Karen Greenfield’s Body Makeover Challenge Week Three is underway. Although she didn’t have the best start (we don’t call this a challenge for nothing) Karen’s been fighting off temptation and has lost half a stone in two weeks.
Reggie and Willow are loving my new exercise regime, they don’t mind going out when it is cold, dark and raining even if I do. I only ever used to walk them in the morning throughout the winter months but now I’ve stepped my exercise up a level they are very happy. Willow (my Border Terrier) is much more settled in the evenings now, she is a very anxious dog who finds it very difficult to relax (a bit like me) but the extra exercise is working wonders for her too.
This morning, (Monday), I was another two pounds down which I have to admit I was a little disappointed with (I know, I know – two pounds a week is the sensible amount to lose but I had secretly hoped for a bit more). However, that does mean that I have now lost half a stone in two weeks! I should be really happy about it but I am just a very impatient person and now that I have finally got my head around being healthy and losing weight, I want it to happen quickly.
My week didn’t really start that well. I felt very anxious and ‘on edge’ last Monday and found it very difficult to relax, although I did find walking helped me to calm down a bit. Chamomile tea also seemed to help.
As the week went on though I felt calmer and since Tuesday this week I have been sleeping so well. It is a complete transformation from what I was like before I started this diet. I used to have to take herbal sleeping remedies and cover my pillow in lavender oil but since I have been taking the Magasorb magnesium tablets recommended by Charlotte, along with the L-Theanine I am falling asleep within five minutes of my head hitting the pillow and sleeping very deeply without waking in the night. I honestly cannot remember when I last slept like this. I wake up in the morning feeling refreshed which again is something I haven’t felt for years. Charlotte did put me on quite a high dose of these tablets and they certainly seem to be doing the trick. I normally sleep very lightly and am awake at the slightest noise, however on Saturday night my daughter went to a party, arrived home at about 12.30am with four friends, the dogs barked and apparently Sidnie and her friends were all chatting quite loudly downstairs but I slept through and didn’t wake up until nine am on Sunday. This unfortunately meant that I missed Charlotte’s yoga session. However I did make up for it by going for an extra long walk on some rather hilly and very challenging terrain. It was so muddy and very hard going so I’m sure I burnt off some extra calories, (I hope). When I got home I treated myself to a couple of slices of bacon with my normal breakfast of scrambled eggs and tomatoes.
I mentioned last week that Charlotte suggested I do a stool test which I really was not looking forward to. When the test arrived it said that as it was a test for Candida so I needed to stop taking my probiotics for one week before the test (which I did during Week Two). I had to take the stool test over three days so Tuesday was the first day. I have to say this really was not a pleasant thing to do, (although I then thought about the poor person who has to test the stool sample). However, I really wanted to know if I was suffering with Candida in particular (due to the large amounts of antibiotics I have taken throughout my life and because a lot of my symptoms are indicative of a yeast overgrowth). Finally on Thursday I was able to send the test off, and when the person behind the busy post office counter asked me what was in the box I told them it was a saliva test! I’m sure you’ll understand I did not want to have to say that there was poo in the box in front of four or five people. I have to wait about two weeks for the report so I will let you know what the results are then. I just hope I don’t have to do a re-test later on.
Friday night was the De-stress group meeting. I love these sessions as they are so informative. This week we met Charlene Hutsebaut who is a personal trainer and works closely with Charlotte. She explained that strength training is vital for weight loss and showed us some really good strength training moves. I will share more on this next week after my first Skype consultation with Charlene on Tuesday.
Saturday night was a real challenge for me, I had been at work all day and craving a curry, (my showroom is next door to a curry house and their extractor is right next to the back door of my showroom so the incredible smell wafts right through the showroom at about midday. It’s a cruel world). Anyway I settled for my avocado and sunflower seed oatcakes and soldiered on, ignoring the delicious aroma. On my way home I collected my son from work, after deciding that a takeaway curry would really not be the best dinner choice, so I opted for steak instead. I went to Waitrose and had yet another challenge when it literally felt like my trolley was being pulled towards the wine shelf by some magnetic forcefield. It was really tough but I did resist. I have to say though that I really missed my glass of red wine with my steak but I felt much better for being strong. My husband has decided to give up alcohol with me for the next three months which makes it so much easier. When I have had a really stressful day at work and get home and say I want a glass of wine, he reminds me of why I am doing this.
Over the weekend I decided to re-discover my mini trampoline. I bought it a few years ago after breaking my leg in a skiing accident and haven’t used it for a quite a while now even though I know it is really good exercise. It is a Bellicon Swing Rebounder and the benefits of exercise on a rebounder is improved lymphatic drainage (our lymphatic system – the bodies’ garbage disposal – runs parallel to our blood circulation) which is accelerated two and a half times when rebounding. This means that detoxing happens more quickly which makes us feel fresher and more rested wth less stress on your joints. It is a highly effective cardiovascular workout which strengthens your heart and boosts your immune system.
I was really craving something sweet on Sunday so I had a 30g bar of 85% cocoa chocolate which only has 2.6g of sugar. This really helped and will be my emergency back up when I feel like eating something bad. I just need to keep reminding myself exactly why I am doing this. Two and a half stone to go now, I can do it!
Exercise this week:
Two walks every day, total of at least one hour.
Trampolining once a day for 20 minutes.
Three lots of Charlene’s strength training sessions.
The table below shows Karen’s progress since last week:
Charlotte Watts is a nutritionist and yoga teacher whose work has focused on how nutrition and yoga can meet to help people cope with the demands we face in the 21st century. Her practice and teaching of mindfulness weaves these together and has culminated in her new book The De-Stress Effect: Rebalance Your Body’s Systems for Vibrant Health and Happiness
. She has also authored The De-Stress Diet (with Anna Magee) and 100 Best Foods for Pregnancy and 100 Foods to Stay Young. Find out more at charlottewattshealth.com. Charlotte is also Healthista’s Calmista blogger. Follow Charlotte @cwnutritionyoga.
Charlene Hutsebaut B.P.E, B.Ed, CSCS is a personal trainer, pilates instructor, brand ambassador, speaker and writer with over 15,000 client hours and 22 years of experience in the fitness industry. Charlene runs her Personal Training Consultancy in London at the exclusive St. Pancras Hotel Spa and is a sought after inspirational corporate wellness speaker. She has a regular fitness column in Total Sports Performancemagazine as well as for Passport – the inflight magazine for Monarch Airlines and has written for Bodyfit, Prima, FitPro, Fitness Life New Zealand and has been featured in London, Fabric, Grove, Woman, Natural Healthmagazines, as well as The Daily Mail and Express. To find out more about Charlene, please visit her website. Follow charlene @positivelyslim.
Check out our previous Body Makeover Challenges…
BODY MAKEOVER CHALLENGE 1: Charmian Walker Smith
BODY MAKEOVER CHALLENGE 2: Caroline Williams
BODY MAKEOVER CHALLENGE 3: Thelma Mensah
BODY MAKEOVER CHALLENGE 4: Anastasia
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