To Thine Own Self Beetroot - 10 / 10 club - all welcome

[FrannyandZooey]

For anyone who wants a boost to their general health. The suggested goals are:

EAT 10 PORTIONS OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES 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 post here to tell us how you're getting on and how you are feeling.

Basic guidance on what constitutes a portion of fruit and veg here and you can download more detailed information by following the link at the very bottom of the page

mine has only just gone up, Avi, and he's reading, it's so light outside.

The kitchen is a total pigsty and I can't be bothered to go and see to it, watching a programme about food miles and supermarkets on bbc2, whilst munching an organic apple from.. don't know where it's from but my berries are local.

I had pasta with a tomato onion and olive sort of sauce. I think. I didn't make it - was at a friend's. Keep meaning to make gazpacho, but don't feel up to it. Still might do it.

DH away, off enjoying skeet shooting . At least he has the sense to sound ashamed about it on the phone. Or apologetic. Something in that line.

My broken eye has gotten much worse and is just streaming, I am thoroughly sick of being the queen of small pointless ailments.

Aviatrix, is the door broken? Or just off? Ours comes off, well, it's hard work to get it off, but thanks to a culinary disaster, I had to get it off to get custard (I think?) out of the gap at the bottom. Might it go back on?

Oh, I did do my usual exercise today. I have a nasty sore throat and the stupid streaming eye, but I still did the school run etc, added up to at least 50 minutes of biking, probably more, all in.

FMV - you are asking about crunches. What are you doing? When you do the exercises, is your stomach bulging out? Or are you doing pilates-stylee ones, where you are trying to suck stomach in at the same time (and, ideally, pelvic floor)? The latter are much more effective, from what I know, both in terms of core stability and appearance ...

could you elaborate on the effective crunches, NQC, do you mean suck in the muscles as you move forward, are you not sort of doing that anyway?

You don't want your abdomen to bulge as you do them. Normally, by default, your abdomen will bulge. Which means a) you're not doing it properly in a pilates type way and b) you're building stomach muscles that will look bulgy, which probably isn't what you want.

I am by no means an expert on this stuff.

The pilates way to do things, is to do, say head raises, with bent knees: suck in belly and squeeze pelvic floor, then lift head. Kepe belly sucked in. Then you can try some slow leg raises while keeping head up, belly sucked in, and pelvic floor squeezed. Then you pat your head and rub your tummy counter clockwise. Ok, I made up that last bit.

ha, I had mentally gone cross eyed before I saw the made up bit

Right, lift head, keep belly sucked in and then do leg raises. My belly will never be flat after section with dd but I'm sure it can be better than it is now. Thanks.

Message withdrawn

No.

Message withdrawn

What?

What does that say?

Message withdrawn

Thanks for sympathies and advice
I am recovering with the help of my chocolate pudding.
Made alternative pesto earlier - was gratifyingly successful (basil, olive oil, cucumber, sesame seeds, garlic, lemon juice, little salt and pepper). Dd1's dinner, served with red pepper, grated carrot, cucumber and cherry tomatoes, looked so attractive on its orange plate that I actually photographed it

ME TOO COD

Cod I did your last title

you can't have another for at least 6 months

join us or butt out

Message withdrawn

and LOL at everyone photographing their cooking

Hmm, no sorry, still got getting it. Go for a veg and talk walks.

What is that?

Ah the old timers are all senile

it doesn't take much to confuse them

I may have to cry off our fruit duel tomorrow MrsC

my stomach looks like a balloon