:: Health and Fitness ::

107.5kg dead lift

I've been thinking a lot about health and fitness lately. Today marks one year since the beginning of my pancreas/large intestine fiasco and while I've had some really good days, it frustrates me that I still have really bad days.

So I've turned to my diet to see if there's something I'm eating that's making me sick without realising. I already have a list of foods I avoid due to allergies, intolerances and general inability to digest them like gluten, dairy, pumpkin, carrot, lettuce, cranberries and so on. But lately I've been directed to a group of foods called FODMAPs. FODMAP containing foods are foods such as apples, nectarines, peaches, beetroot, lychees, pulses, beans, artificial sweeteners (maltitol, xylitol) among many others. People with an intolerance to these FODMAPs get sick because they aren't absorbed properly through your digestive system and they begin to ferment where they shouldn't which causes all kinds of problems and pain.

I've been off these FODMAPs for about two weeks now and I already feel so much better. Who knew that something seemingly safe like an apple could cause so many problems? Now that I'm starting to feel better I'm getting more into gym and fitness again. Last month a few of my friends and I completed the Lorna Jane squat challenge (below) and have decided to keep doing at least 100 squats a day from now on.

This month we're completing a plank challenge (along with the daily 100 squats). I have rubbish core muscles, so hopefully this will help! Having a stronger core will help with all my other exercises like deadlifts (see first photo), back squats, leg press and even running.

Do you have any other monthly/30-day challenges you can recommend? A friend and I have decided to do one a month til the end of the year!

:: Resolutions ::

Every year I make the same resolution - lose weight. And every year, bar one, I fail miserably (one year I lose 16kg, woot!). I have been seeing a PT for the past few weeks and we have figured out the issue with the previous goals I was setting myself. I don't work well with large general goals. If someone said to me, "Let's work towards losing 10kg in three months", my response would probably be something like this ...

[image via knowyourmeme.com]

I need smaller goals that I can work towards. For example, my goal for this week is to lose one kilo. And I can do that because in my head it's much easier to think, "Okay, you only have to do this until next Thursday". Then, once I reach that goal it feels great to know I accomplished something, so I set myself another small goal for the next week.

Am I the only one like this, or is that how you work too?

I plan to break my life down into smaller goals like this, because I think I will accomplish far more!

:: Fitness Inspiration ::

Inside my fridge

I need a lifestyle change. I'm not talking about a fad diet, I'm talking about a real change. For the good. I have spent far too long wishing to be fit and healthy, and have not spent any real time trying to reach that goal. I have spent far too long death staring the fit girls with their bouncy ponytails at my gym (lol).

I have some great excuses. My ankle hurts, I don't feel too good, my asthma's acting up, I'm too tired ... blah, blah, blah. If it's to do with diet or exercise, I will give you some of the most well-justified excuses you've ever heard. But here's the thing - I have more energy after I exercise, my asthma gets better the more I swim ... but I always forget these things.

Inside my pantry

I'm not aiming to be skinny. I don't have a skinny frame - I have legs a rugby player would be happy to have, and shoulders that can press almost as much as most boys I know. I am slowly understanding that being strong is not a bad thing. But now I want to be fit and strong. I may be strong, but I'm not fit. If I had to run for my life, I'm pretty sure I'd die (Let's hope there isn't a zombie invasion any time soon, because I'm so not ready).

I currently listen to Fall Out Boy when I'm at the gym, but I'd like a bit of diversity. I need your help, ladies! Do you have any workout song suggestions? Songs that make you want to get up and move, and make you want to push yourself just that little bit harder. Fun, upbeat and peppy is what I'm after! I figure if I can get around an hour's worth of music, I'll know that I've done enough exercise by the time the playlist is up.

Check out what I found while I was looking for music inspiration:

Ridiculously cute, right?