I Have a Confession...

Good afternoon, I hope you've all had a good weekend?

Improving our health and changing our body shape is never going to be an easy journey but it will be worth it. It has so many benefits than just aesthetics but the thing that triggers us to take actions is normally how we look. I'm no different than you.

I'm going to jump straight in - I've gained weight. There, I’ve said it! I've gained nearly a stone over the past 12 months. Why? The simple reason is that after doing a massive amount of exercise and teaching of spin classes, I now don't teach spin so I haven't exercised anywhere near as much as I used to.

Am i now at an unhealthy weight? Not at all. Am I happy with my weight? Nope! Am I going to do something about this? Hell Yes! I've had reasons (not excuses!) such as knee and hip flexor injuries but the long and short of it is I have allowed my body to take on board more energy than it needed.

Now this wouldn't have been a problem had I have cut down on my calorie intake, but i didn't. I kept it exactly the same and the weight has crept back on. Don't get me wrong, I’ve been fully aware of this and this is where I should have acted but I’m human, and i like my food too! I've reduced my training by around 1000 calories per week which means by not reducing my calorie intake by that same amount, I was always going to gain weight. Around 1/4lb per week to put a figure on it. And that's exactly what has happened a year later. It's not rocket science and I knew it was going to happen and I allowed it to happen.

But what has upset me is that my dog has gained weight too, only 1kg (2.2lbs) but for an 18kg dog that's a fair chunk. And guess what? It's for the exact same reasons as me - reduced activity.

A long story short, this year alone she's had 6 general anaesthetics, 4 operations, an x-ray and an MRI scan on her spine. She's been through a lot. She used to do a hell of a lot more exercise just like me, but now she's not allowed up and down the stairs on her own, she can no longer manage anywhere near the 13km hikes she was perfectly able to do with us just 6 months ago, and we can't throw the ball very far for her either. So why the weight gain? Because just like me, we haven't cut down on her food intake, in fact she has probably been given a few extra treats on top of this by her Grandad as he likes to spoil her!

So what can we learn from this? If you have to skip sessions or cut back on whatever exercise you are doing for whatever the reason, then you need to make adjustments. If you don't, then you end up doing what myself and the pooch have done! It's inevitable.

Two weeks ago I got the go ahead from my Chiropractor to get full swing back into my training and I am doing just that. I can get back on my journey. It won't be a quick fix and I expect a bit of a bumpy ride, but watch this space!

The moral of the story... don't let life get too much in the way. Enjoy it, deal with what it throws at you, but stay in control.

I'll keep you all posted about my progress.