Fitness Encouragement, Support & Tips

Pooba! Congratulations on your RR! You must be so proud of yourself.

CliftonBride, you can try and take up my mantel of biscuit diets, these girls will see you right and stick you back on your goal, good luck!

RBF look at you still with your running, you're all so dedicated.

Mittel, how did you spa go?

Sorry Ive disappeared, work has been madness. Wedding was lovely, our customers were wonderful and have clubbed together to give us some money to send us on a honeymoon! We were so shocked as we had no clue they were doing it.

Main bit of advice I have for you, preorder multiple marriage certificates. If you are planning on changing your name is it essential. It's been such a hassle, I pre ordered 2 extra ones as it's cheaper to buy them before the marriage than after, I should have got more. So many establishments request originals, both of my extra ones are out in the post at the moment.

I hope you're all doing well x

Hi everyone!! I hope you've all had a good start to the week. I had my dress fitting today ? it's a bit tight....think 'punctured lung' kind of tight!! So, I'm back to the gym in the morning and I've got a fridge full of salad and quorn products ?. I've got 3 weeks until the next fitting and want to be half a stone down (at least!) On the positive side I'd totally forgotten what my dress looked like (I picked it in September) and I loved it more than I remembered!!!

Yippee!! Welcome on board HappyRedCakes! Well my wedding is June and my seamstress said I've definitely got time to drop 7lbs as long as I'm sensible so yeah, I reckon you'll be fine. Especially with all of us on here supporting you! I used to have a personal trainer and bless him, he tried so hard to help me, but I used to work really hard and then congratulate myself with a marsbar and/or a glass of wine ?. I'm sure if you have more willpower than me you'll definitely start to see results. And £25 is pretty reasonable.

MogF...the spa day(s) were amazing thank you. Just what I needed! I totally unwound and managed to clear my head a bit! How is married life? Thanks for the heads up on the multiple copies of the marriage certificate. Oh wow how lovely that your customers put together for a honeymoon for you.... Have you got anything booked?? Pooba! Only a few days to go....arghhhh!!!! How are you feeling? Everything sorted and ready? Well done on your RR, sounds like you really enjoyed it! Shame about the come down from all that adrenaline the next day though ?.

CliftonBride how are you getting on with the nutritionist? The 2kg weightloss is brilliant! Well done!

Hi Holly at my health club, thanks for contacting us. I may well be in touch over the next few days. Have a great week everyone!

Hi all!

Mogf - thanks, RR seems like a distant memory now. I've signed up to do a slightly tamer 5km run in June and talking about doing something a little more taxing in July/August.

Such amazing news about the honeymoon! Any idea where you're going to go?

Interesting about marriage certificates. I've only gone for 2 extra as well... annoying.

Mittel - wow, exciting about your dress! Glad you liked it - and it's now given you the motivation to get back onto the diet and exercise. Just be careful and don't take to extremes!

Currently feeling excited and wanting work to end. This is my last day and I keep looking at my email signature thinking it'll be changed next time I'm in work!

Clifton - great news about the nutritionist and you never know about the last 2 weeks... you may surprise yourself!

So I had a bit of a nightmare on Saturday at my final dress fitting, although the assistant and my mum kept swearing that it was because my body was heating up - my dress very nearly didn't do up. As soon as I realised she was having an issue with the top button, my heart started pounding and I could almost feel myself swell up with panic. As soon as she got it on (eventually!) I calmed down and it was comfortable, but my god I hope that doesn't happen on Thursday!

I spoke to my PT and she said that my diet has been fine (and I had been telling her the truth over the past month!) but that RR might have bulked up my upper body a little more than we'd planned. She recommended I keep the diet as is, but stop drinking so much water and dry myself out a little... so from drinking 3-4l a day, I'm now down to 1l. Feeling a little headachey, but I can deal with it if it gets rid of my water retention enough that my dress does up without an issue!

Planning on going on one last jog this evening along the beach and then that's it...!! Eeek.

I don't know if I'll get the chance to come back on here tomorrow for long, but wanted to thank you all so much for your comfort and motivation over past few months.

See you on the other side! xx

Hi everybody, I'm baccccccck! Miss me?!

This place has been extremely quiet recently, let's get it up and running again.

How is everyone? Still going well with diet and exercise?

I had huge plans to keep running and eating healthily while on honeymoon and that all fell apart... twisted my knee while walking down a mountain so was limping for most of the holiday, ate a sh1t tonne of pasta and pizza (we were in Italy) for the first few days and then caught a sickness bug so was nil by mouth until Sunday. Bonus: I've lost half a stone! Ha ha x

Hey pooba! How's it going being all married now?! Sorry to hear about your knee, are you recovered now or still having to take it easy? Have you got any pics from the big day to share??!

yes it's been surprisingly quiet.

Ive been having horrendous 'worry' nightmares about the wedding. Did you get them too? Things like "my 4 year old bridesmaid cutting her own hair" and "oh the photographer forgot to get any pictures of you and your new husband on the big day"?

I've got another dress fitting on Monday and I swear I've got no smaller ? I really don't want to have the dress let out but this week I'm constantly hungry. Ive had a headache since the weekend too so the gym isn't very appealing at the moment.

I hope everyone is having a good week xx

Hi Mittel,

If I'm honest, it's not much different to how it was before although it has all been pretty mental since the wedding and we haven't really had chance to stop and breathe! Looking forward to next week when we're more accustomed to 'normal life' and can actually take stock of what's happened!

I was very lucky; I never really had nightmares about the wedding and surprisingly (I often have very vivid dreams) I only had about 5 wedding-related ones. All I can suggest is try to laugh about them - surely real life can't be any worse than what your brain throws at you?!

Try not to panic about the dress too much (although trust me, I know this is much easier said than done). I struggled to fit in it at the final dress fitting and while it was slightly easier to do up on the day, there was still a minute or two of wrestling with the buttons and my Dad had to come in and help because my Mum was shaking so much! Tip: don't go for a dress with shiny and slippy pearl buttons! See how Monday goes and play it by ear.

Maybe instead of the gym, head outside and go for a jog or a brisk walk? I've certainly converted from absolute gym bunny to heading out for the fresh air and I feel much better for it. Especially as the weather is finally starting to improve - Bournemouth is basked in sunshine right now

Unfortunately my knee still isn't 100% - I hurt it about 1.5 weeks ago and haven't done any proper exercise (just walking) since. I decided to try go for a 5km jog last night to ease myself in and it was very painful by the end. I then had a PT session this morning where we focussed more on upper body and while my knee was fine then, it's now aching a little. I swear my body is just falling apart little by little - I knocked my shin on the car 2 months ago and still have a bruise, my elbow still hurts from Rough Runner ~1 month ago, I have the remnants of this sickness bug hanging on (I'm now eating pretty normally, but you know when you're just not 100%) and I also have a tremendously sore throat... Boo hiss.

Hope everyone is having a good day - bet you haven't missed my uber long posts?! Ha ha x

Hey mitteltobe and Pooba - I have been looking out for your return! So excited to see a flash of your wedding.

It has been quiet on here recently. I have been so busy (still am). This essay is dragging now (yes, it is the same one lol) but I'm soooo nearly done. It is due in next week so woohoo!! partyyyy

Pooba - Well done on the non-intentional half stone loss on honeymoon! hehe. Sorry to hear your still not feeling too good. Allow yourself plenty of time to recover from both your physical problems as well as the stress and emotional rollercoaster of the wedding. Don't feel too pressured into diving straight back into the exercise! You're very disciplined though I love it, I could do with some of your discipline when it comes to exercise. It is odd, I consider myself a motivated and disciplined person but not when it comes to exercise!

Mittel - I also get those nightmares. Not so much now but a lot when I was first planning. I think tbh that I care much less now as planning is starting to stress me out.....thats really bad isn't it?!I guess just make note of the issue and make sure it is sorted before the big day! ie. provide your tog with a list of photos you definitely want so you are not disappointed. Yayyy for the dress fitting next week, remind me when is your wedding again? Aww I am sorry to hear your not feeling the best. Are you keeping hydrated. Try ensuring you are having plenttyyyyy of water. Have you tried those 4head sticks that you rub on your forehead like a lipstick - they always help me when I have a headache.

As for me, I am going to try my best to head to British Military fitness next week. I did it for 6 months over summer 2014 and lost weight then so planning on doing that again for 6 months till october, then take a break oct-march for the bad weather (it is outside) and then restart march until the wedding. But I didnt manage it this week so doubt I will next week lol. Those classes really are like torture but it works for me. Then also weight watchers, I've still not joined but still considering it...I'm so indecisive and lazy!

Good evening ladies! I hope you're all enjoying the sunshine this weekend.

Wow what a lovely weekend! Thanks Mittel - we were lucky enough to be able to be out in it most of both days - loving life! Did you manage to get out in it at all?

The essay is so close to being finished. It is due next week, but I am hoping to submit it friday as I have 3 weekdays this week in order to finish it. today being one of them. So my plan today is to finish the actual writing and spend the next couple of days checking and ensuring the accuracy of my references!

I absolutely love what I do and so I get through quite easily. I honestly believe what I do is the best job in the world so I genuinely looking forward to going to work. Could do without the essays tbh but I am such an acedemic person that I think I'll always find something to work on. I have already decided that once I finish the course and am only doing 37.5 hours a week (only), then I will take up spanish again. I did it up to A Level but that finished 9 years ago so I have probably forgotton half of it! Mind you, what I would give to read a fiction book right now is unreal, so I'll probably read a few books before taking up Spanish again!

So glad your headache has now died down. Keep drinking. I haven't tried the coldstrips before, 4 head isnt really cold unless you blow on it, but it smells like menthol really strongly and my OH hates that. Once, he got in from work unknowing that I had a headache and had 4 head on, and he came over to me and first thing he did was give me a big kiss on the forehead and then couldn't get rid of the menthol taste! Bless him. It works for me but not for him so everyone is different, give it whirl!

Well done on the healthy eating and the loss! I bet you are getting so excited about it now! Good luck with the fitting today! Could you try and sample all the ibizan salads in the run up to the wedding? I spent a lot of time in spain about 7 years ago now and the salads were unbelieveable! And I do not regularly enjoy salad!

My big day is 1/7/17 Mittel, seems so far away compared to your 5 weeks. I think mine is 60 weeks? So yeah that is why I am doing so crap and am so relaxed about it lol. But we are having an autumn leaves style engagement shoot this sept/oct and I have this dress I really want to wear but haven't fitted into it for about 5 years lol.....And my sisters wedding in September, so this is my goal really. Just been for a run, was going to go to BMF tonight but we got burnt at the weekend oops so will go Wednesday instead to avoid looking silly! Oh yeah - and H2B has agreed to join me on the BMF front. Which is good as it is extra motivation for me both to go, and once I am there to not look like a complete knob haha! H2B has also put on a lot of weight since we met so it will be good for both of us.

Wreck the dress.....not for me I'm afraid. I honestly couldn't do that to my dress! However, I agree that the pics would look amazing and if you are happy to do that to the dress then why not!! I would consider buying another dress to do it, just not mine haha! People that I know have wrecked the dress have done it after the wedding rather then on the day though, is this what you are thinking?

Hi ladies! Happy weekend again!

Cliftonbride, changing the exercise every now and then sounds like a good idea, otherwise it gets pretty boring huh?! And early morning is great to kick start your metabolism before the day even starts! Well done! How have you got on with less calories? Are you noticing it? And by that I mean are you hungry? I've had a really hungry week this week. I worked an extra 14 hours this week and it seemed to have a knock on effect with my energy levels and sugar cravings, I did go to the gym 3 times as well though which probably didn't help my tiredness!

So RomanticBrown, have you submitted the essay?? I bet that's a HUGE weight off your shoulders now!

oh dear, I got burnt last weekend too, on my feet and legs thankfully, can you imagine if I have ghastly red patches all over me for the wedding ?

So, the dress fitting went brilliantly! The extra pounds I've lost have made it a lot more comfortable, and I am so totally in love with the dress!!! I'm still hoping to drop a few more pounds before the big day to allow for some yummy food over there! Yes, I think I'll be sampling all the salads while I'm out there but I also have a soft spot for the odd glass or two of vino ?

Oh, I mentioned the 'wreck the dress' to the seamstress and she's offered to put a temporary layer of material under the tulle to protect the most part of the dress. It seems like a fantastic compromise! My photographer suggested I wait until our first wedding anniversary but we're hoping to start a family early next year so the dress definitely won't fit if that all happens to plan!! I'd also love to have my bridesmaids in the pics in their dresses. I think I'm going to go for it. Towards the end of the day at the big party over here, I'll be sure to post some pics and let you all know if it was a success or total disaster?

I hope everyone is well and enjoying the weekend xx

Well done on the early morning work outs clifton bride. When I am on study days I get out of bed at 0855 for a 0900 start lol, so you're much more motivated then me! How are you doing now? How did it go with the nutritionist?

Mittel - I HAVE submitted it! Might do a teeny bit of adjusting on it tomorrow if I can be bothered, but basically it is done. It is a weight off yes, but the night I finished it I had about an hour until H2B got home so I thought i'd use the time wisely and read the study guide for my next module and I ended up crying to H2B about how I am not going to be able to do it ? So yeah.....still stressed out. I finish the course in December so that's when I'll start to feel better lol.

Im so glad that your dress fitting went well Good motivation to keep on going for a couple more weeks so you can relax when you get out there! That great of your seamstress to do that. Is tht because you are hoping it will be able to be dry-cleaned and sold on? I think you should do it on the day too - it won't mean quite as much after I dont think. Have you got something to change into afterwards? I can't wait to see pics!

As for me, the BMF class last wednesday was put off as FFIL called to say he was in London and invited us for (paid) dinner so we couldn't say no. Then this week, I got food poisoning on sunday night so was really unwell yesterday (the class runs monday and wednesdays) feeling better today but not convinced it is a good idea to go tomorrow. So may have to wait till next monday. Doh!

Well done on the early morning work outs clifton bride. When I am on study days I get out of bed at 0855 for a 0900 start lol, so you're much more motivated then me! How are you doing now? How did it go with the nutritionist?

Mittel - I HAVE submitted it! Might do a teeny bit of adjusting on it tomorrow if I can be bothered, but basically it is done. It is a weight off yes, but the night I finished it I had about an hour until H2B got home so I thought i'd use the time wisely and read the study guide for my next module and I ended up crying to H2B about how I am not going to be able to do it ? So yeah.....still stressed out. I finish the course in December so that's when I'll start to feel better lol.

Im so glad that your dress fitting went well Good motivation to keep on going for a couple more weeks so you can relax when you get out there! That great of your seamstress to do that. Is tht because you are hoping it will be able to be dry-cleaned and sold on? I think you should do it on the day too - it won't mean quite as much after I dont think. Have you got something to change into afterwards? I can't wait to see pics!

As for me, the BMF class last wednesday was put off as FFIL called to say he was in London and invited us for (paid) dinner so we couldn't say no. Then this week, I got food poisoning on sunday night so was really unwell yesterday (the class runs monday and wednesdays) feeling better today but not convinced it is a good idea to go tomorrow. So may have to wait till next monday. Doh!

Hi everyone, sorry for the radio silence. I've been stuck in a rut the past few weeks and I've struggled quite a bit for motivation.

I've carried on with my PT sessions (and plan to continue with them after my latest block of paid slots is over), done two jogs, a few classes and quite a bit of walking. The diet is still where it was before and I think I've gained a little bit of weight (although with the 1/2 stone loss because of sickness, I'm still lighter than I was at the wedding). I'm just very meh with it all - need a new goal and a new focus!

I assume I've got the 'after wedding blues' thing that people talk about, although I don't feel particularly sad that the wedding is done. I'm just very blah about work and with a lot of my friends away on holiday at the moment, I'm extremely jealous - doesn't matter I've only been back from honeymoon a few weeks

I'm also still not 100% health wise which is really p1ssing me off. The knee niggles occasionally and it feels like I have a perpetual cold - sometimes nausea, sometimes sore throat, sometimes headachey, run down all the time, etc. (BT!!!!!) friends, family and even my boss (awkward) have asked if I think I might be pregnant and it got to the point that I was so fed up of them asking/started wondering myself that I tested. It was negative, but then for the past few days (TMI!) my boobs/nipples have been really tender. I'm still on the pill and haven't knowingly cocked up taking it, although there's always that little tiny chance... I may test again tomorrow morning with first wee of the day (understand that's the best one to use and when I tested before it was early evening after drinking 3l of water throughout the day)

Sorry for venting... just really don't want to talk to anyone in real life about this and writing it down is therapeutic, even if it doesn't make me feel physically better.

I'm so glad you all seem to be doing well - Mittel, you must be getting so excited now! I have heard of 'wreck the dress' although I probably won't go down that route. My dress is currently sat in the spare room waiting for me to do something with it... RBF, well done on handing in your essay! Hope you feel better (food poisoning sounds delightful ) and good luck for the BMF if you go today/next Monday. CliftonBride, have you kept up with the kettle bells and body pump classes?

Hope you're all having a great day. Onwards and upwards? xx

Oh pooba I feel so sorry for you. There's a lot of virus's and bugs going around at the moment, and our bodies do the strangest things to make us slow down and recuperate from a busy/stressful event. Saying that though, your symptoms do sound a bit 'pregnancy like' and you know sickness and/or stress can prevent the pill from working?? I reckon you should do another test and if you're feeling no better next week go the Drs for a blood test. A friend of mine (mum of 3) never had a positive pregnancy test....something to do with hormones, so she's always had to have a blood test to confirm. I do hope you start to feel better soon.

It's nice to know you get some comfort from posting on here, we're all here for you and I for one, definitely wouldn't blame you if you were suffering the wedding blues. It takes up so much of our time and energy to plan our perfect day, and then poof, it's all done and we come crashing back to everyday life. I'm definitely dreading that bit and will be posting on here for some sympathy!!

take care of yourself.

Xx

Aww Pooba sorry to feel you are not feeling right! Well done on keeping up the PT sessions and the exercise that you have done - more then I have,

I understand the blues - I don't know about you but I have been looking forward to my wedding since I was a little girl and I am seriously worried about how I'll react when it is all over! How about booking a holiday or something to look forward to? I think that's what I'll do! It may seem silly but I honestly think that wedding blues is a real thing and would be worth spending that little bit extra money just so you get through this difficult time.

re. the pregnancy, you can ignore this question completely, but have you had your period (sorry tmi)?

The food poisoning continued and I still feel awful and nauseas after eating even though I am fine beforehand. t was H2Bs birthday yesterday so we have been having all sorts of treats etc this week but going forward I am going to be cutting out all meat, minimal carbs and seeing how it goes. Fed up of feeling sick! Just had a boiled egg and that is sitting OK!

Roll of feeling better and BMF monday!

xxx

Thanks for your responses, sorry to have been on such a Debbie Downer the other day!

I still haven't actually tested again (I keep forgetting ?) but apart from discussing our new kitchen and shopping for tiles and paint, I did very little this weekend. Slept like a log each night and then had 2.5 hours nap on both afternoons and *touchwood* I'm starting to feel more like myself. I'm going to shake off the bad feels, get back into exercising and plan my next event. Yes ?

Mittel - how close are you now?! Can't wait to hear how it all goes!

RBF - we're planning on heading to America at some point in the autumn, so have that to look forward to. Plus a new kitchen!

re. period, the pill I'm on means I don't have periods as such, although intermittent bleeding comes through every so often. I may test (if I remember!) one morning this week for peace of mind.

Hope you're feeling better now and BMF today is a success!

Happy Monday everyone! x

Aww no need to apologise Pooba!

Glad to hear you are starting to feel better and maybe getting your exercise mojo back! A new kitchen will be nice - I love cooking and dream about a lovely new itchen with all the built in gadgets!

Aww that's good about america - where abouts? We are planning our honeymoon at the mo and we are going to do a roadtrip of california +vegas.

I actually surprised myself and managed to go to BMF on saturday yayyyyy, so didn't go on monday as I was still stiff haha. Am fine now so will go tomorrow and hopefully H2B wll come. He was going to come saturday but was feeling a bit unwell so decided not to - thats the thing with BMF it is so hardcore that I wouldn't want to go unless I was feeling 100% otherwise I'd worry about actually dying (!)

Back to full-time work this week after all my study leave so am feeling rather sleepy after my early mornings every day so far. It is nice to be back in work and not worrying about academic stuff!

Hi RBF. Yep, still on an upwards trend so fingers crossed I'm getting out of the funk! Had a PT session yesterday morning, another booked for tomorrow and I walked into work this morning (7.5km in an hour) so feeling alright exercise-wise

America - we're hoping to do a road trip down the east coast ending up in Florida with a friend, and then a much shorter trip to New York (long weekend) about a month later. Your trip sounds amazing - we did a similar one a few years back although other way round. Started in Texas, then travelled through Santa Fe, Four Corners, Monument Valley, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and ended in LA. One of the best trips I've ever done!

Well done on getting to BMF on Saturday! What sort of things do you do? I'm imagining hard core circuits. Is it outside?

Glad you're enjoying being back at work and YAY for getting that essay finally finished ?

Hi Ladies!

Pooba, I'm glad to hear you're starting to feel better... Don't overdo it though,I reckon it could take a good while to get over the build up of the wedding. I really didn't realise how tiring this wedding planning could get. I was with my wedding planner until 9.30 last night after 12 hours at work and today I just have no motivation to do anything. I'm sitting here in my gym gear eating a bag of biscuits...eek! I've been craving sugar all morning just to make me get moving. I hope I'm not coming down with anything, I know theres a lot about at the moment.

So I had my hen do at the weekend. It rained all day unfortunately, and being at the races that could well have been a disaster but we managed to hook up with some rich stags who had a box and appreciated a little female company

I've got my final dress fitting this friday and then we have our 'official' ceremony over here on tuesday (although nobody really knows about that, we are treating it just as the legal bit) then we fly to ibiza next friday, and wedding the week after that. I cannot believe how quickly its come round!

Ah, that's cool that you're all planning some trips away. This weather over here is so depressing!

RBF sounds like you're doing well with your exercise, especially now you haven't got that work hanging over you!

Well, I hope you're all having a good week. I'm off to try to find some energy!

xx

Wow you are so motivated to exercise, I jsut did a google directions and my work is 4.6km and I wouldnt want to walk it!! I have cycled before but I get sweaty and there are no showers there. And it hurts my bum!

Ah we did actually do a similar route as you so we are starting at LV/GC and then doing death valley, yosemite, san fran, route 1, santa barbara and LA and then flying over to cancun for a week all-inclusive. This is the plan at the moment anyway! Cant wait for 11 months to go then we cang et booking stuff. Where did you stay in San Fran and LA, well all the places I am going to actually....I am struggling particularly with san fran and la.

BMF is basically and hour of running or a few mins and then a few reps of a random exercise i.e. push ups, sit ups, burpees, squats etc. With army men shouting at you. Its the only thing that pushes me to my limit though!

Ah the return of the biscuit diet!! I dont blame you for being knackered, after my 12 hours shifts I literally eat and go to bed! Take it esy and keep your vit c and fluids up mittel if you think you may be getting a virus.

Glad to hear you made the most of your hen do despite the rain, I haven't decided what I want to do for mine but races sounds ike a cool idea. Not been to any before. Your wedding is coming around sooo quick! Time is going scary quick these days isn't it, maybe just me though!

Just heading off to BMF.....I did consider skipping it lol as it was threatening to rain but I'm gonna be strong!

xxx

Happy Friday everybody!

Mittel - ha ha, I hope you managed to put the biscuits down and get to the gym! I have a confession: I've just started my last easter egg! I got 9 (I think... I can't quite remember how many) bad boys and have slooooowly been eating them, but started my last one yesterday evening. It feels so good to eat chocolate and not feel guilty!

Go glad you had fun at your hen do despite the weather. Spending a day with some boys and remaining dry sounds good ?

Sincerely hope your last dress fitting goes well today - let us know how it goes! Very exciting about Tuesday as well, although even more exciting about IBIZA!!!! Eeeeeeeeeek!

RBF - I've cycled it a few times but much prefer to walk. Thankfully the majority of it is on quiet roads/through woodland so it's actually quite enjoyable. The only issue is that I have such a nice time walking... and then have to sit in the office all day

Wowowowow, your honeymoon sounds amazing. Very jealous.

LA we didn't actually stay in - just did a very quick drive around and then headed straight to the airport.

San Fran, I've just done a quick bit of googling (nb. the brain is an amazing thing. I couldn't have told you anything about where we stayed 5 minutes ago, but having a look at the map, remembering where we walked, looking at place names, I tracked the hotel down!) and we stayed at the Best Western (The Tuscan) on North Point Street, Fisherman's Wharf. It was nice and okay money in comparison to everywhere else. It's a little out the way, but we enjoy walking and did 15+ miles each day we were there!

I'm struggling to think of any other hotels we stayed in that weren't just standard motels. If anything, I'd recommend you don't actually book anything ahead, apart from maybe San Fran and LA - and that's only so you don't have to drive around and compare prices when you're there. Everywhere else, you can literally drive up to a motel and check in. It's certainly not like the UK, where everything has to be pre-booked else you're not getting in! There's no difference on price either, unless you find vouchers or have loyalty points with (eg.) Holiday Inn.

I'd suggest, if you can, going to a place called Carmel, just south of San Fran and en route to Santa Barbara. We stayed here for a day and it was beautiful - and a lot quieter than Santa Barbara. We'd have stayed in Carmel longer if we'd known.

Regardless of where you end up, you'll have a brilliant time!

BMF sounds absolutely incredible! Well done you for doing it! Hope your session on Wednesday was good

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend xx

Well done for drawing out all your easter eggs pooba! I remember we were talking about chocolate consumption - an example - a couple whose baby I delivered about 6 weeks ago gave me a box of lindt and I still have some left!

How was the dress fitting mittel?

Pooba - walking is fab, you are very lucky that it is an enjoyable wak. A very small amount of my journey to work would be along the thames if I walked/ran but I just genuinelly cant find the energy to do it after my shifts ☹️

Yeah I am so excited about the honeymoon, def a once in a lifetime trip. Good way to get a lot of western USA done in one go! A few ticks off our bucket list!

Thats an interesting tip about not booking - we may take your advice for this down route 1. I think we will end up booking something on airbnb for San Fran but will def look up your hotel now. We are definitely going to book all the hotels in the national parks as apparently these get fully booked in peak season very quickly! Did you stay in the National Parks or on the outskirts?

We are currently juggling whether to go 100% DIY or get trailfinders to do a completely bespoke itenary for us. We went there at the weekend and they did a really good sales tactic of informing us about the discount they get being a popular travel agent, so they may well end up being cheaper but I think we will get accurate pricings for each way and decide based on this.

I've heard of Carmel and we were planning on calling in there ont he way down route 1. But no decided exactly where to sleep down route 1.

BMF was great on wednesday - wish I could go tomorrow but I am working so I'm going Monday instead.

Just seen your report is out - going to have a read now!

Hi everyone, hope you had a lovely bank holiday weekend!

I had a bit of a backwards step on Saturday - decided to go for a jog in the morning and it was going really well, until my knee decided to give up about 2.5km in. Had to limp back home I've been on the phone to the private healthcare we have with work and I'm hoping I get some physio sessions over the next few weeks, but I have a 5km Race for Life event on the 18th June which I really want to do... Boo hiss.

I also had PT session this morning and we did measurements. I'm about 1.5kg heavier and 2cm chunkier around my waist than I was 5th May I keep telling myself to bear in mind that those measurements were off the back of a 5/6 day fast because I'd been ill... but still slightly gutting,

Mittel - seem to remember you're doing the 'legal' bit today! Hope you have a lovely day... and it's nearly Ibiza time! Yeeeeeeeahhhhh!

RBF - Sounds sensible about San Fran and national parks. A lot of the time we stayed in the outskirts and travelled in, but it's whatever works best for you. I don't think we ever had any issues finding at least one hotel to take us in, although this was end April/beginning of May, so not quite high season.

Hope BMF went well yesterday

You were the one who gave me the motivation to write the report, so I hope you enjoyed it! Ha ha.

Aww Pooba sorry to hear you had a knee issue - I hope not too bad now? Have you managed to see a physio? 2cm is not too much pooba try not to worry about it - how have things been going this week?

Mittel - my brain is hopeless, what happening with you - are you in Ibiza at the moment? If so, I hope that you are having an amazing time eating lots of salad until your big day hehe! Just kidding!

Re. USA yes we are going in peak time and don't really want to run into any risks at all as it is our honeymoon and I am a bit ocd organised!

BMF didnt happen on Monday as OH wasn't "mentally prepared" as he thought we were going regularly Wednesdays....! So we went Wednesday and it was harder(?!) but good still. We did a fitness test which we never did when I was a member before. So they did it every months, alternating tests every other month, and it is a good way of tracking your fitness (apparently!). So we had to do 10 press ups, 10 sit-ups, 10 burpees and 3 shuttle runs (not sure how far...30-40m?) .....x5. So I did it in 11.18. Wasn't last but then everyone was doing slightly different reps and distance depending on fitness level so I was on the easiest level obv! But feel OK about my time and I will see how I get on in two months.

Also got talking to the army guys and they said that in 6 weeks we should start to notice a considerable difference in our fitness and shape yayyyy! So I decided to take pics of myself after the class and then take another set in 6 weeks to compare I am determined to keep this up! It was raining on Wednesday so we got very muddy and wet (eugh) but I ploughed through!

I loved the report Pooba yayyyy! Particularly loved the pic of the bouquets - so bright and sunny, cake (and story to match - AMAZING), I've just gone back to it, have you deleted the pics of you? You said about your skin problems but I thought that there was a pic because I remember thinking how you would never know you had skin troubles! Which Liz Earle products did you use? I would say I have at least 1 spot 99% of the time and then get breakouts of 2/3/4 every now and then... dreading a horrible bog one on the day! haha so gross sorry!

Hi RBF,

Knee is absolutely fine as long as I don't run! OH and I did a 28km walk on Saturday morning (he's doing a charity golf day, 4 rounds in one day walking so we were practicing for that) and while it ached a little at the end, otherwise it was dandy. I just don't get it. Another thing I don't get: private healthcare. I'd assumed that it would be brilliant - and other people at work who have used it have said it was a dream - but I can rarely get through to the department, they don't call me back when they say they will and all-in-all, it's an utter ballache.

My gym is closed for a couple of days this week so only have one PT session on Thursday. Really feeling sluggish at the moment; hard to believe quite how much of a difference running made to my fitness levels.

Thanks for your kind words about the report. It took so long to write, but I'm glad I did it and hopefully it will help remind me of certain aspects of the day when I look back at it down the line. I have indeed deleted the photos of me/guests - thought it was unfair to have them online when friends/family haven't agreed to it and I felt a little unsure about having my face plastered over it. I use the hot cloth cleanser and I really did notice a difference. I'm currently rocking a few spots, although this is the worst breakout I've had in a good few months and it's nowhere near as bad as it used to be, so still very happy with it. Expensive, but worth it!

BMF sounds so good! Well, apart from the whole raining thing Such a good idea to take photos and test your fitness every so often; I'm sure you're going to be amazed in a few weeks time

Have you thought any more about doing a run later this year? I know you were talking about your family signing you up for a race or something a little while ago?

Urgh, it's Monday. Why can't it be Friday?! x

Awww that sucks about still not being able to run. I'm sure you have figured this out but it is definitely the impact of running which effects your knee so much more then walking. Running is one of the worst things you can do to your knees! Keep walking if this is OK, have you get a tubigrip support for it to maximise oppertunity for healing. Maybe try swimming in the meantime to keep up fitness but have minimal impact on your knee? Sometimes it can be good to give your exercise routine a shake up, maybe this is the ideal time?

I've not had any experience with private healthcare so can't really help on that front. Seems a bit odd that they appear to be ignoring you! Just keep annoying them I guess!

Yeah I didn't think I was imagining that there were pics before - makes complete sense to only keep it up for a limited time! I will definitely do a report when my wedding (eventually) happens! Will be lovely to keep a record of my memories of it at the time. OK I'll look into the hot cleaner.

BMF is good, I am going again tonight and wierdly looking forward to it lol. I really hope they are right and that it does help me! It'll be a complete fas if it doesnt work as it is such blooming hard work. Going without OH tonight as he is stuck at work.

The run....I am not doing it as I just dont enjoy running that much. The rest of them are though and OH is. I might regret it when I see them all doing it but hey ho, I prefer slightly more fun stuff though so am looking into doing rough runner next year maybe. Though that looks mental!

I am working mon-fri this week for a change so I concur......why can't it be friday!

Swimming isn't a bad shout, actually. I'm not entirely sure where my nearest pool is, but might try and hunt it down. It would definitely be good to try something different

Yeah, I didn't actually think the report would help, but as I was writing it memories came floating back to me and it was really lovely. We're hopefully getting the video towards the end of this week which we plan on watching with all our parents (OH's folks are staying with us this weekend) so that will hopefully help.

Hot cloth cleanser is quite expensive - £26ish for a 250ml? bottle, but I got a free sample before taking the plunge so I knew it would work. I also got loads of Boots vouchers and points, so it wasn't too bad.

How was BMF last night? And without your OH as well? Hope you had 'fun'!

I get what you mean about running, although once I started going for it with an aim/event in mind, it got a lot easier and more enjoyable. I really hope you end up doing a Rough Runner so we can compare notes. Maybe we should get a Hitched RR group together?!

Hey girls,

As for me, there is no need for extra encouragement when it comes to training, but like most of you, during the week I am so busy with the job and housework that I just want to sleep! But, I started getting up really early to do some pilates and I must say that my days are way better now! Not to mention that I will feel fit for my big day! So this is my quick tip for both brides to be and others as well! We must be fit, girls, right?!

Yeah give swimming a go, I went through a phase of about a year I went every sunday and did 40 25m lengths and got pretty good! I had to stop though because of my problematic ears I found I was unwell for 2/3 days after my sunday swim consistantly!

Aww that'll be so lovely to watch the video all together, will that be the first time you see it with them all there?

OK I'll definitely look into the cleanser, I don't mind about price if it gives me a even complexion!

BMF was great, loads of focus on squats so my ass and legs are hurting today but I am not half as bad as I have been stiffness-wise! Actually, about half way through I suddenly got hit by hay fever. I haven't had it yet this year but we were in a really overgrown bit of grass/weeds in a woodland section of my local park and the chest-to-floor and press-ups tipped me I think and I just couldn't stop sneezing! At one point I though I was having an anaphylcatic shock lol as my throat started swelling and my eyes went so puffy and were streaming literally! Obviously not helped by the fact I was puffing from the work out and knackered! I'm OK now after spending the day in the hospital (where I had a couple of close calls not sneezing in newborns faces LOL). So I think I'll be taking anti-histamines for BMF from now on lol!

Yeah I dont think I'll do it until next spring as it seems they only do it once per year in each location. Which one did you do?

I'm up for a hitched RR group!

Hey ladies!!

Yes, drink enough water everyday.

your body will need that