Finding Inner Peace...

The sun is shining, the birds are singing and seems like a good day to do a bit of soul searching and look at what inner peace means to me and others. Our lives are so full of chaos with the technology that we have at our disposal everyday. Emails, text messages, and so on. We are contactable 24 hours a day 7 days a week. So at what point to we say stop! and try to remove ourselves from the everyday hustle and bustle.

These past few days with not being able to do any training or even doing the swim yesterday has put me in a place that I don't usually like being in, as it allows me time to think. When I have time to think, my thoughts are not always good. I have a tendency to run over things that have happened in the past that have hurt or upset me, This is why I usually like to keep active and not allow myself this sort of down time. I have seen though in the last few days that my body is telling me to ease up a bit. Again this is all new for me, as  someone who is constantly on the go, and to slow down is not easy.

As I was looking for some inspirational quotes this morning I came across some awesome ones from the movie Kung Fu Panda, which I loved watching. Each time I saw a quote I would laugh and see the true sense of the words, with a smile.

Its interesting to how I actually spend my time thinking about future races and events, and also past issues, and not focus on today and the present. So I am going to make a pact with myself to spend time thinking about the now, less on the past and a little on the future.

So today's plan is to spend it writing, I have had a dream to write a book, so I think its about time I made a start on it.

As I step forward into this coming week, I promise to take each day as it comes and keep the chaos to a minimum, so I can stay present to what is around me at that time and enjoy the present moments.

Enjoy your week everyone and hope you have time to find your inner peace.

Hayley xx

Nourishing My Body...

This morning I was supposed to do a 2.5km swim at Coogee Beach, at 5am when I woke up my foot was still extremely sore and I knew I still had to go to work today. I made the decision which for me was very hard, not to swim and put myself back to bed and sleep for another few hours.

On rising to the sun, sound of the birds and a lawn mower going at 8:30am it was time to get up and get coffee. Though my mind was going to places that I knew it might. Here is where I have a small battle going on. As I am still recovering from an eating disorder I still have moments like today that the internal battle happens. The fight between what I so called should have done...swim...to what I needed to do...rest...

So in resting this morning I have nourished my body as I needed the rest. The mind well that will come to see later in the day when I process it all in a healthy way. My soul, well that comes from the rest and knowing that its not the end of the day when I don't swim like planned and see that the rest was the better option.

By resting today allows me to do a good training session tomorrow and know that I have time during the day to rest and not worry about being tired at work when I need to be productive. I can say 12 months ago, I wouldn't have done this, I would have pushed myself to the swim, done the swim as well as I could and still go to work and whether I was in pain or not, would just keep going. Its a good feeling (in a way) to see that I have made positive changes for my health in knowing when to rest and not push to the endth degree and resent it later.

I just wish that part of my mind (eating disorder) would understand quicker than it does.

Have a great weekend everyone...

Hayley xx

Mental Preparation for Swim...Keeping the Strength....

the quality or state of being strong; bodily or muscular power; vigor.

Mental power, force, or vigor.

For the next two days I don't do any physical training as the body needs to be energized ready for Saturday's swim. Though these next two days are extremely important for mental strength and preparation. I try to visualize the swim course and maintain a positive out look, even when some negative things happen during the next couple of days, there will be time after the swim to deal with them. 

 Digging deep to find your inner strength to by-pass the negatives in your life can be hard work, but definitely a necessity. If we stay focused on the negatives all the time our life will mirror them to everyone else. So its best to take all the positives and project them out to the world, and hope that your positives help others find their positives when so many negatives are happening in our daily lives.

I have come to learn that dealing with negatives for the shortest possible time is better than holding on to them for days, weeks and months on end. Its moving these situations on and not letting them stew in your mind and body, which then does not give to the nourishing of your mind, body or spirit.

I hope everyone can find positives today, have a great day!

Hayley xx

Learning To Let Go...

Letting go of things in our lives is never easy. Letting go of relationships, family, friends, even things we do, or want to do, dreams, goals...

Over the last couple of years I have had to do a lot of letting go. I have let go of certain relationships with friends and even family. We know we always have to let go of family when they pass away, there have been times I have had to let go of my relationships with people in my family which was one of the hardest decisions I think I could ever make.

I have had to let go of unhealthy habits. I have had to let go of my eating disorder in order to live the best and healthiest life I can. Now I have to let go of my running. I am sure some people would think that doing that shouldn't be so hard, but for me it was a love. Being able to lace up the runners, hit the pavement and just run, whether it was hard or one of those 'blue-moon' runs where you feel you could run forever. I won't be able to do this any more.

I do believe that when one door closes another one opens, and that things happen for a reason. Like I posted recently that my dream as a child was to swim competitively, well it will now be competitive against myself, more than against others.

Also as I train for long distance swimming my time at the gym will be more focused, my diet will be more focused as I need to gain another 7kg to be able to swim long distances in open water with out running the risk of hypothermia, or other issues. The weight I need to gain, is a little over whelming as I have never been over 50kg without being pregnant, and now as I am 52.5kg gaining the extra will take some time and effort, and determination to make sure I do it properly.

As I am one to always look for the challenges in life, this is a new chapter in my life, as we close the chapter on my running and dreams of running marathons and even Boston, and look towards marathon swimming.

One person in Western Australia that stands out to me is Shelley Taylor-Smith. I was luck enough to listen to her accept an award recently where she thanked everyone who helped her to reach her goals in marathon swimming and that she was and truly is a very humble person. Its having people like this to look upto even as a 40 something year old and still being able to dream and strive to reach goals.

We are never to young to make new goals and to dream new dreams.

Hayley xx

Mind Body and Spirit...

Nourishing your mind, your body and your spirit, so what does that mean? 

 Mind:(in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.:

Body:the physical structure and material substance of an animal or plant, living or dead.

Spirit: the principle of conscious life; the vital principle in humans, animating the body or mediating between body and soul.

So to nourish our mind, what do we do? some will read books, learn new things, take in nature at its best (hiking, running, etc) To nourish our body, what do we do? we are supposed to eat clean, exercise, not be too stressed, live life to the full, and enjoy every day we have on earth. To nourish our spirit, what do we do? meditation is supposed to be a good thing, now we can mediate in many different ways, We can sit in the lotus position and go with in, we can run, we can swim, we can walk, we can be out in nature, we can do our gardening,  we can be doing things that make us happy, even watching an awesome kids movie...example "Finding Nemo" always one of my favourites. Its a matter to finding that something or things that allow you to switch off to your everyday stresses and have that down time, no thinking time. We all find it many different ways.

How many of us really take that time to nourish our mind, our body and our spirit? I can say over the last couple of years I haven't done it as much as I should, and from today on it will be at the fore front of my mind to make sure I do, whether its reading something interesting, being in my garden, my swimming, just allowing myself to switch off and take care of myself.

Today I took time to have an awesome late lunch of an omelette, cake and a coke spider and had some quiet time on my own to think and set some new goals.

Lets make it that each day we do something to nourish our mind, body and soul. Write it down, put in on Facebook, let people know what you have done, and just maybe others will catch on and nourish themselves as well.

Have a great week and take care of you.

Hayley

Making New Goals and Dreams...

Today I decided to let go of my dream to run Marathons and the Boston Marathon. I have a reoccurring injury with my right foot, and as it has progressively worsen even without running. So after seeing my physiotherapist today and being told to stop running and rest and not just for 8 weeks, I asked, do I need to look at stopping running all together? There wasn't a definite answer, and I understand why, as it is my decision in the long run...sorry about the pun.

Even over the last couple of days I have questioned myself to my running and my injury. Do I get another cortisone injection to get me through the Busselton Half Marathon, and that be it, or just leave running all together. I guess for me the hardest part of all this is not running, after all I do love being out pounding the pavement, in the fresh air, even the rain, allowing myself to switch off from everything. Now its a matter of finding something that I can love as much and find the same stress relief.

I took a moment today to remember what my dream was as a child. It was to swim competitively. Well I didn't get to do that in my younger years, but have managed to do it as an adult. I don't look at the open water swimming races I do as competing against others, its more about getting the distance done and about my own times. This is what I need to remember, that I can build my strength and become a better swimmer. I will also spend time in the gym building my fitness, strength and muscle definition, and maybe just one day I will be strong enough to take on the Rottnest Swim, which is a 20km swim from Cottesloe Beach to Rottnest Island. People can do this as a team of 4, 2 or solo.

So as I step forward and get my head around the fact that running isn't an option at this point, I look at what I can do, and that is to build my strength, mentally and physically. Take on my swimming as my main love, as well as the gym to continue to build my body. To nourish my body with good healthy food, and nourish my soul with positives, not negatives.

Here is the funny part, my husband will be happier that I won't need to spend so much money on running shoes as often any more, but then there are all the bathers I will go through and maybe another wetsuit (with no sleeves) to add to the collection, oh and goggles...well lets see what else I can add to the collection. Oh and new gym clothes...yep all is good then.

 Looking for my strength, which I know is within me, and as much as I talk about my physical strength and mental strength I still need to work on them daily. As someone who is still recovering from an eating disorder, things like having to let go of my running, puts me in a place where I need to work through it and process what has happened, what will happen and how I feel about it all. As I used to focus so heavily on running for controlling my weight, and having running be a big part of my life over the last 5 years, its a hard part to let go of, but by learning this lesson I will be a stronger person for it. I guess that is why we are here for the lessons of our lives no matter what they are.

So tomorrow is a new day, and new beginnings and new steps forward to new goals and new dreams.

Hayley xx

Fears are to be Understood...

Yesterday I found out the Point to Point swim I want to do in January is 7 kilometers (4.6 miles) which kind of freaked me out. I have never swum more than 2.5km at one time in open water. I sat last night and thought about this race and distance over and over again. In a way I feared the distance, but I think I feared more my capability to do the distance.

I messaged a good friend of mine last night asking for a pep talk, with this one. One of the answers I got from him was..."Why aren't you trusting your training?" I said to him that it wasn't the training that I wasn't trusting it was the distance, and he was right in his comment next..."One thing I've discovered is that numbers are just numbers and we typically build them up in our minds way more than they need to be." He is so very right in this. 7km is just a number, with good focus on my training, and nutrition I will make it through the distance.

So now it is time to believe in myself and my ability to train hard, eat well and focus on getting through this up and coming swim.

I will also be cutting back on my running for a little while, to allow the sesamoiditis in my foot to settle a bit more. I will have 4 weeks between the Point to Point swim and doing Busselton Half Marathon and Jetty swim. There is this saying I tend to use a fair bit..."where there is a will the there is a way!" I stand by this quote and know it is true.

So with the start to my new training plan I managed to pump out 2 kilometers at the pool this morning, feeling still a little stiff from the weekends swim, it was good to get it done. Tomorrow will be a run on the treadmill at the gym. Rest day is Friday and then another 2 days of training, Saturday being parkrun (5km run) and then an endurance swim (2hrs of straight swimming with not stopping). The big part of the endurance swims will be mental strength. As you go your mind starts 'talking', and you can either end up talking yourself out of what you are doing or push harder. It will be a matter of staying focused on good technique, especially when you become tired.

May we find something that scares us enough not to run away from it, but face it and conquer our fear.

Hayley xx

Patience in Learning....

Learning: The acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught:
Patience: The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious:

This is something I have had troubles with during my life. I am not a very patient person, and learning, well that depends on what it is I need to learn or wish to learn. Coming to the conclusion this morning that as I get older I need a little more rest between times of training and competing. Also making sure I am getting enough nutrition into the body is very important, I can't afford to go backwards and loose weight and keep up the amount of exercise that I do, plus working.  So today I made it as my recovery day. I am spending the day doing a bit of Christmas shopping, and making myself some yummy pork belly for lunch with salad and just chilling out on the computer. Tonight we have a guest coming for dinner, so its a healthy bbq for us. Our friend is trying to drop a few kg's and I am trying to help with us having a healthy dinner. Menu for tonight will be, lean meat, light potato salad, and fresh greens. Light and easy is the way to go. 

Each time I see this quote I laugh, the fun we would have if we were kids playing in the rain, as adults we need to bring the inner child in us out more often, and not worry about what others think of us, as long as we are having fun and not hurting anyone else. 

I feel today is a beautiful turning point for me in my goals to understand that I need to rest, recover in order to be better tomorrow for another session. So instead of training 6 days straight, I will train for 2 days, rest then train for 2 days and rest, and so on. That way the body has time to recover and maintain my weight and most of all maintain good mental strength.

 When I was shopping this morning, I went into the book store and had to have a laugh, I know its not the right thing, but the amount of books that are out for 'diets' and exercise is huge, and I know its a big industry, and yes I am caught up in it myself. The interesting thing is for me that there is nothing really on the commonsense side of dieting and exercise. The quote here is true, we can all workout at the gym, walk, run, cycle, swim, etc, but when it comes down to loosing weight or even trying to gain weight, it comes down to what is on your plate. If you are someone who wants to drop a couple of kg's (pounds) then you really need to look at what you are eating, but most of all the proportions you put on your plate. 

No matter what we are all working on, in our lives stay strong, have patience and we need to learn our lessons...

Have a great one...

Hayley xx

Open Water Swim # 2 Debrief...

So here is where it is at...1:02:16 was the time for today's swim. 4 minutes slower than race one, and the reason was crappy conditions. East south easterly winds came through a little earlier than expected which picked up the swell and made for choppy conditions. My pre-race pep talk to myself didn't quite go as positive as I would have liked, as I watch the swell and breeze and knew that this wasn't going to be an easy swim.

So us girls for the 2.5km race head into the water and with the water a reasonable temperature, not icy cold but not overly warm either, swimming out to the buoys to wait our start. The gun goes off and the first leg heading north was good, I could take it a little easy as the water was carrying us in that direction, turned the first buoy, starting to head into the swell and with another 50 meters and another turn, this time straight into the swell. My goodness up and down waves and trying to sight and not drink too much of the ocean. It felt like it took ages to make it to the first sighting buoy (not a turning point) then with other swimmers in my sight I kept on target for the next turn and feeling a little disorientated from the waves (up and down them). I take the turn. With the thoughts of almost home going through my head was a little better than...please I want to stop!!...I headed to the last turning buoy which wasn't easy as sighting became difficult because of the choppy water. I finally could see the yellow and orange buoys and knew I was close. By this point I wasn't fussed with my time due to conditions.

Now looking at the conditions of today I knew that City Beach can be choppy at this time of year, and that is why I originally wasn't going to do race 2. I finally decided to take on the race and hope it was going to less choppy. Like this quote says, life does begin at the end of your comfort zone, I now know that I am more than capable of swimming that distance in choppy waters. So I learnt something about myself today as well. With each new experience comes new lessons, ideas and goals.

So from today I know I need to build my shoulder and arm strength for future swims in these sort of conditions. Which in turn will help with speed in calmer waters. As always I still have the deep love for ocean swimming as I did as a child. I now look forward to race 3, and hope for calmer waters for that race.

 I hope you find your end of your comfort zone and begin life. Have a great week.

Hayley xx

Be Fearless...

Believing in yourself is never the easiest thing to do in life, or you can be seen as being 'stuck-up' or more superior to others. I believe you can quietly believe in yourself and show people that you are fearless and are motivated to reach your goals and hopefully inspire others around you.

Tomorrow is Open Water Swimming again, race 2. 2.5km again at one of our lovely beaches in Perth. As I wake at 5:30am to leave home at 6am and everyone else in my family are asleep I plug my headphones into my ears, turn the the ignition on in my car, pull out of my driveway and head to the coast which is a 30+ minute drive. I play the swim over in my head one the way down, also eating my banana as well, and get some fluids in to the body. Park the car and head for registration, get my cap and timing chip and make myself comfortable as I wait for our briefing and call up for our distance start.

When I do these kind of distance swims and I am starting to get a little tired in the water, I have this running through my head from my all time favourite movie...

  Its a great mantra when swimming because you can get into a great rhythm when you start to get tired and I have to sometimes try not to laugh when I am swimming when I do this. I also have used this but for running, when I was towards the end of a half marathon in a triathlon in 42 degree heat last year. So you can imagine someone running near you singing...Just keep running, Just keep running...over and over and over...yes some people were laughing at me, but I got to the end.

I have such a love for the ocean. I had people at work ask me tonight if I am worried about Sharks, and I know I have mentioned this before, that I have total respect for the life of the ocean.

I am hoping for a better time that race one. So with fingers crossed that the weather stays calm and so do the waters it will be an awesome morning for swimming. Weather has just been checked, looking good.

May we all reach for the sky with our dream on land or in the water. We are all more than capable to reach them and exceed them. Nothing in life is going to be easy, and where would the challenge be if you didn't have to work for your dreams...goals.

Lets be thankful for our challenges in life whether they be life long or short term. They make us who we are, and who we will be.

Hayley xx

The Spark of Determination....

Finding the Inner Fire that keeps your 

Determination going to do what you love.

The photo to the left is me taken two years ago when I started out in triathlon, weighing in at just 45kg (99 pounds) thinking I was dealing with my eating disorder and training 5-7 days a week. I was skinny, and thought I could do anything with still not eating enough to get through my training and gain weight as well.

Today I am a totally different me, I am more aware of my health and what makes me a happier and healthier person. Today I eat to maintain my weight, and also to fuel for my training. I make sure I have a balanced diet of Carbohydrates, Protein, Fats (good ones), Dairy, Vegetables, Salads and Fruit.

Last night I watched a show on TV about a "new diet" Low Carb High Fat, I am still not sure if I agree with this, but happy to look further into it and pick it to pieces to see where is might work or won't. Which has lead me to look further at what I want to do when I grow up...So starting early next year I will take on my Personal Training course. I would also like to do a Dietitian Degree in the future as well. Even possibly right a book or ebook. So with this deep seated determination to get these things done, I look forward to the lessons I learn along the way of this journey.
Its interesting that something like an article on facebook or a show on tv can light the fire of determination like it has with me.

I hope everyone has a great weekend...

Hayley xx

You Have Options...

Today I have had moments of thinking running long distance is going to be a bit of an issue, a particular injury isn't settling as well as I would like, and the possibility of another cortisone injection might be on the cards. I am currently having physiotherapy to see if that helps. So my options are this...keep up with physio, do long runs on an anti-gravity treadmill, or all of the above and still have the cortisone injection to get me through a half marathon at the start of February.

I want to run so much, that thinking of not being able to makes me shudder, Yes I have options to do long distance swimming and get back into cycling, but for me running is my meditation time. I can put my headphones on and run to the beat. I can't see running not being apart of my life.

 So at this point in time my injury has turned into a challenge, to work out how to fix it, and to minimize as much discomfort as possible. Its also a time to stay positive and try to keep focused on the end goal even though its a way off. So this week I will focus on my second 2.5km open water swim on Sunday. With a new goal to beat my time from the other week, this will help take my mind off of the foot.

 So as the next few days will be busy, I want to stay positive for my swim on Sunday, and hope that the weather is good, the water is calm and not to cold. Things happen that cause us to contemplate changing our goals, and when that time comes we need not feel like a failure, as we have not given up and walked away, but that we have done everything possible before it gets to that point.

So I will build my body up to be able to run and swim the best I can.

Have a great day/night and remember we have options, and our thoughts can change our worlds.

Hayley xx

Completely Frustrated....Where is Commonsense???

I am feeling a little hyped up right at the moment!!!!!!!

I have just watched video on Obesity (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8dWNbEscOw) this doctor is saying Insulin is one of major causes of obesity. I am sorry, but I really don't believe this, I believe changes in insulin secretion would come down to partly what you eat, how much you exercise, chemical reactions in the body and yes there are definitely hereditary and medical related issues. I had been reading about High Fat and Low Carb diets. Seriously people what ever happened to having a little commonsense about what you put in your body and how you treat it.

 I saw  an article on FB about High Fat Low Carb diets, and thought I would look further into it. On the initial article it didn't mention anything about healthy fats, until you get deeper into the subject. Look seriously wouldn't commonsense say hey stodgy food isn't great for you and only eat it small amounts of carbohydrate, (high GI ones), but fill up on lean meats and fish. Lots of salad and vegetables. Keep your intake of bread, white potato, highly processed foods, etc down as well, as they can be heavy, also don't eat at 10pm and then go straight to bed, that isn't good either.. Especially if you eat high GI (Glycemic Indexed) food. The glycemic index or glycaemic index (GI) is a number associated with a particular type of food that indicates the food's effect on a person's blood glucose (also called blood sugar) level. The number typically ranges between 50 and 100, where 100 represents the standard, an equivalent amount of pure glucose Wikipedia. So for example  The glycemic index is usually applied in the context of the quantity of the food and the amount of carbohydrate in the food that is actually consumed. A related measure, the glycemic load (GL), factors this in by multiplying the glycemic index of the food in question by the carbohydrate content of the actual serving. Watermelon has a high glycemic index, but a low glycemic load for the quantity typically consumed. Fructose, by contrast, has a low glycemic index, but can have a high glycemic load if a large quantity is consumed. Of course eating high sugary foods is going to have an affect on your insulin levels that would be a given, so of course you will have insulin spikes and crashes which are horrible. This is why a well balanced way of eating (I hate the word Diet), and good exercise is the best way to reduce weight, and in some cases gain (it did for me) 

During my time of having an eating disorder I tried to gain weight on my own before seeking any help. I watched a TV show about eating a balanced diet, by dropping your carbohydrates to once a day and when you have carbs to have protein and vegetables or salad as well. I did this for a month and managed to put on 2kg, then it all got to hard and I went back to my old eating disorder habits, living off of sugar and processed foods, and managed to loose the 2kg and more. So its true low carbs work for gaining weight (for petite people) and I can say for those who are looking to loose weight. The biggest part is eating at the right time of day and exercise as well. I believe it comes down to the tradition of Calories In to Calories Out.

I might be looked upon as someone who doesn't understand those who are obese, because I am someone who has had anorexia. I have seen my mother go on yo-yo diets forever and all the time the weight came back on and with extra. She paid lots of money to loose the weight because she was going on a holiday. Well hello that is the wrong reason to loose the weight in the first place. To watch this happen and she gets back from her holiday and the weight is back on and extra, seriously what are you thinking???? Why can't we be more invested in looking after the bodies we have, we only have them for such a short time. We are not immortal and live for ever. 

I understand that people are over weight due to thyroid and other medical issues, as well as over eating, indulging and not exercising enough, have we thought just how much this puts as strain on the medical field, hospitals each year? 

Here are some Stats from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare on  Obesity: 3 in 5 Adults are over weight or obese that is over 12 million people: 

Over 30%

more people living in outer regional and remote areas are obese than people living in major cities.

3rd place

Overweight and obesity is only beaten by smoking and high blood pressure as a contributor to burden of disease.

Eating disorders are estimated to affect approximately 9% of the Australian population. A person with an eating disorder may experience long term impairment to social and functional roles and the impact may include psychiatric and behavioural effects, medical complications, social isolation, disability and an increased risk of death. Taken from National Eating Disorders Collaboration website.

Both being obese and having eating disorders cause a strain on our health system.

There are always two sides to a story as I keep getting told. I understand people have opinions. I understand that I can be judgmental on these issues as I have not been obese, though I have family that are, and are on medication to "keep them alive". I just believe in being healthy and living the best possible life I can to be around for my children and grand children and hopefully longer.

Have a great week everyone, if you have an opinion I am happy to hear it in the comments.

Hayley xx

Choices not Excuses!...

 Laying in bed, you give yourself choices of what you are going to do...1 you can go to the gym; 2 you can go for a swim; 3 you can go for a run. So you drag yourself out of bed and go for the run, which you already had planned the night before.

This has happened two days in a row now. Saturday is always parkrun, but I woke up feeling a little less than good. After running these choices through my mind I came back to the running. It wasn't my best run, but I did it and felt so much better for it. Day two and my alarm goes off at 6:30am, I get my phone, lay back in bed trying not to doze back off to sleep. I only have two choices today, 1 the gym; 2 swimming. Well I went with the gym, it was legs and arms today. The best part is, the gym I go to is 24hrs and I managed to have the gym all to myself for a while so had the chance to use machines I wouldn't normally use. So I have a new love for the seated row machine. As always I love free weights and took on the weighted deep squat. I know I am going to feel every bit tomorrow, but my morning swim will help that.

Over the last couple of days my mind has tried hard to push me to not do any training. Last night at work I moved a large amount of weight (beer and wine cartons), so feeling a little tired this morning it would have been easy to not do anything, but I only gave myself choices of either a swim, the gym or running.

Each day we give ourselves choices to make, and no excuses allowed. We need to live each day as if its our last, we never know when its our time. No matter what our dreams, goals and journey in life, take each day and make it worth living.

So tomorrows choices are swim, gym, eat well and have an awesome day!

Have a great weekend everyone and may you have an awesome start to your week :)

Hayley xx

Making your dreams come true....

 2015 I will make a couple of my dreams come true, one is that I will start an online Personal Training Course, I will also swim the Busselton Jetty, and I will run my very first Marathon. I have spoken about the last two dreams before, so I will let you know about my dream of becoming a personal trainer.

Over the last few years I have thought about becoming a personal trainer, but at that time it wasn't the right time. I was trying to come to terms with having an eating disorder and I wasn't ready to give up my training time for helping others. But now I feel its the right time. I am currently helping some friends drop some weight and get fit, while still being able to keep my training program going. So I am excited to be able to make it a second job that I can say that I will enjoy.

 Being able to help people is very much part of who I am. I work in the retail industry which is always about excellent customer service and getting to know your customers needs. Personal Training for me is going to open up so much to me in helping others. My plan isn't to go down the 'boot-camp' way, that is not me, I am very much a traditional kinda person. I like the idea of doing some cardio, weight training, and eating properly. I also want to help people who have eating disorders, who are ready to take the step to recovery. This is not an easy task but one I think I can help in a big way, as I have been through it.

I like the idea of using swimming as an all over body exercise, by using a kick board and flippers you can work your abs, and legs. By using a pool noodle and sitting on it and cycling your legs in the water you are working your core and legs. For your arms any of the basic strokes will work wonders, freestyle (front crawl), backstroke (back crawl), butterfly, breaststroke. To build your lung capacity, when doing freestyle, instead of breathing every 3 strokes, breath every 5. Open water swimming will work you hard as well, as you need to be able to sight while swimming or you could end up way out to sea, also dealing with waves, and the swell.


I also like the gym, being able to use different weighted machines to get the desired results. I always head for the treadmill to warm up, but the elliptical is also very good if you have lower back issues, you won't get the pounding, and instead you get the running motion, with fluidity in your movements, and it doesn't take long to get up a sweat. Now looking at the weighted machines, they are great to use, free weights and body weight are essential as well. Using dumbbells are one of my favourites, Also I love doing squats, either with a fit ball at my back and wall, or weighted free standing squats. I love doing the plank, now I know a lot of people don't like this exercise, but I just find it a great challenge.

I have found with helping a couple of my friends it also comes down to what you eat and how much you eat. Portion control I believe is key. You can eat 6 small meals a day and still loose weight, as long as those meals are small and you are exercising 3-5 times a week. You only need to do 30 minutes each day to start and as your feel your fitness levels rise you can extend the time. I have used a diet diary app on my phone and have suggested others to use as well. Its great and you can keep track properly of what you are eating, and the calories, plus also your exercise can be added in and then you know exactly how many calories you have to maintain a good balance. These diet apps are also great for those with eating disorders whom are going through recovery. I used one and found it great to make sure I was getting enough calories for the day and to cover my training and or me as I was trying to gain weight was to eat more. Yes I could have gone down the junk food line, but that wasn't going to get me any where as I have a hereditary high cholesterol issue and didn't want to make that worse. So by eating balanced and healthy foods and also drinking Sustagen was beneficial on many levels as it added more nutrients and calories that I needed in liquid form.

So turning a dream in to a reality is exciting. I hope everyone can do the same and reach their dreams as well.

Have a great Friday and weekend everyone :)

Hayley xx