Walk the line…

I know I can’t speak for the English but I’m sure most South Africans can agree that one of the hard things about living in London is the lack of wide open spaces. Yes I know there are a lot of parks and commons to take a stroll in but sometimes it would be nice to see a horizon in the distance and not the next sky rise building.

I have recently learnt that there are thousands of miles of former railway lines open to the public, offering traffic-free, family-friendly routes.

The air is crisp and the only sound is birdsong or perhaps a stream running alongside the path. The pleasure of stretching your legs and enjoying the fresh air is even sweeter because there are no cars around, no large buildings blocking your view.

There are plenty of historical interests to. Look out for the signs along the way explaining the history of the line and the area.

The closest route in London is the Parkland Walk, London

A four-mile treelined route known as the Parkland Walk. The route is mostly flat but there are a couple of slopes due to tunnel closures. It can be muddy.

It is London’s longest Local Nature Reserve, with more than 2,000 wild flower species recorded, as well as hedgehogs, foxes and the occasional muntjac. It is also part of the Better Haringey Walking Trail, a 12-mile circular walk around the borough of Haringey.

You can access the walk at the following points:

• Finsbury Park, N4
• Oxford Road, N4
• Florence Road, N4
• Lancaster Road, N4
• Stapleton Hall Road, N4
• Blythwood Road, N4
• Crouch End Hill, N8
• Crescent Road, N8
• Holmesdale Road, N6
• Cranley Gardens, N10
• Muswell Hill Road underpass, N10
• St James’ Lane, N10
• Muswell Hill Road, N10

Visit: tinyurl.com/railwayparklandwalk

What do I need?

• You don’t need any special equipment– just comfortable shoes or boots.
• Most railway line walks are easy to navigate, so you won’t always need a map. But do consider taking an Ordnance Survey or Sustrans map if you think you may need help finding the start of the route, or to help you work out where the nearest café, or other destination, might be.
• Take a bottle of water with you. If you’re going on a longer walk, you may also want a snack such as a banana or some sandwiches.
• Choose a rucksack with padded straps, which is easier to carry than a carrier bag or handbag.
• Wear layers that you can take off if you get too warm, and take a hat and gloves and a waterproof jacket just in case.

Breakfast

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, NEVER skip it!!!

Not only does it kick start your metabolism, it gives you the energy you needto start the day. Skipping breakfast makes you more likely to binge eat later on in the day and it troughs your sugar levels right off and causes you to snack on all those unhealthy sweets.

My yummy breakfast this morning was a big bowl of bran, and to avoid using sugars I added some sliced strawberries and a few raisins…

Tomorrow morning breakfast for everyone!!!!

Get your diet on track.

I hope by now everyone has started the 2012 fitness plan and is well on their way to a healthy year. In order to reach your goals faster and have the energy to keep active and not be tempted to eat all those naughty foods you also need to make sure your diet is on the right track

I’m sure you can see how pointless it would be if you went to the gym and let’s say burnt 500 calories in a spin class but then went and had a lunch at KFC with the average meal being about 1300 calories.

The key to my success has been to educate myself in what my body needs and how much of it to give it. Your diet should not only be about how many calories you are eating but are you giving your body the nutrition and energy it needs. A slice of cracker bread may be low in calories but it’s not giving your body any nutrition. Swap that for a handful of nuts and a cup of green tea and you will have more energy and be filler for longer.

I’m currently on a 1400 calorie diet; I try eating 500cal for breakfast, then a 1oocal mid-morning snack;. 400cal for lunch with another 100cl snack in the afternoon and then 300cals for dinner. If I’m still a little hungry before I go to bed I have another 100cal snack.

Take some time to put together a weekly eating plan for yourself, this will help you to eat healthy and keep you on track.

I’ve added one of my eating plans below to give you some guidelines to how I do it.

I can’t believe that 2012 is already here!!

If last year is anything to go by then I can’t wait to see what’s in store for me this year.

I’m sure most of you have set a few New Year’s resolutions and I hope have not broken them yet.

Let’s make 2012 the fit year, the healthy year, the year you reach all your fitness goals.

Over the Christmas break I took a wonderful holiday, I went to Paris, Switzerland, Germany, Amsterdam and Belgium. I had the most amazing experiences and made some wonderful friends. With all those countries came wonderful foods and flavours, and way too many calories.

In three weeks I’m leaving on another holiday to South Africa, with it being summer there I can’t hide all the extra kilo’s under a winter coat so the next three weeks the goal is to try lose all those extra flabby bits.