I've just restarted Couch to 5K and really feeling it in my shins which I've never felt before. Any tips? I have good trainers etc
So many variables there!
Your trainers could be worn out and too loose for you, so your heel is slipping in them. You might overpronate, which means your foot is wobbling around in them and putting stress on the tibia. You might be landing very heavy footed. Your hip, thigh, lower leg, ankle and foot muscles might be underconditioned/weak/tight which means you aren't lifting high enough to land softly and pushing too hard with your feet to lift off again. You could also be overtightening your laces to keep them on your feet, which restricts blood flow and easy movement (or undertightening so they aren't staying on securely). Or the surface you are running on is either too hard/the shoes aren't cushioned enough for you or it's too uneven, so you're constantly putting stress on trying to stay upright. Or you're pushing too hard too soon and need to look at your running biomechanics. Or a mixture of all of these...
I'd suggest spending about twenty quid on a set of arch support inserts - the inside of your shoes, if they're actually meant for running, should remove to let you put them in instead. And doing leg/foot/ankle strengthening exercises plus REST.
No idea on weight because TOTM got in the way last week and I don't enjoy seeing the numbers rise. Will probably do it tomorrow morning.
However, have done a few plods around the rec and got Mr D into the gym, where I found out he doesn't actually know how to use 90% of the equipment. No sign of any spare staff, so the gym ended up with what looked like probably the fattest PT in the known universe. Thought I'd start him off gently with rowing for five minutes, as it was quiet in that corner and they're my preferred cardio. It went well - he got the idea of the catch-drive-finish-recovery. And then thought 'OK, legs...'. Yeah.
Turns out that men really don't see the abductor/adductor machines as something hard until they actually use them. I tried to tell him to use zero added weight, but he was convinced he could do it with 25kg. Ha ha ha ha ha. By the time I'd introduced to bicep and tricep isolation and lat pulldowns, I decided we probably needed to hit the Concept 2 for another five minutes and finish before I ended up bringing him home in a shopping trolley.
Then did a Sunday morning plod where we both definitely ran more than previously and back via the amazing, fresh food galore, Polski Sklep for some sourdough to go with scrambled eggs and frozen fruit for later. At which point, he crashed out for two hours before deciding we were having my preferred options for dinner of 'meat 'n' leaves' (which actually means leanish protein source, lots of greenery, assorted salad or other vegetables and 4/5 new potatoes).
Rest/Work Day today, though. Weirdly had random people coming up to say it looked like the time off had done me good - either I looked terrible 18 days ago when I was last in work, or the very limited amount of going out in daylight hours has changed my Covid Year pastiness into some of my millions of freckles darkening a bit. Although I did get busted by one of the PE staff when she clocked my shoes, as I walked in wearing my new On Cloudflyers - YOU'RE RUNNING, AREN'T YOU?
Going to meet him at the gym from work tomorrow - he's even packing his bag now. I am hoping that he is comfortable going on his own as well in the next week or so, as whilst it's all nice to have company and help him, in all honesty, I just want to zone out and get on with it. But twice a week gym and a weekend plod seems to work at the moment - start small and manageable, eat a bit better, see how far that takes us.
Hopefully to the point at which I can get seventy quid's worth of use out of my originally desired posh gym whilst he stays at the exercise Poundshop.
Hello all,
I’m new to the thread and very new to calorie counting!
Im a past SW-er with a tendency to binge eat after restricting myself so much.. hoping to gain a better relationship with food and have fun whilst doing so!
Any tips or advice welcome! Starting a whole new concept of eating is really scary!!
I went to one SW meeting with a friend years ago - we had a ten minute lecture about how terrible cheese was and we should never let it pass our lips (despite the benefit from satiating protein, calcium and the fact that it both tastes bloody amazing and if you add some to a salad, you won't be starving again in ten minutes). But a 'cheesy' branded lasagne was fine, as was more pasta than could be eaten by half of Genoa in one serving. It was all about restricting food groups and an open invitation to binge on other things, which isn't healthy behaviour. But it guarantees most people who leave will be back again, as they start eating all the things they were told not to eat as well as having fucktonnes of 'free' stuff, put it all back on plus some and go back to the cult again.
What works for me is to do the exact opposite to WW/SW and the like. No points/limits or weird processed branded meals that don't fill the gap. Just track at first. It means you begin to see how much you eat, what you eat, what energy intake that is and over time, what patterns you see in yourself - like 'Oh, I went full out on Haribo and Pringles there - ah, I had far less the day before and didn't sleep too well - I'll try having a bit more protein/a jacket potato/going to bed a bit earlier/packing a snack/having a bit more for lunch next time' [and you find out that this meant you weren't sad and tired and mainlining sugar, salt and fat the following teatime]. I'm relearning what foods make me feel good - which are far more varied than any of the points plans allow for, especially as they make things that are easy to overeat free or low points values
when they've got a branding or marketing deal attached to the product. And it means I'm focusing on how I feel, so if I know I feel x, I've got a fairly good idea what I actually
need at that point, rather than interpreting it as '
tit! Eat! Eat! Eat! EAT!' and still feel crap afterwards. And exercise does make you feel good - that's more important that it being a weightloss method in my opinion - feeling happier and stronger means you're less likely to want to eat your feelings or swallow them down to stop you from screaming. After all, when you feel terrible, low, lethargic, bloated and sad/frustrated/angry/upset, it's punishment, self sabotage and a full, sleepy carb dish that appeals. Because people eat to anaesthetise their emotions, not to feel more, in those situations.
I don’t want the time before reaching my target to slip any further.. I should have been there at the end of June 
Yes I know it’s not the end of the world going from an 8 to a 10 but to me it’s a big deal! My weight has been so steady over the last 5 years and now I feel like it’s just spiralling. I don’t feel like my eating habits have changed that much, but I know it’s probably something that’s been happening slowly over the past year.
and at the moment I think I’d rather look skinny and old than chunky and young… but I’ll probably change my mind again. Grass is always greener!
. I did pull it back with healthy porridge, but then all hell broke loose at home, both toddler and 5yr old crying and wanting me while I try and work and husband hides downstairs (he’s was off today so was on parenting duty!) argh. Ended up at the chippy and had a can of coke and some chocolate. I hang my head in shame.