Fitness

The temptation to crash diet is REAL! | Getting Back On Track Series, Chapter 3

8th April 2016 · Leave a Comment

In February I began to realise the truth about my binge eating and my poor relationship with food. Since then I have been trying to think of ways to improve this relationship and getting my head into a healthier place.

Avoiding crash diets is actually hard

I know, I know…I’m supposed to say that I love taking life in the slow lane and gradually changing my habits, and that I love my body so much more because I’m no longer punishing it with extreme dieting.

But you know what? I don’t. I don’t love my body more and I’m not enjoying this sustainable approach.

And here’s why:

It’s hard to stay motivated when you don’t see results quickly.

I know I’m not alone in this because otherwise detox teas and waist trainers wouldn’t be all the rage right now.

I’m changing my habits gradually as I feel this will help them to become ingrained, as opposed to something I stick to for a mere five minutes. On an intellectual level, I understand how important this is and know that I will hate my crash diet within a matter of days. However, on an emotional level, when you don’t like what you see in the mirror and want to change your body as quickly as possible, it is hard to stick to the healthier-but-slower route.

It’s hard to stay motivated when you don’t see results quickly”

Gymshark Leggings Review

11th March 2016 · Leave a Comment

I have thus far bought 4 pairs of the women’s Gymshark leggings:

Ambition leggings (2 pairs, one in size small and the other in size medium)
Form running compression leggings (size small)
Flex leggings (size medium)

Like many fitness goers, I discovered Gymshark via my favourite YouTubers, and I quickly fell in love with the company’s branding and pricing. Whilst I do love my ambition leggings and the quality of the flex leggings, I have mixed feelings about my experience of Gymshark as there are some issues with sizing.

Most of the reviews that I read prior to purchasing were made either by the athletes sponsored by Gymshark, or they were by women with slightly smaller waist/hip measurements than myself who were comfortably wearing the size small.

As such I have written a detailed and comprehensive review of each of the leggings, including notes on quality and sizing.

I am somewhere between a size small and a size medium in Gymshark leggings.

For reference:

I am a size 10 in UK jeans
I generally wear a size small in most sportswear ranges
I currently have a 28 inch waist and 34 inch hips. However, when I purchased my first two pairs of Gymshark leggings, both size small, my waist was 26-27 inches and my hips were around 32 inches.
I opt for a 29-30 inch leg length when buying jeans.

Form Running Compression Leggings

The waistband on the compression leggings began to stretch and warp after only a couple of washes

The truth about my binge eating | Getting Back On Track Series, Chapter 2

7th March 2016 · Leave a Comment

At the beginning of February, I made a pledge to change my relationship with food over the course of 2016.

For once I made no plans to lose ten pounds or to build my glutes to bikini model proportions.

Instead, I chose to spend February quietly observing, with as little judgment as possible, my eating habits.

And what I discovered actually shocked me:

I am an emotional binge eater

Which I have never seen myself as before, but I am. I am the Queen of Dairy rolling around in clotted cream.

Most days I will eat somewhere between 2000 and 3000 calories composed mostly of dairy and refined carbohydrates. The days when I am sad or stressed, I’m at 3000 calories and beyond.

One day included: chocolate for breakfast, biscuits for a mid-morning snack, cheese toasty for lunch, two scones complete with clotted cream and jam, an apple (winning), hot chocolate topped with whipped cream and marshmallows, more biscuits, vegetarian curry for dinner, and cake for dessert.

Much of the time I feel nauseous and bloated, and I don’t like what I see in the mirror.

I also noted that the days when I had food prepped, my binging was kept to a minimum.

Starting a new fitness journey | Getting Back On Track Series, Chapter 1

21st February 2016 · Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Glen Carrie //Unsplash

A few weeks ago, I introduced my brand new Getting Back On Track Series for the lifestyle section of this blog, and today I am kicking it off by describing my starting point, what my goals are and how I am going to go about achieving them.

Weight and progress

I have made a decision that I am no longer going to weigh myself. I have never owned any scales and my parents have always discouraged me from weighing myself, but since my teens I have been concerned with how many stones and pounds come up when I step on.

Now, let me begin this by telling you that I do not think that I am fat or obese (I prefer the word ‘fluffy’ when describing my stomach area!) However, I’m not particularly thin or lean, and I comfort eat a lot and I don’t treat my body well.

Getting Back On Track for 2016! | Creating a sustainable & healthy lifestyle

5th February 2016 · Leave a Comment

A couple of weeks ago I featured some ideas and links to amazing blogs to help get you motivated for the new year, and this week I am bringing my brand new series, ‘Getting Back On Track‘.

I have been out of the gym since November 2015 due to injuries, and I have been comfort eating and binge eating to the extreme. My muscle definition has gone, my cellulite is back, and I have been suffering all kinds of aches and pains in my joints. My skin is breaking out, and I haven’t been in the best of moods much of the time (not sure how people do without endorphins long-term!)

In short, I’ve been failing to look after myself, and not really sticking to my New Year’s goals.

So, now that February has begun and the dust from all the January excitement has settled, I thought that now would be a good time to amp up the lifestyle section of this blog with a brand new series!

New Year’s Resolution Inspiration | Getting your New Year’s Resolutions off the ground

10th January 2016 · 2 Comments

Photo Credit: Daria Nepriakhina

Many people are getting into the swing of 2016, whilst some of us are, er, slightly lagging behind.

Either way, all we know is that we’ve eaten at least three Terry’s chocolate oranges, and devoured an entire box of After Eights and downed a bottle of Baileys within the hour; the gyms are crowded and uninviting; and kale is still stiff and unappetising.

Some people are screaming “New Year, New Me!”, but let us politely punch those people in the face and get on with more practical matters such as negotiating who gets the last Matchstick.

Having said all that, a small dose of motivation and inspiration never hurt anyone, so I thought that I would take a look around for some useful tips, tricks and web links to help get you in the right frame of mind for 2016.

5 easy ways to stay motivated with your fitness goals

4th December 2015 · Leave a Comment

Photo by Christopher Campbell // Unsplash

With the Christmas season fast approaching, it’s easy to fall off the health wagon and dive into a towering pile of mince pies. And whilst it’s important to treat ourselves and join in the festive cheer, we also want to make sure that we stay true to our fitness commitments because, after all, being healthy is a lifestyle – not a temporary diet.

Whether it’s that you’re trying to slim down, build muscle or simply be healthier, here are 5 super simple yet effective ways to stay on track through the holidays:

1. Get on Instagram and Pinterest

Follow fitness pages and health coaches who inspire you – an image can express a thousand words and can motivate you in just a second.

Create an entire fitness inspiration board on Pinterest filled with healthy recipes, workout ideas and individuals who motivate you.

5 tips for getting started in the gym

6th November 2015 · Leave a Comment

Photo by Curtis Mac Newton // Unsplash

Joining the gym can be intimidating and overwhelming, and many of us we strike out before we’ve even begun. At best, we get stuck on the treadmill and cross-trainer for an hour because we don’t know how to use any of the other machines!

And if you’re a woman planning on stepping into the weights room for the first time, then it is usually an even scarier experience.

Yup, I’ve been there and felt my cheeks burning with embarrassment!

So, I thought that I would give my five top tips for anyone who is thinking of joining a gym (they’re applicable for any kind of gym activity, not just weightlifting!):

Getting fit in Byron Bay! (The free Byron Bay Fitness Trails Circuit)

23rd October 2015 · Leave a Comment

Tired of feeling sluggish and constrained by a classic backpacker budget, my boyfriend and I started looking on the internet for free activities in the Byron Bay area.

We stumbled across what is called the Byron Bay Fitness Trails Circuit – a series of fitness stations running along the bay starting from Captain Cooks car park and ending at iconic Cape Byron Headland. You can either walk in between the stations or jog – it’s up to you!

The only criticisms that I had of the circuit was that some of the information provided on the boards was not factually correct (for instance, the muscles targeted by each exercise) and the fact that it was not always clear as to where you were supposed to go next (my boyfriend and I ended up wondering through a holiday park for a while!).

However, we had a fun couple of hours doing pull ups, jogging and koala spotting! It’s also a great way to tie in seeing the lighthouse and the headland – plus, jogging up the hill to the lighthouse at the end is killer so it’s a perfect way to finish your workout!

Why I got into weightlifting

9th October 2015 · Leave a Comment

“Yeah, you were always to big for ballet.” Jemma stopped for a moment. “You were never fat,” she amended. “You were just too muscular.”

“Erm…” I replied hesitantly.

“Like, you weren’t fat or huge or anything. You just always looked like you had muscles.”

The girl smiled reassuringly at me and picked up her burrito.

I put my fork down and remembered that time I stopped being a ballerina because I felt too big to be one.

You were never fat, you were just too muscular.

I never thought I was fat or overweight in any way, I just knew that I lacked the necessary attributes to be a ballet dancer: the delicate swayed-back shins, the dainty feet with high arches, the long legs and narrow hips, the beautiful turnout and the nymph-like shoulders.

No matter how hard I tried, I could never get my athletic body to move or look the way that I wanted it to. My legs will always be short and strong (I was an excellent sprinter as a kid), I have hips and muscular shoulders, and I have terrible feet.