My New Site – BodyByBetty.co.uk
If you’ve landed here then feel free to browse around. However, you may be better checking out my new site! I’m pulling together articles and information that have inspired me to lose weight and get in the best shape of my life! I want to inspire other mums, especially those that have had c sections, that you can get the most amazing body after having kids. My site has my blog, where I’m still on my journey to get my six pack, along with free work out plans, nutrition and calorie information.
Exercise for Kids!
I’m always blogging about my running achievements, and my turbulence training, so I thought I would give you a change of scenery and talk about the fun activities my girls, Robyn (9) and Holly (8) take part in! I’d also love to hear what your little monkeys get up to, so please leave a
Exercise for Kids!
comment!
The Great Outdoors
When I’m out running, the girls often join me on their scooters. They often race me, and always beat me, they are quick little monkeys! The girls absolutely love these little scooters, one of the best Christmas presents they’ve ever had! And a bargain too, only £35 from Decathlon! Of course, they also love the park, Holly is getting very adapt at the monkey bars!
Activ8 Gym Sessions
The girls attend our local leisure centre once a week for their Activ8 gym session. The sessions mix cycling, aerojam, teen combat, athletics and dance together with great music, all in a scaled down junior weights gym. They always have great fun at this class, and think it’s great that there are mini machines just for them!
Run, Jump & Throw Club
The girls also participate in the local Run, Jump & Throw Club, run by North Lanarkshire Council. These clubs were designed to help kids develop their athletics skills and fitness in a fun environment. The programme offers a variety of running, jumping and throwing activities all year round under the supervision of top coaches including former athletics star Yvonne Murray. The girls think it’s great that they have an award winning coach and were delighted to see Yvonne’s Olympic medals.
Inside Fun
The girls love playing Wii Dance, this always gets them hot, bothered, and works up a sweat! Great fun if the weather is not so nice for outdoor activities!
Since I’ve been working out, the girls have definitely shown more interest in exercise, and healthy foods! Holly always shouts out “bam!” when she flexes and when we were in Tesco the other day, Robyn turned and said to me “Mum, check out my tri!”. I wonder where she gets that from! They love messing around in my “home gym” and take great pride posing, as you can see!
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- Exercise for Kids!
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- BAM!
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- Yay Baby!
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- DOUBLE BAM!
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- Did somebody say babyguns?
Please leave a comment, I would love to hear about the activities your own monkeys take part in, suggestions also welcome for more indoor fun and games too please, as winter is definitely here, frost on the car this morning!
Thanks for reading, Betty x
The Dreaded Runner’s Stitch & Tips On How To Avoid!
By Chris Curtis, http://www.running-coaching.co.uk/
A stitch can really cause you problems when you’re running. Try out these tips the next time you are running and avoid the dreaded stitch! Please share any tips that have worked for you by leaving a comment! Thanks, Betty
What is a stitch?
A ‘stitch’ is a spasm of the diaphragm – a large, flat muscle that separates the abdominal cavity from the lung cavity. The diaphragm is involved in breathing. During light breathing (that which we do unconsciously, for example) it’s really just the diaphragm moving up and down to expand and contract the lungs. When we start breathing harder, the rib cage and surrounding muscles also get involved. Now, because the diaphragm forms the ceiling of the abdominal cavity it also serves as an attachment for many organs. The liver, for example, hangs from the diaphragm. In fact, the liver is often the culprit in a side stitch. The liver is a large organ and the heaviest one that is suspended from the diaphragm. When we run, the vertical motion of running causes the liver to tug downwards on the diaphragm (you may have noticed that we rarely get a stitch when we swim or bike, and that’s because there is little or no vertical motion involved with these two activities, therefore the liver isn’t getting jerked around). Combine that with the extra effort of heavy breathing and the diaphragm will often spasm, giving you pain.
Tip No. 1 How to Get Rid of a Stitch
Most (but not all) stitches occur on the right side because that’s where the liver typically resides. The trick to fighting off a stitch is to change your rate and pattern of breathing. When you get a RIGHT sided stitch you need to EXHALE (breath out) when your LEFT foot hits the ground. It is difficult to consciously breathe, so you will have to think about this while you’re running. Once you start to breathe in this pattern, the stitch should subside. It works in the majority of runners.
Tip No 2. How To Get Rid of a Stitch
If you are persistently getting stitches, consider how you run – particulary your vertical displacement. This is the amount of up and down motion in the body during each stride. If you watch elite runners, there is very little up and down motion when they run. You can see this clearly if you watch from the side. Some new runners bounce up and down with each stride. Not only is this inefficient and can cause and injury to the legs, it is also a potential cause of stitches.
Tip No. 3 Help Prevent a Stitch
Aside from that, we don’t really know a lot about them. There has been some suggestions that certain foods can trigger a stitch – milk being a particular one but try the suggestions above. Make sure you are well hydrated, and eat an hour before running, but nothing too heavy.
If all else fails, try to run a little more slowly for the bulk of your running and build up your running fitness gradually. As your running fitness increases, so generally do the incidents of stitch.
Thanks again to Chris Curtis for this article, who is a UK Athletics Level 3 coach for road-running, marathon and sprints. He is also a qualified Police Personal Safety Instructor and Public Order Trainer. You can find out more about Chris on his website at http://www.running-coaching.co.uk/
Thanks to STVCumbernauld for the image.
Turkey Burgers
This recipe was featured in the BFFM newsletter from Tom Venuto (check out his blog if you have time here), who kindly said we could share.
Recipe for TNT Burgers (Tasty Nutritious Turkey)
* 1 lb (454 g) 99% nonfat ground turkey
* 4 egg whites
* 1 cup (40 g crumbled shredded wheat or whole wt bread crumbs)
* 1/2 cup finely diced celery
* 1/2 cup finely diced onion
* 1 tbsp horseradish mustard (jack daniels brand – the SECRET ingredient!)
* 1 tbsp soy sauce
* 1 tsbp garlic powder
* 1 tbsp parsley flakes
* dash of pepper
* dash of sea salt (optional)
Makes 4 burgers
Start mixing the “wet” ingredients into the turkey, then the seasoning, then the breadcrumbs. Cook and enjoy. I make mine on my George Foreman grill for 20mins, and they come out all nice and brown and taste amazing!
Nutritional Info per Burger:
189 calories
37.5 grams protein
12.5 grams carbs
1.6 grams fat
TurkeyBurgers
Enjoy! Betty xx
Before & After Shot
I’m down over 2 stone, and just weeks away from getting my six pack on show. The before pic is last November, and after pic is August. I’m even in better shape today, and can’t wait to reveal my six pack to you on my daughters 10th birthday, 23rd October, stand by people!
BodyTransformation
My Testimonial for Chiropractic Care…
A BIG THANK YOU TO SCOTT & THE TEAM AT GLASGOW CHIROPRACTIC FALKIRK
I’ve gone from not being able to run for 1 minute without stopping, to running 3 10K’s this year! I will be running my 4th 10K on 3rd October with the aim of beating my personal best of 1hour3mins13secs and getting it done in under 60minutes!
My Testimonial For Chiropractic Care
I used to suffer from back and neck pain on a daily basis. My shoulders and neck would be full of tension, quite often resulting in a sore and stiff neck, along with headaches. My neck and head were forced to protrude forward. I put all this down to my desk based job, with very little time spent away from the computer. I had to get massaged daily just to help ease the pain and tension. My boyfriend had been going to Scott for treatment for some time and was always on at me to get checked out. I never had even thought about it, as I wrongly thought chiropractic care was only for those that had “back injuries”, not for those that just had “back pain”. The turning point for me to see Scott was one night my boyfriend was in for his adjustment, I was speaking to Janet, the receptionist/therapist, about my tension, and she came over and gave me a quick massage. She said it would definitely be worth my while seeing Scott. And so my chiropractic care began. I was not surprised to learn that I was actually starting to get a hump! I knew my posture wasn’t the greatest (even from my early teens my mum and aunt were always on at it me to “stand straight”). After a few adjustments with Scott I immediately noticed a difference in my posture and my ability to breathe a lot deeper was amazing. Through ongoing chiropractic care I no longer suffer from tension headaches, back or neck pain and now stand straight and proud without even thinking about it. I have also noticed I am able to undertake exercise with better results. I have more energy and more focused on what I’m doing. Before I was adjusted I could not run very far before getting a stitch or being out of breath. (Maybe 1 minute tops). I am now able to control my breathing and get more air into my lungs. I can now run a 5K without stopping. I no longer need massaged daily, I’m pain free and I am most pleased that I no longer slouch when I walk, and I hold my head high and proud when walking out and about. Scott and the team have done a fantastic job and I recommend their care to all. I first started my chiro care last November/Dec. Roughly the same time I decided I wanted to take control of my life, and start doing what needed to be done so that by the time my 30th birthday came round, I would be looking my absolute best, and feeling my absolute best. I’ve lost over 30lbs and on my way to achieving my goal of having visible abs! The first picture is when I first started my chiropractic treatment. I also have a before and after pic for my weight loss journey, the before pic was taken in November 2009, after pic August 2009. I’ve also include a couple of me & my medal shots, from my 10Ks, as I think these clearly show my good posture!
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- Chiropractic_Care
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- Before&After
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- Cumbernauld10K
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- GreatScottishRun10K
Tummy shot update
I forgot about my day 30 tummy shot! Here it is now! I’m definitely starting to notice more definition, and I’m a week into using Turbulence Training workouts, so feeling really upbeat about seeing the start of my six pack by my daughters 10th birthday – 5 weeks tomorrow!
ontheroadtoasixpack
Day 30 Update
I started this blog with the hope that it would help me stick to my routine, and help the weightloss along. It’s not really worked out like that, mainly because after serial calorie counting for the last 8 months my body needed a break. So the last 10 days I’ve not count a single calorie, and I’ve ate a few more “cheat” meals than I would normally, but, i’ve also done two 10Ks, so feeling pretty good about that, though I haven’t lifted any weights. So, I’ve given my body a break from cal counting and weight lifting and now I’m ready to go full steam ahead for the next 12 weeks. Why 12 weeks? Well, I’m taking part in the 9th Turbulence Training Transformation Contest! I’m taking my starting pics tonight, so my Day 30 Tummy Shot will be uploaded here tomorrow.
I’m on my last 10lbs to lose before that 6 pack will be shining through, and a. i need a mix up in my work out routine, and b. i need more social support. The TT programme supports both of these. (oh, and there is prize money involved 
) If any of you are TT’rs you’ll see me on the 9th contest forum “6 pack after kids and c-section? You betcha!”
Prize money $$$ here I come . Wish me luck!
Thanks for reading, Betty x
You can read more about TT here:
http://turbulencetraining.blogspot.com/
and here:
http://www.ttfatloss.com/get-started/
A new PB!
One week after running The Great Scottish Run 10K, I took part in the Cumbernauld 10K, crazy I know, even crazier, I was out to beat my GSR 10K time of 1hr8mins56secs. Sunday was a good day for the Cumbernauld 10K, it was partly cloudy, and a nice little breeze. My legs felt fully recovered too. I was feeling good. The first 2km went pretty well, good pace, breathing under control, then between 2km-5km I started getting the most awful stitch, I kept having to walk/run to keep it under control. By the time the 5Km marker came around I set about getting a good control on my breathing, and off I went, run run run, by the time I got to 8Km the dreaded stitch was back, it was agony!! I felt at that point that my time was going to be rubbish, I had lost count of how many times I went to walk/run/walk/run. By the time I reached the 9Km marker I was ready for the final push to the finish line, as I approached the finish line I was amazed to see the clock at 1hr3min odd secs! I had such a grin on my face. I wasn’t paying any attention to my time going round, I was out to beat my last time, but the stitch really held me back, but obviously when I was running I was putting in a good pace. I used the runkeeper app on my iphone to track the run, and at some points I was doing 8 minute miles, yay me! So overall I’m really chuffed with my time. My plan is to get one or two more 10Ks in before the year is out, and get a sub 60min time. My official time from the Cumbernauld 10K is 1 hour 3 minutes and 13secs!
On reflection, I stupidly started racing someone at the start, which is why I probably developed the stitch, my plan was to use the first 2Km to “warm up” and pace myself, when now that I think about it, I went far too fast at the start and my body went hey, what u doing u fool?! LOL, I wont make that mistake at my next 10K!
I’ve never been able to run anything in my life before, so to have completed 3 10K’s this year, and to be close to a sub 60 time, it’s a great feeling. I’d like to take a moment to thank my chiropractor, Scott, from Glasgow Chiropractic at Falkirk. I’ve been seeing Scott since last December, and I believe that without chiropractic care I would not be as successful at running. My testimonial on chiro care to follow!
Thanks for reading, Betty x
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- cumbernauld10Kbabyguns!
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- Me & My Medal
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- cumbernauld10K
Me and My Medal :-)
Me & My Medal
Well everyone, I’m pleased to say I ran the Great Scottish Run 10K yesterday in a time of 1 hour 8 mins 56 secs, taking 7mins30secs off my last 10K time (May this year-and was my first ever 10K!).
I was over the moon. The last 2km I got a sudden burst of enery and managed to put a real sprint in towards the end, no one passed me on that last 2km!
My aim is now to get my next 10km in under the 1hour mark. As you know, I’ve signed up for Craig Ballantyne’s turbulence training, so on my non tt days I’ll be working a 5km circuit aiming for 10 minute miles on this, which brings in my half hour activity for non tt days, and this is something I now love, me loving running, who would have thought a year ago I’d be saying that! LOL.
Some other exciting news for you today, I am going to be participating in next years London Triathlon, Olympic Distance! Through twitter I’ve hooked up with another Scottish lass who is organising a team for next year, in aid of Breakthrough Breast Cancer. The team is in the process of being put together, and I will blog more on this when I know more, so stand by for that! Angela is also organising a Scottish Triathlon for October 2011, and I will post more on this as I find out more details.
Me 'n my medal!
Thanks for reading, Betty x
