Fitness Friday: Tone It Up 28 Days to Fit, Fierce and Fabulous

Good morning!

Today I have a Fitness Friday post ( a week later than planned...) on the wonderful 28 Days to Fit Fierce and Fabulous from Tone It Up!

If you haven't heard of Katrina Scott and Karena Dawn, also known as the Tone It Up Girls, then you have been truly living under a rock.
They have an absolutely massive following in America and now worldwide and its easy to see why. They are absolutely beautiful with toned abs and winning smiles - I'd like to find any individual who doesn't want to look like them!
Not only that but they are truly genuinely THAT nice - you just need to add them on snapchat to see how happy and fun they are.

They have therefore brought out a book, full of recipes, tips, tricks, workout ideas and general life advice. It's a bible of sorts - I have loved reading it from start to finish and can't wait until all of my house moving stuff has finished so I can get on with my 28 day challenge!

I was gutted to weigh myself the other day and find that I have put on 'more than a few pounds' so I'm planning on stepping it up a gear at the gym and reigning in my eating. It is so hard when trying to be sociable but keeping your diet in check, even at work there is a constant supply of cake and 'Friday treats' that I am sometimes force fed!

With recipes and images that look like this how can you possibly not want to eat and drink healthy things like this?!
I love the recipes and cannot wait to try them all out, what I really liked most was that most days there are suggestions rather than a super strict menu plan that you have to follow - it's great to have that flexibility in your life.

Each day has a particular food and recipe to try (only if you want to) and also a mantra and fitness challenge. This doesn't only feed your body and challenge your muscles but also addresses any self esteem issues by getting you to build up your confidence.

I always think you should treat the body as a whole package and balance mind body and soul so this book is perfect for that.
There's also a HUGE section at the back with seemingly endless workouts that I cannot wait to try out, they all have pictures and guides for doing it properly so you know you are in safe hands.

This book is currently £14.88 for the paperback version that I have above, but it also comes in the kindle version for £9.49

What do you think of the Tone It Up 28 Days to Fit, Fierce and Fabulous book?

Do you love fitness plans like this? Do you need a plan to follow and tips and tricks to guide you?

I definitely need to put some structure back into my fitness regime and come up with some new diet ideas to keep me on the right track. These girls always look happy so it would be rude not to be infected by their happiness and zest for life wouldn't it??/

Hopefully in a few weeks I can get started and I'll come back with a full on review and progress report!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Food Cheats

Hello there! Apologies for the super late post today - I didn't get home from work until 10.30 last night. Writing posts in the week is getting harder and harder!

I don't know about you but regardless of how hard i work at the gym I need to keep my diet in check with good food and staying strict.

Any kind of cheat is helpful, and a food cheat is even better right?? Here's a few things to add to your diet to help your body throughout your fitness journey:

1) Coconut oil. Probably listed in every 'must have' list of foods for the fit and healthy, coconut oil really is a wonder food. You can use it to cook with, on toast, in cakes and generally you can smother yourself in it too! 

Adding this to a protein shake will boost your metabolism and elevates growth hormones,so this stuff simultaneously burns fat and builds muscle. Sounds pretty super to me!

2) Cottage cheese. I love this stuff, its really versatile. You can use it in salads (it then doubles up as dressing too), and as a replacement for cheese on top of pasta bakes for some melted stringy goodness. It's high in protein, low in fat and high in calcium so it packs a good punch into your body as it is, helping you to boost muscle mass. I also find it easy to snack on too, straight from the fridge with a spoon....the one with pineapple is the best!

3) Cinnamon, cayenne pepper and ginger. They all have a thermogenic effect, i.e. they increase your bodies temperature and therefore its metabolism and fat burning level. Adding cayenne pepper to savoury food and cinnamon to sweet food you can boost your fat burning rate, who doesn't love cinnamon on things?? I'll be adding this to my protein pancakes for sure!

4) Quinoa. Long have I been eating this amazing grain, higher in protein than others it can double its magic by being your carb portion and adding more protein to your meal.Not only can it be used in salads but also to replace rice and pasta and even oats. I regularly cook a bag and store it in the fridge and use it in whatever I want throughout the week - replacing my oats with greek yogurt and fruit, in salads and also to make my own version of egg fried rice.

Try swapping some of these foods into your diet and see what happens! I will be trying to add cinnamon to my diet as I can't stand cayenne pepper....!

Do you have any other suggestions to add to this list?


L xxx

Fitness Friday: Current Workout

Hello there!

Fitness recently has been a topic that I just haven't been able to get my head around.

I absolutely love it and still enjoy going to the gym and trying out new exercises, however with my training in work being seemingly endless and the copious amount of paperwork and appointments involved in buying a house it has definitely taken a back seat in reality and in my head.


The last two weeks though I have been getting back into it with all of the muscle ache to go with it!

Here's my latest program:


5 minute warm up on the cross trainer - a lot of people have a bit of an obsession or a loathing of the cross trainer, I have neither. I think it's useful for my 5 minute warm up as it loosens my legs and arms and gets my heart rate going!

Image from Technogym

After this I've been getting on the Wave Machine - it simulates speed skating which means your legs move on pedals in a similar way to a cross trainer, but instead they go out to the sides. You can stand in 4 different positions, leaning on the hand rail or standing freely for the intensity to be in different muscle groups, but essentially it targets your glutes, hamstrings, quads, lower back and if you manage to balance and stand up for whole time then you'll target abs as well!
I've been building this up as my lower back has a weakness but 10 minute blocks at a high level of 12 is how I've been doing it. The higher the level the wider the pedals move apart, therefore making it more difficult.

Once my 10 minutes on that are up (and I'm dripping in sweat, it really gets me working hard!) I head to the mats.

Image from Lifehack.org

At this point I've been working on my Bulgarian Split Squats. If you don't know what they are you can view this video on youtube of Erin Stern.
I've been varying my weights whilst I get comfortable with the balance and the motion of squatting essentially on one leg, but I definitely need to work harder and squat lower, I am nowhere near Erin's level of almost hitting the ground with my lower knee where I've dropped so low, I need to work harder!

I've also been twinning this into a superset with tricep dips, and using the bench for those putting my feet as far out in front of me as I can. My shoulders are starting to look better for it but I can't say my triceps look any smaller! The arms always take such a long time to get smaller and show muscle.

Image from Women's Health Mag

After doing two sets of each of the squats and tricep dips I've been using 2 4kg dumbells and doing another super set of 15 x lateral raises followed by 15 x shoulder press. My shoulders need so much work and they burn after doing almost anything, I need to vastly improve on this area too!

Once I've completed this I get back on the Wave machine for another 10 minutes, as long as I've got some decent music plugged in this second set can go faster that the first set!

Needless to say I come off it a bit of a sweaty mess, last night it actually almost ran off my nose, then you know that you're working hard!

Then I get back to the mats. I've been loving doing some glute bridges recently as they were something I'd never tried before, here is a video for you to see. I've been trying to do them with a 5kg or 8kg weight to make it a bit more difficult, but you can feel the burn in these and the bonus is its a lying down exercise too!

Recently I've been getting as much ab and core exercises in as possible, planks are always the best but I can't say I'm good at them.
I actually prefer side planks with dips so I do a couple of them too,

My lower stomach area is definitely my worst feature, so I've been working double hard on doing leg drops but have to be careful with my lower back. I either hold a weight and alternate left leg, right leg and then both together, or I go crazy and do a many together as I can and I'm definitely improving.
I've been trying to push my hips up at the last minute to do a reverse crunch too and it's a killer ab combo!

So this is what I've been doing recently, trying to rev up my metabolism again and get back into fitness with some completely new exercises.

What have you been trying out recently? Have you mastered Bulgarian split squats? Do you have any tips?

Are you a fan of the Wave machine for burning calories and getting you sweaty?

I'm aiming to lose some pounds that I've gained recently, hoping to lose half a stone over the next few weeks by getting back into exercise and reigning in my diet.

What are you fitness goals?

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Instagram Inspiration 2

Happy Friday!

So two weeks ago I wrote a post on my favourite fitness related Instagram accounts, you can read that here. I follow a whole lot more than those so here are a few more!

This one is pretty self explanatory - beautiful female six packs.

I must admit sometimes it feels a little weird scrolling through my Instagram feed and seeing lots of half naked women on there, but it does also stop me from chomping my way through whatever I'm snacking on at the time - there's motivation all over this page!

Fitness Page For All  - this is a general fit body page, there are beautiful men to drool over, fit women to motivate you and also some funny quotes to give you a kick up the bum when you need it!

Female Physique - very similar to Female6pack, lots of beautiful bodies and more quotes to keep you motivated, even some from the wonderful Liam Neeson and strange Spongebob.

Healthy Food Advice - a great account showing all sorts of healthy recipes and drool worthy food, there are LOTS of food alternatives on this page, think healthy versions of cinnamon rolls and peanut butter cookies, along side copious meals with vegetables and lean meats. I really want to try out the two below, along with eggs baked in portobello mushrooms and zucchini parmesan crisps!

FastEasyRecipes is another very similar account to the one above, so many pancake recipes and amazing dishes like the wedges one below. They even have sushi recipes and I definitely cannot wait to scroll through them all and make a list of new things to try out!
Everything looks so colourful and enticing, it's hard to not want to eat healthy when you have dishes like this in front of you!

Lastly another girl crush, the Balanced Blonde. Not strictly always a fitness or healthy recipe poster, but she does eat a lot of beautiful food, as seen above with the fruit platter and her own homemade super food salad below looks gorgeous!
She seems to just always be having fun and living life, with a cold pressed juice in hand!

What fitness and healthy food accounts do you follow? Have you got any more suggestions for me as I am always looking for additional motivation!

Do you like the look of the recipes above? Do you follow any of the accounts already?

Let me know!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Running Away From Bad Habits

Sometimes you can run but you don't get yourself very far.  Constantly running also won't get you far enough from those bad habits that will come back and bite you on the bum harder than ever before. 

I'm sure you've all heard the sayings, 'You can't out-train a bad diet' and 'Abs are made in the kitchen' but I've been reading a lot of magazines with interviews and they're not the only things that are going to help.

Image from Dr Kehres.com

Kick the following habits and you'll make everything much easier for yourself in the short and long term. Try changing your bad habits one at a time and see how it helps!

1) All or nothing - Stop making everything harder for yourself by stopping and starting, the yoyo diets and the running for 5 miles a day only for a few weeks before stopping again. These will not only lead to potential injuries pushing you further back than you were in the first place but also causing you to gain more weight when you yoyo diet. Get yourself in a steady routine and build on it, make it a habit and make the whole thing much easier. Consistency is key.

2) Leaving before stretching - this one really bugs me! Sometimes I understand leaving one class early to get to another as many people do when trying to squeeze in workouts after work. But its really important that you cool down after a class or gym workout to prevent delayed onset muscle soreness - that big ache you get the day or two after the gym.
I've started to attend a balance class recently to help with my stretching and flexibility and have found that it has really helped. If a separate class has helped then the 5 minutes at the end of each class is certainly going to help in the short and long term....don't skip it!

3) Starving not snacking - whatever you do, steer clear of starving yourself. Not only is this not good mentally as you will know you are depriving yourself but also it causes your body to store whatever you eat next, and guaranteed if you're anything like me when you haven't eaten in a while you end up overcompensating and stuffing your face the next time you do! Keep your sugar levels steady and your metabolism at its optimum rate by eating little and often.

4) Working out on an empty stomach - Morning cardio is something that a lot of people rave about, but this kind of thing is more beneficial if its a 40 minute brisk walk as opposed to skipping your afternoon snack before doing a workout. Having a snack before a workout will stop your sugar levels from crashing, and also provide you with fuel to complete your workout, if you're doing the right sort of workout your body will be burning calories long past the snack that you've eaten.

5) Bingeing after a workout - Everyone is a culprit of this at times, especially when we know a huge meal out is on the cards. But on your average day the worst thing is believing that you've burned off enough to allow yourself a 1000 calorie meal. You need to feed your body with protein and carbs after a workout so it can recover but anything more than a normal balanced meal will mean your workout was pointless.

6) Getting stuck in a rut - Always change up what you do, different classes, different weights, even a different order of a routine you do normally will make your body work harder and longer. Try a new class, go for a run somewhere more challenging or just with a change of scenery.

7) Not having a plan - Don't ever go to the gym without a plan. So many times I have wasted time when I haven't really had a routine or a body area that I was going to work on. You end up wandering around using whatever is available or closest to hand and then leave having done an average workout when you could have maximised your time and really worked hard.

8) Not getting enough sleep - This has to be one of my favourites, make sure you get the amount of sleep you need. I liked getting up and working out before work when I had the time, but this should never come at the cost of sleep. Sleep gives your body the chance to relax and repair and with the busy lifestyles that we all lead nowadays it's so important to get your 8 hours

These are just a few tips and tricks that I've been learning from experience and reading.

Which of these bad habits do you do most often? What are your tips for progress?

I'd have to say that mine would mostly be getting stuck in a rut as it's easy to keep doing the same things, and also binge eating after a workout. I rarely eat bad food, I don't binge eat ice cream or anything, I just get so 'hungry' that I can't stop eating so I end up eating more than I need!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Hi there!

I've been a bit more adventurous with food recently - not that I've been eating weird things but just trying to vary it a bit more than usual.
I've been doing well making eggs with veggies for breakfast and replacing usual carbs with quinoa and cauliflower rice, but snacking is something i need to work on.

I found this recipe on The Daily Hiit blog (link here) and after reading it i knew that I had to try it.

I'm by no means a baker - I am so much better at cooking meals and proper food, when it comes to cakes I am (luckily!) rubbish so don't generally bother.
This recipe however involves no baking whatsoever, its a freezer only type bake - winning.



Here's the main ingredients - almond milk, protein powder, almond meal, coconut oil and peanut butter.
For the topping you need coconut oil and chocolate chips - as well as some kind of chopped or flaked nuts for sprinkling on top.
(For amounts you can read the original recipe, i won't bore you with that!)





Melting the ingredients in a microwave took about 1.5 minutes with regular stirring. I'm always wary of using the microwave to melt things but this didn't seem to cause any issues.

Adding in the dried powders and mixing thoroughly gave a batter type mixture that easily filled the square tin. So far so good, no issues and nothing that i can do wrong:





Next you just have to melt the coconut oil and chocolate chips together to create a super glossy mixture that you just want to dunk marshmallows in!

Pour this on top and you might get something that looks like this:



The instructions then suggest 20 minutes in the freezer.....I would say mine needed more like 2 hours. Not sure why this was but at 20 minutes it was still very gooey like the image below, and after 2 hours it was much more like the bottom image and had set:

Small setting issues aside, these are 100% amazing - if I say so myself.

After I made them on a Sunday around 11am I ended up eating about 4 throughout the day....oops!

I wouldn't recommend it as I felt extremely sick afterwards but OMG you need to make these!!!

I think maybe I'd add a little more almond meal to the mixture next time and it would set better, but these taste so good I don't care that I'll have to eat them out of the fridge.

Do you make your own snacks and bars like these? Do you have any other similar recipes?

I really want to make some more snacks like these - cleaner than shop bought and even more tasty!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Writing a Diary

Hi there!

This week's Fitness Friday is all about accountability. I've never been one to write a diary but this year I really wanted to start writing one and noting down my meals, as well as attendance at any classes and any subsequent improvements I've made to show my progress in that respect.

My plan is to write out the following:

1) my meals and snacks each day - even when I've gone way over what I should have eaten. I don't count calories but occasionally I do add my food into an app like My Fitness Pal to calculate my calorie intake and see if I need to increase or decrease my intake of total calories, proteins, fats and carbs.

2) my exercises, classes, run distances and times, weights used, reps increased - basically anything that I've done. I know that I've improved over time but I would have liked to have seen the improvements over the months and years if I had written them down initially. It's greatfor giving you a boost when you're having a bad gym day and can't even do one rep.

3) quotes - Pinterest, instagram and any fitness type of person on twitter will guaranteed have a few quotes up their sleeves. Motivational, inspirational and pretty much anything to get you up and moving and not giving up. I've got tonnes of screenshots on my phone of these, they're really helpful on some days when you need a bit more to get you through. At the back of my diary there's a notes section with a lot of spare pages; I fill these with any kind of quote that inspires me.

I might go days without seeing anything new that makes me want to push harder and then come across 12 quotes that relate to me and my journey perfectly. So I scribble them all down for when I'm at a low point and I need them.

I've never been one for consistency when writing a diary. But I've begun to find it quite therapeutic to end each day writing down my food and fitness accomplishments for the day, plus anything that's inspired me. As well as the quotes in the back I also try and tie in any lapses in my food/exercise with work or social arrangements rather than leave it blank so I know in future what to fix when things start to go wrong.

So how has it been going since January the 1st?

I've had a few bad days of not writing things down but to be honest it's not a big deal; I know if I've eaten badly and when I need to cut back. I think the food part for me will probably be intermittent, when I've been slacking off and cheating a few times a week and need to reel in my snacking, or if I've been out a lot with friends for food and drinks and want the next week to try and make up for it.

What I really want is to create consistency in my plan and show myself my progress when I feel like throwing the towel in.

What I'll need is quotes to keep me going and inspire me.

I am looking into getting a fitness tracker in the next month or so but I do love the manual writing out of progress, and the Alice in Wonderland diary was just too cute to ignore!

What do you think of writing out your own progress? Would you write a diary to help you on your way and keep you focused? If not, how do you keep yourself on track over the long term?

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Food Maths

Good morning!

I've had a really bad 2 weeks of exercising, I've had a bit of a virus that wiped me out for a week or so. I thought I was OK but went to Body Combat and had to leave when the stars came rolling in and I thought I was going to hit the floor!

After a few days without the gym I felt better but work has taken over a session or two so I haven't really got my A game back yet.

Throughout this time I've had to try and reel in my eating habits. I do eat healthily and can't remember the last time I had crisps, biscuits or chocolate but I am constantly hungry so keeping my food and snacks all within a decent calorie range and without overdoing the sugar is important.

There's one thing that always helps me keep my raging food monster from taking over, and that's Food Maths. Bear with me, I'm not about to get some crazy equations out and boggle your brain in a Friday.... This is pretty simple. 

I'm giving you some foods and their equivalent exercises you would need to burn them off. Get ready to be horrified!

To start off, here are images from Pinterest so you understand what I mean:

Image from Pinterest but property of Skinny Mom

I don't know about you but 87 minutes of crunches, 272 burpees or endless running sound horrendous and boring and totally uninspiring!

There are definitely more fun ways of burning these foods off but MY GOD isn't it a wake up call?!

Let's have a browse of the next one.....




I love fried chicken but 65 minutes on a bike? I struggle with a 45 minute spin class!

159 minutes of climbing stairs?! My heart rate would sky rocket doing that, and don't even get me started on the 170 minutes of Pilates.

Wow, doesn't it all make it really hit home what you're eating??

I do find things like this really help but a lot of these snacks aren't what I eat so I've looked up a few of my favourite snacks and treats to see what I'd need to do for those:

1) Starbucks Blueberry Muffin - admittedly I am more likely to eat my mums homemade muffins as I'm a cheap individual and wouldn't fork out the cash (forever a student....) but blueberry muffins rate highly on my treat scale and I would pay for these when I had the cash....These come in at 380 calories which according to My Fitness Pal would take me 40 minutes of running (at 5mph) to burn off or 32 minutes of swimming.

2) Whitworth's Fruit, Nut and Seed mix - this stuff is the best mix I've found. It's an even distribution of fruit and nut as opposed to a game of 'spot the almond amongst the raisins' and all of it tastes great. In my opinion it's healthier than eating chocolate and sweets but it's easy to get out of control. A serving is 25g but I never measure.....going with a 50g helping this would give me 240 calories to burn. This equates to 23 minutes on the elliptical trainer as punishment...just for a few bits of dried fruit and nut!

3) 9 Bars - I can't get enough of these beauties, so many gorgeous flavours and some even have a bit of chocolate on them.....drool! The 50g bars can take you into the 280 calorie region meaning a 33 minute Zumba class is coming my way!

4) Nutella - its a shameful secret that I have a tub of Nutella by my bed (literally with my name on thanks to Selfridges!) that I tend to have a teaspoon out of when I'm feeling low, it does work to cure my chocolate cravings usually so I don't feel guilty about it but the other day I sat and ate quarter of the tub with a spoon straight out of the jar....whoops! That's 520 calories for a few spoons of happiness - I felt seriously better afterwards (long day and feeling run down, you know the drill) but the 65 minute hike with a weighted back pack necessary to burn them off definitely wouldn't!

So even with my seemingly healthier alternatives to a pizza and a family bag of crisps I'd still have to do some serious exercise to burn off my treats.

Have you thought about your snacks as an exercise to complete afterwards? Have you really thought about how much your weekend takeaway chinese food or pizza might be ruining your hard work during the week?

It's a scary thought, but it's all about balance. Being aware of your calorie intake from treats goes a long way to helping you towards your goals!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Best Foods To Eat After a Workout

Good morning!

After giving you a load of tips that I've found help me and have helped others I thought writing a list of post workout foods would be a good idea. We all know that it's good to eat after a workout to replenish your glycogen stores, help prevent muscle breakdown and recover faster. The best time to eat is within 30 minutes of finishing a workout so it can be hard to have something with you if you're on the go or even just finding an appropriate snack. (source)

Most days I drive straight to the gym from work (otherwise once I'm home I won't leave the house again!) so when I finish my workout I most often have a protein shake - when I have really gone for it - and then I eat my tea. 

On the weekends however I normally go in the mornings and so need a snack to keep me going until my next meal. It's hard to choose what to eat to keep you going so I've listed some of the best foods you should eat after a workout for optimum nourishment and minimum fat gain:

1) Milk - The easiest thing you can have is a glass of milk. It's liquid so is easily digested and contains protein and fats that your body needs for recovery. Not only this is an easy and cheap snack it's also easily taken with you and if not, bought from a local shop. Perfect! Stick with full fat though, although the fat is higher it hasn't had as many chemical processes performed on it and is actually better for you.

2) Greek Yogurt - Greek yogurt has double the amount of protein of normal yogurt so is a great food to snack on, and mixed with fruit such as berries and a handful of nuts its a great way of getting in some vitamins and good fats to your day. It's also got enough carbs to keep you going.

3) Wholewheat wraps - If you really are hungry after your workout and not near a meal time your best bet is to have a wholemeal wrap, cook up some eggs and veggies and make a wrap, otherwise prepare them the night before and you can easily take them with you. Chicken, fish and feta cheese are all good sources of protein that can be put into a wrap with veggies and some other carbs such as quinoa, rice or beans and you'll be sorted.

4) Peanut Butter - One of my favourite foods! Spreading this onto some rye bread or rice crackers will help to stave off any cravings. Eating this with an apple or banana will also make a great snack and I've seen many pictures where other people have stuck 2 piece of fruit together using the PB to make a mini sandwich. Otherwise just a spoon or two straight out of the tub should see you right!

5) Quinoa - the superfood that contains a lot of protein but acts like a grain. Fills you up without filling you out, and can substitute so many other carbs such as oats, pasta and rice. I've had this for breakfast with almond milk, yogurt and fruit, as well as in salad to replace pasta and in wraps to provide some stodge to fill me up. It's a winner!

6) Smoothies - if you have the chance to make a smoothie than you're on to a winner all around. You can add in some oats or quinoa to thicken it up, whatever fruit you like for flavour and vitamins and yogurt and/or some protein powder to help rebuild your muscles. Using a smoothie maker would make this so easy and would be something I'd love to try more regularly! I'd even add in some peanut butter or chia seeds too for some extra protein and good fats.

7) Dried fruit and nut - I've made my own mix that I take to work with me and keep in a drawer for snacking on when things get a bit too hectic and the hunger just won't go away. Dried cranberries are my favourite and as for the nuts I just mix up any I can find to keep a good variety and also add in pumpkin and sunflower seeds too. This kind of snack is easily carried around in your handbag.

8) Protein shake - I tend to only have these when I know I won't be eating any actual protein any time soon. I personally think that eating chicken or fish is a much better option but sometimes life doesn't allow it! In this case I have a shake and I mix it with water, mainly to keep calories down but mixing with milk can give a better protein complex if you're not worried about calories. The protein that I have is just a normal chocolate flavour protein with 80% whey protein per scoop. I wouldn't bother with diet protein powders as although they may have less fat per scoop, you often need 2 scoops for the same amount of protein, cost more, and contains up to 10x the amount of sugar that a normal protein powder contains, pointless right??

If you want to check you can compare the one that I use - here - and the diet version from the same brand -here -

Another tip I was told by my personal trainer, as long as you consume a snack or meal that has equal parts carbs and protein then you will be sufficiently supplying your body with fuel after a workout. If you choose carbs only then you will cause your insulin to spike and then leads to a crash afterwards where you'll be reaching for more sugar to overcome it.

Just remember.....:



I'm on a personal quest this year to eat cleaner myself. I need to work on my snacks, and also wean myself off things so that they are just a treat. I've weaned myself off honey on my breakfast and now I need to reduce the amount of peanut butter I consume! It's a favourite snack but it's getting a little out of control oops!

What do you snack on post workout? Do you need to wean yourself off certain foods like I do?

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Tips from Personal Trainers

After my post last week where I shared my tips that I found help me to get back into my work out routine in the new year, I thought I'd share with you some tips I've found from personal trainers that might also work.

It's always the second and third weeks of January where motivation starts to disappear and you can easily fall back into your old ways before you've even realised it!

So here's some of the best tips to help you keep on going:

1) The image you have of yourself will define what you will work towards - get a mental image in your head of what you want and keep it there. This is why I love pinterest and instagram for providing inspiration all the time and giving me something to work towards. Find something that will work for your body type and work on it.

2) Eat MORE good food MORE often - love this one! Snack more on veggies, keep your protein intake regular throughout the day and don't let your blood sugar drop. I try and eat every few hours, this means I never get really hungry and get to the cravings stage so I don't ruin my hard work. It REALLY helps and although you might think its weird to eat more food more often, as long as its the right food it won't cause you to gain weight. Since January I've been so hungry I've barely stopped eating but as its all good food its OK!

3) Carbs are GOOD - Carbs are necessary and without them you won't really get very far. Make sure you have them for breakfast and lunch especially as it will carry you through the bulk of the day, and particularly before and after a workout to fuel yourself and your body. I'm talking brown rice, oats, wholewheat pasta, sweet potato and quinoa, good carbs to keep you going and on track!

4) Don't let your body adapt - We're all guilty of getting into habits, it's the easiest way to make sure you keep going. Initially making yourself go to the same classes to create a habit is great, but after a while your body gets used to it and it doesn't have the same effect. Keep changing it up, try and go to a different class on the same day at the same time to keep your habit, go for a run outside instead of the gym or go for a hike on an unpredictable route. Anything to vary exercise will make sure you get the best out of it. I'll be doing body pump tomorrow morning and I might go really heavy for a different track each week for the next few weeks to shock my muscles into working harder.

5) Don't go all or nothing though - Stay consistent in terms of efforts, don't run every day for 2 weeks and then give up because you've got blisters and shin splints. Allow your body time to build up and recover but keep pushing and don't give up just because you ache more than normal.

6) Prepare everything - Workouts and food in particular. Don't turn up to the gym and wander around deciding what you're going to do, write it down or plan it all in your head and just go for it whilst you're there. Same goes for food, prepare your meals and plan out when you're having what meal, it will help when you're tired after a workout just want to eat, and stop you from going for a takeaway or a ready meal! One of the easiest ways I've learnt to do this is to prep a load of meals on one day and portion them up. You can then freeze some for later on and keep others in the fridge. I also find having cooked chicken and a tupperware of ready cooked quinoa in the fridge helps as I snack on that instead of crisps!

7) Perfect your form - Before you start piling the weights onto the bar make sure you know what you're doing and your form is correct or you'll injure yourself before you start. Not only that but knowing your form and performing the full range of each movement for each rep will get you the most out of each exercise that you possibly can; i.e. squat lower, push up harder and stretch further, it will make you sweatier without a doubt!

8) Focus - This means ignoring your texts, calls and emails whilst you're in the gym. Focus on what you're doing for the 30 minutes or hour you are exercising, not only will this make your workout seem like it goes faster but it will also ensure you get the maximum out of it too. Blast your favourite music and concentrate.

9) Hydrate - The most important factor in weight loss and exercise. Don't forget to stay hydrated and keep a bottle of water near you, I carry one with me all the time and the benefits are endless!

10) Make a record - Take photos for a before and after. You don't need to put these on the internet (I certainly haven't!) But it can help to show you progress that the scale might not. I've also started to keep a journal of my dirt and exercise habits so that I can see progress. An increase in distance when I run, or a change in pace, an increase in weights or just about anything really. I'm hoping it will give me a boost when I see how far I've progressed or how my body has changed.

What do you think of the tips? Are there any that stand out to you that you think might help? 

I know I need to keep changing up my classes and exercise and definitely need to prepare my snacks better!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Top 10 Tips for Clean Eating

Hi all!

It's been a little while since I've written a Fitness Friday post, but I felt compelled to write one this week after continuously seeing posts on Facebook, tweets on Twitter and comments on Instagram about how hard it is to eat clean and find time to make things, to find recipes etc etc etc. 

EVERYTHING IS HARD.

Let's just get that thing right out there. Life generally is hard and you go through it having to work for things you want and quite often, there are setbacks.

If you want a holiday, you save hard and give things up for it knowing that the end result will be worth it, why don't people treat eating in the same way?

You can always come up with excuses; I ran out of time, the ingredients are expensive, it's too much to cook all the time, I don't like eating x/y/z......

All it takes is a bit of preparation and effort on your part and you can have meals quite easily. Here's my top 10 tips to help you out.

1) Write a meal plan - plan 7 evening meals, plan 7 lunches, and plan a variety of breakfasts and snacks. If you plan it all out and know what meals you have available to choose from then you have no room to deviate, and can actually look forward to meals knowing what you are having. To eat clean you will have to cook, accept it now!

2) Bulk buy everything in - clear out the old (or use it up if you wish) and then bulk buy in everything that you will need for a few weeks of meals. Obviously you can't buy fresh foods in for that long and if you don't have much cupboard or freezer space then this may be a challenge but the less you have to go to the shops the less you will be tempted. Also it means that you can....

3) Have a cooking day - doing this is essential for me! I make sure all ingredients are available and batch cook meals, snacks etc all on one day, i.e. a Sunday. If you cook a chilli, bolognese and a curry in one go with enough for a few portions of each it will take you a large part of the day, but will save you hours during the week. I also roast some veg, cook a whole chicken, a packet of quinoa and bake some muffins using this recipe here so that I have lunches and snacks for the week. It's tiring sure, but saves so much time and effort in the week it's worth it.

4) Swap things slowly - Or as fast as you like! Some people prefer to go cold turkey and others are all about a gradual change, but the easiest thing you can do is to swap your foods, that way you can still have them. For example, swap your white rice for cauliflower rice, swap spaghetti for strands or courgettes (courgetti?!) or even simpler, just swap chocolate and crisps for fruits, nuts and yogurt. There are always alternatives and fresh produce is always a better choice than anything that comes in a packet. There are so many small changes you can being to make that I can't even begin to list them!

5) Plan the freezer and cupboards - there are a lot of alternatives to save you running out of fresh ingredients. Frozen fruit and vegetables can be lifesavers and you can stock up on meat and fish if you have the room when it's on offer. Tins are also great, chickpeas go in almost any meal to bulk it out cheaply as well as loads of different types of beans, plus fruit and veg. Tuna is also something that can be bought quite cheaply and be added last minute to a salad.

6) Variety is everything - batch cooking is great but don't fall into the trap of eating the same thing, variety will keep you enthusiastic and motivated and finding new recipes to try is fun, especially when you find a recipe for brownies or muffins that contain clean ingredients!

7) Always take snacks in your bag - NEVER leave home without a snack. My bag is constantly full of food; fruit, nuts, pretty much anything like that that can help when hunger strikes and will stop you from buying crisps or sweets when in a weak moment. I get laughed at for always having food, but I've saved so much money and stopped myself from eating unnecessarily bad foods so many times it has been worth it.

8) Increase the number of meals you eat - Eating more often but smaller amounts is a much better option than bigger meals less often. Eating more regularly will stabilise your blood sugar levels and keep your metabolism going which are all positive things! Never skip a meal, eating because you are hungry is vital, don't cut down on what you're eating just swap it for something else. It's also quite exciting to eat 4-6 meals a day don't you think?!

9) Keep your motivation going - Create Pinterest boards, follow 'fitspiration' accounts on twitter and buy fitness and health magazines. Seeing everyone else working out and looking healthy and happy will want you to do the same; it's also invaluable for new recipes, workouts and exercise ideas to boost your enthusiasm and dedication.

10) Don't sabotage your hard work - I believe in rewarding yourself for your hard work, and over time have changed this from a bar of chocolate to magazines, books, shoes, anything that isn't going to add calories to my day. Of course I have treats, I go out with friends for food and cocktails and I have bad days that mean I end up on the kitchen floor with a jar of nutella and a spoon. I try to work off my daily problems and frustrations to help with this but avoiding adding additional salt, sugar, alcohol and bad fat to your day can only help. A cheat meal once a week is ideal, look forward to it and work hard knowing you can reward yourself at the end of it, but as they say, one cheat meal won't make you fat, but one salad won't make you skinny!

What do you think of my tips for eating clean? Have you been trying and failing to eat healthier?

What would you add to the list?

I'm always looking for inspiration so send blogs or pinterest boards my way if you have favourites!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Houmous

Hey lovelies!

I'v definitely got that Friday feeling today and cannot wait for the weekend to begin! I've been getting into baking recently and I'm a bit of an amateur so have been picking simple things that I eat on a regular basis and trying to make them from scratch by myself rather than buying them in. This saves money and also my body from preservatives, salts, sugars and other unnecessary ingredients.

My latest venture has been to create houmous. I love eating houmous but after a quick chat with a few colleagues the amount of sugar, salt and fats in shop bought houmous surprised me and I vowed to try and make my own. I've also been trying to get more veg as opposed to fruit in my diet and this was the perfect opportunity!

My mum is a slimming world member and showed me this recipe full of simple natural ingredients and I couldn't wait to try it.

All you need is a tin of chick peas, a red pepper, 2 cloves of garlic, some lemon juice, salt, water and one calorie spray.

First you need to slice up the pepper and roast it in the oven until it's soft. After slicing it and spraying it with the one cal spray this took about 10/15 mins.

Look how lush they look! The smell in my kitchen was amazing at this point, it was hard not to tuck into it on its own as i love red peppers!

Whilst they were in the oven I got everything else ready and it's so simple!

Just add the chickpeas and crushed garlic into a mixer, along with a tablespoon of lemon juice. I'm a bit of a haphazard cook and I like to just throw things in, so I was a rebel and just squeezed half of a real lemon into the mix and hoped for the best. It was actually perfect so I was pleased it wasn't too much!

Once the red pepper has been roasted and cooled down just add it to the mix and give it a whizz...

You can add water to loosen the mixture to your desired consistency throughout the blending. Don't forget to stop it and scoop everything into the middle and make sure its mixed and blended as much as possible. Then just add salt to taste.

Super easy and create a bigger amount of houmous than you would normally buy in a pot from the supermarket. It actually created more than shown in the bowl below but I'm afraid taste testing purposed meant that I'd taken a fair few spoonfuls of it 'just to check it' by the time I remembered to take a photo....

This was seriously yummy and I could honestly never buy shop bought again!

I think I'm going to be more adventurous next time and try adding caramelised onions to the mixture or maybe more lemon. The only thing I'd change about this is possibly only use one clove of garlic and although I love garlic my work colleagues probably won't appreciate me stinking of it all day!

Definitely try this out though! do you have any houmous recipes I can try? What vegetables have you added to it?

L xxx

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