OK, so first of all, I want to apologise for my absence over the past MONTH. I could give you a million excuses about exams, illness, whatever. But this blog isn't for excuses, this blog is for fitness.
I would just like to say that over the course of writing the fitness diaries, I did not have a perfect diet and exercise routine, but instead I was working on making improvements, which I did. However, although my diet wasn't necessarily a high calorie, high fat one, it did contain a lot of sugar, and that's not good for your body.
Exams are the absolute WORST THINGS for anyone trying to lose weight or tone up, because you just don't have time to work out. I'm not one to cover up the truth, so here it goes. For four weeks I literally just sat in bed or at my desk, barely moved for entire days and ate. A LOT. Once a week, my boyfriend and I would have our Game of Thrones pizza nights, order a Papa John's and obviously, watch Game of Thrones. I honestly hardly even walked anywhere.
Now, because I've never been one for weighing myself, I didn't see the problem with my weight ... until I weighed myself. Finding out I'm around 20 lbs heavier than where I would like to be is shit. I just stood there and stared at the number thinking that if I didn't move, or tried again, it would go down (it didn't).
So now is the time to make a change I thought. I went into my cupboards and threw out EVERYTHING which wasn't good for me, and then went shopping. I stocked up on high protein, low fat foods, green, leafy veg, fruits and that's it. Cut out half of my carbohydrates, half of my sugar, and half of my fat.
Then I set a target of burning 500 calories a day (or more if I'm only doing 5 workouts a week). First couple of days went better than expected, I was headed to spinning classes, going on runs, doing at home workouts all to get to that glorious number. The sad thing is, I could tell in myself that I'd gained weight just from how heavy I felt when running, it really hit home hard.
AND THEN, the abdomen pain hit. This is still undiagnosed but it basically put a stop to everything. I had to leave the gym early, I couldn't eat anything, it was awful. I'm currently awaiting results from a blood test so hopefully it's sorted out soon.
Starting my new lifestyle on Monday, I was 3 lbs lighter by Friday, and now it's Monday again, I'm still at that weight. I really wanted lose at least 12 by the time I go on my summer holidays (which is three weeks away!!!) Although it's not looking likely with the intensity of my workouts at the moment, I'm going to give it my best shot, and as long as the number's going down, that's good.
Thanks for listening to my ramble this week, hopefully there'll be better news and better results next week!
CJ x
Monday, 22 June 2015
Friday, 29 May 2015
The Fitness Diaries: WEEK 12
This week's theme: Gym Classes!
Ok, so you know the saying: It takes 4 weeks for you to notice a change, 8 weeks for you friends and family to notice and 12 weeks for the rest of the world. Well, by my calculations, everyone should have noticed a change in my body by now, but I personally don't see it all that much. Not through lack of trying either! I am noticing I'm starting to slim down in places, and I am SO much more capable than I've ever been, I just want to see more results, you know?
So, as always, switching up my routine. I swapped 2 out of 3 workouts this week for classes (yay!) The first was a cycle class and the second was legs, bums and tums. If you've been to either of these classes before, you'll know the score, if you haven't, you're in for a treat.
So I have love/hate relationship with cycle classes, like I do with most exercise, however this one I feel just takes the cake. It's so good, it's the first time that I've ever physically felt and seen the sweat dripping from my face and body (sorry - tmi), and it just overall feels amazing. Doing speed intervals and climbing intervals and even though it's killing you, being able to keep up just feels so satisfying. However, if you're considering taking part in a cycle class, clear your schedule for a few day after that because there is NO WAY you'll be able to move like a normal human being, and that's not just from aching muscles. Not sure if this is the same for both men and women, but I'm just warning you, you might bruise.
Legs, bums and tums however, was amazing. It's so good to mix up your routine and do it with other people! It motivates you so much more. This was great a we had intervals for legs, glutes and abs. There was still some cardio involved, but not all that much. The one thing I CANNOT do though, is burpees. I just can't cope, it's so difficult. And this class usually contains a lot of burpees and jumping around in general, I managed it, not without some difficulty.
Fitness classes benefit you so much in the sense that it gives you motivation when you're lacking some. You don't have to tell yourself what to do, somebody else is doing tat for you. Al you have to worry about is actually doing it. I feel like I burn way more calories and work a lot harder when I'm following a video and especially when I'm in a class with other people, you don't want to be the first one to give u after all.
As of this week as well, I'm going to start weighing myself and actually keeping track of my progress, which of course, I will keep you updated with for any pounds lost/gained. It's been way over a year since I last weighted myself and I'm actually terrified of the outcome.
Favourite at-home workout of the week comes from X hit Daily, I love this workout because even though it's called legs, bums and tums, it's really an all body workout and really helps back strength too!
CJ x
If you've missed previous weeks find them here:
Week 11
Week 10
Ok, so you know the saying: It takes 4 weeks for you to notice a change, 8 weeks for you friends and family to notice and 12 weeks for the rest of the world. Well, by my calculations, everyone should have noticed a change in my body by now, but I personally don't see it all that much. Not through lack of trying either! I am noticing I'm starting to slim down in places, and I am SO much more capable than I've ever been, I just want to see more results, you know?
So, as always, switching up my routine. I swapped 2 out of 3 workouts this week for classes (yay!) The first was a cycle class and the second was legs, bums and tums. If you've been to either of these classes before, you'll know the score, if you haven't, you're in for a treat.
So I have love/hate relationship with cycle classes, like I do with most exercise, however this one I feel just takes the cake. It's so good, it's the first time that I've ever physically felt and seen the sweat dripping from my face and body (sorry - tmi), and it just overall feels amazing. Doing speed intervals and climbing intervals and even though it's killing you, being able to keep up just feels so satisfying. However, if you're considering taking part in a cycle class, clear your schedule for a few day after that because there is NO WAY you'll be able to move like a normal human being, and that's not just from aching muscles. Not sure if this is the same for both men and women, but I'm just warning you, you might bruise.
Legs, bums and tums however, was amazing. It's so good to mix up your routine and do it with other people! It motivates you so much more. This was great a we had intervals for legs, glutes and abs. There was still some cardio involved, but not all that much. The one thing I CANNOT do though, is burpees. I just can't cope, it's so difficult. And this class usually contains a lot of burpees and jumping around in general, I managed it, not without some difficulty.
Fitness classes benefit you so much in the sense that it gives you motivation when you're lacking some. You don't have to tell yourself what to do, somebody else is doing tat for you. Al you have to worry about is actually doing it. I feel like I burn way more calories and work a lot harder when I'm following a video and especially when I'm in a class with other people, you don't want to be the first one to give u after all.
As of this week as well, I'm going to start weighing myself and actually keeping track of my progress, which of course, I will keep you updated with for any pounds lost/gained. It's been way over a year since I last weighted myself and I'm actually terrified of the outcome.
Favourite at-home workout of the week comes from X hit Daily, I love this workout because even though it's called legs, bums and tums, it's really an all body workout and really helps back strength too!
I hope you enjoyed this week's instalment! I'm really trying to fit some exercise in anywhere I can at the moment in between revision sessions! And I definitely want to start toning up for summer, only 7 weeks until my holiday now! Try to do the above workout 2 times and you will really feel it! Don't forget to stretch!CJ x
If you've missed previous weeks find them here:
Week 11
Week 10
Monday, 25 May 2015
How to Book a Group Holiday
Hello everybody,
Today I'm going to talk about booking group holidays. As you may know from my previous travel diaries, I have a case of the travel bug. I love to experience new places and I mainly go with just Ben. Now, it's not hard to organise two people and since my boyfriend rarely has any input (probably for his own good anyway), I find it really easy to plan a trip with him. However, this year I decided to go on a group holiday to Berlin and it is the most difficult thing to try and organise! Here are my dos and don'ts of group holiday bookings:
Fortunately, my holiday booking all seems to be going well and everyone appears to be really excited for everything we're going to do.
Hopefully this helped you on booking your group holidays - I'll be sharing more tips closer to the time! And I'm super excited to explore this place!
CJ x
Today I'm going to talk about booking group holidays. As you may know from my previous travel diaries, I have a case of the travel bug. I love to experience new places and I mainly go with just Ben. Now, it's not hard to organise two people and since my boyfriend rarely has any input (probably for his own good anyway), I find it really easy to plan a trip with him. However, this year I decided to go on a group holiday to Berlin and it is the most difficult thing to try and organise! Here are my dos and don'ts of group holiday bookings:
- Do have an idea of where you want to go
- Don't ask everybody for their personal ideal destination (they will have conflicting ideas)
- Do be open to people's opinions/experiences of cities
- Don't disregard what others think
- Do be open to more people coming
- Don't make it an open invite (I know this is a contradiction of the last point, but when I say be open to others coming, I mean girlfriends, other close friends etc., but an open invite would mean practically anyone could come but this is a disaster for organisation)
- Do book it all together, but with separate names on the bookings (book in twos or threes)
- Don't leave it up to everyone when they book it. They might not be able to get the same flights/hotel etc.
- Do keep in mind everyone's budget
- Don't amend the holiday for one person/couple.
- Do - all pay the same amount.
- Don't split payment up in order of bookings etc. We have a person in a single room and why would it be fair if they paid £310 when everyone else was paying £220?
- Do - if everyone's booking on one person's card - make sure you transfer the money FIRST
- Don't agree to pay for someone as a loan. This seems mean, but if they can't afford it now, they will be unlikely to afford it in the near future and also unlikely to want to pay for attractions while there.
- Do take into account everybody's interests. If somebody really hates museums, don't have a whole day dedicated to them - just do one or two
- Don't plan it hour by hour. Having an idea of what you want to do is good, but there is no way you'll be able to stick to an hourly schedule if there's more than 4 of you.
- Do keep all boarding passes together and well organised.
- Don't leave everyone with their own - one person is bound to lose theirs.
- Do be laid back and enjoy your holiday!
Fortunately, my holiday booking all seems to be going well and everyone appears to be really excited for everything we're going to do.
Hopefully this helped you on booking your group holidays - I'll be sharing more tips closer to the time! And I'm super excited to explore this place!
CJ x
Friday, 22 May 2015
The Fitness Diaries: WEEK 11
Hola,
How did we get to week 11 already?! Like, seriously, how.
This week's theme issssss: How to Eat Clean
So, as you may know I'm trying so hard to get myself in gear and I'm finally starting to see results! I can run faster for longer and I can push myself harder than I've ever been able to before. It's really amazing how far so little time can take you. I've even started to incorporate more strength training into my routine (I'm really wanting to work on my back and arms lately). But I don't think that's the reason I'm seeing my physical results.
The reason I think I'm seeing results on the outside, is the work I'm putting in on the inside. In other words, my nutrition. I'm so proud of the way I'm eating lately, and yes, some things may come easier to me because not only to I tend to avoid bad foods, but I don't particularly like them either. Chocolate, coke, cheese and salt are just a few examples. One thing I found that benefitted me soooo much was giving up caffeine. I would always walk around feeling bloated and sluggish during the day and once I cut the coffee, it was gone. So, this week is a little different. Here are my top tips for clean eating!
1. Cut the caffeine. Although most diets don't really comment much on caffeine, apart from saying one cup a day won't do you any harm, I wouldn't recommend it. Some sources actually say it helps you metabolism, which it does to an extent. But too much caffeine can actually cause stress and anxiety levels to rise faster than you have time to work them off. My tip? Stick to one cup a day AT MOST, or simply switch to decaf.
2. Decline the drinking. (Do you like my alliteration? I do). Similar to tip numero uno is that you really need to think about the fact boozing WILL make you bloated, it'll also make you dehydrated and has TONNES of calories in it. When you really feel like a drink, go for it. But if it isn't that necessary, maybe keep the nights out to a minimum.
3. Don't drink your calories! Even more similarly, you really need to consider where your calorie and sugar intake is coming from, and it's most likely going to be that 4th glass of Dr Pepper I'm (I mean you're) drinking. Do you know how much hidden sugar is in a 500ml bottle of fizzy drink? Like more than half your daily intake. I'm basically telling you not to drink anything but water.
4. Chug some water. Wait a sec, didn't I say this blog was about clean eating? Regardless, drinking water can really aid weightloss and health. It's so pure and natural and as long as it's clean will never do you any harm. Drinking at least 2 litres of water is so beneficial it helps metabolism, energy, obviously hydration, your skin feels better, you brain works harder. Just maybe impose a tactic like use a 1 litre bottle to help motivate you to drink it.
5. Stop with processed foods. I know it's hard, McDonald's, pizza, even frozen ready meals are so hard to cut back on! But I realised since my shopping contained NO processed foods, my body has greatly improved. When I say no processed foods this is nothing but pure ingredients, vegetables, meat, carbs, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less.
6. Whole grain. EVERYTHING. I never understood people who don't like wholegrain foods, they're so much better for you. My recommendations would be to switch bread, pasta, rice, even sugar from white to brown. Whole grain helps aid healthy digestion while fighting the bloat.
7. Learn to live without sugar. I'm not saying you all have to go out and buy the 'I quit sugar for life' book. But if you're anything like me, you'll have a serious sweet tooth and nothing tastes good unless it's sweet. We just have to learn to use natural sweeteners like fruit and honey instead. I know, it's so hard!
8. Skip the added salt. This is a MUST. But also something I've never done. Salt is so bad for you, and once you cut back on processed, packaged foods, you'll really start to notice the difference in your daily salt intake. Yes, it is there to add flavour, but there are so many substitutes for that and adding salt is just unnecessary.
9. 5 a day. This really should have been point 5. But I can't express how important it is to have fresh produce in your diet. It doesn't even need to be straight of the shelves. If you're worried about having so much fresh food in the house it might go off, freeze some. I keep frozen raspberries and mango, as well as mushrooms and peppers just for when the mood strikes. Starting off you day with some fruit will have you in such a good mood too!
10. Control your serving size. And by this I don't just mean cut back as a whole, but watch how much of each food group you're eating. For dinner, for example, half of your meal should be veggies, one quarter should be protein and one quarter should be carbohydrates. Most women tend to put carbs first, protein second and veggies last and most men put protein first, carbs second and veggies last. Oh no. Not how we play it, the more colourful your plate, the better too!
So there are my favourite clean eating tips! I full understand that I'm not a nutritionist and everybody's bodies work differently BUT these tips have definitely worked for me. You don't even have to do all of them, but if you're someone who drinks coffee and coke and lives off white bread, carbs and ready meals, then definitely try to incorporate some of these tips into your life! Hope you found this useful!
Until next week,
CJ x
How did we get to week 11 already?! Like, seriously, how.
This week's theme issssss: How to Eat Clean
So, as you may know I'm trying so hard to get myself in gear and I'm finally starting to see results! I can run faster for longer and I can push myself harder than I've ever been able to before. It's really amazing how far so little time can take you. I've even started to incorporate more strength training into my routine (I'm really wanting to work on my back and arms lately). But I don't think that's the reason I'm seeing my physical results.
The reason I think I'm seeing results on the outside, is the work I'm putting in on the inside. In other words, my nutrition. I'm so proud of the way I'm eating lately, and yes, some things may come easier to me because not only to I tend to avoid bad foods, but I don't particularly like them either. Chocolate, coke, cheese and salt are just a few examples. One thing I found that benefitted me soooo much was giving up caffeine. I would always walk around feeling bloated and sluggish during the day and once I cut the coffee, it was gone. So, this week is a little different. Here are my top tips for clean eating!
1. Cut the caffeine. Although most diets don't really comment much on caffeine, apart from saying one cup a day won't do you any harm, I wouldn't recommend it. Some sources actually say it helps you metabolism, which it does to an extent. But too much caffeine can actually cause stress and anxiety levels to rise faster than you have time to work them off. My tip? Stick to one cup a day AT MOST, or simply switch to decaf.
2. Decline the drinking. (Do you like my alliteration? I do). Similar to tip numero uno is that you really need to think about the fact boozing WILL make you bloated, it'll also make you dehydrated and has TONNES of calories in it. When you really feel like a drink, go for it. But if it isn't that necessary, maybe keep the nights out to a minimum.
3. Don't drink your calories! Even more similarly, you really need to consider where your calorie and sugar intake is coming from, and it's most likely going to be that 4th glass of Dr Pepper I'm (I mean you're) drinking. Do you know how much hidden sugar is in a 500ml bottle of fizzy drink? Like more than half your daily intake. I'm basically telling you not to drink anything but water.
4. Chug some water. Wait a sec, didn't I say this blog was about clean eating? Regardless, drinking water can really aid weightloss and health. It's so pure and natural and as long as it's clean will never do you any harm. Drinking at least 2 litres of water is so beneficial it helps metabolism, energy, obviously hydration, your skin feels better, you brain works harder. Just maybe impose a tactic like use a 1 litre bottle to help motivate you to drink it.
5. Stop with processed foods. I know it's hard, McDonald's, pizza, even frozen ready meals are so hard to cut back on! But I realised since my shopping contained NO processed foods, my body has greatly improved. When I say no processed foods this is nothing but pure ingredients, vegetables, meat, carbs, that's it. Nothing more, nothing less.
6. Whole grain. EVERYTHING. I never understood people who don't like wholegrain foods, they're so much better for you. My recommendations would be to switch bread, pasta, rice, even sugar from white to brown. Whole grain helps aid healthy digestion while fighting the bloat.
7. Learn to live without sugar. I'm not saying you all have to go out and buy the 'I quit sugar for life' book. But if you're anything like me, you'll have a serious sweet tooth and nothing tastes good unless it's sweet. We just have to learn to use natural sweeteners like fruit and honey instead. I know, it's so hard!
8. Skip the added salt. This is a MUST. But also something I've never done. Salt is so bad for you, and once you cut back on processed, packaged foods, you'll really start to notice the difference in your daily salt intake. Yes, it is there to add flavour, but there are so many substitutes for that and adding salt is just unnecessary.
9. 5 a day. This really should have been point 5. But I can't express how important it is to have fresh produce in your diet. It doesn't even need to be straight of the shelves. If you're worried about having so much fresh food in the house it might go off, freeze some. I keep frozen raspberries and mango, as well as mushrooms and peppers just for when the mood strikes. Starting off you day with some fruit will have you in such a good mood too!
10. Control your serving size. And by this I don't just mean cut back as a whole, but watch how much of each food group you're eating. For dinner, for example, half of your meal should be veggies, one quarter should be protein and one quarter should be carbohydrates. Most women tend to put carbs first, protein second and veggies last and most men put protein first, carbs second and veggies last. Oh no. Not how we play it, the more colourful your plate, the better too!
So there are my favourite clean eating tips! I full understand that I'm not a nutritionist and everybody's bodies work differently BUT these tips have definitely worked for me. You don't even have to do all of them, but if you're someone who drinks coffee and coke and lives off white bread, carbs and ready meals, then definitely try to incorporate some of these tips into your life! Hope you found this useful!
Until next week,
CJ x
Monday, 18 May 2015
The Paris Diaries: 5 Best and Worst Things!
Hello everybody!
And welcome to my final instalment of the Paris Diaries! (*cry*) Today I'm going to talk about my five favourite and most disliked experiences of my trip. This varies a lot from food to attractions to general experiences. I hope you like it and let me know what you're most liked and disliked parts of Paris are.
Worst
5. The amount of armed police EVERYWHERE. To some people, this may not be a bad thing and I'm sure a few did feel more secure in the presence of these police especially since the Charlie Hebdo attack. However, for me, I have never seen this kind of thing. It's not like I'm not use to cities, yes I've seen guards outside Buckingham Palace etc. But this felt a lot worse. The first armed guard we saw was just walking through a car park next to our hotel. They were in groups of 3 outside the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, everywhere. And I for one actually felt less at ease because it was if there was a threat to be protected from. Not what you expect in Paris
4. The randomness of shop opening hours. Once again, this wasn't a massive disappointment but it was just strange. We didn't make it to Galleries Lafeyette because we just never knew when it was open! Some shopping districts were open till midnight, some were closed on Sundays, some were closed in the middle of the day. It was just very unpredictable
3. The price of beer. Now I'm getting more into the things that really angered me. Yes, I do understand that Paris is a city and it is expected for it to be more expensive than anything that I'm used to (bearing in mind that I come from the North of England where I'm not used to paying more than £4 for a beer - and that's in a city). HOWEVER, there was absolutely no need for the cheapest place we found to have a drink to be Hard Rock Café. No. Previously, that was the most expensive place to drink but we were so relieved to see that Belgian Beer was only 7 euros. I'm about to make you all faint right now but Ben actually paid 20 euros for a beer in Le Crazy Horse, not even a pint, 20 euros. No.
2. The queues. Sometimes unavoidable, but some of them were just unnecessary. I'm British. I am used to queuing. Queuing for the Eiffel Tower, yes I don't mind it is the most visited attraction in Paris. Queue jumpers? Oh no. You know why? There is absolutely nowhere for you to go once you get past the person you're jumping, you just have to stand there. But people really didn't care. The queue for Versailles was absolutely insane! It zigzagged all around the courtyard and it just seemed like everybody in Paris was there. Argh. It just bugged me.
1. The scammers. Absolute hands down WORST thing about Paris. And I could sit here and tell you that once you know about the scams, you can avoid them, but you can't. We knew there were ladies with petitions asking for donations, we knew about the gold ring scam (didn't get that fortunately), we even knew about the bracelets that people would try to put on you. But there was no way of knowing that if you refused one of these bracelets, that 3 men would grab your arms and drag you away from the security of the crowds to call you disrespectful and racist Seriously, for not wanting a bracelet. My advice to you - pretend you don't even understand them.
Best
5. The gardens. Yes, yes. 'Why Paris? There are gardens everywhere in the world!' And I do agree, but there's something about Paris in the Spring. On a good sunny day, everything's in bloom and everyone's out. Just strolling around the gardens is like being in a postcard. Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin du Tuilleries, the gardens at Versailles and next to the Eiffel Tower. Every day we sat in a different one. You can just act like a Parisian. Sit and eat your croissant, read your book and take in the scenery.
4. The public transport system. Once again, this is a love/hate for some people. If you can work it out and at least act like you're confident with it, it's amazing. Ben and I just took the plunge. As soon as we touched down at Charles de Gualle, we headed downstairs to it's train station and just did it. We pretty much got the metro or walked everywhere. The only time we got a taxi was after we saw a mugging so nobody can blame us! The metro is so efficient, always on time, easy to work out and just great.
3. The food - crepes, macaroons, croissants- need I say more? Like oh my god. I know you can get this stuff In England but it's nothing like the food in Paris. I had my first taste of Macaroons from Laduree, which were INCREDIBLE. The crepes under the Eiffel Tower are amazing. And pastries are just mouth watering, everything's so good. Aaaaah. One thing I will say is, it might have been my choice of restaurant but the mussels came in second best to the ones in Brussels, just saying.
2. The architecture. I'm serious when I say this is breath taking. But then pretty much every European city has stunning architecture. There's just a surprise around every corner and I don't know but Paris just feels so Parisian! I can't describe it, it was everything I was expecting and more. There were monuments hiding in the most unpredictable places and beauty hidden extraordinarily well.
1. The Eiffel Tower SPARKLES. Yep, it actually sparkles. Now I hear you saying 'Why is this your number one?!' 'I was slightly underwhelmed by the Eiffel Tower.' But for me, this was everything I was waiting for. I was pretty used to seeing the Tower by day 3 as you could see it as soon as we walked out of the hotel, but on the final day I decided to time it to catch the twinkle lights. Every hour after sunset, on the hour, the twinkle lights come on for about 3 minutes I think. When I saw them I actually cried, it was so amazing and definitely worth timing your outings around!
OK, so there's my top 5 best and worst things about Paris! It was an incredible experience and I would love to return regardless of some of the bad points. I hope you enjoyed this and if you have any good or bad points that I've missed, let me know!
CJ x
And welcome to my final instalment of the Paris Diaries! (*cry*) Today I'm going to talk about my five favourite and most disliked experiences of my trip. This varies a lot from food to attractions to general experiences. I hope you like it and let me know what you're most liked and disliked parts of Paris are.
Worst
5. The amount of armed police EVERYWHERE. To some people, this may not be a bad thing and I'm sure a few did feel more secure in the presence of these police especially since the Charlie Hebdo attack. However, for me, I have never seen this kind of thing. It's not like I'm not use to cities, yes I've seen guards outside Buckingham Palace etc. But this felt a lot worse. The first armed guard we saw was just walking through a car park next to our hotel. They were in groups of 3 outside the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, everywhere. And I for one actually felt less at ease because it was if there was a threat to be protected from. Not what you expect in Paris
4. The randomness of shop opening hours. Once again, this wasn't a massive disappointment but it was just strange. We didn't make it to Galleries Lafeyette because we just never knew when it was open! Some shopping districts were open till midnight, some were closed on Sundays, some were closed in the middle of the day. It was just very unpredictable
3. The price of beer. Now I'm getting more into the things that really angered me. Yes, I do understand that Paris is a city and it is expected for it to be more expensive than anything that I'm used to (bearing in mind that I come from the North of England where I'm not used to paying more than £4 for a beer - and that's in a city). HOWEVER, there was absolutely no need for the cheapest place we found to have a drink to be Hard Rock Café. No. Previously, that was the most expensive place to drink but we were so relieved to see that Belgian Beer was only 7 euros. I'm about to make you all faint right now but Ben actually paid 20 euros for a beer in Le Crazy Horse, not even a pint, 20 euros. No.
2. The queues. Sometimes unavoidable, but some of them were just unnecessary. I'm British. I am used to queuing. Queuing for the Eiffel Tower, yes I don't mind it is the most visited attraction in Paris. Queue jumpers? Oh no. You know why? There is absolutely nowhere for you to go once you get past the person you're jumping, you just have to stand there. But people really didn't care. The queue for Versailles was absolutely insane! It zigzagged all around the courtyard and it just seemed like everybody in Paris was there. Argh. It just bugged me.
1. The scammers. Absolute hands down WORST thing about Paris. And I could sit here and tell you that once you know about the scams, you can avoid them, but you can't. We knew there were ladies with petitions asking for donations, we knew about the gold ring scam (didn't get that fortunately), we even knew about the bracelets that people would try to put on you. But there was no way of knowing that if you refused one of these bracelets, that 3 men would grab your arms and drag you away from the security of the crowds to call you disrespectful and racist Seriously, for not wanting a bracelet. My advice to you - pretend you don't even understand them.
Best
5. The gardens. Yes, yes. 'Why Paris? There are gardens everywhere in the world!' And I do agree, but there's something about Paris in the Spring. On a good sunny day, everything's in bloom and everyone's out. Just strolling around the gardens is like being in a postcard. Jardin du Luxembourg, Jardin du Tuilleries, the gardens at Versailles and next to the Eiffel Tower. Every day we sat in a different one. You can just act like a Parisian. Sit and eat your croissant, read your book and take in the scenery.
4. The public transport system. Once again, this is a love/hate for some people. If you can work it out and at least act like you're confident with it, it's amazing. Ben and I just took the plunge. As soon as we touched down at Charles de Gualle, we headed downstairs to it's train station and just did it. We pretty much got the metro or walked everywhere. The only time we got a taxi was after we saw a mugging so nobody can blame us! The metro is so efficient, always on time, easy to work out and just great.
3. The food - crepes, macaroons, croissants- need I say more? Like oh my god. I know you can get this stuff In England but it's nothing like the food in Paris. I had my first taste of Macaroons from Laduree, which were INCREDIBLE. The crepes under the Eiffel Tower are amazing. And pastries are just mouth watering, everything's so good. Aaaaah. One thing I will say is, it might have been my choice of restaurant but the mussels came in second best to the ones in Brussels, just saying.
2. The architecture. I'm serious when I say this is breath taking. But then pretty much every European city has stunning architecture. There's just a surprise around every corner and I don't know but Paris just feels so Parisian! I can't describe it, it was everything I was expecting and more. There were monuments hiding in the most unpredictable places and beauty hidden extraordinarily well.
1. The Eiffel Tower SPARKLES. Yep, it actually sparkles. Now I hear you saying 'Why is this your number one?!' 'I was slightly underwhelmed by the Eiffel Tower.' But for me, this was everything I was waiting for. I was pretty used to seeing the Tower by day 3 as you could see it as soon as we walked out of the hotel, but on the final day I decided to time it to catch the twinkle lights. Every hour after sunset, on the hour, the twinkle lights come on for about 3 minutes I think. When I saw them I actually cried, it was so amazing and definitely worth timing your outings around!
OK, so there's my top 5 best and worst things about Paris! It was an incredible experience and I would love to return regardless of some of the bad points. I hope you enjoyed this and if you have any good or bad points that I've missed, let me know!
CJ x
Friday, 15 May 2015
The Fitness Diaries - WEEK 10
Hi guys!
This week I'm a woman on a mission! I have 10 weeks until I hit up the beautiful Adriatic country of Croatia on my summer holiday! Say whaaaat? When did summer come around?! So I am squeezing workouts in everywhere I can.
This week's theme: No regrets
So as I said, I'm squeezing workouts in EVERYWHERE. I only have a few days until my end of year exams start, I am in uni 4 days a week, work 3 days a week etc. So whenever I get a spare minute, I'm usually found reading or making notes getting ready for my exams (property law is a killer). But this blog isn't about revision ... it's about fitness. And I would be lying if I sat here and told you that I'm managing to go to the gym 3 times a week for an hour and a half each session. No. That is not happening. I might make it to the gym once, maybe twice. But I can say that I feel like I'm getting my movements in.
As usual, I am using these quick 5 minute video workouts thanks to Blogilates - I seriously love her. But I'm also managing to squeeze in a few of my own. I love doing 100-200 jumping jacks first thing in the morning. I squat while I'm brushing my teeth. If I have a spare few minutes, I run up and down the stairs a few times. Of course, this means I don't know exactly how many calories I'm burning, but I do feel the burn! Especially when it comes to burpees. Omg actually attempt doing around 20 burpees a day. I think I'm dead.
I also attempted Cassey's I really like you Squat Challenge and oh my this hurt. I for sure felt the pain the next day but it was oh so worth it. I'm so sick of being unhappy with my body and my level of fitness that I am making a change, no matter how small. And that's why I write these blogposts, so I can keep you all up to date with my progress, motivate you, motivate myself, and so on.
I am also debating running a 10k in Manchester soon, or maybe trying the tough mudder challenge. I feel like doing one of these races will really give me the push I need to take running seriously.
As I'm not consistently gymming it, I have to make sure I'm eating healthy. My current breakfast consists of porridge with a side of fruit. Mid morning snack is usually fruit or carrot sticks. Lunch will normally be a salad, soup or sandwich. And my dinner may be a bit more unpredictable (I'm working on it!) The main point I have to reiterate though is that you absolutely have to watch what you're snacking on when you're revising or working. As tempting as it may be to get the crisps or chocolate or fatty foods, you need to stick to fruit, veg and nuts both for your brain and body.
This week I did attempt a really tough fat-blasting treadmill workout courtesy of PopSugar Fitness. As I've mentioned before, I am NOT a consistent runner. My friends can get on a treadmill and run at like 5/5.5mph for half an hour. No. Not me. I can run at 5.5mph for 5 minutes and then I seriously need to catch my breath. What I am better with, is intervals. I can run at 10mph for a minute and then walk at 4mph for a minute and that's how I like to run best (I am working on it though). So I thought, interval run - perfect for me! I can handle this. Oh my gosh I was wrong. There were some parts of this I couldn't even do. I'll link it below for you all to try too!
Let me know how you're fitness is going through the dreaded exam period!
Hopefully we'll all be back on track in no time!
CJ x
Check out my favourite workouts of the week:
Check out my previous fitness blogs here:
Week 9
Week 8
This week I'm a woman on a mission! I have 10 weeks until I hit up the beautiful Adriatic country of Croatia on my summer holiday! Say whaaaat? When did summer come around?! So I am squeezing workouts in everywhere I can.
This week's theme: No regrets
So as I said, I'm squeezing workouts in EVERYWHERE. I only have a few days until my end of year exams start, I am in uni 4 days a week, work 3 days a week etc. So whenever I get a spare minute, I'm usually found reading or making notes getting ready for my exams (property law is a killer). But this blog isn't about revision ... it's about fitness. And I would be lying if I sat here and told you that I'm managing to go to the gym 3 times a week for an hour and a half each session. No. That is not happening. I might make it to the gym once, maybe twice. But I can say that I feel like I'm getting my movements in.
As usual, I am using these quick 5 minute video workouts thanks to Blogilates - I seriously love her. But I'm also managing to squeeze in a few of my own. I love doing 100-200 jumping jacks first thing in the morning. I squat while I'm brushing my teeth. If I have a spare few minutes, I run up and down the stairs a few times. Of course, this means I don't know exactly how many calories I'm burning, but I do feel the burn! Especially when it comes to burpees. Omg actually attempt doing around 20 burpees a day. I think I'm dead.
I also attempted Cassey's I really like you Squat Challenge and oh my this hurt. I for sure felt the pain the next day but it was oh so worth it. I'm so sick of being unhappy with my body and my level of fitness that I am making a change, no matter how small. And that's why I write these blogposts, so I can keep you all up to date with my progress, motivate you, motivate myself, and so on.
I am also debating running a 10k in Manchester soon, or maybe trying the tough mudder challenge. I feel like doing one of these races will really give me the push I need to take running seriously.
As I'm not consistently gymming it, I have to make sure I'm eating healthy. My current breakfast consists of porridge with a side of fruit. Mid morning snack is usually fruit or carrot sticks. Lunch will normally be a salad, soup or sandwich. And my dinner may be a bit more unpredictable (I'm working on it!) The main point I have to reiterate though is that you absolutely have to watch what you're snacking on when you're revising or working. As tempting as it may be to get the crisps or chocolate or fatty foods, you need to stick to fruit, veg and nuts both for your brain and body.
This week I did attempt a really tough fat-blasting treadmill workout courtesy of PopSugar Fitness. As I've mentioned before, I am NOT a consistent runner. My friends can get on a treadmill and run at like 5/5.5mph for half an hour. No. Not me. I can run at 5.5mph for 5 minutes and then I seriously need to catch my breath. What I am better with, is intervals. I can run at 10mph for a minute and then walk at 4mph for a minute and that's how I like to run best (I am working on it though). So I thought, interval run - perfect for me! I can handle this. Oh my gosh I was wrong. There were some parts of this I couldn't even do. I'll link it below for you all to try too!
Let me know how you're fitness is going through the dreaded exam period!
Hopefully we'll all be back on track in no time!
CJ x
Check out my favourite workouts of the week:
Check out my previous fitness blogs here:
Week 9
Week 8
Wednesday, 13 May 2015
How to Revise for Exams!
OK people, it's that time of year again ... Exam season. Everyone I know from people in their final year in their degree (5th years for medics/law students) right down to my year 6-ers at work taking their SATs is stressed out. But we need to chill, and take some advice from someone who may or may not have revised for their GCSEs and A-Levels (not). However, this someone has friends and co-workers and teachers and everyone in between that CAN revise, and may I say, are pretty darn good at it. So I've taken an interest, mainly for you lovely people, and devised some of my favourite revision coping mechanisms.
1. Start Early. This may be coming a tad late for some of you, but it's never too early to start revising. Even just a little bit. Just to get yourself used to it and come on, we all know it's better than leaving it till the final 24 hours and then trying to cram it all in at once
2. Preparation is key. This comes from something I've learnt while at university. Revision is SO much easier if you attend all the lectures, do all of the seminar prep and the required reading. This is something that I have failed miserably at. I am currently up to my January reading for Contract Law. And I have to say, revising the topics that I did do the reading for is way easier. Same goes for seminars, this is especially with my Property module. It kind of comes back to you if you've done it before. So, take note for next year (sorry).
3. Make revision timetables and checklists. Splitting your modules up topic by topic into a list that you can tick off when you've done makes it so much more satisfying. This way you can see how far you've come, and how much you have left. Timetables are also a good idea for those A-level students out there. Make sure you don't revise one topic all at once though ... which leads me on to my next point.
4. Delegate your revision. Do not, I repeat do NOT revise one topic per day. This won't work. Even worse is those who try to revise all of their maths course, then their English, then their Spanish, just no. It's been scientifically proven that after 20-30 minutes of the same content, the brain retains less info. So it's such a good idea to set your timer. Spread out your revision into your separate categories. And do short, 15 minute bouts of revision. This has been so good for me.
5. Colour code. I know, I know. It's my favourite thing to tell people. But if everything has a different colour, then it's easier to pick up where you left off in each topic, and nothing gets too mixed up.
6. Find a quiet space. (Preferably not your bed - why are naps SO much more appealing when revising?!) This is key. This can be anywhere. The library, your desk at home, your garden as it's getting nicer outside, even your grandparent's house. My music teacher is kind enough to let me go there to revise sometimes if there's too many people at home.
7. Do not waste your day. Get up and get to it! Waking up early and having a good breakfast, even going for a jog, will free your mind and make you more inclined to retain information when studying. As the evening gets closer, there are more distractions around, people are coming back from work, the pub is more inviting and Game of Thrones is way more appealing than Jeremy Kyle.
8. Condense your notes - then condense some more. This is something that I feel really works for debates or aural exams. If you have pages and pages of notes from lectures, seminars, workshops, readings, you're just not going to learn them all. But if you have say, less than 1 or 2 pages per topic or only flash cards for debates, it's going to be worthwhile.
9. Record your notes. This is AMAZING. Future lawyers and medics (or anyone really) take note. Recording your notes onto your iPhone for example is such an efficient way of revising if your life is insanely busy. Take me for example, I am a law student who has a 45 minute drive to and from uni. I work part time 20 minutes away from where I live and I also like to go to the gym 3+ times a week. Recording my notes means that I can listen to them when I'm driving, when I'm doing my make up and even when I'm on the treadmill. Erm HELLO shortcut!
10. Reward yourself. This may come as a shock to some of you (not). But I find the best way to motivate myself is to reward myself with ... wait for it ... SHOES of course. I have in mind the pair of shoes I want, and I'm not allowed to buy them unless I feel confident in one of my modules. The more I revise, the more confident I'll be and the more likely I'll be able to get the shoes. If you have a sweet tooth a great way to get your required reading done is to strategically place sweets in your book too.
11. Flash cards. This is a bonus tip for you all. Up until this very point of me writing this blogpost, I always copied out chapter summaries to revise. But today, (Yes TODAY - Tuesday 12th May) I discovered the power of the flash cards. I have a multiple choice exam on Thursday and I can't tell you how much these flash cards are helping me out. There like a gift from the gods, (more like a gift from my little Italian beauty of a friend at uni). But honestly, I have never learnt so much in a single night. I can't believe I've got up until this point without using them. They may not be for everybody, but there's no harm in trying!
There you have it! My favourite tips on how to be a revision master! There are other tips out there like placing post-it notes around the house, and using friends and family members to test your skills. However, I find these tips are the most unique and I guess that it depends on what kind of learner you are to know if they're the most successful. But I for one will be using these strategies for my upcoming exams and I hope they do you some good too! If you have any more tips, please leave them in the comments below. I'll talk to you next time and good luck!
CJ x
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