Exciting times ahead - I can feel it...

The end of another year has arrived! Normally I feel almost nervous about another year passing but this year a lot has changed. 

We moved house just before Christmas which is why I have been a little quiet and I am excited about exploring my new surroundings.

The other morning I did just that and managed to get 7500 steps in before breakfast! 

I am beginning to feel fitter although the Christmas excesses are taking their toll too.

I took a few photos with my phone on a frosty walk - these are the views which will motivate me to keep moving and stay healthy over the coming weeks and months.

How can I not want to get outside and walk in these beautiful surroundings?

Wishing you all well for the coming year - let's keep our bodies and minds healthy in 2017 by getting outside!

How many steps can we do?  How many miles can we cover?

:-)

A working week

So my first week back at work has gone and it is now Sunday. I couldn't wait for yesterday morning and was out of the house before 8am walking. My 10k step target was smashed before breakfast and it felt awesome. I've really missed not being able to walk when I want to but I have still hit my target every day apart from one.

The weather is getting quite cold now and the frosts make everything so pretty. The air is so clean and with each breath I can feel the negative shit slipping away.

I also went back to yoga this week and realised how much I had missed that too. I couldn't do some of the stretches due to my foot but it was really really good. I felt stretched and relaxed and life was okay again 

50k!

Admittedly I am able to spread my steps out while I am home but I am amazed at how quickly the steps mount up.  I have made an effort to get outside every day and in 3 days have accumulated 51,625  steps!  Company on a few occasions has made this easy although I have been outside each morning for some brisk walking.

This morning I went out and was blown away by how beautiful it was following the frost of last night.  We had obviously had some hail during the night which had then frozen - so pretty.

I was stopped by one of the local refuse collection guys - he was intrigued as he has seen me on a couple of occasions walking alone and asked if I was in training for something.  I told him I was recovering from an operation and he was super-impressed!

I felt good!

I stopped to take some photos and just to enjoy the moment.  Looking around at the area where I live.  Loving the countryside. 

Enjoying the peace and quiet. 

And smiling when I have seen the same person for the 3rd day running looking oddly as they drive passed me. 

Let's see what the next few days may bring...

How and Why?

How did I get here?  How did I get to being in my 40s?  How did I get to having two grown-up kids and a husband?

All of a sudden it smacks you in the face - you have to live in the moment. 

All of the stress and hopes and wishes for your children are done!  They are grown!

All of a sudden you realise that all of those things you used to worry about actually don't seem important at all anymore.

Only my health is important to me now; aside from my family and friends that is!

And my health is not bad but could be a lot better too!

So I have made it to my mid-40s and yet I have also made it to being overweight!  I am recovering from an operation and have had a lot of time to think about where I go next. 

My weight has fluctuated over the years greatly.  My happiest was when I was about a size 12 - there I was happy.  Or maybe that's just my brains way of making me unhappy now?  I am a large 14 or possibly a 16 now (I refuse to buy another number as I have binned those clothes years ago).

I took up running in 2014 by using C25K and loved it.  It hasn't come easy to me, but it let me meet people and made me active.  I use to think running was the thing which saved me but it wasn't; it was just being outside - good old-fashioned fresh air!I try and be as active as I can and have made a couple of buddies who come for a jog with me a few times a week.  As well as keeping us quite fit it keeps us sane.  It is here that we can shrug off a rubbish day in work, shrug off a grumpy partner or just relax and have fun and a laugh - you get the picture.

This year I have suffered injury after injury and hence the weight gain.  I have stopped running due to a hip issue and then had to have surgery on my foot.  Can you imagine the effect that has had on my brain? 

NOT GOOD at all!

For six weeks I have been almost immobile and spent most of the time stressing that I would never get myself back outside and that my friends would have moved on - stupid.

So I bought a Fitbit. 

I already have a GPS watch which I use to map my runs but seeing as I am not running I want every step to count and need something to motivate me to carry on and to keep my level of fitness up.

My hope is that I will be able to map my steps and stay fit.  Losing weight is a bonus really as the benefits of being outside through the winter will far outweigh any other benefits.

Today my new little buddy arrived and I couldn't wait to put it on...but I had to charge it first...and that was after the postman was late!  Grrrr!!!

Then I went walking...

Share my Fitbit with me and let's walk our way to fitness and feeling better about life.

This can only be a good thing :-)