060 Fitness isn't linear with Sarah-Jane Lewis

In this week's episode I am joined by Sarah-Jane Lewis, a mum, entrepreneur, and woman, balancing multiple roles while running a household. Join us as we talk about:

• Fitness journey, from childhood memories to pregnancy and beyond.
• Postpartum body changes, exercise, and nutrition.

About Sarah-Jane Lewis:

Sarah-Jane, aka The Etsy Queen, is a thriving entrepreneur who has made a name for herself on the world's most beloved online marketplace. With five successful Etsy stores to her name, Sarah-Jane knows the ins and outs of selling on the platform like the back of her hand.

Sarah-Jane's passion for Etsy goes far beyond just making sales; she is dedicated to helping others turn their creative passions into profitable businesses through Etsy. Her expert knowledge and skills have helped numerous individuals optimize their listings, increase their visibility, and ultimately earn more money on Etsy. 

Her entrepreneurial prowess and commitment to helping others succeed. She enjoys connecting with fellow makers and artisans, and her purchases of unique and handmade items on Etsy have made her a loyal supporter of the community. 

As an Etsy seller and business coach, Sarah-Jane is a go-to source for all things Etsy-related. She is a sought-after speaker at conferences and events. Whether you're a seasoned Etsy seller or just starting out, Sarah-Jane has the knowledge and skills to help you succeed on the platform.

For more about the training and support Sarah offers, visit www.sarahbolitho.com or contact her at admin@sarahbolitho.com.

Follow her on social media
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/fabnewlous_active_lives
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitnesscareermentor
Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahbolitho

Transcript

Sarah (00:01.23)

Hello and welcome to another episode of Creating Active Lives with me, Sarah Belytha and my special guest this week, Sarah Jane Lewis. Sarah is known as the Etsy Queen. If you don't know what Etsy is, then go and find out. She's a thriving entrepreneur and has really made herself a name for herself on the world's most beloved and most popular online marketplace. She's got five successful Etsy stores and she'll talk about those a little bit at the end. She really knows the ins and outs of selling on the platform.

But we're not here to talk about Etsy. We're here to talk about Sarah Jane's fitness cycle. I'm going to call it a cycle because I think a lot of us think getting fit is about once you get fit, that's it. Job done, rest of life. It's all linear and it's all go, go, go from there. But actually, for a lot of us, and Sarah Jane's going to talk about this, we might get fit for a reason, then we get unfit again, and then we get fit again. It's a much more cyclical, a much more kind of bumpy ride into fitness. So Sarah Jane, thank you so much for coming along , tell us a little bit about you and then we'll talk about your fitness experience.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (01:07.643)

So yes, thank you for having me. I am Etsy Sales Queen or Sarah Jane, whichever you prefer. I'm a mum, I've got two children of my own. I lost a baby and I've got a stepson. Divorced, since met with a new partner and happily ever after but not married. And life is good. Yeah, so an entrepreneur in regards to having my own businesses and running my own shops and coaching people. So a little bit of everything. As you can imagine, mum, entrepreneur, person, relationships, you know, running a house, there's a lot going on and fitness probably gets pushed down and down and down the list a bit. It's like, I'll do that later, I'll do it later, I'll do it, oh, it's bedtime. Which, when you're busy, it's really hard, isn't it? And it's one of the reasons why, you know, one of the things I really want to help people with is creating an active lifestyle because then your activity is part of your day rather than being something you have to take time out of your day to do. 

Sarah 

So what are your earliest memories then of exercise and fitness?

Sarah-Jane Lewis (02:15.983)

To be honest with you, I mean I'm an 80s baby you know everyone in like around me women wise were all conscious of their weight they're all on what's that sweetness sugar that you used to put on your cereal and special K and everybody was like worried about being fat and you know very self -conscious but exercise I don't remember ever being a part of life apart from games and PE at school you know.

Now we've got access to so many different plans and regimes and classes. I think that my earliest memory is potentially, you know, like a yoga DVD or like a really bad aerobics DVD, you know, something your mum would have had while she's eating a special K and starving herself. I think that's kind of my associations with it. And just my mum constantly worried about her weight. And she went through periods of a life of being overweight and being skinny and being overweight know, for various reasons. And I think for me, I was never conscious of my weight. And I can remember being 18 and eating and drinking whatever I want, never bothered about the size of my clothes, never even crossed my mind, never a conscious thought whether my belly was flat, whether my bum was big, always been flat chested, I've never had big boobs, I seem to have skipped that generation with like my mum and my nan always had big boobs, but I never had that. It wasn't until I got pregnant and all did I eat. Oh, I loved being pregnant and I loved eating everything. It was just like, but with that I ballooned and I was big. But reasonable, I don't know, it's different these days. Like being a mum and everything, it changes with the trends and the decades and everything.

But yeah, I used it as an opportunity to eat a lot of food. I don't know about you, when you had babies, you just kind of indulged myself a little bit too much.

Sarah (04:13.518)

I think there's always been that message hasn't it, that you're eating for two, but in actual fact, you know, the advice, the evidence, all the recommendations now are actually no, you eat for one, but you eat better than you were before. It's quality rather than quantity. But of course we didn't know that and there were a lot of things, you know, you go back a few decades and it was, you were getting a stone with every child in that, that's your weight moving forward. Every child you have, you'll be a stone heavier and a stone heavier and a stone heavier for the rest of your life. So if like me, you've had three, then you'd be three stone heavier for the rest of your life. But it's, you know, we now know that's not the right way of doing it. It's not healthy. But unfortunately for a lot of people, there's a lack of advice. And certainly in the 80s, there probably was as well a lack of advice about not just nutrition, but also about exercising. It's kind of a little bit, oh, well, you know, better to rest, better to do it. Whereas now,

We're so much more aware, aren't we, that it's so important to stay active, which, whatever that means to you throughout the pregnancy. So, yeah, when did getting fit then become a goal? I think you've mentioned to me before that it was after your first child. But so what happened after, you after, like you said, you gained a lot of weight. What happened when you'd had the baby?

Sarah-Jane Lewis (05:13.243)

So I gained the weight and obviously the weight kind of stays put, maybe comes out, but you don't necessarily shrink back to pre -pregnancy weight. And after that initial kind of resting period, I think I must have been, well, my daughter must have been about six months old when I started to go to Slimming World, you know, down those routes and walk in and get my steps in and ultimately took up Couch to 5K while I was on maternity leave, so I'd put her in a push chair and we'd go for a run. And that was great in regards to getting out and getting exercise. And I had like a plan, I had some sort of structure, although Slimming World is disastrous. And I think in a number of ways that impacted my daughter's eating habits, which I didn't connect the two at the time in regards to here's one thing for you to eat, but mummy's eating something different because she's fat and trying to lose weight, which at the time, I mean, I was late 20s, I didn't... I regret it now, wholeheartedly. I wish I hadn't have gone down that route, but she was witnessed to the Slimming Road World Groups, you know, everybody clapping because you had a bloody Mars bar and not an avocado, stupid things like that, like really backwards knowledge we were being fed about nutrition.

Sarah (06:55.406)

Like I just say, you know, there are a lot of people out there who really do like these weight loss groups and find them really, really helpful, but they're not for everybody. And like I say, for a lot of people, it adds undue pressure. So it's not always the answer, just to sort of say, you know, for fairness, that they do work for a lot of people.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (07:16.219)

No, no, no, 100%. For me, it did and it didn't. I realized later on that there was kind of, I didn't get the benefit from it. I didn't gain any knowledge. So then I put on the weight again without really understanding why and kind of the correlation between calories in, you know, and like active lifestyle that didn't really come together. And I think what I did notice was the pressure to get back to being skinny mummy again, you know, to be attractive. The impact was is that my then husband, we didn't have like close relations for about 18 months after childbirth because I wasn't the shape that he expected or would find attractive, which ultimately kind of added to a list of resentments that resulted in our divorce. But yeah, it's a lot of pressure that women feel after childbirth to get back to normal, get back to being, but your body's been in a literal car accident and your hormones are all over the place. You've got this being to look after and it just, there's just a lot of pressure to be something that you're no longer able to be.

Sarah (08:33.454)

Yeah, that's it. You know, having a baby does change you. But physically, you know, physiologically, your body does change. All sorts of things happen when you're pregnant in order to facilitate childbirth. And it takes time for things to go back to the way they were. And the problem is, I think a lot of people aren't, they don't give themselves that time. They don't give themselves the months that it's going to take. It's taken nine months to go from zero to baby, it's going to take you probably the same length, similar sort of length of time to get back to the way you were. But it's gradual and it's also complicated, isn't it, by the fact that you've now got somebody depending on you for survival. You can't just say, right, weather's quite nice, we're going out for a run now. It's can't do that, can't do this. So it's really hard and I think it's so important that, you know, people coming out of pregnancy, recognise that it's not all about snapping back into shape, it's about, you know, doing it your way and that might be slower. It might take you six, nine, twelve months, even longer to get back to where you were. If that's actually where you want to get back to, you might decide actually, you know, my expectations, my beliefs about my body have changed, so this is where I want to be. And I think that's a big shift, isn't it? Is saying, no, this is what I want to achieve.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (09:03.737)

100%.

And I think there needs to be more women like yourself out there in supporting and encouraging people because what ultimately happened in my case, I didn't realize this until literally a decade later that the stress of the exercise so soon after childbirth had caused an immediate problem in my body, which over giving birth again and going through the same pattern of gaining weight, trying to lose the weight by over-exercising. Ultimately, found out that I had caused a prolapse vagina wall. I haven't said that in the right way, but prolapsed vagina, which was absolute agony. It got to the point that I couldn't walk for me to go and do something about it because I was ashamed. And part of that as the story is as a woman you have to go and get smear tests and things like that. I had one and the result came back abnormal and the consultant made a comment about the reason for my abnormal smear result and he said well it's basically because I'm a divorced mum and I don't have a husband that I've got this this issue now. I know it's quite shocking!   

That was his consultation which when I started suffering more pain it didn't make me want to go back to the GP and go, please look at my bits again. There seems to be a problem down there. So I didn't, and I ignored it and I ignored it and I ignored it to the point where I literally walking the dog would leave me doubled up in pain. And that was because the wall of my vagina literally had lost its support and its structure and was not doing its job anymore. And it was absolutely excruciating. I cannot, it's a horrible pain since well it was all brought on from over exercising and just repeatedly going through that cycle of doing lots of exercise and then not and not doing those pelvic exercises that everybody talks about but nobody really explains it's all kind of ‘just squeeze down there’ 

I've since learned there's the whole technique and there's a whole reason I've had ultrasounds of my womb and squeezing and doing certain things and you can actually see like you can cause more damage by not doing those squeezing exercises in the right way. So there was like over the last couple years it's been a real education actually how my body works down there which I really wish somebody had said right when you're pregnant this is what's going to happen to your body. This is how like how much weight and pressure is put on down there. And if you don't deal with it properly and this is how to deal with it properly, this could happen. And I think if people have that education early on, I wouldn't have gone out running with like crappy trainers on and like done five Ks three times a week when literally my insides hadn't healed properly enough to cope with that. Yeah.

Sarah (12:48.706)

It's so important, isn't it? Because, you know, it isn't, it's a combination of pregnancy, of childbirth, and not doing the exercises that really affects your pelvic floor. And I, you know, we have got a previous episode about pelvic floor, which, you know, I would recommend anyone listens to about how important it is for men and women, I will just say for men and women. But it's, it's something that isn't necessarily routinely talked about. We talk about strengthening our our backs, our muscles, our biceps, our legs and everything but we don't talk about pelvic floor. And when you think about where the pelvic floor is and you obviously can't see me but I'm holding my hand up, all the weight of our body, gravity is pushing down on it so they need to be strong just to move us around in everyday life. Add the pressure of a baby because you know baby weighs quite a lot and by the time you've got all the everything else that goes with it you've got a lot of pressure on it the fact that the muscles do loosen slightly it means that you know poor our pelvic floor takes a bit of a yeah it takes a lot of pressure yeah and then you have the baby and you know you can get your pelvic floor back but it takes time it takes effort and it takes exercising it specifically and like you've found if you try and do too much too soon, the pelvic floor isn't working properly and as one of its roles, we think of it as being like to do with incontinence, but it's also about supporting all your organs. So if you do too much too soon, that organ support is not there, which means that bits, you know, pop down to where they shouldn't be. And that's where you get the pain. So it is so important, isn't it? And you have anybody who is thinking about going, think about exercising, who is thinking about pregnancy or anything like that, you know.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (14:53.371)

No

Sarah (15:04.078)

So do your pelvic floor exercises, everybody should be doing them really, but I do think this is where you know more specific advice about exactly what they are, how to locate them, how to exercise them, but also why you need to exercise it, not just to stop you having oomph moments, but for things like you know to protect everything when you're running, when you're exercising and things like that. 

Sarah-Jane Lewis (15:17.787)

100 % 100 %

Sarah (15:32.814)

So you did get fit, didn't Because you started doing triathlons.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (15:38.267)

I did that that was a combination of wanting to get out the house. The kids were a little bit older, wanted to meet like minded people. It all started from getting some swimming lessons and learning how to swim properly. And that stemmed my interest. So right, okay, I could swim a little bit quicker now. What can I do that's like interesting that combined some several sports and it was, I can't even remember how the connection, I think I was just looking for a club or a hobby and I was Googling, I think I ended up at a netball club and a volleyball, I was trying to find my thing and triathlons came up and it seemed so interesting that these crazy people were like putting on neoprene and jumping in the sea and swimming down to the pier and back and then they would jump out and run like go on their bike and then they'd run and it just, I think it was just the people that got me really interested and just the buzz and their excitement and enthusiasm for it and the variety and the different disciplines and being the type of person I am, I do have ADHD, I was like, right, I'm gonna do it and if I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it well. So I applied and like registered to do a half Ironman at Weymouth because it was like the nearest one and it was the best experience I ever had.

I mean, this was in 2018, so five years after my second baby. And I wasn't aware of my issues that I had, but ultimately all this did was compound those issues even more over time. But saying that, it was a fantastic experience and I highly recommend combining exercise with something that you love and with people that you love because...

It wasn't just a swim session, it was a catch up with my mates and it wasn't just like a cycle ride, it was like a Sunday outing to the cake shop, but we did like stupid amount of miles to do it, so we've got loads of exercise in and it wasn't just a run, it was an up and down the seafront and then afterwards we would have a natter and a catch up. So there was like elements to it that really helped it to be enjoyable and just like, oh I'm just gonna go for a run and catch up with Louise, I'm just gonna go for a bike ride and Nigel's gonna take me up the Winchester Hill and we're just gonna like try and do some scary hills downwards together. And it was just the family aspect of having a club. And I highly recommend if people wanna get into sport and don't know where to start, find a friendly local club, whether that's badminton or bowls or walking, because it's the people that will make you keep going back.

Sarah (18:24.078)

Yeah we underestimate the social benefits of activity in clubs but what you said before you talked about triathlon was really really interesting because you were saying you tried volleyball and you tried netball and things and I think this is the thing try different things don't just say oh that's not for me or I'm not sure about that because there's so many opportunities out there for different activities. Try it. If you don't like it, no one is going to say, well, you've been once, you've got to keep coming here for the rest of your life. If you say, look, I've given it a go, it's not for me, they'll be more than happy that you've at least given it a go. For women, particularly, there's walking netball, if you're not up to running yet. There's walking football now is growing for women. But things like triathlon, I know so many people. One of my other guests is a triathlete and does Ironmans and you know, she says the community is just so inclusive and just welcoming. It's kind of like, yay, come and join us. You know, we want more people. And I think this is something that a lot of people are nervous about going to some of these clubs because they think it's going to be, oh, you're a beginner, you know, you can't come here. We're all really good at what we do. But actually, these clubs thrive on their members. 

Sarah-Jane Lewis (19:45.657)

100 % yes.

Sarah (19:47.182)

So.go along and give it a go and say, oh, I really want to do this, but I'm no good at swimming. And they'll be able to advise you on swimming and they'll be able to advise you on cycling and the clothes to wear and everything. You know, there's a reason why these clubs are popular and that's because they welcome people in, don't they?

Sarah-Jane Lewis (20:01.627)

And the coaching is phenomenal. If you membership fee, it's huge, huge values for money, especially the club that I was at, Ports of Triathletes. These people are dedicated to their craft and for ultimately a few quid a month, you're getting really high quality training and access. Yes, you can go and get like a proper triathlete coach in regards to a very personalized, dedicated plan, which I did at one point. That's quite intense.

I mean, there are different levels. There's people that are kind of GB athlete level, but they still train with everybody else who's like couch to 5K level, you know, so there was never any, I'm a GB athlete, you know, if anything, it's motivating and inspiring to see these people that are just normal people that love their sport just as much as anybody else.

Sarah (20:37.838)

Yeah.

Sarah (20:51.598)

And I think that's the important thing, isn't it? Is the inspiration. It's, you know, you might not be joining this club thinking I'm going to be a GP, GB triathlete, but you might be going thinking these people can help me get a bit better. They can help me just knock a second off my swim time or a minute off my run time. And, you know, we all have personal bests and they are just that, aren't they? They're personal to us. And this is where most of the athletes in things like this, whether they're elite, whether they're amateurs, whether they're just beginner, whatever, are usually really, really happy to share what's helped them along the way. There's a lot less kind of protectiveness, if you like. There's a lot less kind of, oh no, I've learned this the hard way, so I'm not sharing it with anyone. There's a much more kind of sharing community, isn't there? A sense of, you know, let's help.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (21:39.355)

There is, there is. And it's in person and if you can make a good cake or take long biscuits then they'll be your best friend. 

Sarah (21:47.086)

Yeah. And that's the good thing. That's the good thing, isn't it, about sport is, you you are burning off a lot of calories in a lot of these sports, which means that you get to eat some of the things that you love eating. And that's the balance that I think is so important, isn't it? It's that rather than restricting, it's kind of the balance that goes on there. So you got really fit and then you dipped.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (22:03.483)

Yes, well COVID happened. So I wasn't doing the triathlon stuff anymore as such because we couldn't meet up. I did my own fitness thing at home. I trained as a personal trainer. That's where my after my second child and losing all the weight, I was like, right, I'm going to do this properly. I now know what goes in, exercise, like that balance, understanding nutrition, having some sort of plan and people go, how do you do it? How did you do it? So I was like, right, I'm going to go and learn. So I did. And I got all the qualifications to do that. Then COVID hit and I was like, oh, right. Well, that's great, isn't it? You know, can't do anything. So I did it online. And I think what happened there was we had the most amazing Easter and summer. I don't know if you remember, it's phenomenal. Like the weather, like everybody was at home. So everybody was quite relaxed.

So I was doing all these online things. But when it come to the winter and like the new year, I think everybody was just a little bit done in from all the lockdowns and just like, we were a bit exercise fatigued. And me personally, I was, you know, like it's hard to be upbeat and motivating to people all the time when all you want to do is have a beer and a chocolate brownie yourself. And you're just like, oh, and I felt a little bit of a fraud in that respect. And that's when my pelvic floor issues really, really kind of hit an all time low, more ways than one really. And that's when I had to deal with that and kind of ease up on the exercises because I was doing too many squats, I was doing really heavy weights, barbell exercises that weren't helping my situation. And even that actually really interested me throughout all my studies, pelvic floor and like after birth, not really discussed. You go to any personal trainer at your local gym, especially a bloke, and you mention actually, look, I've just had a baby, they will not consider the fact that everything down there is a little bit loose and you need to be conscious of certain exercises. Yes, they know that your abdominal area, you things like that, like you need special caution not to do set ups and things, but people don't like to discuss the vagina area. They're like, oh, no.

Sarah (24:34.19)

I know, it's bizarre isn't it? And yeah, I mean it's something that a lot of the courses I work on are, I deliver a lot of fitness courses and they're either for people who are going through cancer treatment, which of course pelvic floor is important, particularly if it's in the cancers in the pelvic region, but also you know I do a lot of older adult training pre and postnatal and in actual fact, I talk about pelvic floor virtually everything that I do purely because whatever else you're doing in your body, if that's weak, that's going to limit you more so than than weak biceps or a weak chest. If your pelvic floor is weak, it's going to limit what you can lift, what you feel comfortable lifting and things like that. So I think it's such an important one, isn't it? It really is.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (25:22.267)

It's part of your core as well and your hip mobility, all these things come in. So yeah, come kind of third, fourth lockdown, whatever was going on 2021, I just had enough. I needed to put myself first, needed to kind of rein in the exercise side of things. I mean, it's not fun being on the middle of a run in a country park with no phone signal, bent over double thinking.

how do I get help? I literally, because I'm of the mindset, I will push myself and push myself and push myself, but then it got to the point where it was actually a little bit dangerous. So I had to kind of reconsider choices when it came to exercise. And I went to the opposite extreme, did nothing, you know, just focused on recovery. And then what I've since learned more about my body, how it works.

I don't know what magic button gets pressed in your body when you hit 40 but something happens where it doesn't come off as easy as it did before. You're like, well, I've got the same diet plan, I'm doing the same amount of steps as I did before and nothing's moving while I'm off doing something wrong. And you're like, well, no, I know the science and understand it but somehow my body has shifted into another dimension. It just doesn't operate in the same way anymore.

Sarah (26:41.272)

I think it's called perimenopause and I think this is something that a lot of women don't realise is it actually starts, you know, we think, oh, menopause, about 50, it starts a lot earlier and there are subtle little changes which when you know your body, you start to recognise, hang on a minute, the weight isn't shifting or I'm not able to run in the same way and you start to recognise it.

But it does get a little bit harder. It's not impossible. It's not like, oh, well, that's it. I might as give up. It just means you need to change kind of the way you look at things, the way you do things, the way you eat sometimes, just to sort of compensate for that. Because unfortunately, it is a natural part of our physiology. It's not something you can avoid. I wish we could. You know, so yeah, I don't think I bother with menopause. But it's going to happen anyway and it's really interesting that there's so much more advice now about it and there's so much more awareness of how it changes the way our bodies react to eating, to exercise, even to stress which is really really good. So you got back into it though, haven't had a bit of a lull.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (27:44.749)

Yes, yes, yes. A little bit of a lull, but now it's more relaxed in regards to, I like to switch things up. I like to do the weights at the gym or I go and do an exercise class or go and do swimming. But the one thing I did do, which I think helped is I treated myself to a very nice gym membership.

And the reason being is I used to hate going to the gym because gyms can be mucky. They're full of big muscly blokes, you know, sweaty and stinky. And the changing rooms are a little bit minging, you know, because they're looked after teenagers. And it's just like the local leisure center as lovely as they tried to be. It was just like, I don't like coming to this place. I feel like I'm going to get some disease every time I come into this place. So I thought, right, if I'm going to go in, it's going to be nice. So I did treat myself to a high end gym membership and you know what that makes it a lot nicer to go to the gym so I'm more enticed to come to a yoga class or to go and swim and then go in the sauna and the hot tub afterwards it feels more of a treat than a punishment and I think that's what's changed in regards so less takeaways a little bit less alcohol a little bit more funds towards a nicer gym membership and that to me is what works.

I don't do it all the time. I must say, you know, being a business entrepreneur, you know, kids get ill. I do have those fluctuations still, but I'm less inclined to not go as in I'll go back because it's it's a respite, you know, cause I get to sit in a lovely sauna and then go in the outdoor pool and that's amazing cold water. Um, so yeah, so I found something that worked for me. So if you're finding going to the gym or going somewhere different, then see what other options are, because they're not all equal these places.

Sarah (29:46.382)

This is the thing, isn't it? It's finding what works for you, what fits in with you. And, you know, for some people the gym might not be an option for them, but for you, you've chosen something that says, well, do you know what? I can go for a swim or I can go to the gym or if I just need to go and have a sauna one day, that's what I'll do. It becomes part of it. And it's like you say, it's a treat. It's important rather than, oh, gosh, I've got to go to the gym. I can't be bothered. I'm going to get tired. It's like, no, I'm going to the club where I can choose what I want to do depending on my mood. And I think that's really important for people is, you when you find what you like doing, you'll want to do it. You'll look forward to doing it. You'll prioritize it. And what you like doing might be this one week or year. It might be something completely different next time. It might be something you might move on to something completely different and off the wall. And this is the thing is don't think you've got to choose a way of exercising and stick with it for life.

It's about trying different things. It's about saying, you know, all right, this week, I'm not in the mood for it. I'm not in the mood for the gym. I'm going to go and do a yoga class or I'm going to go for a swim. And it's it's responding to the way that your mind and body feel because that way, a, it becomes a much more holistic approach to activity. But also it means that you're not putting pressure on yourself to go to the gym. You're just saying, well, I am going to exercise, but I'm going to do it this way.

Or, you know what, I might just go for a walk today because it's a lovely day. And I think that's the thing, isn't it? It's try lots of different things, but work out what it is that floats your boat at that time. And then, yeah.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (31:17.851)

What works for you? What do you like to do? What's your thing at the moment?

Sarah (31:32.11)

Me, I'm a walker. I walk, I teach a lot of chair -based exercise classes, so that's something I'll do. But I walk, I do a bit of yoga, I do a bit of strength training, but it's again, it's what I feel like on the day. And it's, you know, I've been there, done a lot, you know, taught a lot, done everything. And for me, as I say, walking plus some real whole body, body weight exercises or resistance bands really what I like, you know, I'm hoping to be able to get swimming a lot more in the summer because I do like a good swim, I do like a good swim, yeah, and I'm one of these people I swim a little bit, not a strong swimmer, but I do a lot of kind of aqua -robics, so I'll grab myself some floats and things like that and do all sorts of aqua -robics and stuff like that because I find that really good fun, so I might not swim very much but I do a lot in the water, but to me it's what I feel like doing on the day.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (32:07.289)

Oh swimming's amazing, yes.

Sarah (32:28.75)

And I am actually, I'm looking into some of the things like walking netball purely because I like the idea of the camaraderie and the team spirit. Cause I think, you know, a lot of the times exercise can be quite solitary. Whereas when you get into sort of anything to do with a club or a team, you just, it's just a little bit more of a social thing, isn't it? It's really good.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (32:36.099)

Yes it pushes out your comfort zone a little bit. You're more enticed to go along if there's something, there's an event or you're working towards something. Yeah, I think it and I think we're because I don't know about you, I work on my own all the time. It's nice to have those meetups and those get togethers.

Sarah (33:05.87)

Yeah, it is, it's so important. So how do you, I mean, being active, being doing, doing some sort of fitness or activity or anything, how do you find it impacts on your business?

Sarah-Jane Lewis (33:18.553)

Yes and no, yes in a good way. I need to make it part of my day. A bout of illness has meant the last few weeks I haven't done so but what I do is I schedule out the mornings so I'll only work after 11 and that morning bit is like you say walk the dog or go to the gym after the school run then come home and that works, it helps me mentally I feel just a little bit fresher and I feel like I've had a bit of a reset. The blood obviously rushing to my brain gives me ideas and I feel a little bit better in myself. I definitely notice when I don't do that, I feel cloudier, I feel foggier, I feel sluggish. So I know that is time that I need to schedule in. And then because it is my own business, I can schedule meetings around that time and go into the evenings.

I know the best time for me to exercise is in the morning, get it done, get it out of the way. If I leave it and go, I'll do it after the school run or I'll do it after dinner, it just doesn't happen. Because it's just like my brain's not in that right space. So I know that the only time I can do make that time is first thing in the morning. And in a bad way is like I said, if I don't do it, then it just everything just slides a little bit. And then it's like, oh, well, I didn't go today. I won't go tomorrow. So sometimes I do need to give myself a big kick up the bum and just go right, just stop fannying around, get to the gym and do something.

Sarah (34:49.902)

Get to the gym. It's, I do, and it's something I always say to people is if you want to create an activity habit, whatever your activity, chosen activity is, put it in your diary, schedule it in, make an appointment, treat it, treat it like, you know, an absolutely must do. Treat it like a dentist appointment or, you know, meeting with your accountant because you then get in the habit of, oh no, I can't then, that's, that's when I go.

And your body kind of expects it, your body's geared up for it. Whereas if you sort of say, oh, well, I'll go to the gym three times this week. You get to Friday evening and you think, oh, I'm exhausted and I haven't been once. Whereas like you say, you know, find the best time for you. Now, some people it's morning, others lunchtime, others it might be evening. It's what works for you and it's what you know will fit in with your life. There's no point saying, I'm going to exercise in the evening if you've got loads of kids and you've got to do meals and you've got to get ready for school the next day and things like that.It's saying, right, okay, this is a good time for me. And being realistic, if you've only got half an hour, then do half an hour. If you can do an hour, do an hour. But be realistic. Don't sort of say, right, I'm gonna do an hour every single morning at nine o 'clock. If you know, you're just gonna be thinking, oh, I've got that meeting and I've got this thing. Plan, really plan, because once you're in the habit, like you say, when you don't do it, you kind of notice the knock on effect, don't you?

Sarah-Jane Lewis (35:55.897)

Definitely. I mean there have been occasions where I have gone to the effort of going to the gym and been on the treadmill for five minutes and then gone I can't do this. It's either too noisy, the people next to me are chatting too much, my socks are rubbing, my boobs are going everywhere and you're just like ah! So I'm like I'm leaving. So it doesn't always go to plan, it's not always perfect but then I do say to myself well you did go in so we'll take that as a win.

Sarah (36:30.062)

Yeah. I'll always say, I'll say to people, you know, if you know, if you set your intention to go for a walk at seven o 'clock in the morning, if you, if you, if you get out and it's just like, it's not going to happen, just stand outside your front door at seven o 'clock, keep the appointment, whether it's for five minutes or 50 minutes or however long, keep the appointment. If you're not in the mood for yoga, just sit on your yoga mat for five minutes and just deep breathe. Yeah. Keep the appointment, even if it is only for a short time, because that way, you just start to get in the habit and once you're in the habit, you're me, going out there at 5 every morning in the pouring rain. Yeah, I'm one of those, I'm one of those, but I've done it. I've got at least half of my activity in, you know, first thing in the morning and I know that if I don't do that, I know how much... I just feel just sluggish for the rest of the day. 

Sarah-Jane Lewis (37:06.681)

Oh wow!

Sarah (37:36.942)

So what would be your advice then to somebody who's listening and sort of saying, oh, I'm really not sure what I want to be. You know, I want to try something, but I'm not sure what.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (37:46.299)

Research. Think back to when you were a kid. What kind of things did you like? Did you like PE? Did you like tennis? Did you like running? You know, go back. The best things that I've enjoyed so far is running. I used to love running as a kid. Running through the woods, in the rain, in the mud, and you've got trainers that you don't care to get smashed. It is the most liberating and freeing thing. You just laugh and giggle because you’re in mud and you're wet and you just think I'm 30 something or I'm 40 something and oh my gosh I shouldn't be doing this but it's so much fun so just kind of get back to that inner child and just do some silly things because we're gonna be dead one day or you're gonna be sat in that old people's home gonna really wish I'd done such and such just do it just get out there and have fun.

Sarah (38:33.486)

Yeah. And that's what you know what, that's one of my key messages that I always try and bring through is, you know, whatever you do, make sure that you enjoy it, make sure that it's fun. And I really like that, that kind of thing back to what you used to like doing as a kid. Was it cycling? You know, was it running with your mates? Was it kind of more of a team sport? Because chances are if you liked it then there'll be a way that you can get back into it now, even if it is like, say, walking netball or walking football rather than the actual running versions, there's still ways to do it. And it, but once, once you find, once you rediscover the fun, the enjoyment, I think it just starts to become much more easy, doesn't it? Brilliant. Sarah, thank you so, Sarah Jane, thank you so much for talking to us. Tell us just a little bit about where people can find you if they want to know more about your Etsy business.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (39:11.629)

Yes.  So you can find me all over social media, any platform as ETSYQueen and my website is sj -lewis.com.

Sarah (39:38.03)

Brilliant. And so people can come and find you to get advice on anything to do with Etsy.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (39:43.131)

Yes, if you're a crafter or an artist and you want to sell your goods from your kitchen table, from your craft room, from your shed, wherever that may be, then come and get in touch so I can help you optimise your handcraft business so that you can make money from your passions which is what we all want!  Thank you so much for coming along. You've been listening to me, Sarah Bolitho and my guest Sarah Jane Lewis. We will see you on the next episode of Creating Active Lives. Thank you.

Sarah-Jane Lewis (40:11.257)

Thank you.