Guest blog: Introducing Marathon Mum

Almost three years ago one of my best friends, Cat, gave birth to her beautiful twins. It was a tough pregnancy with complications after the birth too so you could have forgiven her for not having exercise at the forefront of her mind. However, while looking for a reason to get out of the house with the twins (we’ve all been there) and an opportunity to have some time to herself, Cat discovered running. I wouldn’t say it’s a passion, as she is adamant she hates it (especially after completing the London marathon last weekend), but she has been incredibly committed and is bloody good at it!

I wanted to share Cat’s story because she started in the same place that I did – a few walks, progressing to a short run – and three years later, she ran the London marathon in just over 5 hours. It just goes to show what you can achieve if you put your mind to it. I’m not saying I’ll be following in her footsteps – but I guess I could if I wanted to!

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Allow me to introduce you to Marathon Mum…

How and when did you begin exercising after having the twins?

I put on nearly 5 stone while pregnant with my twins, suffered with hyperemesis gravidarum (severe vomiting) for the majority of pregnancy, had a c-section birth and then further complications so it took a while before I was up for any sort of exercise. I started walking with the twins, gradually building up distance.

When the twins were about 3 months old I heard about a new class starting called ‘mummy fit’ where you could take your babies. A group of mums that I had met through other baby related classes and I started going twice a week. There was a social hour after the class that was probably my main attraction in the early days!

What were you main aims from exercising?

Losing the baby weight, getting out of the house and seeing my new friends. From early on my husband was adamant that I found something that was ‘for me’ and in the days of no sleep and endless feeding/changing rotas, he kept up with insisting that I took time for myself. Short of spending all my spare time in the pub, exercise seemed a positive addition to my schedule. Nowadays it definitely helps after a day with two tantruming two year olds!

When did you get into running?

The girl that ran mummy fit is a personal trainer and offered a great deal if you also did personal training sessions with her so I signed up. After about six months of twice weekly PT sessions and loosely following her food plan I had reached a plateau and needed to mix things up. Needing a challenge, I signed up to a half marathon.

How did you build up from where you started to where you are now?

When I was on maternity leave I walked for hours with the double pram and dog, gradually increasing the distance. This was mainly to get out of the house as I never coped particularly well with the thought of being in the house all day with nothing to do. I signed up for every class going and filled the gaps with walking. Then the Christmas after I had the twins I got a Fitbit so then the walking became about getting my steps in!

When I returned to work four days a week after six months, time was at a premium so I did quick runs after bedtime to get my steps in. The first few times I couldn’t even run a kilometre without walking but gradually I increased distance. I like to have something I am training for so I did a 10k mud run when the twins were 10 months and then my first half marathon when they were 15 months old. The first one I did,  I run/walked and completed in 2 hours 21 minutes. By this point, I had realised that running changes my body shape like no other exercise so, being addicted to eating (and drinking) whatever I want, I stuck with it. I have now done three half marathons and the latest I did in 1 hour 57 minutes.

How do you fit exercise into your busy schedule?

I have set days for PT and, barring work related issues, I go without fail. Other than that I train for events and have a training plan which I stick to as best I can. But I have a busy job, a chaotic home life and a large group of friends so I need to be flexible. I will get up at 5am to run before my husband goes to work or could still be pounding the streets at 10pm. It’s not ideal but I have a goal and it’s important that I put the hard work in so I can enjoy the day – on this occasion the London marathon.

The other reason it is important for me to keep to my plan is that I am naturally very lazy and if I gave myself an excuse I would snuggle down on the sofa with a glass of wine and a large bowl of hula hoops and never get up. Once I started to see improvements in my fitness and body shape, I got the bug and had to keep momentum!

What advice would you give to me/others mums looking to shape up after birth?

My PT sessions are super hard but I have a training partner (we met at baby classes after having our babies two days apart) and going to PT is also a bit of a social catch up. It’s important to remember that nobody finds time you have to make time and that is made easier with a supportive partner and network of help.

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I can certainly identify with Cat (and her husband’s) desire to find something for her to focus on – and exercise was probably a wise choice over wine! The thing she says that resonates with me the most is that you have make time and the support of a great family really does help with that.

Thank you Cat for sharing your story with us and a huge well done on your marathon success, I am very proud of you!

 

This is my 25th blog entry. To follow my journey from the beginning, please click here. You can also follow and like my facebook page for all the latest updates.

 

 

A surprise result in the weekly weigh in

It’s been another pretty poor week for me in terms of will power. After I reached the one stone milestone, I’ve definitely struggled to keep motivated. I’ve kept up eating the same breakfast, lunches and dinners but there have been several treats creeping into my mouth in between.  I’m not overly worried because I’m at a weight that I am happy with for the time being and my main focus is on trying to get stronger for Tough Mudder, which is now only 3 weeks away.

This week I had to take advantage of the few windows of opportunity I had to exercise. Sadly for me taking the opportunity to go for a run came at the expense of having a nap or lie in so I think I deserve a bit of credit for that. I went for a beautiful run in the sunshine round a local lake while my Mum was playing with the kids in the park and I took part in my first ‘park run’ on Saturday, which is a timed 5k. I came 446th out of 676 and finished it in 32 minutes. I can see how beating your time might become addictive but I’m not sure the 9am start time will see me there on a regular basis!

Bridesmaid Bootcamp was back on again with a 2 mile run followed by burpees, lunges, squats and all kinds of challenging moves aimed at making you not be able to breath! I actually enjoy these sessions way more than I expected – everything is made better when you do it in the sunshine with your mates.

As I mentioned, I was doing pretty badly on the food front at the start of the week then I saw Rosemary Connolly (an 80’s exercise and nutrition Guru) on Loose Women talking about her new book. She reckoned that if you eat normally for 5 days then had 2 days of only 800 calories, you could lose weight. So I thought I’d put this to the test this weekend to save my bacon! I ate light meals and did most of my exercise this weekend and it looks like it worked as I have managed to lose 3lb.  I think this is technically called cheating though as my efforts should not be geared towards weigh in day but I couldn’t face the embarrassment of another maintenance or weight gain week!

In other news, I have just discovered overnight oats – yum! I’m still trying to perfect the recipe and will share when I have.  If you follow me on facebook, you will have seen that my good friend ran the London Marathon yesterday having begun her fitness journey after having twins nearly three years ago. I managed to have a chat with her about how she went from short walks with the buggy to being a marathon runner so look out for her guest blog post coming soon.

This is my 24th blog entry. To follow my journey from the beginning, please click here. You can also follow and like my facebook page for all the latest updates.

It’s all about me

This weekend I have taken some much needed time to myself. Having been up to my eyeballs in nappies, night feeds and tantrums for the last five months, it was time to escape into my own little world for a while.  I guess you could say I have been tackling my mental fitness and the more aesthetic side of my appearance as over the last four days I have had my hair done, been out for date night for the first time since having the baby, spent 24 hours on a spa break and filled my face with chocolate and lamb (not together).

All of these treats got me thinking about how important it is to take some time to yourself to recharge your batteries, but mostly how important it is to make a bit of effort from time to time. As a stay at home mother, it can be easy to fall into the trap of not giving a shit about your appearance. I don’t leave the house that often and if I do it’s to go to the supermarket or a baby group – neither of which call for full make up and a pair of heels, so most of the time I am dressed in trackie bottoms or jeans, trainers and a T shirt. My hair is usually tied back and, due to swimming on Monday and Tuesday with the kids and gym on Wednesday night, it is a greasy mess for approximately half of the week. The other day I looked at myself wearing my husband’s unironed T shirt, trackie bottoms complete with sick stain and a greasy bun and thought ‘poor chap coming home to this.’ But my husband doesn’t complain – and, to be honest, would probably question what had been going on if he came home to find me all dolled up – but it’s not a pleasant sight for him to behold after a hard day at work. I would definitely fail at being a 1950’s housewife, where point three in the guide states that I should be touching up my make up and putting a bow in my hair before his return, not to mention ensuring the home is a place of complete calm!

I haven’t bought any new clothes that weren’t functional, by that I mean stretchy post-birth jeans (which I never stopped wearing), maternity clothes, nursing tops, flat shoes and a few T shirts for running around soft play areas in, for almost 3 years. Anything I have bought for going ‘out out’, I got in the sale or from a cheap shop because I knew it wouldn’t get much wear. I was inclined to go down this route again for my date night outfit. Likewise, I was debating whether it was actually worth getting my hair cut and coloured given that I just shove it up 90% of the time.  Then it hit me, it is worth it. I felt 100% better having ‘just stepped out a salon’ hair, wearing a lovely new dress (thanks to my virtual personal shopper for the assistance in finding it), getting my heels on and heading out to a good restaurant and wine bar. It felt good to be me, not Mum me.

The following day, nursing a slightly sore head, I went off to Ragdale Hall with one of my best buds. This came about when I was losing my mind a few weeks ago and my husband pretty much insisted that I book a spa break for the best interests of the whole family! This was a blissful 24 hours spent in an unusually quiet and relaxing environment (probably a bit too quiet at times as I got shushed in a quiet zone) where I didn’t hear a peep out of a child the whole time.  When we first booked it, my friend was initially concerned that I would be treating the spa break as a detox – being overly fitness orientated and taking all the healthy eating options. Much to her relief, the first thing we did on arrival was a get a glass of bubbles and a chocolate cupcake… and that’s a theme that followed with a bottle of red for dinner and three desserts for lunch. We did do one fitness class in a feeble attempt to balance out the culinary treats, but apart from that it was snoozing, reading, steam rooms, saunas, and a massage and facial keeping me occupied. I needed this so much and am keen to build in a monthly retreat in order to keep my sanity, although sadly I don’t think our bank balance could cope.  I’d like to say it was enough chilled time to have made me more tolerant now I’m back at home but it’s not!

To top off the weekend, I spent a delightful day with my family on Monday eating chocolate and a lovely lamb roast dinner. I’ve completely fallen off the wagon this weekend because I’ve been enjoying the rare opportunity to be free and do what I want. I daren’t even get on the scales on official weigh in day but now (a day late) I have been forced to face up to it – thanks to one of my readers reminding me that I had promised to report the good AND the bad. So….2lb on and I think it would be 3lb if I hadn’t got on the scales first thing in the morning and practically strip off to ensure there was minimal weigh being accounted for.

Right, I am back on it today – exercise is key as I begin the four week count down to Tough Mudder.

The biggest lesson I have learnt this week is that making time to yourself time – to get dressed up, to relax, to have a drink, to lounge around – whatever it is that gives you space and makes you feel good – is as important to your overall fitness as diet and exercise. Unfortunately, this plan alone is unlikely to change your body shape for the better but it definitely changes your mental state for the better.

This is my 23rd blog entry. To follow my journey from the beginning, please click here. You can also follow and like my facebook page for all the latest updates.

Weekly weigh in: let’s call it maintenance week

Here we are at weigh in day again. The weeks seem to be flying by at the moment. Before I even stepped on the scales, I knew I hadn’t lost anything this week and was pretty sure I’d stayed the same – I was right.  I’ve been really good on the exercise front but I’ve had a week where I’ve eaten what I’ve fancied and the result is equilibrium. This is the way I generally live my life, exercising to balance out or justify the treats.

I’m not feeling too down about it about it because there have been some significant wins:

1. I feel much stronger in my core having completed two weeks of the ‘no more mummy tummy challenge.’
2. My jeans are definitely looser AND I have had to order a size smaller in several items I’ve bought recently. I’m too scared to say I’ve dropped a dress size completely but it’s certainly looking like I need a 12 more often than a 14.
3. I did two workouts involving burpees and mountain climbers and I didn’t pass out!

I wish I’d done some measurements around my waist etc so I could use that as an indicator but I only have a metal tape measure, which doesn’t bend!

Training has started in earnest for Tough Mudder and my legs, abs and butt know about it today. Thanks to Mr Motivator (the other bridesmaid’s husband), we were put through out paces in yesterday’s glorious sunshine. By 10am, we we out there lunging, crab walking (looks fun but isn’t) and squatting our way towards being slightly more prepared for our tough mudder challenge in just over a month. I was surprised how well I managed some of the exercises, I was expecting to have to adapt them more for my postnatal / weak self. The only one I totally failed at was a full push up. It was a gruelling workout made much more fun by doing it with the girls and having Mr Motivator bellowing “I say Bingo, you say Wings” at us!

On the food front, I have been trying to eat from the food plan provided as part of the NMMTC, which involves lots of protein and limited sugar and carbs. I’ve found having eggs for breakfast a real benefit as they keep you feeling full until lunchtime. Sweet potato for lunch was also great for feeling fuller for longer. I’ve found it difficult to switch from eating low fat foods to full fat as I have got so used to the taste of lower fat versions. I think the theory is that foods sold as low fat are often loaded with other “bad” ingredients such as sugar so it’s actually better to eat them in their purest form.  I must admit there have been several cheats this week: baking with my toddler was a bad idea as I ended up eating a couple (ok, four) biscuits, I went to cinema and had a homemade goody bag full of popcorn and chocolates (and a token handful of blueberries to make me feel better about feeding all the bad stuff to my toddler and me), and the weather was so lovely yesterday that I simply couldn’t resist a Mr Whippy!

I’ve got a few more treats planned over Easter weekend so need to try and be good for the next few days but I sense another ‘maintenance’ week could be on the cards!

This is my 22nd blog entry. To follow my journey from the beginning, please click here. You can also follow and like my facebook page for all the latest updates.

Weekly weigh in and no more mummy tummy?

What a week! A new exercise challenge and a toddler from hell!

Let’s start with the positives. I started the ‘no more mummy tummy challenge’ (NMMTC) a week ago, which is a two week programme designed specifically for postnatal mums to help build their core strength with safe exercises.  Before pregnancy and even after my first pregnancy, I had no idea that your abdominal muscles effectively separate when you are pregnant (it makes sense if you think about it though) so they need time to regroup and heal after birth. This ‘gap’ is called diastasis recti and you can find out heaps more about this and exercising safely during and after pregnancy at www.pregnancyexercise.co.nz. Diastasis means that exercises such as abdominal crunches are not advised. However thanks to the NMMTC I have heaps of other exercises to help build up my core strength, including the all-important pelvic floor (yes, I still pee myself when doing high impact exercise).

This programme couldn’t have come at a better time. After reaching the 1 stone milestone, I could easily (and have a little bit if I am honest) have taken my foot off the gas this week. But with a fitness programme and eating plan to follow, I’ve remained enthused. The best thing about this programme is that it’s just a 10 minute session in the morning, which I usually do after breakfast when everyone is in a good mood and the kids will happily watch me or play, which means you can usually fit it into your day. The first couple of times I did it, I found it really difficult to concentrate on engaging the right muscles (and I still don’t know if I am) and I found the exercises pretty challenging, but I have definitely improved even in just a few days.

The most horrifying thing was seeing the skin on my tummy hanging down when I am on all fours! Luckily, I have a friend of a friend who specialises in postnatal exercise who assured me (having been shown a photo by my Mum) that this is normal and will go away in time. She also said I was looking in good shape as she could see my abdominal muscles – I was thrilled at this because I’m pretty sure I’ve not seem them in a while!

The NMMTC also has a beautiful stretch and balance 5-10 minute session to do in the evening – perfect after the stress of bath and bedtime! Although I have missed this a couple of times due to a new development in our household – my toddler, who has gone to bed like a star since she was 3 months old, has suddenly decided she will throw a 2 hour tantrum at bedtime and/or in the middle of the night. Joy!  Add in a baby who’s gone back to having feeds in the night and a husband who was away for the night and you can see why I’m feeling a little weary!

Feeling drained can very easily turn you towards then wine and chocolate so I have not done quite as well on the food and drink front this week. I’m disappointed in myself because I wanted to follow the NMMTC food plan as closely as possible but there have definitely been some slip ups.  I’m not ashamed to say that I ate the birthday cake that the toddler got from a party on Saturday as, frankly, she didn’t deserve it and I did! I know I should turn to an energy boosting smoothie but sometimes you just need a glass of wine.

I should also give a shout out to my Yogabellies teacher at this point too – I’ve certainly got my money’s worth out of the breathing techniques I learnt for birth as I found myself using them while standing on the landing at 3am waiting to return the screaming toddler back to her bed for the 27^th time.

In terms of weight loss, this week I have lost 2lb but actually this doesn’t matter to me this week. The real achievement has been starting to build some core strength, but mainly the fact that I didn’t lose my shit entirely.

So, here begins another week. Onwards and upwards. Wish me luck!

ADDITION: Thanks to Lorraine at Pregnancy Exercise for sharing my blog, I’d like to welcome new readers from around the world! Please like my facebook page to keep up to date with my journey. Please also share your experiences with me!

This is my 21st blog entry. To follow my journey from the beginning, please click here. You can also follow and like my facebook page for all the latest updates.

WedFit takes on a whole new meaning

Get ready readers as this is a pretty serious post. One of the stars of the wedding has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and is in the process of planning her treatment to fight it. This gives getting ‘WedFit’ a whole new meaning.  Our star, I’m sure, wants nothing more than to a) fight this nasty disease and b) feel well enough on the wedding day to enjoy it. A whole different ball game and a much bigger challenge than losing a few pounds that’s for sure.  So, while I promised myself I would take my fitness journey slowly, suddenly I’ve been thrown a curve ball in the form of  Tough Mudder.

The bride and her two bridesmaids (one of them being me) have vowed to complete a 5 mile muddy course set to challenge the toughest of the tough. It will involve crawling, climbing, and most likely dragging ourselves around some pretty tricky obstacles – definitely not a gentle introduction to fitness for a postnatal mum but I do love a challenge!

I’ve got six weeks before the event in which to hone my running skills, including adding some hills to my usually very flat course, and build up as much strength as possible. While I was writing this I downloaded the training plan, which has now filled me with dread! With only six weeks to go, I should apparently now be able to a circuit involving sprints, burpees, 20 sit ups, 15 jump squats – I can’t. Oh well, I will do my best because it’s all for a great cause: raising money for Pancreatic Cancer Action.

27 years ago, my Grandpa died of pancreatic cancer. In those days, they couldn’t even do a CT scan to see what the problem was so they had to operate simply to tell him there was nothing they could do as the cancer was too advanced. 4 years ago, my Father in Law got pancreatic cancer and was eligible for a major surgical procedure to cut out the cancer from the pancreas and surrounding organs. This was not a pleasant experience but it got rid of it. Now, my sister’s soon-to-be Mother in Law is embarking on chemotherapy treatment to beat her pancreatic cancer.  It just goes to show how far things have come, not just with this cancer but many types of cancer, thanks to people’s donations and excellent research. Survival rates are much higher, technology and treatment are much better and people now have reason to be more than hopeful when it comes to beating it. That’s not to say undergoing treatment is a walk in the park though and I will have to remind myself of this when I am struggling with the training and dragging ourselves around the course.

If anyone out there has any tips on how to get Tough Mudder Fit then please do let me know.

Come on Team WedFit, let’s do this!

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Weekly weigh in reveals major milestone!

I am over the moon today as the weekly weigh in reveals that I have now lost 1 stone. That’s 1 stone in 6 weeks!

My sister groaned at me when I told her this news. “Slow down” she said as she moaned about how difficult she was finding it to lose a few pounds. I think the difference is that mine was weight that shouldn’t have been there in the first place, it is extra or leftovers from my pregnancy that has no right hanging around.  It always gets harder to lose weight the less you have to lose and the more acclimatised to exercise your body becomes. My sister is ten times fitter than I am, that’s for sure. I still can’t even use a small hand weight while doing squats and lunges for one track, whereas she can get through a whole BodyPump class.

I am thrilled to have reached this milestone so soon – I did think it would take much longer to get to this point and my original goal was to lose a stone by the wedding so in some ways I am acing this! However, as I touched on above, weight loss and fitness are two different things and I now want to focus much more on my overall fitness.

I have signed up to a postnatal ‘No More Mummy Tummy Challenge’ which has a food and exercise plan to follow. The food plan is not dissimilar to what I’ve been doing but focuses more on reducing sugar but the exercise plan is what I’m really interested in. There is a 10 minute core workout to do each morning and a 10 minute stretch for the evening. It is a two week plan starting today so I will keep you posted with how I get on. I also have another very big fitness challenge on the horizon, which I will tell you about soon!

So now I know what I have done for the last six weeks has worked for me, I’ve shared a Weekly food and exercise plan for anyone who wants to give it a try. If you read back through my previous entries, you’ll see that I have not been super strict all the time and have afforded myself some treats. In order to do this, I have tried to eat well 95% of the time and walk and do some gentle exercise at least 3 times a week – that’s the bit I’ve included in the plan.

For readers who are in the same position as me or about to start getting fit (whether you’ve had a baby or not!) please let me know what you think and how you’re getting on. If you’ve been reading this blog because you are my friend, firstly thank you and secondly now would be a great time to share this with your pre or postnatal friends or those looking to get fit for the summer 😉

This is my 19th blog entry. To follow my journey from the beginning, please click here.

Size isn’t everything

Learning how to eat less but still feel full has been a real change of mindset for me. Historically, I’ve been all for a large portion (ahem). If I see a plate that’s not filled to the brim, usually in posh restaurants, I feel short-changed.  At a former workplace, the lady in the café became known as “Bitchy Small Portions” because she didn’t pile our plate up as high as her colleague (on reflection, she was probably just following the guidance she was given – sorry Bitchy).  What we can learn from posh restaurants is that it’s quality over quantity. If you eat the right food, it tastes good and is presented well, you don’t need an excessive amount.

There must be psychological explanations for many of our eating habits and I’m fascinated by TV programmes that highlight how people’s behaviour around food can change depending on how it’s presented. For example when people are given food they believe to be low fat, they tend to eat more or if it’s free they’ll eat more.

One of the most important ways for me to keep control of my diet is to manage portions well. I am a victim of just about every sin when it comes to eating too much so I wanted to share some of my top tips for managing portion size

1.Weigh out dry ingredients 

Hands up who pours pasta into a pan willy nilly then ends up eating the whole lot? Before I checked the weight of the portions I was serving myself, I was eating 2-3 times the serving suggestion on the packet, therefore twice or three times the calories. For example, one serving of shreddies that should be around 200 calories was actually about 500!

Now I follow the recommendation on the packet or the recipe or use even less when I’m being super strict or are able to switch out carbs for extra veggies or fruit.

Take a look at the pictures below of what suggested servings (according to the packet) look like:

2. Use a smaller plate or bowl

We tend to want to have a full plate or bowl so it’s obvious that using a smaller plate will help this. This also ties into my bad habit of always finishing what’s on my plate (see point 5). I like using my toddler’s bowls and a teaspoon to eat my yogurt and fruit

3. Only eat for one

Often we make family size meals or cook with the amount of food we bought e.g. a large packet of mince or a packet of 4 chicken breasts, when only two of you are eating. In our house, we need two adult portions, a small toddler portion, and the rest is spare. To stop us eating the whole lot, I now set aside any excess portions for lunch the next day or freeze them as spare toddler meals or easy meals for me when my husband is away. NB you have to set aside the spare portions BEFORE you serve up. If I’ve made a curry for four people (according to the recipe), I will literally draw 4 portion markings in the pan and scoop it out into 4 containers/ plates.

4. Switch out carbs for extra vegetables

If you’re prone to filling up your plate with rice, pasta or potatoes, try filling the space with veggies instead.  I often make a curry with lots of added vegetables and don’t have any rice. I also eat steak, chicken or fish with lots of vegetables on the side. It really doesn’t take long to get used to not having a big pile of carbs and I have honestly never felt hungry after a main meal.

The pictures below show the portions above pimped up with some fruit and veg – not so bad after all, eh?

 

5. Don’t be a dustbin!

If you’re full, you don’t have to clear your plate – or your child’s – I am so guilty of eating my toddler’s leftover pizza crusts! This is the one I find the hardest as I don’t like waste. If you’ve followed the advice above, there shouldn’t really be too much waste or leftovers but if there is, it is ok to stop. It also helps if you eat slowly so you actually know when you feel full!

I hope that helps. If you have any tips to share or have any other traps you fall into, give me a shout via the comments box or my facebook page so we can help each other.

 

This is my 18th blog entry. To follow my journey from the beginning, please click here.

Weekly weigh in after my week ‘off’

I’m back from a week in Center Parcs and we had a brilliant time! We were virgins to the Center Parcs experience, having opted for holidays a little further afield in our child free days, and it definitely delivered on an all round good time for the family.

When I started my weight loss journey four weeks ago, I planned for this week to be a week ‘off’ so I could enjoy the holiday without worrying about what I was eating or how much I was exercising. As I’ve said before I love my food, as does my husband, so it’s a big part of our holidays and leisure time together and I wanted to be able to indulge in some holiday treats with the rest of the family. The downside to declaring a week off is that I fell into the trap of eating more than I wanted or needed just because it’s my week off – almost like I would never get to eat a treat again!  For example, I didn’t really need a dessert when we ate out and I guzzled down chocolate, crisps and wine every evening. The best treat by a mile was the cookie dough pancake (below) on our last day. Probably about 8,000 calories but totally worth it.

I took my gym kit knowing there were plenty of sporting facilities on site if you fancied a class or a game of squash (I have never been any good at ball related sports so it would be unlikely I would partake in the latter) but I wasn’t sure if I would actually get round to it. However, one of the great things about Center Parcs is that it actually made me want to run and enjoy it! With lots of paths and woodland to run through (see below), I popped on my trainers for the first time in 2 years and, like Forest Gump, I just kept on running…for 2 miles on the first day and nearly 3 on the second. After I had my first daughter, I tried running but my pelvic floor was so bad I didn’t enjoy running whilst all the time feeling like I needed to stop for a wee. This time, I felt much better. I can also identify with friend with twins who threw herself into running after having the twins, with the time pacing the streets providing some much needed alone time and stress relief. I was definitely in this frame of mind and could have kept on running just to enjoy the peace and quiet! I was feeling a bit fed up on one morning as I’d had a very early start (while the husband casually laid in until 9.30) so the run did me wonders to run off the stress.

Before I reveal my weight today, here’s a quick review of the highs and lows of the week:

Treats:

• 1 bottle of red wine
• 2 bottles of white wine
• Half big bar of popping candy cadbury’s chocolate
• Half bag of twirl bites
• Ribs and chips
• 3 large chocolatey desserts
• Almost half a birthday cake
• 3 times dinners with rice and pasta

Balanced (ish) out by:

• Cereal and fruit breakfasts
• Small lunches of soup or a sandwich
• 2 runs (2-3 miles)
• Lots of walking, albeit very slow as the toddler insisted on walking everywhere

In terms of weight I have gained a pound, now weighing in at 11st 3lb. Nothing unexpected there and probably not has bad as I had anticipated. I do feel wobblier round the middle though and am actually looking forward to getting back into WedFit Mum mode again.

In summary, there is no breaking news. If you eat what you like, you’ll gain a bit of weight but as long as you don’t do it all the time, it’s probably not going to kill you. I saw a quote from the Body Coach that said “You won’t win every day. Just don’t let one bad day of eating become a a bad week. Wake up, reset and go again.”  I might have let it turn into a week but I won’t let it turn into a month. Let’s reset and go again!

Weekly weigh in: week 4

After my melt down on Saturday about the excessive number of pounds gained after just one night off, which did include a thousand calorie dessert to be fair, I’ve bounced back and the scales have me at 11st 2lb this morning. Another 2lb off..perhaps. I definitely don’t trust these scales!

I promised you (and myself) that I won’t publish any half naked photos of my before and after body on here but I have included some clothed images here. However it’s the underneath that needs some work. The weight I’ve lost so far has been largely down to diet and I’m not looking too bad with clothes on! However, there is a lot of toning required so I need to try and step up the exercise. Luckily I’ve come across a pre and post natal exercise expert online and have been doing here 6 minute core workout when I get the chance. Considering it’s only 6 minutes, I’m finding it pretty tough. I’m hoping to get stronger and notice the progress quite quickly though if I can keep it up.

By the way, as my husband pointed out my boobs do look rather large in this picture so you’d be forgiven for thinking they probably account for a stone each! When I stop I’ll breastfeeding, I’ll probably lose 2 stone overnight and have a whole new thing to worry about as I deal with a of shrivelled spaniel’s ears… but that’s a worry for another day!

We’re off to Center Parcs today. I’m full on enthusiasm with my trainers and gym kit packed to balance out the little treats I indulge in. I’ll report back on whether the gym or the spa win!