Tag: working out


Sep
2014

Planning Healthy Meals

categories: Food & Drink

I have to admit, my healthy eating went completely out the window over summer. It was either too hot to bother or I was feeling too lazy to plan, shop and cook. Plus I ate all the ice cream and barely moved, with the exception of walking Poppy. Oops. So I needed to get myself sorted, shopping for and cooking healthy meals, moving more and generally getting myself organised. The only way this was going to happen if I planned my meals and prepped them ahead of time. I started planning my meals on A4 paper, but as you can see, it’s a little messy so I made a menu plan template, which looks a little neater.

Hand written menu plan Menu Plans

To make my life a little easier, I’m going to rotate these plans every four weeks, swapping out seasonal foods where possible. By the end of September, I’ll have plenty of healthy meal options, which can all be made very easily or ahead of time, essential in my book and I’ll have all of the ingredients in my favourites in my online shopping list. Ordering takeaway is always going to be easier, so I need to make sure I make healthy eating as easy as possible or I just won’t do it.

Menu Plan Template

I get most of my meal ideas from Pinterest. I don’t know where I’d be without it, though my iPad screen would be a lot cleaner! It’s such a great place to find healthy meals and lunch inspiration, so that I don’t get bored. I’m also doing the 30 Day Shred throughout September to get myself moving and I’m already thinking about exercise I can do in October. I think I need to mix things up or I’ll get bored and stop.

I’ve been eating healthily for over a week now and feel good. The focus has been wholesome foods, cooked from scratch where possible, lots of fruit and veg. We’re lucky to live near Modern Baker so that we can still enjoy a cake while we watch #GBBO, but not ruin our healthy eating. So far, it’s going really well and I can definitely feel the difference.

What are your healthy eating tips? How do you make sure you’re not calling Dominos everyday?! If you think the meal plan I made would be helpful to you, feel free to download away!


Mar
2014

Why I love Body Combat

categories: Fitness

Or how I learnt to punch using my elbow!

I’ve always had a love/hate relationship with exercise. Running has always been my favourite, but getting started really sucks. Once you’re past the initial stages and you’re pretty good at it, it’s really ace. I like it because it’s free, it’s just you and the pavement, you just pop your trainers (and your sports bra) on and go. No muss, no fuss. Unfortunately I’m carrying a knee injury, which means I need to be lighter to go running without damaging my knee further. I’ve dabbled in the 30 Day Shred, which has its place, but I’m bored of it now. I’m also doing Davina’s Fit in 15, which is pretty good, but I tend to do the cardio section plus one of the others Monday – Wednesday and want something else to make me stronger and help strengthen my core. This is where Body Combat comes in.

Body Combat

 

I love Body Combat because:

  1. The teachers are always excellent, even though I can never understand them over the music. I like working out at home, but I never push myself as hard as I do in Combat. My current teacher comes round during a track where we have to sprint and lift our knees high. She makes me lift them higher than I think I can.
  2. I’ve never been particularly strong or coordinated. I’m always the one at the back of the class, struggling with doing all the moves at once, poking my tongue out in concentration. It might take me a while to get the move down, but once I’ve got it, I can pretty much do it.
  3. You don’t stop moving for an hour. Track after track, you just keep going. There’s no pausing the DVD to get your breath back. There’s only enough time for me to clean my glasses!
  4. You can unleash your rage. I’ve imagined punching colleagues, friends, family, the works. Most of all, I’m just fighting myself, trying to make myself work harder and not think about how tough it is, how unfit I am, how red I am, how much I want to lie down!
  5. While I resemble nothing like the woman in the video below (and probably never will!) I like to think that I do and that I could hold my own in a fight.

I detest going to the gym. The music sucks, it smells and there’s always someone grunting and dripping sweat everywhere. But in Combat, you’re too exhausted for any of that. So once a week, I get in my car, drive over to the leisure centre for combat and I love it!

What’s your favourite form of exercise? The one thing that gets you moving off the sofa?