Daily updates

Okay, I have realised that doing a daily update of my exercise and food during my May Challenge is a bit dull.

Every day it's did this and ate that so from now on I'm going to do one at the end of the week and even then I think it might become a tad repeatative.

To keep you interested here's a picture of my new shoes

Marvellous May Day 3

Just a quicky today.

Exercise
Running - C25K Week 7 Day 1. 20 minutes of running following by 3 miutes of walking then another 5 minutes of running
The first block of 20 went really well. It was a bit windy and being on the top of a hill means that no matter where I go I feel it but it was good but boy was I glad when the 3 minute walk kicked in. Oddly enough it was the final 5 minute block that was harder but I pushed through and did it so am very, very pleased with myself.

The weights I did yesterday have made my shoulders and chest muscles ache and I'm a bit worried about doing them again tomorrow but I shall see what that brings

Food
Breakfast - Fritatta with bacon and green pepper
Lunch - Chicken with bacon and mushrooms (was meant to have salad as well but it had turned)
Dinner - Sausages with tomatoes and cucumber and radished
Snack - Salmon rolls

Marvellous May Day 2

This is that I look like at the moment. It's difficult to explain that I am not bothered by the way I look overall. I certainly don't obsess about things but there are times when I would like to be slimmer so that I can wear the clothes I find interesting.  I have always been in awe of those beautiful larger women that carry themselves with grace as I never felt entirely comfortable in my skin but it now realise that it's a state of mind. I have to be more accepting that I am who I am.

It took me a long time to realise that I am not pretty pretty. I never hated myself but I know I have a long face and straight hair and a largish nose and my features just kind of sit there. When I was a teenager, I wasn't bothered about how I looked. Not that I was skanky but I didn't wear make-up and I suppose that I never learned how to. My mum wasn't bothered and rarely dressed up, most of my friends were boys so I didn't get the grounding in how to be feminine. And as I grew older it didn't seem to matter but now I would like to be a bit more elegant.

My May challenge is not just about getting healthy and eating better, but it's also my chance to become the woman I want to be.

So here's the intimate details.
I weigh 207.6 lbs or 14.8st or 94kg. I'm not worried about weight but the scales I have also give things like water, fat and muscle and they stand at 23.8% fat and 35.9% muscle. In reality I'm not sure what these mean but I would like the former to go down and the latter to go up.
Full bust - 46 inches
Under bust - 38 inches
Waist - 39 inches
Hips - 46.5inches
So it's an hourglass that just needs a bit more definition and that for me is the most important part. Strong, healthy and fit

Exercise
My dumbbells are adjustable so I have made them to be 10lbs each. I don't know if this is too heavy but I wanted to challenge myself and see what I could do.
I did 3 sets of 10 reps each of Single Arm Extensions, Upright Row, Shoulder Press, Pullover, Incline Chest Fly and Chest Press as well as 1 set of 10 reps of lateral raises but my shoulder kept clicking which was a tad off putting. I was also planning on digging over a bit more of the garden but my aching arms put paid to that - it'll get done tomorrow.
I also did a variety of 100 crunches - straights, obliques, reverse (they are the worse) and sides.

Food
Breakfast - Eggs and an avocado (which is probably my favouritest thing in the whole world) ((apart from gin))
Lunch - Spicy prawns with crunchy salad
Dinner - Roast chicken with cabbage, cucumber and mango salad
Snack - Some beef jerky, a stick of celery and a palm of raisins

Marvellous May Day 1

Exercise
C25K Week 6 Day 3.  5 minutes of walking then 15 minutes of running, 3 minutes of walking then 10 minutes of running ending with a 5 minute cool down.

Distance: 2.99 miles (although I think that my GPS could have been kinder and topped it up to 3).

The run went well for the first block but I did have to walk for 2 lots of 50 paces in the second block. No big deal but it's weird that I can run (slowly) for 15 minutes but then have problems. I suppose that it's all to do with stamina but also because I get a bit bored. Might have to start listening to music to keep focussed.

Food
Breakfast - Eggs. Thrown in a pan and mash. Kind of like an omelette but with far less finesse
Lunch - Slices of ham and some beef jerky
Dinner - Sausages with fruit to follow


Not the best of days but now I have a fridge of lovely food and a plan.

Marvellous May

Today is the start of my Marvellous May Challenge.

After a great January, I have kind of allowed things to slip somewhat and have become quite lax with my exercising (except for the running) and what I eat. I haven't put on weight but I'm not toning up and losing weight either and I want to do something about it.

Everyday I am going to exercise. I shall keep up with the running but am now on Week 6 Day 2 on C25K and once I have reached the end of week 9 I am going to start at the beginning again. This time though, I'm going to give barefoot running a go. I've read about the good and bad points of barefoot and am intrigued so thought this way would be a good way to see if it suits me.

This is my main running 'track' so I think that it would work well while I'm in the beginner stages of my barefoot running and if it turns out to suit me then I can always find other places to run. I might ever get a pair of barefoot shoes (an oxymoron if ever there was one) when I start to run across more challenging terrain but for now I'll jog on to the field and just take off my shoes and see how it goes.

On the days when I am not running I am going to do a weights workout and focus on toning so crunches and core strengthening. I might even do the crunches on the running days too as they only take 15 minutes.

On top of all this I am also going to try and eat a diet free of dairy, processed sugar, grains, legumes and (sob) alcohol for the whole of May. I have a shopping list and am going out after work to fill up the fridge with lovely things to eat and will be pulling recipes from the Everyday Paleo book I have on my kindle as well as using some web based Paleo recipe sites. If it's not on those, it's not being eaten.

I hope at the end of the month to be a little more fit, a little more healthy and hopefully a little more tone.