“How could this happen? “
2016 was long gone. January? When was that?
Now I feel February is coming soon to an end… My mind can’t follow. Where is all the time gone? And what did I do?
Life is challenging and when end of last year my gym membership expired, my fitness had dropped massively. Ok, I did go for a run but realised that my hip and right knee were hurting.
That was new and I was worried. I stopped. I stopped and thought I rest. Christmas madness in London took over. Holiday with family and friends and the New Year arrived.
Drinking, party lots of comfort food and I thought actually this has to stop! That crazy lifestyle I was in.
STOP
The time was rushing and my mind couldn’t follow. So many events, moments I was in and I couldn’t process it all. Wow. I found myself in an emotional dip. Just in between the years. Asking myself “How could this happen?” .
Fact is that my fitness didn’t drop due to the gym membership not being renewed (moving office soon and I will find a new gym), it was me being too active, doing too many things and I didn’t fit in any fitness. Simple like that. I was out all the time.
When I ran again just 3-5km and my knee hurt, this was simply because my fitness wasn’t there. All is connected. My body was weak and untrained.
This was a shock to me. Everyone always says, Sabine you are so fit. Now I reply, yes I was. Can YOU believe it! I’m still shocked and angry about myself. “How could this happen?”
New Year Resolution Diary
Thanks to the New Year and my yearly January challenge, I decided to create a list to keep track of my challenges. The great thing about ticking or not is, that you see your progress and failure at the same time.
January challenge:
- No Alcohol
- No Milk
- No Chocolate
- more exercise
No alcohol: I do that one every year, because it fits in so well with my B-Day.
No milk: I just started that Idea due to my black coffee preferences anyway and thought lets see if it changes anything. So I didn’t add any milk into my diet. I had some cheese but it was more about liquid milk. I think my body doesn’t like it. So I wanted to test myself.
No chocolate came up due to my snacking around Christmas, to balance it out.
Finally I wanted to motivate me to be more active and look after my untrained body.
THE RESULT:
- No Alcohol
I did very well, considering how crazy end of last year was. A few days I did an exception, but it was an exception. No drinking during the week. Which will be my goal in February and onwards. It’s my own decision and not about punishing myself. Letting a day drop was ok and I managed to keep it up.
- No Milk
My body didn’t miss it. I still haven’t had a cappuccino or any cereal this year. I eat porridge with water and fruits in the morning and realised it tastes good. I will keep this up next month.
- No Chocolate
That one was easy at the end. But I have to admit I swapped to other sweets and cupcakes. So need to change that. Too much sweets.
- more exercise
Very happy! My stiff lower back was getting better. I went to the physio and got some advice too. Yes, I needed more strengthening for my hip but on the same time stretching is important too. Here I have to keep it up for my health. My knee pain is gone! So happy that I signed up for a Half Marathon race end of February. Bit soon but this will keep me active. Having a goal is important. The race might be very slow but I’m motivated to run.
The outcome from my calendar was good. And I keep on doing it in Feb as well.
My advice, keep track of your challenge. Use a calendar you can also write in your sport sessions. Tick a box helps me a lot to keep it up as I don’t want to fail. I feel good ticking no alcohol, no milk and especial fitness!
So how do I motivate myself? I realised that I have to plan my fitness more in advance. Last year training got a bit messy at the end. I don’t want that.
PLANNING NEW GOAL:
- use a calendar (tracking progress)
- make a commitment (goal)
- but not too many (risk to fail)
- add a time line (race date, Birthday, Easter…)
- allow an exception (if you except one day, you won’t feel bad and you are motivated to keep it up)
MY GOAL:
Improve my fitness level and eat healthier and feel happy.
I like to be as fit as I was a year or even better but it’s hard work. I need to be constant to reach my goal. I planed into my calendar the race Thorpe Park Half Marathon and when to run each week. But running is not enough. Strengthening and stretching is key. Therefore I will include Yoga into my schedule.
3x a week running
3x a week hot yoga.
I found a Hot Yoga place in Brixton called Fierce Grace.
They do an introductory offer 21 days unlimited yoga 39 GBP.
I never done hot yoga and will be excited how I will cope and also what happens to my wellbeing and fitness after 21 days?
Wow! I did it! I set my goal, I feel motivated and can’t wait to sign up to the yoga class tomorrow!
I will keep you posted.
My next post will be about my first experience with hot yoga! Excited!!
Stay active!
Sabine xx