The health check
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I’ve battled with myself over whether to write this post. It is, after all, the ultimate in over-sharing. The last thing you need to read about is the excess lard around my waist. And yet, it seemed like the right thing to do. To be honest, put myself out there and say that keeping in shape as a parent is hard. But it’s never too late to do something about it.
A wake-up call
I know I’m overweight. I feel fat, frumpy and disgusting and none of my clothes fit. But somehow, hearing it from someone else hits harder.
Last week, I went for a health MOT at my local Nuffield gym. If I’m honest, it’s not something I ever would have considered until I signed up to VitalityMove. Since agreeing to help promote the VitalityMove fitness and music festival, they have been very generous in helping me to get fit. They gave me an amazing TomTom spark cardio watch, new trainers and a membership at the Nuffield gym.
I won’t use the gym because I already have a membership somewhere more local. But one of the things that Nuffield offer is a regular health MOT, and Vitality Move encouraged me to get one done.
The results
Well, let’s start with the positives. My blood pressure is fine, my blood glucose level is good, my aerobic fitness is excellent and my resting heart rate is low. I was particularly pleased about the aerobic fitness because it shows that all the running I do does count for something.
But less pleasant to hear was that my BMI (height to weight ratio) puts me as slightly overweight. My cholesterol is very slightly raised and more worryingly, my waist to hip ratio is basically out of control. In fact, it puts me in the category of being at very high risk of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes. And I know this isn’t due to my natural shape – it is purely due to the fat I carry around my waist.
Putting it right
I know that one of the worst culprits for putting fat on the waist is sugar. I do have an exceedingly sweet tooth, and yet when I cut out sugar earlier in the year, I had no problem with it. So, I’ll be cutting back on the amount of sugary snacks I eat, and of course generally eating less.
The other thing I’m going to try to do is up my exercise – and mix it up a bit. I do a fair amount of aerobic exercise, but nowhere near enough strength training. So I’ll be trying to do a strength workout a few times a week. This NHS home toning workout seems to be a good start.
Knowing that I’m not alone
I know that keeping fit as a parent is tough. Lack of sleep, energy and time are our biggest enemies. If you have an inspirational story about how you or someone else got their figure back, please do leave me a comment. I hope that in a few months I’ll have an inspirational story of my own. Perhaps this will be the kick I need to get both my figure and my confidence back.
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