A few weeks ago I was given a rude awakening by my Personal Trainer, he decided without warning to do a new body MOT. Time to get the measurements he said. *Crap* i thought. I knew i wouldn't see anything good. Not only were my results not 'good', I left mortified.
The readings; my Body fat had remained much the same (to my surprise), my weight has finally crept up to 70kg (the heaviest i have ever been) and whilst this makes my BMI 25. A single point higher and I will be classed as overweight (and frankly I already feel overweight). So the news was not great and i felt awful and miserable and disappointed with myself and hey depressed, because, let us be honest here, i have done this to myself. But the big shock was my blood pressure. The first reading 152/96....the second not much better at 145/92. Wow, now that is HIGH! Alarmingly so. Crunch time. THINGS NEED TO CHANGE!
I have since had a few days holiday and had my blood pressure rechecked by a nurse and it was 130/82. Now this is medically acceptable, but for me this is actually still high. A lot of factors contribute to high blood pressure:
- age
- salt intake
- lack of exercise
- overweight
These are just a few, for more details please click on the following link: What causes high blood pressure?
Now realistically, none of the above are considerable factors for me on the face of it. I've only just turned 30. I don't add salt much to my diet, i exercise fairly frequently, and currently i am not overweight.On the other hand, I am in a stressful position and their is a family history of high blood pressure. So what are my options here?
1) Age - not a factor. Being 30 is not a reason to have high blood pressure and i cannot change my age anyway
2) Salt intake - i do not add a lot of salt to my diet, but it is hidden in so many foods now, including 'healthy' pre-packaged stuff, so i am possibly eating more that I should from my food sources. So I aim to make over 90% of my diet come from non-prepackaged sources
3) Lack of exercise - I am great at going nuts for a week or two and then nothing for a week to ten days, so i really need to work on pacing myself and being more consistent
4) Overweight - not yet, but it is a darn close thing
5) Stress - i need to learn to manage this better, and also improve my sleep pattern. A lack of sleep 'stresses' the body, even if you do not feel it in the mind
6) Family history of high blood pressure - I cannot change this, but i CAN do everything in my power to try and avoid developing it.
How did i get to this, when i have been blogging my goals? I know that is what you are thinking. The same thing that happens to people all the time. I looked at where I was a few years ago, happy healthy and fighting fit and realised i am so far removed from that, that is seems impossible to get back to that place. So instead of fighting, I sought comfort. And i lied to myself.
I has got to the point where i spend as little time as possible looking the in the mirror. But their is one mirror you cannot avoid. Your parents. I've popped home for a weekend visit and I am met with the vision of my mother, the person perpetually on a diet and failing. I see how large she is, how slow she has became, she is a shadow of her formed self in so many respects. The truth is staring at me from the sofa. If I do not change, i am destined to become my mother.
I need to avoid the cake and people who encourage me to eat it. I need to block out the negativity from people who say 'you don't have time', or 'you can't do it' - this actually speaks volumes about their own limitations, they are attempting to off load on to you, to make themselves feel better. I need to develop a plan and have a goal. I have an overall goal of how much i would like to loose, i also looked for pictures for motivation and came across this beauty on the web:
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| Wow!! And Who said size deosn't matter! |
And then i found this! I'd like to loose more than 20lbs, but i was genuinely surprised at how much fat 20lbs is!!
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| Fatty fatty, fat fat |
So i have started with these few goals:
- 3 gym workouts a week minimum, but no more than five
- 2 spin classes a week minimum, but no more than 3
- 6 days a week for running - i neither care about distance or time, it is all about moving
- 1 day a week of pure rest - read a book, do some gardening, walking some beauty spots, but nothing that really tires me out!
Their will be judo on top and i want to fit in either some yoga or meditation time to try and deal with the stress levels. In addition to this i have signed up to a 10 day programme where you are given a new green smoothie to try every day either with or as a meal replacement to try and top up my nutrients and energy levels. Oh and cut the *crap*. It is time to invest in whole foods.
Now i am being brutally honest here, my motivation is at an all time low. But I am determined to make it through a week of doing these things!!! If I can make it through one week and see a positive change, then i hope this will build my motivation to continue along the path of self improvement. It is my hope that by the next time my PT does a body MOT at the end of April, i will have lost 5lbs (just over a pound a week, a healthy amount to loose) and that my fat levels will have decreased and most importantly that my blood pressure will have came down.
So everything is in place. I have a massive food delivery coming to my house Sunday night, so I am going to use my two remaining days visiting the parents are a reminder of how i don't want to eat (my body is a temple right?) and where i DO NOT want to end up in 20 years time (or earlier!).
So check back in four weeks for an update!!!
