Hairdresser, Insanity and Combat.

ON HOLIDAY UNTIL FEBRUARY 10TH


So, I was brave! Yup, yup yup I got that haircut. I sat in front of that bloody mirror.
As usual I was horriffied at the person staring back at me, that's the reason I avoid mirrors wherever possible but the hardest part was stopping me from calling myself every awful 'fat' name under the sun.
The inner conversation went something like this:

Bad imp: "flippin eck look at those chins"
Good imp: "Nope, not looking"
Bad imp: "Go on, you know you wanna. Fatty, fatty, fateeeeeeeee"
Good imp: "Shan't. I am ignoring you're nasty comments. I have just the one chin........ok maybe two but it's the way I'm sitting"
Bad imp: "You have at least 3 fat filled chins, all jiggly and disgusting looking"
Good imp: "Noooooooo, I have 2..........OMG I DO have 3. I'm fat! I'm disgusting. Oh god this is so embarrassing"

Having said that, the hairdressers was a new one for me and I will definitely be going back at some point in the very distant future.

So, just a few days left until my holiday! We leave on Monday for the drive to our friends in England and then onto the airport and the weather forecasters have informed us that we can expect thick snow just on time to hinder the 500 mile journey down - great!

I'm already counting down to my next workout, Insanity. I loved this workout first time round and if it hadn't knackered my knees I would have finished the second round too.
I'll be doing a daily review of the workout as I go along so that anyone else thinking of doing Insanity can get an honest opinion of what it's like. I have lost any fitness I had gained as it's been a while since I did any kind of workout so I truly will be starting from the beginning again.

Insanity

Next after Insanity will be Les Mills Combat, Ultimate Warrior though I may start with Superior warrior depending on how I feel after Insanity.
I have never done the Les Mills workout before and I chose it because I love martial arts and this workout includes several variations of martial arts. Again I'll be doing a review as I go along and will give you a more detailed description of the workout nearer the date of starting.

Les Mills Combat

I am dreading this......

I have the dreaded hairdressers appointment tomorrow and already my stomach is doing somersaults. The hairdressers is something I avoid for as long as possible, you see whenever I think of the hairdressers two past experiences spring to mind immediately.
The first one I was about 16 years old and I went with some mates to the hairdresser at the college we were attending. It was one of those occassions where you get a haircut for dirt cheap because you're entrusting your locks to trainees. I wasn't too concerned about this because I had short hair and only wanted a trim.
The trim went well, the trainee had done a good job but for some reason I can't quite remember she decided to tongue the top to get some curl (it was the 80's and feasible). Well the trainee girl got to chatting to the trainee next to her, and chatting and chatting and seemed not to notice that she was resting the bloody tongues on my scalp.
So I'm sitting there screaming inside as my head fizzled but not daring to open my mouth as I would have screamed and I was worried that the experience would be detrimental to the trainee, not thinking for one minute that 20 odd years later that would still be in my memory.
I still shudder at the memory of my burnt scalp peeling away a week later!
The second incident was about 10 years later. I had lovely super long dark hair and wasn't sure what cut I wanted so I said those dreaded words to the hairdresser "I'll leave it up to you". He'd chatted to me for a while beforehand so he knew that I loved my long hair and I stupidly trusted him not to have a laugh with it.
I guess I should have panicked when he swivelled me away from the mirror so I couldn't watch but I just sat there like a dumb ass and said nothing. Maybe I should have got a tad concerned when I felt the scissors as high up as my ears and heard the snip but no I sat there like a gormless idiot with a stupid panicked grin stuck on my face.
When he'd finished and turned me round and asked "what do you think" I swear to god I thought I was part of a windup show. I kid you not he'd cut my hair into a bob with the longest part only as long as my ears....................and I have a fat round face!
In shock I paid the man. Yes, I paid him for hacking my hair and then I legged it to the nearest phonebox, rang hubby in tears and refused to move from that phone box (no mobiles then) until he came and got me!


But the real reason I hate, dread, loathe going to the hairdressers?

The mirror!
I avoid mirrors at home as much as possible but at the hairdressers you can't hide from it, they force you to sit and stare at yourself for 40 minutes - bloody torture!
It has to be one of the most uncomfortable and disheartening experiences ever, sitting there calling myself fat and ugly and just when you sigh in relief (in other words stop breathing in) because she's all done they get another ruddy mirror and show you every sodding ugly angle of your head while asking "you like?"
Of course I always say yes but to be honest I'm not looking at the hair I'm looking at the side view revealing 3 chins that look even worse from the side than they do from the front!
So I have a hairdressers appointment tomorrow and I'm dreading it!

Holiday packing - it's bizarre!

So I'm packing for this holiday and I'm trying stuff on to make sure it still fits before I bother packing it and I'm getting mixed feelings with the results. You see, there was an awful lot that doesn't fit and yes I should have checked this sooner than now because the shops won't have summer gear in and the chances are that buying online is not going to work as we live in the Highlands and mail comes by pigeon carrier here, but oh well I didn't check sooner so I just have to live with that.
On the other side of the coin I'm trying on holiday clothes that were last worn 4 years ago. Yes seriously I do not like throwing clothes out that are perfectly comfortable and wearable.
Although a fair few don't fit there are still plenty that do fit which is bloody amazing as far as I'm concerned. I've bought a few new clothes and did have an attempt at recovering my favourite bikini top after a tutorial online made it look so easy. That bikini top is now in the bin and I've bought new ones but if there's one thing I hate it's buying bikini's. I always buy those online because I hate trying stuff on in the shops but you try finding a bikini that fits and flatters not just an exceptionally fuller bust but a fuller lower stomach that doesn't cost in excess of £50. If you find one you've done well!
I bought 2 new ones on Ebay and I'm loving them. It took me a while to find ones I like because for some reason bikini manufacturers believe that fuller bust ladies need thick padding in their tops - WTF! but 2 will have to do me cos I'm sick of looking now!
Another strange thing is that I'm refusing to take Black clothing - I live in Black! I'm finding that one a bit bizarre, alongside the fact that I wouldn't be seen dead in a full bathing suit. It makes no sense does it! I won't wear a bathing suit that covers everything up but I'll wear a bikini that ...well....doesn't. Don't get me wrong the bikini isn't a thong bottom and triangle top - shudder at the thought - but still my mindset makes no sense to me sometimes.

This is perfectly normal!

What's wrong with this picture?

I suspect there are countless homes worldwide that can snap an image similar to this!
What's worse is you see that paper on the stool to the left? That's actually an unopened copy of 'Womens Running' magazine that I subscribe to! And do you see the dust on the front of the dreadmill!
I finally admitted to myself a few weeks ago that myself and running are never going to make happy bedfellows and I cancelled that magazine subscription. I even diddled with the idea of selling the dreadmill.......................
Good job I didn't as I've had a complete change of heart - as many of us do this time of year.
You see, I WANT to enjoy running and I WANT to be good at it. When I read those magazines (which I opened today by the way) I get so motivated at the lithe gazelles running along in trendy gear with smiles on their faces but I can't help comparing it to the stomping hippo dressed in whatever mens running gear is baggy enough, coughing and wheezing due to EIA and doing my best to hide a grimace, that is my attempt at running.
But despite all that I still really want to be good at running. I look forward to the next days run, have everything planned but then literally have to drag myself out there when the time comes. While I'm running I'm anxious because I think I must look like a loaded hippo about to collapse and KNOW I sound like an old coal engine train. But then when it's over I feel great and tell myself I loved the run and cannot wait for the next one - I'm suddenly a runner!
Then the whole sorry story starts over again next time!
I'm going to forget all that this year though. My daughter and I are going to re-enter the 10k we failed to train for last year and we're going to make it because we ARE runners and I DO enjoy it!

9 days into the New Year and how many of you are still managing those New Year goals?
I've been making plans to get back on track with renewed enthusiasm once I get back from our much needed holiday next month, I just hope I'm not getting too enthusiastic and making the same old mistake of overdoing it and setting myself up for failure.
Here's my plan

1. Start a new round of Insanity beginning 11th February - I love this workout.
2. Return to Slimming World 14th February - The only weightloss plan that has ever worked for me.
3. Enter Baxters Loch Ness 10k - This will be the hardest goal becasue despite wanting to enjoy running, I don't.
4. Begin round 1 of Les Mills Ultimate Warrior after Insanity - This workout comes complete with information on improving your mental image of yourself and daily actions we can take to improve that image. Apparantly we need to 'think' or 'see' ourselves slim.

I'm not pressurising myself to be a certain weight by a certain month I simply want to drop a couple of stone so I feel more comfortable with myself - I'm also not going to deny myself every indulgence, I think this could be the secret for me because I do not see the point going through life having to deny myself anything that is remotely classed as 'bad'. I am simply going to teach myself moderation.
I know we've all said these things to ourselves over and over again, especially if we're compulsive dieters but this time I'm trying a few new strategies, mainly to do with mental image and attitude and making weightloss goals attainable by cutting them down into blocks of 7lbs.
I have a date set for this plan to start but I'm not going to fall into the usual trap of shovelling food into my face like it's going out of fashion until then - go on admit it, we all do it lol.
I'll be posting my weekly weightloss but I won't be stressing too much over what it shows because these extreme workouts have a tendency to make us gain weight to start with. I'll also be posting details of each days' workouts of both Insanity & Les Mills Ultimate Warrior.
 

You need this link!

17 days from now I'll be heading off for a long overdue holiday to Jamaica with hubby and our good friends from back home in England - I cannot wait! The winter here feels as though it has lasted for 6 months already, probably due to the lack of a decent summer last year and I am chomping at the bit for some sun.
When we booked the holiday I was determined to lose weight for it, guess what - that didn't actually happen. I'm ok with that little fact though.
Over the past few months I've done alot of soul searching to try and work out why I put myself through such emotional turmoil of setting myself unrealistic goals and have decided that weightloss goals this year will be in increments of 7lbs. 7lbs sounds so much more attainable doesn't it? At least it fills me with slightly more hope than telling myself to lose 50lbs. 50lbs may be the final goal but I need to chop that goal down into bitesize chunks - attainable chunks.
So my plan is to go on holiday and enjoy it! I won't lose significant weight before I go but that's fine. When I get back I am going back to Slimming World simply because SW teaches me how to eat healthily, it's not about a diet as such it's about using healthy ingredients to make dishes that we usually eat as a family.

With this in mind I have a link I want share with you all. If you are on a diet / healthy eating plan, whether it be Slimming World, Weight Watchers, Rosemary Conley, Atkins, Dukan Diet, Slimfast, Orlistat or even a meal replacement diet such as Lighter Life then you need to use this link and join the Minimins - weightloss support forum.
This forum is full to the brim of recipes, diet advice and help on every diet you can think of and each diet / healthy eating plan has it's own section so there's no trawling through irrelevant content to get what you need.
I cannot tell you how much that forum helped me with SW. It showed me ways to make sin free ice cream, chips, Quiche, curries and pretty much every other meal you can think of, it really did show me that dieting doesn't need to mean going without.
Recipes aside (which is what I mainly used it for) there are motivational sections where you can interact with others, success stories, weightloss diaries, weekly weigh ins, healthy eating while pregnant, strugglers and restarters and so much more.
IMO this is a necessity for all and any weightloss plan.

Try it, it's free to join and is extremely helpful - Minimins.com

HNY & NYR.

Happy New Year to all of you, may 2013 be a better year than 2012 (if you had a shite one of course).

So how many of you have loaded yourself up with ridiculous New Years Resolutions?
Normally I would be doing the same but this year I figure why set myself up for failure with ridiculous unattainable resolutions? I mean do I really need to learn to read Hieroglyphics this year? Am I honestly going to become an Uber athlete in 6 months? Or never let another teensy bit of Chocolate past my lips ever again? I mean seriously it ain't happening.
So 2013 is about keeping it real!
No resolutions for me, not a one, just simple goals that are realistic, attainable and can take me however long it takes to get there.
I'm going to cut me some slack with the blogging - it's great to blog every day but if I happen to miss a couple of days it's no biggie.
I'm going to lose weight BUT I'm not weighing myself and I'm not putting a time limit on it. I want to eat healthy but I also want treats and I will not make myself feel guilty about that. I need to learn portion control and to eat only when I'm hungry not when I'm emotional.
I want to find an exercise I like. I love 'Insanity' but it damaged my knees so I need to have more leg strength before doing it again. I want to enjoy running but I don't enjoy having to run a certain distance each time I go out or feeling as though I need to be running faster as I progress so I may try run/walks instead.
I would love to dabble with recipes too. Nothing fancy mind just simple healthy recipes that taste good.
Finally I am going to enjoy the garden this year and grow lots of vegetables and fruit - this is the one goal that has me really excited.

So when you're choosing what you want your NYR to be remember 2 things:-
1: Make them goals instead of resolutions. Resolutions are usually unrealistic and are doomed for failure whereas goals are longterm, have no time limit and allow for hiccups along the way.
2: Most imprtant - Keep them real people. Nothing spells doom quite like over the top NYR.

HAPPY NEW YEAR GUYS N GALS.