The Last Supper

Oh oven chips, how I love thee,

But you and me, we're just not meant to be,

It's time for us to say our goodbyes,

As truth be told, you're bad for my thighs!

That's right, it's high time I started getting a little bit more active, eating a little less convenience food, drinking a little bit more water, getting better sleep and generally being HEALTHIER! I've also come to the conclusion, that I need to go full pelt, 100%. Go cold turkey on all the bad stuff, and absolutely crazy with the exercise, otherwise I will very quickly slip back into bad habits.

I'll let you know how that takes shape!

Area 6: Food glorious food!

Despite the fact that I absolutely love food, I have to say that I absolutely hate cooking. Well... actually maybe I don't HATE cooking, I just have no patience for it. I leave the house at 7am, I get back home at about 7pm (at the earliest), and by that point I'm not really in the mood for waiting an hour for things to cook and then having to deal with all the pots and pans that follow (ok, so Jon normally does that bit, but as I said, I'm not in the mood).

My kind of evening generally consists of putting some kind of frozen object in the oven, collapsing on the sofa and waiting 30 mins (max!) until I have a lovely, (albeit processed and fattening) plate of chips and pizza or something to that effect. (I have a good metabolism btw).

Anyway, I'm getting old(er!) and not too sure how long I can keep this up before it catches up with me so 2009 will also be the year for eating proper food. Not always, admittedly, because sometimes it's just not possible - especially when Jon works late. But I do miss proper, home-cooked, meals, even with a few vegetables thrown in here and there.

In the last fortnight I have cooked two (what I would call) 'proper' meals. Bangers and Mash was the first and came about ebcause we had left-over potatoes that needed eating. And then, for the first time in my life, I cooked Pasta Bake. Now I know it sounds silly, but this was a real achievement for me - I even found that I had the exact right sized dish to cook it in! And I did it all on my own. :0)

Yes, it was as delicious as it looks! Now I'm not saying that these 'proper' meals are the healthiest in the world. But it's a tiny step away from ready meals and processed tins. So give me SOME credit!

The only problem is, when we eat out. I am a fussy eater. Name a restaurant and I will be able to tell you my exact order for that particular establishment. Ok so....

Wagamamas: Chicken Katsu Curry (I believe that's a number 73?!)
Nandos: Lemon & Herb Chicken Fillet Burger with Cheese (no pineapple), chips and coleslaw.
Pizza Hut: Chicken Supreme, deep pan pizza with garlic bread and potato skins.
Any kind of Indian: Chicken Korma and pilau rice......

And so on. Hmmm I like chicken don't I?

Anyway, the point is I am not very adventurous. And if there's a burger on the menu, I'll order it because I hate making decisions. On Friday we went out for a friends birthday and there was a variety of burgers on offer (I hate decisions!) But I was semi-adventurous and ordered a chilli burger:
Looks good doesn't it?! Anyway, the point is, it's really difficult to eat healthily when we eat out. Because I find ceasar salads boring, monotonous, and not very filling.

But 2009 is the year for me to choose healthier options on the menu, cook more 'proper' dinners and generally cut out as much junk as possible.

Goals:

• Eat more fruit throughout the day, and stop being fussy about buying chopped apples in a bag. It's cheaper to buy whole apples and cut them up!
• Include vegetables in meals instead of frozen chips.
• Cook proper dinners at least once a week.
• If eating out, be a bit more adventurous and choose a healthier option.
• Stop feeling like you've missed out when the meal doesn't come with chips.
• Don't order something and then pine for what Jon has until he swaps with you!

Updates :0)

Budget update
Saved money on different items over the weekend so any area that I had over-spent on is now evened out so we're back on track!

Jane Austen update
Loving Sense and Sensibility! Got through four chapters today! Jane Austen writes her characters so well, even though it is set hundreds of years ago I can still see aspects of her characters in people I know today. It's uncanny!

Health & Fitness update
Unfortunately I haven't managed a lot of activity as yet. I can't run around my area while it's dark so I have to leave that one for Saturdays. And the Pilates? I can honestly say I haven't been at home properly since Saturday (sometimes I feel like I just sleep here!). BUT now I'm back at work I'm drinking a lot more water which makes me feel so much better!

Being organised
I love it! I love the feeling of crossing something off my list. In fact, this evening I did such a lot of housework and worked really hard, but then when I opened my diary, none of what I had done was on my list! And I felt a bit gutted that I couldn't cross anything off! And all of this productivity at home has had an awesome effect on my work. I was dreading returning to work because we are on deadline this week and in studio with another mag so I was sure I would be rushed off my feet - not to mention I had to write a whole feature before Friday too! But then because of all my organising I felt so ready to go back to work and I went through the whole day with no distractions and finished every piece of work I had left to do! Now I just have to tie up a few loose ends and hey presto! All my work is done! I love that feeling!

health and fitness update - getting going

Happy New Year everyone! I kicked off 2009 with a morning run. I was a bit wary of the cold and debated for a while on the suitability of my limited running gere but when I got outside it was quite mild (cold snap? what's that?). I ran / walked for about 30mins which I thought was ok given it's my first workout for over 6 weeks and my first outside workout for ohhhhh, I dread to think!

I also had a brain wave! When I was doing the SITC programme I took a couple of pilates classes which I really enjoyed and found to really help - ok so my insides (the 'core') didn't know what had hit them but it was good, honest.

Now rather than finding a class which I know I'll never go to, I had thought about buying a DVD, but one of my goals is Budgeting and Finance (more on that later) so this month the pennies won't stretch that far...... so the next best thing? Youtube!

Here's a 10 minute workout I found just now - it's split into two seperate films but you get the idea:



I just need to find a spare 10 minutes in my day when no one else is around to have a go! I'll keep you updated on that.

Area 1 - Health and Fitness

Ok, so the first area of my life which needs a bit of a kick-start is my health. Back in October I took part in a London-based programme called Sweat in the City. I basically got a three month gym membership free and just had to feed back to the organisers on what I did and didn't enjoy.

I really got a lot out of the programme but towards the end I fell off the wagon, slipped out of my routine and never went again! (Ooops!). However, exercising more seems to have kickstarted my metabolism which, if I'm scientifically correct, means that I have to exercise more to avoid piling on the pounds. And I'm now noticing that my jeans are a little on the tight side - no it's not just the post-Christmas bulge either!

I know that I wouldn't be able to maintain a gym membership so I'm not about to waste my precious pennies signing up. However, I've decided to start running again. I won't put any grand targets and plans down because I suffer greatly from the guilt factor if I slip up. So I'm hoping if I go little and often that I will just slip into a natural routine that will amount to three times a week on average...... good plan? We'll see, I'll be logging everything on here so you can check on my progress (and give me a kick up the bum when needed!).

So now, to dig out my dusty trainers!

Goals

- To go running at least once a week, never feeling guilty if I miss a session but starting small and working up from there.

- To keep reading magazines like Zest and Health and Fitness, keeping the topic at the forefront of my mind and so beng healthier simply by 'osmosis' - it works, seriously!