Weigh in Wednesday Week 8

Wow it's been 8 weeks now of listening every night to my slim, fit and chill pods. Time then to do a then and now shot:

I am amazed at the difference! My big problem area of the flabby abdomen and love handles is definitely vastly improved. This week I've noticed that its harder to get trousers to stay up properly as now are looser across my middle so I have to pull them right up to almost under my chest a la Simon Cowell. I ought to be brave and try on more of my size 14 trousers really..

I hadn't had a great week exercise wise as my bad leg prevented me from doing anything except the Race for Life. It's amazing how down I felt from not being able to exercise! So glad I managed a respectable time on Sunday despite having to stop and walk every so often to rest my calf.
Normally when feeling down I stuff my face with food. This week this wasn't the case. I may have had a MacDonald's drive thru after the run on Sunday but I didn't give in to evening grazing. I still wasn't feeling all that confident at weigh in tonight and was full of excuses. So stepping on to the scales to see a 3.5 pound loss was a real boost. Not only that but no one else had lost more!

It does show that weight loss can come in fits and starts and it's not a quick fix. My body has obviously been reshaping itself first and hopefully now the weight will drop off. Since I first started seriously trying to lose weight 2.5 years ago I've lost 24 pounds but I keep yoyoing 1/2-3/4 stone back on. This time I hope the pods have really started to change my eating habits for the better so I get slim and stay slim!

Sticks and Stones may hurt my bones...

... but words can really hurt me! How many of us can remember being called names at school decades on? I had the misfortune to be a) taller than everyone else including boys and b) about the only child with spectacles at primary school. This led to two main nasty nicknames Godzilla and Speccy Becky. I was also sometimes called Medusa though I'm not 100% sure why! These names have stuck in my memory for the last 30 years even though the children that used them are long gone from my life. I am sure that I probably joined in name calling others too as its something most children do...

Today I witnessed two of my daughter's classmates start giggling and whispering to each other as my daughter walked into school near them. They refused to let her walk with them and continued to whisper and stare at her. I have no idea what they were saying but it didn't look nice. She quickly decided to walk away from the situation which I am glad about.

My daughter is a bit of a free spirit and tends to do things differently from others and also believes her way is the best way. This can lead to sparks with other children especially ones who know that if they push her buttons too hard she will explode and get into trouble. She says that other children can be really mean to her and don't let her join in or get things done. 

It is really hard to know how much of this is true and how much she invents to get out of trouble herself. It is hard to get across to her that sometimes adults only see the end of a situation when she is reacting to things that have happened before. There have to be ways for her to learn not to have such a short fuse so that a) people don't try and wind her up b) she isn't getting told off herself!

If anyone has any useful tips then I am open to suggestions!

Race for Life: Preston 2013

Yesterday when we arrived at Moor Park for the Race Life 2013 the weather seemed ideal for running 5k as it was cool and overcast. The sea of pink was the only splash of colour:

There was a real buzz in the air as 2000 women and girls gathered together to raise over £100,000 for Cancer Research. We had a mini karaoke session with YMCA and I Will Survive belted out! Then we warmed up before doing the official Cancer Slam dance:

Then the army cadets helped us to line up as runners, walkers and joggers to head to the start line. My daughter as usual had herself right at the front I was further down the crowd. The hooter went and 2000 of us set off on the 5 km route around the park. At this point the sun came out which was fab for spectators but not for the runners..

It was a real mixture of people running of all ages and levels of fitness and in the walkers section there were plenty of buggies and people using walking sticks. But we all had one aim to help raise money to beat cancer. 

About a 1.5 km in I caught up with my daughter who was finding it tough going without any proper training. I was taking it fairly easily due to my calf muscle threatening to pull again but managed to alternate running and walking to protect it. It was a lovely feeling to be in the home straight and running towards the line with a sub 30 minute time! Then I had to wait a few minutes for my daughter to finish the race:

I love her face showing both a mixture of exhaustion and pride! She was very much in need of the restorative bottle of Aqua Pura we were all given:

She didn't even want to smile for our photo either:

We went to cheer some of the other finishers across the line. It was lovely to see people doing the event together as families and obviously supporting each other to get to the end. These were some of my favourite moments:

Then it was time to slowly make our way back across the park to the car with just time to pose for a photo or 2 on the way:

A lovely way to raise money and have fun at the same time! If you want to sponsor us our page is E and B Race for Life

We will be back!

#SilentSunday

Sailing

This looked idyllic on Monday:

Makes me wish I could go sailing on Windermere...