Fitness and health Archives

After a 6 month hiatus, I’m back to my running. It’s a slow process. God help me if I injure myself again. But just before the new year, I bit the bullet and reacquainted myself with the tready again.

I was apprehensive about pounding the pavement again, constantly making excuses not to. But I took the grief and tried to transform it into some form of constructive energy. Then I ran 5kms. On the road. Like a boss.

So I thought about what it takes to cut the rest of the negativity in my head. Because as much as I love running, there seems to be this psychological barrier from reaching my distance and PB goals.

Stop the F-Bomb:

My potty mouth can cuss like the best of demons. Running to the top of a steep hill or busting biceps with killer chin ups is never completely satisfying without a loud, resounding, expressive “Faaaaaaaark!!!”

But I found that the swearing cluttered my brain with the negative. It became a withholding effect on how I ran.

Now, it’s refreshing to finish up with an upbeat “Yay! I did it!” rather than a defeatist “Fark. How the hell did I get through that?”

The Essential Playlist:

While I don’t use my iPhone when I’m running outside (Road safety hazard), I do crank up the tunes when I’m on the tready.

I stick to the oldies but goodies – something with a strong, heavy beat and bad-ass lyrics with tons of attitude.

Some of the big faves are Titanium (“Bullet proof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away), Just The Way You Are (“If perfect’s what you’re looking for, then just stay the same”)and an oldie but a goodie, Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (“Lift your head up high, sing out to the world, I know I am someone, let the truth unfurl, no one can hurt you now, because you know what’s true, yes I believe in me, so you believe in you…”)

Miscellaneous Mum rounded up a list of great ideas for playlists. Check it.

Grab Something New:

I’m not condoning unnecessary purchases. However, buying sports gear – new pair of shoes , sunglasses or even comfy, durable socks – can give you that excitement to get out the door and try out your new buy.

It doesn’t matter how small or inexpensive it is.

Make sure it’s, of course, something you need and will constantly use.

As part of my preparation to get back running outdoors, I bought myself a bright fluro orange visor. I’m planning to take it to use it on those long, sweaty, tough runs. It’ll be my little good luck charm when I run that marathon in September.

The negativity will always be in the back of mind to steer me away from exercise goals, to stop me from getting my daily fills of endorphins.

But if I don’t at least try, I’ll never know what I’ll be capable of.

What do you do to stop the negative talk?

***This is not a sponsored post***

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Over 10 years ago, I experienced the biggest heartbreak of my life. It came with such intense pain that it forced me to move countries . Anyway, I survived. Obviously. But in order to pick up those shattered, emotionally torn pieces, I threw myself into a stringent health regime.

I diligently packed my gym bag every morning and I was there 2 – 3 times a day, for at least 4 days a week. I was insatiable.

Taking it up an extra notch, I also focussed on my eating habits and began a 3 day detox.

After spending the weekend partying hard in a city as vibrant as Tokyo (think of a karaoke singing, sake drinking Carrie Bradshaw…but with black hair…), every Monday to Wednesday was my break from the boozing, smoking and bad food.

There was to be strictly no caffeine, no nicotine, no sugar, no carbs and no meat. The menu plan was straight forward.

Breakfast: A cup of warm water with a squeeze of lemon juice and a bowl of fruit.

Lunch: Fresh salad with whatever vegetables I wanted and dressing was olive oil with garlic and lemon juice.

Dinner: Steamed vegetables. On the 3rd and final day, I could have some fish.

Tough ? Maybe. (Did I mention he left me for his ex ?)

But this was my endeavour to change all of that relentless emotional pain into something that was at least controllable and productive. To gain some self-esteem. To stop thinking about why the douche-bag dumped me.

Needless to say, the results were unequivocal.

It was my most healthiest, fittest, energised time. Ever.

Just another one of those instances where hardship turns itself into a personal triumph.

Anywho.

Fast forward to today and of course I’m completely over the break-up. Life is awesome.

But lately (especially the past month, what with blogging conferences, a 4 day long weekend lounging around at home and nasty viruses), I have resorted to eating rubbish food. And of course these things just happen sub-consciously, but the damage was done. My palate is now so immune to tasting artificially sweetened or extra salted processed crap, that even all those flavours have lost their effect.

And let’s face it, my 40 year old metabolic rate is dwindling down to a snail’s pace. So, the kilos just keep piling on like a stack of lego blocks.

It’s time to try and recover – even an inkling of – what my body felt like a decade ago.

With some thought and preparation, stocking up on lots of green vegetables and other fresh foods, today seemed to be as good of a time to start making some changes.

If there’s anything that I learned from my Nutrition course last year, it is to experiment and try different types of food and meal schedules (I refuse to use the term “diet”). Just keep it simple, sensible and with variety.

So, if some idiot guy can be the catalyst in achieving a resilient, strong, kick-arse body, then surely all the existing surrounding moral support today can help me reach even higher heights ?

I’ll be sure to report back at the end of the week. Hopefully my hunger pangs and junk food cravings won’t get the better of me. I promise I won’t poke anyone in the eye.

Have you ever done a detox ? What were your experiences ?

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Cutting out negativity

On the road called detox