What I ate Wednesday

Happy WIAW! Don't forget to join in the party over at Jenn's darling blog :)

My eats from yesterday :

BREAKFAST - 6:45am

Oh. Em. Gee. This was the most AWESOME breakfast EVER! I had a gigantic smoothie in a bowl. I underestimated how much I was using so it was piled up in my bowl. It was bloody gorgeous and as much as I wanted to, I physically couldn't eat it all. I left a good few spoonfuls! This one consisted of frozen banana blended with frozen berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, redcurrants and blackcurrants) and some soy milk, topped with some desicated coconut, a handful of frozen blueberries, some pomegranate seeds and half a punnet of the Super Detox Berries from my Graze box, which is a mix of goji berries, green raisins, dried blueberries and dried cranberries. The tang from the frozen berries, the creaminess from the banana and milk, and the chewiness from the toppings makes a very scrumptious meal indeed.

LUNCH - 1:00pm

Unsurprisingly I didn't need a mid-morning snack as I was still super stuffed from my heavenly breakfast. Not the most appetising picture as it was a bit squished and squidgy, but for lunch I had a wholemeal wrap, spread with some red pepper houmous and filled with roasted vegetables (mushrooms, courgettes, peppers {red, yellow and green}, red onion and some cherry tomatoes sprinkled with some oregano and basil before roasting). Mmmm absolutely scrummy! I had some beetroot on the side, which I can't seem to get enough of at the moment. Love me some beets!

MID-AFTERNOON SNACK - 4:00pm

I had a major sweet tooth this afternoon so I had a nectarine and a peach. Most people hate peaches because of the fuzzy skin, but they are sweeter and juicier than nectarines so I adore them. Really enjoyed both of these.

TEA - 7:30pm

I had some kind of salad concoction, and just threw whatever I could find into a dish. It was couscous, spring onion, green pepper and some sweetcorn, on a bed of mixed leaves and cucumber, topped with some beetroot and tomato, then drizzled with some balsamic vinegar. For something so simple it was quite tasty, though next time I will leave out the sweetcorn (wasn't a fan) and use a sweet chilli sauce instead of balsamic (for a bit of a kick). I followed this with a dish of strawberries and blueberries topped with Rachel's Greek Style Coconut Yoghurt and some pecans. Then I was super stuffed and couldn't eat another morsel if you paid me!

DRINKS

I had about 3 litres of water in total and no tea or soda :)

EXERCISE

I did a 30 minute 'plod' before work. It was a mixture of brisk walking and jogging, but let's not get too excited as there was not enough of the latter for it to be classed as a run. I've always struggled to understand how people have the time to workout before work. I struggle to get my ass out of bed to shower, let alone workout, but I'm beginning to understand that people don't have the time, they make the time. So I decided to get up 30 minutes earlier and faff less with my hair ;) As it happens, I felt better for it. I also did some weights (with tins of beans)  and squats/lunges following a YouTube video when I got home from work. My legs are gonna ache like a bitch today, I just know it.

When do you make the time to exercise? Do you sacrifice other things for it?

xoxo

Top 5 tips for getting healthy

It's F-F-F-FRIDAY! And it feels sooo good to not have to work today. I'm off on Thursday every week but I swapped my shifts this week. I love having Friday's off - not only are they horrendous shifts in work, it means I get a long weekend. Win/win.

My best friend in work came back off her holidays on Wednesday, and one of the first things she said to me was that I've lost weight. I haven't seen her for 3 weeks so I'm so pleased she said that, as apart from my bad weekend, I've worked really hard. One of my big bosses came into work on Friday too. He is also the husband of one of my friends, and I haven't seen him since a BBQ at his house last year. He also commented that I've lost loads of weight and that I, to quote, "look fantastic". Life. Is. Good. That's enough to motivate me :)

Speaking of motivation, Total Yoghurt have set up a Fit 4 Summer webpage to help encourage people to get fit for Summer (clearly...) and they want people to share their health and nutrition tips. I was tagged to share my tips by Rachel. This is something I am still trying to master myself so I don't have 10 tips, but I thought it would be a good idea to post as many tips as I can anyway, even if it is to remotivate myself in a few months time. As an aside, I LOVE Total Yoghurts. I love having a great big bowl of fruit salad, topped with some 0% Total Greek Yoghurt, a drizzle of honey and a sprinkling of flaked almonds. Mmm yum!

Tip 1 - Prepare, prepare, prepare.

Where I work we eat like pigs. There's toast or croissants with real butter and jam at 10:30am, one colleague shares her calorific cooking with everyone, such as potato salads laden with mayonnaise, pasta smothered in creamy sauces and cheese, or something as simple as crisps and dips. By 3pm we're reaching for the bars upon bars of chocolate or a cream cake. See? Pigs. I take my own healthy snacks with me now. Often, I'm not hungry when these things are put in front of me, it's just lack of willpower. Now if I simply can't resist eating something, I eat my snack, which satisfies me perfectly. The same applies to any meal. If I know I have something prepared for when I'm hungry, I'm less likely to eat the first convenient (and often artery-clogging fattening) thing within arms reach.

Tip 2 - Stay hydrated.

I aim to drink at least 2 litres of water a day. Sometimes hunger pangs are actually your body's way of telling you that you're dehydrated, so if you do feel peckish, have a drink of water first to see if it subsides. Drinking water is also beneficial to your skin too, so if you want to look younger, guzzle a glass! Don't forget, you shouldn't even be reaching the 'thirsty' stage - by then you are dehydrated.

Tip 3 - Try and vary the foods you eat.

My Mam can't eat tomatoes anymore as she literally ate them every single day (and practically almost every meal) when she was on a diet! I try and keep myself motivated by including a variety of foods, and experimenting with vegetables I've never tried before. I also like to vary the colours of the fruits and vegetables that I am eating, and try to incorporate something from each colour. Chances are, if you aren't limiting yourself to just a few things, you won't get bored easily.

Tip 4 - Think about your cooking methods.

Love chips? Instead of deep fat frying them, try cutting up your potatoes, parboiling them for a few minutes, spreading them in a single layer on a baking sheet, and roasting in the oven. Should hit the spot! As it happens, I'm not a chip lover, but the idea applies to everything. I grill or boil everything now, and only bake or roast if no oil or fats are involved. Different cooking methods make certain foods taste different too, which also contributes to the variety aspect of tip number 3.

Tip 5 - Find an exercise you enjoy.

Last year I really got into running. I blogged about it here and here, and I wish I had kept it up. It's a long story as to why I fell off the wagon, but I am waiting for the horrendous weather to go away before I start it back up again. If you are a runner but hate the thought of being in the gym on the treadmill for a long, mundane hour, hit your local parks or beach instead! Find a partner who enjoys it as much as you do. Join a class or group of like-minded people. My friend adores kettlebells, so she has joined a class as it isn't an intense a workout when she does it at home.

So tell me, what has been the highlight of your week, and what are your top tips?

xoxo

Fashion Police Meets Fitness Police

A combination of a crime against fashion and a huge freaking fitness scam! Sketchers and Reebok continue to make claims that wearing Shape-Ups or EasyTone shoes can replace the need to set foot in a gym, while magically giving you long, lean legs, and a perfectly round rump. Sadly, this is not the case.

These monstrosities work the fine muscles in the calf area, which normally don't receive much attention. This causes the muscles to feel sore, because they truly have been worked, unfortunately, these muscle groups are small. Think of it like this: after writing for a long period of time, your forearm may feel sore, you have worked out several small muscles, but this is in no way considered to be a workout nor did this burn many calories.

Some info of note:

Although there have been small studies showing increases in muscular activity with the use of curved soles, Dr. Bruce Williams, a podiatrist and a past president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, said: "My point is that it's not necessarily beneficial even though there's an increase in muscular activity."

"Their primary complaint at the end of the day after walking around the mall is that they hurt," Williams said. "So is that necessarily beneficial to them? No, not at all. ... I'm not a big fan of people relearning how to walk."

-CNN

The study, by the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit fitness organization, draws similar conclusions. The San Diego-based group tested the physiological reactions of 12 healthy women who wore regular fitness shoes and compared them with those of 12 others who wore Shape-Ups, Reebok's EasyTone Reeinspire shoes, and a model by Masai Barefoot Technology, a Swiss brand that pioneered the trend in the '90s. The report found that none of the latter models toned users' muscles or helped them burn calories.

"The messaging around these shoes and the notion that they can tone the body are appealing to the general consumer," Cedric Bryant, chief science officer at the council, told Consumer Ally . "But the toning shoes appear to produce the same results as regular sneakers. We want to educate consumers as to what's reasonable and realistic in terms of exercise and outcomes."

Bryant pointed out that any benefits of wearing Shape-Ups are more likely to come from the fact that they resemble orthopedic shoes and may indeed be good for people with foot abnormalities.

-WALLETPOP

For the love of God, stop lying to the public! Public, stop wasting your money and believing everything the TV tells you!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/09/shape-ups-easytones-dont_n_675821.html

http://www.geardiary.com/2010/11/14/shape-up-shoes-shocker-they-dont-work/

http://www.walletpop.com/2010/09/01/skechers-shape-ups-ad-claims-said-to-be-misleading-consumers/

http://naturalbias.com/dont-let-reebok-fool-you-shoes-wont-tone-your-butt/

http://www.businesspundit.com/reebok-easytone-shoes-promise-to-tone-your-butt-fad-alert/

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/12/shoes.fitness/index.html

Educating myself

As you may have read on my Sunday Summary, I have started jogging again. For months I have been saying that I'll start again in January, and now January is upon us and I've run out of excuses! Whilst jogging is all well and good, in order to lose weight and be a healthier, happier me, I need to diet too. I hate that word. Diet. It sounds and feels so restricting, which in turn makes me feel uncomfortable. So I'm not on a diet. I am making a conscious effort to to make healthier decisions. Concentrate on what I'm putting in my mouth (ahem) and actually think about it beforehand.

I have been fat for all of my life. When I was little it was cute. It was cute and chubby. When I got to my teens on the other hand, it was no longer puppy fat, it was Just. Plain. Fat. I'm not blaming my parents one tiny bit - they tried their damned hardest for me. They'd pile my plate with 'diet' food and we switched to semi-skimmed milk, low fat margerine, water instead of fizzy pop etc. The whole family made a lifestyle change. Biscuits, crisps and sweeties used to be hidden from me (if they were bought at all) but I would find them when nobody was looking, and sneak them to my room. Or I'd use my pocket money and spend it in the pick 'n' mix section on my way to school, and not bat an eyelid at devouring the bag before I'd walked the 10 minute journey to school. All the while, my poor Mam would ask me what I'd had for lunch, and with the back-up of my best friend Ellie, I'd automatically answer 'Jacket potato and beans' or 'A ham salad roll'. Written down on paper (or screen), I am positively ashamed of myself and the lengths I went to in order to deceive people for food, and clearly, my story goes to show that I have nobody to blame but myself.

When I was 15, these pictures of Victoria Beckham emerged:

I was heading into my final year of comprehensive school, and I wanted a change. I didn't want to be bullied anymore, and I wanted to be envied for my figure instead of my hair. I can still remember the day I saw these pictures; it was the start of my Summer school holidays and they were plastered all over the front pages of the daily newspapers. Why? Because Mrs Beckham was so... boney. She had drastically slimmed down to a size zero, and the big debate started about whether or not she was starving herself. A decade later we all know that yes, she was, but at the time it stirred something deep within me. Like many teenage girls in the 1990's, The Spice Girls were my biggest icons and inspirations, and seeing these pictures inspired me to change my eating habits. In fact, I aspired to be like Posh so much that I stopped eating.

I'd wake up at 5am every morning. My Mam started work at 4am, so by the time she came home at 9am I'd have done 1000 sit ups, cycled for 3 miles, and cleaned the house. Lunchtime was always a time where we just grabbed something quick individually, so I could escape without eating anything quite easily. Teatime was when the main meal was cooked and the time when the family sat down together to eat, but I was always conveniently out with my friends. To my parents, I was eating whilst I was out. To my friends, I was eating before or after I saw them. Then before bed it was another 1000 sit ups. I'd survive on water and a couple of pieces of fruit a day. Stupidly, I started taking pills to curb my appetite. I found them in my brother's room, and as he has always been naturally skinny and always training for some kind of sport, I thought they could do no harm. I still have no idea what they were, what was in them, or where they came from. All I remember is not feeling hungry when I took them.

Astonishingly, alarm bells didn't ring. I just studied every bone in Posh's body, and it spurred me on further. I wanted to have her body. This went on for about a month, and obviously I lost some weight. I don't know how much, but I felt fucking fantastic. Until one day, I was out shopping with my Mam and I felt dizzy and weak. I went to the loo and passed out. It was only for a few minutes but I had such a fright and honestly thought that was the end of me. Now the alarm bells were ringing, loud and clear. I just thought that if my idol could do it, I could do it, but it was my moment of complete and utter madness. After that I stopped taking the strange pills, stopped working out, and started eating regularly with my family and friends. My worries about my GCSE's pushed my weight issues to the back of my mind, my old eating habits returned, and the weight went back on.

When I met Gareth I put even more weight on. They say you do when you're content with your boyfriend, don't they? We were eating out a lot, and if we weren't eating out we'd be snuggled in the house with a movie and ice cream, chocolates and popcorn. More weight went on, but it was okay because he loved me just the way I was, as proved with an engagement ring. At 18 I fell pregnant and sadly I miscarried. That hit me hard. Why wasn't I good enough to become a mother? What was wrong with me? What did I do? I fell into a deep, horrible depression and my weight just spiralled completely out of control. Everybody has ups and downs, but I console myself with food. That's the one thing I can rely on to make me happy. A single square of chocolate melting slowly on my tongue is heavenly. Always has been, and unfortunately, always will be. At this time I got diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. It's basically a hormone imbalance that affects my production of insulin, which in turn affects my sugar levels (and eating habits). Because of this, weight gain is one of the bitchface conditions that comes with PCOS. I think I hid behind that excuse for a while - It will be impossible to lose weight because I have PCOS, so I might as well eat what I like. Terrible, isn't it?! Now, 8 years later, this is where I find myself - Obese. Unhappy. Determined.

I am rambling a bit here but I feel I need to. I need to write my weight issues down so that I can truly understand them myself. This is my turning point - with every inch of me exposed, I've nothing left to hide behind and no more feeble excuses to make. So... here is where I stand. Since January 1st I have been eating well. Apart from my McDonald's two weeks ago but the less said about that the better...

I have been using the Couch-to-5k app on my iPhone for my training (amazeballs) and also using an app called MyFitnessPal to record my daily calorie intake. I've been feeling quite smug and have had a little friendly competition going on with Mr L. Everyday I've been hitting less than 1600 calories... so I thought.

Do you know how many calories are in what you are eating? Do you truly know? Look at the packaging and yes, it will tell you, but do you know how much is on your plate? If I have learned anything through calorie counting, it's portion size and control. Okay, I'll give you a hypothetical example with made up numbers, just for arguement sake. 400 calories for 100g steak and chips doesn't sound all that bad, but chances are, there's not 100g on your plate. There's more like 600g, which brings your calorie total to 2400. Doesn't sound so tempting now, does it? And this is where my problem lies. I don't know how much is on my plate. I said earlier that my parents used to pile my plate with 'diet' food - but the problem lies there. Pile my plate. Whilst I'm eating all of the right things, I'm still eating too much of it because it's piled on my plate, so I might as well eat McDonald's everyday. Do you know how many calories my silly McDonald's meal clocked up two weeks ago? I had a Chicken Legend with bacon and mayo, potato wedges, and a banana milkshake. That single meal was almost 1500 calories!! An entire day's intake for most people in one single sitting. It seriously shocked me to the core and if only I'd known sooner.

This is the education I wish I'd had. I wish somebody - anybody - told me all about portion size. It's taken 26 years and a lot of misery surrounding my weight to finally accept that I am stupid. I can't believe something so simple holds the key to losing weight, and furthermore, I can't believe it took me so long to realise. I'll be weighing out my food from now on. It might be a bit weird at first, but until I can control my portion sizes and actually learn how much 100g is of something, I have to do it.

Wow... this post is hella long so I'd better leave it there... Epiphanies FTW. Are you good with portion control? Or were you brought up to eat everything on your (massive) plate like me?

xoxo

Thinspiration

I am totally anti-size-zero. Being a bigger girl myself, I appreciate women's bodies in all shapes and sizes, but painfully thin is not healthy, not realistic and certainly not cute. Like every woman on a diet, I have certain celebrity figures that I admire, but they are not the Nicole Richie's, Victoria Beckham's and the Olsen Twins of the celeb world... Oh no. Whenever I find myself reaching for my 2nd chocolate eclair I picture these gorgeous ladies instead:

These women, to me, are real role models. They are slim but have curves in the right places. They have boobs and they have bums, and not a single bone sticking out in sight. They look womanly, they look attractive and they look healthy. They ooze confidence which is a huge inspiration for me, and though I know I'm never going to look as good as these gorgeous gals in a bikini, I'll always choose to have a figure like those instead of the gaunt, twig-like women that the celeb world seems to be obsessed with.

What do you think? Curvy girls for role models or are you a fan of the uber-skinny minnie's?

xoxo

Jog on, Darling!

One thing that is taking up a bit of my time at the moment is running. I think it's fair to say that this has become a slight obsession of mine, and better an obsession like this than one of say... cupcakes. Oh, wait, I have one of those too. But, the beauty of running is that I can indulge in those perfectly formed, gorgeously satisfying and uber-pretty (not to mention extremely calorific!) little treats and not feel an ounce of guilt. Well, maybe just a little, but I can rectify it by thrashing hard on the beach. Perfect!

I never thought I'd say this since I'm the laziest of lazy people... but jogging makes me feel good. Even when I'm gasping for breath, turning into a hot, sweaty, red-in-the-face mess, in desperate need of some water and nursing my aches and pains, I feel good. There is something so exhilerating about running in the rain, or hearing the waves lap up beside you as the sun comes up. I feel proud, I feel accomplished, and here are some reasons why:

1. Obviously, the fitness benefits. I don't get so breathless at the simplest of tasks anymore and I can feel my clothes getting looser. Score!

2. I'm getting lots of fresh air. There's nothing wrong with my warm, cosy and sometimes stuffy living room, but getting fresh air in the mornings makes me feel more awake, more alert and more energetic. It just gives me an incredible sense of well-being, which can't be bad.

3. I appreciate my town and surroundings more. I jog on the beach and it is just beautiful. Mr Lollipop isn't from this neck of the woods. He didn't grow up on the seaside, and I remember one of the first times he came and stayed with me, he fell in love with the beach. I couldn't understand at the time what was so special about it, but I get it now. One day I'll go running with my camera (a la the gorgeous Zooey Deschanel in Yes Man!) and take some pictures of the gorgeous, picturesque beach I run along.

4. It's at my pace. The thing with workout videos and the reason I get bored of them so quickly is because I can't choose my pace. I either can't keep up or they don't work me hard enough. With jogging, I can set my own goals and challenge myself, which is great. My current goal is to jog the length of the beach. At the moment I'm still walking about a quarter of it, but to be fair it is a long way! haha. My ultimate goal is to run to the end and back again, but I think that's a few months away yet!

5. Female bonding. I've mentioned before that my Mother is my running partner, and a cracking running partner she is too! We have some of our deepest conversations when we are out in the mornings. She rocks. I workout with Mr Lollipop sometimes too, and we just laugh the whole time. Laughter is the best medicine and all that jazz :)

6. Meeting other lovely people. My Mam is the ultimate inspiration. She always encourages and motivates me, but recently there have been some total strangers inspiring us to go further, run faster, breathe harder. People don't judge you, they support you and give you a boost. My favourite was a woman easily in her 60's, overtaking us (!) and saying 'You're doing brilliantly girls, keep it up'.

7. I can allow myself some treats without thinking my diet is over and I'm a failure. You know those feelings girls! I feel as if I've 'earned' this yummy food, and I savour every single mouthful.

8. It doesn't cost me an arm and a leg in gym membership. Okay, so you need to invest in a good pair of trainers, but mine were only £40 and do the job perfectly. After that it costs you just fresh air. Literally.

9. The eye candy. What do you often find on a beach? Surfers. Hunky surfers with skin tight wetsuits on... sigh. That makes the early mornings a lot more enjoyable, I can assure you... But if Mr Lollipop asks I didn't notice!

10. I can be alone with my thoughts. I have the time to think things over, plan my upcoming week and reflect on the week gone by. Just me in my head and nobody else... and it's bliss.

So, there you go, 10 reasons why I am obsessed with jogging. I go a minimum of 3 mornings a week. It's so simple, just grab your iPod and away you go - pound those pavements and get exploring!

xoxo

All images, as ever, from weheartit

Health kick update

Hello sweets!

I hope you've all been enjoying the gorgeous sun that the UK has seen this week. I have, hence the lack of blogposts, but I'm sure you'll agree that you've got to make the most of it whilst it's here! It's been 4 weeks since I started my healthy eating and fitness routines, so I thought I'd do a little update post to let you know how I'm getting on.

My diet started off brilliantly and I have continued with it, apart from a minor blip on Easter weekend (where I consumed copious amounts of chocolate and cupcakes!) and the following weekend where I attended a BBQ... lots of alcohol meant a calorie-laden hangover day too. Throughout the week I've been great though and I have hardly craved any sweet things.

The most important change in my diet has been breakfast. Before I embarked on my healthy eating I never used to eat any as I just couldn't stomach it, but I soon got into a routine and now feel lethargic without it. I also used to think that I was hungrier through the day if I ate breakfast, but that's simply not true. When I didn't eat breakfast I'd crave junk late into the evening. Now I find that I'm less likely to snack during the day, my evening meal fills me up and I don't go looking for additional snacks late at night. I also think keeping a food diary has played a beneficial factor. I have realised my weak spots - eg. I eat better when I have breakfast, crave sweeter things when I drink Diet Coke, and I need to cut down on my tea intake in work!

My diet is an ongoing battle I think, but as someone who normally gives up a diet after one day, I am proud of myself. I haven't weighed myself yet. I'm actually too scared to incase I get disheartened if I haven't lost any weight and gorge on crap. I have been told my a few people that I'm losing weight on my shoulders and boobs (*sob*) though, and I can feel my work uniform (and bra's!) getting a little looser.

The best change I have made is my level of exercise. I'd get out of puff climbing two flights of stairs to go to bed in the evening, but I go jogging 3-4 times a week, each session lasting 60-90 minutes. I go on my days off, so obviously had more opprotunities over the Easter weekend, and the upcoming Bank Holiday weekends. I go for a walk most evenings with my fiance and the dog, and I have been walking to work more often too. I really want to try the 30 Day Shred, but am just stuck for time at the moment. I thought that I had ordered it from Amazon but I managed to balls it up somehow, and just haven't got round to re-ordering it. We recently bought a Wii Fit though, but Mr L uses that more than me at the moment. I get a belly-workout from laughing at him doing the silly games like Hula Hoop. I haven't attempted it yet as I'm happy enough jogging for now!

Some advice I can give to anyone who wants to start running/jogging:

• If you can, find a partner to go running with. I run with my wonderful Mammy. She has been jogging for years so is used to all weathers and terrains, but she is fantastic with words of encouragement for me, the beginner. If there's a hill coming up she slows down to my pace, goes through it with me, all the while telling me to breathe deeply and encouraging me. When we get back home she always tells me she thinks I've done a wonderful job and she's very proud of me - even if we don't go as far, or if the pace is a bit slower. If it wasn't for the Mothership, her enthusiasm and confidence in me, I'd have given up after the second day, but as it stands I am thoroughly enjoying it, and actually find myself looking forward to my day off so I can go for an early morning jog along the beach or docks with the best running partner (and Mother) in the world.

• Don't try and compete with others. My cousin sometimes joins us for a run, and she is fitter than both me and the Mothership put together. She wears little pink shorts and has tanned legs up to her armpits, whereas I look like a beetroot who has broken into a sweat by just bending down to tie my laces up! I'd have given myself a heart attack if I had tried to keep up with her from the start, not to mention I'd look like a right plonker squeezing myself into her little outfit. I'll stick to my sweaty jogging bottoms and hoody thanks!

• Set yourself realistic goals. My strategy is alternating running with walking. So, at first I would walk two lengths, jog one length, walk two lengths, jog one length etc. Then I progressed  to alternating one length of each, and next I'm going to walk one length, jog two. My ultimate goal is to jog the length of the beach and back home again, but I know that's a long way away yet! Ogling the surfers make it a little easier though haha. Oh, by the way, a 'length' for me is the distance between one set of steps on the beach to the next. Of course, you judge yours by your route, maybe by lampposts or houses. You should time yourself (eg. alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking), but I don't wear a watch or carry anything with me, and it would just be too boring counting in my head. This strategy has worked for me so far :)

If you are embarking on healthy eating or exercise plan - good luck! I hope you found my advice okay, but please remember I am by no means an expert! This is just what works for me. And thank you all for your words of support in my original post. I love this community as there's always somebody to motivate, inspire, and boost morale - so thank you xx

xoxo

All images from weheartit

Time for a change

Hello my lovelies!

It's taken me a little while to get back into the blogging habit. Everytime I open my laptop and start typing, I get sidetracked by Twitter, YouTube, or planning our next trip. Unfortunately, I don't get sidetracked by my NVQ, which is so overdue I'm almost too scared to look! Maybe later... Another thing that has been sidetracking me has been weightloss.

Now, if you follow a few beauty bloggers on Twitter, you will know about a fitness regime called the 30 Day Shred. This post isn't dedicated to that since Gemma's Twitter, blog and YT Videos already explain it better than I ever could, but all of the Shredders (I'm reminded of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles everytime I say that!) have inspired me to bite the bullet and face up to the fact that I need to lose weight.

I have always had weight issues, but it escalated as soon as I hit my teens. Yes, puberty. And it escalated even further when I met Mr L, as we were eating out a lot (and sometimes still do).  I also have PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome) which is a hormonal imbalance. One of the problems with PCOS means that losing weight is very hard, and gaining weight is very easy. I can't use that as an excuse though. The amount of crap I eat is the biggest contributor to my weight problem! I have been on countless diets but have only ever half heartedly tried at them, more to humour my mother than to do it for myself. I know I'm ready to put my all into it though, as I'm just so unhappy with the way I look. It's starting to affect my day-to-day life and I just can't go on like it anymore. I don't mean my weight is affecting physical things, like it doesn't stop me doing my job or whatever, it just affects my attitude and my outlook on things. I'm just constantly miserable, which isn't good.

After a week or two of eating nothing but cupcakes, I have decided enough is enough! So, on Monday I started eating healthily.

• I've kept a food diary
• I've been drinking lots of water
• I've been eating things like homemade vegetable soups for lunch
• I've chosen healthy snacks like fruit if I simply must eat something
• I've started eating breakfast
• I've looked more at the calorie content of things than I used to
• I've stopped adding sugar to my hot drinks

Today is day 4 and I feel great. No urges for chocolate (coming from a chocaholic!) and never mind 5-a-day, I'm easily munching and drinking my way through 8! I'm feeling more alert and feel more energetic if nothing else.

I haven't started properly exercising yet - like doing the 30 Day Shred, or setting aside 30 minutes three times a week to work out - but I have been walking a lot more. My new trainers and workout clothes just got delivered though, so I'm actually really looking forward to going for a jog with my Mam on Saturday morning, and then having a go at Shredding!

I was in two minds whether to post this or not. Normally when I start a diet and tell the world, I feel like a big fat failure (no pun intended) whenever they see me shoving a cream cake or piece of chocolate in my mouth. I feel as though I'm letting a lot of people down if I don't succeed in losing weight.

Then I realised that being so negative was one of the main problems. It's setting me up for failure before I've even started. Of course it's not going to be easy, but losing weight is something I really want to do. I want to be one of those people who loves the gym, or loves going for a run in the rain. I think I'm going to be a long way off that yet though haha. I am, however, ready to put my absolute 100% into this. And you, my lovely followers, are my witnesses.

If you have or know of any fab weightloss blogs, videos or websites, do feel free to tell me about them in the comments. And if you haven't already, go and check out Gemma's links above. She is an absolute inspiration to me. Thank you Gemma :) You can also check out these lovely ladies - Victoria, Kelly here and here, and Cat. They also have YT channels that you can find through their blogs, with helpful videos on their weightloss tips, recipes, and just general vlogs on their healthy eating and exercising missions.

xoxo

All of the images that inspire me are from weheartit