Winter comfort food - 'anytime' Chicken Soup

I love a good chicken soup.

It's one of our family winter favourites. A nice warm bowl or cup of hot homemade soup is super comforting for lunch, dinner or a snack… pretty much anytime, when its cold and wintery outside.

My chicken soup

This soup is quick and easy and full of wonderful 'repairs and maintenance' foods that are particularly welcome when trying to keep our winter bodies healthily fighting off those winter cold and flu bugs.

This morning I put on a batch of my chicken soup and I thought I'd give you a peek into my 'anytime' cooking psyche.

The basic recipe is chicken legs, liquid chicken stock, plenty of 'anytime' soup vegetables till the pot is full, salt and pepper, and a little extra water to cover the vegetables.

I have a basic plan, but the soup is never exactly the same. I add vegetables or leave them out often depending on what I have in the house, what needs using up, or what I feel like putting in.

Potato is the only 'sometimes carb' I allow. Onion, carrot, celery are the basics, and I like at least one of parsnip, turnip or swede (or all three) for the flavour and nutritional variety. I often add pumpkin and sweet potato, capsicum, spring onion or even mushroom.

today's version of my chicken soup

Ingredients
3 onions (usually only 2 onions)
5 carrots

lots of 'anytime food'

2 stalks celery
2 small potatoes (often none, or one)
1 turnip
1 parsnip
½ swede
½ leek (I would have put it all in but ran out of room)
5 chicken legs (I often put in 8)
1 litre liquid chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
extra water to cover vegetables.

Instructions
Turn on slow cooker
Pour in the liquid stock
Add chicken legs
Chop up the vegetables and add to cooker
(chop them smallish … don't be too precious about it)
(if the cooker is full stop adding vegetables… if the cooker isn't full add more 'anytime' vegetables)
Salt and pepper to taste
Extra water if needed to just cover vegetables.
Put slow cooker on 'auto' and leave to cook for the day (approx 7 hours)
Share with loved ones.

extra information that may or may not be useful

You've probably figured out that I'm no gourmet cook. I have my moments, but largely I'm a functional cook. I've churned out big meals for years to fill the collective belly of my large family and I'm not big on frilly cooking.

I tend to think of recipes more as 'guidelines'.

There's plenty of room for variation on this recipe. You can add extra herbs and spices as you like. I sometimes do. My husband likes chilli, or I might add garlic, or ginger…. or all three. More often than not with this soup I find the simple flavouring of salt and pepper keeps everyone happy.

keep adding vegetables till
the cooker is full

I do on occasion use boneless chicken but I like the chicken legs cause I think the bones add more flavour. You can use a whole chicken and make your own stock if you prefer. I'm just too lazy to precook it and remove the fat. The skinless legs are even less fatty.

You don't have to use a slow cooker. You can use a large saucepan and cook this soup on the stove top but it will need supervision. If that works for you, add all the ingredients as I did. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and cook with lid on, stirring from time to time. The soup should be ready to eat in 2 ½ hours this way.

I never bother cooking a small batch cause I have a large family who love this soup and it always gets used up.  You can do a smaller batch, but if you're going to the trouble of cooking it, a bigger batch is more practical and it freezes well in freezer bags.

For a smaller batch I would probably do 2 skinless chicken legs, ½ litre of chicken stock, 1 onion, 3 carrots, 2 celery sticks, a parsnip or turnip, one small potato. And I would do it in a smaller saucepan on the stove top.

Don't feel pressured to do it my way though. If you have a favourite soup recipe but want it to be more 'anytime food' friendly, try modifying the balance of vegetables, or eliminating noodles or grains and see how it comes up.

You may surprise yourself. I do, on a regular basis.

Happy 'anytime' eating.

Healthy weight loss - Why I choose to 'eat' not 'starve'

How many of us think we have eaten (or not eaten) our way through a perfect weight loss day, only to find ourselves snaffling down a wedge of chocolate cake mid afternoon, or sneaking a peanut paste sandwich while waiting for tea to cook, or gobbling down a couple of crumpets with honey at the end of the day, (or all three) because we are 'just starving'.

We can work so hard to be diligent with our daily food intake for 99% of the day, but it's incredible how much damage we can do to that healthy eating plan in that other 1%.

Read on for my understanding of why 'starving' ourselves is counterproductive to any kind of healthy and sustainable wieght loss plan.

Certainly in my experience it is much more important to increase the quality of our food intake than it is to decrease the quantity of our food intake.

We've all heard of input verses output…. but this is input verses input

In 'The modified food intake plan - Part 2' we have had a good look at a healthy balanced 'input' plan. That's what 'input' is… our food intake.  We've broken down that 'modified food intake plan' (input)  into six different food groups and allocated portions to each group according to what our body needs in the normal scheme of things.

This is important because when we eat (input), we are really providing fuel for our bodies. As we go about our day our bodies make use of that fuel to keep our bodies functioning… they use that fuel for energy and for repair and maintenance. 

Ideally we are taking in the correct amount of food (input)(fuel) that we need to provide the energy we need and for the repairs and maintenance. If that is the case our bodies should be healthy and our weight stable. 

If we take in more fuel than we need, what isn't used for energy or for repairs and maintenance (or eliminated as waste) is converted to fat and stored around the body in case we need it another time. Too much of this storage will begin to suffocate our body organs with fat.

If we take in less fuel than we need for energy and for repairs and maintenance our body will take from what is stored to keep us going. Essentially our body will feed on itself to keep it functioning. We lose weight.

Now if we go back to our 'modified food intake (input) plan - Part 2' and look at the groups our food is broken down into, we will remember we had 

• anytime food (anytime)
• fruit carbs (3 serves per day)
• protein (6 serves per day)
• sometimes carbs (3 serves per day)
• dairy (3 serves per day)
• fat (minimal)

These groups all have important stuff in them for repairs and maintenance. That is why the modified food intake plan doesn't eliminate any of these groups entirely. But some of them are more about energy. And too much 'energy food' is usually what results in that excess of stored fat.

The 'anytime foods' are heavily about repairs and maintenance, and not so much about energy. 

The 'fruit carbs' are good for energy but also very good for repairs and maintenance

The 'protein' group is mainly repairs and maintenance

The 'sometimes carbs' are more for energy but also contain important repairs and maintenance

The 'dairy' are great for repairs and maintenance and also for energy

The 'fat' group is mostly about energy but also has some essential repairs and maintenance.

So...
If we eat foods (fuel) that are energy foods our body can use that energy.
If we eat foods (fuel) that are repairs and maintenance foods our body can repair and maintain itself.
Many foods carry both providing both energy and repairs and maintenance fuel.

The 'serves' that our 'modified food intake plan' suggests for each of these groups are endeavouring to be a good balance for what our body actually needs (for energy and repairs and maintenance) in the normal course of things - that is, when we are not overly active, but not overly inactive either.

Now if you need to lose a little weight for your health, you add the healthy balanced 'input' plan to an increase in your 'output' and, as with me, weight loss should occur.

What we often overlook is that for healthy sustainable weight loss, after we have increased our 'output', it is actually more important to increase the quality of the input than to reduce the quantity of the input.

Translation: You don't need to starve yourself. You just need to choose wisely what you eat.

As part of the 'modified food intake plan' you can see the group of 'anytime food' that we can't eat too much of. And this 'anytime food' is full of wonderful fuel for the repair and maintenance of our body. If we eat a good variety and quantity of these foods our bodies will be happier and better fueled.

But we also need the other foods in our plan to cover the full range of energy and repairs and maintenance needs. We just need to moderate our intake of these other foods. Hence 'the plan'.

Satisfying our bodies 'need' for food

You see, if our body is not getting enough 'repairs and maintenance' fuel or 'energy' fuel to meet its needs it tells us it is hungry for more.

The problem is when we respond to that 'please eat more' we don't necessarily eat more of the food with the good things that the body is needing.  And if we are not satisfying the bodies needs we all know how insistent our bodies can be when they ask for food. 

If you eat a good variety and quantity of 'repairs and maintenance' foods from the 'anytime food' group, and the correct quantity of foods from the other groups, you have a good chance of covering most of your bodies repairs and maintenance needs.

If you are eating your 'sustained energy' foods from 'sometimes carbs' and 'fruit' groups you should be supplying your body with sufficient sustained energy foods to be healthy. And if that is so it's not unhealthy for your body to supplement its energy needs by drawing on your reserves of fat. 

(This of course, is only a healthy option if you have sufficient reserves of fat to sustain your energy output. If you don't have these fat reserves, you need to adjust your input according to your energy needs. But I am assuming you are reading this blog because you have sufficient fat reserves and want to decrease them.)

When those good healthy energy foods, in appropriate portions, aren't enough to satisfy our bodies (when we want it to burn into those reserves of fat) and our body is still telling us to eat…. this is when the 'anytime foods' really come in to their own.

photo 1 - I could have had this
for lunch today….

I've often noticed along my healthy eating journey that choosing an appropriate snack from within the 'modified food intake plan' even if its just from the 'anytime foods' will often satisfy a food craving even if the craving was for something wildly inappropriate.

Even more importantly, if my larger meals are bulked out by plenty of 'anytime foods', and if I have my regular healthy mid morning, mid afternoon, and supper snacks, I am far less likely to have my body come back to me begging for more food.

For example…. for lunch today (mid blog) I could have had the first photo….  a few leafy greens, one cherry tomato halved, a few slices of cucumber and five chunks of feta. I call this 'starving' oneself.

photo 2 - But instead I had this…..
Much more likely to successfully
sustain me through to my
mid afternoon snack

Instead I added probably four times the leafy greens, a pile more cucumber, three more cherry tomatoes, two inches of chopped carrot, three olives, 6 ish capers,  a couple of bits of avocado and a slice of ham shredded. Plus a bit of salt and pepper - see the second photo.

Not one extra gram of countable carbohydrate is on that plate according to our 'modified food intake plan'…. there are still only 5 chunks of fetta and they have no carbs to speak of anyway.

And there we have the second photo. Now that is what I call a feed! And if I felt like it I could have added a slice of bread, or followed up with a banana and still been well inside the allowance for lunch.

So can you see why I believe its more important to INCREASE the QUALITY of our inputs rather than DECREASE the QUANTITY of our inputs.

The 'decreased input' approach is more than likely to result in binge eating in the short term, and almost certainly (at best) a return to the original eating pattern in the long term.

Not that I'm suggesting you won't ever feel hungry or be tempted to eat what isn't in 'the plan'… I did have my challenges settling in to the new regime. But once I got started on my own 'anytime food revolution' it didn't take me long to adjust.

I am convinced that this approach (increasing quality rather than decreasing quantity) was what brought me success in my efforts to move towards a healthier body and a healthier lifestyle. I never could have sustained a 'diet' that required me to minimise my intake … certainly not in the long term.

And bear in mind, the energy I got from the 'sometimes carbs' and the 'fruit' allowances in my eating plan has been more than enough to sustain my 45 minutes of strenuous exercise a day especially with all that stored fat to draw on.

So at risk of being boringly repetitious, let me say again to lose some of those unhealthy fat reserves in a healthy and sustainable way its more important that we increase the quality of our inputs than decrease the quantity of our inputs and, of course, we need to get the right balance between our 'inputs' and our 'outputs'.

If you can get these two concepts right you'll be well and truly on your way.

Tranby House River Ride - a bit of an adventure

Tranby House - a beautiful spot
to enjoy lunch or a coffee

The Tranby House River Ride (15 km circuit) is a delightful ride. If you found the City Bridges Ride (10 km circuit) way too easy you may enjoy this ride. It's considerably more challenging with one 'terrible uphill' in the Rivervale section but I find it far more interesting.

If you use a car park en route it keeps the ride to the far more manageable 15 kilometres but I usually park at Burswood which makes it about 20 km. There are plenty of rest areas and toilet options along the way, but only the one cafe.

I recommend you travel this ride in a clockwise direction which is how I have commentated the ride. However the Rivervale/Belmont Park section is the most challenging so depending where you park you may like to do that section first - get that 'terrible uphill' out of the way early in the piece.

Tranby House River Ride - 15 km circuit
Google Maps - Tranby River Ride

Following the path generally keeps you on track if you keep in mind that the river is always on your right. But the location of the river can sometimes be a little confusing plus there are a couple of lovely spots I wouldn't want you to miss. Hence the detailed commentary which you are welcome to completely ignore. I have included the map which may be all you need for guidance.

Graham Farmer Bridge to Tranby House

Graham Farmer Bridge - See the lower tier of railing. This is the
pedestrian and cycle access, so you don't mix with the traffic at all 

If you aren't sure about doing the whole circuit, this section  is a lovely ride all on its own with out much in the way of challenging hills. If you return the way you came after your Tranby break you will have had a lovely uncomplicated  12 km ride.

Crossing the Graham Farmer Bridge sounds daunting with all that traffic, but there is a nice undercroft cycle pedestrian path under the bridge (see photo) so it isn't stressful at all.

Once on the city side of the Graham Farmer bridge make your way back down to the river at the first opportunity (if you reach an underpass you have gone too far), turn left at the river and follow the path. This is very straight forward even when the path looks like it leaves the river, there is a golf course and a police facility (horses I believe) on your right between you and the river.

Even though you can't see it, you need to remember that you are following the river (always on your right). You will see water on your left but (as per the map) that water is not the river it is Lake Bungana and Lake Brearley.  I don't detour off around Lake Brearley, I follow the path alongside Swan Bank Road (which becomes Clarkson Road) till the path leads you to cross back over the road to the riverside parkland again.  Continuing on the path you will pass a car park and Maylands Waterland on your right (between you and the river) but you'll be back with the river shortly.

Kangaroo Sculpture
Tranby Reserve
Maylands

At this point you are at Tranby Reserve (nearing Tranby House), and if you are being observant you will see a Kangaroo Sculpture up ahead. There are two paths through Tranby Reserve, one closer to the river, and one that cuts closer to the road. I like the river option, but they both meet up near the Maylands Boat Yard, so it doesn't matter which path you choose. There is a lovely gazebo on the river if you have brought your own coffee.

As you pass the Boat Yard (on your right) the path ends at the intersection and you have to choose what to do. The first road to the right is the entrance to the Boat Yard, the second (right next to the first) is the entrance to Tranby House car park (also to your right). This is the one you want.

Tranby House - beautiful outside, but they also have
 protected verandah and indoors seating available

As you enter the car park you will see the historic buildings and the river. The cafe is behind these buildings and is called Peninsula Tea Gardens Cafe. It's open from 8am to 5pm everyday according to their web site.
http://www.peninsulateagardens.com

This is the only cafe on this circuit. It often doesn't look open but don't let that put you off. You will see the tables. Enter through the verandah.

They do have a lunch menu although I've only ever had morning or afternoon tea there. Water is available free with your order and there are toilets inside the cafe.

Once you have enjoyed your nice break you will need to decide whether to press on to complete the circuit, or return the way you came. If you are already feeling the challenge, probably best to go back.

Tranby House to Ascot

After you have enjoyed your break at Tranby House, the path continues on behind the cafe (keeping the river to the right) and winds up an incline (the biggest challenge of this section), up to a road where you will turn right (there is a toilet block here if you didn't stop at Tranby House) and continue on the footpath for a couple of hundred metres where the path will veer off to the right giving you a spectacular view out over the river and across to Garrett Road Bridge.

The view down the path
to Garrett Road Bridge

It's a lovely rest for your legs riding down to Garrett Road Bridge. Pass under both bridges then turn sharp left on path up to cross bridge. It's best to stop at the top as its another even sharper left turn onto the bridge. This bridge is a bit rustic, but you do have railing between you and the cars which I do appreciate.

You have now crossed the Swan River to the other side.

Once over the Garrett Road Bridge follow the path along Garrett Road to the first roundabout (Waterway Crescent). At the roundabout cross Garrett Road first and then Waterway Crescent, and follow the path around Waterway Crescent till it peters out.

At this point I ride for a short distance on the road (Waterway Crescent) rather than crossing back and forward from side to side as the path comes and goes. It's always been very quiet when I've ridden along there. I then turn right into a side road called  'The Riverwalk' (clearly marked). This will bring you back to the path and the river and if you turn left on the path you meander again along the waters edge.

At this point you will have water on both sides of the path and you will more than likely see quite a few black swans that enjoy this section of the river. I do love this section which is why I'm talking you through it but I will admit it's a bit of a fiddle.

One of the special spots on this delightful ride - Ascot

When you come to a road it looks like the path is at a dead end. Its not immediately obvious but there is a zig zag ramp on the other side of the road that leads you back to the waters edge. (you'll notice a bridge to your left crossing the water… ignore it unless you feel like exploring).

After navigating that zig zag ramp (probably easier to walk it than ride your bike) follow the footpath, keeping the water always on your right, past the residences, the seaweed lady, and the boats, until you see a narrow footbridge (not boat access ramp) crossing the water.

All this water is a bit confusing but you are still on the same side of the river coming towards Rivervale.

Ascot to Graham Farmer Bridge.

Having crossed this narrow foot bridge you want to turn right (keeping the river on your right) and follow the path. After a relatively easy and rather pretty section, you will come to the 'terrible uphill'. If you have gears on your bike now is the time to access the low range, possibly your lowest 'granny' gear and you may surprise yourself and make it all the way to the top.

View of the city from the top
of the 'terrible uphill' 
Rivervale

If you don't feel up to the challenge don't stress. Just get off and walk. But whether you walk or ride the 'terrible uphill' you simply must stop at the top and enjoy the view, both out over the river to the city, and also looking back over the river in the direction you have just come. It is breathtaking and well worth a photo opportunity.

After this there are a couple more up and down hills, but nothing like the 'terrible uphill' and you will soon come to the car park just near Belmont Racecourse with a toilet block should you need it.

Continue either on the cycle path or the car park road to the intersection (controlled by lights). This is the Graham Farmer Freeway. The cycle path continues on the river side of the freeway past the entrance to Belmont Race Track (controlled by lights) and  the path remains on the river side of the freeway all the way back to the Graham Farmer Bridge.

At which point we have returned to where my commentary on the Tranby House River Ride began. If you parked at Burswood you will follow the river to the left returning to the Burswood carpark.

I love this ride. There are options to decomplicate it. You can see by the map that you can cut off a large section of Maylands to get to Tranby House. You can skip the pretty but fiddly meander through Ascot with the black swans by continuing to the second roundabout after the Garrett Road Bridge and connecting to the cycle path there.

Or you can add to it and explore in the area of Lake Bungana and Lake Brearley in Maylands, or in Ascot where I told you to ignore that bridge… there is a circuit in that area which you can see on the map, that you might like to explore though be warned - there's another 'terrible uphill' in there.

Should you actually get to ride this Tranby House River Ride, I am sure that you will see why I recommended it to you. If you meander around Ascot I think you will understand why I sent you that way ….  and I hope that, like me, you found the view at the top of that 'terrible uphill' worth all the suffering those legs had to endure.

Happy cycling.

It's the little things

I'm guessing you've all figured out that I'm not offering a pill, or extract of some exotic South American berry, that will magically dissolve all your excess fat whilst fattening up my bank account with your hard earned cash. (and all this while we sit together on the couch and eat cake)!

It's the little things….

I'm only offering the benefit of my experience and some common sense, and hopefully some inspiration and encouragement.  Your effort is what it will take to make my journey something that works for you.

But I am hoping you are all trying to build a little more physical activity into your life. I'm hoping you are finding ways to make it fun for you, or at least enjoyable enough to sustain it. If it's 10 minutes a day more than you were doing before then that's exciting. If it's 45 minutes a day, then great.

I am hoping you are exploring ways to increase the inclusion of 'anytime foods' in your meals and decreasing the extent that 'sometimes carbs' dominate your meal plans and snacks. If you have done that I'm thrilled for you…. if you have taken the whole plan on board, then fabulous.

The important thing is that you keep sight of the bigger picture. The bigger picture is that this whole healthy living thing needs to be a lifestyle change not a flash in the pan. And this is why I keep encouraging you with little changes, even though in the long term big changes might be what you need.

For those of you wanting to improve your fitness, any level of activity that is an increase on what you were doing before will improve your health through increased fitness.

The same with moving towards a healthier eating plan. Any improvement in your eating plan is a move towards improved health through better eating. 

Me having fun with fitness
(yes, I know, I'm a total dag)
Bike it to Ballidu 2014

So if your goal is better health any increase in activity or improvement in eating is a good thing. But the improvement in your health will only go as far as the improvement in your fitness and better eating. The further you head in that direction the greater the health benefit.

For those of you who have read 'making the change to healthier living - is it worth it' you will have read about my considerable weight loss resulting from my own personal 'healthy eating and fitness journey' and you will have understood that this considerable weight loss was an important part of improving my health.

You'll have figured out that I'm not big on dieting. I don't believe in losing weight to be skinny and feel like a better clothes horse. But I also know that carrying extra weight, particularly around your 'middle' (chest, tummy, back) is not a good plan.

All that body fat around your middle has accumulated around vital body organs that are trying to work at keeping you healthy. And that fat is making it harder for them to do their job, and is putting them under pressure that could potentially do them harm…. and when we damage our organs we are damaging our selves. 

So if losing a bit of weight makes you healthier, removes some of that fat around your middle, takes some of the pressure off your vital body organs…. then I'm all for that. 

I also know that having lost a lot of that unhealthy weight myself I am not only a lot healthier, I feel a lot better in myself and I feel a lot better about myself…. and I sure do enjoy being able to walk into a shop and just buy myself clothes without having to agonise about finding something to fit.

Healthier eating doesn't have to be complicated
Tuna salad on the run

So whilst I don't like diets. I'm not against healthy weight loss.

I've talked about the big picture - 'the modified food intake plan' and I've talked about my 45minutes strenuous exercise per day, the combination of these two being how I lost my 30 kilograms over 14 months. But I've also said its not essential to do it all at once. Great if you do, but not essential.

You see, if this is not a lifestyle change for you then any effort you make will just be for short term gain. And all your effort will be for nought if in two years you are ten kilograms heavier than you were before and spending more time on the couch than ever before.

So if you have started… just with the little things, or full on… then I am very excited for you.  Or if you had already started but have just felt encouraged by my enthusiasm …. then I am pleased as well.

But, if you are still just reading and thinking, then don't be put off. Keep at that reading and thinking till you find your own enthusiasm, then run with it.

Where ever you are at, if you can get a handle on the little things, eventually those little things will come together in the bigger picture, and one day you will wake up and find that you have been happily and successfully traveling you own personal health adventure.

And that will be what makes my Cycle Mumma blog worthwhile.

"Does my bum look too big in this…?"

There is no doubt about it, for we girls this in an incredibly sensitive issue.  One that is relevant for all forms of exercise but seems to go to a whole new level when one thinks of perching awkwardly on ones cycle seat.  Guys also have their issues which I in no way down play the importance of.

If you have read "Making the change to healthier living… is it worth it" … you will have seen my 'before' photo, and if you are in any doubt about whether I was worried about what I looked like when I first stepped out in public for exercise purposes, just revisit that photo. What was hiding under the hula skirt was by far the worst of it.

The only view we should be worrying about when 
out cycling is the view over the handlebars.

The truth is, the only view we should be worrying about when we are out cycling is the view over the handlebars, not our rear view! But if you're anything like me, that's easier said than done. And given that we will worry anyway, here is some advice that might give you a little more confidence to push on with your riding (or exercise in general) without too much 'does my bum look too big in this' stress.

Comfort when exercising requires clothing that allows a reasonable amount of freedom of movement. Whilst I coped with my regular shorts when I first began walking, for cycling they were just too restrictive. Leggings allowed me that greater freedom of movement and just made cycling a whole lot more comfortable.

It is worth bearing in mind, however, that your leggings or lycra exercise shorts may look quite sturdy and not at all see through when you look at them fresh out of the drawer, but once they have stretched a couple of extra sizes across your buttocks, and then perched above a cycle seat, the knit weave can open up rather alarmingly, revealing pretty much every detail of your undies …. size, colour, and location. Best to ask someone 'safe' to check yours once on ….  or wear a long t-shirt for your peace of mind.

I know this because my wonderful children tolerated my paranoia about my 'rear view' to the extent that, at my request, they followed me up and down the street on my bike so they could give me feedback. Their honesty was much appreciated and after choosing to wear a longer t-shirt to give my legging clad 'bum' a little protection from judgemental eyes, I found I could relax and not stress so much.

For any 'menfolk' out there wondering about the wisdom of crossing over to the lycra cycle shorts …. most men I have met seem to find them very comfortable and comfort is very important. But my advice is stick to black… use your t-shirt for colour, style, and most importantly, visibility. Black is the most forgiving colour for the lycra shorts by a long long way. For both men and women.

If you're not comfortable with the lycra short, there is an option that has a pair of shorts attached over the padded lycra undershort. These are available for both men and women, and are my current choice when riding my road bike. I haven't needed padded shorts on my hybrid so I just wear whatever is comfortable.

The bottom line (pardon the pun) is that you need to feel comfortable enough in your exercise clothing to be able to perform the exercise of your choice. After that, it does also help if you feel confident that you don't look any worse in your exercise gear than your size or shape dictates. But what ever you do, don't let worry about what you look like stop you from embarking on such an important part of your personal health journey.

Those who see you out exercising and would still judge you ill for your size or shape are simply not worth thinking about.

If, or when, you feel a bit conspicuous on the path, in the gym, or at coffee shop time, just walk tall and be proud. Not only are you doing a marvellous thing for yourself,  but I have absolutely no doubt that there will be those who see you that will be inspired and encouraged by your commitment.