Many years ago before I discovered cocktails, biscuits and boys I trained hard as a gymnast. I was happy to get up early and throw myself into intense physical exercise for hours. I used to run both long distance and sprints and even volunteered for my secondary school's sports day competing in most of the events in an actual leotard and leggings. In my defence it was the 80's and I was an early embracer of "you do you" sartorially. Spot me, bottom left in the red leggings.
The next few years I was busy with study and establishing my career, social and love life and apart from a desultory attempt to join a gym and go swimming with a friend (remember that time Adi H?) I largely coasted along with my young and efficient metabolism.
Meeting my now husband was a bit of a turning point. That whole contentment weight gain hit hard as we ate out and generally enjoyed our new life together.
He had an active outdoor job so didn't gain an ounce. Meanwhile I had moved to an office I hated working at with a job I loathed with lots of desk and commuter time, and long hours which means mostly I ate food from the local sandwich shop and the petrol station shop over the road. Setting out early and arriving home late left very little time for shopping for, and prepping healthy packed lunches. My new husband was travelling working with the hot air balloon crews and I was stuck at home alone.
Things had to change so he stayed home more and we started playing badminton together at the local sports centre. I'd never played and he was quite good so chasing around after the badminton shuttlecock was most definitely a good workout and it was lovely to spend time with my man. We got to know other regular players and although we were never good enough as a couple to join the league we had lots of fun.
Starting a family saw our playing time cut and to be honest it sounds like an excuse but raising 7 children, many who are neurospicy, left very little time, energy or funds to spend on sports. I tried running and cycling but my fibromyalgia diagnosis rather put paid to all of that. I can cope with a gentle game of crazy golf but it doesn't exactly get your heart pumping generally.
Some years ago I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. I coped with diet and gentle exercise for years maintaining a healthy weight, then, as is often the case, required more and more meds and last year my blood glucose numbers shot up and my team decided it was time to start on insulin.
Now the thing about diabetes is that it's advisable to keep your weight within "normal" margins. I use BMI as my guide. But although I was eating sensibly (with the occasional chip, crisp or cocktail related slip) I started gaining weight fast. My diabetes specialist changed up the types and doses of insulin but it became obvious to me that the only way to keep my blood glucose at recommended levels was to eat super low carb to avoid having to inject too much insulin which can cause weight gain, and do more exercise.
I read a fascinating fact while researching an article about standing desks that even standing rather than sitting for at least half an hour after a meal helps regulate blood sugar. And actually moving about helps even more. The trouble is, I don't like moving about unless it's from the car to the shops or from my seat to the buffet. I need motivation. Just going for a nice walk, no matter how lovely the view doesn't really appeal. My AuDHD brain needs a nice dopamine reward.
Then I discovered virtual walks. Some you can just do for free but I found one company (The Conqueror Virtual Challenge- not an ad, I pay for my challenges) which offers the option to use integrated street view to see where you are (not in real time but you can move your little peg man to explore the area) and most importantly for me, a big shiny actual real life medal when you complete the walk.
You pay of course (around £25-40 depending on the challenge) but with a wide range of walk options from Lands End to John O'Groats, The Great Wall of China and a relatively short stroll round Paris to a multi-stage exploration of the countryside in The Lord of The Rings and Game of Thrones and a whole host of fabulous medals to collect this really sparked my enthusiasm.
You set your own time limit within reason and you can link your phone, watch or other tech to record all your movement or you can log exercise manually. You can walk, run, cycle, swim or event play Beat Sabre or Just Dance to add miles or for really long walks you can team up with other challengers to move faster along your chosen route. You get virtual postcards as you go and learn fascinating facts about history, art and architecture along the way.
I started with the Paris walk which with just a little additional effort over and above my usual movement tally I completed in less than a month. The medal arrived a few days later and reader, I kid you not, I was as proud of that as the gymnastic medal I won all those years ago. Just little steps like going up and down the stairs for each item that needed putting away instead of waiting to collect a load and take it all up at once.
Now I'm walking virtually around Rome (which I did for real for my friends 50th last year) and it tickles me to virtually see landmarks I saw IRL. The route takes me right past my mate's hotel! Depending when the Google car last drove past I'm wondering if I might even bump into myself along the way.
Next on my wish list is the Scooby Doo Challenge which comes with a gorgeous medal in a collectible tin and I'd also like to do the Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage I'd love to do in real life but accept that I won't because of my health issues (I recently added osteoarthritis to my fun collection of medical conditions). This feels like a really good alternative. A friend suggested we book to maybe visit the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela which most pilgrims do as a finale. Now that sounds like even more motivation than a shiny medal.