ and they didn’t know how long it was going to take to repair. In the past I would have taken this as my cue to give myself the excuse “Oh well, at least you tried, it’s not your fault,” and turned around to go back home. Not this time. I waited it out and after about 20 minutes the pool was open again.

 

French swimming pools are like going back to school. Everyone has to wear swimming caps first of all (yuk) and men have to wear Speedo style trunks which do not flatter any man (unless he is Linford Christie ;-) ).  The water was a little chilly at first and it took me a little while to get the hang of doing the lengths, but in the end I managed 24 lengths in just over 30 minutes. The water felt absolutely amazing and I felt like I belonged there as soon as I got into my stride.

So on to this morning (Friday) annnnnd I bloody did it!! I ran the full 20-minute section as per the app tells you to, I even ran in the rain – which would have never happened in the past, and the lift was out of order when I got back so I had to walk up five flights of a winding staircase. I was practically on my knees by the time I got to the door, but I felt absolutely top of the pops for doing it. I’m sure it was the swimming the night before that helped as it seemed to stretch out all of the muscles in my legs and back. One last thing I almost forgot to mention – I have lost 2lbs since Monday morning!! I weighed myself after my run today so in four days I have lost 2lbs. I’m absolutely buzzing!!

I am off to Chartres for the weekend so lets see how I cope with that one!! I will be back after the weekend to tell you all about it…