Yoga time!

Yoga is always been one of those things I would love to be good at. I mean just saying 'I do yoga' sounds good! However I have only ever been to one class and the rest of my practise happens occasionally at home.

I get frustrated when I can't do things straight away, well, I obviously didn't expect to be able to this after a few sessions of yoga:

I mean.....how?! That must take some AMAZING core strength!

But then I got thinking, taking inspiration from Amie over at Running on Healthy, I didn't start running full marathons a week after I started to run! It took me over three years to get to that point. During the past three years I haven't exactly been focusing on doing a marathon, I never thought I would do that, I just enjoyed the process and the feeling of my legs and lungs getting stronger after every run!

So, I need to apply this to my yoga practise, Hell, I mean I couldn't even do a Downward Facing Dog when i started this DVD:

...But now I can! I am even getting better at Chaturanga Dandasana. That stuff is harder then it looks and I am usually shaking all over the place! After I am finished I feel soo much better about myself. I feel stronger and more...whole? If that makes sense?

The DVD above is great I have had it for ages but only use it occasionally (needs to change!). It is great it has a selection of different workouts from general yoga flow to back bends and yoga for arms. The only other yoga equipment I use is a cheap Yoga mat I bought off eBay some time ago. Its okay but sometimes it can get a little slippy. Something I don't have but would love are some yoga blocks. Currently I am using a dictionary. Not the best of tools that's for sure!

So, here is to increasing my yoga practise, strength and flexibility.

4. Challenge the food police

After the past week and a bit of  making peace with food, I am slowing feeling more at peace with my eating habits. Previous 'bad' foods are treats not cheats. I know they will not offer my body any benefit, especially with heavy training. When I have had lots of treats my body feels sluggish and heavy but if I have food full of goodness and colour I feel stronger and feel I can run faster and work harder!

So now to challenge the food police!
This point is based on saying 'NO!' to the voices in your head that tell you you a 'bad' for eating cake and 'good' for restricting calories. I have seen too many of my friends and family, including myself struggle with low calorie limits and feeling awful when their brain screams for quick fixes and they gorge on cake, biscuits and sweets. This may have been part of the problem that lead me to think I was developing Binge Eating Disorder. I visited the doctor and they said although I have some of the characteristics, I don't have the eating disorder. So I have been working on not banning foods and trying to get lots of nutrients from healthy foods and having the odd treat.

Even when I try and remove that voice in my head telling me I'm 'bad' for eating cake/chips/pizza it is always reinforced by society and others close to me; 'should you eat that', 'are you supposed to be on diet?!' 'are you SURE you want to eat that?'. It.Drives.Me.Crazy. Out of all the intuitive eating principles, this one I am going to find the hardest. This voice is buried right down in the sub conscious and society is never going to change, we are all too skinny, too fat, curves are good curves are bad.

The most important thing is how you feel about yourself. Others don't matter, the strength to overcome how others see you will come in time. Changing how you feel about yourself and your own attitude to food will be the hardest, and there will be set backs but with time and lots of positive thinking we can change that small voice in our head by recognising it is there and thinking 'NO! I am not bad, I am treating myself after working hard all week'.

Fruitbroo Review and discounts!

Things just got exciting!!

Well in my last post I mentioned the Peach, Pear and Honey flavour and since I liked it so much I got in contact with Fruitbroo and they kindly agreed to send me some more flavours to try and review!

So a few days later these arrived:

 

 

Yum!! So I have Rhubarb, Apple and Cinnamon, Elderflower and Lime and Apple Ginger and Spice.

I couldn't have asked for a better set of flavours! I am currently enjoying a cup of rhubarb, apple and cinnamon and, seriously, it is like drinking rhubarb and apple crumble, and since it is only 15kcal per cup I can sleep easy when I have multiple in a day!

They state on the bottle that they are suitable for vegetarians but are also free from caffeine, gluten and dairy. They are also suitable during pregnancy.

The best bit? 100% natural! They are made from fructose, the sugars found in fruit and concentrated juice with a little natural flavour!

Inside the bottle is a sort of gel, you add 1 teaspoon per cup (or more if you like it stronger) and add boiling water then ta-da instant treat! Each bottle contains 15 servings!

Other flavours are just as good as the rhubarb one, the apple and ginger is comforting, almost like Christmas! Where as the elderflower one is refreshing. They do other flavours too like lemon and ginger which I am sure would be amazing to sooth coughs and colds!

My new favourite tea! Without the hassle of a teabag!

So here is the exciting news!

Use the code welcome40 for a huge 40% off your first order on the official Fruitbroo website !

NB: These views are my own, I asked Fruitbroo to send me these products to review.

3. Make peace with food

The world we live in has gone diet crazy! Even though reports say that obesity is on the rise, more and more diets come to light. From zero carbs to fasting there really is a huge selection of 'Fad' diets to try.

Now I am not one for fad diets, though I can't say I haven't thought about them. My sister tried the 5:2 diet where you eat very little calories (500 for women, 600 for men), however she had a fairly active job and is also very active in general and found that it didn't work for her. My Mam has tried some, low/no carbs to not eating much (until she was given lectures by my sister and I!). The only foods I have an issue with are high fat and high sugar, so cake, doughnuts, chocolate, cheesecake (mmm...cheesecake). At one point I told myself that I simply did not eat these foods, even when they are in the house since my other half can eat what he likes (no hard feelings against him....hmmm) and I got on quite well, however, I slipped back into eating them when I got to my goal weight and inevitably the weight came back on.

I have figured that what I need to do is make peace with these foods, having them once in a while is not going to harm me but realising that eating them all the time will effect my performance in running and in general well-being is important.

It is four and a half weeks until my holiday to Spain with my best friend! Now back when we booked it I had planed to at least be in the low 60's in kg but that hasn't happened. I'm okay with that though, doing Insanity has made me fitter, my Fit Tests are improving each time and I can run 13.1 miles still with not a lot of training (not advocating this, I doubt it is good for your body!). We have both made a fitness plan for these last few weeks including Spinning, weight training, running, Insanity and other gym classes. I am so excited to get started! We both bought new notebooks and plan to use these to record our workouts, foods and feelings. :) Lets get this done!

Honour your hunger and exciting new finds!

That's the whole point!

I am currently waiting to start my new nursing job in April, so that has left me a lot of time to think about one thing...food. On bad days I can watch the clock until it will hit 12 so I know it is time for lunch, and 3 so I can have my afternoon snack, whether I am hungry or not it is this awful cycle I have got myself in and I now rarely experience hunger. When I do, I actually enjoy the feeling! Hunger is something that if needed, can be ignored, which I do sometimes just to experience hunger and help my body realise it is not the end of the world to feel this way. Cravings due to triggers like boredom can be extremely hard to ignore and it seems like the feeling wont go away until you give in to what your brain is craving, when really it is just craving activity.

So this coming week I am going to focus on trying to recognise my hunger and start writing down when I feel I want to eat but am not hungry. Then try and think of other things I can do to fill my time.

Fitness news!
I completed the Brighton Half in 2:20:10. Not my best time, but considering I did little training for this due to Insanity workouts/Pole fitness/gym etc. Excuses...I know..

Now in less than a week I am completing The Nutty Challenge. 14k obstacle race. FunFun! To be honest if anything I can't wait to get it done and out of the way! I am VERY nervous about this and have no idea why I signed up!

Pole fitness is coming along, learning new moves, inverts and spins :)

Eating
Good and bad. Diet plans and calorie counting drive me crazy! This week I am going to try and make healthy choices with whole foods and less of the bad stuff. Watch this space!

In my recent weekly shop I came across these beauties:

Oh.My.Wow. Only 15kcal per cup and it tastes AMAZING! No joke. It is made with fructose, the natural sugar found in fruit and other fruit juices. This flavours is right up my street but I am interested in getting a hold of some more flavours.

Next is this, Peanut Hottie. I am so excited to try this! Peanut butter in a hot drink, I mean whaaaat?!

The Ten Principles of Intuitive Eating

I have seen this posted on a few blogs including Running on Healthy and Run Eat Repeat, and since I am slowly going crazy with all this calorie counting and avoiding higher calorie foods I thought this would be right up my street. So over the next few posts I will cover the Ten Principles of Intuitive Eating. Which is about recognising your hunger and eating what you want while thinking about how it will affect your feelings. The Ten Principles start with:


Reject the Diet Mentality

I started my journey at 13stone. A BMI of 30 and unhappy. I started running and counting calories to 1800kcal. Then moving onto Slimming World as I found not having to count calories amazing! However even though I lost over 1.5stones here the novelty went, and I went back to calorie counting, telling myself that I don't eat biscuits/crisps/chocolate and counted calories to 1600-1800kcal. Continuing to run to keep my exercise levels up and even added in a few exercise DVDs to increase the variety of my workouts. I eventually got down to 9stone 7lb but wanted to lose a little more. I also wanted to see if I could maintain this weight without counting the calories and to see if I could eat what I fancied without worrying. Well...no. I couldn't. The weight creeped back on until I reached 11st 5lb. Even as the weight increased I was constantly fixated on losing weight but it just kept going up, I tried many things to be healthy like going vegan and clean eating but they didn't work for me and I found myself craving like crazy. So back in with the calorie counting! This time to 1400kcal and eating back any exercise calories, monitored on MyFitnessPal. I can't say calorie counting doesn't work, it does. But it don't half get boring! Low calorie eating and once again avoiding certain calorie dense foods is slowly driving me crazy! Also with being surround by people on low calorie diets and cutting out food groups it had made me think that I really need to become at ease with food. My main problem is over eating in the afternoon, if I fancy something outside my allotted calories I will think about it until I burst and eat it in abundance, a long with many other foods since my brain has gone into over eating overdrive!

So! It is time to reject this 'diet mentality' and eat what feels good and let my body find its natural weight. My goal is 53kg (8st 5lb...i think), we will see what the future holds!

Next: 2. Honor Your Hunger

1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Respect your Fullness
6. Discover your Satisfaction Factor
7. Honor your Feelings Without Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise
10. Honor Your Health

Read more at http://runeatrepeat.com/weight-loss/intuitive-eating/#5L5AZ2aJQHFp5r5g.99

1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Respect your Fullness
6. Discover your Satisfaction Factor
7. Honor your Feelings Without Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise
10. Honor Your Health

Read more at http://runeatrepeat.com/weight-loss/intuitive-eating/#5L5AZ2aJQHFp5r5g.99

1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Respect your Fullness
6. Discover your Satisfaction Factor
7. Honor your Feelings Without Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise
10. Honor Your Health

Read more at http://runeatrepeat.com/weight-loss/intuitive-eating/#5L5AZ2aJQHFp5r5g.99

1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Respect your Fullness
6. Discover your Satisfaction Factor
7. Honor your Feelings Without Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise
10. Honor Your Health

Read more at http://runeatrepeat.com/weight-loss/intuitive-eating/#5L5AZ2aJQHFp5r5g.99

1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Respect your Fullness
6. Discover your Satisfaction Factor
7. Honor your Feelings Without Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise
10. Honor Your Health

Read more at http://runeatrepeat.com/weight-loss/intuitive-eating/#5L5AZ2aJQHFp5r5g.99

1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Respect your Fullness
6. Discover your Satisfaction Factor
7. Honor your Feelings Without Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise
10. Honor Your Health

Read more at http://runeatrepeat.com/weight-loss/intuitive-eating/#5L5AZ2aJQHFp5r5g.99

1. Reject the Diet Mentality
2. Honor Your Hunger
3. Make Peace with Food
4. Challenge the Food Police
5. Respect your Fullness
6. Discover your Satisfaction Factor
7. Honor your Feelings Without Food
8. Respect Your Body
9. Exercise
10. Honor Your Health

Read more at http://runeatrepeat.com/weight-loss/intuitive-eating/#5L5AZ2aJQHFp5r5g.99fbkldfmnn j

30 day Yoga challenge

I have been doing insanity for almost a month. A MONTH! Not often I keep things up as long as this, must be Shaun T's super motivational ways... ahem. My second fittest was great! There was already a huge improvement and I am already seeing changes in my calves, defiantly some definition going on there!

On top of my Insanity workouts I have started Spin again 1-2 times a week, that's a love/hate thing. I have also started Pole Fitness again! Before Christmas I managed to go upside down (no hands!) 

<--proof p="">

So I started again last week and have many fading bruises to show for it! Worth it!

Besides having another half marathon in less than a month, running has taken a back seat. I know my fitness will still be there I just need to check on the old endurance levels, so a run sometime soon is on the cards!

One thing I thought I was missing was Yoga. I have always wanted to incorporate this into my life, getting increased flexibility and 'calmness'. Originally today I was looking at what Yoga moves I could do 10mins before bed but then I can across this: The 30 Day Yoga Challenge

 So I thought 'Hey! Why Not!' So I signed up and I will start this tonight or tomorrow :)

There is a video for each day either focusing on one move or a set of moves for an area of the body, each day lasting for around 20mins. I am excited to try this and see where I end up!

I'll end on this...

I Finally Get To Graduate This Friday!!! Yipeee!

2013 review and 2014 begins!

My goals for 2013 included:

• Running a marathon
• Completing the Coast to Coast
• Doing 2 half marathons in under 2hrs 15mins
• Getting a degree
• Find a weight I am happy with

Well I am proud to say I did them all apart from the half marathons in under 2hrs 15 but I DID do TWO half marathons, one without much training, awful weather and obscene hills, and I still managed a decent time! Oh and finding a happy weight didn't happen, in-fact I have gained 1.5stone since my smallest weight. But don't fear, that is changing this year! Aside from my goals I even tried pole dancing something I defiantly want to continue!

My marathon went well getting a less than decent time but one I am proud of considering again my lack of training. 

I am now a fully qualified mental health nurse with a 2:1. I am graduating this month! I can't wait!

2014

I started Insanity on Monday 30th December (who needs a new year to start something good?)

Holy WOW. It is tough but defiantly do-able! I am almost a week in and enjoying it! I am also following the meal plan although over the last 3 days that has been on and off with dipping into the Christmas chocolate stash. Damn cravings.

I also have plenty of races planned for this year! So onto my goals for 2014..

• Brighton Half in under 2hrs 20 (it was under 2 hours but I'm unsure)
• Finish The Nutty Challenge! 14k of obstacles!
• Complete the 2nd Yorkshire Marathon in under 5 hours (previous 5hrs 40)
• Finish the Beachy Head 10k
• Start my first nursing job!
• Begin pole fitness again
• Get to my goal weight of 53kg
• Do a pull up!
• Plan a wedding!!

So just a few things to keep me occupied! 

Vegan Challenge Week 1

Total time vegan 2weeks! BOOM. *Proud*

This time round it has been considerably easier then when I last attempted the challenge. Why? I think this time my heart is fully in it and knowing that I am going to an animal sanctuary at the end of the month is added motivation. I even went out for a 3 course meal at Pizza Express last night - all vegan! I had:

Starter: Dough balls with garlic oil rather than garlic butter

Main: Superfood salad no cheese
Dessert: Raspberry sorbet

OMNOMNOM. :)

I have also made these beauties:

Vegan Cinnamon Rolls and leftover Vegan Banana Bread

The cinnamon roll recipe came from Chole's Kitchen cookbook full of amazing vegan recipes! (All views my own, not being sponsored by the book)

Looking forward to the coming week with other new foods to try like vegan pizza from VBites. Can't wait for that to arrive!

In other news next week I'm starting a pole fitness course! 6 week beginner class. So glad I have finally managed to pluck up the courage and go for it!

I also went back to Spinning after a lonnnng time of not doing it. OUCH. But a good ouch...

November Vegan Challenge and Pile on the Miles 2013

First of all, October:

I completed the marathon in 5hour 41mins and 39sec. Not a fast time but considering I only did up to 15miles in training I'll say that went pretty well :). Multiple times during the race I just felt like crying, not necessarily from pain but from exhaustion! Would I do it again? Probably!

All Finished!

The losing weight didn't happen.
I didn't do any Yoga.
But I did get back to bootcamp :)


November Challenges

30 day Vegan Challenge
Yep! That old chestnut! This time its official, done by Animal Aid, you can check out the challenge at govegan.org.uk.
From this I have been invited to an open day down in Kent for one of the animal sanctuary's that save animals from harm, I am really looking forward to this and it is taking place at the end of the month!
I have already started eating vegan and have been for about a week now. I am loving it, despite the fact that I am currently eating more than usual, probably due to my mind subconsciously thinking I wont eat much food but in reality of course I will. I am hoping it will calm down once I am more confident with knowing what I can and can't eat.

Pile on the Miles 2013
A challenge over at runeatrepeat.com, where you set a mileage goal and get there beat it. Since I am still trying on keeping runs easy I have set myself a target of 80miles over the month of November.

Other November Goals:
Attend Spin class, I have found one that is pay as you go, one problem, it is at 06:30am! Yikes! I will try and get there at least once before the month is over.
Go swimming! I have been wanting to do this for a while just never had the confidence!

Right! Lets get on it!

October goals

I thought I'd get this one in early. I have had some new found motivation to lose the regained pounds oer the past week. Me and my friend are going to Costa Del Sol in Spain. Its official, it has been booked!

She was saying that she would feel bad if one of us ended up going without our ideal bikini body and since she is doing really well in her weight loss I really need to step mine up a notch. However, I did lose 1.6kg this week (wooo!) but I need to remember that it doesn't mean I can go all out and eat everything in sight all over again.

So here are some goals to keep me motivated through October:
Complete the marathon - pooping myself over this. I really can't wait till its done!
Lose 3.5-4kg in total over the month - Prize some new Soap and Glory items. I love their stuff!
Add in Yoga once per week
Get back to bootcamp

I have now finished uni and now looking for a job as a nurse. I have an interview coming up so fingers crossed!

Holiday motivation!

First of all the Coast to Coast walk, all of 192mile was amazing! Getting Sherpa van to move our stuff around was soo helpful and really added to the enjoyment, I would have hated to carry all out stuff around but now we have done it once I would like to do it being totally self-reliant. Something for the future.

Marathon Training
Not going well. There are times when I wonder if I should give up running the marathon all together, but there is still hope and I may be able to still run it without feeling like death (HA...yeahhhh..). So far my longest training run has been 10miles. Given its further then I have ever ran during training but that's not even half a marathon. I have attempted to go out for longer runs only to be held back by a really sharp pain in my ankle. I have now (eventually) been to the doctors about this and they have put me on a weeks course of strong anti inflammatory. He also recommend new shoes which is a given. Anyway I'm going out tomorrow with the attitude to run as far as I can above 13miles without causing damage, followed by a lovely ice bath.

Nurse Training.
I qualify in 2 weeks. Holy poo.

Holidays.
My friend and I have decided to go on a holiday :D. Not one of those 'Oh yeah we should really go on holiday together' but a get booked at the end of the month holiday!
This is just the PERFECT motivation I need to lose the extra weight I have gained!!
My goal weight 8st 5lb, 117lb, 53kg.
I have 6months
That's an average of 1.5-2lb or 0.5-1kg each week. Seems like a lot but I am determined to do it and I am doing all I can to keep my eyes focused on that goal. We are going to look amazing in out bikinis!
Time for some new weight loss goals which will be changed over there ----->

Ups and downs

...we all have them.

Ups:

• I have finished all academic work for my nursing degree and came out with a good result, just placements to finish and I will be a REAL mental health nurse!
• I am continuing with bootcamp and it is making my runs faster and my body stronger.
• I am doing the Wainwright Coast to Coast walk in a week today! 
• I have two very cute chinchilla who never fail to make me giggle.

Downs:

• I am well aware that I have put on over a stone since my lowest weight of 9st 7lb. I got lazy and thought I could eat anything. I began saying that I will lose a stone in 'x' amount of time and it never happened, and I get disheartened.
• It's freakin HOT here atm. My poor chinnies. They don't do well in over 23c heat and in our flat its getting over 25c! We are doing out best to keep them cool, such as putting frozen bottles of water in a sweet tin in there cage to act as a cooling seat, keeping the window open during the night and not letting them out for play if it is over 23c as they will run around like crazy things and get too warm! Here in the UK we don't have this kinda weather that often so it wouldn't be worth the £250 on an air con unit, at the mo anyway...
• Plus I don't do well in the heat either. I'm much more of a Spring person!
• Not sticking completely to my marathon training plan. Just missing some mid-week runs.
• Eating too much. Simple.

Well over the past few days I have solved my weight loss problem. Well, sort of. I have decided that setting a goal time is not a good thing for me. If there is a deadline, I will not make an effort until the last min and try everything possible often with a bad result. This applies to everything from assignments to weight loss.

My final placement is almost over (no more 1.5 hours of travelling!) then after my 3 weeks off I'm back for my elective placement in York. Phew. This will allow for more time for training.

Eating wise, I am going to try and add more fruit and veggies back into my diet again, avoid dairy where possible and try and cook for myself and Nick as much as I can. At the mo with all the heat, I can't be doing with cooking!

I have refocused my goals which do not have a time scale.

cw: 150lb BMI: 26.6
lw: 133lb
gw: 118-124lb BMI: 21.1

I'm not a fan of BMI, I am only using it as a guide.




Arg. Its just too warm in our little flat atm! I feel sick with the heat, either that or all the water I'm consuming! Boooo!  :(

Frustration

during any weight loss journey, we have all felt it.

I felt it today.

Gained 1.5lb.

It may not seem like a lot but when you're only losing 1lb per week putting on extra really stings. I can see where it came from. Having pizza on Friday after a (ironically) frustrating day at placement was probably not the best idea in the world. The frustration mainly focused around how I had been 'clean eating' all week doing this 'toxin detox' thing they recommend at bootcamp. No bread, pasta, potatos, caffine, tofu etc. I was sick of quinoa and veg buy the end of the week. Part of me thinks that eating mainly fruit and veg actually slowed my metabolism, could that be possible? I was (still am) running 4-5 times per week and have bootcamp 3 times a week. I never got that 'energy boost' you with people who report eating meat, fruit and veg. Not for me!

I have decided that calorie counting is the best and only real way I will lose weight and keep it off. So back to myfittnesspal. I have 1,500 kcal on a rest day and extra when I do exercise. God I hope this works...

It will work.

On the up side, my speed is up. I ran my best 4 miles in 40:50 the other day and my first 5 mile of the training plan in 51:14. I love myself for that. :D

I am loving bootcamp too. I always leave feeling happy and strong. The people who go are really supportive, and it's getting easier!

An overweight (technically), pizza lover, health and fitness nut.

That's me.

I was thinking of that the other day during a run.
I'll never give up pizza, but I also LOVE trying new 'weird' health foods.
I don't want to only eat veg so I can maintain a super skinny body with abs showing, as much as I'd love to!
I can do more press ups then some males (they/he knows who they are!) :D

Bootcamp continues with 4-5 runs per week.
Complete clean eating isn't really giving me the results I was hoping for, I was struggling with protein since I wasn't able to have tofu and limited eggs and nuts. 'Clean eating' has a high emphasis on meat and I anit going there!


Further updates on Sunday after weigh in :)

Update, Inches, Weight Loss and Clean Eating

Its been two weeks now since I took a real focus in losing the weight I've regained. In that time I have also started Bootcamp and began a eating clean diet. Well not a 'diet' just a change in eating habits.

The clean eating is going well, once I was all up and going from Bootcamp with my free week (I am keeping it up now!) they sent me a nutrition plan  that stated all the things I could have and those that were banned. On that banned list was peanut butter (booo!), bread, pasta, caffeine, alcohol, sugar etc. The plan focuses around wholefoods and unfortunately a fair amount of meat so I have been having my protein powder and plenty of nuts and eggs to keep my protein up.

A typical day might go like this:
Breakfast: Porridge with berries and flaxseeds
Snack: Banana
Lunch: Quinoa and salad
Snack: Berries and nuts/seeds or veg sticks
Dinner: Vegi Biryani from the clean eating cookbook
Pud: Full fat natural yog and fruit

Caffeine was the hardest for me, one day I went without ANY caffeine including green tea and had the worst headache and I was super grouchy. So now I am just sticking to green tea as it has other health benefits such as fat metabolism.

Weight loss and inches
-1lb 1/4 this week making  total of 2lb 1/4 in total
Waist -0.5inch
Hips -1inch
Legs and arms stayed the same.
I think that's pretty good progress!

Running
I ran my best 4 mile time this morning 40:50. BOOM. So Proud!
I am trying to focus on taking my head out of my legs (which are now constantly aching after 2miles) and beginning to look at my surroundings. Today during my run I was focused on 'Run with your heart, not your head'. It really helped and gave me inspiration to run faster!

I am looking forward to next week with more bootcamp, running and eating clean!

June Mini Goals

June?! Summer soon perhaps? Ah, I forget I live in the UK. Summer does not exist! :P Lets hope for the best! Besides I have new running shorts to try out!

Continuing with the initial marathon training program which is based on getting the body used to running 12-15 miles per week before all the interval training, hill work and long runs begin in two weeks time!

My best 3 mile time so far is 30:54! 4 miles 42:34. Both good times for this plodder!

Goals for June:

• Stick to marathon training plan (this is sort of a given but I need to keep motivated on it)
• Try out bootcamp alongside marathon training, free week booked in starting Monday!
• Make healthy choices, no weight loss goal, just healthy eating and fitness!
• Increase water, I REALLY struggle with this, I have seen tips including writing times on a large bottle to remind you how much water to drink, I am hoping to try this out once a find my black marker pen!
• Cook a 'new' meal each week
• NO TAKEAWAY PIZZA. I'm a sucker for the grease. Tastes good but it DOES NOT make me feel good!!

Four meals I'm going to try making this month:

• Chinese Chow Mein from 'Chloe's Kitchen' (Vegan cookbook)
• Butternut Squash Risotto
• Really good stir fry!
• Roast veg mix and veggi sausages/burgers!

There is only one that I haven't made before but the rest are things I don't make on a regular basis.

I see you after bootcamp on Monday! Eeek!

Marathon update and Bootcamp

Hello again!

Marathon training is going well, tomorrow I begin week 4! So far I have only missed one run which is pretty good going for me! I have changed some shifts around at my nursing placement so I do more days but finish two hours early so I can get home get my workout in, have tea with the fiance and play with the two chinchillas Pika and Pig(let).

Today was supposed to be a 4 mile run but I swapped it with tomorrows x-train day. So I am looking forward to getting out in the morning for a nice bank holiday run! Also heading to Scarborough tomorrow! YEY Seaside! And the Sealife centre. Happy me.

This week I ended up gaining ANOTHER lb. I blamed this on finally getting in my dissertation on Monday so for a while food wasn't something I thought about. Now I'm thinking healthy... I have even bought a watermelon! I LOVE watermelon, just they are fairly expensive!

The running journal is working really well, being able to have all the extra detail really helps to create the perfect running situation and discover at what times and with what foods my body works best with. Turns out so far I am good with running after a good night sleep (so not up a 5am on placement days!) and before breakfast, everything seems to run smoother that way. I am also finding that I am getting faster! my 3mile runs are down to under 31 mins. Good for me! Mind you, I can't wait until they are down to below 30! Eeek!

Bootcamp!
I have been looking for CrossFit classes in my area for a while now but the closest ones are a train ride away and I don't have the money for that AND CrossFit which isn't exactly cheap!
Anyway, I found Bootcamp. It looks fairly similar maybe a little less intense from the online vids but some of the exercises look the same and they have a same variable workouts, which I like.
It is still pricey around £77-£100 for the upper membership levels but they also offer a range of classes such as kickboxing, Bootcamp elite and Yoga. Once you have joined they even supply you with a nutritional plan for best results.
You get a weeks  free trial which includes 3 classes so I have booked mine for a few weeks time, can't wait to try it out!
This one is in the York area so if you want to check it out click here

The Offical Marathon Training Has Begun!

Today was a x-train workout so I opted for the Ballet Conditioning DVD I bought last week. Low impact but it really makes you work!

The vegan challenge is going well, I am realising that I can eat well without dairy. I'll admit it is really hard at times, for example finding a vegan burger in the supermarket that wasn't bean and breadcrumb based was a challenge so I stuck with Linda McCartneys sausages. YUM.

Today I'm having a little break by having a takeaway (sssh..), beancurd and satay sauce. NOM. This will be the last some some time so I am going to make a meal out of it (see what I did there?!). After a heavy bank holiday worth for food and booze I'm ready to lose the stone I have gained over the past 6 months and hopefully when the marathon comes round on the 20th Oct I'll be 1st 7lb lighter!

Something new...
 Today I tried coconut water! Zico coconut water from Waitrose!

It was £1.99 which is quite good compared to some of the Vita Water coconut water I have seen in health shops.
The first taste is almost salty (but it does contain a fair amount of potassium, good for post run recovery!) but that doesn't last long and you cant a nice faint coconut taste which is nice and refreshing.

I bought 3 of another brand, though I can't remember the name I have 3 flavours, plain, cherry and pineapple. They are in the fridge waiting for me to do a long run!






Another newbie today was my new running journal!

 I'd upload pics of the inside but my laptop won't let me!
Anyway this one is from Watersotnes and is around £8.70 if bought online and £9.99 in store. Inside it has lots of useful info for beginners such as what shoes to wear etc. There are also two training plans one for more advanced and the other for those just starting out.

In each page of the journal there is space for two different runs and a speedwork run, asking you to fill in details such as nutrition before during and after your run, the weather and how you slept etc.

After each week there is a review page, and a separate one after every month so you can keep a close eye on your progress!

Overall very please with it and can't wait to get into using it!

Let the training begin!

May Goals!

So today started the 7 Day Vegan Challenge. It is going really well, or shall I say it was going well till the other half (bless) thought it would be a good idea to bring home 5 doughnuts from Sainsburys along with the hummus and peanut butter I asked him to get. So 2 and 1/2 yummy round diet destroying balls I am craving everything under the sun!

...its nice to know I can binge eat and still be vegan... ¬_¬ LEARN SOME SELF CONTROL WOMAN!

Anyway...

In other news I ordered some resistance bands and they arrived today YEY. They were really fun to have a play with and I am looking forward to doing a proper workout with them soon.

My Ballet Conditioning DVD arrived today too!

Only £5 from amazon, it is like a beginners guide to the basics of ballet training. On the surface it looks fairly simple but one I got into it my arms/legs/abs were in PAIN. I'm hoping I will be able to feel it tomorrow that way I know its done some good!

So May goals:

Lets start off with that it is going to be a pretty scary month as my dissertation is due in on the 20th. O_O.

• Finish and hand in dissertation
• Complete ballet conditioning DVD at least once per week
• Keep up with marathon training plan which begins on the 6th May (I am still planning on following the No Meat Athlete plan)
• Lose 5lb
• TRY and control my mad eating when home alone!

They will do I think!