Hillmotts Boot Camp

At the end of October I packed my bags and headed into deepest rural Cotswolds to Hillmotts Residential Bootcamp for lots and lots of exercise and some bonding time with my mum and sister.

So what does 3 days at a residential bootcamp entail?

Accommodation

The Hillmotts cabin is about 10 minutes from the Cotswolds town of Chipping Norton. It is off a track even further down a track...seriously remote with no 3G and even worse no phone signal whatsoever. 

An initial check in included a brief chat with one of the trainers about your goals for the 3 days. Your food likes and more importantly dislikes and a quick check through you medical history before stepping on the scales for a weigh in if weight loss was something you were interested in.

As I was travelling with my mum and sister we had checked into a triple room with en-suite. The room was very warm and comfortable with country chic decor.

 Food

Straight up there is not a lot of it. You are told in the initial orientation that you will be given around 1,400 calories a day. Everyday before your early morning session (more on this later) you are given half a banana (and only half) with some green tea to get that metabolism kick started. After the first session you are treated to breakfast; porridge with fruit compote  / honey or weetabix. A mid-morning snack is 2 rice cakes with humus or peanut butter and then lunch which consisted of white fish and salad on the first day and butter nut squash soup on the second. 

By the end of the day dinner was much anticipated. On day one we were treated to lemon chicken and peppers, wholemeal spaghetti pesto, sweetcorn and roasted pine nuts. Day 2 was lamb moussaka, steamed broccoli and quinoa. I have to say that the food was restorative and filling as well as being damn delicious. 

This is not a military boot camp or jail and you can take food and snacks in with you, you are just reminded at orientation to think about and focus on your goals. I did take some snacks with me that consisted of satsumas, unsalted peanuts and some ginger nature valley bars. I ate them all!

Exercise

I'm afraid that I didn't manage to take any photos of us doing exercise, I was too busy preparing myself for the inevitable pain and hard work that the exercise would entail but it was a jam packed schedule.

There was a total mix of exercises but the idea was that you started the day with the most intense (aka fat busting) exercise and then got in to some more specific exercises. There was also a couple of choices; whilst I chose Speed, Agility and Quickness others were offered Kettle Bells and I chose Interval Training while others went for another round of boxing. 

No matter what the session there were different levels so you could work as hard as you wanted to. There was no shouting at you but you were encouraged to work at your maximum for your own benefit. 

It was hard work and oh I ached but I loved the mix of exercise that was offered and being given new challenges. There were some things that were really tough especially the hill run which made up the interval training on day 3 but completing that was also a personal highlight.

Downtime

There was also a little time for some R&R so we made the most of spending some time together away from the distractions of children, TV and Internet. 

At the end of the three days I left 4lbs lighter, feeling mightily refreshed and dare I say it happy. I returned to work full of energy and raring to take on the world again, motivated to keep going with this weight loss journey. 

I went home and did a little bit more of this...and cannot wait to go back at the beginning of next year.

Instagram Memories #6

Jaimes 5 minute meals /// Much needed Friday night glass of Fizz  

 My new stippling brush from Real Techniques /// Gym Time

Such a lovely lunch at Cherry Duck in Bristol /// Beers at Brew Dog...

 

Going for Gold

I am generally a very active person, despite having a desk bound job, although unfortunatly my body image reflects my love of food more than my love of all things active.

Recently I have been really suffering with painful calf muscles and a tightening around the ankles when I have been running or playing netball. I found that yoga and body balance (another post on this soon) have been helping to stretch out the problem and keep me a little more supple but I wondered if I was using the right equipment?

Don't get me wrong in order to keep fit, you don't need a fancy gym membership or even any fancy equipment, a simple pair of trainers, some shorts and the great outdoors would more than tide you over. However, I am aware that the trainers you put on your feet can make a huge difference, and I didn't think my £20 pair from Sports Direct were quite cutting it.

It has got to the point where any type of impact sport was too painful to continue and as my exercise levels have increased so has the pain in my right knee. Luckily a friend of mine is a physio and I had her take a look at me running, she was concerned about the way my foot twisted as I ran and suggested getting a proper gait analysis and a proper shoe to rectify the problem.

So armed with very little knowledge of what was going to happen to me, I toodled on down to Moti on Whiteladies Road in Bristol. My physio friend had recommended them to me, although I had initially heard of them via my fancy gym, as I got a 10% off voucher in my starter pack.

You don't need an appointment or anything, you just turn up. Chris was my server and he was so helpful. He first put me on the treadmill in a neutral running shoe, I ran for about 30 seconds and then he showed me the film. It was unbelievable! I could see my whole knee and foot twisting on both sides as I ran, although it was more pronounced in my right foot. No wonder it hurt so much to run.

He then gave me 2 different shoes to try, but with extra arch support and wizzy a whizzy chusioning system typ thing in the soles which he said would make it more comfortable. I got on the treadmill again with each pair and whilst I couldn't feel the difference in my running technique in such a short space of time, the difference on the video was amazing. My foot fell flat with very little twist at all!

I learnt a couple of things whilst I was there. First, that trainers used for exercise should be brought at least half a size bigger than your usual shoe size, and 1 whole size bigger would be ideal. This is to allow for your feet to swell as they warm up during your exercise routine, and to stop your toes bashing against the ends and causing damage to your nails. Also, that your trainers should be changed regularly, and no matter how often you use them at least within every 2 years as the grip and the wizzy compression pads will just not work in the same way.

I was really impressed with the customer service in Moti, they were very knowledgeable about running styles and about the products in the store. As an added bonus, by subscribing to their e-newsletter in store you get a 30 day guarantee on your new shoes and if they are not very comfortable or you do not notice any particular difference you can take them back (provided they are not covered in mud or really damaged).

I eventually chose the Asics GT-2170, which are a limited edition in podium colours for the London Olympic Games as they have subtle flashes of gold, silver and bronze. They weren't cheap but I got a 10% discount with my voucher, although they will give the discount to anybody who comes into the store armed with their gym membership card.

If you are thinking of starting up an exercise routine or running, or have already started running and would like a little more advice I would 100% go and get this done, I know that loads of running stores do the gait analysis so go and give it a try.

The 5 things I hate most about dieting!

1. Food guilt

That cheeky hot choc from Starbucks (other overly expensive, ponsey coffee shops are available), that reduced cake in Tesco, or even a Friday night takeaway. There will come a point after you've thoroughly enjoyed devouring every last morsel when the food guilt will set in. This is the point when you will start to feel low, disappointed in yourself and usually bloated!  All of a sudden that satisfaction you had previously obtained has dissipated in a single second and you have to look for your next happy fix….

2. Food food everywhere and not a drop to eat

All of a sudden you think, sleep and dream of food. It is everywhere, flashing up on your internet home page, adverts on the side of a bus and that Express supermarket that you could previously walk pass without as much of a sideway glance is suddenly giving you a large fluorescent light smile and talking to you "look at all the lovely goodies I have in here for you"! Everything becomes a mission; retail therapy, a weekend away and a Sunday lunch with the family becomes a minefield of shoulds and most importantly 'should nots'. 

3. Skinny girls

Not only is there food everywhere you look, but you only have to turn your head to see a skinny. You start to compare yourself to them and feel you are being judged by them and you think to yourself "B***h, why does she get to look like that and God has dealt me this hand…not fair!" The worst type of skinny girl is most definitely the gym bunny. They are disgustingly toned, wear make up at the gym (I mean what is that about) and they will always stand at the front of the class, showing off their enviably pert bottom, while you flail around looking like a large sweaty hippo at the back. After class you will over hear saying how they feel awful they ate 6 extra grapes at breakfast this morning, so they might head to the cross trainer. You think…T**T!

4. Exercise

I like my sofa, actually that is an understatement I love my sofa. On the other hand I do like playing netball and I do like gym classes like Zumba and Body Combat. But the thing with dieting is the rule that you also have to exercise. It is drummed into you from day 1, eat less, exercise more and you will lose weight. Nothing wants me to curl up in my slanket with 10 re-runs of Come Dine With Me more than having to get up, put on lycra and
stand in front of mirrors, jump around and get sweaty!

5. Failure

So far I have never succeeded at a diet and this is an unusual trait for me to recognise. I usually succeed, I have a good academic career, a career, and to be honest I do usually get what I want. However, I have been 'dieting' since I was 20 years old, and I am now 25 but I have put on weight every year. I start in earnest as we all do, not always in January but I become the perfect WW or Slimming World participant or Slim Faster but eventually it fizzles out and I don't make goal. I've never really reflected on my failure, but probably because I always find a way of justifying it to myself and those closest to me, that is "well its just not my priority at the moment, I'm focusing on wedding/house/career/getting to world 8 on Super Mario/watching The Hills" or whatever BS I can think of at the time. The truth of the matter is I hate failure in whatever guise it comes in, but so far failure has always been part of my dieting experience and I don't like it.