Motivation

The football is on in the background with the constant vuvuzela hum that shall be my soundtrack for the next fortnight. OH is sitting next to me playing with the baby, making loud cooing, booing and imitation vuvuzela noises that the baby is lapping up, giggling and cooing in return. I have to exercise and I cannot be bothered.

I refrained from eating chilli dogs with him and opted for some bread made with what appears to be bird seed. Do I go out for my walk/jog even though its incredibly dark outside and surely to rain? Do I attempt a celebrity work out DVD or do I play on Wii fit for awhile? Regardless of my choice I know I will be wearing my Easytones.

I have a specific occasion in mind as my motivation for losing the excess baby weight(not that I will stop at that point) and it's connected to OH's upcoming birthday. No more shall be said as he is currently next to me on the sofa.

But the daily motivation comes from images of the Reebok advertising campaign and the celebrities currently seen endorsing those trainers. Not that I will ever achieve anything close, but I can definitely improve.
Every time my laziness kicks in, I just have to look at the following...

My namesake Kelly Brook who is endorsing the Easytones for an advertising campaign.

Helena Christensen (mother of one and aged 41)

And the original ad campaign

Reebok EasyTones Update

My legs shake and my feet feel incredibly tired but I'm pretty proud of myself and Ava.

Today we walked five miles through four villages in the heat of the midday sun. Okay, we are hardly overwhelmed with sunshine and glorious weather but it was definitely more than warm on our journey.

Since having Indigo I have been unable to diet having zero willpower even though I am desperate to lose the baby weight quickly. Actually, I have no will-power at all when it comes to food and am one of those types of people that successfully finds an excuse to eat. At times of sadness or happiness, when stressed or relaxed and times of celebration or commiseration my thoughts always turn to food. Weighing myself after the birth, I was startled to discover I was lighter than before I conceived, reason being a full nine months of hyperemesis graviduim aka extreme morning sickness, however the novelty of being able to eat again and the uncontrollable feeling of starvation when breastfeeding caused me to simply caved and binge. Food stuff that I haven't tasted during this pregnancy such as cereal is now a drug for me. Yes, Honey Nut Cornflakes are my smack and although I can just about restrain myself from getting up in the night for a bowl, I have polished of a full 12 portions during one particularly hungry day. 
In my mind, my actions are justified. I am feeding another human being, her survival dependant on my ability to create good quantity of quality milk. Surely If I crave cereal then it is what my body needs for this process. I'm hardly sitting in the corner chomping on a multi pack of Monster Munch and a family sized Galaxy bar, even though I easily could.

Anyway, the inability to eat healthily and sparsely has been frustrating, so I decided to tackle it from another angle…Exercise.

Surely, if an effort was made to push my tired and lazy body through some gruelling regime then that would make some difference.

This being the reason why, I purchased the Reebok Easytones.

If I can start to feel fitter and healthier, then perhaps the diet will be a natural progression.

So a new game has developed call Abandonment. Other Half drops me at a certain location, 2 miles away then times my mission back home. I walk as fast as I can, which is by no means power walking but will attempt a little jog too.

My first abandonment was unsuccessful and I realised that this game required a sports bra otherwise the villagers will be after compensation for trauma.

28 minutes after OH drove away leaving me standing next to the village pond, I arrived home, gasping for breath, blotchy faced and sweating like a mother lucker.

Second attempt was a drop off at the same location. But this time my breasts were more tightly restrained and I managed to start my jogging schedule of jog to the next lamppost then power walk until I reached the following one. My throat burned from inexperience and my endeavours at jogging slowed my fast walking to a crawl. Still, I shaved 4 minutes off my journey and felt satisfied when I collapsed on the sofa sweating.

People have asked if Easytones are worth buying at around RRP £80. So far, I would highly recommend them. My leg muscles and buttocks are definitely tightening and in addition to my power walks, they are worn to the supermarket or on the school run. In fairness though, any exercise would make my flabby unused muscles feel pinched but I am convinced the effect these trainers have on the way I walk makes a difference. You cannot help but wiggle your bum as you move with the EasyTones and as I tire, the unbalanced sole of the shoe becomes more apparent causing more strain on remaining upright. A four hour shopping trip around the city wearing EasyTones was shattering and I felt as if my tired legs had completed a marathon Wii fit balancing game.

The only problem is, this walking is wonderful for my legs and bum but it’s my stomach that needs attention. Not quite losing baby weight after each child, plus my increasing age and general limited movement, I have hips that any mother bearer would be proud of and the dreaded mummy tummy. My humongous hard bump has vanished leaving my stomach muscles feeling as strong as wet paper, sagging and upsetting. I have no problem with having a large bottom and being hippy (I don’t mean bohemian, I mean having a pair of hips to rival Beyonce or Fern Britton,) but this stomach needs some dedication and consideration. 

Does walking even have an effect on stomach muscles? I shall Google!

BENEFITS OF WALKING (The Walking Site) - Burns calories (should help with all the cereal eating), strengthens back muscles (helpful), slims your waist (winner), easy on your joints( I am getting older), strengthens your bones (???), lowers blood pressure, allows time with family and friends (bonus), shapes and tones your legs and butt (obviously an American site), cuts cholesterol (Carol Vorderman eat your heart out), reduces risk of heart disease, diabetes, & more (such as?), reduces stress (can eliminate ex-husbands?), sleep better (another bonus), Improves mood and outlook on life (A bonus in Stuart’s eyes?) Can be done almost anywhere (a given!), requires no equipment (it kind of does though as I have purchased cute yoga pants and the precious shoes) AND it's Free.

Okay, so walking is an all-round winner!

I’m extra proud then of my feat today. Playing a new version of the game called Rescue. Ava and I left the house with good intentions. We would absolutely jog for a lamppost, then walk, then jog, both punching our alternating fists forwards with each stride. We lasted about 10 minutes before she got a stitch however, she soldered on. There was no fixed plan of where we were going but would see what direction our feet would take us. Slow walking, medium paced to power walking with a wiggle progressing to a jog (our feet just barely left the floor and we could be passed by a pensioner with a frame,) we varied the speed as necessary. It was becoming a beautiful afternoon and it was time preciously spent with Ava, who now stays home on a Saturday while the others see their Dad. We talked, when we weren’t out of breath, about life in general and plodded on.

We walked through our village, then the next two after that. On entering the fourth village we decided to quit. Honestly, I could have continued, but I was more than aware that Ava was starting to struggle and was so proud of her for not wasting her afternoon lying on the sofa watching Mary-Kate and Ashley reruns.

The game now becoming Rescue, the plan was to call Stuart to come and collect us by car but there was a glitch in the plan…my iPhone had crashed and wouldn’t restart.

The thought of attempting that distance back brought tears to my eyes. Ava looked fearful as it dawned on her too. Some of my fumbling must have worked as the phone starting ringing and I could see a photo of Stuart on the screen. Hurrah, we were saved.

So this week I have walked a total of 9 miles in 2 hours 22 minutes. It’s hardly record breaking but it is a beginning to something much greater, I hope. 

My need to justify spending a significant amount (for me) on a pair of EasyTone trainers, has resulted in a commitment in this new challenge to lose weight.

Several hours after my walk, my shins ache, my calves throb any my EasyTones look as pretty as ever.

Advertiser's Dream

From now on, apparently, I shall only be wearing knickers for the school run or when I nip to the shops.

According to the Reebok advertising campaign that I have vigorously bought into, I shall be sporting my new EasyTones, working  my gluteus maximus 28% more, than if I wearing regular, ordinary "non-special" shoe attire, strutting in my knickers looking fabulous.

I've always wanted to be a runner or a jogger but have failed with every attempt. It just looks fun. Well, maybe not fun, but grown up, responsible and a bit sophisticated to inform everyone that I have been out "running."

Previous attempts using the method of "run to one lamp-post, then walk to the next," has always left me purple faced and throat a burning. This time, I'm going to do it properly.

The uniform is sorted as I've got the wonder shoes and some cute little jazz pants, also one of those silky, shiny fitted t-shirts that proper joggers seem to wear. Research has been done and I now have a beginner's running program and I have the aspirations to build up to a charity run or a marathon.

All I need now is some time to do it and the confidence that I won't bump into anyone I know as I pant and sweat along the pavement.

The Vision

So I haven't gained as much weight this pregnancy as I did with the other three, due to the level of sickness experienced, which has given me the motivation over the last few weeks to stop eating as much crap. Even when The Boy purchased a bag FULL of McDonald's, I proudly opted for a safe baked potato .

It seems obtainable to lose the baby weight pretty quickly and not such a massive hurdle as it was previously. Also with a surprise acquiring of money, I shall purchase some exercise equipment that I have never owned before to help with the shifting. I'm also hoping that by sharing the equipment with The Boy, that we can use it together and bond over healthiness.

It could even be feasible to lose the weight that I have put on since moving in with The Boy, which for some reason, piled on in the last year.

The biggest motivation of all shall be the wretched Wii Fit Mii icon. The despair I felt when after weighing me, it produced a dumpy barrel with my colouring, left me mortified.

This girl is going to work that Mii thin! Well, not thin, I shall never be thin and don't particularly want to be. But that Mii is going to be a whole world less dumpy!