Health & Fitness Update #3

 

Hello everyone! And sorry for my unexpected disappearance. I'm nearing the end of my college course and with the impending finish date brings a whole host of exams and panic and stress. So I've been cramming everything from my multiple notebooks into my head lately and haven't had much time to sit down and write a blog post.

 

But I just thought I'd check in and give you a little health and fitness update. I have to admit I've been slightly unhealthy this week, with a McDonalds and Chinese take-away happening both within the same week a two-day time span. This is partly due to the fact I'd been too busy to shop for healthier things and partly due to the fact that I honestly couldn't be bothered to cook. But I'm still only drinking water (unless you count a sip of my boyfriend's Dr Pepper when he wasn't looking) and my skin is looking fresher than ever. I rarely wear foundation anymore! But the crappy food has taken it's toll as I felt lethargic and simply ill within a day of eating it. Whether that was due to coincidence or not, I can't wait to get back on track after a good food shop this weekend.

 

Exercise-wise, I do personally feel that I've been kicking ass. I have some cool new apps on my phone that are fitness related (let me know if you would like me to do a post showing these apps) and I have finally taken to writing down in a notebook what exercise I do and when. Sit ups and wall sits were a bit of a pain last week, but this week I can do them effortlessly. Which naturally means that I do more of them more often so my muscles don't get used to easy workouts. Again, if you would like a post showing my regular work out, let me know and I'd be more than happy to upload it.

 

Favourite healthy foods this week:

 

Apples. Oh my god, I could eat them all day. In fact, on Monday I ate two within the space of about half an hour, simply because I couldn't wait to eat the next. Healthy binging is okay sometimes, right?

 

Wholegrain tomato and herb bagels. Now I know this isn't exactly healthy, but hear me out. Toasted with a sprinkling of grated cheese in the middle, this tastes better than pizza and definitely curbs those cravings.  If you're having trouble kicking your pizza habits, I'd say to try this!

 

Broccoli. This is so plain and simple, but I've been really enjoying eating broccoli. Paired with wholegrain pasta and some chicken/turkey, it's so good! It's great for filling up my plate, too, as I've now started to section vegetables on half of my plate, carbs on a quarter and protein in the other quarter.

 

I hope you guys had a lovely week, and for all of those out there who are considering/pushing through a health & fitness lifestyle change, keep going! It will all be worth it in the end, promise!

 

xx

Health & Fitness Update #2

This week has been an okay-ish one. Exercise-wise, I've been doing pretty well. Last Sunday was one of the sunniest days I've seen for a while (UK problems!) and I took advantage of the warm-ish weather and took my puppy for a walk through the woods. We were out for about an hour and a half, but I made sure I had a bottle of water on me! Other than that, I've been fitting in small bursts of exercise whenever I have a spare minute, whether that's a 1 minute plank, a set of 30 squats or a 2 minute jog. Diet-wise, I've been failing a little. I had a large chips from McDonalds today and two bags of salt and vinegar Kettle Crisps yesterday... see the second point below to explain why.

 

What I've Learned This Week:

 

Fit in work-outs where-ever and whenever. This tip has been a lifesaver this week. I've been so busy with stressing about college that I've barely had a minute to sit down, let alone drop 20 squats. But I've been making an effort doing simple things: lifting my knees higher whilst walking up the stairs in college, doing calf raises whilst brushing my teeth and jogging on the spot whilst I wait for my bath to run.

 

Eating healthy food I don't enjoy makes me eat more. I've noticed lately that I'll prepare myself a lettuce and celery side salad, take one bite, deciding it's too bland and boring then end up buying a bag of crisps from the vending machine at college. As weird as it sounds, eating and enjoying food does put me in a better mood so when I'm eating something I don't enjoy, it honestly does make me miserable. From now on I'm only going to pack food that I'm looking forward to eating - red grapes, pineapple and red apples are my current favourites!

 

Cute gym wear makes me want to work out. Also, the brighter, the better. I now have a purple sports bra and a neon pink leopard print one and a pair of pink and black running shoes. Cute things like that motivate me as I want to wear them!

 

Lunches This Week:

 

 

Tuesday: lettuce, sweetcorn & celery salad with breaded chicken pieces and wholemeal seeded bread croutons. As a snack I had a peanut museli bar (not pictured) and a bottle of water. This was probably my favourite lunch this week - the salad was so refreshing!

 

 

Thursday: wholegrain pasta with a side of lettuce and celery. This meal was honestly pretty damn boring to eat. I ran out of veg to chuck in with the pasta so had to have it plain, which I didn't mind as I like plain pasta, but the side salad was hardly touched. This was the day that I splurged on the two bags of salt and vinegar crisps. As a drink I had water.

 

Overall, I think I'm working at a steady pace that I'm fairly happy with. More exercise was done and a lot more water was drank (the only drink I had this week!) but the diet changes are making me unhappy. Hopefully a trip to the Sainsbury's fruit aisle will change all of that for next week!

 

xx