Wish List: September 2016

Hello there! 

I've been writing a wishlist for weeks now and for some reason just haven't got around to getting it posted...in this time it has obviously grown but at least the items on it have a bit of variety.

The last year of house owning has ruined most shopping trips, planned or otherwise so writing a wishlist has been quite therapeutic. If I still want it after 6 months I obviously really want it...right??

Take a look and see if they match your wishlist items too! 

I keep seeing these beautiful gym leggings everywhere. As I'm tall I can struggle to find leggings that are long enough and also sit on my waist properly, but I'm still on the endless search for a long black pair with some sexy mesh panels in - just because I'm sweating doesn't mean I don't want to look good! 

I've seen some from Active in Style, the top ones are from Zanna Van Dijk's range and cost £85, the second are the Inda leggings from Daquini and cost £110.

Travel:

Image from Lonely Planet website

Forever dreaming of a paradise island getaway my latest focus has been pinning pictures from the beautiful island of Bali. Those white sands, turquoise waterfalls and 'once in a lifetime' sunsets are on my dream list. Keeping all my fingers toes and everything else crossed that one day I can actually go on holiday!

Palettes:

I mean it was extremely difficult to choose one palette from Sleek owing to their absolute corker of a collection right now (rivalled by another fave - Make Up Revolution, see below) but this highlighter palette is just all of the Pinterest/blogger/makeup goals right now.Amazing casing, flattering colour choices and apparently awesome blend-ability. 

All of this for £9.99?? Get me on the delivery list pronto!

Lipstick:

Image from UD website

Long have I lusted after the Urban Decay lipsticks but after their recent revamp and 120 shade uber collection I perve on them all the time.

I am still looking for the perfect red, this time a classic blue toned red. I either seem to repurchase orangey ones, or the super dark vampy ones but I always get it wrong!

F-Bomb looks the perfect shade, and is 100% on my wishlist

Browse them all by selecting this link, each comes in at a perfectly reasonable £15.

Chanel Chance:

Another dream - owning a Chanel perfume!

Chance is my favourite and I had another whiff of it recently, I still love it. At £68 for 50ml however I definitely need to save or wait for a rich man.

One day!

MakeUp Revolution: 

Last but certainly not least is Make Up Revolution. 

There are so many things I want....NEED to pick up from this brand and knowing they are affordable means I actually can. I'm waiting for some free time to go in store and browse myself as that's always the best part, but these rose gold brushes are high on the priority list

Five brushes for £34.95 sounds pretty reasonable to me and they are beautiful! So instagrammable!

What's on your wishlist at the moment??

Hopefully I can get some of these soon but it's always nice to dream!

L xxx

Life Update

Well hello there!

It has been a reeeeeeeeeeeeeally long time since I've written a life update. There's been a lot going on but nothing too exciting.

Mostly things in my house have been breaking left right and centre - it has been a crazy expensive few weeks and I've used all of my savings to replace and fix things. So when I haven't been trying to sort that out I've been trying to do as many cheap things as possible!

Firstly, my step count on my Fitbit has been shocking. I've been trying to walk before work a few times a week and also on my lunch times to get my count up. Once I get out there I feel so much better, but it can be hard to get up early. The mornings when the weather looks like this really help!






I've even picked up a snazzy new pair of trainers - my other ones were 2 years old and there wasn't any padding inside any more, just the plastic!

As well as this I've been eating as healthily as I can and have joined a new gym. The Vale Resort is a pretty popular place, it's also expensive! I've been going to the local leisure centre since moving to my house but really miss the classes from my old gym which was a members only.

After a 21 day trial I obviously loved it, and joined as a full member. It is expensive but in my eyes, spending £40 a month on a gym that I don't go to is more of a waste than £55 on a gym that I got to 4 times a week and has allllllllllllllllllllll the extras including a personal trainer, sauna and steam room and Les Mills classes.



I've been trying to vary my food as much as possible and get as many veggies in, including trying out zoats. If you haven't heard of zoats before, they are basically zucchini (courgette) oats where you grate half or a full courgette into a bowl of oats and milk to get some extra vitamins into your meal.

I've also got into making rice out of vegetables, grating whatever I have in the fridge including cauliflower, courgette and carrot or even all three to make a bed for some chicken or salmon to go on.
I can't always make it to the gym but I can eat better, so this is a good start!

But sneaking in the odd piece of cake when visiting Waterloo Tea Gardens is always welcome, and when it's a spinach and pistachio cake it barely counts right?!

As well as things breaking in my house, my car has had a bad month. I already had my tax, service and MOT due. After that my car then decided to roll down my drive and into my house as the brake caliper had got stuck and worn away the brakes, a passenger door lock broke, a wing mirror fell off and I also need a tyre! I can't begin to tell you how much it cost and how utterly broke I have been wit also needing to pay for my glastonbury ticket, but I've spent a lot of time at home watching netflix to save every penny and over the last two months have managed to save myself a lot.

It's the grim reality of being an adult but I need my car to get around so selling it isn't an option.

I also had a weekend where my parents went away and I was dog sitting. It was a lush weekend and we had plenty of walks together, he's very active so needs 3 walks a day and loves playing in between. Chasing him around a table is one of his favourites so I was kept very busy! He's a pampered pooch!

Not much more to add than this really, hopefully the next few months will be a lot more exciting. I haven't even been anywhere with work and don't have any plans for the foreseeable future. Fingers crossed a trip comes up soon!

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Spitfire Athlete App

Hello!

I've been trying to branch out and vary my routine as much as possible recently - it's hard enough getting to the gym and working it in around your life let alone now that wedding season seems to be in full swing along with trips for work and basically it's endless!

The other day I found this amazing app on the iTunes app store. Now I will straight away tell you that I've seen a number of complaints because the app is only available on iPhones and therefore not Android - so if you like the look of it feel free to make complaints as I'm sure they will have to create an Android one soon with demand!

The Spitfire Athlete app is an app that teaches you how to train to reach your goals. They follow these basic principles:

• The training plans are created by certified coaches
• Guides on training, nutrition and recovery
• Detailed exercise instruction

The most important factor? They built up Spitfire Athlete for women to show them how strong and powerful they can be.

They'd like to promote the 'athlete's mentality' to help you set and achieve your goals whether they are strength, power, flexibility or physique.

You can check out their website here, and see a quick bio of each of the two female founders Erin and Nidhi showen below, respectively.

The plans are separated into Gym workouts and Bodyweight workouts. They all have epic names that motivate you and make you strive for more: The Fighter, The Warrior, The Heroine. 

Some look totally out of my fitness range if I'm honest but working towards them is something I can definitely do. 

I would love to complete The Dauntless, a 12 week training plan to build serious muscle with each and every day with set exercise routines and rest days. Each day is dedicated to a different muscle group and contains a warm up and cool down. More impressively they include a timer for those exercises that require you to complete it in a set time - this is something that always makes me so annoyed with running apps that suggest you run for 1 minute and walk for 1 minute, they don't make it easier!

Personally I will be trying The Heroine, a HIIT based plan whereby you will build muscle, lose fat and increase metabolism, most ideal for me. It's only a 4 week plan so will give me a good feel for the exercises and hopefully some new challenges!

More importantly than anything else the app is totally free and they also have a facebook group to join (Spitfire Athlete) for you to join others and socialise.

What do you think of the Spitfire Athlete app? Do you think it sounds like something you would like to try?

I think it's a great idea and I love that the whole idea is created by 2 women, I will certainly be promoting this app and I hope more people try it out and come up with ideas like this!

It's so motivating and inspiring to know that there are other women doing the same exercises.

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

Life Update

Hi there!

It has been a little while since I did a life update as things have been so busy. I recently started a new job and things have been crazy, but I've been up to lots! Here's my pictures:

Having seen lots of pictures on twitter of everyone's Harry Potter t shirts I couldn't resist picking up the same as they were all from Primark and perfect for mine and M's upcoming Harry Potter party!
I got the Gryffindor tshirt (above) and the Hogwarts pyjamas.

I've been having a bit of a chocolate fest recently; it's been a long time since I've eaten it but with my Amelia Rope goodies (see post from yesterday) I've been given the taste for it again. I've made a nutella and banana smoothie, and my aunty made a massive white chocolate cheesecake for a family meal, it was HUGE!

 

That said, I've also been back at the gym a lot. My new job is based on shifts so I've been on earlies this week, meaning 4.30am starts which hasn't been too fun! However I've finished at 2 so this meant I could go to the gym straight from work and avoid the rush hour or go home and go back later for classes. I've been really enjoying being able to go to body pump again and building my weights back up, and hopefully seeing some results!

Both me and M went to an event recently for Neal's Yard Remedies and were kindly given the Wild Rose Beauty Balm. I honestly cannot describe how amazing this multi functional product is and it's become my go to for every skin problem. Come back tomorrow for a full review, even the packaging is just so beautiful!

With all of the NATO summit going on in Cardiff it was hard not to get frustrated with public transport and laugh at the ridiculous 'ring of steel' you can just about see on the corner of the picture above.
Me and my parents went down to Cardiff Bay to see the warships there, this is HMS Duncan one of the billion pound ships commissioned by the UK government. It was quite impressive to see it considering it's not something I'm interested in and the whole place was packed.

It was good to see so many policemen (and women!) from so many areas and they even grouped together for their own selfies in front of the ships!

I've also been on a bit of a spending spree (slaps the back of my hand). I managed to buy the Benefit items and Rimmel brow product with my points, the new eye liner was free when you swapped an old liner, the Mac lipstick (Coral Bliss) was a Back to Mac purchase and I also had money to spend on my Debenhams Beauty Card which was the rest of the Urban Decay products.

I was super lucky to have all of this as I've been saving them up for a splurge for a while! I've still got Boots points so I'm looking for my next Benefit buy! Here's a picture with the Pulp Fiction palette, Perversion liquid liner, Perversion mascara, Coral Bliss lipstick and Coralista:

I also had my hair dyed back darker finally! I've been waiting to do it for ages but wanted to wait until the summer months were over. Here's how light my hair was to begin with and how dark it was after dying it:

I loved it but unfortunately it's going to take a few goes to cover it all permanently as some of the colour has washed off already. I think when I go back to see my hairdresser next I will ask her to do it darker again too, as my natural colour is almost black.

I was planning on being good and not buying any more products now that I'm working again and can do overtime and hopefully pay my parents back whilst working my way through my stash.

That idea was totally thrown out the window when Space NK had their deal where you spend £150 and get a fabulous goodie bag, this time with 28 products in. I thought I was going to miss out but then I luckily sold some textbooks on amazon which helped towards the cost! Here's what I bought and am super excited to start playing with:

Up until this week I didn't own a Nars product....oops! Hourglass is a brand I've recently been reading about and their blush was too good to refuse, and I'm already a fan of Laura Mercier.

Here's a quick snap of the goodies in the Beauty Anthology bag:

Some products are only sachets or 5ml which is a bit disappointing as it doesn't give you much chance to use them but others are 30 and 50ml and I can't wait to try out all of them.

Do you see any of your favourite products in the goodie bag?? Have you been eating and exercising to make up for it like me? What do you think of my purchases?

I need to reel in my spending that's for sure!


L xxx

Fitness Friday: Emily Skye

Hey there, happy Fitness Friday!

A few weeks ago I wrote about my current fitness motivations and inspirations which you can read here.

One of those beautiful people was the lovely Emily Skye of the 30 Day Shred and 30 Day Ab Shred fame. You can see pictures on both of her websites of her previous clients and I hope that one day I can look as good as they do!

I bought the Ab Shred a few weeks ago and have been taking a good look at it. It costs $50 (australian dollars), which converts to £28. I bought it when she had a flash sale and so it cost me £12 which I thought was worth paying out for when I saw how much was in the package and I needed some new ideas.

In the package you get:

• 30 Day beginner Ab workout
• 30 Day advanced Gym workout
• 30 day meal plan
• Full shopping list for each week
• 60+ exercise videos all available to watch online

The meal plan is endorsed by a nutritionist and there are low carb versions available as well as bonus workouts and tips and tricks. 

Once you've paid for the plan you get an email through with your login details. You can access the program online and download it in a PDF form, and the workout videos are all in the same place. 

Not only this but there is also a forum on Facebook for you to join and chat to other members, sharing tips and tricks, asking for help and any time you need a boost of confidence.

So far I haven't stuck to it 100% as I bought it for some food inspiration more than anything else. I have my own routine that I like to stick to but the additional ab workouts have been great to add into my own routine. It was nice to see that I already do a lot of the workouts she recommends but her meal plan is one that i am completely in love with!

The meal plan is amazing, there is no way that you will ever be hungry with 3 meals and 2 snacks every day. If you made each meal as and when you need to eat it then you would probably waste a lot of time and ingredients so because of this preparation is key. Some members spend their sundays prepping food for the week which is what I do a lot of the time anyway.

I make up a huge batch of quinoa to sort me out for breakfasts and lunches for most of the week and also grill a huge pile of veggies and a few batches of muffins. One of my favourite things that is on the meal plan are the muffins, you can have cake as a snack??! WHAT THE.


Not only that you can have pancakes for breakfast, pizze for tea and the mixture for the muffins actually allows you to have 3 muffins as ONE snack. I'm in love, and I'm never hungry, never run down and never low on energy.

There are so many recipes that I'd love to share with you and might do in future. I think that if you are totally lost in your diet and fitness regime its the perfect antidote. It has structure, guidance and so many helpful tips and tricks to get you to lose those extra stubborn pounds.

I'd fully recommend this is you need the guidance and support of fellow members, Emily Skye herself also comments on lots of posts and her boyfriend can also be very helpful too with helping to fit the regime around your current life. However this plan isn't easy and requires a lot of hard work and preparation, you do need to be motivated and put the effort in and trust me you will definitely see the results!

Check the results out on the links above and you will see what i mean!
I will be taking recipe ideas and ab workout ideas from the program and adding them into my own routine over the next few weeks and fingers crossed I'll see some good results soon.


Would you buy a program like this? Do you want to see some recipes from the program that will help you blast ab fat?

Let me know what fitness programs you've been taking inspiration from recently! I always love finding new ideas and ways to stay fit and healthy.


L xxx

25 Before 26 Update

Good morning!

A few months ago I wrote a post about me wanting to get a load of things off my 101 things in 1001 days list checked off. I've been a bit rubbish and now that there's only a few weeks of March left (my birthday is on the 26th) it's time to panic!

I've copied my list below and crossed off what I've done and edited a few things....

Here's my 25:

1: Visit another place in the UK, my aim is 5 and I've ticked off 2 - Visiting North Wales next weekend to catch up with friends. She's just bought a new house up there so technically I've not been there before, this can be checked off!

2: Read 4 Classic Books. 20 was my aim and I've only read 1 so far. First is Robin Hood

3: Second is Frankenstein, I've heard its a great story and a complete classic

4:I also plan on reading the real Beauty and the Beast

5: The real Jungle Book

6: Wuthering Heights

7: Treasure Island

8: Dracula

9: and lastly the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. This is quite a list.....fingers crossed I get some time off soon! - Basically I've read none of these, but I have read the Hobbit which counts as a classic!

10: Try 2 new foods. My aim is 10, surely 2 more can be done over Christmas! - Mushroom Pate and Watercress done!

11: Visit an art gallery; cannot think where this will be but I'll have to find one - this has not happened. I'm going to have to find one near me!

12: Give blood - this is simple and I have to fit this in somewhere; maybe on a week off - Week off at the end of March I will make sure this happens.

13: Work harder at toning up - Attending the gym 5 times a week and have my weigh in at the end of March with my trainer....eek!

14: I'd like to try rock climbing, it's supposed to be a great way to tone your upper body and I'd love to give it a go. There's an indoor climbing centre in Cardiff so I think I'll start there - Money is an issue here, think I'll have to drag my family along and maybe they'll pay...if only!

15: Start yoga/pilates - Still haven't tried a class now either! Easy to rectify this though.

16: Gorge walking - a fun day out that my dad and brother also want to do, winner! Family time will always be a good thing. Think this one is for the summer instead of February!

17. Running 10k is something that terrifies me but i have to get there to complete other challenges! The original challenge for this got cancelled but by the end of March I plan on running more than once a week as it will be light enough when I get home from work.

18: Go ziplining - courtesy of a Groupon deal me and M have bought tickets and will be booking in for April / May time.

19:Go to a gig - Still nothing planned but fingers crossed something fun will come along.

20: Learn to cook something new, one of each sweet and savoury. This hasn't happened yet but I plan on learning to make lasagne and a kind of cake that I can take into work for my birthday.

21: Continue to plough through the excess of 'stuff' in my possession - This a slow and painful process, it's not going well!

22: Learn basic things to fix on a car - The winter has been a learning curve with my first car; snow, ice, window chips, torrential rain, flooding and fallen trees. Still learning....a lot!

23: Go to London over Christmas - This was AWESOME! Me and my mum had such a great time having an indulgent wander, we will definitely be going again next year.

24: Visit an Antique or Vintage Fair - am yet to attend one of these too, maybe one of my friends who has just bought a house would like a wander.

25: Write a short story. I don't think this will ever happen if I'm honest but I would still love to do it.

What do you think of my list? Achievable?

Do you have a list of tasks you'd like to achieve by a certain date?
Do you have an tips for achieving them all??


Send me any links you have to your own lists, I love reading them!

L xxx

Tea Time!

Both me and M have been so busy the last few weeks and lots of things have happened, so I decided to do a catch up post instead of a product review today. So get yourself a brew and settle down.....

I am absolutely loving my new job and it's everything I've been hoping for....but helllllllllllllllllllll is it hard work!

There's so much to learn my brain feels like its about to explode every evening I come home, I've even got into bed at 7pm and completely crashed out til the next day.

I'm still training but now that I've got the basics I'm getting to do a lot more fun things (if you can call analysing drugs a fun thing?!) so fingers crossed my brain won't be so bombarded soon.

They've even offered for me to a PhD next year...eeeeek!

The biggest event this week was of course M's birthday! We had a lush day at the spa on Thursday, we started off in the gym knowing that we had a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge afternoon tea to follow:



Look at those sandwiches, warm scones and welsh cakes, pastries and even jelly and strawberries!

There must have been 1000s of calories on this tray so I was pretty glad I'd been to the gym before it.

 

Afterwards we got glammed up and went for a few cocktails before M met her family for food.

I wore out an animal print jump suit with nude court shoes, and M had on a dress she got for her birthday which was a gorgeous burgundy lace dress from Lydia Rose Brights collection.

 

We have the same plan of attack whenever we go for cocktails, first drink is a Cosmo followed by a Long Island Iced Tea. After that we tend to grab whatever else is on the deal (ha!) but we thought we'd try a different one called a Kentucky Jewel which we would 100% recommend ;)

We also went shopping last weekend and I picked up a few naughty pieces!
First up was an unplanned dress purchase....a beautiful red dress from Oasis in the sale for £35. I couldn't resist it as it was so beautiful on, a classic shape and colour......and in the sale!

The blazer was a cheeky Zara purchase. I did need a blazer for the weddings I have coming up, and although this beauty was £50 I know it will be worn a lot and will go with every dress that I have to wear to weddings and other summer events. Hopefully this will be worth the cash!

I've been working hard at the gym recently so I decided to pick myself up some new trainers. I know everyone loves the super bright coral Nikes and I would love to get some for myself but at £90 with crazy delivery I will have to wait for now!
I picked these up from the Nike Factory store for a bargainous £38 and cannot wait to rock up to the gym today with them on.

What have you been up to recently? What have you been spending on and looking forward to?

Me and M have a night out planned for next week.....I'm thinking of wearing the red dress! Do you like it?

Hope you're all having a gorgeous weekend in the sun!

L xxx

Spring Series: Fitness!

This is the second in our new Spring Series of getting your body ready for some sunshine!

Last week's post was dedicated to Body Care and we discussed our favourite products we use to scrub and moisturise our skin into silkiness.

This week is dedicated to fitness, as we both have our own ways to keep fit and healthy, which all helps when you have to lessen your layers after indulging over Christmas!

My personal favourite ways to stay fit involve going to the gym, taking a range of classes, walking the dog and swimming.

A few years ago I wouldn't have been seen dead in a gym.

Just over a year ago though I signed up to a gym which has everything, a new personal trainer program every 6 weeks, a swimming pool, and a massive range of classes to keep even me entertained.

I am the kind of person who needs variety to keep me going in my quest to tone up.

I have classes that I dislike - pilates isn't physical enough for me and I love to hate spin though it is a great feeling when you've completed a class.

But there are so many that not even I can be bored!

My favourites are Body Pump (great for fat burning) and Body Combat (amazing for stress relief!).

The gym program is great, I would never have tried half the things that my trainer has given me to do and this I think is priceless.

I've tried swiss ball, TRX and more importantly kettle bells.

These are my absolute favourite as you really do see results after using them, they burn so many calories and require multiple muscle groups to work together maximising your workout time.

So basically what I'm saying is, if you were thinking about joining a gym 100% go for it!

It has quite literally changed my life and although it is very expensive I most definitely think it is worth it, for my health and general fitness, as well as how my body has changed.

However I don't think that you HAVE to join an expensive gym to get the most out of your workout.

Walking my dog or wandering around local areas such as beaches are a great way to burn calories and tone up, particularly if there's some sort of elevation involved like hill walking or hiking.

This is not my dog but I have such a similar picture I had to put it up!

The zumba classes at my gym aren't particularly energetic, so I have been to others that have a younger instructor and found these were BRILLIANT.

Zumba workouts are great fun, dancing around with your friends to the latest music is fun and burns a substantial amount of calories.

Swimming is also a great way to burn calories but I'll leave that to M to talk about as she's the bigger fan!

If you're lacking in motivation I find that Pinterest is one of the best places to look at.

They have so many pictures of inspirational women doing all sorts of exercises with beautiful bodies to aspire to and hints and tops for anything you can imagine.

If you're still lacking in motivation I find a new gym outfit or trainers always helps too!

If all else fails, I think about what makes me angry. It's a weird thing to do I know, but i think of what really gets on my nerves, things that have happened etc that I need to physically work off my stress or anger.

It works for me and I always feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders after doing it.

What are your work out tips??

If you'd like to check out my pinterest board the link is here.

(all pictures in this post are from there!)

L xxx

L was right I do love swimming. I used to run and did a lot of it during summer last year. You can read about how I got on with Couch to 10k here. This program made running so enjoyable for me and it really is great if you've not run before as it makes it so easy to build up running. 

I ran until October but by then an old knee and hip injury had resurfaced. When new year came around I decided to start again as I enjoyed going out and it's a great way to burn calories quickly. After one run my knee was hurting again so I had to find a new way to lose weight and tone up.

Since moving I was now near a great pool and after looking on line I saw a great deal for just £23 a month for unlimited swimming. Swimming is always something I enjoy and it's a great all over body tone. I tend to do 45 mins swimming and that burns around 500 calories. I favour breast stroke at the moment but need to vary my swimming to get better toning.

I'm someone who favours at home work outs to save money. One of the best work out DVDs for me is 30 Day shred. This is a great program and only takes 20 minutes a day. Until you've tried it you won't believe how much you sweat in just 20 minutes. It's also great for when you are busy. I've written about it a bit more  here.

I also recently bought an indoor skipping rope. Most people thought I was crazy but you can remove the rope and it has weighted ends. Skipping is also a great cardio exercise.

Lastly when I had the Wii I loved Wii Zumba. It's such great exercise and fun too. I'm thinking of getting it for my others halfs play station.

I like to find ways to do exercise at home and vary the types of exercise I do so I don't get bored. L is right motivation is key. I sometimes get up super early and go before work. It's nice to finish work and know I don't have to leave the house again. Also it means you can't make up excuses all day not to go. I'm great at these.

For me at the moment my motivation is Weddings. I have two this summer to go too so really want to be toned.

What's your favourite exercise? Any tips for us?

Love M

xxx