Goodness, it’s *checks watch* the 17th of January which means I have done approximately 34 hours of exercise since New Years Day! I’m still holding out about the not weighing thing but my clothes definitely seem a bit looser, especially around the middle.

Due to a wheezy chest I’ve been mainly keeping to flat ground but yesterday I went for a much anticipated walk up Pendle Hill. Starting off from Barley at 8am, I finally reached the top about 10am. It was a blustery, drizzly day and I really struggled at times on the steep path to the summit. I wore my new size *mumble* bright pink look-I’m-a-proper-walker Regetta coat and I even managed to get it zipped up all the way up which was handy considering the weather conditions. I still haven’t got round to buying a good pair of walking trousers so I ended up wearing some linen things which I managed to ruin within 20 minutes of setting off by sliding on some mud and ending up on my arse.

Ate a granola bar on the way up but wasn’t really that hungry until the second I changed my clothes in the loos at Barley when I could have suddenly ate a scabby cat. Luckily I found a little cafe so I was able to snaffle a bit of breakfast – scrambled egg on toast has never tasted soooooo good. Unfortunately I forgot to take my camera which is a shame because despite the drizzle the views were as breathtaking as ever.

OK, this isn’t strictly about walking (although I’ve been ever so good despite nasty, freezing cold weather). I saw this on another site and it struck a chord with the ex-credit controller in me…..

The one that gets you moving everyday of course. I’d love to think I could spend a couple of hours in the gym each evening, or play netball twice a week or train for the London marathon but I won’t and I’ve finally stopped wasting money on gym membership and running magazines. Like many people, I’ve grown up believing there is a magic formula to weightloss and the fat will just melt away if I stick to my alloted calories, points, syns or carbs/proteins and exercise to a schedule devised by someone who has never met me. Such is the grip of the diet industry, it has become perfectably acceptable to live on breakfast cereal or liquid shakes all day or waste hours in front of the tv jumping along while some C-List celebrity shakes their arse in your face. Sometimes, it takes years of failure and let downs before you realise that eating a bit less and exercising a bit more is all it really takes.

I choose to walk because it’s something I enjoy and can stick at. I’m lucky enough to live in a little town surrounded by beautiful fells and moors, canal paths and city walks so I get the variety I crave and the chance to explore places I’d never think of going to in the car. I can roll out of bed at 6am and chuck a coat and boots on and get out on my own for a couple of hours and it feels great, and well, it just feels like the most natural thing in the world to do.

Hurrah – first walk of 2009 done and dusted! I’d be a lying liar if I said that actual walking itself took up the entire 2 hours that I had set out to do…..there were many, many stops to catch my breath or have a little rest but it *was* a couple of hours outside and moving so I’m reasonably happy. I can only improve.

I weighed myself this morning, made a little note of the number and put the scales back where they came from. I’m going to try very hard not to look again until the 1st Feb – hopefully by then I’ll weigh a few pounds less than I do now. I’m usually pretty hung up about weighing myself – I’ll get the scales out at least every 2 days and record my weight in a spreadsheet that calculates whether I’m on track or falling behind. All very obsessive I know and I’m not falling into that trap again – every single time, without fail, that I’ve seen a gain I’ve ended up bingeing on rubbish food.  I know that my weight fluctuates wildly depending on what I’ve eaten, what I’ve been drinking, time of the month etc but I still throw my hands up in the air and tell myself I can never lose weight just because I’ve seen a gain of one silly kg. Every single time. If I can just have the common sense to weigh myself once a month then – as long as I’m walking and eating healthily – the scales should show a loss and I can just focus on getting healthy.