Spreading hips

This is the photo that really drove home to me that the creeping weight was starting to show. Of course it was after a week in Paris and 10 days in London, so all the eating and boozing with my sisters and my boy hadn’t helped. I used to be able to take those pants off without undoing them. Not anymore.

Nice story to the photo though. Jake and I are standing in front of the church in Willesden (NE London) where my parents got married – 53 years ago. Mum and Dad are were an ‘item’ at training college in Auckland. They both headed off on their OE in the early 50s – separately of course. They met up again in London, got married and stayed until Mum got pregnant with my oldest sister. The first time they went back was in their golden anniversary year – and they visited the church too.

Isn't my boy looking fine?

Easily derailed

In fact, it sometimes seems the tracks aren’t there at all!

Having decided I really want to get my weight down, at least back into the (once briefly visited) mid-70s, I am struggling to keep my focus going for more than a few days at a time.

I know exactly why this is happening, but that doesn’t help me get it under control.

When I first lost a large amount of weight – 46kg in that first year – it was easy to become very self-centred in my approach. I didn’t realise it fully at the time, but my life was not really a very happy place. Apart from my son and my work, I wasn’t getting much fulfilment. So, it was easy to throw myself into eating plans and exercise schedules. More importantly, it was easier to stick to them when I had so few distractions.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m not moaning about being deliriously happy. No way, baby!

But now I need to take a new approach, and it’s taking me some time to get my head around. In the long run, it will be a more realistic approach, because it will be how I live the rest of my life.

It’s no longer about being strict, about firmly defined limits. It’s about being flexible. There will be much more ‘listening’ to my body, and thinking about whether I really want something, or if it’s just a short term urge that will go away if resisted.

I’m actually very excited about this. There are lots of things involved that I’ve only be playing lip service to for a long time – portion sizes, healthy choices, self control. But it will take a bit of trial and error to get right.

Exercise continues to be very important to me. Not just because I love it, but because it helps keep me focused. I know how much better I run if I haven’t had those two glasses of wine the night before – so if I have a run planned it is easier to abstain. Basically, it is easier for me to eat well if I am exercising well.
So, in a world where sustainability is the buzz word of the moment, here’s to a more sustainable approach to my health.

Thank you Shauna

How often have you rolled your eyes as you spot the latest bestseller wonder-diet book on the shelves? Are we really convinced that ballroom dancing changed Norm Hewitt’s life, or that the Movie Star Diet is the thing for us?

I certainly won’t waste my time reading books that tell me everything I’m doing wrong, or spend money to be preached at about how I should live.

The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl by Shauna Reid fits into none of these categories. Shauna isn’t claiming she can change your life or save you from yourself. She is, quite simply, telling you her story.

Not that the story is simple. Shauna takes her readers through not just the journey of her weight loss, but the journey of a huge part of her life – the influences that created her weight issues, her struggles with social isolation, and her battles with depression. But it’s not all about the hard stuff – what superhero adventure would be complete without triumph: overcoming evil, exciting travel adventures and a great love story?

I chose to read Dietgirl in two sittings – three hour flights to and from Sydney. I was crying within the first dozen pages and cursing Shauna for wreaking havoc on my makeup. Sleepy passengers were several times close to lynching me for snorting with laughter. But mostly there was most un-Sue-like silence as I devoured the story of this amazing woman.

I suspect Shauna would tell you she is just an ordinary person. If she is, then she has an extraordinary ability to communicate. If you have visited the Dietgirl website you know that, but reading the book shows the depth of her ability.

So Shauna, thank you for bring us your story. You may have changed your own life, but you have touched mine profoundly.

Owwweee!

Oooo, it hurts. Somehow it doesn't matter how fit you think you are, there is always something that will prove you're not.

Last night I couldn't face running in the freezing cold again, so I decided to do my kickboxing DVD instead. For the first time in like 18 months.

And it burns. Thighs, butt and that bit at the top of my calves.

Of course adapting the routine to fit in a living room the size of a bread bin was interesting too!

What a lovely weekend

The weather was still vile on Friday night – no surprise there, it really has been a hard winter. We wandered into Petone to see how opening night was going at Lone Star. Had a margarita there and then bailed because of the crowd. Very nice meal at Gusto though.

On Saturday the forecast looked better for Paekakariki than Petone, so we headed up to the caravan about lunchtime.

It was still less than 10 degrees, but we headed off for a ride on the trails in Queen Elizabeth Park. Great fun and great exercise. Good for my confidence too, which I’ve been struggling to get back after my accident. If I went any slower downhill up be peddling backwards up the hill!

We got caught in a heavy downpour, but were only about 5 minutes from home, so toughed it out and got back to the caravan dripping wet.

Freezing overnight, but Sunday dawned to one of those magnificent winter days – clear and still, so the cold doesn’t seem to matter any more. Back on the bikes for another great ride – down to the beach for coffee, along the beach to Raumati and then back on the trails again.

Then it was time for the great shift – we needed to get off the site we were on at the caravan park as it had a long-term booking. After much wandering about, scratching of chins and working out the angle of the sun, we decided where to go.

So, pack a few things away and hook up the truck. Easy. Did I mention it’s been a vile winter? And that the ground is really wet? And that our truck and caravan combined weigh in at over 3.5 tonne? That’s right; we got stuck in the mud. Chewed the hell out the grass and then couldn’t go either forward or back.

Had to go and get the tractor from the camp owners and pull the van to another site. We’ll leave it there for a month or so till the ground dries out.

Of course now there’s lots of mud to clean off both vehicles…

All round, it was a great week of exercise. I aim to do at least 240 minutes a week, spread over 6 days. This week I got to 320 minutes.

I told you it was cute

Actually, you can't help but say 'cute' when you see it. And just wait until we finish the renovations inside....

Our perfect little love nest!

Hellooooo?

Just in case anyone notices I’m here, here’s some of the stuff that has gone on in the last six (!!) months.

I went to Paris and London with two of my sisters – and got to spend over a week with Jake
My shoulder took a long time to get really better, but I’ve been back on full time exercise since the middle of May
We now live in a cottage in Petone – it is incredibly cute and tiny, only 70 square meters, but just perfect for us and less than half a block from the beach
We are also the proud owners of a caravan. It is very flash and luxurious – but I am now officially trailer trash, apparently. We have left it up the coast for now and pop up for as many weekends as we can
Between lack of exercise and being incredibly happy, my weight had gone up to over 88kg. I've been working on that for the last six weeks and am back under 83kg. I still have a hankering to get down to that 72kg mark

Not sure if I'm back to full-time blogging - will try for a weekly update for now.