Time flies...when you get a new job!

It's been a while since I have last posted - I have lots to report!

I have a new job!

I've been in my new role for 4 months now and although it is very time intensive, I absolutely love it! I never thought I would find a job (that I actually get paid to do!) that I would love. It wasn't easy to find this job, and it really happened very quickly, but it has made me realise just how important it is to love what you do.

Completed Couch to 5k!

I can't believe I've done it! But I did! My fitness levels are significantly better than they were!

Ditched "Diets"

I love loosing weight quickly, but I have learnt something about myself - if I deprive myself of something, eventually I crack and do much worse than I would have done if I had just had it in the first place. I am no longer open to going on diets. I am looking to change to something that will last forever. As a result I am eating more veg and even a tiny bit of fruit. I still have chocolate and I still eat carbs, I have just reduced the quantity.

Weightloss 

My weightloss has been really slow - my heaviest weight to date has been 72kg - thankfully I didn't stay there long. 

At the beginning of my new "change" I weighed 70kg. Since ditching diets & increasing my exercise I have lost about 1.5kg in a month - very slow to say the least. I don't think my body likes me very much. It must be very confused after nearly 3 years of yoyo dieting.

Fitness

Since completing the Couch to 5k programme, I have kept up my running. I can now jog for 7km - admitedly still very slowly - but without stopping! 

The last 3 weeks I have been doing 1-2 workouts a day with one rest day. I vary between 60 minute hot yoga classes and jogging. I have done a few kettle bell workouts at home - but I can now tell that I really need to ramp up my effort with weights - after all the dieting and lack of exercise, my lean muscle mass is incredibly low - probably making my metabolic burn rate low - hence the lack of weight loss.

What now?

- 1-2 workouts a day - 1 rest day per week

- Eat less processed food

- Eat more veg

- Eat less processed carbs

- Drink 2 litres of water a day

- Need to find a good way to get a strength workout that will really hurt the next day...

Ladies Card Evening

I have taken inspiration from Desperate Housewives and Gretchen Rubbin's find that creating groups is a great way to increase happiness. 

I've started a Ladies Card Evening - we've just had our second meeting and it was great. At the moment there are 6 of us, although we haven't had a full house yet (excuse the pun!) The host provides a soup and suggest a card game and we take it in turns to bring wine. 

It's great - there are 3 of us that know each other well, and each of us has invited someone along that lives locally and will hopefully enjoy a good chat and an interesting game of cards! Getting to know more girls has been a lot of fun! We meet approx every 10 days - next time we're meeting at a wine tasting bar - it might improve our card playing skills!

A New Year = A New Me?

Happy  New Year!

The New Year is full of new resolutions; things we want to start doing, stop doing or both! It's nearly the end of January and I think I am finally happy with my resolutions...but rather than resolutions I've decided to have a list of 5, sort of like a 2013 "To Do List", some of which are very easy to achieve, others more difficult!


Sophia's 2013 To Do List:

1. Find a four leaf clover 
2. Run/jog 5k 
3. Go for a picnic
4. Find my dream job
5. Reach 58kg

My 2013 list explained

I fondly remember trying to find four leaf clovers as a child, the frustration of not being able to see any, to finally finding one!

I've been reading Gretchen Rubbin's The Happiness Project, I really like some of the things she comes up with, for example taking pleasure in simple tasks, remembering things we enjoyed doing as a child etc. Hence the finding a four leaf clover (I want to frame it and hang it in our small kitchen) and going for a picnic. I've told Alex about these two and he is game! He loves the idea!

Running/jogging 5k - well as you know I had started the NHS Couch to 5k program, but then broke my toe! I'm not going to let that stop me. I am simply going to start again. The real aim of this one is to complete the program and regularly (at least once a month) run 5k to keep fit! (Well in my case get fit, then to keep fit!)

Finding my dream job is ambitious and a dream, not to say it isn't realistic, but I am aware that its more of a journey, sometimes we have to take the right steps to reach our dreams - which is exactly what I plan on doing. This may mean that I try a couple of new jobs and just see if I can discover what will be best...this item on my to do list scares me most...well that and the weight loss...

Reach 58kg - yep, I've done it! I've added it to the list and I'm worried about it. I want to succeed, yet I know it's very ambitious. I'm breaking it down into smaller targets and I will be happy with every target I hit! Current weight 70kg+ (I'll update the exact figure later...did I mention I got scales that measure fat percentage for Christmas?!) Weight targets: 65kg, 60kg, 58kg.

As always, I'm looking for good things to stick!