Tips on beginning to exercise

Accepting that there are changes you want to make in your life and taking the first step towards change is often the hardest. Well, it shouldn't be! When I began eating better and exercising regularly I... just did it. You sometimes need to dive right in at the deep end with both feet and see how it goes. The hardest part, I've found is the habit-forming part of change and keeping it up, but that's another post for another time, so today I want to share with you a few ways I found the motivation to start working out regularly, so here goes...

1. Be open minded. Be patient. Realise most benefits won't appear overnight after your first session, but things will improve for you, for sure. Remember, even if you can't visibly see the positive ways in which your body adapts to exercise, they will definitely be happening.

2. Plan it into your current routine. You don't have to spend hours exercising at a time, especially if you're starting out- begin small and build on it. Even 20 or 30 mins at a light-moderate intensity will bring about improvements. Write down times for exercising in your diary and stick to them.

3. Know why you're doing it. What is it you want to achieve? How will it make you feel when you get there? What is your motivation? Think of a few realistic goals to achieve (and preferably specific and measurable, e.g. to lose an inch of your waist). By having something in mind to work towards you can see how much progress you make and find motivation from getting closer to reaching your goals. 

4. Write them down. I mean, I'm a stationary and notebook obsessive geek anyway, but writing goals down and reminding yourself of them regularly will ingrain them in your brain and hopefully give you an extra burst of motivation at times when you need reminding of why you're getting sweaty bouncing around on a swiss ball in the first place. 

5. Don't compare yourself or your progress and goals to others. Everybody is different. Our bodies and how they work are all slightly different, so the rate you lose fat or put on muscle will be different to the next person. Try not to get caught up in whether or not you are doing better or worse than someone else. Do it for YOU. 

Bit nippy out.

Hi.

It's been a while! Happy 2013!

January is always a month of mixed feelings for me- a new year brings with it the urge for a fresh start and an opportunity to gather some perspective on life. It also brings more cold, grey, miserable weather which doesn't seem quite so festive post-Christmas.

I secretly revel in the chilly weather thought because I love making my surroundings super cosy with candles, blankets, fluffy socks and hot baths. So, I thought I'd do a quick post on how to warm up this winter...

• Munch on some garlic as it boosts circulation. If you don't like the taste (or smell!) then you can buy odourless garlic capsules from health food stores such as Holland & Barrett. Nature's Best do a good version which contains 2mg of Allicin per capsule- the property which gives garlic its amazing anti-bacterial and heart healthy properties. You can buy it here .

• Run the taps until the water is as hot as you can stand it and wash or rinse your hands, switch the water to as cold as you can handle, and then back to hot, then back to cold etc etc. This is more effective than simply holding your hands under the hot water for a few minutes because it causes blood to flow towards the hands and away again which, if done a few times, means that blood flow is increased without loosing too much heat to the surroundings.

• Take a nice hot bath. Although, body heat will be lost through the skin once you get out the bath or the water cools down, so wrap up after to minimise this.

• Brew up! A hot drink warms you from the inside-out but will cool you down in the long run because it raises your body's internal temperature which signals to the brain that you must need cooling down, which is what the body does.

• Eat. Eating revs your metabolism which warms you up when it is working hard. Although it's obvious enough to suggest that no one plops down on the sofa and scoffs down ten bags of Maltesers to warm up!

• Exercise! Exercise boosts your metabolism and gets your heart working harder as it tries to deliver oxygen to your lungs and muscles.

• Tensing the muscles in your hands and feet can increase blood flow to the area. Really tighten the muscles and hold for 5 seconds before relaxing them again. Stretching also directs warm blood to the area and so both stretching and tensing muscles will warm up your extremities! Repeat tensing/stretching and relaxing until you notice a difference.

So there's a few simple ideas to get you warm and hopefully keep you warm on this snowy January afternoon. Hope you find something useful here!

Until next time,
Amy

Let me introduce myself

So I thought my first post should be a brief intro me... I'm Amy, I live in Cheshire in the UK. I have been finishing a degree in Communication part-time whilst living between my childhood home and my boyfriend's house. I have a disability which affects my left leg a which saw me in hospital for surgery 16 times in as many years. Being a young woman with a disability has a complex, confusing, yet ultimately (I think) enriching effect on my identity.

 I LOVE dogs. I like animals of all kinds and have been vegetarian  for about 8 years or so, but I especially love dogs. I have two dogs at my parents' (Lhasa Apsos called Maisie and Lester), two cats (Mickey and Minnie) at my boyfriend's and tropical fish tank that roughly forty fish call home. I have always had pets growing up and my parents have always encouraged me to develop an interest in animals. It worked.

I like to read and hope to write about some of the books I'm reading in this blog. I like to read a lot of fiction and to allow my imagination to wander. I like to read about people and their experiences. I also read a lot of doggy-related material in books, magazines and online.

So far this year I have achieved two out of three of my new year's resolutions- I have lost a stone and gained a 2:1 for my degree. Things aren't going too badly at the moment. I work part time for a gym which is run by my brother and parents and, although I love contributing and being a part of it (I have gained invaluable experience) I am on the look-out for full time work. I want to get a dog of my own in the near(ish!) future, move house with my boyfriend Ben to somewhere with a garden, and one day in the future I want a nice kitchen with granite work tops and a big dining table in  the middle.

These are just some of the things that spring to mind when, feeling sleepy in bed one night, I think about me, in a nut-shell. See what I'm tweeting here .

Thanks for reading if you're down here. 
Night.