Evening!
I didn't plan anything for this weeks Fitness Friday post so this is an impromptu post written after a long hard week at work and with a full tummy after my tea of poached eggs, beans and mushrooms. It was exactly the comfort food I was looking for and I managed to forgo any toast so it was all in all a healthy meal. I may treat myself to some greek yogurt later too!
I though I'd give a general update and try to inspire myself and hopefully others too to get back on track. Last weekend I had some bad news which left me feeling quite rubbish, not only that but work has been getting me down for a few months and with lots of people off on Easter holidays with their kids I knew it wasn't going to get any easier. I spent the majority of my weekend sleeping as I genuinely couldn't get up, I was 'exhausted' I suppose, physically and mentally. This meant I did the best thing possible; I ate healthily and slept as much as I could whilst forgoing any exercise of any kind. It was the best thing, although I was tired going back to work on Tuesday I managed to survive the day which seemed impossible initially.
I've been getting quite bored with my exercise routine and meals. I am always looking for new things but my serious lack of funds restricts my capability to go out and try rock climbing, canoeing and every other outdoors task that I would just love to try. Even though I need to keep adding distance to my runs I find running so boring and its ten times more of a mental battle with me. I'm so proud when I complete a run but its like climbing Everest to get myself going!
Because of this I have instead started to search online a lot more, reading articles and peoples posts on other fitness and meal ideas. I thought I'd share some of the things I've been reading and what has inspired me to change a few things and get myself back on track. Enjoy!
1) Emily Skye - if you haven't heard of her already then a quick google will show you everything you need to know. She's gorgeous, has the BEST accent and is super friendly, how much do you want to be her?
Her amazing set of abs and arms are what makes me particularly want to be like her. If I could ever get halfway to having a body is beautiful as hers I'd be so happy, which is why i have bought her Ab Shred program when it was on offer a few weeks ago .
I plan on following as much of the meal plan as much as I possibly can and incorporating some of her ab exercises into my routine to blast more ab fat. I'm sure I'll dedicate a whole post to this program soon but in the mean time you can check her out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and her website itself by searching on Emily Skye. She has the normal shred and a specific ab shred for you to choose from.
2) The Tone It Up girls. Who hasn't heard of these absolutely stunning girls before? Beautiful and lean beach bodies, they're the perfect motivation to get bikini ready and right now they're allowing you to sign up for their Bikini Series for FREE! You can find more information on their site HERE but also you only need to type Tone It Up or KarenaKatrina into the search boxes on instagram, twitter or just about anything to find them. Serious bikini envy!
(I've signed up for their bikini series so you should make sure you get involved too!)
3) Chocolate Covered Katie - a SERIOUSLY amazing healthy dessert blog, Katie is an absolute genius who seems to have converted all of my favourite treats into perfectly acceptable recipes. Why would you EVER consider giving up desserts when you have people like Katie to create healthy versions for you?!
I can see me spending a lot of my weekend on that website! Not only are her recipes amazing but she has also calculated all of the nutritional info for each of them, now you know EXACTLY how many calories and how much your macros are in each serving.
4) Peanut Butter Fingers - It was love at first sight even with the name of the website, any girl that thinks its ok to stick her fingers in a jar of PB for a snack is ultimately my best friend. Written by Julie the blog is designated for general lifestyle, food and fitness and as a writer and a personal trainer (with a gorgeous dog called Sadie) I can see me wanting to experiment with her recipes and her love of Body Pump is almost on par with mine! Though I imagine she lifts a better weight than i do ha. Trust me, you'll get sucked in by her enthusiasm too!
5) Oh She Glows - My last blog link goes to Angela of Oh She Glows. She's a write of a vegan food blog with to die for recipes, Instant Chocolate Chia Pudding anyone?? Not only are they dairy and meat free but most are also free from gluten, soy and processed foods which sounds pretty damn good to me.
Her photography is pretty epic in itself (I love a good photo and when it's of food it rates highly with me!) but she also has a list of popular recipes if you're overwhelmed by choice. Not to mention she's award winning and has her own cookbook out, I mean how much more inspirational can you get!
So how gorgeous are all of those ladies?? If that doesn't motivate you i do not know what will.
I hope these links have inspired you during a dull and dreary time. The weather here has been rather grey again and suiting my mood, but tomorrow I vow to be back on it and working hard for my weigh in with my trainer in 10 days time (EEK).
I've signed up for a body pump class at 9am and I already know I'll be having pancakes to start my day, after that with these new sites to drool over....who knows?!
Have you tried the Ab Shred or the Tone it Up programs before? Do you have an favourite recipes from Katie, Julie or Angela?
Is there anyone else you can recommend for me to read? I'd love to see some more!
L xxx
