DEFIBRILLATORS IN SCHOOLS: Text VALE66 and the amount you wish to pledge to 70070

Where it all started

After getting married last year, we both got quite comfortable, and Ben gained a fair amount of weight. He decided that it was time to get fit, but lacked in motivation, which lead to 'secret eating' and 'we will start the diet on Monday'...but he found that there was another Monday every week!

Choosing Tough Mudder

He decided to sign up for a challenge which would force him to get fit and healthy, through fear of not surviving the run. He chose tough mudder.



What is Tough Mudder?

The Tough Mudder website describes the event as 'Tough Mudder is a 10-12 mile obstacle course designed to test all-around strength, stamina, teamwork, and mental grit.' and also warns 'Tough Mudder is probably the toughest event on the planet.'

For more information about Tough Mudder, including how to sign up, Click here the visit the Tough Mudder Website!

What Ben is raising Money for

As fundraising manager for the Vale of Lune R.U.F.C, Ben decided that this was a good opportunity to support the club, to allow more children to train and take part in activities and trips which are difficult for parents to fund.The Vale of Lune R.U.F.C is a brilliant club, dedicated to supporting the children to be the best that they can be, while encouraging team work, passion, enthusiasm, dedication, healthy eating and physical fitness.

However, we believe that we can take this further, and all members of the club agreed that it is important to to get a defibrillator for the club, and as the club is at the centre of our community, we believe that we can continue to raise funds, so we not only gain the essential life saving equipment for the club, and the training to use it, but we aim to put defibrillators in schools across Lancashire, and fund the training to use them.

What are defibrillators and why do we need them in schools?

Defibrillators are small devices which are used when someone is experiencing cardiac arrest. If someone collapses or is breathing erratically, and CPR is required, a defibrillator would be used. Once the device is opened, spoken instructions are given, but it is also important to have people trained in how to use them.

The British Heart Foundation states that 60,000 cardiac arrests happen out of hospital in the UK every, single year. We need these devices in businesses, in areas that are prone to traffic, in businesses, offices, shopping centres, restaurants, and in our rural areas.

We are going to start by putting them in as many schools across Lancashire as possible. Especially schools in our beautiful countryside, which could be a considerable distance away from the nearest defibrillator.

How you can help save lives

You can donate on the Just Giving website, or you can text VALE66 to 70070 and state the amount you wish to pledge. The minimum donation is just £1. If you feel that you cannot donate as little as £1 at the moment but still wish to help this cause, please share this information on your facebook, gmail, twitter or email accounts, tell a friend, get them to tell their friends.

Thank you on behalf of Ben Gardiner, Vale of Lune R.U.F.C and everyone else involved.

Listen out for us on The Bay Radio Station who will be sharing this information and supporting us.

3 Vital Assets to Help Ben Run & The Fear of Death

This week Ben decided to start jogging, a pass-time that he hasn't attempted for about 15 years. Even when he was gym obsessed, it was never cardiovascular. He did try swimming at one point last year, but he took that to the extreme and started tying his arms or his legs to make it more difficult, even though doing a few extra lengths would have had the same results, without the chance of drowning. 

Before he set off, he gave himself a few hours, to talk the idea over and prepare himself mentally. As soon as he realised I wasn't listening, he rang his brother, who has a lot of experience in this sort of training. He advised Ben to give it a go, to set a distance and do it, even if some of it is walked. 

Ben ignored this advice, pushed himself to his limits and realised 3 vital things. 

1. To run on the road, you need trainers. Decent trainers, that have no holes in, and have more uses than 'those shoes you don't mind ruining while doing household DIY projects'. 
2. You need lungs. Lungs that have not been abused for years through smoking. Lungs that aren't affected by asthma attacks, set off by the sudden and dramatic change in exercise routine. 
3. You need a heart. A heart which has not had to cope with the strains of modern living, poor diet, lack of exercise and chain smoking. 

These three things can, of course, be adjusted.

He bought the shoes the next day...

Now, anyone who has heard the recent, shocking story, about a local jogger who was attacked by a naked man in brightly coloured trainers, would probably agree, that to buy brightly, coloured, trainers and take up jogging in the same area, just a few days after the police appeal is released, is probably not the wisest idea. Thankfully, he always goes out clothed and couldn't catch other joggers, so, hopefully, he won't be jumped by an angry mob, due to mistaken identity. 

So, with the best of intentions to go for a run, he prepared his new trainers and did his yoga routine as a warm up. I was busy baking 86 cupcakes and having the fridge fixed...again, when Ben started complaining of chest pains. 

He asked me if there was anything to worry about, and I told him to enjoy his run.

He sat with me for a while, waiting for the cramp to ease. He asked me again if I was worried. I told him if he thought he was really ill, to go to A & E and offered to take him...as soon as the cupcakes had risen...because I didn't want to take them out, just before they were properly cooked...you know...they do that dippy thing, and feel a bit soggy. 

So I sat him on a chair watching some programme near me, and made sure my phone was charged...in case he needed me to phone anyone... he looked ok. 

By the time I was almost finished topping each cupcake with butter-cream icing, he was having palpitations and getting pins and needles in his arm and hand. He had started to sweat a fair bit, so I told him to google it. Google suggested he was having a heart attack or that he had been electrocuted. I told him to have a sleep. 

Today, the Dr checked his heart to give him peace of mind, and all if fine. He seems to be suffering from stress or anxiety, and the amount of coffee and red bull cannot be helping matters either. What is to be anxious about anyway...it's not like he is about to attempt to complete Tough Mudder with next to no training, having just quit smoking, with severe asthma and the ability to run almost a mile before collapsing in a heap...oh wait...

Day One: 20mins yoga, Headstand and a 1 mile run in 9 minutes

The training has started, and about time too! After a good, motivational speech from a close, family, friend, Darren, who told Ben that if he doesn't pull out of this event, he is definitely going to die, I decided to lead by example and hope that Ben would follow. The kids started copying first...

I have been doing the intermittent fasting diet for about a month or so now, as suggested by Cord Barham. Over the first few days I tried to eat as much as I could within the 8 hour eating window, to ease the anticipated, hunger of the 16 fasting hours. That weekend I lost 8lbs. I am lactose intolerant and struggle to process some other sugars, which sometimes leads to low blood pressure, water retention and swelling up... amongst other symptoms, so I assume that the diet had begun to regulate my sugar levels, and I must have lost some sort of water that I was perhaps retaining...I don’t know, but I lost 8lbs. 

The following weeks, I struggled to stay within the time frames, snacking when I shouldn't and drinking lemsips in my fasting times. I didn't track my weight very rigidly during this time, and I didn't do any exercise. 

Since the 'Darren Talk of Doom' I have stuck to the fasting really well. My appetite has dramatically decreased, and I do not feel the need to snack. My entire mind-set about food has changed.

In the past, I would think of a nice food, and I would plan to buy it and eat it, while sat down on the sofa, in the evening. I have lost this relationship with food, and I now think, "Go and buy it and eat it now". It is amazing how that doesn't have the same emotional connection. This has led to me eating foods that I see as filling, only when I am hungry, and consequently, I am not snacking on comfort foods. I am still eating the foods I enjoy, without counting the calories or avoiding certain food groups, but I am not binge eating, which I had originally planned to do, within my 8 hour window.

So, this week, I have been doing yoga and sticking to the intermittent fasting times. In the morning, I have been doing 5-10 minutes of yoga. A sun salutation and a headstand for a minute or two. I have then waiting until 10.00hrs to have ‘breakfast’. This is usually in the form of a packed lunch, or a light dinner. I think eat what I want and drink what I want, at the times that I feel hungry. I have my evening meal at around 17.00hrs and my last cup of ‘proper’ Yorkshire tea… (sorry Lancashire I know I am a traitor), then I stick to Clipper Green tea, as this is by far, my favourite. I like the full range of herbal teas, and they are supposed to help with weight loss and all sorts of other health benefits.

I have been doing the bulk of my exercise in the evening and Ben has started to join me. I have been doing about an hour of yoga each night. Ben decided to join me, and he has already started to see results! 

I do believe in that 'muscle memory' business...but I don't know how long that takes...

This was when we first met, 6 years ago. Tonight Ben seems to have got the fitness bug again. He cannot do things by halves, so maybe this is the start of something...

The kids are being supportive, of course, and we spent the day in the park, walking, climbing and kite flying...

I am really enjoying the outdoors and the fresh air recently, Ben isn't a massive fan, the weekend is for chilling out in his opinion, but I know that the children cannot bounce of the walls if there are no walls to bounce off, so we decided to get them out, in the park, and get active. 

After just a few days of yoga, Ben managed to gain some perspective, by turning things upside down for a while...

This is a huge achievement for someone that couldn't touch their toes a few days ago, and although there is still a long way to go, being able to see improvements does motivate and inspire us. So much so, that Ben went for a run after his yoga session tonight. He managed just under a mile in 9 minutes, and I am guessing Mo Farah isn't worried, but it is a start and we all have to start somewhere. 

He looked great when he got home... well, maybe not great...or fresh...but more...wrung out like a sponge. Still, day one...done. 

So what better way to wind down...but a face mask and a hot bath...

Yoga Skipping

We have had a rubbish week. It has been stressful and tiring, which has lead to both of us being, completely off course with the I.F. dieting and the exercise. 

Towards the end of the week, we were both feeling the pressure, myself more than Ben. 

I really struggle if anything disturbs my routines, I have a lot of them, like spinning plates, and a glitch means I smash plates. 

This week has been filled with that sort of plate smashing, stressfulness, and accompanied by exhaustion. 

Ben has had to come home from being away to help with the...clear up processes, and this has cost us time we both do not have. 

So I needed to get back into a routine, emotionally and physically, I have needed routine and I hope to lead by example, because I am currently seriously worrying about Ben.

Ben still hasn't started training, not even a walk to the shop. Our close friends are starting to worry that he may end up with a serious injury from Tough Mudder. I have asked Ben to speak to his brother about joining him, because I know that he is probably the only one that would help him through it and who would also keep him focused to get to the finish line. People get extreme strength mentally and physically when they need to and when a loved one is involved...Right? 

He believes he is mentally strong enough and has planned out a fitness regime... only, he is really cutting it fine. 

So over the weekend, now I am feeling a bit better, I have started doing yoga again, morning and night. I have also stuck to the I.F. diet and I am back to drinking green tea. 

While I did my morning workout and meditation...Ben spent his time searching for his pants and moaning that we were going to be late. (Which we were, a bit, but only because we forgot a birthday present and had to come home for it!) 


We then visited our friends, who made us all breakfast. At around 11.00hrs, we ate bacon butties. My I.F. eating window is 10.00hrs-18.00hrs, so Ben decided his could be the same for today...(I don't think that is how it works?) 

I ate one bacon buttie, drank a coffee and had a glass of orange juice. Ben ate FOUR bacon butties, had a few cups of espresso and a glass of orange juice...

We then went out for a meal to celebrate a birthday. Ben had talked about having a salad. I humoured this. I humour a lot. 

Once we were there, Ben orders a massive, family, combo starter, with a range of deep-fat fried treats such as, onion rings, chicken wings and breaded mushrooms, with garlic bread and a lonely lettuce leaf, which served as decoration alone, as no one bothered eating it, and it was nudged around the plate, then left to go back into the kitchen. 

I ate 2 onion rings and 2 garlic mushrooms. The rest is history but there was only the lettuce leaf left.

Ben then ate a chilli cheese burger, with chips. I had a chicken burger. It consisted of two, battered, chicken fillets, so I split one of them between the children and gave them half of my chips. I could not finish the chips and I left the bun. Ben ate all of his.

We then sang happy birthday and Ben cut the cake. Ben ordered an ice cream sundae, and ate 4 pieces of cake with it. He then ordered ANOTHER ice cream sundae and ate ANOTHER FOUR pieces of cake with that one!!! All washed down with red bull (3 of them...after 2 cans of monster on the journey).

We didn't eat anything else after all this... thankfully. We got home and I did 45 minutes of ashtanga yoga, followed by a 15 minute head stand and a lovely hot bath to finish the day...

Ben just had the hot bath...and skipped the yoga. 

Back to the diet...strepsils, lemsip and fry ups...

It is the weekend and that means a fry up in our house!

Since being sold the Pampered Chef deep covered baker, I have actually been cooking! Thanks for that Johanna Doerr and Amanda Green! You were right...it is a magic, miracle, pot! (And an absolute bargain after hosting a party!)

So far...no major disasters, although I haven't informed the local fire service of the new purchase. I am guessing they would have advised against it, and told me to keep Ben cooking...how is he the responsible one...?


Anyway, we are all feeling pretty rough after a very long week! So today, I got up, made a lemsip, threw a handful of strepsils into my mouth and started cooking a very large fry up. I hope there isn't a limit on how many strepsils one person can have... That would make an embarrassing afternoon in A&E...don't try it at home, just in case!!!

So, maybe the diet isn't perfect, but I very much doubt we are over the calorie limit and we have eaten within the 8 hour eating window...now just to stick to the 16 hour fasting and possibly a work out...? Oh and I put coleslaw on it...that is veg...right?

Maybe some yoga in the park tomorrow...we shall see!?!

Exhaustion is beginning to kick in...for all the wrong reasons!!!

It has been a long week!

We decided to do try an intermittent fasting diet. The 5:2 diet definitely didn't look achievable, but the 8:16 one looked great! We managed to stick to it over the weekend, but our eldest son has been having a lot of asthma attacks, so we have lost track of times, which has made it a lot harder.

It started out great though, we ate what we wanted between 10.00hrs and 18.00hrs, then we fast between 18.00hrs back round to 10.00hrs, giving up an 8 hour window to eat what we want.

This advice came from a friend, Cord, who advised us to give it a go and work out during the fasting time.

I am looking forward to starting it again as Tuesday night we had a dominoes...Wednesday we had Mr Wang's Chinese take away and tonight Ben was left with a sandwich! 

So, here is hoping that little man gets well soon and we can get back into a routine. When I say 'we', I obviously mean 'me', because the closest thing to a workout Ben has had is playing Candy Crush! 

The 40 (and the rest!) Day Smoking Habit...

Well of course it had to stop...but it shouldn't have been started, so saying 'just stop' was pretty much like saying 'you shouldn't have started'...there were reasons...excuses...pinpointed moments in history that could account for it, but after all of the discussions about his health, his terrible asthma and his slug-like speed...Ben eventually decided, enough was enough.

Ben decided this every single day...for years! So something had to change!

years...

He had tried just stopping...that was no fun! I was sneaking patches on him after the first hour or so...he was unbearable to live with!

and years and 

He tried those tablets that make you physically ill if you smoke, when you take them... Well when it came to perseverance, this is where Ben's strength and mind-over-matter attitude was really born...because he smoked through the sickness!!!

years and years and

Finally, he'd tried e-cig's. Of all sorts of brands and all sorts of shapes. He always started off well, then a few weeks in, ended up with severe chest infections, and what is the answer to all chest related illnesses...? Yeah...you guessed it! Smoking...apparently! Well, that's what Ben did, and after no time at all, he'd be back stinking of smoke!

years and years of smoking!

This time, he has taken a slightly different approach. He didn't throw the cigs away... He left them there, and tried to smoke one, after a few days of being on the e-cig. He had one whenever he really felt like one, and after a few days of forcing himself to have one cig a day... acting like he was ending a relationship, weaning himself away for the newer, younger, healthier model, it finally worked.

Holiday snaps from many moons ago

I had no faith in it working, but I left him to it...sense an ongoing theme?

Ben cannot do things by halves... so if this is frustrating you already...welcome to my world!

WE ARE STILL CURRENTLY SMOKE FREE AND HAPPY!!! (watch this space)