An Update

Just read my last blog post and thought an update might be useful. As far as the blood sugar diet goes, I'm now in my eighth week and have lost around eighteen pounds, bringing my weight down to just over ten stone. I feel so much better and move so much more easily - I particularly notice this when I walk the dogs. All the weight around my hips and middle must have impeded me, although I didn't realise it. I mean, I never felt that walking was a strain, but walking now is such a pleasure, a totally different experience.

I have fallen off the blood sugar wagon a bit in recent weeks. I upped my calorie intake to 1200 a day after I'd lost a stone, about four weeks in, because I started to feel that 800 cals wasn't enough A week or two later I started to creep over the 1200, and now I reach around 1500 most days. But I'm still slowly losing, getting fairly close to my target weight, and I've decided to go back on the strict 800 cals a day version from the end of this week. Hopefully it will then only take a few weeks to get to my goal, if I stick to my guns.

I've been to various exercise classes at the gym. Paul has been much better than the rest of us at making use of the family membership - he has gone literally every other day without fail. I haven't been nearly as good. I started swimming lengths at first but for some reason that has tailed off.

I've tried aquarobics a few times (I must be middle-aged because I literally love this exercise. I used to look at all the middle-aged women doing it in the shallow end of the pool when I was young, ploughing up and down doing my solitary lengths and just think 'why?'. But now I get into the pool with my contemporaries, the music blares out, the instructor begins to yell at us all and I and just start grinning like a maniac. Weird.)

I've also been to a high intensity strength conditioning class with a friend. I did my best at this but it was nowhere near good enough; at one point when everyone else was doing push ups and planks I just coiled up into the foetal position on my mat and hoped the instructor wouldn't notice or comment. I don't really want to try it again but have resolved to do so one day, when I am much further forward on my fitness journey, in the hope that I will have improved.

I've been to the gym a few times, to the family exercise sessions (Paul comes along too, and these are the only times the boys make use of their memberships. It's nice to do something together as a family, although to be honest I have to say it hasn't happened for quite a few weeks.)

Oh yes, I tried spinning the other day. I went with a different friend and I was absolutely rubbish at it. My friend said I would soon get better, but I don't think I will ever find out whether that is true. I'd rather go for a real cycle ride, in the fresh air, and without half-killing myself in the process. Also, I felt sorry for the instructor, who was clearly concerned for me. I left the class early so she could stop worrying (that was the excuse I gave myself, anyhow).

You will be pleased to hear though, that I have now, finally, found the exercise for me! It's called yoga. It involves a lot of lying supine on a mat thinking nice thoughts, and plenty of gentle stretching. There was also a little planking and leg lifting but I didn't do most of that and nobody told me off. Downward dog, likewise. I intend to build up to it, and I feel that such a thing is actually possible. (This is hatha yoga by the way, which I think must be the gentle sort. I might challenge myself with a more advanced type one day, but I'm not in a hurry).

I feel like Eeyore must have done when he finally found the thing he liked to eat (thistles, for those of you not familiar with Winnie the Pooh). I'm so pleased. I have booked in for next week and intend to make a regular thing of it. I like it even better than the aquarobics.

I do intend to up my game. I'll instigate the continuation (reinstitution?) of the family gym sessions again. And of course, I'll keep walking the dogs every day. And I'll keep on with the swimming and aquarobics. I might even keep trying different exercise sessions. But yoga! Love it.

Yay!

In other news, I started a new writing group at the local library last weekend. It went well and hopefully it will continue for some time and motivate all of us to keep on... I'll keep you informed as to how my writing is going - next time.