Guess who’s back…

Hey guys and gals!

I’m back to blogging, and I’m raring to go. I’ve missed this interaction! I want you to know that I’m back with a vengeance to give you more and more healthy ideas and some motivation to get up and go.

January was a hard month, and February has been a little harder! The weather is terrible here in the UK, and eating well is difficult. You want cottage pies, casseroles, and all of the warm and comforting food that you’re hoping will cheer you up! If you’re anything like me, that hot chocolate and whipped cream is calling, and the marshmallows in the cupboard are screaming “Eat me girrrrl, you know you want to!” and you know what? I do want to… I always say, I’m living in a constant battle between my head and my heart. The little fat girl inside of me knows that I want those sweet little treats, but the self-conscious twenty-something that I am now tells me that a cup of green tea will do just fine. It’s a daily argument I have with myself… That’s normal, right? I do love those marshmallows though…

So I’m fairly, uh, boring, in my healthy eating. My issue is when I find something I enjoy, I’ll just keep making the same thing! I’ve often been called a rabbit. I love vegetables, and I love lettuce leaves (I can easily stand with a bag of lettuce and eat it like the bunny I am) but I want to incorporate new things into my food. I want colour, I want vibrancy, and I want more and more nutrition. I’ve been looking at loads of fab new blogs dedicated to this type of clean eating:- a way of life that makes yummy, yummy foods without jamming in the sugar, or the oil, or the other fussy bits and bobs we get in our processed meals! Look out for my links to these blogs after I’ve tried their recipes, there are some real goodies in store!

Later this evening I’m hoping to create some fantastical masterpiece for dinner. So far, I know I’m having some kale… That’s about how far I’ve got! Here’s to a fresh beginning. I’ve even changed my theme… Have a happy day honey bee’s!

Much love x

I’m Feeling Fidgety..

Contrary to common belief (and my belief), chocolate isn’t actually all we need.

Ever get that feeling? You can’t stop fidgeting, you’re restless, you’re up and down every five seconds trying to find something to do. Well, this is me lately… And it stems down to my picky nature.

I’m a bit of a fuss pot- there, I said it…! But when I’m in the mood to eat badly, I know exactly how my mind works. I become restless, I can’t sit still, and all that runs through my mind is what I can next eat out of the cupboard. It almost becomes a game- how many chocolate bars can I eat in the next ten minutes? I don’t know about you, but there ends up being- quite literally- a battle between my head and my heart. I can sit on the sofa smiling at the thought of my next treat, but my head is screaming “Nooooo don’t do this!!!”. But my heart won’t take any of it…

Isn’t it terrible? You indulge, and you convince yourself that you’re enjoying it. You convince yourself that having a few days of treats is fine- you only live once, right? Well I’m in the process of trying to tell myself to step AWAY from the biscuit tin. It’s tough when you consider that you do only have this one life- as cliche as it is- and you want to enjoy every second of it. Why should you deprive yourself, after all?

So I’ve come to a bit of a compromise. If I can sense I’m in the mood to scoff the contents of the cupboard, I attempt to take all necessary precautions! The other week I indulged in Alpen bars. Bloody Alpen bars… It’s no bar of Cadbury’s, but it’s a little taste of chocolate, and it feels like a treat. (And at 70 calories a pop it’s not the end of the world!) Another piece of advice I can give to anyone suffering from the same restless nature as myself is, to keep yourself busy. Write a blog post if you love a spot of writing, do something you’ve been putting off for ages (mine was de-tangling jewelry), read a book, watch an interesting film or TV programme, or even just have a good ole’ natter with friends or family! After five minutes or so, you’ll forget you ever had that craving. And if all else fails, have a little cube of dark chocolate, it always helps me!

So if you’ve had a shit day and you fancy a few trips back and forth to the cupboard, try to resist the temptation. Remember how proud you are of how well you’re doing, don’t jeopardize your journey, believe in yourself!

Much love bloggers x

Uh oh, it’s weigh day…

Weigh day. It’s debatable that anyone looks forward to this day. You could have been trying so hard all week to exercise and eat well, but the numbers on those scales just don’t portray your dedication. Today was my first weigh since the day before Christmas Eve. Suffice to say, I wasn’t looking forward to it… (It’s also that time of the month, and that never makes you feel particularly great…)

That initial weigh-in is always the worst- both mentally and numerically. You base all future weigh-ins on this one, this is what you measure your future self against. You are essentially in a competition with yourself to beat that number! It’s irritating really, you can feel amazing in yourself, but if you step on those scales and see a number you didn’t want to see, your confidence plummets.

I’m so guilty of this. I have a wonderful week, and think “Yes, this is going to be a good weigh” and all my hopes are dashed when that damn scales is wrong again… If only I could pretend… So I’ve decided to make a change to my mentality. When I step on those scales, I can still have high hopes and want those low numbers. But I’m not going to let the number that crops up affect how I feel. Imagine if instead your scales read “Wow! You’ve had such a dedicated week. KEEP GOING!” as opposed to those dastardly numbers, wouldn’t that be lovely? It’s a case of having to educate yourself in how to react. Don’t react in a way that puts yourself down. Don’t punish yourself for not beating your target. You’ve not gotten there yet, but keep that dedication up and you’ll get there- you will.

If I see something I don’t want to see, it can make me want to reach for that Ben and Jerry’s hidden in the freezer. You think to yourself, “what’s the point?”. Well I’m here to remind you, there’s every point in continuing your journey to feeling good. You’ve started this journey of living a healthy lifestyle for a reason. You want to make a difference to yourself, the way you live and the way your family might live. Eating healthily and exercising isn’t a diet, it’s a lifestyle choice. And you’re simply starting out in that lifestyle. Think of yourself as a beginner? That’s certainly what I do!

I look at women (in particular) who have great bodies, who have eaten well for years and know exactly what they need to do to get where they want to be. I’m not there yet and I have a long way to go. But eventually, we’ll know what healthy meals are our favourites, what workouts best suit us, and we may even prefer a protein pancake instead of the normal full-of-fat one! The weighing of food will become second nature and when people say to you, “Don’t you crave junk food? Doesn’t the weighing food everyday take up too much time?”, you’ll answer with pride. You’ll say, “Actually, it’s just what I do. It’s natural to me.”

Look forward to that day! It’ll come. And it’ll come before we know it.

Also, my weigh in was pretty successful! I’ve lost a pound since the 23rd of December. So goodness knows what I put on over the Christmas period… But having basically stayed the same, I’m pleased. And I’m going to continue my commitment to the healthy eating cause and hopefully the numbers will continue to decrease.

Much love bloggers! Have a fabulous Friday! x

It Was a Fateful Day of Frizzy Hair…

WARNING: This blog contains references to frizzy hair.

Today has been yet another successful day of healthy eating and exercise, and I couldn’t be happier. I don’t even care if my posts become repetitive with the same first sentence- at least it’s a good sign, ey?! Or is that bad.. Wait, no- they won’t be repetitive! I’ll re-phrase to keep it interesting…

As mentioned in my previous post, I had some hot water and lemon before going for a 5k run. Today I stretched before and after, I didn’t want those aching limbs again! And so far- no pain! Just the usual ache.

After my run, I had 30g oats, 150ml milk, 10g honey and 5g raisins. It was YUM! I accompanied this with a green tea. I’m not going to say “Oh I love green tea, it’s so good for you and tastes to great!” because I don’t agree. Yes, it’s good for you, but I don’t think it tastes particularly good. I drink it when it’s hot- not too hot to drink- but to mask some of the flavour… It’s probably not as bad as I’m making it out to be, but it sure doesn’t taste as lovely as a cappuccino!

After my lovely breakfast, I freshened up, cleaned the bathroom (yay…) and met my boyfriend for lunch. Having quickly blow dried my hair, the word ‘frizzy’ doesn’t come to close to the state of it… Also, the second best part about getting to meet said boyfriend for lunch was I also got to put something normal on- that wasn’t my lounge-wear or running kit! Gotta love black on black…

Favourite brogues.

I do love a simple black turtle neck with an understated necklace.

The watch my brother bought me for Christmas- he did well! Understated loveliness.

We went to that nifty little cafe in our hometown again – my treat ❤ – and each had the ham salad we know and love! With a pot of tea too of course.

Okay, so now I had to get some revision done. The fun part of the day was over, and shit just got serious. I needed to do some work… Which I did! AT LAST! SUCCESS! I finally felt I could actually achieve something.

For dinner, I had herby chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, roasted mini leeks, and a salad with red pepper, cucumber and red onion. It was divine! And after a few hours of reading and revising, it was exactly what I needed!

The contents of my salad, excluding the leaves…

Work in progress…

The finished result! Yum!

And that was din dins! After which I had some 0% greek yoghurt with honey and raisins. Lovely!

So that’s Thursday. And guess what bloggers, it’s Friday tomorrow! The weekend is here!

Night night x

From 10 to Zero..

Hey bloggers!

So yesterday, I was feeling amazing. I’d been eating well, and I was feeling energised and invigorated! However today has done a bit of a flip flop. That’s a saying, isn’t it…?

Last night my legs started aching terribly. You’d think it was from my run, right? Well, I’m not so sure! (At least, not entirely due to the running..) I’m someone who rarely warms up/down before I go running, although I do tend to do 15-20 squats before and after. I did exactly that yesterday, but the pain I was in was unbelievable! So this morning I awoke with the sniffles and a headache, feeling achy all over. Something tells me Mr. Flu is making a cheeky visit? I’ve kept him away up until now, but it looks as though he might be creeping through that immune system of mine! Since when have I given the flu a persona…

Knowing I have mounds of revision and work to be doing, this hasn’t arrived at the best of times (though when is it a great time to catch a cold!) I had the full intention of working my arse off today – to put it bluntly – but it hasn’t been very successful. Every ounce of information I’ve been attempting to consume has refused to fill me with knowledge. Don’t you hate that feeling?

Thus for now, I’m going to watch ‘Sex and the City’ and drink tea. Hopefully I’ll feel better to do some work later! Much love x

Sunday Funday

“The diet starts tomorrow”

Well, contrary to popular thought, a diet is not something that we start on any day. A diet is what you eat- regardless of whether it is healthy or unhealthy. So I propose we forget the word ‘diet’ and start thinking of looking after our wobbly bits.

So, instead, my healthy diet starts tomorrow!
Sunday’s are meant to be a day of rest, but my Sunday will require a spot of willpower. The chocolate is going to have to live without me for a bit- though who am I kidding, I’m the clingy one..

My ‘plan of action’- so to speak- is one compiled of baby steps. As much as I’d love to step into the gym tomorrow and squat a 30kg weight, it’s both impractical and plain idiotic.. So, I’m starting small. A bit like when you ease yourself into a new routine, I’m seeing a healthy lifestyle as exactly that- a new routine. (I do love a routine)

So, what am I restricting in my diet?
As a general assumption, anything that contains five or more ingredients probably isn’t too good for you! Processed food is a big no no. It’s allllll about fresh foods and clean eating (oh how cliche..!)

Exercise wise, I’m hoping to run 5K a minimum of 3 times a week. In conjunction with this, I’ll be using Dumbbells daily on specific areas of my body.

My legs are something I detest, so some leaner tree trunks hanging from the rest of me would be lovely. So I’ll be looking at doing some exercises that specifically target these not-so-beautiful things..! I’m still fairly uneducated when it comes to these, so any help will be highly appreciated! Otherwise, squats and lunges will be the most popular words in my vocabulary for a while.. In addition, I’d love a toned tummy. So ab exercises will be featured too!

A key factor is also lots of water- stops me feeling so hungry too! And your skin will feel a hundred times more energised.

So, here’s to the beginning of a healthy lifestyle.
365 days to love my body.