Blog – Page 3 – Let's Talk

Aug 14

13th August 2019 – Anglesey blog. Had 3 lovely sunny days on the beach but this morning woke up to rain. I was on duty for the baby so early start and took her for a long walk in the pram while everyone slept in. Decided to head over to Rhosneigr and have lunch at the Oyster Catcher which was fab, baby Darcy slept through lunch and the toddlers were very well behaved too. By the afternoon the sun was out so managed to get on the beach, so had fish and chips for lunch followed by ice cream on the beach yummy ! Hopefully the sun will shine for us tomorrow……. Oh forgot to mention slept really well last night maybe it was the new night cream or just simply the sea air ?

Aug 12

12th August 2019 week end blog – Busy week end headed off to Anglesey on Saturday with the fambo. Seven adults and the three grandchildren and a very wet start! Managed to get on the beach yesterday and today cool but dry even had a pic nic too! No gym for me this week so went for a run this morning also brought my weights and the Davena DVD with me too. Bought some new products along with me to try, one is a serum containing retinol and vitamin A, the benefits in aging skin are the increase of new collagen, fading of age spots and also can help improve the appearance of sun damaged skin. The one I am trying was from my favourite website just my look.com by Skincare Cosmetics at the bargain price of £14.50, will let you know what in think of it over the next few weeks. The other product is a night cream, my favourite night cream is Clarins but it’s expensive at £65.00 so having an experiment with some others, again from just look.com. This one is by Elemis and is their super food night cream at £24.70 saving 46% it is a replenishing night cream which is supposed to hydrate and restore the skin while you sleep and also has ylang ylang and lavender to encourage relaxation, it does smell gorgeous too. Look out for my feedback in the next few weeks !

Aug 06

Tuesday 6th August 2019 – off to a shaky start this morning! So the plan was to do a 5k run this morning, things started off well my lovely hubby brought me my mint tea at 7.15 am before leaving for work and just as he kissed me goodbye he said the words ‘don’t be fooled by the weather its going to start to rain any time soon’. If you have read any of my previous blogs you will know I don’t do running in the rain, our inner voice can be our downfall, listening to our negative thoughts is often our biggest obstacle. So for me it worked like this, as soon as he said that, my inner voice said ‘well no run for you this morning then’. You see as disciplined as I am, I also have the inner voice battles, so added to my usual morning argument with myself about why I shouldn’t go for a run this morning was the endorsement from my hubby about the weather. To overcome this I had one of my negotiation discussions with my inner self which went like this ‘ok why don’t you drink your tea, watch a bit of catch up tv for half an hour and then see what the weathers doing’ which is what I did. Half an our later the sun was still shining and not many clouds in sight and I was off. Another technique that I also use with myself and my negative inner voice, using running as an example, is to use some NLP techniques. I imagine myself doing the run, the warmth of the sun on me and the soft breeze and how I feel when I get home, energized and pleased with myself knowing my exercise is done for the day and how much better I feel for it. One more thing if your thinking about starting to do some running or think its just too hard for you, try the coach to 5k app I mentioned, but also build in some small mile stones that feel achievable for you. I often do this now when I really don’t feel like going; ‘I am too tired, I have got to much to do, it means I will have to wash my hair again’ etc., Sometimes I agree with myself I will just do 20 mins or I will do 10 mins of a run then do a fast walk and go the shorter route back, but more often then not I carry on past my first goal. One of the trainers at the gym once said to me ‘right come on your here now why waste all that effort it took to get you here’ how true is that? Oh and it’s now 12.30 and the sun is still shining………

Aug 05

Monday 5th August 2019 – Off to see my two beautiful granddaughters in Yorkshire today (Rosie and Darcy) with my daughter and grandson Zach, so no time for usual Monday gym workout. Decided to start today with a workout at home, a Davina McCall DVD. It’s quite old (bought it off Amazon a few years ago) but I like it because its a combination of high and low intensity routines, using hand weights and trust me you know you have done a thorough workout at the end of 40 minutes. Mondays are a detox day for me after the weekend I like to give my body a rest so I drink plenty of water and miss out a meal, usual the evening one. A few years ago I wanted to lose some weight (about half a stone) and liked the idea of the 5/2 diet by Michael Mosley. It works really well and is a great way to kick start some quick weight loss as well as the added benefits that fasting has on your body. These benefits range from; helping reduce insulin resistance, asthma, seasonal allergies, heart arrhythmias, menopausal flashes, reduced fat mass and inflammation If your not familiar with the diet, 5 days of the week are normal eating days (normal in terms of healthy!) while the other 2 days are restricted to calories of 500 to 600 calories only. I now just do it one day a week and the way it works for me is to eat breakfast as late as possible, which is usually fruit and Greek yoghurt and then a late lunch such as an omelette or chicken with salad as well drinking plenty of herbal tea. I then fast until Tuesday morning, I find by doing this that I can maintain my weight where I like it to be. Lastly for today, have you tried these new Bournville chocolate buttons great for a quick fix of chocolate and these fruit drops for adding to your water (no calories) I love this passion fruit one.

Aug 04

4th August 2019 – week end blog. Had a quiet night in on Friday just the two of us (hubby (Loz) and me, decided on a Friday night curry – Thai Massaman Curry. Now I have been making this from scratch originally after my fabulous Daughter in Law (Maud) recommend it to me and shared a recipe. However I tried one of the Blue Dragon kits a while ago and found them to be fantastic, no artificial ingredients and makes it a much faster dish to create, also low calorie and fat content at only 360 calories a portion. I usually buy rump steak which I slice before cutting. The recipe you get with it includes adding potatoes, I use baby potatoes cut into small pieces which I boil for 10 mins first, I also add in some fresh sweet corn. I have started to used the rice in pouch that you can microwave which is just enough for two people, to go with it and I also steam some fresh spinach as a side. Would also recommend the Thai Green Curry too, in this range, which is best with chicken. Saturday morning was dry and sunny so managed my 5k run in the morning and we were off to my daughter’s (Alex) best friends birthday party in the afternoon. Sunday is my Zumba a fun class which also has the benefits of burning calories, back home for late breakfast which was avocado – I mix it with some chilli flakes, lemon juice and olive oil – pop it onto a slice of wholemeal toast and then two poached eggs., yummy and fills you up too. Rest of the day to relax, read the papers and potter my perfect Sunday.

Aug 02

2nd August 2019 -Workout morning, for sometime now I have been experimenting with my excerise routine, I have always done some sport from being a teenager when aerobics was all the rage. I played a lot of squash in my twenties and then moved into tennis and after joing a gym I started to do more class based exercises particularly spin which I did religiously 4 or 5 times a week! I now do a mixture of different things as I find I don’t get bored so easily then, I run 5k usually twice a week as well as go out on my bike for an hour. That said I dont’t do as much outdoor exercises in the winter I don’t like running in the cold or the rain! If your new to running or would like to try it I would recommend a great app from the NHS which is free Couch to 5k. Running is free it doesn’t involve booking a class or driving anywhere and health wise it can reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and stroke as well as boost your mood and keep your weight under control. Todays routine is two classes firstly Body Combat great for burning calories (an average of 500 calories in a class) if you haven’t tried it give it a go its a mixed martial arts workout giving you a full body work out. Secondly a Body Pump workout, I decided to take this up in my early 50’s having researched which types of exercise would really be beneficial for me. Muscle fibres shrink as we grow older both in size and number and this leads to a decline in strength as well as balance and co-ordination. Resistance or weight training helps to increase bone mass which then lowers the risk of developing osteoporosis and fractures. You can do some simple weight based exercises at home too, buy two sets of weights probably a set of 3 kilos and a set of 5 kilos (you can get them in Sports Direct very reasonably) and there are simply loads of programmes you can download or watch on youtube.

Jul 31

31st July 2019 – my first offical blog!

My day started with dropping my gorgeous grandson off to nursery after a sleep over at Glam Ma's last night. At 3 he hasn't yet mastered my title and lately has reverted to callling me mummy! From there I went straight to the gym for a class of Burn followed... read more →

Jun 09

A personal journey and perspective into being a woman in her fifties…………………. I have been thinking of writing a blog for quite a while now, I suppose it started with reaching the age of 50, for me it was a time when I needed to re-assess many aspects of my life, turning 50 made me stop and think about what I really wanted from the next phase of my life, asking myself questions such as; how I wanted to live it, who I wanted to be in it and what changes would I need to make to my lifestyle to ensure that I could be the best I could be at this time of my life. In 2006 I completed a Diploma in Counselling part of which involved a journey into self discovery, I believe that was the catalyst for wanting to change. It started on my 49th birthday when I realised I didn’t and in some respects, couldn’t approach the next phase of my life in the same way. The woman in today’s world in her fifties is quite different from our grandmothers of that age and even that of our own mothers too. It’s also a time when a great deal of change happens to us personally and externally. For example today’s woman in her fifties is often: working, juggling running the house, supporting teenagers and parents, holding down a career, surviving long term marriages (not always happy ones), entering the dreaded M word phase (yes the menopause!) and finding little time for themselves…….. recognise any of these? I certainly did my 50th birthday coincided with my 30th wedding anniversary and that was the start of my change I made the decision to end the marriage. This Blog is more about how I opened up my mind to change, how being in your 50’s can be a period of experiment to try new things to help you be the best you can be, I think of it as a time to prepare yourself for the next decades to come.