Moving house, trips away with work and an all inclusive holiday have definitely not helped my routine, or my fitness levels. I’m feeling pretty out of sync at the moment, and struggling to settle back into the day to day.
My weight has gone up, and fitness levels gone down, so I’ve decided it’s time to do something about it and focus on those little changes. For me, it’s mainly about my fitness and energy levels. I know I’m not an unhealthy weight, but I’ve definitely gained a little recently, and shifting some of that would be an added bonus. I’m hoping that putting this out there will help to keep me accountable over the next few months.
What I’m Going To Do More Of
- Working Out & Running: Since getting back from holiday, I’ve really struggled with motivating myself to get to the gym. This week I’ve been trying to ease myself back in with a couple of home workouts, and a few easier sessions and I’m hoping to get back into a good routine over the next few weeks. I really want to start getting back out running every now and then too. I’m always very concious of my knee post surgery, but there are plenty of steady, flat trails nearby that would be the perfect terrain for getting back out there.
- Supplements & Greens: We try our best to take supplements eveyday, but often forget. The go to is a mix of multivitamins, collagen, creatine, cod liver oil and greens. I’m an ambassador for Protein Works, so I’m very lucky to be able to stock up from there. If you fancy checking out what they’ve got, you can get 10% off with the code ‘LISAOUTDOORS’. We also try to take magnesium in the evening, which I’ve found massively helps with the quality of my sleep.
- Meal Plans & Prep: Planning my meals is one of the things that I find makes the biggest differnce to my health, and reduces the amount of crap I eat. As we’d both signed up for a PT, we now have a good choice of different tried and tested meals. We aim for four meals a day, usually high in protein. The hardest part of sticking to it is finding the time to cook everything, but the longer we do it, the better rhythm we’re falling into.
- Walking: This one is kind of cheating, as we walk so much already. Having a big dog, means two big walks a day. We usually do 4-5km in a morning, and another 5km or so in an evening, which is made easier by having so many beautiful spots on the doorstep. We try to get out for bigger ones at the weekend, but this doesn’t always happen. I’m usually in the office a couple of days a week, so try get out for a walk on my lunch break too. This means my average daily steps are aroun 15-20k. We’re hoping to get some biggies in soon though and tick off a couple of ‘challenges’, such as the Edale Skyline.
- Books and Podcasts: Staying healthy isn’t all about the physical, there’s the mental aspects too. I’m making a very conscious effort to make time to read, as well as to listen to podcasts sometimes instead of music when driving. I’m currently reading ‘The Top Five Regrets of the Dying – Bronnie Ware‘. It sounds pretty morbid, but it’s one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, and one I’d highly reccomend everyones reads. Podcast wise, I’ve been hooked on all things Jordan Peterson, so I’m making my way through all of his episodes on Joe Rogan’s podcast. I absolutely love learning, and hearing things from other people’s perspectives, so any reccomendations on books or podcasts, drop them in the comments below.
What I’m Going To Do Less Of
- Snacking: I have always had issues with eating from boredom, and this tends to be things that are more on the unhealthy side. I’ve been trying my best to stop the snacking, or if I do feel hungry, having a healthier option, such as fruits or nuts. Recently I seem to have been getting the munchies just before bed, but I’ve found if I get on with my evening routine and brush my teeth, this usually passes.
- Making Excuses: I am TERRIBLE for coming up with every excuse under the sun to not do something, even though once I get it done, I feel so much better. I’ve found that if I leave it until the end of the day, it’s probably not going to happen, so it’s important I get to the gym as early as I can (it’s also usually so much quieter in a morning).
- Drinking Caffeine: Anyone who knows me, knows how much I love coffee. Many years of working in cafe’s has got me into some bad habits when it comes to how many cups I drink a day. I’m very aware of how much drinking coffee effects my sleep, so I’m mindful to only drink decaf in the afternoon. However, I’ve still been drinking, on average, 3-4 cups in a morning, so aiming to cut this down.
- Mindless Scrolling: I naturally seem to be spending less time on social media than I used to, but there are still times when it’s more than I’d like. I’ve recently started charging my phone in the office rather than the bedroom, and I’ve enjoyed looking at my phone not being the first and last thing I do each day. I’ve also been trying to have at least one day a week (usually a sunday) where I don’t go on my phone. Time on my phone is definitely something I want to keep reducing though.
In the past when I’ve gone on a ‘health kick’, I’ve always had a goal weight in mind. Though I’m still regularly weighing myself, I’m trying not to focus too much on this. I’m very aware that I’m going to be building muscle, and that weight is not a great measure of overall health and fitness. My main focus of all this is how I feel in myself. I’ve found in the past that even the small changes are a real motivator when pushing forward.
For me, fitness journeys have always been a bit of a rollercoaster, with good days and bad. But I feel as long as I’m making healthier decisions, most of the time, then things will move in the right direction. I’m currently in the middle of a Life Coaching course, which I’m absolutely loving, but it takes up a lot of my spare time. This can sometimes make it difficult to have enough brain capacity left over to make sure that I’m keeping ontop of my fitness goals, it’s just trying to find that balance.
If anyone else is in a similar position and fancies helping to keep each other motivated, then drop me a message on instagram.
Happy adventuring!
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Lisa Outdoors 
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