Fitness Friday: 5 Ways to Swap Fixed Weight Machines for Free Weights

Morning!

I'm really getting back into my routine so I thought I'd share some ways I'm trying to vary some exercises and make my time spent in the gym the most efficient.
Swapping out using your fixed weight machines for free weights is a great way to use more muscles and burn more fat. So here's my top ones to swap out!

1) Seated Leg Extension. This trains your quads, the huge leg muscle at the front of the thigh.
Now I think we all know that isolating your quads from other leg muscles isn't going to get the results that you want very quickly.
Squats will most definitely help your quads and glutes together, ranging from wide leg squats to one leg pistol squats.............ooh err!

2) Seated Chest Press. This trains your pectoral or chest muscles.

Using your upper body muscles is much better when you use them all at the same time, performing push ups will not only use your chest muscles but your core and shoulders too. Doing them on a box as an incline push up will maximise all of these muscles and help you build up to full push ups when you're strong enough.


3) Seated Leg Press. Another that targets the leg muscles, including quads, glutes and hamstrings.
As mentioned above, squats are the best exercises for these muscles groups. Starting with body weight squats get used to the movement and ensure your form is perfect before progressing to holding weights in each hand or even a barbell.


4) Bicep curl machine. Pretty self explanatory, but I have to admit I really don't get this one!
I'm not sure why you'd use this fixed weight machine when you can pick up a pair of dumbbells and perform a better bicep curl and engage more of your muscles therefore burning more calories and fat.

The same goes for the tricep version, you can do so much more with tricep dips!


5) Any Ab machine such as a Seat rotation or Cruncher. I used to use these all the time and I can honestly say that I never saw any results from using them.
I hate to stick with everyone else but planks are the signle best exercise you can do for your core, you see progress really quickly and just need to persevere. I try to alternate normal planks with side planks, with and without pulsing my hip up and down and curling my arm underneath and back out again. 

Using bodyweight exercises are so much better than fixed weight machines. Not only do you use more muscles because you engage your core and require more muscles to help balance your body during the exercise, but you can see faster results and that's something I can agree with having experienced it myself!

What's your favourite bodyweight exercise? Do you have any favourite routines?

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: 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: New Training Program

Hey there! Happy Friday afternoon!

I've been anjoying posting a lot more fitness related posts every Friday afternoon in between my usual fashion, beauty and life posts. If you've enjoyed any of them in particular and want to see more of them let me know. So far I've reviewed some products such as coconut oil and protein pancakes; shared my latest training programs; listed some of my favourite motivational blogs and fitness gurus and lastly showed you some of the recipes I've been loving lately.

Today's post is dedicated to my latest training program. I've been working hard the last few months without much in the way of change in the scales. So I've changed my routine around a bit and have started to lose some fat! I was so pleased i cannot wait to continue and lose a few more pounds of it.

My latest weigh in showed that I'd lost 4lbs which I was happy with but 1lb was of muscle which is not the way to go. Nevertheless I'm trying to stay positive, eat lots of protein, consume more protein shakes as I have slacked off on them for a bit and keep working out.

So my new program! It's very similar to the last which I absolutely loved. The last one was a full body workout with moves that incorporated multiple muscle groups at a time and it was great. This one is similar in that way. It's full of supersets where I have box step ups, squats and lunges all with heavy weights followed by the rowing machine. I repeat this circuit 4 times before getting on the cross trainer for 10 minutes for some active recovery.

After this I then use the chest press and superset it with tricep extensions, followed by the low row superset with bicep curls. This is then followed by a further 10 minutes on the cross trainer before my core work. This involves the pilates 100 and then 5 roll downs which I repeat twice.


I've only done this a few times so far as its so new to me but I really enjoyed the feeling that I could increase my weights so much from what my trainer had written down. She'd been far too lenient with me and was laughing that I'd increased them so much on what she thought. 

It's such a great feeling to know that I've improved so much on what I used to be able to do. I just wish that my running was going as well as the strength is!

I read something the other day which has stuck with me so I'll leave you with it too:

'Don't concentrate on your weight going down; concentrate on your weights going up'

L xxx

Fitness Update

Hello!

I thought I'd start today's Fitness Friday off with my own personal fitness review. A few weeks ago i attended a session with my trainer and I'd been working so hard to get a few pounds off. 

If you've never read a fitness post of mine before then let me fill you in. I'm 5ft 9 so quite tall for a female and a few years ago I weighed a little more than I do now. A few years of uni binge drinking and late night take aways meant I'd piled on about 14-20 lbs (I'm unsure exactly as I've never been someone who weighed herself).

Due to stress i found myself feeling ill after every meal and kept getting stomach cramps so I ended up changing my diet completely cutting out crap food, dairy and bread, and citrus fruits as they were too acidic for me. I lost 17lbs and ever since have been OBSESSED with food in a good way and I absolutely love going to the gym, planning my meals, and generally eating as who doesn't love that?

Obviously i love a binge like everyone else but I've totally changed my lifestyle over time and now i don't crave bad food unless I'm hungover, I combat stress with exercise and I'm generally enthusiastic about the whole thing, reading and researching new foods, recipes and workout routines.

However as with all stories that go along this line, even with my relatively healthy diet and regular exercise, usually 4/5 times a week I've been finding it hard to shift some pounds. I'm not overweight by any means, my BMI is 22 and I regularly do weights so probably have more muscle than others but I'm really conscious of trying to get my fat % down. 

I actually can't remember my specific percentage as my trainer keeps it all recorded for me, but i was OVER THE MOON when I had lost 3lbs of fat the last time I was weighed. It was a huge confidence booster and I was so unbelievable happy.

I've got a long way to go to getting where I want to be as I'd like to lose a further 10lbs of fat before the summer but I'm clearly doing something right this time.

Moving on from that my trainer also gave me my new program which is AMAZING! I'm so into it at the moment that I could scrap all my classes and running just to do it, but I need to keep up my stamina in the others too.

This routine incorporates box step ups with weights, mountain climbers, lunges and lat raises with weights, and squat and press with weights.

In total I use the cross trainer, bike, rower and treadmill for short bursts of cardio and i also have a circuit of exercises to do using TRX which I repeat three times.

It's an all over body blast and although i love it it does take a considerable amount of time. Sometimes i have to cut out the third circuit of TRX exercises because there just isn't enough time during the week.

How have your fitness routines been going lately? Have you got any new programs you'd like to share?

Do you have any running tips for increasing distance to 10 miles plus?

I'd love to hear any of them!

L xxx

Fitness Update

Evening All

L has recently done a fitness post and a few healthy eating ones and I thought I'd do a general update on my fitness. Both of us are doing tough mudder this August so we really need to get in shape and improve our strength. I need a massive increase in upper body strength!

You can read most of the posts from my previous weight loss here. I managed to lose over a stone but slowly it's gone back on. It's taken a lot to get the motivation to lose it again and tough mudder is the motivation I need. I've also signed myself up to Cardiff Half.

I was doing really well running for Jan but easily lost the motivation trying to fit in 2 runs a week. I've now joined a local gym and I'm loving trying out all the classes. I find classes best for me as I push myself harder as I don't like people to see me quit.

So far I'm loving

 Kickboxing Fitness

I had expected this to be like combat aerobics but it's taught by a taekwondo and kickboxing instructor. The first half an hour is spent doing kicking and punching drills and working on a target group like abs or legs and doing things like squats, leg raises, planks or sit ups at intervals. For the second half of the class it's spent doing pad work wear we pair or group up and kicks and punches onto pads. I love this as it really gives you a chance to push yourself and the instructor corrects your technique. It's a really good workout and the hour goes quickly.

Pilates

I love the focus on relax and breathing, this is a great class to follow an energetic class and really stretch you out. It focus's on your centre point and the abs stay engaged through a lot of the class. I'm really hoping this will help tighten and flatten my stomach.

Pump

Image credit

I'm really enjoying pump. It's a really hard workout with weights and works the whole of the body. After this I really ache. When I do kickboxing on Sun and Pump on Mon I really ache. It's a great one to build strength. The classes I'm struggling to fit in so I think I'll do the routine myself. Here's one that I can remember

Squats, Straight leg dead lift, standing row, side lunges, lunges, overhead abs, and some I can't remember the names of. You do each of these 20 times, 15 times then 10 times in sequence. For ones with a weight bar I do 7.5kg (this was my first class and I don't normally lift) then I use 3kg free weights and a 2.5 kg plate for the over head abs. After this sequence it's time for tricep dips, chest press and chest flies. These were all done 15 times 3 times. Lastly 5 minutes of abs. 1 of each of these. Frog abs (don't know the real name but you sit with your knees near to the floor and feet touching and you touch your hands over the toes, lie back and touch your hands over the head and repeat this move), normal crunches, reverse crunches, bicycle crunches and lastly plank. It's a great work out and I'm doing to try and do this in the gym.

Lastly I'm trying cycling. My bum gets really achey on my tail bone so I've now invested in padded shorts and I'm hoping they will help. I want to vary my cardio but really have to get back out to road running too.

As for food I'm trying what I did before. For me it works best to eat healthy 5 days a week and relax more at weekends food wise. I struggle to maintain 7 days a week as I usually end up doing stuff at the weekends. 

For meals I love overnight oats and porridge for breakfast, soup, salads and stews for lunch, poached eggs, Danish toast and plum tomatoes, low fat bolognese, fish and veg for dinners. I try and snack on fruit and nuts, nakd bars, protein shakes and crudites and hummus. 

How do you exercise? What's your motivation?

Love M

xxx

Fitness Update

Morning everyone!

Hope you're having a great week so far. I am spending today with my mum at Swindon's Shopping outlet as we need to get a load of birthday presents for family members.....and I can't guarantee I won't pick up a little something for myself too! I need to be good though and hopefully not pick up any more than 1 product....

Anyway, my main reason for posting today is to give you an update on my fitness plans and goals so i hope I don't bore you too much with my waffling on but it's as big a part of my life now as blogging is and I'm sure I'll be mentioning it a lot in future.

I would imagine we've all been on a bit of a health kick after the gluttonous Christmas period and kicking up the exercise a notch was my first priority. I've put together a plan for myself to kick my metabolism back into action, drop the few (!) extra pounds I put on over Christmas and get myself fit and ready for the challenges I've set myself this year.

Let's list these first:

1) 10km run on March 1st
2) Dirty Dozen on June 22nd
3) Tough Mudder August 16th
4) Cardiff Half Marathon October 5th (this is provisional...depends on how TM goes!)

These are the physical tasks I've set myself this year. I'm not a runner by any stretch of the imagination but I've started on the treadmill so that I can force myself to learn! I need to increase my distance so that i can reach 10km by March, and increase this slowly to 20km for TM in August.

If you don't know what Tough Mudder (TM) and Dirty Dozen races are then give them a quick google....basically they're both obstacle courses that require you to run a certain distance and then also tackle a number of obstacles. These range from climbing walls, swimming through ice, running through fire and getting electrocuted all before a free pint and a big party!
They sound very fun and a massive challenge for me as I'd never run further than 5km before let alone completed any obstacles like this.


My current plan is the following:

Monday - Body Combat. This will help with cardio as it burns around 750 calories per class and will help me strengthen my leg and core muscles without high impact like running does. Plus i really enjoy it!

Tuesday-Friday - Gym program. I have one at the moment which is great but I'm planning on meeting with my trainer to update my program and therefore get some new exercises related to TM training. I will need some serious upper body and core strength to get me through it! I plan on going to the gym to do this program with 20 minutes on the cross trainer or a run twice during the week.

Saturday - Body Pump. I love this class and it will hopefully help me increase the weights i can use and therefore get stronger, i just need to be committed enough to increase my weights each week!

Sunday - Run day! Sunday's will be dedicated to an outdoor run around the parks near my house. This means I will be running outside in daylight instead of on a treadmill as it's currently too dark to do this when I've finished work at the moment. As the nights get lighter again I'll be running outside in the evenings.


Having been doing this loose plan for 2 weeks I can say that it is hard but achievable to go 5 times a week if you plan your life and put the effort into it whilst you are there. It's hard to be motivated all the time especially when you don't see any results. I've been trying to eat more veg than fruit recently and have been having soup instead of fruit on my morning breaks to fill me up. That combined with increasing my water intake and I've been feeling like a beached whale!

Luckily my body has got used to it not and hopefully I'll start seeing some results soon.


Aside from these challenges I am hoping that it will help me lose about 1 stone (14lbs) and tone up my arms and core where I could do with being a bit less wobbly! I'd like to be comfortable in a bikini in case the situation where I need to wear one arises!

If any of you have some tips for my diet or exercise plans, or anything that will help me in my quest to survive TM then I'd be grateful. If you have any challenges you've set yourself this year please share them with me below, I'd love to know of any others and of your plans :)

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

Countdown to 'Class of 2012' (4)

So after my really good pledge to lose weight/tone up a few weeks ago, in order to look good at graduation I was full of the best intentions.

However after an alcohol fueled Halloween week causing me to miss last week's weigh in due to my horrific hangover and also a plethora of interviews to attend I've been pretty bad at going to the gym and eating healthily.

For those who follow us on twitter, you'll know that I got one of the jobs I was interviewed for and now work in Boots (hurrah!).

This means I have been sooooooooooooooooooooo busy this week starting I haven't had chance to think much about what I've been eating and keep forgetting to weigh before I eat.

However I have remembered to do it this week and ......... I have stayed the same.

This doesn't bother me too much, I'd rather maintain than gain so hopefully ill lose something over the next few weeks!

I have ended up buying some meal deals and also taking some pasta salads etc with me.

As my shifts are at random times it's a little hard to plan my meals and I'm hoping it will become easier when I have set shifts and know what I'll be doing with my day.

Do you have any tips for me about how to cope with random meal times and rushed breaks?

In order to cope with attempting to tone up, I have also upgraded my membership so that I can turn up to the gym whenever which increases my chances greatly of actually turning up!

I'm hoping next week will run smoother as I now have 5.5 weeks until graduation which is not a lot of time at all!

I need to find a dress too eek!

Do you have any other tips for me??

L xxx

Bloggers Unite to Lose Weight - America this

Hey All

My first proper post since my holiday. I had lots scheduled for when I was away so posts would still go up on my days off. My holiday was amazing. I think I will do a nosey photo post of it soon as I love looking at people's photos. 

This was the gorgeous view I was greeted with when I arrived at the hotel. I love the moody sky.

Breakfast Day 1 part 1

So the past two weeks I've been eating what I want. I'd said in previous posts I was going to restrict myself on holiday as it's a holiday and it's America. Full of naughty food treats and boy did I go all out on the food. Who can resist pancakes for breakfast. Especially American ones. I didn't spend much holiday laid down and spent 6 full days out of 7 at the parks so I did walk a lot and swim a bit too.

Day 1 part 2

While there I had 3 breakfasts like this

So the bad news. Over the past two weeks I've gained 4 and a half lbs. Not too bad could have been worse and I'm thinking positive that I've still lost 9lbs in 9 weeks. 

This had to happen Chilli Cheese Fries (best thing ever) and spicy chicken (I did eat the celery)

Diet wise now I'm back calorie counting starts again tomorrow (my food shop gets delivered tonight). I'm going to be upping my weekly calories to 1500 ish now during the week and sensible but what I want food at the week. I'm hoping this will give me the best of both worlds, with tasty meals, not feeling deprived and still losing a small amount like 1/2lb a week. I think this will more be easy to stick to.

The most beautiful steak I've ever had

I will be back to logging my food on MyFitnessPal (if you have it send me your name.) I love this app. It's brilliant and I don't think I'd have stuck so long at my weight loss with out it. It makes tracking what you eat so easy and there are lots of lovely people around for inspiration on bad days.

Roast beef, cheese and gravy Man V Food style sandwich

Exercise weight I'm unsure of at the moment. My knees are back hurting lately so a trip to the Doctors is needed when I get round to it. I really need to motivate myself to exercise in the flat. Especially as winter is drawing in and running when it's dark around by me isn't the safest.

The Last Day meal

Winter makes it hard but I'm thinking lots of tasty soups and warming meals from The Hairy Dieters book. I'm going to do a chilli, ginger and butternut squash  and a minestrone soup this week so I'll try and include those recipes next week aswell.

Washed down with a mint choc chip ice cream

I also need to be better at resisting the Starbucks at uni, not only is it a waste of money it's not great calorie wise even though I do go skinny. I also need to get my partner back out of his Domino's addiction. A low calorie pizza recipe would be appreciated if anyone has one.

My gorgeous hand luggage!! How cute is this. Just had to share it.

Hope you are all doing well. Sorry for the photos of my naughty food from holiday if your diets are going well. As you can see I fully went for it. What are your winter weight loss tips?

Love M

xxx

Bloggers Unite to Lose Weight

Today I'm doing this as a chatty post. I've not really got any photos to show.

First of all I'll start with the positives. I've lost 3lb this week. So I've now lost the stone I wanted to before my holiday (which is on saturday)

The rest of this post isn't a very positive one. As I'm sure most of you who have dieted will know it's full of ups and downs and this is a down week for me.

At the moment I'm feeling tired a lot and I'm feeling achy constantly. I'm not sure if I'm just really tired or whether it could be down to not eating enough. I try to eat 1200 calories or less at the moment. But I only do this Mon-Fri.

Exercise is non existant as I'm achy a lot of time. I also thought when I'd lost the stone I'd be happy to maintain. I'm not I still feel my bottom half is to big for the rest of my figure.

I go on holiday on Sunday. My plan is to eat what I want but at least swim daily in the morning and maybe take advantage of the gym.

I'm trying to decide where to go forward with my diet plan and tips would be appreciated. 1200 calories is enough for me. I'm not hungry during the week and don't feel like I'm depriving myself but I think after I get back I will up it to 1400 to see if it makes a difference to my energy levels.

My next struggle is I don't know where to add the calories on to. I don't want to get back into eating unhealthy meals. I'm thinking maybe more meat is needed.

I feel I'm losing a battle at the moment. I'm not hungry but think I really need to eat more. Any tips?

Bit of an all of over the place post from me today.

Don't forget to check out how

Fashion Floozy

and

Holly's Beauty Box

for their updates later :)

Love M

xxx

Blogger unite to lose weight

This week I've well and truely lost it. I've been so tired all the time and just wanting bad food. I've also had no motivation to exercise as I've been tired and achey. I've just finished week 6 of my journey and think I just needed a break last week.

I still tried to eat well during the week. But exercise wasn't happening. I've been struggling to run lately. I went out on Monday and could only manage 20 minutes so came home and did sit ups and weights. Tuesday I just did sit ups and weight. With my holiday just over a week away I feel the weights work may be more beneficial for me. I've lost 11lbs but still feel big in all the same places.

I did gain 0.4lbs this week when I weighed on Tuesday. I did expect this as last week contained a lot of occasions for cake in work. And a girly night in with L. To be honest I'm pleased it wasn't more.

On Monday I decided to push myself and try to get back into it even though I was tired. But by Tuesday evening I was hit with another set back. As I walked back from the shops I had someone try to rob my phone. I was lucky I didn't give up my phone or get hurt really. But it left me more upset than I expected to be from it and with a sore foot which meant running wasn't going to happen this week.

It's onwards and upwards now though. I'm going to stick to it when I can and hopefully set myself a new goal soon. I always thought gettin down to 10 stone would be the weight I was happy with but as I edge nearer I want to lose more.

I'm hoping my holiday will relax me and when I come back I'll feel the push more. I'm really looking forward to being able to swim daily whilst on holiday as I really enjoy swimming.

So where am I heading for the next week. I need to find a new route to run. Where I had the guy grab my phone is where I always run. I'm thinking I may run through town now. I think runs will go faster through the town and be more distracting. I'm going out on Saturday night so bad food will he consumed. I'm going to try to do a lot of exercise to make up for this. My lovely parents are coming to visit tonight so that's involving a meal out. I'm emailing restaurants to get calorie counts so I can hopefully pick well and will have low calorie breakfast and lunch to be on the safe side.

Very rambly all over the place with this update. I've really lost my mojo at the moment though and hope I find my inspiration again soon and can push myself.

Don't forget to check out

http://www.fashionfloozy.co.uk/?m=1 

and

http://hollys-beauty-box.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1

For their updates. Hope they've had a better week than me. I'm hoping to get to 14lb total loss by my holiday. Not sure it'll happen but we will see.

Love M

Xxx

(Done on my phone so sorry if the photos are all over the place. No recipe this week but a sneak into my food diary.)