Setting Myself Some 30th Birthday Challenge

I’ve just turned 30 and apart from getting married and popping out 4 kids in quick succession, I’ve never really done much that’s terribly exciting in my life.

I’m a complete daredevil and very rarely get to challenge that side of me. I’ve always spoken about doing a bungee jump or a skydive but speaking about it is usually as far as it goes.

Today that stops. I’m setting myself 2 challenges for my 30th birthday year.

My first one should be relatively easy to achieve. We have a gliding club over the road from us and I really want to give it a go. They usually have a open day in September where they do trial flights and this year I am going to bite the bullet and go.

Ever since my Grandad used to take me to airshows as a child I’ve wanted to get my pilots licence. It’s one of my ‘things to do before you die’ items but it’s stupidly expensive! Trying out gliding would be a step in the right direction.

My second challenge requires a huge amount of hard work before I even qualify to do it. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do but it has a very strict weight limit so signing myself up to do it would be my reward for reaching my goal weight.

I want to do a wing walk. Yes, you did read that right! I want to stand on top of an aeroplane while it flies through the sky!

This has always appealed to me and my inner daredevil for some strange reason.

I need to lost 21lbs first though. I’m hoping having this as a reward for reaching my target weight will spur me on to lose it.

I will keep my blog updated with my progress on both my challenges. I’m hoping to have completed them both before my 31st birthday in April.

The Slim Fast Challenge – Final Weigh In

Well 14 days of the #slimfastchallenge are up and Monday morning was the final weigh in. I have held off weighing myself all week so this week’s weight was a surprise.

I jumped on the scales and was really disappointed. I’ve lost 4lbs in 2 weeks. Normally I wouldn’t moan about losing 4lbs but I’m disappointed as I weighed myself on day 5 and had lost 3lbs. For an additional 9 days of dieting I was expecting more than a 1lb loss.

I’ve followed the diet to the letter and even tried harder with my exercise for the past 2 weeks. I was expecting to lose more than 4lbs on such a low calorie diet.

I will reserve judgement for another week though as I suffer terribly with water retention and bloating once a month. The perils of being a woman mean that most months I can put on several pounds which disappear a few days later.

I haven’t minded doing Slim Fast as I’m so busy during the day that grabbing a bar or shake is easier than fixing a meal. I’ve not really felt hungry and I’ve enjoyed creating evening meals for under 600 cals.

But, I did feel like I was consuming quite a lot of sugar. The shakes and the snack bars had very high sugar content and I was permanently left with that strange taste in my mouth that you get when you’ve eaten too many chocolates!

Maybe because of the disappointing weight loss I’m feeling that Slim Fast wasn’t great for a quick fix diet. I’ve done both Weight Watchers and Slimming World in the past and have lost more in the first 2 weeks of being on those plans. I also feel they promote better eating habits and sustainable weight loss. I fear my 4lbs lost is going straight back on again!

Thank you to Slim Fast for giving me the opportunity to try out the #slimfastchallenge.

The Slim Fast Challenge – Day 5

Today is day 5 and I’ve yet to fall off the wagon! I’ve actually found doing Slim Fast a lot easier than I thought I would.

I haven’t suffered from any rumbling tummy and have enjoyed everything I’ve tried so far. I am totally in love with the snack chocolate bars. They taste like you’re having a Mars or a Snickers but are a fraction of the calories.

I’ve enjoyed some really nice balanced dinners some of which have come from the recipe ideas on the Slim Fast website. My boys really liked the fish finger pie and for the first time in ages we had a dinner time without a single complaint about the food!

My only complaint so far is that I feel like I’m constantly eating sugar. The shakes and meal replacement bars have really high sugar content. Having 2 of these a day is nearly your recommended daily allowance of sugar straight away.

The bit you’re waiting for though. I got on the scales for the first time this morning and so far 3lbs have disappeared which I’m really pleased about.

The Slim Fast Challenge – Day 1

The big day has arrived. Last night I enjoyed a big roast dinner and a glass of wine as my last supper! A meal like that isn’t going to fit in my 600 kcal dinner allowance.

I’m going to be brave and admit that this morning I stepped on the scales and I weighed 13st 9 lbs which makes my BMI 29.9. Not fantastic by any means but that’s the reason I wanted to give Slim Fast a go.

Breakfast
This mornings breakfast was a bit different from the normal toast and marmite. I had a banana shake about 9.30 and made sure I planned a busy morning of baby clinic and visiting my parents to take my mind off any hunger.

I picked banana this morning as I’m not a huge fan of banana milkshake and wanted to get it out the way but I really enjoyed it. I expected them to taste a bit powdery but it was just like any normal banana milkshake. I downed it in secret so the kids didn’t try to steal any and flew out the door. Having a shake for breakfast is an awful lot more convenient than my usual breakfast choice.

Lunch
We had lunch at about 1ish as we’d been out all morning. I’d packed one of my snacks to have during the morning but was too busy so I added them onto my lunch.
Lunch consisted of a bag of cheese bites and a chocolate peanut meal replacement bar.

The crisps had plenty of cheese flavour and were lovely and crunchy. They certainly made up for not having my lunchtime bag of crisps.

The meal bar had plenty of chocolate on it which sorted out my lunchtime sugar hit and certainly gave my jaw a workout with how chewy it was. It tasted great.

I had a snack mid afternoon of barbecue flavour tortilla crisps. They had plenty of flavouring and were certainly a great afternoon pick me up. Unfortunately the kids spotted me having these and wanted to try them. They enjoyed they as they came back for seconds!

Dinner
I was really looking forward to dinner. I struggled cooking the kids dinner as it was making me so hungry. I literally ran down the stairs and did the quickest dinner we had in the house. Dinner consisted of a tuna steak, asparagus, cous cous and leftover barbecue corn on the cob coming in at just under 600 kcal.
I saved my final snack of the day for after dinner as I always like to have something sweet. I swapped a Slim Fast snack for a Muller Light yoghurt. Anything counts as a snack as long as it’s under 100 kcal.

Exercise
I took the twins to baby clinic so walked just over a mile and a half with the pushchair.
Fitbit steps today – 7265

The Slim Fast Challenge – Introduction

I have lost an awful lot of weight in the 10 months since my twins arrived. I weighed myself on the morning of my c-section and to date have lost 6 stone 7lbs. Some of that was baby weight but most was there before I fell pregnant.

While pregnant I had gestational diabetes so had to modify my diet significantly. I have kept up with this healthier eating since having the babies and also added in exercise at least 3 times a week.

In the last few months though, my weight loss has stalled and as the pounds have stopped coming off, my motivation has faltered.

When offered to opportunity to give the Slim Fast Challenge a go, I jumped at it. I’m hoping it will give me the kick start I need to get back on track. I’m also due back at work next month as would love to walk back into the office looking a million dollars and making them think I’m excelling at parenting 4 small people plus looking after myself!

The Slim Fast 3-2-1 plan sounds perfect for me. The 3 snacks, 2 meal replacement bars or shakes plus 1 meal of 600 kcal should suit my busy days where I sometimes struggle to sit down to eat. It also still allows me to have an evening meal with the Mr and secretly put him on an evening meal diet too!

I will be starting Monday morning and I’m quite looking forward to trying all the different flavours of shake and the snacks. Some of them sound really yummy and still allow me to have a hit of chocolate!

If I can get down into the next stone bracket, a place I don’t think I’ve been since I was about 5 years old, I’ll feel that Slim Fast has been a success.

Couch25k Week 3 – Completed

It’s been a really hectic few weeks hence why there was no update last week.

I began week 3 of the programme, did 2 of the 3 runs and then with weekends away and my pilates restarting, run 3 kept getting put off.

My first 2 runs went great. I actually managed the 3 minute running sessions and didn’t feel too bad after them. Although, I think I did swear at the podcast lady on my final 3 minute run when she happily told me to begin my run just as I reached the bottom of a hill!

My 3rd run was delayed by several days. I have just returned to my pilates class and I couldn’t manage a run for a few days after my first class! I was a little bit broken and didn’t think it was wise. When I did go out for my 3rd run, I binned the podcast and went solo.

We live on a big circular estate so I did a few laps of it. After my 5 minute warm up I went for it. I ran and pushed myself for as long as I could. I kept setting myself goals like “I’ll get to the next lamppost and see how I feel” or “I’ll get to the corner of the next road”. I managed to run just over half the estate (including uphill sections) and I felt very proud of myself. I felt like I’d pushed myself harder than the podcast would have done.

I’ve done 1 more run since and managed 2 good, continuous 5 minute runnning blocks which is a massive improvement for me. I set out with the intention of running as much as I could, only slowing down for the minimum amount of time to catch my breath back. It seemed to work and when I got home I noticed I had taken 30 seconds off my pace time!

I’m really enjoying running which I never thought I would say. I fully intend to keep it up and my next goal is to be able to run a full lap of our estate. It doesn’t seem an enormous goal but we’re going with baby steps so I feel like I am achieving something.

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Couch25k Week 1 – Complete

Six months ago I would never have believed I would write that title. I had just had a c-section and was at the heaviest I had ever been in my life. To be honest, I was disgusted with myself.

Just a few days after my section I set myself a challenge, to get fit and get to a healthy BMI.

I was banned from driving for 6 weeks after my section so I walked everywhere and I’ve tried to do that as much as possible since. Walking 4 small people is sometimes an impossible task! I enjoyed the walking and pushing the pram plus with the added weight of a baby in a sling, it was quite a good workout.

I am now 4 stone lighter than I was pre-pregnancy and still losing but it has definitely slowed down so I decided to try the NHS Couch 2 5k podcasts.

I am not a runner! Anybody who knows me is well aware that I don’t run. I would rather miss a bus than run after it! I also have a problem with my lower spine caused by an accident several years ago so I was a little apprehensive about running. I’ve said I’ll try things like this in the past but never do so this time I was determined.

I did my first run on Tuesday night and it was hard. I did a 5 minute warm up followed by alternating 60 seconds of running with 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes. The 60 seconds of running felt like an eternity compared to the longer walking sections but I did it. I felt so proud of myself and actually enjoyed it (don’t tell anyone). I was really looking forward to Thursdays run and managed to up my pace and go further.

I did my third run on Sunday and this time ventured further than the perfect running track that is our estate. I did a small lap of the village which I knew involved a few hills and I was feeling particularly smug when my first run coincidence with a steep downward stretch. But as I rounded the corner I realised if I had come down, I had to go back up and just as I saw the upward section the podcast lady told me my next running section was coming up! I survived and even though I strayed from my fairly flat running, I still upped my pace and distance. Very proud moment!

My first week of running has been an experience. My back has held out and after a few niggles from my section scar on the first night, it hasnt bothered me since. I’ve actually discovered that I quite enjoy running. It’s 30 minutes of fresh air and quiet time out of the house on my own.

Next week the training ups to 90 seconds of running and 2 minutes of walking. Feeling nervous already but looking forward to seeing if I can manage it.

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The Birthday That Nobody Dare Speak Of

I am now just weeks away from the first birthday that I feel I need to worry about! I will no longer be in my twenties and will be entering the dreaded thirties.  

I’ve always had a mental list of things I wanted to achieve by the time I turned 30. I wanted to:-
▶ have a decent job
▶ be married
▶ have a baby
▶ see a bit of the world
▶ lose weight

It all sounds a bit boring but I am quite simply a very family orientated person.
I’ve done pretty well I think and at 29 years 10 months I have:-
▶ a job. It had potential to be a decent job and one I worked hard to get. I’m proud that I’m a career Mum.
▶ got married. Ticked off my list at the grand old age of 24 when I married my childhood sweetheart (cheese alert!)
▶ had 4 beautiful children and completed my family. The grand plan was never 4 children but, Mother Nature decided to have a bit of fun with us!
▶ seen a small amount of the world but nowhere near enough. I’ve done the Caribbean, Florida, plenty of Europe and Indonesia. Babies curtailed further travels and I wouldn’t change it for the world!
▶ I have failed this many, many times. When I fell pregnant with the twins I was at the heaviest I have ever been. During my pregnancy I got gestational diabetes and it’s given me the wake up call I need to change my eating habits. I am currently at the lightest I have ever been all my adult life. I still have another 2 stone to go to be within a healthy BMI and I hoping 1 of those can be gone before my birthday.

As 30 looms nearer and I begin thinking of the lie I want to tell everyone when they ask how old I am, I’m also wondering where I want my life to go in the next 10 years. This part worries me more than anything – I don’t know! I had all these plans for my twenties and now my thirties seem pretty empty. If I want my thirties to be more exciting than doing the school run, the rounds of the after school clubs and birthday parties I’m going to need some help. I’m tempted by the idea of taking up running with the first challenge being a 5k. Not exactly exciting but anyone who knows me will know me and running are never usually seen together! I want something more exciting though. What exciting challenges can I set myself?

Comment below and help an old girl out please