Don’t worry, it’s not New Year’s Eve again, but it has been a whole year (almost) since my last post and since the last time I vowed to look after myself better. I blinked and a year has passed and while lots of positive things have happened, time and hormones have taken their toll and I’m no further forward in terms of health, in fact my body comp is even worse, albeit my weight hasn’t changed. Yay peri-menopause! 🤪

It’s an old story, and while the hormone changes are newer and more of a pain, I’ve been here so many times I sometimes wonder whether I’ll ever get to where I need to be. Then I remember that a few years ago I lost almost 3 stone, felt amazing, was working out more because I could, and was in a much better place. So it is possible, and while it’s harder to make changes now (sadly nothing gets easier with age), it’s not impossible.

In terms of all the good stuff that’s happened over this last year, I’ve been part-time at work (down to 28hrs/4 days a week) since September, which I LOVE. I’m lucky enough to be able to take a pay cut, I know it’s not possible for everyone. Work was stressing me out, the health issues that cropped up over the lockdown gave me a bit of a scare (everything is okay now) and I thought life was too short, hence the change. Quite honestly I’m not loving the main project I’m on at work, which will be ongoing for a long time, so one day less a week to work on it helps!

Another great success is that in two weeks I’ll graduate from the Western School of Massage as a Remedial & Sports Massage Therapist which I’m really excited about. It’s such a fantastic course, and I’ve learned so much that I can’t wait to put it into practice more regularly. I’ll likely work as a mobile therapist in the short/medium term until I can find a clinic to rent a room from a couple of evenings a week or across part of the weekend.

A big part of getting a handle on health is that massage therapy can be hard work at times, and it’s really important as a therapist to look after the way we move and function so we can not only give great massages, but also to ensure we don’t break ourselves in the process. To that end I’ve actually been working with my fabulous personal trainer Geo on more functional fitness and movement rather than straight up weight lifting. It’s definitely made a big difference, but I’ve got a lot still to work on generally.

I always love to have a challenge on the go, as I get easily bored, and while I’ve done plenty of mentally stimulating challenges in the last couple of years (Swedish & Remedial massage courses, oh and an Open Uni degree I’ve started too 🤪), I’ve done nothing physically or health wise, and I’m suffering for it. While I’m not in a place that I’m about to sign up for an Ironman or anything like that, I do want to get back to running and feeling like I’m generally just stronger and more mobile. It’s going to take me a while to get there, and while patience has NEVER been my strong point, I’m finally trying to embrace it and admit that to make significant changes, it’s going to take a significant amount of time and effort, gah! I reckon it could take me 18 months to lose all the weight I need to, in order to be truly healthy. If so, well so be it. However, that’s too far ahead to focus on, so I’ve broken it down into chunks. The first chunk is a month, so by the end of June, I want to have lost 5lbs. To get there, this is the plan:

• Daily movement and mobility work
• Eat more protein
• Eat more veggies

That’s it. Keeping it simple. By eating more protein and veggies, there’s little room for anything else (i.e. sugary junk) which is the main issue. Daily movement is PT/gym training if on the plan, but mostly walking and general movement. I sit all day at work which is killing me, so I need to get off my arse more. I already do well in terms of sleep and managing stress, I still meditate daily, I’ve not had alcohol for 14 months. So lots of good things in place, I just need to tighten up the food and movement.

I’ll report back in a month if not before, as it will help keep me accountable. Wish me luck, I’m going to need it 😅