Week 1: Monday 11th - Sunday 17th Jan 2021
My first week of personal training is over.
I have completed three sessions, been introduced to floor exercises and something called the plank position. I have realised that I possess absolutely no upper-body strength whatsoever. I have been made to do an excessive amount of star jumps, leg-kicks, bum-kicks and jogging on the spot - and how do I feel?
I ache! A lot!
My body is in complete shock at having to move again. I have spent most of this week with stiff arms and wobbly, jelly-like legs, barely able to heave myself up and down the stairs in my house.
My current weight statistics
At the start of my first session my personal trainer made me stand on his body composition scales. The scales my PT is using are these ones:
The statistics I was presented with when I stepped onto these scales were quite shocking - I'm really overweight!
I knew I was a bit overweight - but seeing it presented to me in cold, hard statistical terms, made me realise just how overweight I have become in recent years.
Here are some of the statistics taken from the scales.
My weight is 77.45kg, putting me in the 'overweight' category - and scarily close to the 'obesity' category. The Renpho scales app tells me that my ideal weight is 57.6kg (this would put me exactly in the middle of the 'normal' category). So I have 20kg to lose to reach that goal.
My BMI is 29.5. Again, very close to the 'obesity' category - so that one needs to come down a lot.
My body fat percentage is worryingly high at 37.4%. I'm actually slightly into the 'obesity' category on that one. The Renpho scales app tells me that my ideal body fat percentage should be 25%, so I've got 12.4% to lose to reach that goal.
My visceral fat is worryingly high at 12 - this is a particularly dangerous type of fat which has been linked to causing serious health problems. So I definitely need to get this one down a lot.
My body water is a bit low, so I need to get that one up. I also need to get my skeletal muscle up into the standard category.
Looking at these statistics, it's no wonder that I've been feeling so lethargic and tired recently. I've not been looking after myself properly, and clearly I have a lot of hard work ahead of me if I am to reach my goal of becoming a fit and healthy person!
Healthy eating with Mindful Chef
I've decided to base my healthy eating around a weekly Mindful Chef recipe box. I think this is going to work well for me, as it will make the healthy eating side of things effortless and easy.
I don't know a lot about nutrition and cooking healthy meals from scratch. I also don't really have the time to spend on it. And it's not just the time that the cooking takes - it's also having to think up healthy meals; it's having to go out shopping for ingredients; it's having to deal with the frustration of shops often only selling ingredients in packs far bigger than I need - and the subsequent guilt at the amount of food waste I end up throwing away.
I started my Mindful Chef healthy eating plan on Wednesday this week, and it turns out that eating healthily is really not at all bad. So far, this part of my weight loss journey is a lot more enjoyable - and easier - than the exercise part!
Lisa
Cutting out sugary snacks
I've also cut out all of the sugary snacks that I used to mindlessly munch on throughout the day. No more chocolate. No more biscuits. No more visits to the amazing bakery, five minutes from my house, to stock up on croissants, cakes and freshly baked bread. Instead, I will mostly be snacking on spoonfuls of grain free granola. It's not quite cake. But it's still delicious - and more importantly - healthy.
Libby Jenkinson
Closing thoughts on this week
It's been a brutal week in terms of adapting to the exercise part of this journey. At this stage, things can surely only get better...
Thank you for reading this post!
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Lisa
Lisa
This week I have been eating...
Breakfast: A bowl of greek yoghurt with a chopped banana and grain free granola mix. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: One spoonful of grain free granola mix.
Lunch: Baked beans on brown granary toast with butter.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One spoonful of grain free granola mix.
Dinner: Cottage pie with broccoli (cottage pie made with a parsnip, sweet potato and grated cheese topping instead of white potato).
Snack: A small bowl of bran flakes - with milk and a small sprinkling of raisins. One cup of clipper organic sleep easy tea.
Breakfast: A bowl of greek yoghurt with a chopped banana and grain free granola mix. Two or three cups of black coffee throughout the morning.
Snack: One spoonful of grain free granola mix.
Lunch: A small portion of cottage pie with broccoli (cottage pie made with a parsnip, sweet potato and grated cheese topping instead of white potato).
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One spoonful of grain free granola mix.
Dinner: Cottage pie with broccoli (cottage pie made with a parsnip, sweet potato and grated cheese topping instead of white potato).
Snack: One cup of clipper organic sleep easy tea.
Breakfast: A bowl of extra thick natural yoghurt with a chopped banana and grain free granola mix. One cup of black coffee.
Snack: One spoonful of grain free granola mix.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's herby falafel shakshuka and turmeric drizzle (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One spoonful of grain free granola mix.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's Swedish pork meatballs with potato mash and broccoli (with some milk, butter and cheese added to the mash).
Snack: One cup of clipper organic sleep easy tea.
Breakfast: Two pieces toast with butter and marmite (on brown granary malted bread). One cup of black coffee.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's herby falafel shakshuka and turmeric drizzle (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One spoonful of grain free granola mix. One spoonful of extra thick, natural yoghurt.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's Swedish pork meatballs with potato mash and broccoli (with some milk, butter and cheese added to the mash).
Snack: One cup of clipper organic sleep easy tea.
Breakfast: Two pieces toast with butter and marmite (on brown granary malted bread). One cup of black coffee.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's herby falafel shakshuka and turmeric drizzle (one third of a two portion recipe).
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk. One spoonful of grain free granola mix. One spoonful of extra thick, natural yoghurt.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's West Indian curried dahl with quinoa.
Snack: One cup of clipper organic sleep easy tea.
Breakfast: A bowl of greek yoghurt with chopped banana and grain free granola mix. One cup of black coffee.
Snack: One orange.
Lunch: Mindful Chef's West Indian curried dahl with quinoa.
Snack: Two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's pork schnitzel with parsnip fries and salad.
Snack: One cup of clipper organic sleep easy tea.
Breakfast: A bowl of greek yoghurt with chopped banana and grain free granola mix. One cup of black coffee.
Snack: None today.
Lunch: Two poached eggs with cheddar cheese dipping sticks.
Snack: One orange and two cups of tea, each with a dash of milk.
Dinner: Mindful Chef's pork schnitzel with parsnip fries and salad.
Snack: A small bowl of bran flakes - with milk and a small sprinkling of raisins. One cup of clipper organic sleep easy tea.
Up next - my weight loss journey week 2
Lisa
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