Day 1 - Genie and avoiding mince pies

So its day 1, the easiest day as I'm still excited about my healthy journey. I had a lovely long lie in and woke abandoned by hubby and doggies. The first change was to revert from my usual autopilot cup of tea that I make in a daze (or have my hubby bring me in bed - spoilt I know), to wielding a small sharp knife and cutting a lemon to have in warm water. I've read its good for rehydrating and aids digestion, however its definitely going to take some getting used to (one lady adds half a lemon to her cup - how?!! 1 slice tasted really bitter to me).

As I have yet to brave sainsburys I had a Juice+ vanilla and banana milk shake for breakfast and a coffee mid morning ( I know the purists say no caffeine but this is meant to be a longterm lifestyle choice and 1 coffee when I'm off work sounds like a nice treat. A quick scan of the kitchen and lounge revealed a plethora of temptations to be avoided (half eaten lindor chocolates, quality street, muffin, xmas pud, 2 mince pies). I suppose one of the benefits of xmas indulgence is that you soon get bored of these things and no longer really want them.

Another great tip is to buddy up with someone, and Mabel my gorgeous gannet/basset hound has also been set the challenge of losing weight by her vet, so we both launched ourselves off the sofa and joined Markles and Jasper for a walk. Changing scenery is also meant to help take your mind off food. It was about half way round that I realised that far from thinking about food, my bladder had cottoned on to having had 3 instead of 1 morning drinks and was having a screaming fit and wondering how best it could hide a petite blond, a giant retriever and a slightly chubby Mabel dog behind a bush. Turns out the Cathedral refectory have lovely toilets - thank god!

So feeling rather pleased with myself, I made the mistake of walking through town and came home with 3 pairs of shoes and some new undies. Whilst I say it was really a socialising exercise for Mabel who assisted me in the changing room by wandering off while I was mid dressed, opening the curtain at random intervals and helping me pick shoes she felt Jasper would be less inclined to eat. The two boys stood outside bored to tears thanking the lord that every dog walk didn't turn into a shopping trip.

We still have enough vegan nut roast to feed an army of squirrels so that was lunch, served with sweet potato chips and mashed carrot/suede on a smaller plate than Mark.  Then a glass of water (britta filtered because tap is said to be bad for you). After a few games of SkipBo to help my food settle and to feed our game addiction, it was time to do the first body blitz workout from PoleFreaks.com http://www.polefreaks.com/body-blitz-1/ Todays was all about abs and Mark joined in to support me. It hurt my flab is not used to it, but it was only 16 minutes and a little everyday will hopefully make the difference.

Then to fun time! Ginny has challenged me to do the Genie on the pole and Holly had posted a tutorial on the Bow and Arrow so here are my attempts

 One handed Genie - once I get stronger I hope to progress to no handed!

Bow and Arrow - my right arm could do with being straighter and I don't think I am arched enough. Plus it looks as thought I'm holding on with only 3 toes! Room for improvement but I'm really happy with this. p.s. you are meant to do a sit up to get out of it, but I do a headstand then bring my legs down lol - will keep trying

I've got a chocolate and peanut butter shake for dinner and a healthy snack to get me through the rest of the day, and Mabel has her fat dog slim food in a special eat slow bowl so dinner time should be good. Then its off to the cinema to watch Star Wars :)

Roll on day 2 xxx