I've just read an article about dieting in Prima magazine. It says that for a diet or exercise plan to be successful you should get a buddy to go along with you. Apparently, researchers at Tufts University in the US have found that regular support helped people stick with a weight-loss plan. See! I knew there was a pretty good reason for this blogging lark!!!!
I hope everyone is doing well. I've had quite a few positive comments this weekend about the change in my body shape. But I've also had another friend say that I look older. She suggested that I keep the weight off my body but put it back on in my face (I'd oblige if I could).
As to the teaser I posted on Lesley's blog: John and I went to one of his colleague's houses on Friday and we've bought a Pilates Performer from her. She didn't have a very large house and the family complained every time she left it up in the living room. I've looked at the machines on QVC over the months and John is due to start Pilates classes along with physio for his back so we decided to take a look. To buy from QVC the machine would have cost about £200, but we managed to get Sarah to take £40 off us and she was happy, so a win-win situation all round. We've yet to put the bed together so I can't say I've had a go yet but we'll get it sorted in the next few days hopefully.
I've also been doing the step machine. I haven't pulled it into the middle of the room though this time as I tend to loose balance, so I keep it in fromt of the french doors and keeping one finger on the door frame to keep me steady I can happily step away while looking over the garden. John doesn't beleive I've been using it as it hasn't been moved and he says it's a bit dusty (well that's just my lack of housekeeping showing up).
Talking of gardens (as I just was); we don't have an enormous garden (85ft x 24ft) but it's full of mature shrubs that have now become a little too overgrown. I'm ashamed to admit that we don't look after the garden as well as we used to - life has changed, daughter has grown up, we've got older, John's back, etc, etc. We used to have a gardener a few years back and decided maybe it was time to get another to prune shrubs correctly, rather than just hack and hope for the best (I have a weigela that John cut back just before it bloomed one year. It's taken about another 4 for it to come back to anywhere near how good it used to look). Anyway, I came home the other week and parked outside my house was a large gardener's van so I stuck a note under his windscreen for him to knock. He did, I booked him, and he came last Friday; and 31/2 hours and £100 later I have a garden with a 'new haircut'. I made the girls at work laugh about it as, when they kept forgetting and then asking me what I was doing with my day off, I reminded them that I was having Desperate Housewives day. (you remember - Gabrille Solis and her gardener,for fans of DH). I hasten to put the record straight - the DH day was all in my head. But the gardener was a bit of a hunk!
I've just been reading everyone's blogs and commented on something Lesley said about exercise and what the individual LighterLife counsellors feelings are on exercise and LighterLifing. We didn't get as far as discussing exercise as I only got to week 3 before I had to stop. I know Heather (my LLC) had been reading this, and if you still are and are willing to comment, then please email me with your views. Exercise seems to be a contentious point with some people. And if you are still reading Heather, sorry I haven't sent you that Lifeline we spoke about last time I saw you. I'm not going to make excuses (you'd just see straight through them!) and I really want to make time to do it. I read a lot on the blogs about the work you are all doing in class and really wish I had been able to continue taking part but another part of me finds it all quite scary. I don't find it easy to analyse myself and come to any worthwhile conclusions (hence probably the reason I haven't sent Heather the Lifeline). I do envy the self-knowledge that mrs, Lesley and Sam have got from the classes.
Hope you're all having a good Sunday and that the weather's fine wherever you all are. It's sunny here but a little windy, so chilly in the shade. Have a good week everyone.
Chris x (((hugs))) to all.
