littlegreenparrot1 Member

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…

It would be very bad for me. I would be very tired, unable to do the activities I normally do. Both general running about at work and the exercise. Difficulty concentrating. I would be very grumpy with everyone. Eventually I would crack and would eat everything I could get hold off, which would end up being far more than…

Tub of hummous, olives, some kind of tasty bread. I usually have a few rolls/flatbreads in the freezer. Pepper/cucumber/cherry tomatoes/ baby carrots. I will happily sit and eat this in various combinations at any time of day. Or the classic Some stuff on toast. Mushrooms, baked beans, scrambled eggs. Whatever is lurking/I…

Do you have access to a microwave? I just made a pot of ratatouille with lentils that'll be lunch for the next couple of days. Chilli, curry, stews, all work really well for this. Salad - quinoa with roast veg (courgette/aubergine/pepper/sweet potato) with boiled egg/chicken/smoked salmon. Spoonful of toasted seeds on top.

Regarding weight to run at, I have been a regular runner and am considerably heavier than would be ideal. Hasn't stopped me doing a couple of ultra marathons in the last couple of years. My top tip is cross training, am sure that has helped me stay happily injury free. Yoga/Pilates are great for your core and relieving any…

+1 to this. As a british person it is genuinely incomprehensible how people don't have a kettle :D To add to the stereotype - tea is the choice for me. Some lovely earl grey with a slice of lemon.

I didn't become overweight because I ate to much porridge, wholemeal bread and fruit. It was the pastries, whole packets of chocolate biscuits, doughnuts etc. All of which I'll eat far to much of, I just won't eat that many apples. It's the type of carbs and the volume that's the problem.

Do or do not do, there is no try. The alarm goes off at 5:30 and its cold and raining and I very much do not want to get up and run. But that is irrelevant, the decision has been made. This is what I do - so up I get and out I go. I also don't want to clean the bathroom, but I have to get on with it so the same rule…