Spring in2it! Week 10

Here we are at the end of the Spring in2it! challenge. I must admit to feeling very disappointed that I seem to have only lost 1/2 kg! Really wanted to lose 2kgs. Bugger! Obviously more exercise required, less food, even less wine......or just buy bigger clothes!

However, on reflection, Spring in2it! has been worthwhile. I have been thinking about what I eat (although I think that I eat reasonably carefully anyway - perhaps "cake" more often than I should) but became very aware that I do not drink enough water. I enjoyed some of the lunchtime talks that I went to and the exercise classes.

I really would like to be more disciplined with exercise and try to get out at lunchtime for a quick walk, even 10 mins, at least three times a week. It is very easy to use 'too busy' as an excuse. Walking provides time to reflect on the morning's work, get some fresh air, and think about what needs to be done in the afternoon.

It will be interesting to read post challenge results/surveys to see how others have found the 10 week challenge. Now, I guess, I need to continue to challenge myself to keep going & lose the rest of that weight!

Spring in2it! Week 9

It takes time to reflect back on the previous week & recall what exercise I did (if any!!). However, I did have a good walk on Tuesday evening for an hour with a friend. On Wednesday I attended the Dyna-band class which was great - even better, because we were given our own Dyna-band plus a sheet of exercises as well! Wednesday evening attended my Pilates class (where we also used dyna-bands!).

Thursday & Friday not much in the way of exercise; I don't find it that easy to get away at lunchtime for a walk as there are often training sessions or presentations to go to. Saturday I did some gardening & I am sure that counts for something! Sunday had a short walk to 'inspect' some farm buildings on a cousin's station at Lee Stream. Certainly ate well - lots of salads & tried to keep the fluid intake up.

Well, the last week. I will be very interested to have another 'weigh-in'. A few people have said to me that I have lost weight but I am not sure. There will be limited opportunities for walking either at lunchtime or in the evenings this week as there is a lot happening.

Spring in2 it! Week 8

Reflecting back on last week, I made a greater effort with the exercising but still not so good with fluid intake (I don't think I can count wine & bourbon??).

On Tuesday I joined the lunchtime walking group - there were 2 of us!! On Wednesday I sent to the Group Exercise Session on Logan Park. There were 3 of us!! Oh great, I thought! Two students took us on to Logan Park where in full view of passing motorists and pedestrians we participated in 20-25 mins of exercising starting of with "Noodle Tag" - if we were tagged we either had to do 10 star jumps or 5 press ups. I chose the star jumps.....! This was followed by other exercises including press-ups, sumo squats, etc. Wednesday night pilates. Thursday I attended Matt Blair's lunchtime presentation (4 people attended) which was interesting "All about exercise". He stressed the need to be quite disciplined and the value of having a personal trainer or support person.

Friday night had a quick walk after tea. Saturday had a good 40 min or more walk and then a 40 minute bike ride before tea. Sunday night another good 40 min walk.

Let's see what happens in week 9....watch this space.

Spring in2 it! Week 7

Labour weekend - wonderful! And more opportunity to include some exercise into my daily life. I was in Alexandra for the weekend: great weather, great company, great food, great wine.....But, also great bike riding. We had 2 good bike rides plus a 2 hour walk. The food we ate was mostly healthy but we did have the odd treat such as home-made lemon slice.

During last week, I don't think that I was able to get out at lunchtime for a walk at all. There is always something else happening including lunchtime presentations or training sessions of some sort.

I am not sure that I will achieve the goals I set for myself but there are three weeks to go so there is still hope!

Spring in2it! Week 6

Another week with very little activity, I'm disappointed to report. It was very busy at work & there were lunchtime meetings/presentations that I went to which prevented me from having lunchtime walks! Why didn't I walk in the evenings? There were things happening then too! Meeting on Wednesday night, my birthday on Thursday night, and on Friday I had the day off & went to Christchurch for the weekend.

I did have a lovely walk on Saturday morning in a wetlands area in Burwood where there is a lot of flax (harakeke) and new plantings of kahikatea and kowhai. There is a lot of birdlife there - it is now a sanctuary for birds as well. So about a 50minute walk.

Does walking around shopping malls for several hours count as exercise? That is probably debatable. I think that I probably ate a lot and had a few wines as well. Oh dear!

Greater effort required this week!

Spring in2it! Week 5

As I reflect on last week's attempts to continue with a programme of exercise, I am not sure that I did so well. I remember having a couple of walks in the evening and only a couple of lunch time walks. My pilates class was not on last week either, so probably have only had minimal exercise.

On Saturday & Sunday I spent time at my son's place - he works on a dairy farm on the Taieri - where I helped him catch up on some housework!! Although this was not exercise as such, I worked for some hours non-stop cleaning very actively so think that I am quite justified in attributing some of this time as 'exercise' on my daily diary.

If I want to achieve my goals, I will have to be really proactive this week. Watch this space!!

Spring in2it! Week 4

The weeks are going quickly and here we are almost half way through the 10 week challenge. I had Week 4 off work, Annual Leave. The first few days were spent catching up with household chores that are neglected when working fulltime. You know, the spring cleaning stuff: washing curtains, windows, cleaning out wardrobes, drawers, tossing out clothes that no longer fit (!!).... Eventually, we (that is, my husband John & I) headed off to Alexandra on Wednesday 30 September. I have a caravan at the Alexandra Holiday Park. We quickly unpacked and hopped on our bikes & rode along the rail trail to Clyde. That is only about 11km from the Camping Ground so it is an easy bike ride. On Thursday we had a longer bike ride - the weather was perfect for cycling - again along the rail trail. This time we rode to Chatto Creek which is approx. 17kms from the camping ground. It was such a magic day -snow on the mountains, blue sky, everything looking lush & green, birds singing - I smiled all the way along the trail! We stopped at the Chatto Creek tavern for a toasted sandwich - and a cold lager! Does that count towards my fluid intake??? Down hill all the way back to Alex.

Managed to fit in a couple of short walks over the next couple of days so hopefully this will have helped. Have come back to work feeling refreshed, batteries charged and with a desire to make a greater effort to have a 30 minute walk each day. We'll see what happens!

Spring in2it! Week 3

Week 3 seems like ages ago! It was a very busy week at work as I was constantly aware that I had the next week off work (Annual Leave) - hence lunchtime walks didn't happen! I did keep up my fluid intake to a reasonable leavel and always eat fruit for lunch & my vegies at tea time so am happy that some parts of the programme were under control.

I am not sure how my 'team mates' are going so probably need to touch base with them as well.

Spring in2it! Week 2

We have ended Week 2 of the Spring in2 it Challenge and, on reflection, I believe that I did continue to make an effort on a daily basis to do something last week! Some days this might have only been keeping myself well hydrated and/or eating at least 5+ a day fruit & vege. Most days I went for a walk. I go to Pilates on a Wednesday evening so think that should count for something! On Sunday my husband and I went for a 50min bike ride out on the Taieri - great place for bike riding and, of course, the weather was perfect.

I find the Challenge more motivating now that I know I am in a team - and I am Team Captain! which means that I feel more obligated to participate as fully as possible. Always wanted to be a Team Captain.

Heather Day and I went along to listen to Gary Barclay's lunchtime presentation last Thursday on "Team Support and Motivation" which was interesting and also an affirmation that belonging to a 'team' can be a motivator in itself. And, yes, it is also about making connections with work colleagues - encouraging and checking-in with each other.

Spring in2 it! Challenge!

Last week I began the 10 week fun fitness and food challenge at Otago Polytechnic. The focus is for us to think about healthy living being fun which, ideally, should then have a flow-on effect to the workplace ie a 'happy workplace' because we are all feeling much better about ourselves.

We are encouraged to complete an on-line diary each day to record our fluid consumption, how much exercise we have had and whether we have eaten 5+ a day fruit and vegetables. I was a little disappointed that there is no place on this diary to record how I feel each day particularly if I have either done well with the exercise/fluid intake requirements or perhaps didn't do any exercise or drink enough! So, hence, the 'blog'.

Upon reflection, I started the week well and walked on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday I went out for lunch at Technique where I did eat well and enjoyed every morsel. On Friday other things happened which left me no time for a lunch time walk. I did manage to drink at least a litre of water or more each day so that was an improvement.

I have some personal goals for this 10 week programme - mainly to do with weight (!!) but also to do with feeling much better about myself which the fresh air, exercise, as well as healthy eating will certainly contribute to.