Losing weight during perimenopause! is it possible?

One and a half years ago i lost 25 kilos and turned my life around.

Then came the peri something or so i was told, what the hell was this?

I was training and gaining, eating sensible and gaining.....thats weight of course.

What a bummer you starve yourself, run your butt of and for what just to put it all back on again.

NO WAY!

Today i am starting a different weight management course and training schedule.

If this works for me it might work for you too so i am going to share it all with you from day 1.

Come along give me some support and help me when i'm screaming those obscene words and beating up my cushions etc etc etc.

Today:

Monday 17.30

Meeting with the trainer from the program Puls.

Wil get back to you later with the results from the first day.

Oh and just so i don't cheat my start weight is 72kilos. My goal is 60kg.

Today is Friday, yes it took me this long to get back to the report!

The training was , to say the least, different. I have muscles packed away since childhood, the trainer found them. Wimpy weak and pretty useless.

Ok so i wasn't expecting miracles but i do want to get fitter so i guess this round was well worth it.

The good news is that these muscles , although small and wobbly they can be worked on.

I started the evening with a warm up on the treadmill for 20mins. i have been running frequently for the past 18months so this was fairly straight forward and not too exhausting.

What i didn't realise was that my trainer for the evening/following hour was watching and noting........He took this as a sign of being able to push me just that little bit extra. What a mug i was. Showing off never pays off !

Well the goals were set and we were ready to go.

Belly needs firming up.

Shoulders tending to curl inwards, need stretching.

Boobs need lifting somewhat without surgery.

Ass needs firming.

Thighs need toning.

All in addition to my own goal off reducing my overall weight.

Time limit to first check in is 1 month.

I don't know all of the fancy training names like doggy dips and fire squats or whatever so i will describe the exercises as best i can.

Exercise 1:

Stand with arms crossed over chest. Place right foot onto a little square mat and push back as far as the leg allows and hold for a count of 5. Make sure the back is straightish and feel the thigh muscle work. After 5 pull the leg back to starting position in a quick sliding movement. Repeat 10 times and do the same with the left leg.

Exercise 2:

Take two hand weights of 8kg and place them on the floor on either side of the feet. Hold the bars and hop back with your feet. Body now parallel to the floor. Do one press up or down rather, hold for a count of 5. Spring back to a start position. Feet now between the weights. Stand slowly up making sure the back is straight. Slide weights up to waist level turn arms so the inside is facing forward. Curl the weights up to sholder height and rotate arms slowly upwards and so that your inside arm is now facing forward. Hold the weight for a count of 5 and slowly rotate back and down to starting position on the floor. Repeat 10 times.

Exercise 3:

Therapy master. Put hands in loops lying on the floor with knees on the mat. Stretch forward first with the left hand hold for 5 and then repeat with the right. Hold for 5 and return to the start position. The idea is to be able to balance on my toes eventually when pushing forward but at the moment i can only manage this one from the knees. Repeat 10 times.

Exercise 4:

Therapy master. Put feet in both lops and face the floor. Put both forearms on the mat and pull both legs up to the chest and hold. Stretch back. Repeat 10 times.

Exercise 5: Lie on the end of a long bench with bottom extending off of the end. Two heavy weights are then pushed in a circular movement over the head and back to shoulder level. The trainer sits behind and supports the weights when they are extending the pectoral muscles. The shoulders are in a way falling down either side of the bench and boy that hurts at the time especially when holding. But guess what today i feel good there no pain only gain so something is working.

Exercise 6:

Lie on belly on floormat. Lift feet up so weight is supported by the belly. In each hand is a light weight of 1kg. Push both hands forward and act as if you are swimming the breaststroke. Only with arms as legs stay put in the air. This one seems simple but for me it was very hard. Another 10 pushes forward hold and swim back was enough for the evening.

So here we are friday 4 days later and i have lost 0.5kg in weight. Yoohoo .......this is not bad since i am still eating as usual.

Oh! My program :

Before i start if anyone thinks that running for an hour sounds extreme. don't be put off. When i started to run 18 months ago i managed about 20 steps before i was exhausted and had to walk. I was very heavy and boobs bobbing, almost causing black eyes were a real nightmare.

Anyway after pesevering for a while the wheezing and distance achievement got better. I only continued because i had told so many people that i was going to do this! I was too proud to back down. Within 3 months i was managing 5km and 20 minutes without stopping.

So anyone inspired to try, don't be frightened or put off, just adjust to walk and run. Move, dance do anything it all counts.

So here goes:

Monday : 20min warm up run and the 6 exercises

Tuesday: 1 hour run ( as usual ) spin cycle 20mins.

Wednesday: 1 hour run with cardio program 20 min cycle.

Thursday: 30 min run at slow pace and full exercise round.

Friday: free

Saturday: Interval training running for 1 hr.

Sunday: Long slow run 1 hr 30 mins

Will check in again around Tuesday for update. Please leave comments and any tips you might have for me.