One year on....

The last time I posted a blog was one year and two weeks ago. I cannot believe that for two reasons. Firstly, I can't comprehend how quickly the last year has gone and how much has changed. Secondly, I can't believe I haven't found time to write; I really love writing.

I've made a promise to myself to post at least once a week. Not only is it a good way to keep track of what's happened in my life, it will do me good to take time out to organise my mind and release a little.

This new phase of the blog will most likely just be focussed on fitness and the gym but it's me writing so I'm sure it'll go off on very many random tangents.

My last post was a bit of a round up of my week so I'll follow on with that. I mentioned before that I went spinning before work successfully. Sadly this no longer is an option. I have to be at work for 830am and my gym doesn't offer classes early enough for me to spin, shower, dress and commute to work. Occasionally I get up early enough to go for a little jog before work and I treat it like the rebirth of Christ; it's a miracle and I harp on about it on twitter for at least 4 days after. Soz.

A year on and I'm definitely still a gym addict, with a strong focus on weightlifting still. My problem is that there's not much difference in how I look. I have more muscle for sure but I haven't really changed in terms of inches or pounds lost. The last year was about finding my feet in my new career (I'm an estate agent, please don't hate me). Learning to coordinate my new life and schedule with the gym, I was just keeping my head above water. Time and finances were a big restraint for me so I couldn't afford in either time or money to workout like a lunatic and eat endless amounts of chicken and superfoods.

This year, I'm organised, budgeting better with both my time and pennies and I'm ready to make some real progress with my body. I don't want a dramatic 90 day change. I know it would be far harder than it's worth for me and I would be sad along the way. I just want to be consistent with my diet and training while still allowing time for guilt-free indulgences that life may bring along the way.

I've actually had a whole new bout of motivation in the last fortnight and am fully back on the gym rat life. I work damn hard during the day. I love what I do but between 8 am and 730pm, my job demands every single second of my focus commanded upon it. The second I leave that job, I want to put it behind me and go and focus on earning the body I deserve and improving my health and future self. I want to see the difference month on month and feel myself getting stronger, leaner and healthier. I'm certain I will fall off the bandwagon again but what I do know is that as time goes on, each relapse is shorter and I find it easier to regain control.

I could ramble on here for hours but I must go to bed as I have an early meeting. How riveting my life is nowadays. I promise with all my heart that my future posts will be much more entertaining with many more pictures and links and less waffling. Until next time...I'll leave you with this image that I posted on Twitter a while ago that has made a big difference to my mentality.

Fashion Fridays... Sizing needs to Shape Up!

I'm afraid today's post isn't going to be full of pretty pictures and happy things. This is quite a rant and I understand if you don't read it but... 

Why is there no standardisation of sizing in the clothing industry in the UK?!

This is something that has been bothering me for a long time. I used to think it was just me that had an issue with it but after moaning away to various unfortunate friends, I have discovered it is a common stressor amongst women in the UK.

I recently tried to buy a formal business outfit. For the sake of keeping costs low, I hit the high street in the search of a simple plain suit, under which I could put a nice bright top to personalise it. Never did I think it would be the hardest task of my adult life. 

My first though was Primark; cheap and easy. However... They didnt have any actual suits for women! They had separate trousers and jackets which didn't match and were awful. 

The first pair of trousers I tried on were kind of stretchy, with a nice gold button and tapered down to the ankle. I tried on a 16 and couldn't even come close to doing the butting up. I tried on an 18 and barely squeezed myself in. This in itsel had me almost in tears. I've been working so hard in the gym & eating right; there's no way I could have gone  UP to a size 20! 

Distraught and angry, I left the shop without trying anything else, went home and sulked into my protein shake. 

Two days later I went back, picked up a different - but very similar - pair. Unbeknownst to me, I had picked up a size 14. They were well fitting in the waist but about a foot too long and baggy in the legs. 

When I realised my mistake, I was shocked. How could I have gone DOWN three sizes in 48 hours?!

Deciding that, if I wanted something of a better fit and quality, Primark was not the place to be. I wafted through the town in a cloud of confusion until I somehow found myself standing in front of Next. 

Clearly my subconscious had been at work. I often see adverts for Next's clothes and think they're too formal for my every day wardrobe - the perfect place to be for more sophisticated dressing! 

I compiled an outfit of printed trousers, a simple white silk camisole and a nice navy blue blazer - all in a size 16. On the hangers, this was the perfect outfit. The colours and combinations represented my personality visually; the materials gave an air of sophistication and the complete look was suitably serious but still fashionable and not ageing. 

It was a totally different story when I put it on. The waist just fit. My bum was attempting to burst out the back seam. My ankles were drowning in material in supposedly tapered trousers. The camisole was baggy on my torso but seriously straining over my [medium at the very biggest] chest. The blazer was about 3 inches off the top of the trousers and was pulling right across my back. 

None of this made any sense. I do have thin ankles but I dont think the average woman has ankles 3 times the size of mine. My bum is on the larger side but no disproportionately so to my waist. I do not have a large chest. I do have an hourglass figure but I do not have the shoulders of a rugby player. 

That not one of these pieces fit as it should was beyond frustrating, especially as I was looking at spending £100 on it! 

I could carry on this story for hours. The same result happened in several shops. In the end, I bought a teal shift dress in the M&S sale but it wasn't what I wanted and I don't feel confident in it, despite my mum telling me how lovely I look in it. 

What I want to know is - how is it allowed that sizing can vary so much from shop to shop? I saw an online bikini retailer who advertise a Large as being a size 10-12! I was disgusted. 

With the prevalence of the media, the upward surge of people being diagnosed with eatin disorders, why is there no regulation of sizing requirements in the fashion retail industry of the UK? 

Ranging between a 14 and a 20 in one day is not physically possible. Having to buy something 3 sizes above your actual size is enough to destroy the self-esteem of even the most confident of people - I can't imagine what it would do to someone who has negative issues with their body image. 

If only I could afford tailored clothing! 

Workout Wednesdays... Progress, Recipes & Fitspo

So last week I was moaning about having hit a plateau (sorry).
 
This week I'm feeling much more positive. Despite being at my mum's for the weekend (which means missing workouts & not eating clean), I've had a good week. I've managed to compensate for missed workouts by combining two into one on a couple of occasions. I've been really good with food prep & only had one little slip up - an emotional day + a bag of mini eggs = a binge. But I've forgiven myself for it and moved on. I am only human, after all.
 
I don't want to boast but I'm proud of myself today. Last night, I did my first set of measurements since Christmas. So...
 
Left bicep: 0.5 inch loss
Right bicep: 0.5 inch loss
Chest - 1 inch loss
Waist - 2 inch loss
Hips - 1 inch loss
 
I'm seriously impressed with this! My thighs have each gained half an inch but, judging by the feel and the slight definition in my quads, this is muscle and not fat so I'm happy with that!
 
Most weeks, I feel like there's no change on the scales and my jeans aren't getting any looser so monthly progress checks like this are really good for me. I shall be taking another set of progress pictures soon too but these are for my personal gallery; I'm nowhere near confident enough to reveal them to the world just yet!
 
Part of why I feel successful this week has been down to being prepared. I'm finding it easier and less time consuming each week, now that I know what I'm doing and how much to prep of what for when. Being a lot more confident in all of this has led me to deviate from my original basic diet and experiment & research new recipes.

Yesterday I found this recipe for Omelette Cupcakes from a lovely lady that I follow on twitter (https://twitter.com/HHH_Dannii).

Mine didn't come out quite as perfectly as hers but that's natural for a first bake! They came out huge & fluffy and subsequently sank quite a bit. Shallowness aside, they were super yummy! I made 10 to have for breakfasts over a few days and chopped up some mushrooms and peppers into the mix to give it a bit of a boost. Very impressed with these, especially as they don't taste too egg-like!

 

For the final part of this blog post, I wanted to give you a list of some of the accounts that I follow on Twitter that keep me motivated. Whether it be by posting their workouts, recipes, pictures, or just telling me to get in the gym when I'm feeling lazy, these people really make a difference. This list is neither definitive nor exhaustive but they are people who have inspired me in the last week or so!

 

https://twitter.com/RightHealth

https://twitter.com/wceagles929406

https://twitter.com/hanaxfitness

https://twitter.com/LolaFitHD

 

and, of course, my favourite FitLads of all time...

https://twitter.com/LDN_Muscle

Get following and get inspired!

Workout Wednesday... Gloves galore!

I've made a promise to myself that I'm going to try new things more often. Not just in fitness but in every day life too. I'm very aware of my comfort zone and nowadays am not too keen on breaking out of it. I've been spending time rebuilding my self-esteem these last few months and I think trying new classes at my gym is a good way to start branching out.

 
The only class I really do at my gym is yoga, two or three times a week. The classes are with three different teachers but I still don't think that counts as variety! So I made a promise to try a new class whenever the gym's schedule and mine combine to create an opportunity.
 
This week, a wonderful opportunity arose - kickboxing! Turns out I had no idea what I was letting myself in for but I really enjoyed it in the end! Most of the other people in the class were hardcore veterans and really good at it but luckily there was another newbie girl and we were paired together so it wasn't too embarrassing!
 
The class involved almost no basic cardio which is great news for me as I hate it. The cardiovascular workout came from resisting the other person; little did I know how much it would entail! We took it in turns to have the gloves or the pads evenly and the class did not get boring or repetitive at any point.
 
I know it's not everyone's idea of a good time, to be kicked and punched at for 30 minutes but I found it good for my mind; focusing on not getting hurt & blocking punches meant my mind was clear of all other thoughts. Then when it was my turn to wear the gloves, any frustrations and anxieties I had were released into the mitts of my opponent.
 
The DOMs weren't as intense as I thought they'd be in the following days but I think I was holding back a little as my opponent was smaller in stature than me and I was a little scared of breaking her!

Apparently Sunday wasn't enough and I'm going again tonight! Which leads me to the second part of this post... Gloves!
 
Wearing stale sweaty boxing gloves that have been worn by a hundred sweaty people before me sets my OCD off a treat. It's revolting. I don't care if I'm being a princess about it, it's unsanitary and makes my skin crawl.
 
So this week my Lust List is comprised of two sets of gloves; boxing gloves and weight lifting gloves. I lift weights to look pretty, not to have horrid scabby hands. I have one pair of gloves and I love them but I like to change my outfits up so am going to start building my glove collection too now!
 
So I have discovered these little beauties and need them immediately! They match most of my other workout gear and aren't boring and black. Though I doubt all the hardcore MMA people in my class will appreciate them!
 

I have discovered an absolute plethora of girly weightlifting gloves online but unfortunately most of the cool customising companies are US based and I can't afford that level of shipping costs. I have, however, found this jazzy pair that will be ordered as soon as I get paid on Friday!

Workout Wednesdays... New Year, New Me?

Happy New Year to you all!

This is a brutally honest post. I'm slightly ashamed but I'm only human and can't succeed all the time. I know I'll be judged but some of the harsher "fitties" out there but I hope the fit gods will forgive me and appreciate my new abundance of enthusiasm.

Christmas entirely sabotaged everything in my health and fitness journey. I only exercised once a week, only stuck to about 10% of my diet and ate total junk a lot. Apparently I'm not yet strong-willed enough or well-enough equipped to cope with being out of my routine. I did gain weight but not as much as The Metro says the average Brit does so all is not entirely lost.

My attitude is that this journey of mine is not a diet, but changing lifestyles for a permanent, healthy future. I don't believe I'll ever bee 100% 'clean' all of the time but life is too short to deprive yourself of the fun things in life like cocktails.

I'm not weighing myself again until the end of January. I think it'll make me too sad and demotivate me!

On a brighter note, I am back into my clean eating and routine and loving my new gym! Plus, my yoga teacher has moved to my new gym with me so I can still have my hour of heavenly sanity every week!

My proudest moment so far happened yesterday... I flexed my biceps and actually saw something appear! I couldn't be prouder.

This week my challenge is to incorporate a new exercise / move into each of my workouts.

My most recent fit purchase is this little beauty - a Beurer heart rate monitor watch. I'm still learning all about heart rate and different zones and things but this is a great motivation tool, right on my wrist. At the end of a session, it also tells me how many calories I've burnt which is such a satisfying little nugget to end a workout on!

Workout Wednesday... Want Want Want!

So this week's post is going to be mostly things that I want for my gym life. It's that time of year where I've spent all my money spoiling other people so don't have any left to splurge on myself. So I'm going to share with the universe the things I desire in the hopes the universe sends them to me!

But first, a little progress update on my LDNMuscle Bikini Guide life. I missed a workout. Maybe two. Fail. And I had one VERY boozy night and nasty hangover day (company Christmas party). BUT.... I still lost 1 pound this week!

How, I do not know. But seeing that difference on the scale spurred me to go back into it all with full effect again this week. Very smug Holly has surfaced.

This week is the last week at my gym and I'm actually quite sad about it. I do, however, get to upgrade as of Friday so I think I'll survive. It's just a strange end of an era.

The new gym (still Virgin Active) is swankier and I feel my gym wardrobe needs a little updating too. Mostly, I am dying to own this [ridiculously expensive] sports bra from Nike.

£50 for a sports bra is a ludicrous amount of money but it's so pretty! I definitely need some new ones though and am struggling to find ones with a good fit. Any suggestions would be welcome!

Another thing I'd like to update is my yoga mat. When I first got into yoga, I bought my own one but it's quite cheap and gets slippery sometimes. I've found this one from Adidas and it perfectly compliments my current colour scheme!

The last thing on this week's Lust List are these leggings from Sweaty Betty. I love the fun pattern on them and they look like a good fit for my body shape.

 

Workout Wednesday... Week one success!

I'm 10 days into my LDN Muscle Bikini Guide plan and with brilliant success!

In a week I've lost 1.5lbs and 0.9% body fat!

I also found better form in some of the exercises I've been doing for months and discovered new exercises and muscles I didn't know I had, let alone how to push them!

I've followed the diet plan almost to the letter and even enjoyed my heavenly advent calendar choc each lunchtime! I even skipped one workout due to generally feeling naff and pathetic but I made up for it with an extra yoga session.

I am insanely proud of myself. Although I've been training for some months now and seen some improvement, I think having a set regimen and diet has really kicked me up a gear. Now that I'm understand more about nutrition and exercise, I'm wanting to learn more and delve deeper into the health world. I find myself browsing Amazon for supplements or workout clothes instead of the usual trashy books and shiny things. I'll never give up shiny things though, don't worry.

I'm also learning how to cook healthily! How to plan and structure my meals according to my macro needs and how to make yummy healthy things. For example, I've adapted a protein flapjack recipe to my tastes (and cupboard contents) with wonderful results!

 

I've started carrying one of these little beauties in my bag for an on-the-go snack to avoid me picking up bad treats in shops or as a substitute for the carbs in my breakfast if I don't make it out of bed in time in the morning!

 

 

Also, my Internet reading has changed. I've discovered http://www.womenshealthmag.co.uk/ which is packed full of articles on everything from beauty and workouts to sex and diet advice! The things that's really caught my eye is the wonderful little #WHUKFitmasChallenge Advent Calendar!

 

Every day on their pinterest account, they're posting an exercise to burn off the amount of calories in the average advent calendar chocolate! Then, they recommend, you add up the week's daily exercise to form an epic weekend workout. What a fun idea! I'm definitely going to start incorporating these into my workouts too.

 

Are any of you taking on any challenges to combat the Festive Fattening?



Workout Wednesday... So far, so good!

This week I started following my new bible - the LDN Muscle bikini guide. Honestly, I thought it was going to be expensive, boring and a struggle. Eating prescribed foods at pre-determined times, 7 times a day? Yawn.

I'd eat my hat if I had one. I don't feel like I'm being dictated to and I'm not bored. I'm eating more than usual but I don't feel gross and full and stodgy. I feel satisfied, have very rare cravings and have a continuous flow of energy. My workouts have more pump and I'm sleeping better.

Technically, I'm not supposed to eat gluten (IBS etc) but often give in and eat it and feel awful. Eating this healthy, natural diet leaves my digestive system feeling happy. Too much info? Sorry.

Having the guide and living by it religiously is a little boring, yes. But it's also making me be creative and research ways to spice up the food, healthy recipes, perfect techniques for the workouts, all sorts!

At first, the food preparation and organising is a little time consuming but as I get into a routine and get more knowledgeable, it'll become easier and more natural, just another part of every day life.

On the 1st December, I took photos of my body as it is now, in my underwear. I'd strongly suggest anyone looking to transform to do this.  Seeing yourself in your least favourable light is inspiration to work hard. Also, it'll be great motivation to continue with the dedication when you start to see results. Or so I hope.

I also recorded my measurements (arms, legs, hips, waist, chest) and will do so again on the 1st of each month and, hopefully, track my progress.

I will weigh myself fortnightly, on the same machine and also track this. I'm not so fussed about pounds or kilos, more about dropping my body fat percentage and how I look.

My aim isn't to be "skinny" or look like a certain celebrity. My aim is to become the healthiest version of me. Whatever body shape is hiding under here, I'll embrace. I'm excited to see my development and become stronger, both physically and emotionally.

Wish me luck!

Workout Wednesdays... A new beginning

 

I have discovered during my fitness journey that I'm really bad at the diet side of things. I'm also bad at remembering what I'm supposed to be doing on each day. I've hit a real plateau in my progression and decided it's time to Eat Clean, Train Dirty and Get Lean.
 
There is so much information on weight training / diet / fat loss / health on the Internet. I've found that's a problem. There's too much information. Too many conflicting opinions. Too many contradicting articles. Trying to learn everything from the Internet with no real guide or structure can be just as bad as not knowing anything, I think.
 
I follow various health and fitness accounts on the different social media platforms and the one that is consistently praised and recommended by the social media fitness sphere is LDN Muscle. Created and run by four (beautiful) young lads, LDN Muscle has it all. Blogs, diet, exercises, apparel, the works.
 
Before you read my rave review of LDNM, please bear in mind, I have not been asked or paid to write this post. The guys don't even know I'm doing it. I've chosen to write about this as part of my Workout Wednesday theme and narration of my life.
 
They also produce and sell a multitude of digital training guides called Premium Programmes. Specifically for men, there are a wide variety, ranging from the Natural Bulking Bible to the Leg Torture Pack. Lads, whatever your aims, they have a pack for you. If you're unsure of which would be best for you, tweet them or facebook them or email them. They're wonderful at replying and full of really helpful information and advice.
 
The thoughtful lads at LDN Muscle have realised that it's not just men who want to train insane. They've collaborated with each other and some of their female guest bloggers to create a pack especially for women wanting to lose fat and gain lean muscle. All herald the Bikini Fit Guide!

 

With 34 pages of intense advice and direction, I think this guide is going to drastically change my training and, hopefully, my body! It has information on: diet, including a sample week menu plan; exercise, with different training types and picture descriptions of all exercises; supplements, including what / when / where / why / how to take!
 
To quote their website:

"The price of your comprehensive ticket to bikini bod glory? Just £29.99. To put that in context, these days that could would buy you;

- A 30-45 minute session with a PT. Once.

- Half a bottle of perfume.

- A top you’ll wear twice."

 

So I figured I had to at least try it. It's payday today and I'm feeling good so I went ahead and bought it. I've glanced through briefly at work but will devour it in full at home.

 

I've set a date to begin my new regime - Monday 2nd December. I'm going to fully embrace every aspect. I'll be sticking to the diet as tightly as I can and training exactly how they say. I'm going to record a before and after of weight / measurements (and maybe even pictures) from Sunday and then after 6 weeks and see what results I get!

 

I'm nervous and excited. I'm always scared of failure, as we all are, but I'm excited to discover what fabulous body I've been hiding for so many years!

 

And yes, I know it's ridiculous to start a new plan before Christmas but if I don't start now, I never will. I'll always find some excuse to prolong it and avoid success!

 

 

 

Workout Wednesday... Weekly update

I thought I'd give you a little update about the events of my week, mostly fitness related but also some fun too!

Last week I started my new workout plan. I missed Thursday's workout due to gorging on food and entertainment at Kingston's night StocktMarkt and then an open mic night at the Rose Theatre.

 

My housemate (Conny) and I went on a little gourmet adventure. To start we devoured a mixed cheese and meat plate from the Social Club van. For mains, we had the world's most beautiful burger from the lovely lads at RareStr'eat and naturally for dessert we simply had to share some churros from these lovely Spaniards.

 

We then went to Mosaic at The Rose Theatre Cafe where we were thoroughly entertained by the brilliant Bits & Box lads and of course the ever beautifully crazy Tankus the Henge gracing us with their eclectic mix of gypsy funk jazz!

 

From the fun to the hard work...

 



As I had the day off on Friday, I went on a mega gym session and did Thursday and Friday's workout back to back. I then discovered that after the two of those, both washing my hair and walking down the stairs were nearly impossible!

I also discovered that I simply cannot do tricep dips due to a wrist injury so I had to modify a lateral pull-down to work my triceps but it went OK. Additionally, watching me attempt to do an incline crunch is about as hilarious as watching a fish try to climb a mountain; I failed miserably. So I got a trainer to show me how to do some ab exercises on the TRX equipment and definitely felt the burn on Saturday!

As I said before, this workout regime is going to be a work in progress and hopefully each week I'll be able to tweak it to make it harder for me and challenge myself.

I'm feeling under the weather this week (read - man flu of death) so may not make it to the gym as much as I'd like but such is life.

And also it's my BIRTHDAY this week so I'll definitely be overindulging in too much food and booze at the end of the week!