Soo should we all be taking creatine?

Cheeky Run Club recognizes that every day we live, work, and run on Aboriginal land.

Welcome to Cheeky Run Club, the social running podcast and community for your everyday amateur runner. Hello, Phoebe, and hello, listeners. I was trying really hard not to read the intro

into your microphone.

for once.

that why you were making intense eye contact with me?

Yeah, I'm coming up on today's show. We are tackling a question that's been popping up a little bit recently. Is creatine good for runners? We thought it was about time we did some research into whether it is beneficial for runners, when and how on earth you use it, and whether or not the myths about it only being for bodybuilders is in fact true.

As promised in we then check back in on our intentions and goals we set out at the start of the year and how we're tracking with them.

before we get into it, we have a very exciting update about our first ever Cheeky Run in Sydney, which is this weekend! Woohoo! are

excited to see all of you there. Basically in terms of how the event's going to work, so it's on Saturday morning, it's 8am, and we have, with the help of our friends at Nike, managed to actually book out the Swans headquarters for the morning, which is pretty insane. You

get player autographs,

Yeah,

no I'm just

from

that. It is genuinely

it is genuinely a very cool space and Probably the coolest part of it is that it's literally right next to Centennial Park, which, in my mind, is possibly the best spot for running in the world.

it's the best spot for running in the Is that a big goal or not really?

animals of

possums, there'll be pace groups of going at five minute pace, six minute pace, seven minute pace, eight minute pace. And also feel free to just come and walk or feel free to just come hang around and stay for the coffee. Literally everyone is invited.

is exactly right. And when you get back, you'll be treated to breakfast and coffee. It's It's all free courtesy of Nike and Ultraviolet. There's also going to be a heap of freebies. you'll all walk away with something and some of you will walk away with quite a little bit more.

more. Most importantly, we're just so excited to meet you all. So, please register. The link is in our show notes. And our bio on Instagram. just so we can gauge how many people are coming for the coffee and the food. But yes, come one, come all. Yes,

experience the cheeky community in real life. They've honestly, I couldn't think of a nicer way to start a weekend. Like every run that we've done, and we haven't done one in Sydney yet. Every run that we've done, I have left being just like, What an amazing, like, fun group of people.

Oh yeah. mess

event page out really late. sorry about that. So, it, we only just put it up. It's currently Friday, and we put it up on Thursday. And, so it's, it's a tight window, to try and let everyone know. So, um, rock up and you'll make Anna's

main panel today. Yes, woohoo! Um, so before we get into the main topic, let's kick it off with our best and worst runs of the week. Phoebe, give me your worst.

give me your worst. Worst? Okay. No doubt my worst run was this morning. Mm hmm. So I, as listeners may remember, I was treated to Not the right word. I had a colonoscopy yesterday. I was

I was treated to a pull up my bum. I was

I was treated to a

a stomach cleansing.

So, um,

reset. For

for anyone who's not Anna and so hasn't had many colonoscopies before, it's basically where they have a look inside you. And for me, they're just making sure that because my iron levels were so low, they needed to make sure that I wasn't losing blood anywhere internally, even though, as the doctor said to me at the start. So, what I understand, you're a female runner who doesn't eat meat. Mmm, okay.

That

that might be your answer. What did you say after? At the end, she goes, Yep, you're all good, you just need to eat meat. I was like, okay,

you, doctor.

so much for letting me know. Yes, Miss. And you do go under general anaesthetic for that. I did that yesterday and then I just felt obviously really tired all day yesterday afterwards. You're pretty knocked around, I slept so much all afternoon, all night and I woke up and I was like, oh, I feel really weird. And I know I was showing you before, but my aura ring data was crazy. It was crazy. It's so

was crazy, it's so new. My

heart rate, average heart rate overnight was 73 beats per minute, which is just like 20 beats higher than it normally would be. And my heart rate variability was flat lining and my temperature was really high. Anyway, my body was clearly just under a lot of strain. I suppose from that anesthetic, but I haven't seen that before. And so I thought I won't do my session. I'll just do a little run. And it was a really nice run. I ran with a group of friends.

jog. Yeah, any jog that Ant's on is a great jog. That's twice this week. Yeah,

I know. and so it was nice, but I just felt, light headed. And, not even light headed, just was like, flat and heavy the whole time. You know what I felt like? I felt a little bit like when I was iron deficient for most of last year. I was like, this actually

last year. So yeah,

yes, that was, it was just a light run and I actually did feel a little bit better afterwards I would say, but, um, Oh, like 5k. Yeah. Yeah. And took it really

Yeah, yeah.

How about you?

my worst run this week is actually a run that I did with your partner Sean. Oh, no! No!

be so disappointed if he listened to the podcast.

Like he doesn't, but he, we went for a run, which it wasn't anything to do with the company. It was actually really nice. Cause I, I mean, as you've said on the pod, it's not often that you get to run with one Sean Guinea these days. so that was really nice. We had a good chat, but he's quite a naturally fast runner. So he just, even if you're jogging, he just goes that. A little bit faster. And I think because I've just been doing shorter runs, super easy.

It's so

so hard. And I don't think, I don't know, even when you're running a lot, even if you hadn't had a race in a while, I feel like it's just thrown the terms like, oh, I'm, I'm fit. It's just thrown around so candidly, but now there's like a whole nother meaning.

you're like, this is,

is, this is what

it is so humbling

It is really humbling. Yeah. Yeah. Especially,

I mean, to come back to the comparison mindset that we spoke about, when you know what it can feel like to feel really good running and, at that pace, then all of a sudden you're looking at the pace and you're like. Oh my god, this should be jogging pace and yet I feel like I'm doing a

be Jogging Base, and yet

down.

feel like I'm doing it right. My

best was, for the first time in a very, very, very, very long time, was my long run.

And I feel like the only weeks it hasn't been my

And I feel like the only weeks it hasn't been my worst run is weeks when I've been like, I need to mix it

a mix

keep having my long

can't keep

I have not felt good in a long run in a year, I would say. Almost a year. Like, I can actually remember the last long run that I felt good. And it was almost a year ago. Yeah, I know. And this long run, I was not set up for success. we had a wedding on Friday night.

hour sleep

across the two nights, and it was 28 degrees at 5 30 in the morning and windy down on the coast.

sounds like the build up to your worst run. It sounds

right. It sounds like

the worst run ever. Anyway,

Anyway, I was running with Edo because he was down staying down there as well. And I just started running and I was like, I feel

Completely fine.

fine. I did the whole run. I did over fuel. So ran for an hour 45 and I had three gels, but I just wanted to give myself every chance to feel good.

And then also recover well.

yeah, yeah. Recovered well. And yeah, we ran for Oh, a bit less than an hour. And then my brother, Joey came and met us for the second half. We just had Big chats the whole time. I never hit a wall. I didn't feel tired. I just, I actually felt more energized by the end of it. and it was so exciting. Oh,

that's so good. Yay!

To be like, the iron's up. I know, and then even special second mention on Wednesday, because I knew I had this colonoscopy and I was going to have a taper this weekend because I'm racing next week, I was like, I'll do my 90 minute run on Wednesday. And. I had the nicest run as a Claudia. I finished it the last, kilometre I was running home by myself and I couldn't stop smiling. I was like, I'm at the end of a 90 minute run mid week and I feel completely

Yay!

I know, so that was really, really,

Um, if you, if this isn't, if you didn't

if you didn't get your iron checked post our iron episode, then hopefully this is the boost you need. what about you? What was your best run?

My best run is yet to come for the week.

Wow. I let them

thrown a few lemons at me this week and I have spoken to a couple of people and they said, you know what, just go for it.

Medical professionals.

professionals, I will say. Just go for a run. Don't worry about your, half hour limit. Just go for a run, enjoy yourself.

Yeah, you've earned it,

it. You've earned it, yeah. So, tomorrow, treat yourself. So tomorrow, I am going for what will be my longest run in, uh, oh my gosh, since July last year.

I don't

know how long it's going to

long it's going

Cause as I said from my worst run, I am quite unfit.

my work, I

But I'm excited.

I am excited.

I know. I know. I actually, I was speaking to my mum and dad before on the phone and I was talking to them about it. And dad made the comment and he was like, woohoo, treat yourself 20 kilometre run.

a run! You're crazy! You know what, I was going to do my session tomorrow, but I think I might need to come with

might need to come with

Well, next week, next week we'll get the full

get the full day break. We'll have the cheeky run.

if Let's have a talk about creatine. Now before we get into it, I actually wanted to say two of the reasons why we were super keen to chat about creatine, apart from the fact that it does just seem to have been a topic of discussion online recently for runners. Number one is.

It is really

supplements. But one of the things that we found is this graph that basically maps out all sports supplements based on Evidence on one axis and then performance impact on the other axis. And largely it's what you'd expect, in the top corner, you've got sports drinks and sports bars and caffeine, but there was one little bubble right in the top corner that really made us raise our eyebrows because compared to things like protein supplements and so on that are around it.

I ignorantly always just thought that it was a bit of a fad gym thing. And when I saw it so high on the graph, I was just like, sorry, what I genuinely thought it would be all the way down the bottom. for instance, at the other end of the spectrum, magnesium is so low. I

Which

we love. We love magnesium. So magnesium

magnesium. So is on pretty much the lowest rung from an evidence perspective, which is crazy. I will say this is looking at performance goals. But it is basically saying that There is no evidence that it supports your performance goals, which is, was very, enlightening for us.

It's more, there's more evidence that creatine supports you

It's, it's more, there's more evidence that creating supports. You than protein and it's much, it's further to the right in terms of its impact on you. The only thing that is better for your performance than creatine, according to this is sports drinks, that is the one supplement that beats creatine. And that is genuinely mind blowing. I would not have expected that. I saw that and I was like.

huge number of benefits. Yeah, and I also thought this other graph is super interesting. And it makes it really simple. We might even put this link in the show notes just so if you're more of a visual learner, like we are, you can also

Plus it'll be very painful to listen to us explain these graphs. Everyone's like, this axis, this axis. So, pretty

pretty much it's saying that the sports nutrition pyramid, according to what many supplement companies want you to think starts with supplements, then goes to sports nutrition. And then, the last thing is everyday nutrition fundamentals. Whereas what the evidence and sports nutrition experts know is that you should actually start.

I think it's actually really

actually really important.

we will talk about this as a supplement that can have performance enhancing benefits. But we're talking about the few percent is here and that's fine. It's fine to still care about these things and find them interesting, which they absolutely are. But it's important to say that it's only in the context of getting the basics right

yeah. Because I guess these big commercial companies can't make money out of selling bananas.

No,

you are

unless you are Australian

reached out

we have reached out to on Instagram for a partnership. Um, but yeah, I think that's, that's important to say is that there's no point focusing on this unless you're getting the fundamentals

more like

Or don't expect it to have a massive difference if you're not having

that. Doing all the other stuff. Yeah.

focus on that

Yeah. So, what is creatine and how does it work?

Yes. Okay. So creatine, it's a compound and it is naturally found in your muscle cells. So we all have it, but it's also ingested through the diet. So mostly through meat and fish is the main way that we get it. In fact, pretty much exclusively through animal sources unless you're taking a synthetic supplement.

also works primarily as an energy source to support short maximal intensity exercise. which I found super interesting, which I guess is maybe why it's the name of it. You kind of associate with people lifting weights Cause it also, it obviously really does benefit that.

that. So my, my understanding from reading about that is it's literally an energy source, like carbs or, except it just works differently in that it's. really short, it only works for 8 10 seconds of really intense energy, but it really helps your

like, expend the main benefit is if you're doing like shorter bursts, more powerful bursts, while creatine is often associated with sports that require explosive strengths, it can also benefit runners, particularly during sprints and interval training. And it does that by helping you perform at the high level for a longer period.

you know,

weren't supplementing with it.

The way I understood it is almost like there's the direct impact of that maximal exercise performance where like you're taking it and your muscles are able to perform that intense performance, better, which as we say is less relevant for endurance runners, that, that element of it. But then the kind of, indirect benefit is if you're taking it throughout your training.

muscle strength,

muscle size, which then as an endurance athlete, or as anyone who runs even, that's still going to have a really good impact on your running. Even if it's not that direct benefit from a 60 meter sprint

from like, a 60m

Well, so in terms of how it actually, I found this quite interesting on trying to understand what actually does in your muscles. So the main way that it benefits your muscles, and we'll talk about this through a few different lenses, including recovery and so on, is that it helps with your ATP production, which is adenosine triphosphate. I think that's basically what creatine turns into that you can then use as energy.

as energy. So creatine

gets

like, turned into that which we then use for energy. Yes. Okay, great.

that stores and provides energy for cells in all living Um, to create energy, which we need, but then outside of that, it increases muscle hydration. So something that people probably heard about when it comes to creatine is that you hold more water when you're taking creatine, it increases the water content in those muscle cells. So when cells are better hydrated, that, is thought to be linked to better performance because they function more efficiently.

So Creatine is also beneficial for muscle recovery due to several key mechanisms that help reduce muscle damage, enhance the repair process and speed up recovery after intense exercise. So as you just mentioned there's the improved ATP production, which means that the faster ATP replenishment can be especially beneficial after intense workouts, as it allows the muscles to recover and perform again with less delay, which makes sense.

DOMS. Um, yeah. Well, so, yeah, I guess basically to summarize those two points, because it's so helpful for your muscles. It both from an endurance and strength perspective, but then also a recovery perspective that is obviously going to have benefits for a runner. The final benefit of taking creatine supplements is actually to do with your brain health, which is really interesting. I have friends at work that take it

for

for their brain, like for their cognition. So, we spoke about how ATP is this energy source in your cells. That's the same for your brain as well. It's Your brain's main energy source is ATP, so there is evidence that it helps you stay really sharp and focused during, mentally challenging tasks. It

It does also, there is research to suggest that it protects the brain from oxidative stress, which is linked to conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Yeah. Keep brain

keep brain cells healthier, which I thought was quite interesting. And also improvement of mood.

Yep, mood, mental health, it's linked to, improving your mood and reducing symptoms of depression and stress, which is crazy. And brain recovery, so helping you bounce back from mental fatigue, which is crazy. Like these are amazing benefits.

why are we not taking it? All the time! Well, that's actually

are some side effects, side effects, but also some, I guess, some risks as with any of these things and, and as well. So one of the biggest known side effects is water retention.

So it can cause your muscles to hold on to more water, which might make you feel a bit bloated and cause some weight gain. It isn't actually you putting on excess fat. It's literally just water in your muscles. this can be annoying for some people, especially if you're trying to stay lean or compete in a specific weight class. Obviously us as runners, we don't do

you're not gonna notice it. It's

Yeah, yeah. I feel like that's probably more applicable to, you know, in these bodybuilding contests, how they literally have to fit into a weight category. Like maybe for that, if they're holding like a kilogram of water weight, but I feel like for amateur runners, we don't need to

No, I also, we're going to talk a little bit about how to take it, further down. But, a lot of people when they start taking creatine, they do something called loading where you take a lot in the first five days and that is quite optimal for strength training. However, that is the main thing that drives the significant amount of water retention. So, by the looks of it, if you take it for an endurance runner, you. You know, you may not need to worry about the loading side of things.

For a runner, yeah.

to worry about the loading side of things. So that, you may not even experience water retention in the first

Yeah. it can also upset, upset, upset your stomach. for some people like cause cramps, nausea, or sometimes diarrhea, especially if they take too much at once. So I would sort of just get into it gradually and make sure you're taking smaller doses or mixing it with plenty of water to avoid that.

of water to avoid that. on your kidneys if have healthy kidneys, then no stress. It's not going to be harmful to it. But if you do have kidney issues, then I would say check with the doctor before using it or any other major one is dehydration because what we spoke about before, it draws water into your muscles. You need to drink some more water. To actually stay hydrated, especially if you're working out. Yeah.

more water to actually stay hydrated. Especially if you're working out. know, as you've just said, research shows that it doesn't actually harm healthy kidneys. It's only a concern if you have pre existing kidney issues. So, if you

have a great renal function. You ahead and take that prescription. it definitely can benefit runners as we've just been through and also doesn't necessarily make you what kind of muscles you build depend on the training that you're doing, not the supplements that you're taking. So if you're, not doing training that is designed to build really bulky muscles, then, you're not going to all of a sudden wake up and be super buff when you weren't

not going to all of a sudden wake up and be super bummed that you weren't looking. our bodies already make. it's also found in foods like meat and fish, as we said at the top. So supplementing it just gives you a boost for better performance. it's actually one of the safest and most well researched supplements around as well, which is pretty interesting.

is crazy. It is, that is insane. So,

how should we use it?

is creatine monohydrate. That's basically, the creatine that all the research has been done around. that we know is really safe, is really effective. for example, there are other types. So creatine ethyl ester, creatine HCL, creatine nitrate. There's very limited evidence that these help. And they're actually more expensive. So These are often also in pill forms. So check that it's creatine monohydrate. Which is typically in a white powder. Although I have started to see it come out in

Yeah, I've seen that. I've actually at the gym that I go to, go to, went to, still a paying member. they have these little vending machines and they were giving out free creatine gummies. So I just had a couple cause I was

like, oh my god, I need

And they were actually quite delicious. They genuinely just tasted like normal lollies.

delicious. They tasted like normal lollies. the white powder that you mix with yogurt or water can be, uh,

can be, uh, Um, and then

check them out. Um, and then in terms of how you take it, you kind of have two options. One is what we said, which is you can do the loading. So loading is when over five days, you basically consume 20 grams a day. Yeah. Over four different doses. Mm. And that. essentially basically means you get the maximal benefit straight away and you load all your muscles with it and it prepares them really well, whereas otherwise you can just take, three to five grams a day.

really well. Whereas otherwise, you can just

Just skip the loading

three to five grams a day. the loading phase. Yeah. Saturating your muscles faster, I guess.

yeah, exactly.

so when to use it? The best time is probably post workout. and that is because after you work out, as we know, our muscles are pretty hungry for nutrients and that's when they'll absorb stuff like protein, carbs and creatine the best. the carbs especially help with getting the creatine into your muscles more effectively. So if you mix your creatine with a protein shake or some food after workout, you'll kind of get the most outta your muscle recovery.

Yeah. Yeah. And the main thing I feel like it says is just, take it consistently. Yeah. and you don't need to cycle creatine. Some people do if they're loading, but most people, you can just take it every

every day.

Um, try and pick something that fits with your routine, stick with it, and it can just be part of

just be part of gonna give

Well, I'm, I'm gonna give it a go.

gonna give it

I'm gonna give it a go. I'm

think I'm gonna

I'm going to order some of the gummies because I think I'll be more likely to take it if that's the case. Yeah. And I will monitor the impact and I will report

report back.

I feel like because, A, because Jess recommended it, but B, for me reading through all this research, I feel like there's clear benefits. And I'm just curious. Yeah. I'm really curious. I mean, why not? Yeah.

think I'm going to see how you go and then decide. Okay.

That is very fair. I'll report back.

Alright. So, as promised last week, we said that we would revisit our intentions and goals that we made for the year each month. Yeah. So, this is time for you guys to reflect as well. Yeah. Honestly. Yeah. So, Pheebs, your word of the year was respect. Are you embodying that and if so,

how? My In a hundred words or less, Um, I'm embodying it. I think that I'm really proud that I went and got my eye in checked.

And I acted

I acted on the information really quickly. I've also, I went and saw a dietitian and I got my iron infusion and I've been putting in a lot more effort. The other thing I was thinking is, I know we like to joke on the show that I don't listen to my

to my body.

But I was thinking about last year and how I was, you know, anemic. But I was thinking I actually did run so much less on average per week. Last year in that time period than I have in previous years. I did kind of, cause I was forced to, cause I was so tired, but I really pulled back my running and I'm even proud that I've adjusted my goals to be more about shorter stuff.

shorter stuff. So,

And I've really,

I really

And I've really enjoyed that. So, by no means is it perfect, but I think that I have been respecting

Yeah, I definitely think you have. I feel like there's been a big change, even this year. So yeah, I feel like be proud of yourself.

What about your word of the year was resilience? I'm going to give you a gold star.

Thank you. yes. I have had So, I said at the top of the episode, had a little bit of a challenging time. We'll maybe chat about it in the future. but, yeah, I feel like I'm trying.

You're trying. I'm trying. Yeah, you're doing an amazing

you. You are, and

I feel like, as we spoke about, it's been very tough not being able to run

Yeah, yeah,

do all those things. But honestly, You've been, you show up to coffee, you do all the little things to try and keep yourself a really good headspace and I'm really proud of you. I think you're doing an amazing

Yes, apart from, I, tomorrow when

I Anna is going

proud of

Will it go on Strava? That's the question. Oh, 100%.

it depends how far I get. Actually, I might only get to six Ks

6K. Oh gosh, if I know you, you'll be pushing through. Nothing

my second of a marathon

Yeah, yeah. We finish the run and you just keep going. Bye! Um, okay, let's talk about We also identified within the Word of the Year some processes that we wanted to implement to try and achieve some outcome goals. Oh, so actually from an outcome goal perspective, one of my outcome goals was to get a 5k PB and I have a 5k race this week.

Yeah. Actually, next time we record, you probably would've done it.

I will have done it. Yeah,

you, how are you feeling for it?

I feel okay. I'm not actually, I'm not going to try and I'm not saying this is a race that I'll get a PB. I'm saying this is a tester and then I have another one in a few weeks that I think is going to be

to just like get one on the

I just want to get out there and have a run and feel good. I think my speed training has been really good. I'm so happy with it and I feel like I have gotten faster. I don't feel like my fitness is very strong compared to when I got my other PB. Like whenever I do a rep that's longer than 800 meters, I am

gasp.

Yeah. So I don't exactly know how that's going to translate, but I am really excited to like have a hit out on Thursday next week and just see how it goes and then set myself up to figure out what I need to do in a few

For the next one, yeah. I mean, I think considering, obviously this year so far has been a bit up and down in the sense that you got your iron checked, you kind of haven't been feeling that well and then

feeling rubbish for the first, like, six weeks. I feel

I feel like it's almost, there's no expectations on

No, no, no,

which is quite freeing in a

Yeah. I feel not, I don't even feel slightly nervous. Like I'm excited for it. And I want to really recommend people signing up for 5Ks. It has been so much fun training for

fun training for like,

not feeling so exhausted by my running load all the time. yes. And your outcome goal is the triathlon, which isn't for a little while still, but you've been getting it in good swims.

Been getting some good swims. I am going to get my bike repaired this weekend. Okay. And start bike riding. A couple of our friends have really embraced the triathlon scene and have been doing a couple of tries and been doing some bike riding, so I'm being, I'm very keen to join them. Our word

our word of the year, we had our outcome goals and then we also had our input or process

outcome goals, and then we also had our input or process goals.

ambitious for a gal like yourself. You said you wanted to sleep over.

Yes. I just checked it.

checked it.

it's

it's just off. What is it? It's 6 hours, 48 minutes.

hours 48 minutes.

I am quite happy with that I saw what last year's average was, which is 6 hours, 47 minutes. Oh! So, I've moved, I've moved up one minute.

shocked by

that. Yeah, there's still time. I am shocked by that. I checked it being like, I have been nailing this.

year. I have been

I have been having some earlier nights, so, but that's a good, that's, I'm really glad we did this check-in because I thought I was more on track.

Yeah, you know what? You probably have been better consistently, but I know, you've been away a few weekends to, weddings and different kinds of stuff, and I know you said that you haven't, slept that well then, so maybe that breaks it down, like, by 12 minutes or so. Yeah,

yeah, but I have been learning a lot more about some benefits to my sleep. I've been trying one morning a week to not run in the morning and just sleep in. And I'll always get eight hours sleep that night and it's been so

Do you try to do that midweek?

Yeah, Wednesday I've been doing it because you guys go

Swimming. Yeah. It's actually funny you say that because I was speaking to Mel, one of our girlfriends on Wednesday morning and because we were both a bit sleepy, and we were saying it's hard, like I love the Wednesday morning swim, but it's hard going. Early Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and then by the time you kind of get to Friday, you're like, oh my gosh,

So tired, that's the thing, because we run so early

on Tuesday, actually. It's just

and Monday's usually, so by Wednesday I need a good

sleep. Yeah. That's

really helping overall, that's probably where the extra

extra minute came from. One more we also said that we, uh, wanted to schedule in some daytime recovery

We did!

get some downtime.

How do you feel like you've been going

I actually think I've been doing pretty well. I reckon for a few hours on either day of the weekend, I sit down and just not really do anything or watch a movie. I feel like I have watched a couple of movies this year already and which is like kind of crazy and, or I've been, I don't know.

That's what

That's about it.

gonna say.

I mean, what? Actually, no, I'm sorry. we've watched a couple of TV series, which I don't think I, I don't know. I probably did, but like, I can't recall doing that much last year. and I know that we've checked in a couple of times with each other on the weekend being like, are you scheduling in some time? Yeah. Um,

I've been maxing out on my sauna ice bath.

which I'm going to join you on this

Yes, oh my god, so good. and how's your strength twice a week been going? Really good. Oh, sorry, not twice a week, but my goal actually was minimum once, but I aim for twice. I have been every single week. I've been at least

least once. Yeah,

which has been really good and I would say half the weeks I've been twice. Sometimes the second session is Pilates, sometimes it's not. But also on the weeks, to come back to respect, on the weeks that I haven't been twice, it's when I've had the iron infusion or had this or whatever it is

had

I've been like, I actually really, I need to prioritize

career. Yeah, yeah, definitely.

But I think I've been, I'm doing my chin up

process.

practice. I've been also been filming it.

I was gonna say, I'm really keen to see they

are the most pathetic videos. They're so bad. But yeah, I've been doing chin up practice. Just been, I put the pin in so that it carries more than half my weight

And

and I'll try and do

do three in a

It's slow progress. Um, yeah, I can do three when it's taking literally 40 kilograms of weight. So it's pretty long way off. Um, I also have realized that once a week probably isn't going to get me

going to get me there.

home. Yeah, someone recommended that, but I was like, I'm not, I'm not about to put up a bar.

Anyway. Um, very good. I'm keen to see, I reckon by the end of the year you're gonna have three chin up body weight

No way, do you think so? Yeah, if

If you keep doing

it. I have been losing confidence because I haven't

No.

the slightest.

No, I reckon you have because before you could barely just hang there. Whereas now that you, you were doing three

That's true, but it takes so much of my weight.

Mmm.

I just think I need to start doing it twice a week. Yeah. We will, we will

We will, we will see. We'll speak to you in March about it.

And then our final thing that we wanted to do was more meal prep. How's this been going

Well, I've kind of cheated.

Have you?

Yeah. So, a few of Dave, my husband's friends, were chatting about this program called Fair Feed. I don't know if you've ever heard of it. Anyway, so it's this store, and they Cook meals, like quite healthy, nutritious meals, and you can do like a hundred dollar, there's like a productivity pack, which is what we always opt for, and it's a hundred dollars, and then you go through and select, it'll give you a kilogram of a main dish.

That is amazing! It's so good. Wait, what's it called?

called Fair Feed, and they have so, they have so many like, actually, not that you're a vegetarian.

a vegetarian.

They have so many veg o, glen free, vegan meals. I'm pretty sure it's only like specific to Melbourne. So you pick it, you can either pick it up, which is close by to my work, or we've been getting it delivered for 10.

$10

And out of the 100, it goes so far. Like we both, we both eat a lot, and it would easily cover five meals. So that's 10 a meal, which if I'm going to the supermarket and buying stuff for dinner, it's always over 20 a

so do you still need to cook it? Like does it just send you like meat and vegetables or does it literally send

it's all cooked. You need to heat it up.

What's an example?

so we had Lebanese chicken with rice and veggies. What I quite often do, I'll quite often just add a couple more veggies. so you can either get ones that are like pure, made up like that, or for instance, we've got a, a one kilogram thing of veggie curry. So you obviously need to make the rice have with it.

That is amazing, and I can't believe you haven't told me

it. I know, I've been gatekeeping it.

You have been gatekeeping that knowledge.

So, yes, that is my meal prep. I've outsmarted meal prep.

You, you've outsourced it

I know.

Wow. I feel like a fool.

fool. How's your meal prep been going? It's like pathetic. Oh no.

oh no, it's okay. It's fine. It's just, how would I describe it? It's low energy. Um, it's not what brings me joy on a Sunday afternoon. But it has, I have been doing it most weeks. I have done some sort of meal prep. I'm not as motivated as I was when I first started doing it and I was meal prepping breakfast and

As well, yeah.

but that was just too much.

much. Yeah. I find breakfast e I don't know if it helps. I find breakfast easier to do just

night before or

night before, yeah. And I'm almost kind of like a spoonful of yogurt for the Tupperware container, a spoonful of yogurt for myself.

yogurt for myself. Okay. As you go.

one for you. Ooh, a bit of peanut butter. Okay, I'll have a little

whoopsies. Well yeah, I feel like maybe I could move that to being the night before. Yeah. But um, I did do things like my experimental banana muffin. Yes. Breakfast

muffin. Yes.

that's, I'm giving myself a gold star for

gold star. Yeah, yeah, nice. Alright, I think that's all we've got time for today. I

that's all we've got time for today. Yeah, yeah. And if you haven't quite got to them,

and C. That you have a little reflect on your

then. 10

end. Plenty of

to write that sleep average or Go hit the gym, whatever that looks like for

Get that extra 12 minutes. Yes. Alright, bye! Bye! don't know.

Got a door,

Yeah. Is that the Simpsons? You got

don't know, I thought you said it to me

before. Yeah.