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.

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

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! 

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!  :(

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!

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!

Taking a closer look

Over the next week I plan to take a closer look at what I am eating, to give me that window where I can ask myself 'Do you really need that oreo?'.

Every day I will try and post what I have eaten (maybe pics too!), how I feel and what workouts I have done.

I am not aiming for that amazing six-pack bikini body. I am looking for MY body. The one I feel comfortable and good in.

So, I will see you all tomorrow <3>

I hurt...

Everywhere.

Well apart from my abs, the bit I wish DID hurt at least that means I might lose some of the stubbon belly fat!

Anyway...
I am still going with the X-trainFit at home workouts and have only missed 2 workouts out of around 2 n half weeks which is pretty good going for me! On Sunday I even managed a 8mile run (followed by a surprisingly tasty protopure 31g protein bar) and a chest and back workout.
The thing is though, my wrist hurting bad most of the time. My left one too, which I found surprising since I am left handed and it is supposed to be my stronger side...
My knees hurt a little and other muscles dotted around my body.

During the cardio burnout DVD today (1 hour 20mins of intense training) I felt like giving up half way through. I didn't want to finish, I felt like I didn't have the energy, not weak, just not up for it. After pushing through the last 30 mins I feel no better, just in more pain! This got me thinking...uh oh! You see I have a holiday at the end of March and I would love to be 'bikini ready' for it, however I just don't feel I am getting anywhere. 2 weeks into the program and running on 1800kcal most of the time (the rest is above...ooooops) and burning around 200-900kcal per day I lost just under 1lb in my first week and 0.5 inches of my hips and last week was up 0.5lb and down an inch on the waist.

Another issue I am having is that since these workouts are an hour long then my evening after placement consist of home. dinner. workout. sit. bed. No work in there, I mean its not like I have a dissertation and 3 essays in before May O_O.

An option I though was going to Jillian Michaels workouts and Yoga DVDs and dropping the calories to 1600? And, if I have a run then to leave this as my only workout rather than working on upper body later in the day?

I know I need to look at the foods I am eating, I know that working out is only 30% of the battle with weight loss and for me especially, eating well constantly is tough.

Sorry for the blab. This needs more thought! Hopefully things will even themselves out soon!

Broken Record...

Today was one of those days.

I say broken record becauce I always feel like I am repeating myself with what I'm about to write:

The ones where you can't stop eating, part of you is willing you to stop but you go back for more. This could just be me but JEEZ. There was toast, Christmas cake, apple, crisps, biscuits. All pure crap.  I kept telling myself it is okay because it is the hardest day in the XtrainFit at Home series and I expected to burn 600+ calories. But still, that's not the point, its bad food, it does not supply me with the goodness my body needs to function well.

Anyway its over and done with, tonight I am going to create a new meal plan to help with the control, at least it will be one less thing to worry about now placement has started and I have a dissertation and currently 2 essays to write, plus I now have a bank support worker job so that will take up some weekend time. Oh and add training for a half marathon in there too. O_O

I am now sat here with some lemongrass tea from teapigs, if you haven't heard from them you should really check them out their tea is AMAZING. So many different kinds and they do a sample box for just over £12 and you can pick 12 different samples of 2 tea bags and they send them in cute little boxes.

 They focus on whole leaf tea and even have a special range called matcha, a strong version of green tea that can help with raising energy and helping with weight loss, among many other benefits, I'll talk about that more once they have arrived but for now check 'em out here


So...

X-trainFit at Home http://www.xtrainfit.co.uk/
Well what can I say... It is really good! You get a lot for your money, 8 workout DVDs, so one for each day and 2 workouts (for the first 3 weeks) on one day (don't worry the extra one is a stretch DVD..very nice!)
It is a 12 week program and comes with a workout info booklet, where you can store you pre-program stats and a wallchart where you can check off workouts and add a before and after pic of yourself.
The first 3 weeks are mainly cardio based so the focus is on fat burn then weeks 4-9 the circuit training increases and the cardio reduces then the final 10-12 weeks are about toning the new body!
The instructor is great, it is a real life, down to earth workout with real sweat and pain. It is almost like working out with friends and there is great support from the X-train team and the instructor herself on facebook.
All workouts (besides stretch) are around an hour long and I am managing to fit it in with every else going one, just takes effort and motivation.
Best of all?
It is only £16.50! :D winwin!
First week done: down 0.5lb and 0.5inch off those hips!







And to the snow
Anyone have any tips for running in the snow/ice?
Or how to keep treadmill entertaining for longer runs?

Blergh..

Just a quick post. More of a reminder to myself really, that I DO want to lose more weight and it is NOT okay to have these regular bad eating days that make me feel awful inside.

Since my last post I tried Sainsburys diets, they put me on 1400kcal each day and I felt awful, really tired and grumpy. I was still burning calories, around 500 some days, bringing my net intake below 1000kcal. Something far from healthy.

So, I left that and thought I'd try again by calorie counting to 1800kcal and continuing with the regular workouts. However, this is not the case I have just eaten everything in sight for the last 2 days and I feel awful. Clothes feel tighter and I don't feel right.

I need to re-focus and not think that I must eat all my Christmas goodies in one go to make them go away, that is not the way it works, nor is it at all healthy.

I need to be in good form. I have 2 half marathons in Feb and April and a MARATHON in October. On top of that I have a degree to get and a nursing job to find. I MUST be healthy for these so I can focus and function well.

Must stay happy and healthy. From now till always. Everyone can have treat days, as long as they are TREAT days...not treateveryday!


:)

I did have a good title...

It was going to be; end the year as you mean to go on (to be done on new years eve but that didn't happen)

Anyhoo,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Now I am not one for resolutions, so I am making goals :)

1. Find and maintain a weight I am happy with and that is healthy
2. Complete the Wainwright Coast to Coast
3.  Get a REAL nursing job!
4. Get my nursing degree
5. Run 2 half marathons in under 2hours 15mins (I have the two planned, now to train!)

Now my monthly goal for January, lose the Christmas pounds that I gained over December.
I also aim to meal plan to a. make shopping easier and b. help me feel a little bit more in control of what I am eating.
AND. POSSIBLY. Take a pic a day of either my food or something special and review them at the end of the week/month.


 In other news... I have a new toy!

Yupp For Christmas my lovely fiance got me a Garmin Forerunner 410. I have used it 3 times so far and it is brill!
For those who don't know this bad boy tracks your time, pace, distance, and place...and much much more!
I still haven't had a real good play but I have my account set up on Garmin Connect which is where all your runs are logged as the Garmin will transfer the data to the Internet and you can analyse your heart rate, pace, elevation, average pace, calories burned. I could go on!
I have had no issues with getting satellite signals and so far I have not lost them during a run so, so far, so good!
It really does help with the motivation to get out and beat your pace, you can even set it up so that you can race against yourself from a previous run!

One of my goals for last year was to do the coast to coast but unfortunately we both didn't have the time or the equipment to do it, but in the sale we got a new lightweight tent...

The Vango Banshee 300. We JUST managed to put it up in our living room and it looks good nice and light and should be a bit easier to put up and down with a bit of practice! The tent is for 3 people.. HA yeah erm... Me and Nick can get into it comfortably and our 2 70L backpacks can fit it making it...cosy. I am looking forward to more weekend walking in the lead up to the whole walk itself, a 220 mile trek from St. Bees to Robin Hoods bay.

I have a feeling 2013 is going to be an exciting and fitness filled year!

Oh and I have a holiday on the 23rd March. Need a bikini body by then! :)

Commitment issues with food and weight loss

First of all I have stopped the vegan pledge, after just under 2 weeks of being vegan. I found myself stepping into old habits with food, such as eating crisps and biscuits that were vegan, mainly for the sake that they were vegan..I very rarely eat crisps or biscuits!
So yeah, stopped that and now I am back to plain old veggi. I say plain old but I have been veggie for so long that I am comfortable with what food I can cook that is healthy and yummy. I usually like planning my meals and looking for new interesting thing but with degree work and the lark my motivation has suffered with just about most things.

I have been thinking over the last few days about my stuggle to get under the 9st 7lb/8lb mark (133/134lb). I have come to the conclusion that 9st 7lb has been my dream weight since I can remember. I remember being 13st and dreaming about that weight, how I'd look and what clothes size I would be. Now I am here I am still getting used to the smaller me, the smaller tummy the thinner but muscley thighs. One thing I never dreamed about was the ability to be able to run for a whole 13.1 miles (current best of 2 hours 23 mins ;] ). So yeah I am currently needing that little extra motivation to get things back into gear and start losing again. Another 10lb until my BMI is slap bang in the middle of healthy. Now I know BMI is something that I shouldn't really worry about but I feel that I need to lose a little exta, I am not quite where I want to be yet. I know to get there I will need to alter my current eating habits a little.

I have some amazing converse waiting for me when I reach 9st 4lb (130lb), they should be motivation enough but I still have some work to do with my realtionship with food such as reaslising when I am bored rather than actually hungry etc. Drinking water is another thing, I just don't have enough!

In terms of the commitment side of things realtes to me getting past that 9st 7lb. Currently I seem to be able to keep goals up for a short while and then I either get bored of it or just eat too much and think 'Oh well..I will just start again tomorrow..' which I know isn't a good thing.

Running.
What is that again?
I kid. I did do a 5k run in just over 33mins the other day on the tredmil. I am aiming for faster but I did come off that tredmil a little woozy so I think that if I worked any harder I would have fainted. Never a good thing in the middle of the gym. I am doing night shifts next week so that will throw my routine up in the air but you gotta keep on going and manage issues along the way.

I'll update soon on progress and the lark. Hopefully I will get those converse soon! :)

Feeling run down

I think it's due to not eating good meals for the past week, I have been feeling tired and unmotivated. I havn't done any exersize in a week, which may have something to do with it. Booked myself into a Spining class tomorrow after uni, just to give me the motivation to do more and get back into training for the 5k in November and another half marathon in Feb.

I have decided to start the Vegan 30 day pledge starting from the 15th, so I will be doing regular updats on how I am feeling and how I am finding the vegan lifestyle.

Lost 4lb on the first week of my fit for Christmas plan, (planning to get to 8st 12lb by 21st Dec) so I earned myself The Hunger Games dvd, it was very good, missed out a fair amount from the book but it was still enjoyable. Been eating too much this last week, or at least too much bad food.

Hopefully things will pick up, right now I'm too tired to think of anything to type.

I'll be back, a happier, healthy me soon.

Bought this beauty

Size 10. I am currently size 12 on top and 10 on bottom. According to their size guide I'd need to lose around 1.5 inch off my waist.
 I usually don't buy clothes to small as an aim as it usually doesn't work but this dress is AMAZING and it was low in stock. Andddd.... I needed a dress for the other half's graduation,which is in just under 4 weeks.

So I have just under 4 weeks to drop a dress size Until 11th July to be exact. I say that's pretty doable. Lets do it!

On other news I have some new running stuff coming thanks to Nick.  Even more of an excuse to get outside and to the gym more.

Slowing calming down :)

PHEW.

It really has been a tough 2 weeks since starting placement.

I am loving my placement so far and I am starting to feel like a proper nurse :) I am growing in confidence and I have a great amount of support not only from my mentor but all the staff there :). I love every shift! However, I do have a lot of uni work to get on with as well which is due in during my placement time, so it makes everything slightly more difficult. I had a HUGE stress about my last essay that was due in for the 16th. As the weekend before it was due I had the organised Yorkshire 3 Peaks walk on Sunday 15th. By the way it was AMAZING! I completed it in 10 hours and 50mins! I met some lovely people and I learnt I am not as unfit as I thought I was :P Only fell over once so I have a nice bruise developing on my arm, but thank god it was mainly mud I fell on and not rock....

But anyway, I managed to get my essay in on time, panic aside.
Unfortunately I had to leave my bar job today as I was getting too many hours and the unpredictable shifts were stressing me out when trying to plan placement. I think that I can manage on my bursary alone, if I need to I can always spend less on food and leave slimming world (it was either that or the gym and I figured that the gym would be better use of £20 a month than slimming world).  I was almost in tears on the phone to my manager but he was very nice and understanding and I am just so happy to finally have that sorted and have more freedom with my nurse training. I am thinking of looking for some volunteering opportunities for caring as this would give me the experience I need, and I love doing it! :)

Weight loss I seem to have hit a plateau. I seem to be sticking at around 10st 6lb. I am eating more junk food, mainly due to the stress and with it been Easter not so long ago, I am still getting through my eggs! I will hopefully be back on track soon and get down to under 10st. I actually can't wait to be into single figure weight! So that's my motivation to keep going.

Here are some pictures from the 3 peaks walk... 

Half way up Pen y ghent

Top of Pen y ghent

Top of Whernside

View of Ingelborough. The Final Peak

Top of Ingelborough. Finally!

Too much thinking, not enough working!

Work and Play
I am almost halfway though my nurse training, and I need to get my act together! This is because I just cannot find the motivation to start/continue with the all the essays I have to write, two of which are due in April so I really need to kick my bum into gear if I am going to get a good degree.

My reasons..
Apart from the motivation issue, I just get soo distracted by other things. Like making meal plans or organising my time so it is balanced between my fiance, workouts, nursing (placements and theory) and part time working.

(A little off topic but...I have just seen my the first wasp of spring hitting my window. ARG! Is it that time already?!?)

Maybe if I actually sit down and make a proper plan of my time to include everything I might actually get round to getting some work done! However it is difficult to plan at the moment due to my bar work as I only find out what I am working during the week on the Monday. A little pain when it comes to trying to plan...anything. I usually only work some Wednesday evenings and Saturdays (can be all day!) but I can be put down for any evening. I am just scared of changing my availability in case my boss gets mad. Yes I am a wuss. This WILL change. Soon. Hopefully. It needs to be done if my stress levels are going to remain anywhere near normal. :)

Going Veggi...again
Yupp, it's that time of year again :P, haha! My reasons for giving up last time (some time last year) I started to get dizzy, possibly due to iron levels? I had my blood taken (but of course by the time this happened I had started eating meat again to be on the safe side) and it came back fine. So my iron level will be something to pay attention to this time round. I only plan to try it for a week, to see if it makes any difference to my weight loss at slimming world. I am doing a meal planner, so I don't buy what I don't need and so I make sure I good a good varied diet!

Slimming world
Lost 1 lb! YEY! I honestly didn't expect to lose any, in fact just before I went my Wii Fit told me I weighed the same as last week. The cheek of it! Anyway I am VERY pleased! That takes me to 10st 8lb! I am REALLY amazed! I also got my Club 10 award at slimming world (lost 10% of my body weight). New target of 9st 7lb. 9st 7lb?!?! It's a dream!! But an achievable one ;).

Exercise
I have had my gym induction this week, so I am clued up on how to use the weights! I even have my own weights plan for when I go to the gym. I am excited to see the results of this in a few weeks time! This week I have also done more zumba which I love! I'd like to go swimming sometime soon, just need to buy a new costume. The uni is on its Easter break at the mo for 5 weeks, (not for us nursing students tho! Our WEEK is next week) when they all come back I am thinking about joining Pole Exercise. I would love to try it, I just still don' have the nerve!

Oh.My.Gosh
I am very very very possibly going to see Bill Bailey in May. BILL BAILEY!!! I may have to restrain myself from wanting to get out of my seat and stroke him :P.


...that wasp is bothering my window again.....it's HUGE

Good news!!

It was Slimming world weigh in today and...*drum roll*....


I lost 3lb! Woop! Which meant that not only did I get my stone award, I got slimmer of the week too! So I got a huge bag of fruit to take home. Saves me fruit shopping for a while! =D

I WILL start running again this week (maybe even tomorrow morning if I can motivate myself out of bed when I don't NEED to be ^_^)

Another aim for this week is to try and drink 2 litres of water each day, mainly to see if I really do feel a difference.

Uni wise, saw my personal supervisor today to get some advice on my essay writing, since I seem to be plodding on at 40% (pass mark), and I want to be 50% +. Especially since I plan to do the degree option of nursing rather than diploma. I really want to do well, all I need to do is stop waffling in my essays so I can get more relevant information in them. Video assessment next week of me assessing someone (actor). SCARED!

I think I am going to change my weight loss incentives, because I have been thinking of other tattoos and I am sure I can think of better things. They might change a few more times before I make my mind up. Because I am like that *grins*.