Jo Goes Healthy

A combination of motivation and information to help me keep getting healthier. If it's useful to someone else too, that's a bonus!

[jogoeshealthy]

Winter in the coffee shop

Photo Credit: sachman75 via Compfight cc

The clip of heels. A red skirt. Cold blown in through the door, warmth rushing in to fill the space again.

An unknown language, straining to hear, searching for common ground. Searching for a seat.

The barked laugh. The seeking-space eyes. There’s a certain type of looking: the looking for an empty seat in a cafe, after you’ve bought your drink. There must be one, there couldn’t not be because then what would you do? There’s always perching with strangers - fine for a quick caffeine fix, not so fine for a read or a catch up. But you’ve never seen anyone not get a seat have you? It’s the law of movement in the world.

Clink of crockery, crash of plates in the barista’s big dirty plate tray.

Baby’s eyes, wrapped up, peering at the world between hat and scarf. Catches my gaze, smile, look on.

Blacks and greys, caramels, chocolates and olives. A uniform for tourists and locals alike, a defence against the dark and the cold.

All languages, bundled on top of each other.

“He said...”

“Let’s see…”

“Come on now…”

“Did you hear…” Lyrical rising and falling of a woman singing in the background.

“My name’s…”

“Nice to meet you…”

“Can I sit here…?”

A child’s shriek, zippings, clinks, scrapes, cash register chings, coffee-grinding, milk-steaming whirrs.

The sounds and sighs and smells of consumption: sugar and sweetness, slurps and sips, stirs and sucks. Cakes shared, pastries offered. “Would you like anything with that, sir?” Temptation avoided or given in to. Large or regular, skinny or fat? What to choose today. A barista helps a girl decide, recommends a drink, assesses her place on the menu. She’s a frothy cappuccino with extra swirl. He’s a strong black coffee, straight up, no fuss. Loyalty rewarded, comfort sought.

A lady drops coins, a gentleman helps collect them off the mucky floor. A connection made, a thank you shared. Everyone’s here to have a good time, to rest, relax. The baristas tend to needs, desires, and the cycle of people, in-out, goes on.

[jogoeshealthy]

Flames through my window

I spend my time at two windows: my sleeping, resting window, and my working window. Outside, there’s a bare patch of turf with a single, beautiful tree. And I’m watching the leaves turn as autumn steps in.

Last week the bottom half was emerald, while from the top down the rest was turning school bus yellow. Now it’s a blaze of gold with hints of forest green showing through, like a lacy yellow top over a green camisole. Slowly the lace is getting denser, and the under-layer is hiding away.

I throw open my curtains to see what progress the view brings today, and I wonder if anyone else around this bald communal space is doing the same. No signs of life from any of these windows, just the flame, standing stock still in the centre of a dry grass patch.

There are no leaves at the very top at all, and the twiggy branches shoot up through the mass of colour, coffee sprigs through a lemon mist.

Hints of rust on the leaf tips. This colour won’t last. My view will change to brown, then grey exposed limbs. Even in this riot of colour there’s a sense of passing, a fleeting-ness, an enjoy-it-while-it-lasts. Does that take something away? I would most likely be unaware of it without the changes, this beautiful bright streak across my day would go unobserved and unremarked. And I would be the poorer for it. It will be drab in winter, but it will hold the memories of autumn through my window.

And now a pink dusting of evening appears in the sky through the pane on the far left, and the light begins to fade. The bright shining leaves of my tree become first pale, then mute, before fading away into full darkness.

[jogoeshealthy]

Why you should make time for stretching, even though it’s boring

Photo Credit: jessicalrone via Compfight cc

Stretching is boring. Fact. You should hold each stretch for longer than you can really be bothered. It involves strange contortions so you need a private space. Who has the time, space and patience these days?

But what happens if you don’t stretch?

1. Physical tension: all those little niggles and pains in unexpected areas - the ones we put up with because we just assume little things do niggle.

2. Inflexibility: we don’t have much range of motion.

3. Soreness after exercise: especially lactic acid floating around and cramps.

4. Wasted energy: expended by holding tension in all those places you weren’t even aware of.

5. Poor posture: making you look unconfident, depressed or just not your best

6. Impaired performance during exercise and higher chance of injury: this is especially true when pushing yourself

7. Mental tension: higher stress levels

Ways to fit stretching into your day

Make a plan, or make some goals, whichever works best for you. Break it up into easy steps and reward yourself for being on target.

Your plan could be to do lower body stretches on Mondays and upper body stretches on Thursday. You could decide to do them while watching Eastenders.

Or you could plan to stretch for 5 minutes before bed each day: calves and glutes on Monday, thighs and hamstrings on Tuesday, upper back and neck on Wednesday, chest, biceps and triceps on Thursday.

You could set a weekly goal to stretch for 10 minutes once a week, gradually building up to three times a week. Or you could set a goal to get in 20 minutes stretching time a week, and break it up however works best for that week.

Write your plan or goals in a diary. Write them on your fridge. Keep them in a notebook by your bed.

Give yourself a regular little reward or bigger rewards more occasionally, whatever is most motivating for you. You could download a new tune for every stretching session (make a list in advance so you know what you’re aiming for). Buy a new top when you’ve kept to your goals for a month.

And remember, it can take 3 months to build a habit so don’t get too frustrated. It’s more beneficial to stretch regularly rather than occasionally - the more you stretch, the quicker it becomes to release tight muscles each time. So aim to gradually build up to a regular habit and you’ll have nice relaxed muscles, and less tension and stress!

Disclaimer: There is much debate over static vs dynamic stretching raging at the moment but whatever you do, don’t stretch cold. Stretching to loosen muscles is generally better after exercise, once you’re nice and warm (and there’s the added satisfaction of being more flexible when you’re nice and warm too). Make sure you don’t overstretch - it should feel tight and then loosen, not painful. And of course I’m not a medical professional.

[jogoeshealthy]

My little companion: The One

Photo Credit: -Jeffrey- via Compfight cc

I always knew I’d need a little friendly technology to save me from ‘home-worker-stuck-in-sofa-cushions’ syndrome. I debated all sorts of pedometers and activity trackers, and if I’m honest, probably made a mountain out of a molehill decision. Finally, though, the Fitbit One called me and I knew we were going to engage in a very active relationship. Its profile was seductive, it was just meant to be.

These babies do feel a little pricey as a non-essential item when the source of tomorrow’s pay cheque is uncertain. But I’m a lucky lady with very generous ex-colleagues who stumped up a voucher for The One as my leaving present.

So before my little holiday I made the order and, joy oh joy, it was lying resplendent on the doormat on my return in its (excessively large) box.

Set up was extremely easy. So easy in fact that there are no instructions - just a piece of paper telling you to plug in and go on the website, in every single language.

It is a powerful little beast really. It can measure oh so many things: steps, stairs, calories, miles, hours of effective sleep, level of activity. And you can add your own food log and log of which activities you’ve been doing if you want to. You can even tell it when you were asleep last night, if you happened to forget to set it during that sleepy twilight time.

On current estimates the battery is going to last a full week, which is entirely bizarre in a world where phones are charged every night. I’m more than a little worried I’ll forget and it will just go into a slow decline and wilt.

And talking of wilting, there’s the little flower too. I’m not convinced about this one yet: to my mind the more exercise you complete in a day, the more gorgeously flowering your flower will be. Sadly though, you actually have to keep tending it constantly or it starts to dwindle. So I could do a massive workout in the morning followed by a lunchtime walk, but if I sit on my backside all afternoon and evening then it won’t be a happy flower by bedtime. Not exactly satisfying, but perhaps realistic on my track record of abandoning plants.

Currently nothing gets measured prior to 10am in my house. Oh there’s nothing wrong with this perfectly formed machine: I just don’t think skipping to the kitchen in PJs for breakfast can really count as activity. I make up for it by getting straight into sports gear though, for a quick morning workout.

It fits very nicely inside my sports bra but less nicely inside other bras, so it stays in my jeans pocket. I have no idea what I’ll do with dresses - I don’t want to spoil the nice lines I’m creating with all this exercise!

I quite like to finish off the day by pacing around the kitchen while catching up on blogs. Not traditional exercise perhaps, but the little One persuades me to make it up to 6000 steps each day. I just don’t think the traditional 10,000 is possible in an average day at home, there’s a limit to how many grooves I can wear in the floor. My old commute only stacked up to 4000 anyway so it’s already an improvement.

It’s certainly a friendly little companion which gets me off my backside more than I would otherwise. It is most definitely a good thing and really, I know I would have invested in one myself in the end.

Well worth it!

[jogoeshealthy]

A new world awaits

Photo Credit: Elvert Barnes via Compfight cc

I’ve really done it: I’ve left the corporate world of secure employment and taken the plunge into freelance life. I’m starting out on my own in the world with a laptop, a dining room table and a lot of coloured pens. The prospect has been swimming around inside my brain for months, ever since that fateful day I mumbled my notice hesitantly at my boss, and started the countdown.

But will reality live up to those months of expectation? Should I, in fact, have had several more than two or three moments wondering what on earth I was doing? Does the fact it all felt so natural really mean it is?

And perhaps more importantly, will I drive my boyfriend nuts?

Ok, so I only have three days’ experience to go on, not much I grant you. But so far I’m very much enjoying:

- motivating myself

- having faith in myself

- living at a much slower pace (not a single email yet today - in my old world I’d be well past 200 by mid-afternoon)

- hearing the silence (and/or hum of the washing machine)

- being a pajama-wrapped antisocial Bah Humbug all morning

- staying in and watching the rain, knowing I don’t have to commute with my head in an armpit or contorting to avoid my own armpit-gate with someone else.

There have been moments of trepidation, knots in my stomach. I’ve felt daunted by starting from scratch and with the tasks I’ve set myself. I’ve been cold because I don’t want excessive heating bills. I’ve got antsy to move around, just when the boyfriend comes home wanting to talk about his day and collapse. I’ve been worried that I’ll take on too much work in a bid to not have too little.

Three days setting myself up is clearly too few to say if it’s going to work, but I’m filled with excitement for the potential ahead. I’m quite sure boredom will kick in when the work arrives but until then I’m going to revel in my new found freedom.

And wonder why I waited so long to make the leap.

[jogoeshealthy]

Knowing myself: attempting to choose an activity tracker

Photo Credit: MatthewJCarter via Compfight cc

A pretty simple task, I thought: to choose an activity tracker. Look at everything available, look at what each one does and simply pick the features in my price range.

You see I’m going to be mostly working from home later this year, which will immediately reduce my commute (yay!) and walking around the office (yay!) but inevitably means less routine movement built into each day. I’ll need to work much harder to create everyday activity.

So I decided to get a pedometer. It’s one thing to know you should go for a lunchtime walk, quite another to have a number telling you to do more. Personally I find that extremely motivating. Last year I participated in the Global Corporate Challenge to walk 10,000 steps a day. They send you free analogue pedometers which largely did the trick but are broken now. I know they weren’t completely accurate, but seeing 8000 steps really did make me get off a stop earlier on the way home and run up and down the stairs a few times before bed.

When I told my boyfriend I wanted a pedometer he seemed enthusiastic and decided to get one too. I was really excited to have some competition! But when he offered to take on finding the right one, that’s when it all went wrong (not at all his fault!)

Omron Walking Style III Pedometer: This is what he decided we needed – very cheap at about £17 and it tracks steps. He arranged the purchase and I anticipated its arrival. Only when it arrived and I read the booklet did I realise it does what it says on the tin – it ONLY tracks steps. It won’t track zumba, or jogging. It won’t measure trips to the kitchen for tea. It won’t measure extra runs up the stairs. And it needs to be carried in a pocket or bag. Previously I had something clipped to my trousers which could be forgotten for the day. So it does great things for a cheap price, but if I’m sitting at my desk of an afternoon and read 500 steps, that won’t get me up for a 10 minute boogie around the house. And that’s what I need.

Lesson learned – don’t accept the boyfriend’s offer of help because he’s lovely and it’s easier. It’s not easier when he has an entirely different idea of what he wants! He loves his Omron because he goes for long walks and simply wants to track them.

Time to get down to my own research…

Photo Credit: Alex E. Proimos via Compfight cc

Fitbit Zip: A little more pricey at around £40 but still not outrageous. Sadly though, this only tracks steps, distance or calories. Ultimately it seems that anything without an altimeter won’t properly track all the things I want it to.

FitBit Flex: Up into a new price range altogether now. I don’t think I want something to go on my wrist but I would compromise for the right functionality. On top of that, it may be sitting on your wrist but your only information from there about how you’re doing against goals is 5 tiny lights. I need numbers people, give me numbers!

Withings Pulse: Finally, something with an altimeter. It’s promising, but the reviews so far suggest it needs some tweaking to be completely effective.

Onwards…

Jawbone Up and Nike Fuelband: Going way beyond my price range now. I have to be realistic about how much money I spend getting myself to do stuff I should be doing anyway. Again, I’m not that keen on a wristband, and definitely not at these prices. Add to that the fact that the Jawbone Up seems to be a pain to track anything other than steps, and the Fuelband only works with iPhone.

Misfit Shine: I WANT ONE! This looks like exactly what I want (and it’s very small and pretty), but without an iPhone I simply can’t use it.

And the probable winner so far is…

Fitbit One: Mid-range price, includes an altimeter, clips to a belt, displays numbers. On top of this it syncs with SparkPeople.com, which I previously used for tracking and might be tempted back to (there’s great community support on there). And there are badges! They’re only a ‘nice to have’ but I know they motivate me. However it still feels pricey to me. I’m moving away from a steady income so I can’t just splash out as freely anymore.

Or back to analogue as a last resort??

Yes, I seriously considered it. Can I get something that works, even if it is a little inaccurate, and just counts my steps? I haven’t yet found anything with decent reviews but really this is all I need. I seem to be asking a lot though.

Computer reminders to get up? Yes I know about these but they would drive me completely crazy. Much as I need to move regularly, my work requires getting into the zone, a state of flow, for a reasonable amount of time. I will break any computer or gadget that forcibly makes me stop.

My main problem of course is that I have something very specific in mind. After 2 years of getting healthier, I really know what motivates me. I do not intend to spend money on a fancy gadget with lots of things I could use but doesn’t ultimately get me off my backside.

Do you know of a product I’ve completely missed which does what I’m looking for? Please, please tell me about it! I'll come back with an update once the final decision is made.

[jogoeshealthy]

Coldpress Tropical Juice

Photo credits: Joanna Shock. All rights reserved.

Quick note: all opinions are my own, and they’re just that – my opinions! And if you have no interest in geeking out on branding and packaging, you may want to skip the bottom section. See cold-press.co.uk for full facts from the company.

How much is it? £2.80 for a 750ml bottle in Sainsburys, contains 3 servings. They also do 250ml bottles.

How does it taste? Yummy! It’s very sweet, but in a good fruity way not an artificial-tasting way, and it’s definitely nicely tropical and very refreshing. I don’t like apple juice but it wasn’t a problem that this is 49% apples. The other ingredients are oranges, pineapple, peach and passionfruit. What’s not to like?! The only addition is ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

What’s the stats (macros per 250ml portion)? 108 calories, 24.2g carbs (all sugars), 1.1g protein, <0.1g fat.

What about general nutritional value? I actually like the fact that a portion of this only has 1 of your 5 a day. I know some people drink a juice to get 3 portions in one go, ignoring the high sugar content, and then decide they’re done for the day. I may have been guilty of this in the past myself, but now I do think just having 1 in a drink is a bit more reasonable. However it is a little confusing that the website says 150ml contains 1 of your 5 a day, but the bottle implies it’s 250ml.

The website states that the process used retains plenty of vitamin C and antioxidants. I can’t help thinking that this plays on the current fad of antioxidants being Good Things. That’s not to say they aren’t good to have in there, but sometimes people are blinded by the fashionable Good Things, feeling they are protected from all evil things by nice antioxidant defences, so it doesn’t matter what other rubbish they eat. However the lack of anything else beyond fruit in these juices is encouraging.

What’s with cold pressing? I tried to find a clear, well-balanced explanation of the differences between heat pasteurised and cold pressed juices to understand which is better. There are a lot of biased reviews and I suspect that it’s a little early for full comparisons to have been completed.  The coldpress website has a quick explanation but I would have liked to see some links for the consumer interested in digging deeper. Having done that briefly myself I know that heat pasteurising slows down any spoiling from microbial growth, while cold pressing makes yeast, mould and bacteria inactive. The key difference is that heat pasteurisation also damages some nutrients while cold pressing doesn’t.

What else do they make? There are plenty of other flavours in the range and I’d certainly like to try more. The others are more apple-based so I don’t know if I’ll like them as much, but I’m willing to give it a try because this one was so good. Maybe Apple Peach next? I may also be swayed by the style of the bottles too!

Attractive packaging? The interesting hexagonal bottles definitely stand out from the rest of the shelf. So does the gradual colour change down the bottle. It means you can’t quite tell the colour of the juice but it’s visible so nothing is being hidden. And it looks a bit like an interesting chemistry experiment in there. There’s lots to read on the bottle without being overly cluttered, which I enjoy (I’m absolutely not a mindful eater so it’s nice to be distracted by something relevant). The tone feels halfway between Innocent’s jokey, matey style and the more grown up straight-laced juice makers that have been around for some time. I was glad not to see an Innocent-style joke on the bottom, but I did have to check.

And the branding? Nice font – not too funky, not old and boring. I’m not sure if using hard-to-read white text on a clear bottle is a ploy to get us to look closer, or just not very well-thought through. The brand name is clearly pushing the current cold pressed fashion, enhanced by a tagline of ‘no cooking = pure taste’. I’m not sure if there is enough out there in the media yet to make people aware of what difference cold pressing makes (see above), but in the explanation on the side of the bottle the words ‘without heat pasteurisation’ are clearly meant to tap into the general feeling that pasteurisation is bad. However it does use cold pasteurisation which could be a little confusing for the average consumer. Also, the phrase ‘retains the pure taste, nutrition and antioxidants’ clearly shouts ‘this is good for you!’

Overall verdict? In general a lovely juice which I’m likely to buy again for the taste, rather than the nutritional benefits.

  Have you tried any coldpress juices? What do you think? What’s the main thing that draws you to a new juice or smoothie brand? Do you know a good, unbiased article on the benefits of cold pressing juice?

_______________

A quick water update: I’m down to drinking about 2.7 litres a day so far and it’s been a bit up and down. On the positive side I’m sleeping much better, much less bloated, no cramps so far and I haven’t been left feeling thirsty. I clearly haven’t got it right yet though with a few light-headed episodes, and my body has been distinctly tired this week – like I’ve done a really hard workout every day. In fact I’ve taken a rest from workouts for the week. It’ll take a little adjusting but I will get there. And once I adjust to this level, I’ll try to cut down from a still-too-high 2.7L!

[jogoeshealthy]

Mindless drinking (of water)

Photo Credit: Joanna Shock. All rights reserved.

In my last blog post I mentioned that I often had bread and water as a kid, through choice. Water has always been my go-to drink. It quenches thirst beautifully as you glug down a glassful (no ice, thank you) and it rejuvenates the body in ways that nothing else can. I find it genuinely difficult to comprehend how so many people find it hard to drink.

Compared to the average person I do consume a lot, and since starting to exercise consistently I’ve drunk even more. Certainly it’s natural and necessary to replenish what’s lost, but it appears I may be out of control. Anyone else drink two pints in an average night and still wake up thirsty in the morning?

No, I don’t enjoy the bleary-eyed toilet trips any more than you might expect.

I didn’t think it was a problem until about a week ago when my boyfriend suggested I go to the doctor. When he suggests going to the doctor I know it’s really time to pay attention, and to be fair I’ve recently reached three pints a night and am not sleeping properly. I checked out the potential culprits and quickly eliminated the big ones: no other symptoms suggesting thyroid or kidney problems or diabetes.

(Most frequent symptom appearing that I don’t have: loss of appetite!)

I’ll spare you the detective work and say in conclusion that I’m simply drinking too much water, purely through habit. The symptoms stack up: excessive thirst during the night (my body simply being used to so much water), frequent night cramps (low sodium levels), constantly feeling bloated. It’s possible my cold hands/feet and occasional headaches come into the mix too. And perhaps the relatively low blood pressure.

So now I’m tracking what I drink. Just like those who try to drink more each day, I’m carrying around a measured water bottle to keep tabs on myself. I’m reducing gradually and won’t actually go thirsty, but simply through being mindful of what I do drink I’ve already cut out at least two pints a day. And I’ve slept far better so far, with no cramps and a lot less bloating.

The real test was zumba class yesterday. I looked up how much water is reasonable to drink and then tried to not automatically take a slug or three between every song. By the end of the class I’d drunk one 500ml bottle instead of my usual two, and felt absolutely fine.

I hear mindless eating discussed frequently, but never mindless drinking. Am I entirely along in this?

I’m really hoping this will fix the problem, but if not the next stop is the doctor’s office. I don’t think self-diagnosis is clever in the long term, but if I can try out a few things myself then either it will work, or I’ll have some useful information for the doctor as a starting point.

I'll give it a week and see what changes occur...

[jogoeshealthy]

Loving bread, hating the bread bloat

Photo Credit: Bob.Fornal via Compfight cc

My love-hate relationship with bread has been going on my entire life. As a child I couldn’t stomach the usual white rubbish that other kid’s seemed to love but would always take my brown loaf dry with water (cheap to run, my mother said). Then somewhere along my digestive journey I got in a pickle and thought only white would work for me. I had some very confused times for a while.

Part of my significant diet changes over the last couple of years has been my reduced bread intake. For one thing I’ve come to understand how calorie-dense it is. And for another I’ve realised I don’t need to constantly stuff myself with carbs (high pasta, high bread diet anyone?) So I eat a lot less bread than I used to and my body thanks me for it.

Sadly though, I love the loaves. It’s just so yummy and gorgeous. But I’ve had to accept that, for me, it’s yummy and gorgeous in the same way that cake is yummy and gorgeous - it has to be an occasional treat if I don’t want to walk around like a bloated hippo the entire time. On the hottest day of the year last week, we couldn’t be bothered to cook so dinner consisted of tuna mayonnaise sandwiches and salad. The next night I was out for a few drinks after work so filled up on a baguette at lunch (pre-drink stomach-lining) and after drinking only felt like lazy snacks, so out came the English muffins and the pittas. Not a big deal, nothing actually unhealthy, but my stomach paid me back. I felt pretty rubbish and looked the size of a house. Perhaps a minor exaggeration but it wasn’t how I wanted to look and feel.

I will keep eating it in moderation, the same way I eat cake in moderation. But it’s sad to think my days of relying on it for a quick feed are done. And they’re done because my priority is to feel as well as I possibly can in my body. I’m making a choice for bread to take a backseat to that.

[jogoeshealthy]

Workout plan detour

Photo Credit: Shannon K via Compfight cc

Having just posted my workout plan, I’ve had to take a bit of a detour this week. I stuck to it until Wednesday but then the in-laws came to stay which made working out a little tricky. I didn’t want them witnessing the hot, sweaty mess I become as I collapse on the floor at the end! We did get in a lot of walking while showing them the sites of London so some exercise was had. And I managed to sneak away to a zumba class on Saturday with one of my favourite teachers.

Today I was meant to get back on track but I just had too many muscles complaining. There seems to be a point where my body switches from ‘Do I have to?’ to ‘Ain’t gonna!’. After a distinct lack of stretching recently, following by sitting around, followed by a zumba-bashing, my body was crying out for something different. So today featured a few Blogilates workouts and really focused on those bits which have been feeling a neglected recently: inner thighs and core. Odd combination, I know! And all followed by some actually decent stretching.

Tomorrow will be back on track with the plan. Full push ups, here I come again!

[jogoeshealthy]

Energy, grace and power

Photo Credit: khalid almasoud via Compfight cc (not cirque du soleil)

I saw Cirque Du Soleil for the first time this week and was simply blown away. The whole spectacle was amazing, and the acrobats were incredibly impressive, but what I really enjoyed was the simple joy of movement. These people move (to the extremes) every day of their lives and the whole thing made me want to move. It was less ‘I want to look and move like they do’ and more ‘movement is a wonderful gift we have, let’s celebrate it!’

The show was Alegria, which is a ‘Baroque ode to the energy, grace and power of youth,…’ so it’s hardly surprising how joyful it was, but I really took away the sense that I want to get out there and use my human body more. I say all this sitting at a computer so clearly I have no plans to abandon all of our 21st century lifestyle, but I’ve been inspired to get seek out more classes and events where I can move. Not because it’s good for me, but because it’s fun and I know will make me feel wonderful!

[jogoeshealthy]

My current workout plan

*Not me (yet!) Photo Credit: Louish Pixel via Compfight cc

I've come a long way from a chronic cardio lover who hates strength training, to someone who would rather do a quick squat session and get out the door. I still love a little zumba now and again, but that's more about enjoying myself, getting a hit of endorphins with great music and just letting go. It doesn't feature in my exercise plan - it's just fun.

My current plan is based on the advice from the Beautiful Badass aka Nia Shanks. It alternates two workouts:

Workout A Superset 1: 4 deadlift sets Superset 2: 2 x overhead press/chin up sets, back extensions set Superset 3: 2 x overhead press/chin up sets, back extensions set

Workout B: Superset 1: 4 squat sets Superset 2: 2 x push ups set/bent over rows set, plank Superset 3: 2 x push ups set/bent over rows set, plank

Each set consists of 5 reps the first time you do the workout, 6 the next time, working up to 8. And after you reach 8, you add 5-10lbs to the bar.

The best thing about this workout is that every time I start it I’m thinking ‘I can’t lift/push/pull that much – I’m never going to make it to the end’ but I ALWAYS do!

Evidence: I had never done a full push up before this week.

Evidence: I have progressed from chin ups with 2 feet on a chair to chin ups with 1 foot on a chair.

What? I never said I didn’t modify the exercises!! Only way to progress…

[jogoeshealthy]

Working out in the heat

You'll hear it said many times but we're just not set up for the heat in the UK. I don't do very well with the heat. However I was very proud to have actually completed my workout today when the thermometer said 29.7 degrees inside the flat. I did my deadlifts, overheads presses, chin ups (with chair), back extensions, and finished it all off with a few squat jumps. I'm progressing up through the weights gradually and today was one of those where I didn't think I'd make it to the end of my sets but I did every one.

I'm going to blog my workout sets soon as they seem to be working well for me. I could do with a little cardio, or perhaps some nice metabollic finishers to get the fat shifting a little more, but it's keeping it all in place for now. That's about all I can do until I JUST STOP eating that extra little thing once too often (note to self!)!

[jogoeshealthy]

If at first you don't succeed...

Take 2. This is a replacement for the blog post I just lost on just getting on with things (things being blogging) and not overthinking them. And there was a part about taking baby steps, because the way I learned to eat healthy and exercise was through baby steps.

Unfortunately my feelings towards the technology are less than pleasant right now but if I don't write again, I'll have been defeated at the first hurdle.

Anyone else completely overthink everything (my boyfriend says it's a female thing) and then let themselves be daunted by the task at hand? This doesn't have to be the best blog out there right now, or indeed ever. It just has to be. I need to keep that thought in my head.

So here are my blogging baby steps to getting over the hurdles in my way...

 Photo Credit: Infinite Jeff via Compfight cc

[jogoeshealthy]

Maybe starting up again?

Not the exercise - that's still going strong(ish) and I might have something interesting to report on that before too long. I might start blogging again. Who knows?

[jogoeshealthy]

Helpful or unhelpful food labeling?

Oh dear, oh dear. Who'd have thought a major life change and moving house could cause so much disruption for a little blog? Well it's about time to get on with chatting about healthy living...

There's been a lot in the press lately about food labeling and the best way to do it. In the UK it won't be long before we have standards for these so I'll be interested to see how many of the new finds those creating the standards take into account.

First off there's the study indicating that green nutrition labels could suggest a healthy food, whatever actual numbers they have. This is of course worrying, and suggests that any current systems using green for 'go' nutrients on a packet could be misleading. I've worried about these before because these are only 'go' foods for a particular nutrient, if you don't then eat 10 other similarly good foods with that nutrient in a day, and end up going overboard: calcium is great, but not so great in large quantities.

Secondly there's the suggestion of putting exercise-equivalents on menus rather than calorie counts (it hasn't got to food packaging yet). My immediate concern here is that someone reading quite how long a burger will take to run off may just be overwhelmed by the thought and proceed with a 'screw it, it's a hopeless case, I might as well pig out' type attitude. However, on this occasion I do like the concept. In the UK at least, the only people who really understand calories are those who have obsessed over them in all the healthy and not-so-healthy diets that surround us. Sometimes that might seem like every woman under the sun, but in reality there is a definite lack of education and understanding about what a calorie is, and what it means to your body in all it's different forms.

So I say bring on the real-life information that allows everyone to understand how they're treating themselves and finally make informed decisions. Just don't put the information in green please.

[jogoeshealthy]

Exploding brain alert: learning ahead!

I've just started a Coursera course on Nutrition, arrogantly assuming the introduction week would be a quick recap for me. How wrong I was: in under 20 minutes we're into details of macronutrients I never knew about, and have never come across in all my nutrition reading. Of course that's because most of what I've been reading so far is aimed at educating for a better diet, not getting people involved in the scientific details. Now my brain is exploding and it's so exciting!!

I may know a little more than some of the general public, but I see now I've barely scratched the surface. Pride comes before a fall: well I've just fallen flat on my face, which I'm taking as a great opportunity to get back up and try again. This time I can see there's a whole mountain, not just a hill to be scaled, but climbing up that mountain is going to be so much fun. I'm going to know so much more when I get to the top, and when I do, I'll be scouring the horizon for the next one around I can scramble up.

Today's learning: a balanced diet contains carbs, proteins and fats, with a small side helping of humility.