Getting Into New Habits | Healthy Eating & Exercise

I have now been at Slimming World since November 2015 and have completely shaken up how I eat and how I exercise, making new habits and breaking old ones. Whilst my journey to where I am now hasn’t been without some heartache and some struggles, I have developed some new routines that seem to work for me and that I am wholeheartedly enjoying. They say getting into new habits takes at least 4 weeks and I certainly feel like I have got into the groove now, despite any small slip ups. I am so motivated right now – despite my earlier confession. I have a birthday party to attend to in the summer dressed as one of the Spice Girls – I need to have lost the weight by then – and I am also looking forward to fitting into a new summer dress.

Healthy Eating

Although I know how to cook, I am very much a reluctant chef. However since starting Slimming World and realising how much better I am feeling for shaking up my eating routine, I actually quite like to cook now. I often make the Slimming World spaghetti bolognese or the Slimming World Diet Cola chicken and Steve has a few favourites he likes to make too. I am no longer skipping breakfast, instead nearly always having 2 Weetabix as my HexA and a splash of milk as my HexB unless I have a (SW friendly) cooked breakfast. Although I love vegetables, I am eating more of them and I just generally feel better for it.

My whole food shop this week has been based around meals from the new Slimming World cookbook, Free Food Feasts – I have got so many new yummy things to try and I can’t wait! I now don’t even go for something quick and easy out of the freezer for my dinner like nuggets and chips or something similar – unless its a syn free SW ready meal, of course! I either pull out something that we’ve batch cooked and heat that up or I make something up as I go along – tuna mayo pasta can be made pretty quickly and for a low amount of syns too! Whilst I do the bulk of my cooking when Steve is at home to eat the food, it is handy to be reassured that my healthy eating doesn’t fly out of the window when he is on a night shift – me and Jack can still have something both healthy and tasty.

It can be tough to stick to being healthy but here are five ways to stick to a healthy eating plan that you can try.

Exercise

My main exercise right now is walking – and I have even bought a cheap pedometer recently to track my steps as the app I currently use on my phone is pretty rubbish and I need something in the meantime whilst I do my research on the more expensive options (do you have any suggestions? I’ve heard good things about the Fitbit?)

I tend to go walking just after dropping Jack off at school or just before picking him up – I usually give myself thirty minutes or so of walking and then make my way to his school or home – if I arrive early to pick him up, I even walk around the block a few times. I crank up my Deezer playlist and away we go! I’ve been having some trouble recently though – the sun at 8am as I am walking with Jack to school can sometimes be super bright and I am looking for some decent sunglasses that I can wear that will also be suitable for power walking and the occasional jog. I do use the exercise bike at our house on occasion although that is more Steve’s – I try to manage 10 minutes a couple of times a week on it!

Something I have recently discovered and am quite interested in is pickleball! It is growing fairly quickly and I have found out that there are some people playing it in my local area. I’m considering picking up a pickleball outfit and giving it a go – my friend is keen too! I am always happy and eager to try something new!

I’ve also recently started playing squash with my friend Laura – she’s really taking exercise to a whole other level. I looked at what she had booked in at the gym and wow, did she have a ton of sessions booked in! I am considering going to Zumba and perhaps even Body Fit with her one day – although she says that Body Fit may nearly kill me! I don’t think I would go as far as Lisahh-Jayne though and get a personal trainer, hers sounds pretty intense and I think he would make me cry! I am so proud of the girls who I do Slimming World with though, they are all doing so well and I think if we manage to hit our weight loss and exercise goals by the time of Emily’s birthday party (dressed as the Spice Girls, no less) in the summer, then we all deserve a treat – perhaps a spa day at Wyboston Lakes Hotel? After all, it is only down the road from us all and we will deserve it, right? They even have the Rigby Peller Sensation Day on special offer right now!

I am so glad I took the plunge and started to make a difference to my life and my weight, I am already feeling a lot better for it and I am actually enjoying cooking and exercise. Who would have thought it?

 

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