littlegreenparrot1 Member

Its not all or nothing, and food has no morality. I'm not a bad person if I have a chocolate biscuit on my tea break this afternoon, and it doesn't mean that everything is so ruined that I might as well fall face first into the whole packet. Just move on to the next decision and keep moving in the right direction.

Brilliant, well done! I've got a half marathon in three weeks, which I signed up for after I did a 5k with a friend in February and had fun. It'll be great, we are all capable of much more than we think we are 👊

I like to run long distances, don't care about times, and go by personal experience. I wouldn't bother with anything specific for a couple of hours. I run trails, so have a biscuit in my pocket and water in case I want it and am miles from anywhere, but wouldn't usually eat it. Prefer normal food to gels. Those long runs…

Try adding a spoon of cocoa when you cook it, then add berries on top. I buy frozen berries, cheaper, don't go off, and when they defrost they're squishy and a bit jammy. Perfect for stirring through porridge. Or peel and chop an apple, cook it with a bit of cinnamon and have that on top with a bit of honey and peanut…

The best work out is the one that you like (or at least don't hate), because that will be the one you do. As to goal, that depends on what the goal is. My current goal is a race, I have to go running sometimes to achieve that :)

Hating myself never got me anywhere, and nor did being upset about it but not having a plan. I only made any progress when I gave myself grace. You're not less worthy just because you ate some food. I don't do well with strict rules, as soon as I feel like I 'can't' do something I am much more likely to do it. I have to…

I run regularly outdoors. I have different sets of shoes as I find running trainers much more comfortable. And of course it's much cleaner that way, I like running trails and always end up covered in mud.

Absolutely C25k to get started. A head lamp or chest light to see your way and high vis stuff on you. I use bone conductor head phones so can still hear everything. Go slow, slower than you think you should. Be prepared to dislike it for at least a month but persevere, it feels like it'll never get easier until it does.…

I started doing much better when I re-framed it. If you tell me I have to do something I won't, the stroppy little 10 year old inside throws a tantrum, I don't want to and you can't make me. So I will do even less than I would have done in the first place to prove a point. However, if I am doing something because I like it…

1 part oats (or other grains) to 2 parts water. As simple as it gets really. I add other stuff - teaspoon of chia seeds, teaspoon of linseed, and eat mine with fruit but of course all additions come with their additional calories. I eat them because I like them, they are good for me, and I find them filling. They don't…

Excellent, I'm all for an unlikely and over-ambitious target, and have completed 2 ultra marathons off the back of it :D . My goals for the events were very simple: don't quit, don't fall over, don't end up in the van. It was enough to finish under my own steam. My top tips, spend more than you think is reasonable on good…

I don't fail, it's always just work in progress. I had to get away from an 'all or nothing' mindset, otherwise the fear of failure will mean I never do anything.

One of my favourites is roasted veg, it requires some prep but once done will happily sit in the fridge for a few days. Chop up veg to roughly similar size - mine is usually courgette, aubergine, peppers, onions. Butternut squash and sweet potato work well to. Mix up with a bit of oil, salt and pepper, and whatever herb…

Peel and chop an apple, cook it up for 10 minutes with some cinnamon and a bit of brown sugar. Few toasted hazelnuts or almonds on top. Stewed rhubarb worked well.

Tomatoes aren't obligatory- but all tomatoes are not created equal. I am very fussy about them and won't eat massive pale coloured ones. Some lovely cherry toms though :) Salad doesn't have to be raw, try roasting some mediterranean veg, peppers/courgette/onions with a nice herb mix and mixing into grains.

My top tip is to find a slightly over ambitious fitness goal, a really fun one. A beautiful but tough trail run, an adventure race, or an obstacle race (don't be intimidated, most people aren't racing and are just having a laugh), a long hike up a mountain, whatever. The important things are it will require work, but you…

Best for what? It depends on what your trying to achieve and what your preferences are. Doesn't matter how great kale is I'm not going to eat the fecker :D Generally speaking for health variety is thought to be a good thing. I'm quite lazy and have a sweet tooth, so if I have a bowl of grapes, blueberries or similar in the…

Do you prefer cold drinks? Because for me the answer is always tea. Earl grey or green tea if your asking, but of course there are many varities. A nice big thermal mug with a lid and your good to go.

I think language is important. I'm not going to try to do something, I am going to do it. Picked up from an article interviewing someone who ran ultra marathons about how they motivate themselves to do training 'Its not about whether I want to or not, the decision has been made' When the alarm goes off at 5:30am and I'm in…

Sorry, you'll need to clarify 'safe'. Safe for what, for who? Personally I think I do better if I don't have much dairy, that's to do with skin and doesn't apply to everyone. For a person who does not have any allergies and likes it why wouldn't it be safe? In weight loss terms as long as it fits into your calories for the…

We are what we repeatedly do. Make a change and stick to it, eventually it's just habit and no effort. I find how I talk to myself is important. To quote yoda, 'do or do not do, there is no try' I don't try, I make decisions and action them. Always realistic though, I'm not big on suffering. So, tomorrow I'll go for a swim…

Flat breads, pitta hasn't been mentioned yet. Cut the ovals in half and each half is a handy pocket for your sandwich filling. Easy option is oatcakes to have with hummus, or often I eat them with soup. A portion of potato salad with some cold meat, or I'll sometimes make a big frittata with potato in it and have slices of…

If you can find it try having some vegetarian haggis. It is delicious with all the usual roast dinner accompaniments, although it doesn't look pretty. It's easy to get here in the UK, might be tricky elsewhere.

I'd start by re-framing, self talk is important. I never got anywhere when I was beating myself up. Now I try to think in positive terms, I'm doing things because they're fun and I like them. I eat a certain way because it's tasty and it makes me feel good. It's not punishment for the size of my lazy backside. Give…

My top tip: find some kind of fitness event in a few months that looks fun. Convince some pals to do it with you and enter it. At this time of year I'd be looking at Christmas fun runs, community charity events that include children and dogs, so nice and relaxed. Then train for it, always find the hard work easier if…

Water. Because if you are drinking stuff with lots of calories, huge milky coffees, fizzy drinks, juice etc water will have less calories than that.

I make a lot of soups. Very easy to make, will happily sit in the fridge for several days. Mine are usually quite thick so they fill me up, and full of veg. I find its quite difficult to overeat them and endless variety. Even if one of my concoctions doesn't taste that great to start with if you chuck enough curry powder…

I find this interesting. I do similar to this regularly, try and eat dinner by 7pm and usually have breakfast about 9am. So a regular 14 hour break between meals. Its not suffering at all, if it was I wouldn't do it :D . Whatever I may have previously believed I do not need to eat every 2 hours, and I sleep better/have…

Might be worth trying a baked oats recipe, the texture is different and can be happily eaten over a few days. Sometimes I make fruit crumble, the crumble being mostly oats/rye/barley flakes. I have a chunk with some yoghurt. If not a slice of toast and peanut butter is always a winner.

Great stuff. Regarding getting going - I once read an interview with an Ultrarunner where they asked her how she motivated herself to do the training. The response really stayed with me, 'It's not about whether I want to or not, I just do, the decision has been made' So that's what I do, I make the decision. The me that…