Who Else Wants to Lose Their Winter Weight?

25 September 2008

Outside My Comfort Zone

This year I've travelled overseas a few time, to India in May, then a month in England and Ireland, and a short trip to Adelaide, not to mention the journeys around New Zealand to places like Wellington, Christchurch, Tauranga and Hamilton. I really enjoy the time away and it's great to do freelance writing because it means I can do it anywhere - as long as there is an internet connection.

But, the single thing I struggle with most is eating healthily and exercising when I'm away from home. I pick up all these bad habits while I'm staying in hotels, like over-eating and under-exercising, and then I take those bad habits home with me and they seem to stick with me for months afterwards. I've decided that my lifestyle is in need of a spring clean!

Above: Billy and I on the waterfront at Howth in Ireland, just north of Dublin... and yes, hello, that's an icecream in my hand!

Winter-Weight

After all the eating and travelling that we did over the New Zealand winter I seem to have gained a few extra bits of padding around the edges. I don't think its a big deal, but each of us has a weight that we feel comfortable with and I'd just like to shed my winter coat. For many of us exercise becomes more difficult during winter, less daylight hours and bad weather make it difficult to get outdoors and go for walks, get into our gardening and other physical activities that help to burn off those big roast dinners that we tend to favour in the colder months.

We can't knock ourselves for this or feel down about it - I think we just need to take our cue from the seasons and look to spring and the start of daylight savings this weekend (for New Zealand anyway) to freshen ourselves up and get outside and get moving - take your dog for a walk, have a stroll around your neighborhood after dinner or head to the beach for some family fun. 

My Spring Goals

This week I decided that both my eating habits and exercise routine were in need of a serious overhaul. Because we live near the beach I'm blessed to be able to go for walks on the beach several times a week. But, where once those walks were rather energetic experiences that meant I arrived home puffed and tired (I'm thinking that means I've been good and got my heart rate up) nowadays my beach walks are more-a-kin to a leisurely stroll that generally involve stopping for a chai latte at the local cafe.

A low-fat milk chai latte contains around 500kJ (approximately 120kcal) of energy whereas my 30-40 minute morning stroll burns only around 440-590kJ (105-140kcal) of energy. You do the maths. I know we're told to 'Push Play' and get moving for 30 minutes a day and I guess I'm achieving that. But, I don't think it said anything in the 'Push Play' programme about celebrating with a chai latte after you've done your 30 minutes! So I've decided it's time to knock those habits on the head.

I'm trading in my cafe chai lattes, all 500kJ of it, for a home-made vanilla chai tea (you know the herbal tea-bag type with next to no kilojoules) and I've decided to start running the 5.2km circuit that my beloved has measured out around our local neighborhood at least once a week in addition to upping the speed of my beach walks. The 5.2km circuit is all up and down hill thanks to the natural landscape of North Shore City but I'll survive! 

I had my first run yesterday and it took me 36 minutes and 18 seconds; again I'd just like to point out that there are a lot of hills! I arrived home absolutely, completely and entirely knackered. I collapsed on the floor and didn't move for a good 10 minutes - it wasn't a pretty sight I can assure you. Hey, I'm no marathon runner, or half-marathon runner, or one of those wonderful people that get out there in summer and do the women's triathlon thingys. I'm just me, giving it my best shot and trying to get myself moving more. If you're doing the same thing I'd love to hear from you, email me your story if you'd like to share it with others and we can inspire each other to get moving this summer!

Read more of Jennifer's ideas for spring-cleaning your lifestyle.

Jennifer's blog is produced without sponsorship or pay-offs by any icecream companies (even after putting an icecream picture above). Time spent blogging is time not spent earning money to pay for chai tea-bags. If you'd like to help fund Jennifer's blogging please click here to make a contribution.

The material provided by Thinking Nutrition Ltd on this website is for information purposes only. It is not a substitute for appropriate health advice from a qualified medical practitioner.