All sorts of exciting stuff.......

Welcome back to another exciting FFD blog, well, when I say exciting, what I mean is that I am excited! But then, to be honest, when am I not?
So....photo to the left then, how cool is this? This was taken during my recent 'Superfoot' grading at the Tora dojo in Plymouth, and with lots of hard work, dedication and training I passed and have a beautiful certificate to prove it.
As I am always saying, if you want something enough, believe all things are possible and they happen, but you have to want it, there are no half measures and no short cuts, you are only then cheating yourself!

I stopped running long distance for a year so try and get my flexibility back and it did work, and I am now working even harder on it, I realise the importance of it, with all the other exercise I do, I need some stretch and chill time or I will run my body into the ground.
I spoke with Bill 'Superfoot' Wallace about running and flexibility and he said that he used to run and do martial arts (not sure he knew how far I was used to running) but as long as I stretch before and after and make additional time for stretching I can get back to running. I had missed it, it's my chill time, my relaxation and I've been doing it for so many years it was a tough and slightly depressing year away from it. I feel like me again now I'm running again.

My fitness hadn't suffered, mainly to do with the additional Box Room sessions I was putting myself through, and, of course Insanity classes, but I had changed shape and put on a few pounds. I've always said it, you want to lose weight, go running, it really is the best way to shift those pounds.

This coming Sunday I am running the last day of The Forces March with Rob Starbuck, I couldn't do all 5 days this year due to work and also not running training for  year, but I've been knocking up the miles since 14th May so I should be okay and not suffer injury.
Then.....Sunday 12th June I have my first race back properly, the Ruby Run half marathon in North Devon. It was the last race I did before my break and I got a PB of 1hr 42mins, so we shall see what a year off has done to my timing. We ran from Hatherleigh to Holsworthy last year and this year we run the other way, apparently this year is meant to be the 'easier' way of doing it. No pressure there then!
But seriously, I won't pressure myself, after all, I haven't been doing the miles I was doing last year, it wasn't long after the Forces March last year, 140 miles training would help!

Anyway, I shall let you know how I get on......now, some special news.....on Thursday 2nd June we move our Kickboxing club to a new venue, a great chance for us to improve and build on what we have and on Tuesday 7th June we launch a new FREE ladies only beginners running session, bringing back the Fighting Fit Devon Flyers! Very excited about this, Tuesday morning sessions 6.30am in Totnes.

Anyway, I shall let you get back to whatever it was you were doing and see you soon......

Debbie

Training, stress and sickness......

Hiya!

I'm sat covered in a blanket feeling very sorry for myself. I've spent 2 1/2 days in bed, sneezing, coughing, sweating, shivering with a pounding head and deaf ears.

I am entirely to blame for this, well, that and the person who passed on the bug, but I am usually very resilient. I had a VERY big weekend planned, my friends wedding and on to a gig the following night. I haven't had a big night out since Halloween, since doing 'Sober October' I've not been the party girl I used to be, and that's not a bad thing!
I've always said that as much as you train hard, work hard, eat well, there is time in your life for fun now and then.

Maybe if it had been just one day of the weekend I may have been alright, but a large amount of cider, a lack of sleep and, the fact that I forgot to take my Juice Plus with me has lead to this stupid virus taking me down. Anyway, I've missed work and can't afford to do that, so maybe I have to grow up! Just one night of silliness in future I think.

So, now, annoyed at myself for not only missing work, but missing my own training  I have to dig deep and behave myself until my grading on May 13th, that means no going out and having fun for a few weeks! You have to give up some things for others and I really want to be at my very best for this grading, I need full health and energy for my body and brain, I need to be top of my game, early nights, early mornings and feeding myself with all the good things that can help me. And most importantly, no wine or cider!

Sacrifice for your goals is absolutely essential, if you want something enough there are no half measures, you have to go for it with a full positive attitude and the will to be the very best that you can be.

I am hoping to be back in some form of health tomorrow, I have rested for once, fed myself with organic veg, drank lots of water, honey and lemon. Off for a bath and an early night now, fingers crossed I am back 'Fighting Fit' in the morning.

The joys of being a woman - C9 day 1

Hello! *waves*

Just a quick blog, 1 of 9 in the coming days.

Do you remember when I did the Forever Living C9 product test? I didn't need to lose any weight, but I thought I would try it to see if it could help kickstart some of my clients with their fatloss journey.
I found it a good product, did exactly what it should do, but it was too much for me because I really didn't need to lose any weight.

Since then a few changes have happened to me. In December I was persuaded by my doctor to have the 'coil' fitted instead of taking the mini pill that I had been on for years. This happened on December 8th and gradually over the past few months my weight has increased, water retention has become out of control, not to mention my mood changes.
I am currently nearly 5KG over my 'normal' weight that I had been at for absolutely years and no matter what I've done recently, upping my exercise and lowering my food intake, nothing has worked. That has also resulted in fatigue.

I say this about women all the time, hormones are one of the biggest problems when trying to lose fat, as I am now proof.

I am going to have the coil removed (when they can find it....long story) and have started back on the mini pill again, back to where I should be, so I've decided to do the C9 again to get those stubborn 5KG off.

Today is Day 1.......I'm hungry, but I did make marmalade this morning! It wasn't the best decision, but it's something to look forward to on a spelt bun at the end of 9 days....everything in moderation though!

Exercise-wise 30 minutes a day on the C9 is recommended, so I've had a 40 minute dog walk, hopefully there is an even number at Boxercise tonight and then 50 minutes of Insanity! I really don't make things easy for myself!

Catch up tomorrow........

Women and weight......

So, this is not a sexist blog, but an honest account of what I have personally found over the years. It's all based on experience and also talking to others, even doctors about it.

So, it all starts at puberty....some girls get what is generally called, 'puppy fat' this happens when a girls hormones start to change, and usually in a year or two this goes as the person matures into a woman. I don't remember getting puppy fat, but I was running, doing Ballet, modern and tap dancing and cycling everywhere. I never gave it a chance!

Back in the day there really was the one option for contraception (other than a condom) and that was 'the pill.' This affected women in different ways, some gaining weight, some not. For me it was ideal, there were no changes and my moods were relatively normal all the time. (for a female!)
Now we have a massive choice, the implant, injection and coils.

For some reason, at the end of last year, I opted for the latter to be positioned in me! This was the most awful decision I have ever made. Other than the pain, the hormone changes have made me extremely irrational, but the biggest thing for me is the weight gain. I have gained nearly 4kg since having it, I have increased my exercise and lowered my food intake, both resulting in fatigue and nothing has worked. That is certainly usual for me, so I have made the choice to get the thing out as soon as possible.

You may not be as aware of yourself as I am, it's sort of job related but I have always been extremely body conscious. If you feel that actually you exercise and eat well but don't lose weight, the issue could most probably be hormone-related.

I always let my personal training clients know when we have a full moon approaching, sounds a bit hippy and 'Totnes' but it does affect us. We have a larger water content in our bodies than men, the moon affects the tides, therefore it affects our water too. If you haven't ever noticed before, you should try and experiment now. Usually a few days before a full moon.....there's one on the 22nd (Monday) you will start to feel or look a little more bloated than usual, particularly around the belly and arms. This is water retention, the full moon arrives and a couple of days later all is returned to normal. It's annoying, but at least you know why it happens. If it doesn't go down after a couple of days you know you have eaten too much cake!

Women are complex creatures, but it's understanding your body and your self, work with what you know, if you have changed your pill, got an implant, or whatever it may be, there will be changes, some for the better, and as I have recently found, some not. Now I could give it a full 6 month trial to see what happens, but this weight gain has made me unhappy and tired, I've made the decision to change it. We all have that choice, that's the good thing about life!

Don't think that how you look or feel can't be changed, just follow a process, ask questions and then find the right solution for you.