*Activity*

If you follow me on Twitter or are a regular reader of my blog you will more than likely have concluded that due to my lack of posts and my Tweets that I have been unwell for the past week. That's right guys, I have endured a week (so far) of a full on cold, sore throat, ear ache, headaches, back ache, muscle cramps and you guessed it...fever. I guess I had it coming.

Any how. While my head is only partially thumping, my nose is only slightly dripping and I am going through a hot flush I thought I would write a quick post as I haven't blogged in a while. Please note that I do have a few topics in which I want to post however they still need some adjustments and I just feel to poorly to write anything that could be perceived as logical thinking.

Firstly I want to thank Becky for nominating me for "The Versatile Blogger Award"!

This week I thought that I would briefly mention activity as its something that has been lacking in my routine for the past week. Although I have swam twice this week as part of my routine I haven't actually done any other activity. Yes, shock horror right. For me activity is just as important as the tracking, after all it is part of my whole lifestyle change. Now don't get me wrong, I have been unwell this week and surprised even myself by still going swimming but I know that activity is something that once I start feeling better I need to work back into my daily routine for a number of reasons.

Now we all know that exercise is suggested to help lead a healthy lifestyle. As well as that activity for me allows me to de-stress as it gives me time to think, whether it be about day to day occurrences or a time to think and plan for the future. Not only that but for me it is an empowering experience, I never feel as good as I do after a good workout. I'm putting that time aside for me in my consistently hectic life, that's empowering just within itself.

So what type of activity to enjoy?

• Walking - I love to switch on my i-Pod and take to the streets with my trusty dog by my side. Often its a fight to see who gives up first.
• Swimming - I have always loved swimming and swam for both my primary and secondary school. It gives me time to think and talk to my friend. This is defiantly my preferred choice of therapy.
• Bike riding - I love to ride my bike. Its a great feeling to have the wind blowing on your face and the miles fly by.
• Wii - As you know I enjoy to use some of the Wii Fit games to mix up my routine and have done some reviews on a couple of them in the past.
• Resistance bands - I <3 these with a passion. These make me feel so strong and I can't help but make myself laugh when I pull some rather strange faces. You know the type you see at the gym when the guys are lifting weights.

So theres just a few of my favorite choices of activity and I'm sure I will add to this list in the future.

I know this is only a brief look at the concept of activity however like I said I don't feel like I can make sense of any topic and go into the depth that it needs at present.

With that I wish you all a fab week. I'm off to dose up on my trusty cold and flu tablets :)

Roo xoxo

* Weekly Update - Setting Goals *

This weeks topic is about setting goals in your life (taken from Weight watchers e-source) outside of weight loss. Many of my goals are actually effected by weight, or should I re-phrase that as 'I allow them to be effected by my weight'. Either way I have goals in which I will accomplish within my life.

It is suggested that a four step plan is put in use to aid you in achieving that goal.

Desire - Which requires the individual to assess whether they desire the finished product enough to motivate them to the end. This seems like the easiest part of the four step plan yet when I compare this to certain goals that I believe to really have desired (for instance reaching my goal weight) I find it hard to come to terms with the idea that if my motivation has previously dwindled, it was a possible result of not desiring the finished product.

Belief - Do I believe that I deserve this? Hell yes I do!

Expectations - Shout your goal from the roof tops! I like this one the most as I know this really does work for me. For example I know that telling everyone that I will complete my 300 mile challenge, ending on New Years Eve aka the eve of my 24th birthday will mean that I will complete. I've already told everyone I'm going to do and I will look like a Muppet if I don't.

Action - This simply means whats on the tin. The individual taking action to reach that goal. Whether it be me going out and walking around the block to add to my 300 mile challenge or whether it be joining a workshop class, taking part in your own challenge, signing up for a local bike tour or even signing up to the job centre. What ever it is, once you have taken that first step your goal will be that much closer.

 So moving on to my weekly achievements and goals...

Achievements

• Consuming my 5 A DAY has become a habit. I find myself consuming much more veg, fruit, beans and pulses than ever before. I can really feel the difference physically and mentally. I have an half written post on 5 A DAY which I hope to have up some time during the week.
• I have made a positive decision to walk where ever and when ever I can rather than taking public transport. Although I have decided not to put these figures against my 300 mile challenge.
• I have upped my swimming to twice a week as well as my normal daily routines and my 300 mile challenge. The first few weeks really played havoc with my back and chest but I feel that I am starting to see a change in my back and shoulder movement so I will carry on.

Goals

• Track, Track and Track - I feel I did really well this week in regards to tracking as I journald everything I ate and drank.
• Keep to points allowance - Although I did track everything I found that on some days I went over my allowance by an considerable amount, in some cases I consumed double my daily allowance. However I did use my banked activity points as well as banked points from other days so by the end of the week it somewhat leveled out.
• Continue my 300 mile challenge - so far I have banked 5.34miles and so am nearly 10 miles behind my set weekly quota! I underestimated how much extra walking was required but a challenge is a challenge and I hate to lose.

Have a great week everyone.

Roo xoxo

* Weekly Update - Setting a Challenge *

If you do not already know, I'm a huge fan of the "Biggest Loser" and I draw a lot of my inspiration from the show and its contestants. So its not a big surprise that yet again I have been inspired to do something.

Last year on the Biggest Loser the contestants ran/jogged/walked a whole marathon which inspired me to give off my butt and do something. Now I'm a very competitive person and I hate to lose (which is weird when I considered my weight loss and my inability to win against myself own self), I hate losing bad! I remember hitting a girl (who will remain nameless) over the head with a cricket bat after she told me I had hit the wicket (please note that I was very young). I didn't hit the wicket. But I am very sorry and luckily we are still friends (she must be crazy right?). So what does my inability to lose have to do with the Biggest Loser?

I am setting myself my own challenge! I know that I'm a lot more capable of certain things than I let myself believe. I proved this during my workouts a number of times. Got to love those planks.

So whats the challenge I hear you say...

The challenge is to walk 300 miles between now and New Years Day also being my 24th birthday. And just because with all challenges there rules (I love rules), my 300 miles has to be additional walking, not my normal everyday walking and workout routine. No, no. I'm doing this the hard core way.

So now I have divulged my personal challenge to you I'll move on to my normal goals and accomplishments this week.

This week has been far from perfect but I have still achieved at some things.

• I tracked everyday - Although I didn't stick to my allowance any of those 7 days I tracked everything which made me feel accountable and also made me see how much I really do eat when not fully on track.
• I added a new exercise routine in the form of swimming - I now swim every Wednesday with my close friend and we are actually off there tonight.
• I have reassessed my 5 A Day intake and have been working on that for a while now - I have an up and coming post on this topic so watch this space.

My goals for this week (my post is a few days late so I have already started this week)

• Contribute to my 300 mile challenge
• Carry on tracking and stick to allowance
• Pre-track in the mornings - I have been doing this for the past few days and it has really helped in so far.
• Work on my 5 A Day

So that's my accomplishments and goals for this week.

I hope you all have a great week.

If anyone would like to take part in my challenge please let me know :)

Roo xoxo

* Fitness Fun - The Biggest Loser Game *

I recently posted that I had purchased "The Biggest Loser" game for the Wii. Like with most games I was sceptical at first and didn't really expert much. After all its just a game. So when I saw it on Amazon for less than ten quid I snatched it right up. I'm a huge kid when it comes to things like this and I get excited very easily. But I did try to get my mature and more reserved hat on.

So I set myself up detailing my weight, height, age and gender and picked my character (I loved Michelle from the series so I picked my character with ease). Rather than go into a full routine I decided just to browse and pick what I wanted to do. In total I initially used the game for about an hour. But be warned...

Half way through one of the exercises I picked I nearly burst into tears! Yes, that's right. I nearly cried over a freaking game! But no, wait, this is no game. If you take the exercises seriously and put your all into it, it really does get your heart pumping and your muscles burning. I felt the burn like never before.

So baring in mind that I only wanted to "play around" with the "game" I had already done my daily workout and so really had two workouts. Now hand on heart, I woke up the next day and it hurt (although I like having that ache from a good workout) to sit down so much that I nearly peed myself because I had to lower myself down. I must have used muscles in my legs and thighs that I hadn't used in a long time.

I've used it nearly every other day since and I defiantly think that this is a great workout for me. The majority of the routines are around 18-25 minutes long (Note: I'm only on beginner) so I try to work in other aspects into my routine but this is defiantly a start.

Some of the features the game has are recipes, calorie counter (you in put your own calories), tips, routines, quick choice on exercises, challenges and a weekly weigh-in dun-dun-duarrrrr.

Overall I give this "game" two thumbs up and would suggest to everyone. Its a great variation from my other routines and my painful thighs show that it targets other muscle groups that could be missed. For around £10.00 whose complaining?

If you have tried and tested or want me to try and test any other Wii exercise games please leave a comment detailing what it is and let us all know how it is alternatively you can mail me here:)

Roo xoxo