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 | 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.

♥