image creditNever a truer word said.
I spent most of my early twenties asking myself the same questions.
"Why can't I lose weight?", "why can't I get fit", "why can't I stick at the gym?".When in truth, these were all just dreams. And they weren't going to come true until I really worked for them. When you eat rubbish, don't take care of yourself and spend more time on the sofa than you do on your feet, those goals become even harder to reach.
I'm being a little harsh on myself - I don't, and never have, eaten badly for sustained periods of time. But I do struggle to say no, and see food as a reward. Of course, that's no bad thing and I firmly believe you shouldn't completely deny yourself of the things you love. That's miserable, and life is for living. That said, since leaving university eight years ago I have found myself caught in the age-old trap of 'I'll worry about it later'. Food, fitness, health.
I don't want to be out of shape. I want to be comfortable in my skin.
You may have read my post about Slimming World and how I've been shifting the pounds since Christmas. I'm now (finally!) down to 9.5st and am so happy with my progress! Changing my eating habits has been a big thing for me and I have completely seen my body change in response to it. Saying no has become easier. I still struggle with will-power and the desire to eat all the cake, but I'm slowly starting to eat in a way that helps me feel comfortable and confident. Who doesn't want to feel like that?
Alongside Slimming World I have made an attempt to amp-up my fitness regime. I've always been a gym-goer but find myself battling with motivation in the colder months and the heavy teacher workload September-May. This time of year is when I re-discover my love for all things fitness, am actually able to maintain thrice-weekly gym visits and start to reap the rewards.
So, where is this all leading? Myself and the ever-inspiring Hannah of Core Kitchen have set ourselves a fitness challenge. We want to run. In fact, we are so keen to run we have signed up for Cancer Research UK's Race for Life 10k with Scottish Power*. We have completely different fitness regimes and goals - Hannah puts me to shame with her impressive knowledge of all things health and fitness - but we are loving training together and helping motivate each other towards the finish line.
Seriously, our runs are like some sort of motivational lecture. We're offering almost constant praise for each other's effort and our combined success it's almost embarrassing! Each run ends with an over-excited and slightly off-target high-five. Naturally.
Our journey has just begun. So far we're running weekly together after work but are hoping to push that to twice-weekly now in the lead up to the race at the start of July. Check back here for progress updates and our beginners guide to running. Because we really are just that - beginners. If you have any tips for us in helping us reach that 10k target we'd love to hear from you! Help a sister (or two) out.
My social media links: twitter, instagram, pinterest.
Hannah's social media links: twitter, instagram, blog.
