Thinking About {Getting Healthy}

by kekiandglam8588

I have spent my entire life, until now, relying on my small size and naturally high(ish) level of fitness to keep me strong and healthy. I hate gyms, I don’t believe in fad diets or “good” and “bad” foods, and I have always felt pretty good about my body. I’ve always known that if I start gaining a little weight I can just alter my junk food consumption slightly and go for a couple of walks each week and I’ll be back to ‘normal’ again in no time.

But, as with everything in life, time is starting to catch up with me and my lazy habits. My Uncle John, a doctor, once told me I would probably be ok until I hit 30 …. then I would need to start taking my health and fitness seriously if I wanted to stay in-shape, toned-up and generally healthy. That advice came three years ago and I have been using it as an excuse ever since …. however I can’t help but think that if Uncle John knew the full extent of my not-so-balanced diet, he might suggest that I start making changes right NOW.

I may be three years from the big 3-0 but …. why wait?

Over the past 12 months I have noticed a serious decrease in my energy levels, I am often tired even if I have done nothing at all to exert myself and I suffer from terrible bloating and tummy troubles. I won’t go into detail, but I definitely think that I could look and feel a lot better if I made some very simple changes to my lifestyle. So, me being me, I have started doing some research into what I might be able to achieve and what I would like to do in terms of eating healthily, and exercising.

I have already established that I am NOT a gym person. I have also already established that I love food. So whatever path I take, I know for sure it won’t be the “gym at 5.30am followed by a protein shake for breakfast and the rest of the day spent counting calories” one. If that’s the one you’re on, and it’s working out well for you, then more power to you. But I’d be setting myself up to fail. I’m too busy doing things I love to be worrying about what I’m “allowed” to eat at my next meal, or feeling guilty for only working out for an hour. I need a lifestyle plan for real people, normal people, Average Joes …. do ya hear me?!

Step 1: The easiest thing for me to do first, is arm myself with tips, advice, plans and inspiration from the place I spend a huge chunk of my time: The World Wide Web. So far, I have already researched and found a handful of really helpful websites and blogs:

www.nerdfitness.com – great advice about the Paleo diet {which I am thinking of trying} and some awesome tips for goal-setting.

www.toneitup.com – a fun, super helpful website with great workout plans. Seeing Katrina and Karena frolic around on the California beaches works wonders for motivation too!

www.reneenaturally.com/blog – Renee is a naturopath who blogs about all things natural and healthy. She has some delicious looking recipes and great advice for common ailments.

www.staceysmith.co.nz – Stacey has transformed her body in the space of a few short months, and recently ran a 60km ultra-marathon. She follows the Paleo diet and is a true Kiwi girl.

www.rubiesandradishes.com – I’ve only just discovered this one but it looks like a cute blog with delicious Paleo recipes and gorgeous pics.

www.pinterest.com – yes, you read correctly. Go to Pinterest, type in ‘Fitness’ in the search engine and you will discover not only super motivational images and quotes but also a HUGE range of healthy recipes and step-by-step workout guides. Couldn’t be easier….!

Step 2: The second best thing I can do for myself, personally, is record my progress with photos and words via some sort of, I dunno, diary? Journal? Blog perhaps? Oh, look at that. Yes, what better way than to document how my change in lifestyle is going, via this here blog?! If there’s one way I can keep motivated it’s by keeping tabs on exactly what I am doing and what I have achieved.

Step 3a: I can’t just puddle along towards some seemingly distant goal or I’ll be off the wagon in no time. I need an incentive, a destination I will eventually arrive at …. and then {hopefully} push past. For me, this will be the Taupo Cycle Challenge in November. Last year I cycled 40km in a relay around the Great Lake and it was absolutely amazing. I trained …. a grand total of twice before the race, and although 40km wasn’t easy per se, it certainly wasn’t mind blowingly hard. After the race one of my team mates and I laughed at how well we’d coped with our longest ever cycle ride and joked about how well we might have done if we’d actually trained properly and been fit, toned and super healthy. Then it struck me – we hadn’t pushed ourselves AT ALL to achieve our full potential …. we’d merely just done the race with hardly a second thought. So, with that in mind, this year I plan to do 80km of the race and be in the best physical condition I can possibly be in at the time. I’m going to ride those roads like I’m in the Olympic cycling team {sans hideous alien helmet and Lycra body suit} and beat my time from last year of 2 hours and 10 mins over 40km.

Step 3b: My slightly more superficial goal is to be able to wear a pair of One Teaspoon Dukes at Rhythm & Vines –  our annual New Years Eve party. I know it’s silly but I gosh darn love those shorts and presently would do them absolutely zero justice if I dared to wear them. SIX months to get my booty into those shorts … can it be done? If I reach my goal then I will buy myself a pair for Christmas and rock them everyday through Summer.

Step 4: Find a form of exercise I ENJOY. This would be a whole lot easier if it wasn’t Winter, as I love swimming, surfing, paddle boarding and windsurfing – and the beach is just down the road. But with the chilly temperatures we are currently experiencing and the sun disappearing at 5.30 ever evening and not returning til 7.15 every morning, anything water-related is a little bit out of the question. The only viable options I can see at this stage is to a) workout in my own home and b) start running. Two things which I am not totally adverse to and which I know will offer me some sort of result.

Well that’s certainly enough talking about it, but I’m glad I’ve aired my dirty laundry and devised some sort of a plan and can now get on and JUST DO IT. I’ll keep the blog updated with my progress as much as possible and if I manage to inspire just one person to follow me – GREAT! I’ll share any motivational advice, recipes and tips here on the blog along with my regular posts, and fingers crossed come December I’ll be posting outfit pics of a leaner, more toned Keki on the beach in my Dukes!

And remember ….. we wanna be like this flexible little granny when we’re her age!