The Covid Stone

LOSING THE COVID STONE

Anyone else sick of setting goals that are unrealistic or challenges that are unobtainable?

I’ll just have this chocolate hobnob with my tea and then I’ll start the Atkins/Dukan/Weight Watchers/intermittent fasting/starvation diet I have planned for myself tomorrow.

I’ll resist that slice of pavlova next time it’s offered (and if I don’t, I’ll do an extra training session to make up for it). I’ll go for a run on top of my training session in the gym to burn it off, I’ll stay in this weekend and at very least avoid drinking gin and tonic before my bottle of red wine- and if all that fails and let’s be honest it probably will, I’ll start again on Monday, good auld reliable Monday. 

That was the story before lockdown and with the onset of Covid weekdays blended into weekends, one bar of chocolate in the evening became a mega sized bar with afternoon tea and my weekend bottle(s) of wine seemed much more appealing on a Wednesday. 

Apparently 32% of us have been boozing more in lockdown and that’s before we even discuss the food situation. Lack of routine and emotional eating hit me hard during lockdown and when my fridge asked me what the f**k I wanted this time on one of my many visits I knew things weren’t the best. When I found myself crying while eating cakes in the utility room, I knew there was a need for immediate action.

Anyhow here I am having just received similar results from my new electric scales that 48% of us apparently did and another appliance message, this time ‘please weigh one person at a time’. This time I finally feel in the zone and ready to embark on a journey that I’ve been on many times before but this time I feel differently about. Why is that I ask myself?

I think the reason is that Covid and the resulting lockdown have put a lot into perspective for me. I’ve realised that having roots, a hairier body and an extra stomach aren’t the be all and end all. That achieving ‘the perfect body’ at my age after having three children is probably unrealistic or involves too much work and most importantly that my previous mantra thanks to Kate Moss of nothing tastes as good as skinny feels doesn’t quite resonate with me like it previously did.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ok with the Covid stone I’m carrying but this time I’ve realised that getting and staying in shape is a healthy lifestyle choice that firstly has to be realistic and secondly needs to be treated with the patience and consistency it deserves. Also, it’s not all about spinning, circuits and weightlifting, I swam in the sea every day during lockdown and the clarity and headspace it awarded me helped me with every aspect of my life. 

Over the next few months I’m going to attempt to utilise all the misjudgements I have made over the years in relation to my diet, health and fitness and try and help anyone else looking for support on their journey to making better choices be it losing the Covid stone or just trying to be a fitter, healthier version of yourself.
Life coach and sports scientist Adam Kelly from Pura Vida who is also the race director for The Gavin Glynn Foundations King of Greystones and a triathlon coach will talk us through training for a triathlon. In this case a virtual one.

We will have tips on nutrition, meal/snack ideas and hacks on saving time/money on food and most importantly BEING PREPARED!!

Also, we will talk about using your bodyweight and the beautiful outdoors to help reach your fitness and weight loss goals while reaping the benefits on your mental health.

Many of us felt exposed during lockdown and used food and drink or our control of it as a coping mechanism for the feelings of anxiousness and insecurity that Covid brought with it. Now it’s time to take our lives by the reigns and try and shimmy and shake ourselves back on track to a path of long-lasting contentment and happiness.

LOSING THE COVID STONE ..Well still trying anyway

Well I did it, King Of Greystones triathlon in the bag and a not too shabby time of 1’40. A promise to myself that I’ll train properly before next years race and come in top 50. I’ll get past the wog and someday be able to ‘find my rhythm’ and break into a jog. I’ll master crawl and nail the swim in under 15 minutes and I’ll join a local wheelers club and cycle outside the suburbs of Greystones.

Maybe I will do those things, maybe I wont (I probably won’t) but what I am absolutely determined to do is keep up a decent level of outdoor activity. Stop obsessing with lifting heavier and start getting fitter and stronger using my body weight and the beautiful surroundings of Wicklow and beyond to nail my next triathlon/challenge whatever that may be.

I’m only a pound or two lighter than when I started this journey to lose the covid stone but I’m not going to let the slow and steady approach piss me off this time. I’m not going to allow a big weekend/feckin huge slice of pavlova to make me want to give up.This time I’m going to keep going because I know that this has to be a lifestyle choice not just a means to get into that dress that won’t go over my head anymore.
So doing a triathlon doesn’t mean you’ve 1000 extra calories to play with Adam no?! Shite, too late..

Calories in vs calories out..
Stay in calorie deficit to lose weight..
You can’t control your weight, you can control your consistency..
These mantras all continuously circle in my head as I try to drink 3 litres of water everyday while punishing myself for eating the wrong foods.
What I’ve realised is certain things work for me and certain things don’t..
I can NOT bake.. I eat my creations.Not just some of it, all of it.
I need sleep/limited booze, if I don’t get it..I fail.
I need to be prepared and should never ever shop when I’m hungry.
I’ve started cooking more during lockdown and now make a couple of nice soups that I’ll podcast the recipes to, they fill the gap until I can prepare a healthy meal and I try not to eat too late.
It’s a work in progress but I’m determined to stay on the path of in my case most resistance holding out for the fact that slow and steady will indeed win the race
Hear Adam's post race advice in the podcast links
 

LOSING THE COVID STONE- INTERFERENCE

Life sometimes gets in the way of healthy eating and training and Covid and the resulting lockdown have caused major disruptions in many people’s routines. Schools being off, working from home, gyms being closed/with limited availability, too much work on/too little work on, lack of time for food prep and exercise…

I have found myself making excuses for my bad eating habits and gaps in training a lot recently, “I’ll wait for the schools to go back and then get back into it”,“I’ll wait for things to get back to normal”.

The problem is that things may never go back to normal, or normal as we know it anyway. We’re going to need to constantly change things up according to differing circumstances and it’s something that many of us are getting used to doing. It’s very easy to fall off the wagon but it’s vital that you get back on and realise that healthy eating is a lifestyle not a diet.

My emotional eating had hit an all time high through lockdown and now I’m trying my very best to control it. These are some of the things that are helping.

1.Realising and that healthy eating is a lifestyle not a diet. Learning what my emotional and compulsive eating habits are and trying to do something about them. I now know that if I’m sad/stressed I open the fridge so I’ve been trying to leave the house as soon as I can when this happens and jump in the sea, go for walk until it passes. Also drinking as much water as possible because as Adam recently pointed out I’m more often dehydrated than hungry.

2.Not being impatient. Having realistic goals and expectations. A successful weight loss plan means losing weight at a healthy rate, I’ve lost weight too quickly one too many times and put all of it straight back on.

3. BEING PREPARED! I’ve tried to cut down on my carb intake recently and have cut out processed foods and sugar. The thing I find really really helpful is not allowing myself to get hungry and making soup every 2-3 days so I can grab a cup whenever I feel tempted to eat crap/fill a gap with something that will make me feel shit about myself. I allow myself a couple of glasses of wine on a Friday night and I really look forward to them.

4. Have a good support system. Talk to somebody be it a friend, family or professional about any emotional issues that you may have and team up with people to swop healthy eating ideas. My sister and brother have been constantly sending me recipe ideas and hacks that make the process of healthy eating seem like less of a chore and dare I say it quite enjoyable.

5. Rewarding myself with something other than food. Trying to get out of the chocolate with a cup of tea at night/dessert after dinner mindset. Having a nice herbal tea and couple of squares of dark chocolate at night when that dip in energy and sugar craving kicks in or just going to bed early and reading my book to stop me opening the fridge.

6 Don't ever forbid yourself anything, as soon as you do, you'll feel deprived, you'll wind up eating what you really wanted, and then you'll feel guilty. For me in the past it’s a vicious circle of self-loathing. over eating when I’m stressed, worried, upset and then hating myself and not feeling like getting out to train but now if I do find myself ordering a medium rare burger in Bunsen before I can help myself, I dust myself (and the fries) off and get back on the wagon again.