Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

Hubby and I have been trying to eat healthy during the last few months. We’re counting calories and have increased our daily exercise.

About two weeks ago I discovered an iTouch app called Fitness Pal. It’s free, and we’ve found it very good for counting calories and recording our exercise. For those who don’t have an iTouch or phone, you can use the web based Fitness Pal. There are also mobile applications.

Check it out. It’s working for us.

Twin Trouble received a wonderful review from Whipped Cream and is up for book of the week. You can vote for Twin Trouble or one of the other nominated books here.

Most days I go for a bike ride. It’s a great way to get out of the house and combat bottom spread–the writer’s curse. I think I suffer from a very mild form of hayfever or allergies because the minute I go outside my nose starts to run. It’s not enough to cause me distress, but when I’m exercising I tend to breathe through my mouth.

Picture this: Me calmly riding along on my bike with my mouth open and listening to my iPod.

Got the picture? Right. The minute I open my mouth it’s like an invitation to a Rave. The invitation spreads fast and far to every bug in the vicinity. They fly in like kamikaze pilots, diving bombing me to get to the party.

Now, we get to the unladylike topic of spitting.

Here’s what happens. A bug flies into my mouth. First I almost run my bike off the path. I’m choking and gasping and flapping my hands. Oh, good, I think. The bug didn’t get in. Then I feel it. The bug inside my mouth. I gag and splutter and attempt to spit it out. It’s still there. I gather up saliva, swish my mouth and do my very best spit. A great blob of saliva lands on my hand and I start laughing. Remember I’m still riding my bike? Right. I’m now chuckling like an idiot, wobbling down the path, and swiping my wet hand on my T-shirt. Oy!

When hubby reads this he’s gonna laugh. He’s always said I’m a girl when it comes to spitting. Personally I don’t think it’s a skill I need to learn, not unless I come back as a llama or a camel. Then I’ll be in real trouble.

BTW – today’s bike ride was a two-bug day.

How are your spitting skills?

At this time of the year many of us are thinking about losing weight, especially after all the yummy festive goodies we’ve consumed. I found these tips in a Diabetes New Zealand brochure that arrived in our mailbox. I thought they’d make an excellent TT topic.

Thirteen Tips for Weight Loss

1. Make a plan. It’s the best way to avoid that “grab a snack” thing that happens when you’re hungry.

2. Fruit and vegetables are great. Remember Five Plus a day?

3. Bread and cereals are good to fill you up, but remember wholegrain is best – and avoid sugary cereals.

4. Fruit juice can contain almost as much sugar as fizzy soft drinks. Water is best if you’re thirsty.

5. Chocolate, lollies and other treats aren’t healthy. Keep them as an occasional treat.

6. Know your food labels and learn what they mean. Even when labels say “lite” it’s worth checking the back to make sure they’re less than 10% fat.

7. Go for a walk. It doesn’t need to be far. Even once around the block will get things pumping.

8. Make friends with stairs. Whenever there’s an option, stairs are the way to go.

9. Set easy goals, make a plan and stick to it. It’s easier to do things if you’ve written them down.

10. Join a club such as walking, dancing or even an amateur theatre club to keep yourself active.

11. Aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day. (60 mins for kids) It doesn’t need to be all at once. You can split it up into 10 minute intervals.

12. During the first couple of weeks weigh foods and keep track of your calories. For a normal woman (i.e. me) aim for around 1200 calories per day to achieve weight loss.

13. Don’t try to do it alone. Recruit family members or friends to join you on your weight loss adventure.

Do you have any helpful diet tips to add?

Read. You’ll probably hear this from every published writer you meet. You’ll probably hear it at every conference you attend too. It really is important to know how the romance genre works and the classic hooks that are popular with readers. Analyze each book you read. Treat them like textbooks and learn from every book. Discover what works for you as a reader, learn how other writers deal with dialogue, narrative and love scenes. As you read, you’ll absorb quite a bit of craft and you’ll probably find that you do things instinctively after a while.

A bonus tip: Take the time to exercise. Not only does it keep your mind alert and give you down time to plot and work through problems, it helps keep the dreaded bottom spread at bay. What? You thought bottom spread was an urban legend put out by published authors to scare you off? No, unfortunately. It’s quite true. If you spend all your time writing and don’t exercise you will end up with a large backside. Heed my warning and exercise!

Visit Shelley Munro’s website
Purchase Shelley’s latest release, The Bottom Line

This is the present hubby and I received from his mother.

And this is what it contained.

Do you think this is a hint to exercise?

Today is the last day of my Soldier of Fortune tour. I’m visiting Kaye Manro and talking about communication, the war zone and letter writing.

I’m also visiting Romance Roll Call where I have an interview.

Last year my younger sister was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. It’s a disease that affects the nerves and eventually sufferers end up in a wheel chair. At present there’s no cure. It was a shock to us all, and I really feel for her. We (the family) all suffer from a sense of helplessness because there is nothing we can do, except to offer help when it’s needed and to be available to listen when necessary.

She works in a bank, and since the world economy has declined, it has become a very stressful job. Not only do employers put pressure on staff to meet targets, but customers shout at the staff and expect them to work miracles. My sister has reduced her hours, but the week before last, a customer returned from overseas, went into the branch and shouted at her for twenty minutes nonstop. She’s good at her job, is efficient, and customers follow her whenever she moves to a new branch. She felt she hadn’t done anything wrong and was very upset when the branch manager and those higher up backed the customer. She was so upset it triggered her MS. Her shoulders ached, and when I rang her, she couldn’t get up to answer the phone. Her body didn’t work.

When we talked she said she was so disillusioned, she’d decided to hand in her notice. For her it was a matter of principle. I agreed. Last week she handed in her notice, and in the new year, she’ll start job hunting. She said it felt as if a weight had lifted from her shoulders, and after a couple of days off work plus a doctor’s visit, the pain faded. She’s getting around again and seems a little better, at least for now.

Last week the doctor told her about some new clinical trials for MS sufferers. Even though the trials won’t help her, she’s decided to participate in the hope the research and results will help others in the future.

I’ve discussed stress in the past. It’s is a terrible thing, and we all suffer from it at some point. I remember coming out in a full body rash because I was so worried about some upcoming exams. These days I’m fairly stress free. I’m a big believer in regular exercise. Go for a walk, take the kids to a nearby park and get some fresh air. It really does help reduce stress levels.

People who are under a great deal of stress feel as if their lives are out of control. If I ever get to this stage, I find that lists are a good idea. Write down all the things you need to do, prioritize and tick the items off one by one. A list really does help with a semblance of control.

For my sister, she needs to slow down a little. Hopefully, she will find an enjoyable job–one that won’t send her into meltdown. My fingers are crossed.

The run up to Christmas is usually busy and it can be stressful. What strategies do you use to cope with stress? And if anyone has experience with MS, do you have advice?

Hubby and I went shopping on Saturday and added to our Wii collection. We’re now the proud owners of Wii Personal Trainer and also a Fitness Coach since the shop was having a sale. Sales are very dangerous things! Hubby has been muttering about his sore quads for the last two days. Today I set up the Fitness Coach and entered all my personal details. I’m working on upper body strength. I did fine until the perky fitness coach got to push ups. Problem. I can’t do them.

Yes, it’s true. I’m a whiny weakling who can’t do a proper push up to save myself. I have to do the cheats ones, and even they’re hard work. You can bet I was muttering by the time I was finished. I only did a 15 minute workout because I didn’t want to end up like hubby with really sore muscles. At the end of the workout, the perky fitness coach announced I’d used 90 calories.

Whoop-dee-doo! A whole 90 calories. For an instant I wondered why I’d bothered. I mean, I learned I can’t do push ups, and there’s little gain for all that pain. I’ll probably do the right thing though, and keep going. Heck, maybe I’ll even graduate to real push ups…

Can you do push ups?

Hubby and I have discussed getting a Wii for a long time, but kept putting it off. During the weekend Mr. Munro rang me up and asked if he could buy one. I couldn’t think of a single reason why he couldn’t and he arrived home with a Wii. Our theory is that it will be good exercise during the colder winter months. We purchased the basic one that comes with the sports and have spent most nights playing a few games of tennis and baseball.

My favorite is the tennis. I luv tennis. In real life I’m not a good player. I have enthusiasm but no skill. With the Wii, I like the way I can serve and always get the ball in the right place. Not so much in real life.

I have a problem with my right arm and have to baby it along, even when it comes to writing. Playing on the Wii hurt it so I’ve switched to playing with my left hand. Strangely my tennis has improved. I now know what I’ve been doing wrong all these years!

I’ve heard that the fitness Wii is very good, especially the new Personal trainer. We’re thinking we might get that next. I like to cycle and walk, but don’t get much upper body exercise. Hopefully, the Wii will cure that problem.

Do you have a Wii? Do you like it? Do you have the Fitness program, and if so, do you like it? What is your favorite type of non-Wii exercise?

…that a person uses different muscles climbing up and down mountains to when they cycle, walk and run?

OR:

…to take better care of my big toe – the same toe that I injured while ice skating when I was in my teens, the same toe the Goal Attack or Goal Shoot managed to jump on every netball season after that. I’ve given up counting the number of times that toe nail has bruised and dropped off. Another one coming up to add to the number.

I Hurt.

A recent survey done by SPARC (Sport & Recreation New Zealand) has found that around half of New Zealand adults exercise for at least half an hour a day five times a week. Their survey shows the level of exercise among adults is about the same as in 2001.

SPARC spends around 70 million dollars a year on their campaign to encourage New Zealanders to Push Play and exercise. They’re calling the survey results encouraging, yet surely that means fifty per cent of NZ adults aren’t exercising?

I heard on the radio this morning that the NZ result is better than in many overseas countries but I couldn’t find an online source to quote.

I’m in the positive fifty per cent who exercise. I find exercise a great stress reliever and feel more alert afterwards. I also use the time while I’m exercising to think about my writing and often work out plot problems. I feel horrid if I don’t exercise. I cycle, walk and run a bit. Oh, and dance when I can get away with it. As I mentioned a few days ago, the dog takes exception to my dancing! Exercise isn’t always fun. Some days I don’t feel like moving from my chair, but I do it anyway. I’m a firm believer in the use it or lose it school of thought, believing keeping mobile helps you later when you’re older. I have to think about these things you know because I don’t have any children to look after me in my old age.

I’m lucky to live in an area with a lot of walking and cycling paths. I was excited this week to see the council is extending the paved area again. The concrete should be dry and the new paths open in a few days so I can explore it to see where they go.

How are you at the exercise thing? Does your country have a similar organization to encourage people to exercise?