Project 12 - September plans = ACTIVE!

Ok so this month our plan is to do things that one or both of us haven't done before, and we're going to be doing things to keep active!

To start out with, we've signed up for Stampede in the Valley on the 30th September! This was a friends idea for her birthday, and as soon as I mentioned it to S, he was KEEN! Here is what we've gotten ourselves into!

"Stampede in the Valley is a 4km obstacle course style race, held in the Swan Valley, on 30th September 2012, at the picturesque Brookleigh Estate cross country field, competitors will be ‘at one with nature’ while fighting their way through muddy, dirty obstacles. This event is a fun run that is fun, and any average person can complete it! Unlike similar events, we don’t want to challenge just those hardcore tough guy types and exclude everyday people so we have different categories for the tough chics and guys and the ones doing it for fun– this event is all about doing things you haven’t done since primary school!

The event draws from military style obstacle courses, to create a manic, messy experience for competitors. The race begins with a jog through the beautiful countryside of the Swan Valley before reaching the first obstacle. There are thirty obstacles in total, with a distance of 4km across the whole course. There is no time limit on the course, enabling people of all ages and abilities to complete it at their own pace. This race is about enjoyment and having fun rather than breaking any land speed records!"

We've also teamed up with some friends to do the Rotary Ramble, an Amazing Race style event in Perth! It's in October, so doesn't fall within this month, but hey, we've signed up this month! There's nothing wrong with being active all the time! 

It's also been revealed that S has never been canoeing! So that is on the list too! I have canoed, but never in the Swan River, so by technicality, its something I haven't done either! S is also keen to try rock climbing, but we'll see if we can fit it in! This is a busy month!

A friend has also recently sent me info on the HBF Fitness sessions, which, if you're a member of HBF you get access to 48 outdoor fitness sessions, for free! I didn't know that they offered that, and so for me, it's a first! I have never been to group fitness sessions given to me for free by my health insurer lol. If you're not a member you can buy passes to sessions too. Tuesday is yoga, and S has never done it but always wondered what it's like, so he might head on over that session, since they're so close to his work (Langley Park).

On the 14-16th Carolanne and I are headed to Pemberton for the Equilibre Foragers Retreat. It's a weekend away put on by the company who are behind Fitness for Foodies, the best (and most reasonably priced!) outdoor group fitness sessions I've come across! We'll be hiking around Big Brook Dam, having early morning fitness sessions, getting our biological age assessed as well as having a cooking class, and seasonal spring meal cooked for us. It's going to be awesome, and I'm really looking forward to the balance of active/foodie activities that are on offer! 

Overall, this is looking like an ACTIVE month full of firsts! So excited to try out all these new activities!

Meal planning

As part of the Fitness for Foodies course, they encourage you to plan your meals, so you're not as likely to be disorganised and eat something fast and processed. I don't really eat THAT much processed food anyway, so this isn't a big change for me, but eating on the fly is pretty common. Going to the school canteen doesn't usually end well.

So I've planned. I enjoyed it immensely! It just meant that I had an excuse to flick through cookbooks on the couch (AFTER a run of course!). I remembered there were a few recipes from Movida that I wanted to try, and so I've picked 3 recipes from that beautiful book. I think this is going to be a great opportunity for me to try more recipes from my cookbooks, as I'm forced to plan and make lists, which makes it easier if you know exactly what you're cooking!

Heres roughly what I'm eating this week...

Breakfast
Porridge with stewed apples and cinnamon OR blueberries and raw honey
Scrambled eggs on rye toast
Museli with skim milk and fruit
Rye toast with avocado spread and baked beans

Dinner
Tomato and cumin soup with a poached egg (I'm adding meatballs) from Movida Rustica.
Roast cod with garlic and chillies, with salad and roast sweet potato, from Movida Rustica.
Roasted capsicum and tomato salad with grilled chicken and boiled new potatoes from Movida Rustica.
Chicken cacciatore with Three Birds sauce from the Urban Locavore box, with roast cauliflower.

Lunch will be leftovers, or tuna/fetta/tomato/onion pasta or couscous salad, with some ryvitas.
For snacks, Im going to make a batch of hummus (which I loooove) and have roast/raw carrot sticks and cauli to dip with. Ill make a different dip each week, romesco is a fave, as is roast eggplant.

I don't think I'm really eating typical "diet food". These are tasty meals, they just happen to be healthy. The main thing I'm trying to do is avoid processed, empty carbs like sugar and white bread, and focussing on better carbs. I'm not going to go down the no carb road. I have before, and I felt shitty. Good carbs like potatoes with the skins on, and wholemeal pasta are ok!

What do you eat when you're on a health kick??

The journey begins...

Ok, I'm going to get serious about this health thing. I need to sort my shit out.

I am NOT  one for crash diets, quick fixes, or slogging it out at the gym for 2 weeks and then giving up. I can't change my habits that fast and expect them to stick, because I am actually mentally quite weak sometimes and I can justify anything.

Nipping through Red Rooster for nuggets on the way home is ok when I want nuggets. But when I think about it, it goes against so many things I stand for. You can tell how processed they are when you eat them, I'm sure at some stage they USED to be chicken, but they're not now. This crazy stuff has to stop.

I really like food, and good food. So when I look at what we eat, it's actually usually pretty good (aside from ninja stops at Red Rooster). We just probably eat a bit too much, and we eat out a lot. We shop at the markets so very little of what we cook is processed, because we really only buy the raw materials - fruit, veges, meat, milk and bread. Portions need to be controlled, and we need to be a little smarter about things we eat.

I also need to exercise A LOT more. Steve has a naturally fast metabolism, and goes to the gym at work most days - he's lucky he has a more flexible job than I do. As a teacher, I have set times for everything, I can't pop into the gym on my lunch break, I just don't have time. I need to find times when I can do 10-20 minutes of exercise, make it not seem like a chore. I've started the Couch to 5km program, which is pretty good. It basically makes you follow a set routine - run 60 seconds, walk 90 seconds, for 20 minutes. You end up running more, the longer you do it. The app is pretty good too, it just beeps at you when you need to start to walk/run. I also downloaded the Nike+ Runner app, which at the moment seems really cool. Once I've used it more, I'll review it. But it tracks your run via GPS, times it, and has a bunch of other cool features, including posting that you're going for a run on Facebook, and when anyone likes your status, if you're listening to music, it cheers! So cute.

I signed up for this Fitness for Foodies (FFF) 8 week course, and to make sure I don't cop out, Carolanne is coming with me. It's pretty good value, $139 and for that you can go to 3 group fitness sessions, and you get a weekly email with a bunch of really useful info, recipes, and charts. The thing that has really appealed to me has been the charts. I need to have a routine and it needs to be planned out. FFF gives you a meal planner, a really good shopping list, and an exercise planner. I love these. They're going to go on the fridge! It also has a chart where you can measure progress - your fitness, blood pressure, weight (only if you want to though!), and body measurements. This is also something I need. I need to see progress, benchmarks. These progressive checkpoint sheets are great because they're varied, you may not lose much weight one week, but you've managed to lose some cm's off your arms and can do more sit ups!

I'm also playing netball again on Monday nights, which is sweet! I get to chase a ball around again! YAY!

It's about celebrating the little wins, all the different ones! I don't JUST want to lose weight (though that is a big factor), I want to be fitter, and healthier. I want to be one of those people who enjoys going out running, and needs to do some exercise or they get restless. I'm sure that with all the little things I'm trying to change, I'm hoping to see a different "win" each week.

This is my plan, and I WILL stick to it this time!