Move More, Eat Well 2012

Cathy Zielske regularly writes about her attempts to lose weight and get/stay fit on her blog.  I can't emphasise with her first goal, but I can with the second.  I'm not a naturally sporty kind of person.  The gym doesn't thrill me at all.  I'm the sort of person who gets on best in a structured exercise class.
When I saw that CZ (that's said out loud as C Zed, being British, not C Zee) was offering up a class on Moving More and Eating Well in 2012 on BPC, I dithered.  Did I really need to sign up for a scrapbooking class in order to get fit and improve my eating habits?  Well, no.  But I did it anyway.  The fitness is down to me, but I know that there will huge support and encouragement from Cathy and the on-line class community throughout the year.
The Statement of Intent:

"This isn’t about me going on a diet.  I’ve never been on a diet in my life.  I’ve always been lucky and had the sort of metabolism that burnt off everything I consumed fairly easily.  These last six months or so have seen me put on about half a stone.  I’ve no-one to blame except myself.  Too many evenings eating chocolate while watching the TV, too many bags of crisps, too many skipped lunches, snacking on rubbish and worry about The Boy Child.  The Brainy One very kindly says that he likes me with “a bit of extra lard.”  That’s because he loves me.

But I don’t want that extra lard, where my jeans feel tight and there’s an obvious tummy on show through my clothes.  I should care more for myself, both on the inside and the out.  And that basically comes down to what sort of fuel I am putting in to my body and how much daily maintenance is going on.  I can’t run at constant high level if I’m refuelling on rubbish.  A serious overhaul of my daily eating habits is called for.   

My levels of fitness have seen peaks and troughs; in 2011 my fitness level was below average, I’d say.  Sure, I walked lots ~ school run twice a day, to the shops and back, round the Common with the pooch.  But it wasn’t the right sort of exercise.  I flirted with Zumba classes in the Church Hall in the winter of 2010 and really enjoyed them.  Now I can’t remember why I stopped going.  And the thing is, once I get going, I really enjoy it.

Hello 2012; hello 44 years of living; hello new beginnings"
Five Things {about me; modesty not allowed}:

1) I can take a fairly decent photograph
2) I can drive a car well (thanks to learning when serving with the RAF)
3) I can scrapbook to a reasonable standard
4) I'm a loyal friend
5) I remember obscure facts easily
My story:

"I’ve never been a naturally sporty person, but I’ve wanted to be.  The best I could do at Primary School was the netball team and two 1^st places and a 2^nd over three years in the Egg & Spoon race on Sports Day.  At Middle School I played occasional 1^st team netball, usually when someone was ill and I could just about manage to keep a place on the House team.  Running was okay but seemed pointless ~ I really didn’t get running laps of the Red Gra for any other reason than I could.  And I so wanted to be like Mandy Jones who could throw rounders’ balls over arm for what seemed like miles.  At Senior School I desperately wanted to be good at hockey (inspired by Malory Towers, no doubt) but I can still see the PE teacher (name long since forgotten) rolling her eyes whenever I managed to hit the ball in the opposite direction to where she wanted me to.  The mid 1980s saw me become very fit after 16 weeks of regular PE with the Royal Air Force.  My best time for the mile and a half was 10 minutes 48 seconds.  Then it all dropped away again.  The early 1990s saw me discover aerobics and step and I was hooked ~ 4 times a week, all the kit and the fittest I have ever been.  I don’t really know what happened after that.  Structured exercise has been haphazard and irregular.  Now that I’m approaching my mid 40s I realize that only I can be the master of my fate, only I can be the captain of my soul.

My new plan for 2012 is Zumba twice a week ~ Wednesday lunchtime and Friday evening.

I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. " 
One Thing {in January}:

"This month I will commit to eating a proper lunch at the proper time.  No more elevenses, no more squares of chocolate, no more snacking on rubbish."
I didn't get far today on not eating elevenses, but, at lunch time, I had just plain yoghurt with blueberries, raspberries and strawberries.
There's space on this page (where the quotation is) to list all my measurements.  I don't intend to do that here.  I am not on a diet and I have no wish to invite any negative comments from anyone.  I've spent my adult life being called skinny and hearing remarks like, "it's alright for you ..."  
I am not on a diet.
I am planning on better eating ~ eating well.
I am planning on more structured exercise in the form of Zumba twice a week.  And doubling the number of circuits around the park and/or Common with the pooch, which he is more than happy about.  Moving more.