Weekly Fitness | Not A lot To Report

This week has been pretty similar to last week in terms of health and fitness, I’ve eaten relatively well…ish, although maybe not as good as last week and again I haven’t gone to the gym at all. Ah God, I miss the gym! I seriously can’t wait for payday next week so I can get back on it, it can’t come soon enough. Although I have exercised more this week than I did the last, as my sister Zoë has introduced me to the wonderful world of HIIT.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training and it’s pretty fantastic. With HIIT, you follow a pattern such as 30 seconds intense exercise followed by a 15 second rest interval, usually repeating this for around twenty minutes but of course you can do it for however long you want. I use this fantastic YouTube video for my HIIT exercising as it plays really intense music for the 30 seconds you work out and during the 15 second breaks the narrator inspires you with positive and motivating quotes such as ‘the secret of getting ahead is getting started’. I usually do around twenty reps (20 sets of 30 second exercises) and I vary my exercises accordingly. Sometimes I focus on arms, sometimes on legs, sometimes on abs and sometimes all over. I love to do Russian Twists, bicycle, donkey kicks and star jumps. They are probably my favourite exercises! This week I have done a couple of amazing HIIT workouts and as I get back to the gym next week I fully intend to continue HIIT at home in the mornings before work. On my days off I am aiming to do half an hour of HIIT at home and I can’t wait to fully get into a routine of HIIT and gym. It will be good!

I haven’t eaten so well this week as I had three cheat days on Sunday, Monday and Friday and my real downfall has been snacking at work. People have been bringing in cakes, biscuits and sweets and out of nothing but boredom, I’ve caved in and scoffed my face. Not good! I need to focus on just having my main three meals a day, potentially a tiny treat if I fancy it but less snacking! As I write this post I feel more motivated to really crack on and not give into the temptation of treats, I don’t even always enjoy them so much. But you live and learn and going forward I’m definitely going to keep focused and only eat when I’m hungry. I won’t deprive myself of anything but I’m certainly going to stop eating out of boredom and only have a treat if I really fancy it, not for the sake of it.

Overall I’ve not really got much to report this week. I’ve been loving my HIIT training and would highly recommend, I’ve eaten more than I wish I had and I’m buzzing to get back to the gym. Roll on next week!

What have you done this week to keep fit? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you all for reading,

Love,

Jennie.

♥

Weekly Fitness | Healthy Eating

Hey everyone!

Wow, what a beautiful sunny day it is today, I’m laying out in my garden sunbathing whilst writing this blog post thinking this is the life. I could definitely get used to this and to say this is making me so excited to go on holiday in August would be an understatement. Italy I’m ready for ya!

Of course as I’m sunbathing I’m laying out in my bikini and I’m feeling soooo good, the healthy eating and gym sessions are paying off and I’m finally starting to feel confident and happy with my body. I’m so happy. I have a little way to go to until I’m really where I want to be but I’m getting there and I’m so pleased with how much I’ve achieved so far.

This week I haven’t actually gone to the gym at all. I’ve wanted to, but I’ve had to save my taxi money I’d have used for this week for next week instead, but I will definitely be going to the gym twice next week, doing 2x two hour sessions to make up for what I’ve missed. I’ve decided that from next week onwards I’m going to stay longer at the gym when I go, normally I go for about just over an hour but now I’m going to make sure I stay for at least an hour and a half but mostly aim for two hour sessions. I’m going to stick to my goal of going at least twice a week but I’m aiming to throw in an extra gym sesh every other week so sometimes I go three times. I’m really looking forward to getting on with this and going back to the gym next week, I’ve missed it so much (who’d have thought I’d ever say that hey?)!

Although I haven’t been to the gym at all this week I don’t feel bad about it as I’ve been eating really well plus I did an amazing 20 minute toning workout this morning which left me feeling so good afterwards. I’m happy.

This week my eating has been on point. I had quite an unhealthy day on Sunday and the same on Monday, but since then I’ve literally done amazing and using my food journal has definitely helped so much. I’ve set calorie goals for each day right up until the end of this month and I’ve found this to be really helpful in keeping me motivated to eat clean and healthy. So far I’ve consumed around 100 less calories this week than I’ve given myself allowance for which is amazing and so far today I’ve eaten clean, however I am off clubbing tonight so we’ll just see what happens this evening. You know what it’s like after a night out, food quickly becomes your best friend and with a pizza place right next to the club, I may find it a struggle to resist.

I’ve still had a couple of treats here and there and like I always go on about, I’ve made sure not to deprive myself of anything. I’ve snacked on my favourite kit Kats, Wotsits and Squares. When there have been times I’ve wanted an extra treat before dinner, even though I didn’t really need one, I’ve curbed my cravings by reaching for my favourite fruit banana rather than giving in to the temptation of chocolate and crisps which has been excellent, adding to my daily fruit intake and keeping my diet clean.

I am so proud of my eating choices this week, I really feel as if I’ve done so well and I’m really noticing positive changes to my body now.

I am so excited to see what the next week holds, I’ve a feeling it’s going to be even better than this one!

What’s your favourite healthy snack? Do you prefer working out at home or going to the gym? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you all for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

Weekly Fitness | A Very Successful Week

Hey ya’ll. Is it bed time yet?

I’m so tired and seriously ready to sleep but before I do that it’s weekly fitness time, hurray. I literally love writing these posts at the end of every week, it’s so much fun to look back on my progress and see what I’ve achieved throughout the past seven days (alright Craig David).

This past week I have done so well with both eating and exercising and I’m really pleased with what I’ve achieved. I feel like I’ve eaten a lot less without depriving myself of anything and I’ve balanced treats with healthy eating so well this week. Although I’ve had a couple of cheat days none of them have been over the top. Except today maybe as I have eaten a fair amount but even so I don’t feel guilty for what I’ve consumed and I’m so happy about that. I know I’ve had more than my daily calorie goal intake today but I’m not too fussed as the majority of the time this week I’ve not gone over 1700kcal and I know it’s important to let go every now and then and indulge a little – I think we’d all go a little bit mad without treat days wouldn’t we.

On Monday I went to Thorpe Park with the gals so I knew I wasn’t going to have the healthiest of days but I’m really chuffed as even though I enjoyed my food and didn’t hold back, I found ways to stay healthy and not go crazy. On the journey there I took a bowl of fruit rather than crisps and when we stopped off in Maccies for breakfast even though I was so tempted to get a bacon roll I managed to resist temptation and hold out till lunch time knowing I wasn’t really hungry and would have been eating for the sake of it. In the afternoon I did treat myself to a chocolate ice cream because c’mon, how could I not??? When at Thorpe Park… I’ll be honest and say the ice cream was no Baskin Robbins but it was alright and again the nice thing is I didn’t feel at all guilty for eating it. YAY.

Last week I mentioned how I was going to start filling out a weekly fitness journal which started off really well and helped to keep me on track however towards the end of the week I was getting too sleepy before bed to be bothered to fill it out. I’m going to keep persevering with it though as I find it does help a lot to keep me motivated and conscious of the food I eat and the exercises I do, plus it’s motivating to set daily goals so I have something to work towards. I’ll just have to try and fill it out earlier in the evenings from now on.

I went to the gym three times this week, once on Sunday with my sister which was more of a spa day than anything as we had a quick swim and spent the rest of the afternoon in the sauna/jacuzzi/steam room/saunarium. So lush. I swam 10 laps which is still the most I’ve done so far, my next goal will have to be 15.

Gym or holiday destination?

 

I had one of my best gym sessions ever this week on Wednesday as I stayed for 1 hour and 15 minutes and burnt 550 calories. That’s the most I’ve ever burnt whilst doing cardio and I was so happy. That evening I spent my time between the cross trainer and exercise bike and I loved every second.

Yesterday I had another great gym sesh, having a go on the cross trainer, exercise bike and throwing the treadmill into the mix too. I burnt around 400 calories but I’ll admit I lost count so I’m not 100% sure but I was there for about an hour doing cardio. Afterwards I did some floor exercise, using the medicine balls to do some of my favourite Russian Twists. If you caught my May Reflections post you’ll know I’ve been loving them recently and yesterday I did over 100. Smashing it!!!

At home I’ve been continuing to do my sit ups on the reg, and I’ve also started practicing donkey kicks which are so. bloody. hard. They’re definitely worth it though as they help to shape the butt so as much of a struggle that they are I’m still going to keep doing them. I do them pretty much every other day and they are so easy to incorporate into daily life, sometimes I’ll do them whilst the adverts are on TV. Simple.

Overall I am so happy with how this week has gone health and fitness wise, I feel I’ve had such a successful week and it’s possibly been one of my best yet since I started this journey.

I’m so excited to see what this next week holds. What are your fitness goals for the next week? Let me know in the comments below.

Thank you for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

Weekly Fitness | All About The Food

Urgh.

Urgh is all I can say as to how I feel right now.

So far my so called fitness journey is not going to plan. Although last week I had an amazing week, eating really healthily and exercising a lot, once the weekend hit the clean eating went out the window and Saturday, Sunday and Monday were full on cheat days. In fact to call them cheat days would be an understatement. I ate everything in my sight. No bueno.

The rest of this week I found myself back on track and I wasn’t eating so bad, I was pretty happy with how things had turned around until last night when I went out with the girls for drinks… and everyone knows after drinks comes midnight McDonalds, oops.

How cute are these cocktails though?

 

And today I visited my Grandparents which was so lovely, but you know it’s impossible to be healthy when you visit your Grandparents right? They fill you with dinner, desserts, sweets, crisps and cakes and by the end of the day it’s like you’ve eaten your full body weight in snacks! It’s just the Grandparents way, and how can you not love them for it???

My loves.

ANYWAY

 

I now realise it’s time to seriously sort out my diet. No more cheat days!!! My Mum says it’s fine if you’re having more good days than bad and I couldn’t agree more, especially as you should never ever deprive yourself of a treat here and then but for me I feel as if I’m having more bad days than good days. I just need to flip that around which I can definitely do.

To get me focused on sticking to a diet plan, I’ve got this-

A food and exercise journal I bought way back at the start of the year and now seems the perfect time to finally start filling it out properly.

With this journal I can set myself daily goals, fruit and veg intake goals, count my calories and monitor my exercises. I will fill this out everyday and stick to my goal of 1700 calories a day maximum!

Being honest, on the days I have been good I haven’t found it a struggle to stick to my 1700kcal goal, it’s actually been really easy. It’s just the days I let go I really let go and lose all self control.

I’m determined to make a change with my diet as I really want to be healthy, eat clean and be comfortable in my body.

Here’s to next week being healthier.

LETS DO THIS!!!

Thank you all for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

Weekly Fitness | Diet Goals & Daily Sit Ups

Hi guys.

How is everyone?

This week has been kind of yay, kind of nay fitness wise. Not my best week, but definitely not my worst.

I started off the week with a walk with the girls, more so a stroll than a walk so although we were active we didn’t do any hard core exercise. Still, a walk around the lake is more beneficial than sitting at home on the sofa all day right? Good as the walk was, the girls and I may have also ended up having a little picnic so I may have gone a bit wild with ice cream, scotch eggs and red velvet cake but hey, who can say no to all that tastiness?

Yesterday I went a little wild with the ice cream, as even though I was already full up from dinner I just had to get not one, but two scoops of Baskin Robbins chocolate ice cream to eat whilst at the cinema. I can’t resist, but I need to behave. Everything in moderation I say, but I feel sometimes I have more cheat days than clean days and I need to switch that around.

I’ve decided to set myself a goal of 1700 calories a day, except on cheat days twice a week where I will give myself an allowance of 2000 calories. This is really achievable as today I’ve still got 222 calories left of my allowance and it’s almost bed time so I’ve done really well. Plus I’ve enjoyed what I’ve eaten- with delicious chicken and cheese wraps for dinner and a yummy bag of quavers as a snack. I think I’m gonna have some Maltesers before bed too whilst I watch Britain’s Got Talent. It’s so important to still eat treats and not cut anything out, as depriving yourself of food can lead to serious binging which can be so unhealthy.

♥

When it comes to exercise this week has been okay. I did a brilliant 20 minute home workout on Monday which left me feeling so good, as I focused on toning my arms and abs. I did four minutes worth of sit ups and just about managed three push ups- they are so hard, I’m thinking next time I’ll aim for four ha ha.

Thanks to my friend Charlotte, I found this amazing Instagram page ‘factsoftraining’ which has lots of brilliant home workout guides, and I’ve found this has helped me a lot when deciding what exercises to incorporate into my routines.

I only went to the gym once this week and I wasn’t so impressed with the session. Atlanta and I attended two classes, Aqua Fit and Pilates. Aqua Fit was tragic, as the water was too deep for me and I ended up embarrassing myself big time as I got cramp in my leg and couldn’t help crying out in panic. A lady had to swim over and drag me to the side of the pool so I could sort myself out, typical me. Pilates was okay and I’d definitely do it again, but only after a proper gym session (not after a failed Aqua Fit attempt). To be honest, I’m not so much a fan of classes as I feel they don’t really do a lot for me. I find I work a lot harder on my own in the gym doing what I wanna do, not following instructions and trying to grasp different routines. I do want to try Spin at some point though!

Along with my home workout and my one gym session, I squeezed in lots of sit ups this week. For the past three days I have done 3 minutes worth of sit ups each morning before work which is fab. I absolutely love sit ups, I find even after just a few days of doing them when I look in the mirror I already notice such a vast, positive difference to my waist area. Yes yes yes to sit ups.

Going forward for the coming week I’m really looking forward to at least two hard core gym sessions, at least two home workouts and as many sit ups each morning as possible. I’m also looking forward to lowering my calorie intake, drinking more water and consistently eating healthy, nutritional meals.

What are your health and fitness goals for this week? Let me know in the comments below.

I hope you all enjoyed this post,

thank you for reading,

love,

Jennie.

♥

Weekly Fitness | Gym, Swim & Weights

Hey guys!

Firstly, I can’t believe how much I’ve slacked on the blog lately. I’ve only uploaded one post this month so far which was embarrassingly filled with typos and mistakes… oops. I have just been so busy lately, seeing friends, spending time with family and of course going to the GYM…

Which brings me to my second point of discussion.

A couple of weeks ago I published my first ever Fit Fridays post, which was supposed to be the start of a weekly blog series documenting my fitness journey… though that hasn’t gone exactly to plan considering I haven’t done a fitness post since.

I have meant to, it’s just more often than not I get home so late on a Friday night I’m too tired to get my laptop out and blog, I just wanna get my pyjamas on and go to bed.

I’ve decided now that rather than doing ‘Fit Fridays’ I’m going to do ‘Weekly Fitness’ instead. So I can write about my fitness journey either on a Friday or Saturday each week without having to switch up the series name every time (because Fit Saturdays just doesn’t work).

Which brings me to the actual point of todays post,

my fitness progress.

My second week of my official journey wasn’t the best as I only made it to the gym once (still better than nothing) and Emily and I swapped our weekly walk for Pizza Hut. Oops. You’ve gotta treat yourselves sometimes though right?

Then on Saturday any sign of healthy eating went completely out the window as the work gals and I went out for Atlanta’s birthday and we consumed way too much bread, drank a little too much and finished the night with a big ol’ McDonalds.

The week wasn’t a complete right off though as I had fun with my friends and of course I did make it to the gym once. Like they say, slow progress is better than no progress.

In contrast to last week, this week has been excellent health and fitness wise.

I’ve been to the gym three times and stuck to my eating plan – 3 main meals and only two little treats a day. I even managed to resist the temptation of chocolate fingers the other night, impressive or what?

My workouts at the gym have been brilliant too. On Tuesday Atlanta, Charlotte and I had a great cardio and weights session where I worked a little more on my arms – they were hurting for days afterwards.

No pain no gain.

Last night I had a really fun sesh with the girls – Atlanta, Bridge, Tiff and Charlotte. We started off with weights, which I really struggled with but I gave them a go, followed by a short spot of cardio on the bikes and cross trainers. We then headed up to the studio and worked on arms and abs, using yoga balls, punching gloves and rope. This was so much fun and required a lot of effort, I felt like I’d worked harder than ever after this. More studio time is a must in the future.

This morning I managed to drag myself out of bed so Mum could use my visitors pass and join me at the gym.

We had a great time. We smashed cardio and I had a nice go using the Stair Master which is such hard work but soooo good. I managed weights for about a minute until I started to feel a little ill, so Mum and I decided to call it a day and head to the pool. We had a swim and I managed 8 laps which is the most I’ve done so far, then we finished our day off with some Jacuzzi and Steam Room time, perfect.

All in all this week has been great for fitness and I am so thrilled as I’m really starting to see some changes in my body and everybody keeps mentioning how much weight I’ve lost. Amazing!!!

I am so looking forward to seeing what next week holds and I can’t wait to update you all again soon with my progress.

Thank you all for reading,

love,

Jennie

♥

Fit Fridays | My First Week

Hey guys!

Oh my gosh, I am so tired. I really should be sleeping right now cause its late and I have work in the AM but I can’t exactly miss my first week of Fit Fridays now can I?

If you caught my latest post then you will know that this week I joined the gym and officially hopped on board the fitness train.

I am loving it.

Since signing up on Tuesday, I have been to the gym three times. Twice purely for the gym and once for Step class with Atlanta.

I’ve done step classes before but that was such a long time ago, more or less 5 years ago now so really this class was new to me. I’ll be honest and say it wasn’t the highlight of my week. I enjoyed the class with Atlanta, the instructor was so friendly and I really enjoyed the little squat session which was painful as anything but so so good, however for the most part I felt as though I was too busy concentrating on learning the routine than actually exercising. Plus I was slightly concerned I was going to fall off the step!!! I know the more I go the more I will learn the routines, though I’m not in any rush to go back and I’m really looking forward to trying a new class next week.

Today has been a day full of exercise. After work I met my sister at the gym and we had a crazy good session. I’d say it was my best gym sesh so far, I worked really hard, burnt loads of calories and got my heart rate up. Tonight I used the cross machine, the exercise bike and another piece of equipment similar to the cross machine but not quite the same as you move from side to side, if anyone knows what this is called please tell me as I’m not sure!

After a fab gym session I then met up with Emily for our weekly walk. Unfortunately Chantal couldn’t come tonight as she was poorly but Emily and I had a lovely time together anyway. We had some great chats and lots of giggles, laughing about the nights out we’ve had this month and reminiscing on Blackpool. We walked for about an hour around a local lake and ventured a little further than before so we discovered new parts of the area which was really cool. I love exploring and discovering places which I’ve never seen before, always good.

In total today (not including whilst at the gym) I have done 12309 steps which is fantastic and my walk with Emily probably made up the bulk of that figure. Luckily I have a job where I’m pretty much on my feet all day so that too really helps me get my steps in.

Along with walking and going to the gym this week, I also did 3 minutes worth of sit ups at home on Wednesday which I was still aching from today. I love doing sit ups and try to do them as often as possible and I’m now aiming to do them at least everyday I’m not at the gym.

Eating wise this week has been a good week. Sunday & Monday were definitely cheat days but they don’t count because I hadn’t joined the gym at that point! But since starting at the gym I’ve eaten a lot better and twice this week people have brought cakes in to work and both times I have resisted temptation and kept to eating my fruit. YAY me!!!

All in all this week has been a great start to my fitness journey and I am so excited to continue with it and see what the next few weeks bring.

I hope everyone enjoyed this post,

thank you all for reading.

Love,

Jennie.

♥