squish ’em in and hold ’em down

Wondering what all this #projectsparkle stuff is about?  Click here for the details!

27. buy a sports bra

I know that this sounds like a ridiculously easy item on my list but it was a big deal.

         

My boobs are not small and / or pert!  Not having a good sports bra was an easy excuse to use when avoiding going running.  But deep down I really wanted to get back into running.  Sometimes what you want long-term gets overlooked by fear, avoidance and embarrassment.  This is totally what was holding me back from getting out there again.

{source}

I had the trainers, I had baggy t-shirts, I had cheap and cheerful joggers {although I’m pleased to say I’ve been able to fit my bootie into my running tights} and with my return to work and beginning to work from home 2 days a week I have the daylight hours to be able to.  Which meant the only excuse I had left was a lack of sports bra.

Just before getting pregnant I had spotted a sports bra on the Sweatshop website which looked really intriguing…enter the Sportjock sports bras.  Something I particularly liked about them was they didn’t take a ‘one bra fits all’ approach and the ‘target size’ is clearly listed in the description.  There are:

{Action sport bra – cups A, B and C}

{Super sport bra – C, D, DD, E and F}

{Front zip sports bra – DD through to G}

Because of my…assets…I went for the front zip sports bra.  I also ordered the Panache sports bra as a friend recommended it and was going to go with that but as soon as I put the Sportjock on it was love.  It is made of super soft material and is so comfortable I can’t quite put it into words.  Rather than feeling like I was wedged in a child’s t-shirt or floating around in a cave ready to jiggle about I felt like someone had wrapped me in a blanket and snuggled me on  the sofa!  Then came the jogging on the spot test…still comfort and no ping-pong motion.

The bra is designed more like a crop-top in terms of the cut which also means the weight and impact of my assets {cough cough} are spread across my back and the dreaded ‘straps that have dug in’ grooves don’t happen.  I did wonder how I would find the front zip but there are three hook and eyes which I fasten first, then pop ‘the girls’ into place and zip up.  Also as it does up at the front and the material is so soft I don’t have to do the “struggling to fasten my super tight ‘so the girls can’t go anywhere’ sports bra dance” which I am sure can only be a good thing for the planet!

Honestly it is love, I could babble on but the proof is in the pudding – I didn’t want to take it off after my run and will be ordering a second very shortly! As I am currently wearing around a 38H bra I ordered the large but think I will probably move done to a medium once I have lost a little weight across my back.

Until the end of February Sweatshop are offering
15% off new season clothing and shoes with discount code FFTNEE

sunday summary

I ran with some awesome girls {from #teambangsontherun2 naturally} as part of a London based running community call RunDemCrew.

These beautiful flowers arrived on Thursday afternoon.  I attended court for the sentencing of the driver from the traffic accident I witnessed last year.  Ron’s family asked to speak with me, I think it brought them comfort – I guess I’m one of the last links to him.  They sent these flowers to thank Mark and I for our support and care through the incident.  It is strange to me that they are so grateful as to me we just did what had to be done.  But I think I would be the same in their place.

Yesterday Mark did a sponsored abseil for Sense UK.  He is terrified of heights so this was a big deal.  We have raised over £1,200 so far.  I am so overwhelmed by the generosity we have encountered.

After a super exciting from Duofertility on Friday I have spent the weekend drinking masses of water and with occasional sore (.)(.)s.  Tonight we did a post weekend away sync and I was totally ready to watch my temperature to nose dive {<– bad}.  But instead it has done this {good}:

so we are now officially in the 2ww {that’s two week wait to most people, basically your cycle should go a few days for ‘that time’ then about 7-10days leading up to ovulation and then 10-14 days until you either take a pregnancy test or get your ‘that time’ again}.

Wait.And.See.

getting it down on paper

Today has been a funny day, we had our first appointment at the fertility clinic.  We’ve been sent for the fairly standard array of tests and told to carry on doing what we’re doing.  She was also really interested about Duofertility {our green kit arrived at the end of last week, more to come on that soon, don’t worry!!}

A few weeks ago Jen from Runners Trials announced that after a long journey {accompanied by PCOS and Endo} she is expecting!!  Fingerscrossed her bundle of joy arrives a little early as ‘it’ is due 14th December but all the best babies are borned on the 6th right?!!

Following her announcement she has written several posts, one of which talked about her fears during pregnancy following infertility.  During that post she said about how her husband is a big fan of writing down goals.  A few months ago, whilst on their cruise, Jen decided to write down her goals:

Wow, pretty cool how they are coming along eh?!

Her post made me think about writing down my goals.  So after mulling it over for a few weeks I decided to get them out there, so here they are!

• move to my new job role on 15th August

• complete on our new house on 26th August

• hangout with the rest of the team bangs on the run girls after running* 13.1 miles with Kelly {we have a pact} on 25th September

• get a positive pregnancy test by the end of September

• gas central heating and a full re-wire will have been completed!

• Mark and I will be elbow deep in decorating through Autumn

• we will hear hear our baby’s heartbeat by the end of November

• by July 2012 we will have met our baby and be enjoying life as a three {and two house cats}

*the term running also includes skipping, sitting down in a grump that I can’t do it and regular walk breaks #dontjudge

The latest toning sandals…

Yesterday I picked up my new step-tone flip-flops from Marks and Spencers.  They haven’t hit stores yet but can be ordered online with free delivery into store.  Wore them today and my legs feel like they’ve been working and my hips ache slightly.  Plus they are significantly more purse friendly than fit-flops.  Will do a proper review in a week or so.

Amy x

move three sixty’s new clinic

Move Three Sixty is a health clinic headed up by Hannah Richards and Claud Serjeant.  About a week ago I received an invite to visit Move Three Sixty’s new clinic near Finchley Road for a chemical MOT and to find out about food intolerances and hormone imbalance.

Here are some pics of the new centre…

Hannah: is qualified in Functional Diagnostic Nutrition and conducts the chemical MOT, running tests for food intolerances and hormone imbalance.  Then creating an eating plan to restore balance and avoid common complaints such as bloating and lethargy.

Claud: has been in the fitness industry for 12 years and conducts the physical MOT – assessing basic levels of fitness along with functional movement patterns, static and dynamic postures, muscle lengths and joint ranges to ensure fitness routines are effective and safe.

What I was expecting: a sit down with Hannah, tests for food intolerances and hormone imbalance, a review of current lifestyle and then an ‘eating plan’ covering foods to avoid, times to eat etc.  Then I anticipated some sort of fitness test with Claud, you know like the beep test you used to dread when you were at school.  With a fitness level applied, recommended exercise types based on assessment and fitness goals along with some posture correction information.

Chemical MOT – nutritional consultation

I sat down with Hannah and was walked through her questionnaire.  It covered current lifestyle and emotional state but also looked at historical information, for me it went as far back as 9-10 years old.  It covered eating habits, stress levels etc.  For me I would have found it useful to have seen some of the questions prior to the session or at least had a copy in front of me.  I am a visual person and struggle to focus on the question without seeing it.  Obviously she wasn’t a huge supporter of meal replacement plans and if I am honest before the session I had considered ‘excluding’ the plan from my information but I felt it was important to be honest.  Through the session we talked about how they can be used as a mediatory tool along with guidance about how to balance them out better with additional protein in the morning etc.  At first her tough, no excuses approach was a little intimidating but as the session progressed it became clear that she is incredibly passionate about her way of life and wants to share that passion and knowledge inorder for her clients to become healthier, stronger, more balanced people.

Physical MOT – biomechanical assessment

For Claud’s assessment of my body alignment all I really had to do was stand in a natural position, turn around a few times as directed and walk along the yellow strip {mentally pretending it was a catwalk, minus the hot supermodel and gorgeous outfit}.  Now I could try and pad this out with waffle about what happened but if I am honest, from my perspective it really did seem that simple.  I was amazed at how he could see things that I have never been aware of without the need for fancy equipment!

What I learnt:

• Through the session I realised how stressed I currently was, I think having to say aloud how your current life picture is does that to you. 
• I found out that your body physically heals {during sleep} from around 10.30pm-2am and then psychologically heals until around 6am.  My alarm going off at 5.20am was disturbing that which would tie in with having struggled emotionally and mentally for a while.  I have now changed my alarm to 6am and so far felt much better on waking.
• It was suggested that I am currently in a state of adrenal fatigue and so was given a test kit to complete and send away.  The test studies your cortisol levels through the day from a spit sample taken morning, lunch, mid-afternoon and evening.  However, the test would be £110 and so I have chosen not to pursue this.
• Metabolic typing is the ‘diet’ approach that Hannah uses and so I plan research this as a potential eating plan type for the future.  Hannah offers an 8 week one-to-one package to educate you on metabolic typing, creating a bespoke plan and then guiding you through the process as you apply it which is something I may consider as although I don’t think it would be a huge change to my eating, when I have looked at this approach before it has felt overwhelming.
• Essentially my bum sticks out – Claud termed it ‘a tipped pelvis’.
• As a consequence my abs are over stretched and my hamstrings are tight – effectively trying to pull my pelvis back into place.
• When I walk my left hip goes up and my left shoulder goes down…i.e. I walk lop sided
• Imagine you are flat on your back, one leg in the air but bent at the knee as if you are sat on a chair.  Did you know that your hips should be able to move around 45 degrees in both directions?  Twisting in {toward your opposite shoulder} and out {toward your hand}.  Mine go toward my shoulder about 70 degrees but barely manage 10 degrees toward my hand!!
• I have a little list of exercises to focus on and also some ‘intelligent stretches’ to help realign my body.

What should it have cost?
Each session with either Hannah or Claud would normally cost £125, with the adrenal fatigue test costing £110.

Also available at move three sixty:
Pilates, personal training, massage reflexology and more.

A running clinic launches 20th June at 6pm, £185 for 6 sessions and a biomechnical assessment – this course specialises in the running technique ‘pose’.

progress comes in all shapes and sizes

Last week my head was pretty much a black hole.  I was frustrated and felt a lack of control in various areas of my life and just couldn’t snap out of it.  What I thought was going to be a 1 day funk turned more into a 5 day funk {fyi not so cool mental health}.  Sometimes these things happen.

I’m not sure if I mentioned on the blog but if you follow me on twitter you will probably have seen that I had made an appointment to go and talk to the Doctor about our options since ttc isn’t coming to anything at the moment.  I don’t think I am ovulating with any sense of regulatory so pregnancy is a little unlikely to say the least!!  I think this appointment was one of the things stressing me out, my previous experience of Doctors relating to PCOS has been pretty horrendous!  Fortunately although the Doctor was fairly clueless she did agree {without me having to lay it on thick} to refer us to a PCOS/fertility specialist to investigate further.  Maybe growing my moustache for the appointment helped…?! #onlyhalfjoking

On Wednesday I did my first training run for my first ever half-marathon {please note, incase you didn’t believe me before, I can only just run for about 5 minutes at a time currently!!}.  Here is me before and after..

I look pretty pleased with myself in the after picture, I had ran through London, outside where I risked being seen by workmen and colleagues.  Afterwards I did a few stretches and realised I could reach the ball of my foot…so I wondered if I’d be able to touch my toes without thinkings, something I’ve struggled with for years.

And wouldn’t you know I was straight down there!!! 

Seriously, yoga just once a week-ish for the last 2-3 months has made a difference!  I have progressed and I am still growing and changing and improving.  And I can do this.

lazy or ill? to exercise or not?

When I got to the gym {at 7.30am again!} I was excited to do my weights programme and felt great through it although I tweaked a muscle in my right thigh doing lunges.  The lads in ‘testosterone city’ were lovely too, had a fab little chat and they were really respectful about equipment etc.  I have to admit taking Wednesday off the gym and just having a long pamper shower had worked a treat.   Tuesday I had been right to push on, I was just feeling lazy.  But Wednesday I needed to listen to my body.

How do you know whether you are being lazy and lacking motivation or if you
are really getting ill and in need of rest so it’s right to skip exercising?

The way I judged it on Tuesday and Wednesday was by getting my gym clothes on and heading to the gym.  If on the way there/once there I was feeling it I went for it.  With the ‘get out of jail free clause’ that said I could take it easy and stop if I wanted to.  Tuesday, by the time I was on the train I’d forgotten my doubts and managed to mentally talk myself through to 30 minutes of level 2 cross-trainer.  But Wednesday was different…all the way there I just couldn’t get through that wall.  So I made a conscious decision to not exercise that day, but it was a one day only green pass!

However, by yesterday afternoon my body was shouting at me.  Today was day 6 of my first period since surgery.  I don’t want to go into too much detail but I am really tired from it and my body is feeling a little low.  Conveinently Caitlin wrote a post this afternoon about exercising when sick, I commented and asked about the rules during ‘that’ time of the month {her hubbie Kristien is an accupuncturist, herbalist and generally cool guy, plus English!}, here was the advice:

So tonight was mostly spent on the sofa with Mark and these two furballs{and pizza}.  We watched Lily Allen’s documentary, I hadn’t realised it was going to be a series.  I quite enjoyed it, looking forward to next week’s episode.  Tomorrow morning is going to be gymless as well I think unless I suddenly feel better, just a nice slow mooch getting ready sounds lovely.  Hopefully yoga on Saturday will be just what the Doctor order!

 

Amy x

I know what I said but I lied

Today was a good day from start to finish.

1.  New, and possibly perfect, coffee order.

Grande soya americano misto, extra hot, one pump of vanilla

2.  I possibly found a replacement gym.  Seriously though, who knew choosing a gym would be so damn difficult!!  Working and living in two totally different areas makes it tricky.  If only you could do a pick ‘n’ mix on gym companies!

 3.  Work is big on art.  I love this.  It made me think how cool it would be to have a picture like this done of me.

4.  There was a blogger’s do in the evening – it warrants a separate post.

But I just have to say here and now that:

a) I met Elle and Zoe {from The Doctor Brand and Dr Murad} they are lovely – go follow!

 

b) I had one of those little cupcakes, the one of the left with multicoloured balls ontop.  They were red velvet.  I was a red velvet virgin.  Absolutely delicious!

5.  Oh and I learnt something about myself this morning.  No matter how good a moisturiser is.  No matter whether I like the smell and/or the results…if it is in a tub and not a pump I will just sit and look at it, and my dry skin.  Cream behind my nails just bugs me.

Today’s title is a lyric from the song Rewind by Diane Birch

I think I have re-found my health and fitness mojo!

Wokeup late this morning after a particularly restless night.  Yesterday I ate a sausage roll, not because I wanted it, or was overly hungry but beacause Prince Charming was having one.  Then I ate a whole {sans cheese} pizza drenched in sauce.  Why?  Greed.  Pure greed. All whilst tweeting about gym programmes and memberships <— yeah I can’t get my head around it either.

The day after my 21st birthday my long-term {and totally arsehole like} boyfriend sent a text message to me that wasn’t meant for me.  I was gutted, totally broken.  Mentally I had lost my self-esteem, had little self-worth or self-respect and physically I was fat and unfit.

Shortly after Christmas I read about the Xenical/Orlistat Programme at Boots.  I signed up and joined a fancy gym, set a start date of 00:01am 1st January 2006 and off I went.  At that time I had so much self-belief and fire that nothing was going to stop me.  I didn’t need gym buddies or fancy kit.  I was totally self-driven and determined.

Eventually I lost my way, mainly my final year and some health problems got in the way.  But these are long over and I still haven’t re-visited that place.  Until now I hadn’t really sat down and thought it all through.

However, this morning I looked in the mirror and didn’t really recognise the person looking back at me.  The double chin, the beginnings of ‘fat’ arms.  I am probably around the heaviest I have ever been.  No amount of highlights, make-up or nail varnish can hide this.

I, and I alone, have the power to change this.

I’m fortunate that I have a very blessed home life and a great family.  I don’t have an arsehole boyfriend draining me of self-esteem.  Externally I have self-worth and self-respect.  But internally, the way I treat my body, these are lacking.  Maybe not lost, but hidden beneath the self-doubt, fear and excuses.

I love Mark so much.  His smoking worries me.  I don’t want to ever lose him him sooner than I absolutely have to.  I want him to reduce how much he smokes, partly for me, but mainly for him, because he doesn’t want to leave me any sooner than he has to either.

So surely it is only right that I take
my health and fitness seriously?!

You never know, maybe if I show him how seriously I am taking it, that it’s a priority for me, then maybe he will be inspired to make changes.

No longer can I allow myself to hide behind fear and excuses.

Fear of failing is making me fail.
Excuses are my shields that I hide behind.

No More.

This is for me.
I have refound the fire in my {albeit very wobbly} belly!