The scales don't lie...

Today I weighed myself for the first time in a long time and I'm heavier than I thought I was. Damn diddly damn was my first thought. No way I can still tell myself I'm xkgs when now I know I'm actually x+afewkgs.

I guess this explains the too tight trousers, the squidgy tummy and the giant bottom. And the need to actually do something about it instead of sitting on the giant bottom and letting it get gianter.

J and I have been running a couple of times and we'll hopefully go again this weekend. So if we can do that once a week it'll be a good start. Plus I'm doing my first ever yoga course, a six-week Ashtanga course which after two weeks I'm really enjoying. So small progress, but a longer way to go than I at first thought!!!

So I leave you with this little pug. Because it is Friday after all :)

Photo by Charity Lynne Photography found via Cute Overload

Monday thoughts

I have become rather entranced by Innocent's veg pots. These little pots of goodness give me two of my veg a day and are low in fat. Wonderful! Plus they taste pretty good.

I managed to give my first proper gift yesterday, I gave my sister a babygro I picked up in Buenos Aires. This is not as random as it sounds as my sister is 19 weeks pregnant. Very pleased to have given my first 'real' gift!

I still ache from Thursday evening. I've started Pole Dancing again, this time Level 2, and the leap in difficulty is tough. But hopefully it'll help tone me a little bit more!

The sunshine this morning lifted my heart. As did the heads of the crocus beginning to show in St James Park. I am hoping this really does herald the beginning of spring!

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend.

Pole Dancing I

I had my first pole dancing class on Wednesday night and it was much fun! There were 9 of us in the class, 3 per pole and the rest of the girls were lovely. I felt very self-conscious in my little shorts (purchased that lunch hour) but everyone else was also wearing shorts so I swallowed my embarrassment and got stuck in. We warmed up with lots of stretching, which hurt, I have no flexibility anymore, but felt good to be stretching again. And then we were at the poles. It started easy and I thought okay, maybe this isn't so hard. Until we had to do our first spin. The firemans spin.

Our teacher makes it look so easy, so smooth. Until we started going. Clumsy but trying hard. It took a few goes to get the idea and then we were all spinning round nicely and landing without thumps and looking kind of elegant.

By the end of the class we had done a little routine, a few spins and then some pole conditioning. This sounds simple but jeez, it's tough. Especially when like me you have no upper body strength. I can't even do a push up... So to basically do a chin up on the pole using only my strength and no jumping was an impossibility for me. Maybe at the end of the six weeks I'll get there...

I now have sore muscles, not too bad but I can feel it. They've been worked. Plus a nice bruise on my calf, a war wound as it were. And I felt good at the end of the class. The challenge of learning something new. Doing things with confidence and holding your head up when dancing and meeting a lovely group of girls.

I also have an even greater respect for the Un-Bride, she must be strong... No wonder also she has an amazing figure, check her wedding pictures for proof. And I would recommend this. I've gone through the pole dancing school and my teacher is lovely, plus they've been really helpful. More to follow next week I'm sure :)

On being asked about your weight and what follows...

Image from Cute Overload

I have just been asked if I have put on weight. To which I had to be honest and say yes. But I was surprised I was asked, it is not something one normally does! However the person asking is a Middle Eastern lady who is part of the group I am currently managing a programme for. I met her first in May and she hasn't seen me since then. Does this then make it okay for her to ask if I am getting fatter?

And is it okay for me to feel hurt that I was asked even if I know it to be true?

Mine is a creeping weight gain, a little here and there which as it is adding up is becoming a lot. I know I need to do something about it. I have known this for a while. Big sister has been great and encouraging, I have been useless.

But I have done one thing... Give up my gym membership which I was wasting money on each month and not using. And instead signed up for a six week pole dancing course. My course starts in two and a half weeks. I hope that by doing this I will regain some interest in exercise and begin the slow journey down the weight loss road. Any suggestions/support/ideas much appreciated.

M x

Realisation

I have been steadily gaining weight since summer last year, not huge amounts, just my clothes are getting tighter month by month. I have also been paying for a gym membership since October which I have used about 6 times. Not good.

So here it is, I need to do something about getting fitter and trimmer. Not hugely but enough to feel better about myself. It is amazing how much difference 1 or 2 lbs can make.

J and I keep talking about running, which I would like to do. And I think I could enjoy it and it's a good thing to do as you really feel the difference. I also think I will give up my gym membership, I know this sounds odd, given I have been moaning about not being fit, but I don't enjoy going to the gym so it seems silly to pay for it. I was thinking about Pilates, but have no idea where to go for this. Anyone any thoughts on Pilates?

Or on trimming and getting fit in general? All advice/suggestions/help much appreciated.

And soon a perkier post about my weekend!

Netball in the city

I've been playing netball for a long time now, since I was at school so perhaps since I was 11 and it's been one of those things I have picked up and put down depending on budget time etc. But every time I pick it up again I remember how much I enjoy it and why I have always played it. For those of you unfamiliar with netball try this wikipedia article as it's probably better at explaining it than me!

Anyway, the point of this is that when I first graduated from university I stopped playing and assumed that there would be no where in London to play, we always struggled to get courts as a university team so I assumed there really were none. Then I stumbled across an old friend from uni who was playing in Pimlico and she asked me to fill in for their team. Eventually I plucked up the courage to join a random team and it was one of the best decisions I made. I've met so many wonderful people, had such fun and it's a great way to exercise without needing too much motivation. The organisation who sort out all our matches are called One Netball and I would recommend anyone interested in joining in to contact them.

Moving on from netball I'm struggling hugely with motivation to go to the gym at the moment, even with my monthly membership knocking a hole in my current account once a month! So I was thinking that maybe I should look at joining something else like netball where I have more reason to go. Any ideas?