Top: Next, Bomber Jacket: Next (old) Leggings: Gap, Trainers: New Balance: (Old)
Our exercise journey so far…
Starting a new regime can be quite the adjustment. For us, we went from sitting on the couch and eating terribly to working out every other day, eliminating most sugar and bad foods from our diets and being more conscientious in our day to day decisions.
In a short period of time we have seen a range of changes in our life, from wellness to the beginning of fitness its been an interesting adventure….
Sugar – time to break up?
The most interesting thing has been to see the way our energy levels have been ruined by an over dependance on sugar.
On the days that we go back to bad eating habits (the dreaded cheat days) the day following is never as good, we lack energy and can find ourselves often lethargic. Honestly, the biggest change has been energy levels.
Energy
I honestly thought that I would spend most of my time yawning (A big concern pre joining was… we will be so tired! We won’t have any time!) honestly, that has not been the case. Even better nights at the gym have given me much more energy in the day time, I don’t even yawn as much! Joined up with losing that lethargic feeling my body has felt more peaceful, more aligned if you are into that type of thing.
I believe it must all come down to being more active as ultimately I’ve started giving my body its needs rather than what my brains wants.
What about those cravings?
Pre gym I decided to slowly give up sugar and minimise how much I ate. Was I successful? Not at all, in fact I was quite the opposite. During the days when we had been off of exercising (We managed to get a cold and two sick bugs within the first three weeks) I found it easier to eat badly. Also if we popped off the bandwagon for a weak moment (A night of drinking for example left us eating chips and pasta and the next day left us craving sugar with less resilience) we found it harder to be strong with our healthy eating. However, when we stuck to less food in general, no alcohol and fruit as our sugar source it was much easier and effortless to maintain. In fact perhaps the old adage is true, you don’t miss what you don’t have.
Lessons learnt so far?
- Always wipe down the gym equiptment
- Routinely wash your hands after a work out and use the hand sanitisers in the gym throughout your workout
- Don’t buy bad foods and you won’t eat them
- Throw out any bad snack foods that are in the house
- Make sure you have lots of healthy snacks on hand
Whats next?
Honestly whats next is to keep going… You can’t see much change in my body in the photos above but thats another story for another day but I certainly see much change in my mind and myself internally.
Exercising and being dedicated to a slow building programme has been really beneficial to our mental health. Its made us feel so much better about ourselves and even better, its manageable and addictive. That sports high is something I had completely forgotten that I was in love with. Honestly with the repeat injuries I thought I just couldn’t exercise but in reality its just that I needed to find another way to exercise, to reach those highs.
From here it is onwards and upwards! We are increasing our weights, our reps and are continuing to push forward to achieve our healthier living goals. We know its not a quick fix but honestly we feel so much better just showing up, it wouldn’t be possible to stop.
therealjlow 