Eat Healthy, Exercise More…

I've been staying at my Mum's since Tuesday.  The visit was a bit of a last minute plan to get away and be able to work without interruption as things are pretty busy right now at Love My Dress H.Q and I was starting to feel stifled at home in my usual working environment.  Sometimes a break from the norm does the world of good.

I've come in tow with my youngest daughter Leanora and it's a joy watching her bond with one set of Grandparents she doesn't get to see all so often, due to the 200 miles that sits between our house and theirs.

In the four nights I've been away so far, I have eaten more healthily and had more exercise than I have done in the past four six months.

Isn't that shocking?

Any sedentary job like mine that involves sitting on your arse all day long {let's face it, as busy as I may be rattling off emails, writing up blog posts and responding to sponsor queries, I am, effectively, sat on my arse all day}, really is not good for ones sanity or state of well-being.  And in the past two years, as my business has got busier and busier, I've fallen into some rather rubbish habits.  Crappy habits that can be pretty much summed up as follows:-

  I totally adore my job, but I've let my job take over my life and I no longer have any me time. My job permeates every thought running through my mind and I find it difficult to switch off.

  I never do any exercise. Ever.

  I snack far to much.

  I snack far too much on the wrong food stuffs.

  I have stopped drinking the 6 pints of water a day I used to.

  I go to bed far too late.

  I feel lethargic and low on energy in the day time.

It makes for a pretty uninspiring read doesn't it?

Consequently, you will not be surprised to learn that I have gained almost two stone since my March 2009 wedding, due to most of what's listed above. I had slipped into a rut and well an truly wedged myself into position – even resigning myself to the fact that this was the new me and I'd better bloody well get used to the fact I was never going to fit into half my wardrobe ever again in my life.

I would skim past the 'Zumba tonight!' or 'just back from the gym, feel great!" tweets and console myself with a digestive, or three instead before returning to my very sedentary pew to fire off another million emails.

I'd convince myself if a window of opportunity arose that a trip to the gym was simply not justfiable and that I needed to send yet more emails.

And I'd even gotten out recently of joining my Husband and children on our usual Sunday walk. Because of course, work was more important.

There really isn't any other word for any of this, but 'lazy'. And I was in denial.

But then I arranged my visit to Mum's. And in just four days since I arrived here, something amazing has happened.

I can't remember when the last time was that I abandoned work for an hour to go and get some exercise, but since coming to Mum's I've been seizing every opportunity that I can. From the moment I arrived, it has felt like the outdoors has been calling me, like the rivers and fields were whispering to me to join them in a brisk walk through the countryside. I know it sounds ridiculous, but its true…

Wrapping Leanora up all cosy and warm, I've put my best foot forward and pushed the buggy around three to four miles, walking as fast as I can and breathing deep to catch the fresh air and feel it filling my lungs.  The route I've been taking brought back memories of taking strolls with my lovely Grandpa Norman, clutching his leather glove clad hands with my knitted mittens...'breath deep Annabel In through the nose, out through the mouth, chest out!".

In between working and walking, I've been eating healthily too.  Salads, wheat and rye bread made with spelt flour, porridge for breakfast, lean chicken dinners, fruit – absolutely  no snacking or calorie loaded/sweet stuff in between meals.  And despite eating smaller portions also, my usual hunger pangs have all but disappeared.  I'm feeling completely satisfied and content after each meal.

Four days.  Fantastic difference.

It is incredible what even a touch of exercise can do for your immediate state of well-being.  And I truly believe that you are what you eat.  Stuff you face with crap {digestives and chocolate in my case} and you're soon going to feel that way. But whilst I know my diet for the past few months has been pretty terrible, I have never and probably will never be able to bring myself to start a fad diet.

I've nothing against the concept of Weight Watchers, or The Dukan, or even The Atkins Diet for that matter, but the idea of signing up to anything so prescriptive has me fearing for my sanity. It's just not for me.  I think it might possibly even be a pride thing too – that the idea of having to rely on someone else to direct me in precisely how to lose weight really doesn't inspire me, but I completely get how it works for many, many others. Personally, I've always seen the issue of weight loss in very black and white terms:  eat healthy, exercise more…

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Hardly takes Einstein to dissect that one.  It sounds so simple, I know, but in this modern age we live with our longer than ever before working hours, it's so easy to fall into bad habits.

I really want to shift that two stone and dare I say I think the first pesky 2-3 lbs might already have left my thighs for good.  This isn't about putting pressure on myself to be thin and fit in with societies norms or my size 12 Kate Moss jeans for that matter. It's really about me feeling more like me again;content, happy, healthy, sharp and focused. It's about me taking control and pulling myself out of the rut that was making me unhappy way more than it is about putting pressure on myself to 'look good'. I certainly don't think I'm fat, just unhealthy.  It's not the fact I'm a size 14 now that's bothering me, it's the depleted sense of well-being that sitting around doing nothing leaves me feeling.

Image source: Pinterest

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I read this piece on the Florence Finds blog with great interest yesterday evening.  Blogger Rebecca Norris really sums up how I feel about the issue of eating to be healthy…

 

"I need to stop putting food in my mouth when I’m not thinking about it or savouring it and I need to start thinking about what my body needs as opposed to what my mind tells me it needs or deserves. I need to take the time to shop properly and make healthy choices, to make sure I have appropriate snacks and I probably need to cut the sugar down. But for now anyway, I’m going to stop focusing on my weight and I’m going to focus on my health instead."

 

Girlfriend, you read my mind.

I've loved being at Mum and Dad's this past week, It's like going to convalesce for a few days. I get to nap in the day time. All my meals are cooked for me, and they are healthy too. But tomorrow I make the long drive back up North, and I can't wait to be reunited with my family and start off a new week with a new, healthier regime. One that doesn't involve any 'fad' diets, but rather a lot more healthy foods and some sensible, regular exercise.   It will be good to feel like me again; being stuck in a rut aint so much fun. I much prefer feeling happy and healthy 🙂

Image source: Pinterest

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I'd like to know, especially from any busy working Mums, but actually from all my readers – how do you go about staying fit, healthy and happy?

What are your thoughts on diets in general? Have you tried any specific diets in the past and what works for you? Or are you a member of the 'eat less, exercise more' school of weight loss?

How do you balance the work/exercise/stay healthy challenge?

I really look forward to your replies guys, please don't leave me out in the cold on this one!

Much love to you all,

Annabel

 

ps – big thanks to my lovely Mum for looking after me this week xXx

Annabel

Annabel View all Annabel's articles

Founder of Love My Dress. Passionate Podcaster and Editor. Annabel lives in rural North Yorkshire with her husband and business partner Philip, their two daughters and menagerie of furry hounds. She loves photography, meditation, walking, being outdoors and star gazing. She is fierce when it comes to championing talent within the wedding industry and when she's not working on Love My Dress, she supports her husband Philip in the running of the family's sustainable flower farm and floral design business, Moonwind Flowers. In 2013, she became a published author.

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