Run time!

...in which my mind probably wanders a bit.

(Run time as opposed to design time. This is a programmer thing, you can ignore it. Unless you want me to explain it...no? No, didn't think so).

This morning I ran 4.8 miles in 45 minutes. If I'd tried to do that 6 months ago there's a better than even chance that I'd have keeled over halfway around; even briskly walking it would have caused me to get out of breath (probably within the first mile). I ran in the morning today because it is the Elder Teen's prom tonight (when did proms become a thing in the UK?)...I will probably run again tomorrow morning, since I shall spend the afternoon driving go-karts around very fast and the evening engaged in beer drinking).

This wasn't one of the reasons I originally joined Slimming World; I did want to feel a bit more healthy (and in fact I feel about a hundred times more healthy; I have more energy, I feel more alert and I'm generally much fitter) but a side effect of that has been that I can now run much further than I've been able to since the half marathon, and without feeling anywhere near as tired.

The picture on the left below is why I decided to slim down (not just that picture - the aggregate of years of living unhealthily and really starting to feel its effects as I hit my 40s):

The picture on the left is August 2012; the one on the right is a couple of weeks ago. The t-shirt on the left is a large; on the right I'm wearing a Medium (although they're different manufacturers so there's not much difference).

I have been told by 3 separate ladies in the last week that I look "amazing". (Okay, one of them was Claire the lovely SW consultant and it's part of her job to make us feel good about ourselves, but it still counts)! That is what Claire calls a "non-scale victory"...it feels good that people have noticed.

I am very close to my target now (4 pounds to go) but I still have a bit of a belly and slight man-boobs, so it's quite likely I will lower my target a bit - I have a very clear image of how I want to look when I have no shirt on and it doesn't involve a belly or man-boobs, plus I will still be in the overweight range for my height at my current target.

So, there we go. Sorry, that did ramble about a bit...but to sum it up I'm glad I joined Slimming World.

Friday 4th July

Healthy A: Milk

Breakfast

Fruit (Apple, nectarine, pear)

Lunch

Chicken Tikka pasta salad; fruit (orange and grapes).

Dinner

Paprika Pork (recipe here for Slimming World members - requires log in)

Snacks/Drinks

Coffee, bacon on a wholemeal roll (healthy b), fruit, yoghurt

Exercise

45 minute run (4.8 miles)