Snow!

So, the snow hasn't exactly been helping in the quest to get back into a routine. I am certainly managing to tick over and getting most of my key sessions in which is good but it is hard enough to leave the house in the dark in the morning without also having to scrap 8 inches of snow off the windscreen. Being the girl I am I set off the other morning without clearing the snow from my lights. No dramas in MK where the lights of the estate were as clear as day but hit the back roads of Bedfordshire and I seriously couldn't see a thing! Couldn't pull over to clear them either for fear of getting stuck in a massive snow drift so crept along the road (which fortunately I know like the back of my hand!) clinging to other people's tail lights where I could! NOT an ideal way to drive. Doh!

Christmas has also seen the return of the dreaded 11stone mark! Herbalife had me booked in for a meet and greet and photoshoot on 8 Jan which, somewhat fortuitiously it seems now, had to be cancelled due to the weather. We have rescheduled for 28 Jan which gives me a fortnight at least to try and shift some of the flab! It always fascinates me how I can be doing such a lot of training and still not lose weight. I average 10-12hours of exercise a week minimum which, assuming an hour of exercise burns around 600kcals), means approximately 7000kcal deficit a week. This is equivalent to 2 lbs of fat - therefore I should literally be shrinking!! I have logically decided the reason I am not is down to one of two things: Either I am eating way too much and therefore making up for that 7000kcals deficit OR I am not eating enough/regularly and thus slowing my metabolism right down and making my body 'cling' to kcals consumed.

So I have decided to use a food diary to accurately monitor what I am eating and try to stick to a fairly healthy diet. This week I am cutting out all wheat, alcohol and my Dr Pepper vice! I recorded everything I ate yesterday in what was a fairly standard healthy day and it came to 2056kcals! That is quite a lot for a day with measured portions, healthy food and no starchy carbs or junk foods! I did however burn off a good 1500kcals through exercising so yesterday saw an overall deficit of over 800kcals.

For those that are interested the food diary I am using can be found at www.foodfocus.co.uk which is fab and totally free. They have calculated my Basal Metabolic Rate (how many kcals my body uses just being alive) as 1800 which means to lose my 1lb a week target I have to consume no more than approx. 1300 kcals (500kcals x 7days = 3500 - 1lb of fat). For me this would be nigh on impossible unless I was literally lying in the house all day but obviously you can count kcals burned during exercise as extra food kcals. So yesterday I was allowed 1300 (Basal) + 1500 (Exercise kcals) for a total of 2800kcals to meet my 500kcal deficit for the day. I only consumed 2056 so was actually well under target. Need to monitor this over the week and make sure I am not under too often as that will slow the metabolism. I should be fine normally but yesterday was long run day which always burns a lot of kcals. Still I am recovering well using my new favourite shake, Herbalife Forumla 1, Cappuccino flavour! Love it, especially in the morning - like an actual Starbucks frappacino type thing but without all the fat, sugar and gunk!!

Anyway, enough on this - I'll keep you updated but you can follow my progress yourself by looking at the nifty weight tracker thing that is now embarrassingly attached to the side of the blog. No hiding for me! Any motivation comments gratefully received!