fitness

You always get a cold during the holidays

~ nicoladonnelly ~ Leave a comment

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that when your family gets a week off to spend together, at least one of you will get ill. That’s what happened to our family this week. Ross and I both took the week off work and Leo came down with a cold. I put on my out of office last Thursday evening and by Friday morning I had Leo at the GP surgery to get checked over. He is fine, and it really is just a cold, but the poor wee guy is out of sorts. On Monday, I woke up with a blocked nose and scratchy throat, and so it continued.

Just like the physical strains begin to show when you get some downtime, so do the psychological effects of needing a break. I found myself a bit tetchy this week. Not feeling 100% and looking after Leo who is less contented than usual was taking its toll and something else had upset me. Something that might not usually make me react emotionally, but I was more vulnerable than usual.

I took a course of action when I realised this. I cancelled a non-essential event I had planned – it needed me to be in a positive frame of mind and I wasn’t. I invited a friend around. We had a takeaway for dinner and a great conversation with plenty of laughs. I continued with my plans for Leo.  I made sure I got to the gym. The what, now?

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Starting new habits: The icky bit of any health programme

~ nicoladonnelly ~ 3 Comments

I’m now four weeks into my new regime with Better:Gen. The shiny optimistic stage has passed and we are now into the icky part. The part where good habits are made, we are tested to our limits of willpower and resilience is key.

The long-term goal is to be healthier – fitter and with loads more energy. I am seeing signs that I’m making progress. A bit less lethargic in the evenings, fewer naps at the weekends and a few more chores being done are all good indicators that I’m on the up.

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Timing is everything – surviving and thriving

~ nicoladonnelly ~ 1 Comment

Time is my greatest luxury, my greatest resource and my greatest challenge. Time is something I have blogged about before. Time works in two spheres for me – the weekly plan we get through and the long term. I’ve been living in the here and now and neglecting the bigger picture this last year – and that’s ok – it had to be that way. I have a baby who was very premature, has needed operations and is facing developmental challenges. Survival meant taking a day at a time.

Survive we did. In fact, Leo is thriving. We navigated his first day at home, first night in his own room, and his first birthday. We managed mummy’s first day back at work and are now in a great routine. Leo is thriving. But I am not.

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