Sign up here for the 10 / 10 club

[FrannyandZooey]

As discussed, a new thread for people who want a bit of a boost to their health. The suggested rules are:

EAT 10 PORTIONS OF FRUIT AND VEG EVERY DAY

(if you don't usually eat much fruit and veg I would build up gradually or you could upset your digestion)

DO (AT LEAST) 10 MINUTES OF EXERCISE EVERY DAY

(can be yoga, stretching or something more energetic. The plan is that the idea of doing 10 minutes is not too daunting, and having started you may well find you want to do more)

There are no restrictions on what you eat so long as you get your 10 fruit and veg as well. The focus is not on weight loss but on improving our energy levels and hopefully our general mood and well-being.

Sign up below and if we enjoy it I will start a new thread each Monday. Post here to tell us how you're getting on and how you are feeling.

Useful info here about what constitutes a portion of fruit or vegetables.

Glad to help. anyway, back to being healthy in body AND mind...up to 6 portions (F&Z - steady....!) and feeling v. virtuous...this is such a good idea - thanks...

or rather CF....

housework SHOULD count in the ten mins?? Esp. with doing it to a bounce-along tune...

also, B4 packing away the groceries from Tesco, do some weight training with the carrier bags?

Ooh please don't call me CF it took me about 3 minutes there to work out wtf you were talking about

I am not sure about the housework thing because the idea is to increase our activity levels, so you need to do something extra (except for NQC, who needs some sort of therapy and a good lie down)

and I thought you were quick....

another thing to help is to suck in your abdominals, pushing your navel to your bum, and tensing all your pelvic area muscles and glutes (bum muscles) - can do it anywhere/anytime..not part of the ten mins BUT it helps to tone for when you do exercise..

Ok I can't possibly discuss the muscles of my arse with someone calling himself PandorasJarBoy

it is just going too far

my mother might read it or something

You'd be so lucky!! Not sure it's only NQC who needs the therapy......

Goodness me, I go off to do my Pilates (about 30 minutes? Not sure, I fast forward through a lot of the chatting ... good workout though, you don't move about pretty much at all, no aerobic, but good strength + flexibility training, and can be done reasonably near bedtime) and it gets all "Carry On" in here.

Oh, and am now eating a giant grapefruit = 2 portions, which takes me to 10, even with my very conservative counting.

Tomorrow, DS1 is going to the Dreadful Free Nursery, so I will just have DS2. I will probably check we have gifts for people, panic about that, and go for a bike ride with DS2 to get some. Or maybe go get DS1 from the Dreadful Nursery a bit early, by bike?

10 minutes can improve health and wellbeing, certainly.

I do think it's better to build exercise into your life (e.g. biking and walking everywhere, and doing lots of housework (ha ha not me)) than to have it as an extra task, though.

OK so how does one fit 10 portions into an average day?

Genuinely interested because I think it's one area of my general health that needs drastically improving.

Gillian, as long as you eat lots of veg for at least one meal, it's doable. Oh, and fruit for snacks.

I probably average about 7 or 8? I'm not clear on portion size, though - what is portion size for stuff like lettuce or spinach?

Hmm, maybe more than 7 or 8 actually, as about half the time, tea is just a giant bowl of veg with a bit of tofu and quinoa around the sides. 3 tablespoonsful of something isn't heaped, right? That's not much at all.

What happened to my name. Grrr.

Could I join in, please? I easily eat 10 portions of fruit and veg - goddammit I eat fruit all day - but I need to start doing 10 mins of exercise every day. I tried skipping this week - how hard is that, fgs? Where do the kids get their leg muscles from?

Oooh, don't start with skipping, hard on the knees. Also norks, I'd think.

Yes, you certainly would need a Good Bra.

I just thought it would be v. quick and effective, and easy to do in the back garden. How wrong could I be? May have to aim for 10 mins yoga instead - if I managed that, it would be good. Also do-able in back garden when neighbours not around.

Please do join - I am off to bed now but will post more Encouraging Things in the morning

There was a link just before all the Young Ma-ann stuff about portion sizes, and a basic one in my OP

Gillian, I start off having about 4 portions of fruit for breakfast - handful of raisins, an apple, peach and some melon, this morning, all mixed in with cereal and milk. Then I had a banana, apple and 2 plums at lunchtime. Big vegetable stew for dinner, and another banana and plum for a snack this evening - probably makes about 12 -15 portions I reckon, so you see it is very doable.

Should I be committing to 10 minutes less of exercise per day, then?

(Put on vest and shorts today and frightened myself, had to change. Am not skeletal or anything, but am absolutely a shadow of my former self. Very weird.)

Are you, NQC? I hope you're looking after yourself - I haven't followed all your threads, but I know you lost your mum recently, which is a dreadful thing to have to deal with. I've had scary 'shadow of my former self' times in the past, and I really wasn't taking good care of myself.

Sorry, didn't mean to sound moralistic or anything about looking after yourself well - just concerned about you You're a real gourmet, aren't you, from some of your other threads?

Morning all, right, let's sort you lot out

NQC, eat some pies.

Everyone else, carry on as normal.

I've had 3 portions for breakfast. It's going to be a long day here - it's raining, I am working this morning, and ds is knackered which means he will be dreadfully difficult while I am doing it

I have no idea what exercise I can fit into my day, except for the usual dancing around waving scarves with a load of toddlers.

I am eating reasonably well ... well, I'm managing the fruit and veg thing. I just haven't much of an appetite, particularly for anything sweet or greasy. (Last night, DH snacked on crisps. I had a big grapefruit.)

It's not necessarily a bad thing, particularly as my mom died of type 2 diabetes, essentially.

I've had my muesli with fruit on it today. DS1 has gone off to the Bad Nursery, and I will try to go for a good bike ride with DS2. I've realised I have essentially no gifts for anyone back home, whoops, so must go pick up some things.

Franny - do you walk everywhere? Could you bike some places? You guys already have a bike seat for your DS, right? Going for a spin around the park with a kid on the bike isn't a bad sort of exercise.

Morning all....

Big fat grapefruit for brekkie, and a roasted veg. dinner planned..plus whatever inbetween. Am 'visiting' an Esporta gym later. Anyone with experience of them??

Morning to all you fruit and veg munchers!
For my breakfast i have had......

A mixed fruit salad made with.....
1 bananna
4 chopped strawberries
1 satsuma
6 chopped grapes
1/2 red apple

topped with fat free strawberry yoghurt and i threwin some mixed seeds for good measure!

and big glass of water!

Now thats got to be a step up from my usual pop tarts, sugary cereal and mug of milky coffee?

Surley i should be top of the class???? You can practically see my halo glowing!

You know, charlee, you can over do it......