Hello from the UK

poisonivy73
poisonivy73 Posts: 9 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hello,

I've been lurking for a few weeks. I'm a 40 year old female American expat living in London, and getting back on the fitness wagon. I'm about 5'9 (well, 5'8 and 3/4) and I *think* I'm around 200 lbs. I don't own a scale and quite frankly, it's too depressing to look at. Anyway, I'm not particularly concerned about the number on the scales, it's more about what's on the tape measure for me. I'd like to get back down to a UK size 10 (about a 6 in the US these days, I think), and I was at about 140 when I was that size a long long LONG time ago. I'm an 18 now, and I'll be up to a 20 if I don't take some drastic action. More worryingly, I'm experiencing knee and ankle pain, which I suspect is related to the excess weight I'm carrying around. With arthritis running in the family, joint pain is not something I want to mess around with.

My main diet downfalls are wine, bread and cheese. I like healthy food and rarely eat any junk. My problem is I like too much of it. And the wine. It's always the wine. At the moment I'm aiming for 1300 calories a day, which I eat back if I do exercise. My exercise downfalls are late nights and in the case of cycling to work, the weather. 18 years in Britain and I'm still not used to the rain.

I've started up Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred and after 5 days, I'm definitely seeing improvements in my strength and feeling some muscles getting tighter. It's a bit hard, but it's not killing me, so I'm wondering whether I should use heavier weights. I'm one of those "strong fat people". Now that the weather is nicer I am going to start cycling to work 3 or 4 days a week. I started cycling again sporadically during the Tube strikes, and it takes me an hour each way (8 miles, quite slow, but I'm on one of those very heavy Pashley bikes). I don't take the lifts at work either - I work on the 5th floor.

I think that's about it. I don't have any friends on here yet, so I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has similar goals to me, or has been where I am and worked through it. That being said I am interested in all types of people, not just ones like me.

Off to do another 30DS session before my boyfriend gets home. Hope to hear from some of you soon.

Replies

  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,956 Member
    FR sent. We have similar stats. I am a Canadian expat living in London. Was a UK 10 when I was in my twenties. Another strong fatty here. My machine bench is 3x8 @ 61 kg and seated machine row is 3x8 @ 83 kg. I like my wine and do rather big cardio workouts to make room for it.
  • BernadetteChurch
    BernadetteChurch Posts: 2,210 Member
    Another expat here, but from Australia. I live in Wiltshire now, but spent 8 years living in London and still work there. FR sent.

    I love lifting and am getting stronger all the time. I also love real food, and I'm also here to try and save my knees and feet!

    FR sent.
  • swbabe33
    swbabe33 Posts: 21 Member
    Welcome. I'm someone who has been on this program and dropped 10% of my body weight. I'm working on 20%, I was struck by your comment "not being used to the rain". I live in a suburb of Los Angeles and it rains very little. I have trouble exercising every day and I have sunshine, lots and lots of sunshine, and lots of distractions. I hope you stay with this and get to the size 6 you wrote about. Forty is a great age. Welcome again. There is great support here. - Anne
  • poisonivy73
    poisonivy73 Posts: 9 Member
    Lovely to meet you all! FR all accepted now. BernadetteChu and acpgee, lifting is something I definitely want to get into. I flirted with it a little bit about 8 years ago and really enjoyed it, but it was mainly as a get fit thing. This time around I'd like to focus on building lean body mass and reducing fat. Do you lift at home or at a gym?

    Anne, congrats on dropping 10% - I hope to be posting a similar success soon. It's sunny here in London today, and I hope it holds out so I can ride my bike to work tomorrow. I can relate to distractions. I normally don't just get on my bike and ride for the sake of it, I generally want to be on my way somewhere - shopping, to work, or less productively, the pub. Hence me needing to be here!
  • acpgee
    acpgee Posts: 7,956 Member
    I live in Central London, so it is cheaper to join a gym than to have a spare room for exercise equipment. If you are a novice I would suggest starting in a gym. Other people will comment on your form and having a full set of mirrors will also help you learn correct form, which will prevent injury.

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