The Fitness Diaries: WEEK 4

This week's theme: At home workouts
Hello everybody! I hope my tips from last week about drinking water have worked for everybody! I used to find it so hard to stick to drinking 2 litres of water a day, especially if I wasn't doing anything, I just wouldn't remember. But now I drink at least 2 litres a day without any fizzy drinks and I'm so happy about it, I feel so much better, more energised, my metabolism is better. I have one coffee per week on a Saturday morning, and for the rest of the week it's off limits. It's slowly killing me, but I know it's better for me in the long run.
So, for the workouts, I've made it to the gym twice; once for a class and once for a workout. This is mainly due to the fact I had to write my LAST two essays of the year (yep - I'm essay free, yay!). However, I've found that working out at home can be just as effective as going to the gym, just a little less time consuming. At the gym, I usually spend about an hour an a half doing strictly cardio for the first month. Therefore, if I couldn't make it, I'd still keep to a cardio workout using youtube videos, and I'd make it equal the same amount of time. I've found channels like POPSUGAR Fitness and Blogilates have the largest variety of videos to follow.
My  choice to build up my healthy lifestyle has really paid off. I used to go to the gym 4 or 5 times a week and I knew if I picked up immediately where I left off, I would have given up by now. Set yourself weekly targets and you'll be amazed by what you can achieve. Coming into my fourth week, I'm astonished that all of my cravings for Dr Pepper and coffee have gone, I don't feel the need to eat large amount of carbohydrates anymore.
I've found that having 3 small meals and 3 snacks is the best way to combat hunger and cravings. Every morning I have either yogurt and granola, oatmeal or a piece of wholemeal toast and peanut butter. Whichever one I choose I have with a portion of fruit too. Mid-morning I like to have either more fruit or a nakd bar. For lunch I'm sticking to either an omelette, soup, a wholemeal sandwich or pitta or a salad. My afternoon snack normally consists of carrot and cucumber sticks with hummus. And for dinner I'm having mostly protein (chicken, turkey or fish only) and vegetables, with a small amount of carbs.
As I've only just finished week 3, and I'm starting week 4, I haven't noticed any visible external results yet. But I do feel stronger, I have more endurance when I run (something I've previously found really difficult due to breathing problems). I'm nowhere near where I want to be, but I know I'm off to a good start. I'm also sleeping better and spending less time staring at screens all day. Something for the mind as well as the body!
This week's goals are simple: build up my endurance when running, beat my first mile in the 5k on the treadmill and beat the overall time for 5k on the bikes. After this week, I'm hoping to incorporate strength training into my workouts! Fingers crossed it pays off!
My favourite video workouts of the week:

 

 

I hope you enjoyed this week's fitness diaries! If you'd like to see pictures of any of my meals or a run down of any of my workouts, let me know in the comments and I'll be happy to put them up weekly! This will be much better when I start doing strength training exercises!

When I start seeing visible progress, I might even keep you updated with pictures. But for now, here's my week 4 motivation picture



 

If you've missed any of the previous weeks, don't worry! Here are the links:

Week 1 

Week 2 

Week 3

 

Have a nice week!

CJ x



The Fitness Diaries: WEEK 3

This week's theme: 5 a day
Hello there! I am pleased to announce that last week's targets were achieved! I consumed at least 2 litres of water a day (even more if you count my twice daily green tea and once daily mango juice). Now, I've not been one for drinking loads of water, I don't know why, but I just can't do it. I've tried carrying a bottle round all day with me, but that only seems to get me through one, maybe two 500ml bottles a day. Want to know my secret? Increase the bottle size. Yep, it's that simple. I bought a 75cl bottle. I fill it up with filtered water before bed, and I'll have that one gone before I go to uni. I'll consume another 75cl during my day at uni, and another in the evening. If you struggle with drinking enough water, you definitely need to try this!
Furthermore, I went to the gym ... wait for it ... 3 times this week! And I knocked 30 seconds off the time it took me to run the first mile in my 5k last week and 45 seconds off overall! I also took 25 seconds off my 5k on the bikes too!
I have also been trying to get at least 5 pieces of fruit and veg in a day. I've done this by having peanut butter and banana on wholemeal toast for breakfast, taking an apple and grapes to university with me, and having at least 2 vegetables with my tea, I'm trying to mix it up a bit more though! Healthy eating this week has been OK, but I need to do a food shop so there was an incident with a fish finger sandwich (I know it sounds horrible and I wouldn't normally eat it if we actually had food in).
However, there have been incidents with starbucks this week (sorry, not sorry), but they do have to stop. I need to give up coffee for good because I've realised it's just not worth it. But I haven't had a single glass of Dr Pepper in 3 weeks now! So happy that I've managed to stay away from fizzy drinks all together because those were my downfalls. OK, OK, so there was a slight situation on Saturday with a cherry Dr Pepper, but it's because I was in Manchester! That's one fizzy drink in 3 weeks, don't judge me!
As for next week's targets, I'm going to continue walking between campuses and I'm going to go to the gym 3 times next week hopefully. I have a kettlebells class on Monday so I'll report back on how that goes! Hopefully I'll be doing at least 1 class a week from now on too. Also, I'm going to try and cut carbs .. this will be a massive challenge for me as I am a carb fiend. But hopefully with my app called My Fitness Pal, I'll be able to keep track of the amount of carbs and sugars I'm eating.
Wish me luck!
CJ x



Missed Week 1 and 2 no problem? Links here. Week 1 and Week 2.

The Fitness Diaries: WEEK 2

This week's theme: Healthy Swaps.
YESSSSSSSS. Week 1 is officially over. And I stuck to it! OK, so I didn't go to the gym that much, but I DID find my pedometer and walked between 9 and 12000 steps a day, which is right where I want to be.

My target was to go to the gym twice last week and then just do a healthy amount of walking a day. So I commuted into Liverpool by train and walked, I got the farthest parking spots at university, and even walked between campuses instead of driving (impressed? You should be.) If I wasn't happy with the amount of steps I'd done that day, I'd either go for a quick walk in the evening, or walk up and down the stairs if it was raining and I was close to my target, that isn't cheating by the way.

As for the gym, I haven't been overdoing it, in fact personally I think I've been underdoing it. Before I decided to start the Fitness Diaries, I went back to the gym for the first time in about a month and a half. I wanted to start slow and not burn out, but once I got on the treadmill, I felt like I wasn't pushing myself enough so I cranked up the gradient and the speed aaaaaand I threw up. Yep, like actually threw up in the gym, classy right? What did I do next? Went right back to working out! Pushing myself like that really wasn't my finest moment. So this week I just took it slow. Jogged for 15 mins and walked for 5 mins on the treadmill. Then did 5k on the bikes and had a quick 5-10 mins on the rowing machine and the stairmaster. Second workout I took it a little further, jogged for 15 minutes, walked for 5 and jogged for 10. Then did 5k on the bikes, 10 minutes on the rowing machine and 10 minutes on the stairmaster.

Now let's talk food and drink. I STARTED my healthy swaps, meaning I haven't cut everything that's bad for me out. My super sweet coffee has gone (let's just take a moment) and has been replaced by green tea with 1/2 tsp of honey. My beloved dr pepper has gone and been replaced with water, although I do treat myself by having 1 glass of mango juice after dinner. Furthermore, I try to drink 2 litres of water a day, but it's hard to keep tabs on that. As for food, I don't think I was necessarily eating unhealthy things, I just wasn't eating enough. Now I actually get up really early and eat breakfast every day (usually wholemeal toast with banana or yogurt and granola) and I have 5 pieces of fruit or veg along with that too.

This week my goal is to increase the amount of water I'm drinking to at least 2 litres a day, and beat my times for 5k on the treadmill and bikes. I'm going to try to go to the gym 3 times this week, but I won't be upset if I only go twice as I have a massive essay due in on Thursday. To motivate myself, I pack my gym bag every morning so and keep a pair of trainers by the door so I can just get up and go whenever I feel like it.
Talk to you in next week's post!
CJ x

If you missed Week 1's post, find it here.

The Fitness Diaries: WEEK 1

Hi everyone,
I don't know about you lot, but I have been seriously lacking in the fitness front lately. I don't know what it is, I just haven't had the energy or the determination to keep fit. It isn't just the gym, but my diet too. I either eat nothing or I eat crap. And I've decided it's time for a change, for good. I can't go on gaining weight and dropping it, eating and not eating.
Therefore, I've decided to start a new series called The Fitness Diaries. I'm unsure whether it'll be weekly or fortnightly but I thought if I have the blog to consider, then I'm more likely to stick to my goals. Every blogpost will have a theme and this week it's Getting Back into the Swing of Things. Original, I know, but sometimes you just need to take a deep breath and start again from square 1. No gimmicks, no 30 day challenges, no fad diets, just gradually building up the change.
So, my goal for this week is to find my pedometer first of all, and then walk 10000 steps a day and go to the gym twice this week. This won't seem like a lot to most of you, and it doesn't even seem like a lot to me, but I'm starting small and building it up. I know if I go back to the gym 5 times a week guns ablazing I'm going to burn out pretty fast.
I also know that it's not a realistic goal to have a set amount of times to go to the gym. I'm going to be pretty busy with university deadlines over the next month so they come first over the gym, but getting the parking space furthest away and walking won't hurt, neither will going for a 30 minute walk when I get home. After all, life is a marathon, not a sprint.
I'll keep you posted,
CJ x

'Quick Fix' Fitness?

I've spoken about health and fitness before - how I personally go about it through food and exercise, but I'm not one to pass up an opportunity to get abs in 30 days or less (or so they say). The question is, do they actually work and if so, are they beneficial to you in the long term?

30 Day Shred

Jillian Michaels is a GENIUS and her weight loss DVDs are specially designed to burn fat fast by using HIIT workouts - High Intensity Interval Training - this means short intervals of intense exercise for 20 minutes. She uses a 3-2-1 system, this is three 6 minute circuits consisting of 3 minutes of strength training, 2 minutes of cardio and 1 minute of ab workouts.

So, does it work? I can clarify that this one does work if you stick to it! This means 30 days of discipline, 1 workout every single day (there are 3 levels so I recommend 10 days at each level). I actually only made it to day 14 as I developed tonsillitis and literally could not move for 2 weeks. But I saw a difference from day 5, yeah, that's right DAY 5. You feel so much stronger and much more capable by day 5, the first few days in each level are TOUGH, but you just have to push through it and think of the future, think of day 10, 20 even 30 when you've finished your stages and it'll all be worth it.

To see results from only 20 minutes of exercise a day means there are absolutely no rests! None at all, you will not see results if you're pausing the DVD every 6 minutes (yes, I know you do it). Do whatever you can, it's 20 minutes of your day, do you know what percentage that is? It's less that 2% of your day and to see results like this - it's definitely worth it!

So, short answer, THIS DOES WORK, but it takes your own discipline and hard work, obviously, if you need a break you can take it, but your results won't be as good as if you didn't (though you will still see some), just try for 20 minutes a day for 30 days and see where you are then.

28 Day Teatox

So these have taken off a bit recently, with several companies offering the same thing. The tea isn't miraculously going to make you stronger and lose weight alone (despite what my mother thinks). This tea boosts your metabolism, helping you digest food more easily so that you store less fat. It also decreases bloating (something which people begin to notice at day 4), I myself suffer from bloating and it always got me down but this tea really helped me! It also increases your energy - thus why people see such results in their bodies. Increased energy makes you push yourself harder in your workouts or even have a workout on a day that you normally wouldn't. This tea motivates you to climb 12 flights of stairs instead of take the elevators. Another benefit to a teatox - it clears your skin up! This was really unexpected but many people have seen their skin improve significantly. 

The downside to this tea is that, as it works to flush toxins out of your body, it flushes toxins out of your body! Expect a not very happy stomach in the first couple of days, and a possible increase in the number of blemishes you have for the first week. But as the old saying goes - 'Some things get worse before they get better'.

30 Day Challenges

As with the above, these do work, but there is no point relying solely on these quick fix challenges to achieve fitness. You will not see abs if you do 30 days of sit ups, no other exercise and eat crap all day, I'm sorry but it's just not going to work. The most improvement I saw from these challenges was the 30 day squat challenge, and I don't have to tell you about the results of this one. However, not all of these challenges give visible results, but they do make you a lot stronger! Practice makes perfect, I had a lot more bicep and tricep strength after the push-up challenge and I was all-over physically fitter after the plank challenge!

Overview

As I've said, these challenges do work, but you cannot rely on them alone to make you physically fitter and to give you visible muscles. The best way to use these challenges is to get yourself into a healthy mindset a couple of weeks before, try to eat as healthily as you can and still go to the gym! I can't stress this enough, if you've seen results without leading a healthy lifestyle, then good for you, but for most people, the results will wear off within a few weeks of completing these challenges. 

Remember, just because you've completed the squat challenge, doesn't mean you never have to do squats again. You still have to carry on with certain exercises to maintain your results.

I hope this helped some of you who are thinking of starting a challenge!

CJ x

My Health and Fitness Routine/Tips - Fitness Essentials

Third installment of my health and fitness routine! Sorry it's so spread out but there was just too much to talk about in one blog post and I went really in depth in the last two. So this is my fitness essentials post - the items I mention here are some that I personally love owning and probably couldn't do without. I'm not saying everybody needs all of these items to be fit though, this is just what I feel I need (and I'm a bit of a shopping addict). These are all optional as not everyone requires the same equipment

1. A sports bra - ladies, nothing will be a better best friend than a good sports bra. You have to find the right one for you - different exercises and shapes require different sports bras. I recommend a medium support for strength training and pilates or yoga - but I've recently purchased the Victoria's Secret Front-Close Knockout and oh my ... IT'S AMAZING, if you're bigger chested or require more support - this one's for you!
2.Yoga pants/shorts. This one's obvious, you need decent gym wear for workouts and my favourites are the Victoria's Secret yoga pants and shorts (shocker), but I also really love my American Apparel jersey shorts and Nike do some good workout wear too.
3. Water Bottle. Again, an obvious one but chances are you will not be able to complete a decent workout without drinking water! And if you do, it could be unhealthy. I love the water bottles with a chill stick you can put in the freezer so your water stays nice and cold!
4. Headphones! Especially when exercising along, music makes time seem like it's going faster and gets me more motivated, you can set your mood, timing and routine by music - so you should!
5. Trainers! Once again, everybody's different - some people may be able to just wear any trainers, but for others (like me) who suffer from shin splints, you'll find some trainers work better than others. There are different types for different exercises so get advice before you buy if you're unsure!
6. Free weights - you do not need to buy these yourself! Especially if you tend to change week by week like many people as you get stronger. I just have the Davina McCall ones - which only go up to about 5lbs so I use them when doing combination moves.
7. Yoga mat - once again, you do not need to buy your own, unless you do yoga at home that is. But I love my yoga mat for everything even if I don't do that much yoga.
EXTRA - I have to take my inhaler to any workout, just in case of emergencies!
I hope this helped!
CJ x

My Health and Fitness Routine/Tips - Exercise

Hi guys, so as I said in my previous blog, I had to split my health and fitness routine into 2 - one for food and one for exercise. As I've also said before, I'm not the fittest of people, I do get out of breath when climbing more than 3 flights of stairs. I'm from a very flat part of the country so whenever I go anywhere with a lot of hills I just die. When I went to university in Preston I had to set off 15 minutes early to get to my lessons because I'd just get so winded if I hurried eek!
So, I try to go to the gym about 4 or 5 times a week, which in my opinion is a lot! That's my ideal but some weeks I may go twice and others I may go 6 times. I take two classes a week - body combat, which is like a boxercise and aerobics combination, and spinning which is intense bike riding with different effort levels/techniques.
When I don't go to a class, I go to the regular gym and I'll usually cycle 10k on the stationary bikes, run a mile on the treadmill and spend 10 minutes on the stair master or cross trainer before going on to strength training.
I split my strength training days by body parts - legs, glutes and shoulders, chest and triceps and back and biceps. I use the regular weight machines such as the leg press, the chest press, the abductor and I also use free weights. 
I'm not particularly strong, I'm about 5'1 or 2 and a size 8, I'm an hourglass but I do have a large bum and thighs, so I work on those the most. Although, I'm calling it, spot training is a MYTH. This is why I don't have an ab day, because intensely training your abs will not give you abs unless you have a really small body fat percentage. The reason why I still do strength training is simple though - to build up strength. I can only curl about 5kg (11lbs) and that's a massive improvement from my previous 2kg!
I like cardio because I really feel like I'm getting a workout with it - there's something deeply satisfying about that moment when you've just finished your run and you're extremely out of breath, dripping with sweat, parched and feel like you're going over but knowing it's done and you did your absolute best. This is why I enjoy classes because they push me to my limits.
If I don't make it to the gym, I like to do an at home workout - this will normally be something I find on popsugar fitness' youtube channel or app, or blogilates youtube channel. I find these channels amazing, they give you the best possible workout in the shortest amount of time and they try to make it as adjustable as they can if it's too easy/hard for you.
Rest days are extremely important because they help your body recover and recharge. Without rest days, your body will not be as strong or capable as it normally would. It's recommended that you have at least 2 rest days per week,
Workouts don't have to be intense cardio or strength sessions - they can be hikes, yoga, pilates, leisurely bike rides, swimming or just about anything!
Tips - 

• don't overwork your body - you know when it's time to take a break (rest day)
• contrastingly, give your body a little push doing workouts - it's so much more capable than you think!
• take classes - it's so much more fun and motivational in a group
• do cardio and weight train! This will be the best for your body

Links - 

Popsugar Fitness - https://www.youtube.com/user/popsugartvfit

Blogilates - https://www.youtube.com/user/blogilates

Thanks for reading!

CJ x

My Health and Fitness Routine/Tips - Food

I wouldn't consider myself one of the fittest of people, I don't have visible abs and I ALWAYS get out of breath on the treadmill (partly due to my asthma and the inhalers I usually forget to take), but I would say that my body has become a lot more capable of things that I never would have imagined in the past year or so.

Sweet Chilli Chicken Salad

My diet isn't the best, I sometimes forget to eat meals or replace meals with Dr Pepper (I know - it's terrible for you but I can't help it!) But I do try to stick to 3 small meals and 2 snacks a day. A normal day would consist of -
Breakfast - Oatso simple porridge with fruit/ granola with Rachel's natural low fat yogurt/ 2 small pieces of wholemeal toast with organic peanut butter and a banana.

Snack - a piece of fruit/ graze snack box

Lunch - wholemeal pasta with tuna mayo and mixed veg/ wholemeal pasta with tomato chicken and veg/ turkey bacon and scrambled eggs/ chicken or salmon salad

Snack - fruit/ graze box/ small bowl of popcorn

Dinner - varies extremely - usually consists of white meat, some mixed veg and a little bit of carbs

Tuna Mayo Pasta Salad

Above are examples of my ideal/favourite meals but this does not happen every day - for example yesterday I went to Cheshire Oaks and had a chiquitos quesadilla at around 3:30 (and a banana taquito) so I didn't have dinner only a small bowl of lightly salted popcorn. 

I do have a weakness for dr pepper but I try to keep it to 3 glasses a week or under which I'm extremely proud of. If you noticed, I'm not a big fan of red meat or white carbs, but I will eat them on occasions. I also have a weakness for burgers.

I've noticed when I go out to eat/buy things from supermarkets that the portions are just way too big for me! I do my best but I never try to make myself fuller than I should be to clear my plate.

Zizzi Skinny Pizza

I also try to keep to 2 litres of water, 1 coffee and a green tea a day. However, I'm not the best at keeping track of my water intake so I find the iDrinkWater app really helpful!

The MyFitnessPal app is also really good for watching calorie, sugar or fat intake, if you remember to do it that is, unlike me!

General tips are to not deprive yourself of food, but try not to overeat too as both can be damaging to your body in different ways but both of them do slow your metabolism down significantly, which isn't a good thing.
Try your best to stick to the general 80/20 rule which is 80% good eating and 20% naughty eating.

Bagel w/ Peanut Butter and Banana

Almost Famous River Phoenix Burger w/ Winning Fries

I hope this was useful - I did have the intention to put my food and exercise all in one post but it would just be way too much! My exercise post will come tomorrow (and maybe another post the day after that)

CJ x