Health Round-up: Marathons, dieting and Diabetes

April has seen most of us gearing up for the chocolate fest that we all know as Easter. As a mum of four, I am surrounded by large quantities of chocolate and it makes it very difficult to be sensible when I get those late night blogging munchies. For other bloggers, chocolate was the last thing on their mind and I have been following Claire Justine’s progress with great interest as she prepared to take on the London Marathon for the second year running. After months of mixed feelings, she succeeded and her post about her London Marathon Story is a real inspiration to us all.

Our general obsession with chocolate, sweets and other foods that aren’t great for our waistlines can lead to another issue; Diabetes, however many people don’t realise that there are two types of Diabetes let alone the difference between the two. Having grown up with a father who has Type 1 and who only recently aged 67 was fitted with an insulin pump after 52 years of injections, I can understand Jane from Northern Mum’s frustration at people’s ignorance about Diabetes. Her post Are you a pure idiot about Diabetes? is an interesting and informative read and like Jane I hope that they find a cure for this terrible disease.

The reality of finding cures and improving treatment for patients with any disease are hindered by legal barriers that often prevent new research and innovative treatment to be given and this is a subject that is Chris from Thinly Spread and many other bloggers are passionate about. In her post earlier this month, Chris reminds us why the Saatchi Bill is so important and how we can help.

As a parent, sleep is something that we often don’t get enough of whether it be from waking during the night with children or late nights and early mornings. The thought of waking up and not being able to move is a terrifying one. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must be to experience this many times in your life. This has happened to Tantrums and Glitter and in her post Sleep paralysis and me, she tells us more about her experiences.

The recent bout of warmer weather has definitely lifted everyone’s spirits and it also often leads us to think about losing those extra pounds that we have gained over the winter months. Marie Claire has an interesting round-up of Diet Plans: The 5 Everyone’s Talking About.

Having tried a fair few diets myself over the years, lots of people seem to be talking and blogging about the Paleo diet which is in fact, more of a lifestyle change than a diet. If like me, Paleo is new to you, Julie from Mama Owl gives us an update on her new Paleo regime and also explains what it is all about and where you can get more information.

Alternatively, we could be inspired by Sophie from Franglaise Cooking and follow the French example when it comes to eating. The before and after photos are proof that a change in location and diet certainly helped Sophie to lose those extra pounds. Dieting is also on on the mind of Sarah from Grenglish. After a recent health check, she is faced with the prospect of having to lose weight and in Stuck in a Diet Rut, she talks about all the diets she has tried in the past and hopes that Slimming World is going to help her on her quest.

To finish off this month, I will leave you with two posts that have made me smile. Firstly, in Four Pregnancy Symptoms Celebs Don’t Experience (Apparently) by Molly at The Motherhood wonders if celeb mums to be are immune from some of the less glamorous symptoms of pregnancy. Finally, back on the subject of diets, Sonya from The Former Ramblings of a Rock n Roll Mum will definitely make you laugh with her post How to Fail at Dieting which I actually could have written myself. I have no doubt that a few of her ‘techniques’ will resonate with you.

I will be back next month and until then, enjoy the weather, don’t eat too many Easter eggs and if you write any health related posts over the next few weeks, why not tweet me the link (@stressymummy).

About Nikki Thomas

Nikki Thomas really is the Stressy Mummy in her blog of the same name and she blogs about just about anything that comes into her head about life as a busy mum. Being a mum to four, wife and part-time teacher takes its toll. Healthy living is something that she always aspires to and having very sporty and active children inspires her to find ways to make sure that she can keep up with them and their antics.