Sunday 1 November 2015

Sheffield Half Marathon 2016

So I have said before that i failed my October run challenge but in a way it was good cos its got me back into enjoying running and i still clocked up plenty of miles which I haven't done since May this year.



I've also signed up to the Sheffield Half Marathon so i've got to keep it up now to be ready to smash that crazy hill I keep hearing about.

I'll track my progress I'm sure and if anyone can offer any advice please do!!

Sport injuries help needed

I love my new lifestyle and i love working out and switching up my routines and that but my god i'm sick of all the little injuries and groans i get with it, it really proper grinds my gears.

I stretch the body well before all my workouts and after and still end up with silly little wrist aching or back aching or my bigger coccyx disability i recently got but has now gone.

I get sick of winging so just having a quick moan.

Anyone got any advice for me to stop getting these little injuries???

Gonna get some wrist wraps for boxfit and what............

Lemon infused water

I feel like i swear by this shit it really does change my physique.

I've been drinking this for a couple of months and the other week i just forgot to make a batch and continued to not have a batch to drink and i felt different so made sure i bought a bag of lemons on my next shop and made a bottle of water up with just a lemon cut into quarters popped in and left in the refrigerate.

This is all i drink at home instead of pop or dilute or juice etc. I have a good drink in a morning and a good guzzle before bed and i feel it helps my stomach loads with bloating. i just keep topping the water up for a few days before changing the lemon.

Its cheaper than all the pop you can go through and tastes nicer than water alone so give it a try what you got to lose.

I'm a BIG green tea drinker too i feel this helps my soul LOL it certainly helps my stomach digest foods better and stops the upset stomach feeling or anxiety tummy i sometimes get.

Wednesday 28 October 2015

October run challenge day 28

Totally quit this shit by accident!! I was so into it and then last week I got an injury in my coccyx somehow and it ruined me and my routine went to pot

Today I went back to box fit which is where I got ruined and I think I'm good to go I have my body a complete rest for a week and I'm not in pain tonight so will pick it back up and take this challenge into November as I was actually enjoying getting back into running and I feel like a sloth after a week off again.

Ron hill challenged me and I failed but I don't give a shit

I quit sugar 8 week programme

I am contemplating doing this as a challenge as the last few weeks my yearnings have gotten the better of me
And I can't stop munching so I need something to work towards and came
Across this. 8 weeks is a long time though..... But gonna go for this one week at a time!

I'm good at this anyway I don't eat any processed foods or fast foods and I make all our meals at home and lunches for work etc 

My down fall in life is biscuits with a cuppa, haribo car snacking, cake from my feeder husband ( who I completely wish was into this as it would make my life so much easier if he did it too). Fuck him tho haha

I'm gonna prepare my self in starting this challenge and go for it, il update my progress if it in fact does progress lol 

Saturday 10 October 2015

Sweet potato muffin magic

Sweet potato in a muffin? That's right.

I love sp's and I love muffins what could go wrong!

Ingredients 
Serves: 12

  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 225g cooked sweet potato, mashed
  • 120ml olive oil
  • 80ml unsweetened almond milk or water
  • 200g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon almond butter or peanut?


They turned out yum, I tweek recipes I look up a few find some that I like the ingredients for and mix them up and cross my fingers lol. You can use gluten flour as a replacement or honey/maple syrup instead of sugar etc

Method
Prep:10min  ›  Cook:25min  › Ready in:35min 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4. Grease a muffin tin or line with paper muffin cases.
  2. In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, sweet potato, oil and water. Combine flour, cinnamon, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients along with the nuts. Fold gently until just moistened. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until muffins test done. Do not overbake. Cool on wire rack.

Friday 9 October 2015

Ab workouts make me nauseous for days

This is actually a  thing

Its an actual thing i've been suffering unawares for the last few months

I haven't put two and two together that when i work my abs i feel sicky the day after

I decided to google this shit and its definitely something loads of people suffer from i thought ive been thinking im pregnant to many times because of this morning nausea ive had hahaha

What a douche

I apparently am dehydrated so i drank loads and it did go away i also ate haribo and they helped =)


Run every day challenger

I'm back in the game...

So far anyway

I was casually browsing through twitter when i came across Fitness Garage and they'd posted something about Ron Hill October Challenge, Run Every Day!!

Hahaha bloody Ron hill!!!!


I liked the sound of this... anyway ended up in short convo with the owner and felt like i had committed to a challenge that i couldn't back out of or get away without doing.

Hence the reason I'm here, Motivation is key and people who motivate me I've got lots of time for!!

So being blasted on twitter about whether or not I've done my daily run, makes me know i got to get out and stomp on them pavements!! So i can tweet back with a middle finger (emoji needed for this) cos its done boiiii!!!

Don't get me wrong I've done a lap round park which is shy of a mile, and also blasted a mile out on treadmill in gym when I've not had chance/time to do more but this is still good for me, its a run, it may be a small run, but i went out and ran.

I've been doing this alone too because i feel like i can get up and go when i need to rather than fannying around texting trying to arrange who can go at what time and where we are running and whose house were meeting at. It all got a little to much for my running game.

I like to think i'm gonna go running and go! so i do and ive been so much better for this, anyway 8 out of 31 is done and i need some emojis on here to show how i feel right now!!!

Get on it with me start now and finish in November cos no one really gives a fuck but you'll feel good for it!!



I feel like i can run again (emoji), and i like being forest gump (emoji here too)

Sorry i type fast and talk shit but thats what i do (another emoji)

#emojiwanker

Resting from Working out

I have just had ten days completely off eating clean and exercising. I weren't feeling well and felt like I needed to feed it so I did, I also had a girlie weekend to make sure I wasn't poorly for so I completely rested and ate a lot more than I usually do. I feel like my body needed it and during the rest period I felt like my body was long gone I hadn't even seen myself I'd been drowned in layers upon layers of clothing and scarfs and blankets and duvets constantly wrapped up to keep warm. I was completely worried I'd have to start all over again, especially after the Chinese takeaway I demolished 'total dream'.

Anyway Monday came this week and I was straight back on it, Tuesday same again on it with a leg day in the gym and Wednesday has arrived and I feel good again and motivated to do better. I think breaks are good for this reason. For me they make me want to hit to the gym and they say 'nothing tastes as good as fit feels' and it's so true. I love feeling toned and healthy and what healthy feels like. 



I do want to get back on the pavement running though as I see a total difference in my legs when I stop.

Thursday 8 October 2015

I'm an 85% food snob

I'm in such a weird place at the minute. Sometimes I think people look at me and think for god sake eat a fucking burger man!!! I'm sat in the staff room eating a Tupperware box full of fruit for my lunch and I honestly 100% completely enjoy it. Everyday I do this and have done for the last six month.... Am I fucked up or what cos a few years ago I'd have looked at someone doing that and thought 'get a life'. Why are you counting calories, stupid dieting rah rah rah!! But here I am now not on any fucking diet eating what the hell I want and not trying to lose weight but just choosing a healthier lifestyle for myself and loving it.

I get offered out for fish and chips, pie and peas, Taco Bell, bacon sandwiches etc on a daily basis and I refuse everyday cos I really don't want to eat it. What is wrong with this woman!! Sometimes I still go on the road trip out cos I'm not jealous I'm not eating it. I wonder why people eat that amount crap processed food constantly and don't think twice about it.

I have changed haven't I??



I used to eat two freaking Big Macs on a Saturday morning to soak up my hangover and then think about what chinese I was ordering for tea.

Urgh all I see now is disgustingness 

I'm a 85% food snob tha knows.period.


Wednesday 30 September 2015

South Park Energy Balls

I found this idea on the internet a few months ago and saved it to remake, however the ingredients it needed i just never picked up as they didn't sell them in my local supermarkets and to be honest there not cheap super foods either.


I wanted to make these and i always need a quick snack and if there's not a healthy snack around i'll take what i can which is usually biscuits or a chocolate bar. I've said before if my hubby didn't buy these things i wouldn't have them in the house full stop.


Anyway yesterday i reinvented this recipe to cover what foods are in my cupboards or at least on the supermarket shelves and it is still healthy and i know whats in it.

Unfortunately I don't use measurements ha ha i'm a throw it in and see what happens kinda gal

Ingredients:

Pre-seeded Dates about 20
Teaspoon of coconut oil
Teaspoon of cocoa (Cacoa nibs can also be used)
10 Raw Almonds
10 Raw Cashew Nuts
Sprinkle Mixed Seeds (just from Aldi 79p for a small packet of mixed seed snacks)
Sprinkle of flax seeds

Chuck all the ingredients in a blender and walla!!! Roll them into little balls and i popped them in the fridge to harden up before storing in a Tupperware ready to snack on when needed!



Yummy, i couldn't get everyone's hands off them so I've hidden them in the fridge under the salad where no one else will look!!!

PS the original recipe included
Chia Seeds
Spirulina
Hemp powder

I suppose anything could be used as the dates form the base which everything sticks to.




Tuesday 15 September 2015

Progress so far 5 months in

So the journey continues I'm still working out daily still eating really clean and enjoying everything I'm doing.

Started a box fit class about 6 or 7 weeks ago and it's been amazing really enjoy it. It's an intense session that makes us sweat buckets and red in the face and it feels good. The first session was so so hard we were nearly physically sick but ploughed through with the instructor pressuring you like a drill sergeant which makes it better. But as the weeks have gone on we all feel stronger and although it's always still really hard it's a well needed exercise switch which concentrates a lot on the core with sit ups, planking and press ups!! When I started I could barely do one full press but now I can do more and am gaining upper body strength through it.



Also I actually got six pack points from my other half who said they were looking a lot more defined 'high frickin five' laddo 

I've sort of ditched running on the weekend as I've lost my mojo with it and I'm making it up other ways anyway so don't mind. We participated in the cannon hall run 10k a couple of Sunday's ago and it completely killed us! It was such a hilly run and totally wasn't expecting the hills or the heat and although I've run that distance and beyond many times I didn't train well up to the date but we completed with my best time ever for a 10k too 1.07 which isn't the best I know but it's my personal best and I wasn't last haha I was 306th though Pah that's why I fucking quit running 😆

So I'm still at a weight I'm really happy with the lowest I've been and maintained with no effort I've dropped a complete dress size and it's killed me having to put clothes away that are clearly too big cos there good clothes like but hey ho a new wardrobe is built in time for autumn/winter 🙌🏽

Wednesday 5 August 2015

Post holiday bod

Soooooo I'm back from kos in Greece and have had an amazing holiday with the famalam! 2 weeks all inclusive with delicious food and amazing cocktails on tap what more does a gal want in summertime!!!!

So I've been dreading coming home to the dreaded scales after 3 course meals every mealtime plus constant supplies of icecream fizzy drinks and cocktails not my usual lifestyle choice but Ive gone at it full throttle and totally enjoyed myself but not entirely guilt free.

I was happy to see the scales hadn't changed on my arrival home and my new Levi jeans pre holiday purchase still foot without having to do the stretchy get on me dance I sometimes have to do!!

However my body is a wobbly mess and I can't wait to return to the gym and the road and a healthy fridge to pick at.

I now have to motivate myself to restart the journey I began and get back on track pushing myself even more!

I have a goal of a 10k marathon in a few week at canon hall so this should hopefully get me back into my running shoes, and my mate I hope is now back in the gym so will get me there with a bit of friendly motivation too. Food shop was completed this morning with no biscuits chocolates sugary shit or crap bought.

I have been doing water aerobics and swimming some lengths and a bike ride too whilst on holiday but nothing in comparison to what I was doing.

How was your holidays did you feel like this on your return or did u make better choices whilst on holiday than me!! 💪🏽

Wednesday 15 July 2015

My fitness pal

According to my fitness pal I should be a stone lighter every day I'm under my calorie goal and it says in 5 weeks you should weigh a stone less than I actually am!! Why is this!? What is it doing?!

Rampage over 


Monday 13 July 2015

Feed me MAMA

So food wise - i'm my own worst enemy
I eat so good all day long then binge on biscuits come evening brew time i blame the other half
my cupboards would be without chocolate and biscuits if it wasn't for him. I honestly wouldn't do it unless i was desperate for a treat then id make some sort of healthy flapjack or something.

It kills me that this is the ruin of me but i think as i eat pretty well the rest of the time i shouldn't punish myself too much but i'm working to cut it out. but i just wish i didnt nail 5 custard creams when i have a cup of tea at night when ive worked so hard all day!

So typical day for me whilst at work:

Breakfast - 2 Scrambled egg with cherry tomatoes or salmon or avocado

Mid-morning snack  - banana







Lunch - fruit bowl - apple, kiwi, berries & skyr yogurt


Dinner - chicken, vegetables, rice/pasta


Afters - Flapjack

I drink a mix of water, green tea and tea with almond milk throughout the day


other examples

Breakfast - Wheatabix or porridge with almond milk
Lunch - chicken and roasted veg

Dinners -
Homemade curry with tomato base packed with veg and chicken/basa fish fillet + rice with kidney beans
Meat with broccoli, asparagus, peppers and roasted sweet potatoes
Stir fry packed with vegetables and sprinkled with soy sauce not packet sauces



I'm trying to use less and less jars and packets of sauces and instead use spices and tomato juice/coconut milk to make dishes tastier if needed.

I'm also trying to make plates 50% vegetables, 30% Chicken and 20% rice/potato etc

We never eat ready meals i make all meals from scratch and even doing the weekly shop i concentrate on buying raw fruit, vegetables and meat and not processed/packet foods or ready meals.

I generally always cook the evening meals so i get the choice of exactly whats in my meals, it saves us so much money also cooking like this. I do my best to switch it up for everyone else though so there not getting bored of eating the same vegetable and plates of food, I like them to come home to something unexpected and i'm naturally good at chucking ingredients together and making a delicious meal without it seeming like boring health food.

I've been like this for a long time as i'm against plastics and food packed with all these ingredients we cant even pronounce, additives that i believe are the cause of many diseases in our bodies, i'm conscious of avoiding them.

If i eat out at a friends or family i'm not like whats this whats in it wheres it from ill happily eat whatever they cook no questions asked i'm not a freak about it cos i'm too laid back a person to be like that but when i can choose i make better choices.

I use my fitness pal to track my progress and this again makes you consciously think about what your eating and how much your eating, I generally eat under 1600 calories and have reduced it to 1400 calories per day recently reason being to make me not eat that biscuit! And did i mention i go on holiday in days now!!

I wrote the above a few days ago and I've actually had such a crappy week like I just want to binge and I don't know if it's because I'm telling my self to be really good the week before the holiday or my body just needs more than what I'm giving it. So naturally I give it what it wants. I'm only talking about a few sweets and toast for breakfast instead of the norm or I had little pancakes with strawberries this morning nom yum nom  and also James decided to sort tea first time in months and bought some marks and Spencer's ready meals I could have died when I saw them! I was like I know Uve gone out of the way to pick us a nice tea but WHY THESE haha one had like 74% of ur daily allowance of fat, sugar and carbs!! This is the sort of thing that puts me off eating this crap! He agreed after we had eaten them that they were shit and we could have made nicer healthier versions with what we had in fridge etc 
Went on a good bike ride last night and I've had a sore ass today so went to gym and focused on my arms and shoulders today too so I'm still working out and eating under my calorie goal but just making bad choices to what I'd like. 


I still run around 3 grates cos it's bad luck



Stretching is the law, you can't run well without doing it, try it, you'll be shit and you'll be crippled for a few days. I've done it and it hurts during and after your run.

I enjoy my run stretching now, full body stretches are something i'm trying to do daily as the more i'm working out the more i wake up aching and feel like i need to stretch it out.

My body felt good this weekend, knocked out a 7.5 mile run on Saturday Morning and changed the route which definitely makes it more enjoyable. Not knowing a route is key to a long run we agreed because you don't know where you are and how many mile to go etc so i think were going to be switching our routes up a lot more in future.

We no longer fear hills, ok so we power walked up a massive hill on Saturday which was at the beginning of our route so not to burn ourselves out before we'd even started. but the rest of the route was also a slight incline for a good few miles so this has to be done. Its also a good warm up.

We started planning short runs into our weekly training which focused on hills and not stopping till we hit the top which has helped us in our training definitely. So we might only knock out a 3 mile run but half of that run could be up a steep hill. what hills aren't steep when your running ey, its key to slow it down in order not to flake at the start.

But i don't feel broken if i have to stop and walk every so often either its all part of training your body, just power walk through it when you need a breather and slow it down in general.

I also get runners knee its not as bad at the minute but early on i damaged it by sprinting down a big hill which i don't ever do and it niggled me for weeks and weeks so this was another reason for being a stretching crusader. I ran it out though i didn't let it stop me sometimes i try and bounce differently whilst running or swap weight on legs etc i just try and mix things up to take the strains away.


Tuesday 7 July 2015

High on life and peanut butter

Running foods

I was high on life and peanut butter once upon a time.


So my pre run breakfast was always toast with peanut butter, banana and sprinkled with cinnamon, this breakfast put me in good stead for them long runs but the more i was running the more i realised i wanted to spew up on the taste of the peanuts in my mouth whilst running, it was constantly repeating on me and my saliva.

So i gave up on peanut butter breakfasts and now enjoy porridge with banana, wheatabix and also scrambled eggs, tomatoes and bacon/salmon or avocado. These foods always give me plenty of energy to see a good mileage through. however me mate Kate ploughs through on mars bars, protein shakes or few haribo!!!! do what you love, its the best method.

One Saturday night i had eaten a Chinese takeaway which i don't eat often and totally pigged out and felt like crap afterwards. Well the following morning we had arranged to do a big Sunday run as you do. Well i totally flaked 6 mile in i couldn't run my heart attacked! It wasn't that i ached or felt sick or was out of breath, my heart would not stop pounding out of my chest. I walked it off several times and every time i started to run it came back and i nearly died roadside.


Again this experience showed me the crap we shovel in out bodies as ill effects and this day i nearly dramatically pretended to die. I wont do it again though its totally put me off takeaways.

Im no goddess of clean eating but i try to be as good as possible without living like a mortar and im happy with my diet and genuinely enjoy eating my fruit and veg in vast amounts daily. Again another lifestyle change ive adopted and inflicted upon my family. who have healthy teeth and tums in return!!





Holiday Ab countdown

So if you were gullible enough to read my last cry for help, obviously i realise how silly it sounded! "Been to gym for a month and i don't look like arnie", who was i kidding!

So i am now 7 weeks in now and this week i have been back on the running game, which i am pleased about because i lapsed for a whole month and my thighs knew all about it, honestly! So this proved to me what it was actually doing for my legs which helped me get my trainers back on i think. Really happy I've bashed a few out because i started getting the fear of not being able to run which would be terrible as id built a good base up this year.

I started running seriously again in January 2015 and built up a good stamina, i noticed that this time last year i quit running so thinking it must have something to do with the weather as i don't like the heat and sunshine for running in id rather it rain!

I can also lift more in the gym i have been naturally pushing myself and increasing weights as its become easier to rep so i'm really happy about that and its given me a better perspective and realisation that this is a long haul game and i got to be in it forever to win at it.

Its a lifestyle change I've hopefully made and it fits in to my daily routine with no pressure which is what it has to do.

Its funny how you change because if i miss a day of working out i feel it, which i like as it makes me want to go the next day.

This morning i woke up at 5.45am so got up and went to the gym before work, it was well busy and i was driving there thinking is this dedication or madness, and its neither because every other person does this and doesn't shout about it just gets on with it. So i stopped thinking i was the bomb for being there as its like going to the supermarket at the end of the day, we don't all shout about that on facebook do we!

13 days till i go on holiday so this is my last dedicated push of daily burning calories and pumping those abs ready for cocktails and lazing on the beach for a fortnight! #WECANDOTHIS


GOALS!!!

Thursday 18 June 2015

Getting ripped PAH

Well I went from one extreme to the other after re-reading my last blogpost! I've started trying to get some muscle definition by joining the gym and actually going.

I am like 4 weeks in and going 4 times a week and spending 45 minutes weight training. Now I'm no meathead or Arnold Swarchneger (however he's spelt). But I see no results???? I use my fitness pal to track my shiz and I eat lots of protein and I'm lifting more each week but body wise its not showing.

I eat pretty fuck good, always been into clean eating, cooking from scratch, no processed ready meal crap hardly goes in my mouth. I am no angel I kid you not I like me a maccy ds and a gobful of chocolate but overall I am well good at cooking and eating from the earth and all that organic turnip bumf. (I grow my own nikki fresh veg ill post ya one day)

Now I need to see some definition before I give up, what else do I do? I've been pumping on the right machines and increased my weights weekly and am doing 3 reps of each weight 8-12 times. I read you should be lifting a weight you cant do more than 12 times so I'm on with that too.

I do a bit of cardio to warm up and finish on the amazing flabelos machines which I love being shaken about on!!! I right enjoy feeling all the wobbly bits being wobbled away if that's what its really doing!! I feel like it is so I'm happy with that.

My running career is over like Madonna. Well its not but I missed a week of running and don't feel like forest gump anymore which is annoying, I'm going to get back on I really am and writing this I wanna run down street just thinking about it. My mates are shit runners too they never drag my arse out like id like them too!! can I blame them it feels good to blame them and not myself! In fact who needs them I started this journey alone and ill finish it alone!! Laughing, we me medals bouncing round my rack haha JOKES

So I've got this journey off my chest I don't know what else to add but I'm gonna finish work and get in gym and carry on working my squatting ass off cos 4 weeks clearly isn't enough time to get ripped!!

Now let me know is anyone reading this shit, can anyone relate to this shiz and what else you wanna chat about like? wheres spell checker, why don't they make a Yorkshire spell check cos there's a lot of red squiggly lines under my notes!

Tuesday 12 May 2015

Running

Last year I started running or jogging some may say. I was limited to the park behind my house as I was living in fear of running anywhere that wasn't near home. I applauded myself for a 3 mile run and then retiried!

This year I decided to start again I'm 3 months in and can now run 8.5 mile. That's the furthest I've pushed myself and not attempted anything more as of yet.

Im using the nike running app to track my progress which I love. It has logged my runs, times, distances etc and shows me my history and my journey in a way.

I started running a mile max and that's all I could manage for a week or so and that's what makes me proud to know what I can do now. 

Some days I'm shit and can't run but if you just keep going you start getting in the zone where you feel like forest gump and could run forever and then you get the bug where you just want to run every day because it's making you feel so good. 

What I don't understand is im not losing any weight however my body is toning my legs are losing cellulite and my stomach is more defined. I feel good and that's all I want. 

Fit to fat to fit

Everyone wants to lose weight and get fit and tone up some part of their body. If they say they don't I believe them but they secretly do! 
I have always been that person to be fair, happy with my weight, never doing a fad diet, can't be arsed to exercise but always wishing I looked better without any effort. Truth is it doesn't happen that way.
When I finally realised I was lying to myself was when Id gotten a new job where I was constantly active never stopping and being physically exhausted At the end of every shift. This hell of a job did wonders for my physique and I loved it. I always thought my body wasn't meant to be that way but it really can when you change your lifestyle completely. 
Now I'm not saying quit your lazy ass jobs but think about your activity on a daily basis.... Download the pacer app and see how active you are on a day to day basis. Do it!!! It makes you want to get up and walk when you see the results.
Let me expand! I quit this active job, where I logged 6 mile of walking every shift for 4 months, for a desk job and was terrified of the effect this was going to have on my body. 
1 month in I felt disgusting my pacer had gone from 14000 steps per day to 300!!! What the actual hell!!! 
This is what has changed my life, even though I'm currently living this its a life changer. Follow my progress and join in.