Last week I realised it's been nearly two years since I did any proper exercise.
I had practised yoga for ages and indeed all through my pregnancy I kept it up with a special preggie approved brand, but since I had the boy, nothing!
So my New Year's resolution was to go to a yoga class.
Lemon Cake Lady said she'd like to join me so we found a class through Twitter and armed with my old yoga mat and Lemon Cake Lady borrowing my new one, we went along on Tuesday teatime to give it a go.
I hadn't realised how stiff I had become and basically "unbendy"! And how much I needed yoga in my life.
It is lovely for mind, body and spirit and I had missed it dreadfully.
Earlier on Twitter I had said to a fellow yoga classmate that she had to kick me if I started snoring in the relaxation! As LCL pointed out given my digestive system and 2 years of inactivity snoring was the least of my worries! And the rest of the class!
Amazingly I didn't disgrace myself but it was only the first of an 11 week course so it's early days.
The following evening I saw Hippy Chick and I mentioned I was now back doing yoga again and feeling very virtuous after my first class. I was sipping a large glass of dry white wine at the time so the irony of this supposed virtue was not lost on us.
"I've just joined this Daily 30 group on Facebook" she said. "You have to commit to doing at least 30 minutes of exercise a day that raises your heart rate and then post what you've done on the page."
"What happens if you don't post?" I enquired.
"Then the other members start asking after you and basically kicking you up the bum to get you going. It's good motivation. Shall I sign you up?"
Maybe it was the wine? Maybe it was the buzz in my muscles from the yoga class? But I said:
"Yeah cool I'd like that!"
Fool!
Before I knew it I had the members sending me Facebook messages to welcome me to the group and wish me well in the challenge!
Yikes!
Thirty minutes didn't sound too bad initially but it's fitting it into your daily life which is the problem and the point. It's amazing how much time and energy toddlers take up and after a day of Thomas, Fireman Sam, catch the ball, hide under the blanket and play peeka and for god sake stop chasing Oscar, 30 minutes of anything other than eating my tea and watching something inane of the television seems like supreme effort beyond my capabilities.
Once you have got exercise into your daily routine then finding half an hour in 24 can't be that difficult. Can it?
So I started last Friday and did 30 minutes of lunges, sit ups and arm presses using this contraption I bought ages ago with foot straps and a pully thing you stretch towards you as you exercise and on Saturday I did an hour of running (and I mean running) as I played with the boy.
Yesterday was something of a rite off as all I really did was exercise my drinking arm with a meal out and wine with Betty but I did walk there and back and although more like two bursts of 10 minutes than half an hour my heart was pumping against the cold weather as I strode along.
So later I have to complete 30 mins of something! You don't have to do something different everyday but you have to do something and Yogo with the Waybuloos during the CBeebies bedtime hour apparently doesn't count!
With limited space in my house and limited energy in my body I can't figure out what I can do!
But having just tasted the heat of chilli I've made, I think half an hour of eating my dinner may increase my heart rate to such levels that'll be me done for the day!
Now that I can fit into my routine...