Getting Back to Fitness | My Long-Term Plan For Future Health (New Series)

Getting Back to Fitness | A Long-Term Plan For Future Health (a Series)
So the time has come: My plan for getting back to fitness following my back/leg injury last year is underway.

This is no short-term thing just to shift the pounds I inevitably put on over Christmas whilst being completely laid up and immobile – this is my long-term plan for my future health.

I want YOU to be a part of it – I’m sharing everything, warts and all – and it starts right here!

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about why you should never take being able-bodied for granted. It struck a chord with so many people who had suffered similar injuries or were struggling with illnesses, and I was touched by the fact that so many people shared their stories in the comments and on Facebook. Although I already knew it, it made me realise that I am very, very lucky to be in reasonable health and that my injury was only temporary.

(It didn’t seem like it at the time – at one point it was so painful I honestly couldn’t imagine being able to walk with ease again.)

But gradually it did get better, and I’m back walking daily and looking forward to building up my fitness. I’m about 98% better, and it’s my drop in fitness levels that’s now more of a concern than the residual pain from the injury itself.

 

The plan for getting back to fitness

So! Here’s the plan. Every day from Monday 29th (tomorrow) I am going to document what I do, as I do it, in terms of my walks, workouts, food intake and sleep on Twitter via my hashtag #notlambFIT. I am making myself accountable in a very public way, so there will be no excuses.

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Getting Back to Fitness | A Long-Term Plan For Future Health (a Series)
The use of the hashtag will effectively create an online diary to track my progress. Then, every second Sunday, I’ll sum up the previous two weeks of diet and exercise as well as (gulp) my weight and measurements in a #notlambFIT update post on the blog. I’ll share one of those hideous “before” style photos standing in just leggings and a tight top looking uncomfortable. (It also has to be done looking unhappy – you only smile for the “after” picture because, by then, you’re just too fabulous…!)

I just want to mention a few things before the first post in two weeks’ time: Namely what my motivation is, why I’m doing it, what sort of shape I’m in right now, etc., etc.

 

Getting back to fitness – my motivation

Firstly, I am doing this for the following reasons (this is not necessarily in order of priority):

  1. I want to build my strength and my immune system in order to give me a better chance of living a long, happy, healthy life
  2. I want to sleep better. I have no problem sleeping, my problem is the opposite: I want to be able to wake up feeling fresh and energetic, not lethargic (I can sleep for Britain)
  3. I want to stave off colds, bugs, monthly cramps, headaches, daytime lethargy – all things I suffer from when I’m unfit
  4. I want more energy
  5. I want my legs to stop hurting – by this I mean the fatty deposits that build up (because that is where all my weight goes) that hurt if I get prodded on the thigh. When I’m chunkier they seriously hurt (does anyone else get this? I’d love to know)
  6. I want to stop sugar cravings because I enjoy eating healthily so much but get lazy and cram-eat biscuits and chocolate instead which give me the headaches mentioned earlier
  7. I want to be able to wear all the clothes I can no longer fit into. Of all the gorgeous clothes that I own that I want to wear, I can only fit into about 50% of them and it upsets me
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The current situation with my weight/fitness

This is what I need to make clear to myself as much as anyone(!)

  1. I am not grossly overweight, and I fully realise that. I simply want to tone up and shift the pounds that slowly crept on leading up to Christmas plus the ones that piled on during Christmas and my injury (nice timing, body – thanks a bunch).
  2. I am not comparing myself to anyone else in terms of body image, size or weight. I simply want to get back to the shape that I feel happiest at – it’s the size and shape I know I’m healthiest.
  3. I do not want people to think that I “don’t need to lose weight” – clothes, the way you style them, and the way you photograph them all contribute to disguising problem areas. I know that I’m unfit because my clothes are far too tight, I haven’t exercised in months, I haven’t cut back on my eating in any way since the injury and I’m lacking in energy.
  4. All my weight goes in one area – my bum and legs. If I wear a maxi skirt and a sleeveless top then yes, I will look very, very slim to some as I’m particularly bony around my collarbone and I have stick-like arms. My legs are way out of proportion with my upper body and I want to even myself up.

 

The most important reason anyone has to lose weight – when excess weight needs to be lost – is to do it for your health.

Health and fitness is NOT about physical appearance. It’s about building up your immune system, getting strong and feeling alive because of all the energy you have. Weight loss can be a very satisfying side-effect – if you switch up your lifestyle to one involving plenty of exercise, sleep and clean food then you will inevitably lose a few pounds.

So in two weeks I’ll be back with all my “before” details, and what my exact goals are. By making myself accountable on Twitter and the blog there’ll be no hiding an evening sat on the sofa eating two packs of Jaffa Cakes and just one more episode of whatever box set I’m watching instead of going to bed.

Let’s do this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT I’D LIKE TO KNOW IS – WILL YOU BE JOINING ME IN GETTING BACK TO FITNESS? DO YOU NEED THE MOTIVATION TO BUILD YOURSELF BACK UP AFTER X, Y OR Z? TELL ME IN THE COMMENTS!

P.S. FOR MORE HELPFUL FITNESS TIPS, CHECK OUT MY 10 EASY TIPS FOR GETTING FIT AT ANY AGE!

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32 Comments

  1. 6 June 2016 / 2:34 pm

    I can give you the address Here you will learn how to do it correctly. Read and write something good. 5K Workouts

  2. 24 March 2016 / 11:54 am

    Great idea! Its great making a deciscion to acieve goals. Ill follow your progress good luck! Ive signed up to 5×50 challenge – 5k a day for 50 days. excited!

  3. 21 March 2016 / 12:14 pm

    Most of your points are the exact same ones that have pushed me back into exercising. I am grossly overweight but first and foremost I ma doing it to feel better and healthier and sleep better too, I struggled to wake of a morning and felt constantly exhausted. Good luck, I look forward to seeing how you get on #FitnessTuesday

  4. 20 March 2016 / 10:19 am

    I'm WITH you! I need to tone up and get stronger! I'm not fitting into my clothes comfortably right now and I know it's because I need more aerobic activity during the day and changes in my diet. I do the elliptical machine 1 hour almost every single day and have started going to yoga classes (this is only hit and miss right now). I need to walk 1/2 hour extra per day and clean up my diet.

  5. 20 March 2016 / 10:06 am

    Great post – love the sensible, honest goals that are more about health than thinness xo

  6. 7 March 2016 / 9:12 pm

    So inspiring darling, I have put on some weight recently and am determined to lose it. Thanks for the motivation x

    • 12 March 2016 / 5:08 pm

      Aww thanks lovely Vicki – you're a VERY determined person so I can imagine it'd be a breeze for you!! x

    • 12 March 2016 / 5:07 pm

      Christine 3-4 times a week is fantastic, I hope you enjoy it too! Glad to have you on board x

  7. 2 March 2016 / 7:02 pm

    I am exercising twice a week at the fitness club. Since I hit 50. I need it to stay healthy, to avoid injuries, and in the meantime it helps me to control my weight.
    So knowing how it feels I applaud you.
    Greetje

    • 12 March 2016 / 5:06 pm

      They're the three best reasons, Greetje – perfectly summed up!! Glad to hear you're doing it – and thank you for the support! x

  8. 29 February 2016 / 10:29 pm

    Great idea! I'm far from being fit enough to join you but I will follow your updates. Maybe I'll get some tips for getting fit again in the future. Good luck. Best wishes Brit

    • 12 March 2016 / 5:05 pm

      Brit not being fit is the BEST reason to join us…!! The time to start is right now – unless you're injured like I was and are on doctor's orders not to exercise, but there's always our diets to sort out too even if you are injured. I hope you'll reconsider – life's too short not to look after your body and treat it kindly from today! x

  9. 29 February 2016 / 2:52 pm

    You're such an inspiration, Catherine. I love that you're doing, warts and all! I'm just starting to get back into my routine of yoga every morning and I feel so much better for it. My problem, at the moment, though, are the sugar cravings. I really do need to get them out of my system! I'll look forward to reading more about how you do it.
    Good luck!
    Suzy x
    http://www.suzyturner.com

    • 12 March 2016 / 5:02 pm

      I may regret the warts and all bit, Suzy…!! hehe no seriously – making myself accountable was the only way I could think of to motivate myself after such a lousy few months! Glad to hear of yet another fan of yoga, there seems to be lots of us. Thank you and hope you'll come back to read the updates! x

  10. 29 February 2016 / 2:27 pm

    This is awesome Cathrine! Up until last August I've been very active ~ weekly pilates and horseriding classes in addition to walks and runs. But in August, my house got flooded from the broken pipe, more work piled up, then holidays… so my body started demanding more comfort food and less exercise. I just recently started getting back to my exercise routine and it feels so good! And it is so much more fun to do it together! So, I am absolutely joining you here!! xoxo Zuma
    http://www.splashofteal.com

    • 12 March 2016 / 5:00 pm

      Oh Zuma I'm so sorry to hear about the flooding, that's awful! I can totally understand how stresses and everyday life makes you put things like exercise on hold, but it's crazy that we do that because our health is everything!! Thanks so much for joining in, see you back here I hope for the first update!! x

  11. 29 February 2016 / 11:32 am

    Good luck Catherine – and I'm joining in! I get what you say re: fitting back into your clothes. *I* know that they're too tight, so when folk kindly say that I'm not overweight (I'm not, but clearly not as I was) I politely ignore it. That aside, the more important factor is out health as we get older, more pressing than a few extra pounds. It's a struggle sometimes in a yoga class and there have been frustrating times when I know that, pre-collarbone injury, I'm in a class I could've done all over again once it ended. The main thing is going to the class at all, especially on the days I don't feel like it and reminding myself that yoga is something that I usually love.

    • 12 March 2016 / 4:58 pm

      That's absolutely the point, Emerald – your health!! No one can take one look at anybody and say "oh you don't need to lose weight". It's all about health, and no one can determine that from a look up and down..! Yoga is SO good for you as I'm sure you know – I do mine at home with a DVD so there's still ways of keeping up with it! So glad to have you with me x

  12. 29 February 2016 / 8:10 am

    I stumbled across your blog yesterday & this is exactly what I need right now. After a 2 year history of back problems & avoiding certain exercise (on advice; no more running ever for me but I'm not crying too hard over its loss) the pounds have crept on & my fitness level has dropped significantly. I'm doing yoga & lots of walking, but could do with a little motivation, so thanks, I'll join you. Except for the posting of photos – the world isn't ready for that yet.

    • 12 March 2016 / 4:56 pm

      That's great to hear, Jen – and welcome to the blog!! Hope to see you back here for the next post :))

  13. 28 February 2016 / 7:10 pm

    I believe I will join you in your journey. I have not been to the gym in over a year and my treadmill has been gathering dust and the weight has been shifting. Like you I can dress so very few would even know but more importantly is the out of breath feeling when I walk and climb stairs. The years are not kind and it becomes harder but I will use you and your journey as additional motivation. Thanks

    • 12 March 2016 / 4:05 pm

      You're right, Linda the years are not kind, it's so much more of a challenge now!!! There are so many motivational reasons to do it, and health is always the most important. Glad to have you with me x

  14. 28 February 2016 / 1:51 pm

    I will support and follow you! While I am thin, my middle is spreading and I am losing stamina. We can do this. xox

    -Patti
    http://notdeadyetstyle.com

    • 12 March 2016 / 4:04 pm

      Increasing stamina is a great thing to need to do, Patti – great to hear you still want to keep up your fitness levels even in your 60s. Good for you, and glad to have you join me! x

  15. 28 February 2016 / 12:48 pm

    I'm joining you as well.

  16. 28 February 2016 / 11:40 am

    Count me in, Catherine!
    I am guilty of spending so much time sitting (if the truth be told, I am lying on my bed) on my laptop.
    I don't put on pounds, I just become squishy. My muscle tone is lost and what was once tight ends up oozing.
    My arms and legs are so slim that any loss (or gain) of muscle is almost instantly noticeable.
    Somedays I feel like a cocktail sausage with cocktail sticks as limbs.
    Your determination is inspiring, so sign me up.
    XXX
    Samantha
    fakefabulous.com

    • 12 March 2016 / 4:03 pm

      I'm so glad to hear you'll be joining me Samantha – sounds like you're the classic (what they call) "skinny fat": Still slim but needing to build your fitness! I'm similar, but I do need to tone up certain parts and get healthier and fitter overall. Let's do this!!!!!!!

  17. 28 February 2016 / 11:34 am

    Have you looked into lipodema being a possibility for the painful leg fat and disproportion in size?

    • 12 March 2016 / 3:44 pm

      Hmm I'd not heard of that before Melanie, so I looked it up – it was interesting reading! Without wanting to get all hypochondriac on myself, much of it did ring true, though on a very mild scale compared to those who really suffer with it. Maybe something to look further into – thank you!!

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