My weight loss so far- Week 1 of weighing!

Hello lovelies, I hope you've all been good, drinking your water and eating well?

Well, I seem to have found my mojo, I think writing this blog has really helped me to do that as well.

This week has been good for me food wise. I haven't had any cravings for bad food, and I have made sure I have had 2 litres of water everyday, 2-3 cups of herbal tea (caffeine free, otherwise I feel dizzy).

Last week was the first week of me weighing myself-I'd been a bit scared to do so, as I went away over Easter and munched on a few too many Danish meatballs at my parents house, my waistline had definitely gotten bigger by the time I returned. Read I could barely close my jeans.. And whilst I could *just* do the button up, the muffin overspill was rather horrendous!

I wore the same jeans yesterday and I felt so confident - there was no muffin top at the back!

So Anyway  without further ado, I weighed again today, and have lost 

Four lb!

I am rather pleased with that, as it is a good start and gives me motivation to press on for another week.

What I have been eating lots of this week has been:

Matzos (crackers with virtually no calories in- yes they do resemble cardboard, but you sort of get used to them after a while.

Raw radishes, I buy a few packs, wash and trim them and just munch on them as snack- they're so crunchy Nom.

Apples- loads.

Salad with lots in like grapes, olives, celery, mushrooms- I LOVE a good salad and if you grill a chicken breast and cut it into slices and add, it's very filling as well.

So that's me, I feel like a lighter person, so here's to another weight loss week.

Adios my lovelies x

What I eat to stay healthy- my daily diet.

Hey all- I am back :)

I have had some really amazing feedback on this little page and actually a fair few requests for things people would like to read about. I think that is so amazing- that I (yes me??) am able to inspire some people.

So the most requested post has been a post about what I eat.

I am very much a believer now in that in life you have to have a balance. You can't be good and diet 100% of the time and still have fun and *live*.

I often find my social life comes in the way of me wanting a  healthy lifestyle - but I do know that that has mostly been an excuse to keep stuffing my face with crisps and cream cakes ;)

I think if you live your life with an 80 / 20 approach you can't go wrong. By that I mean that if you are good and eat well for 80% of the time, then you can afford to be a little naughty 20% of the time.

This approach has worked for me for years and years, so I shall keep following it.

Sadly after I had my second baby, I just had no real motivation to get my pre- baby body back, so he is now 1 year old and I still have at least 1 stone (at least I say, ideally I'd shed 1.5 stones).

People do say to me I look fine, and I know my shape and size is not un-acceptable, but I don't feel great in myself, which is the most important thing, isn't it?

So I'll show you here what I keep in my cupboard and fridge and what I eat in a typical day, hopefully this will be helpful.

These things can always be found in my kitchen:

Protein

Chicken

Lean ham

Crab sticks

Fresh or frozen fish such as salmon & mackerel

prawns

Tuna - tinned in brine or water

Low fat yoghurt 0% with vanilla flavour

Low fat cottage cheese pineapple flavour (or any flavour)

Eggs

Skimmed milk

Tofu - mince, burgers

low fat cheese spread, such as Philadelphia

Vegetables 

Broccoli

Carrots

Green beans

Celery

Radishes

Peppers 

Onions

Peas

Sweetcorn

Mangetout (Sugarsnap Peas)

Spinach

Mushrooms

Tinned tomatoes - plum, chopped

Fruit

Apples

Bananas

Oranges

Peaches - fresh or tinned in juice

Pears

Frozen berries

Complex carbs

Brown rice

Whole grain bread

Wholeweat pasta

Seasonings

Garlic - fresh or minced (in a jar)

Chillis - fresh or dry

Stock cubes

Soy Sauce

Honey

Mustard - Coarse grain and Dijon

Vinegar - balsamic and wine vinegar

Fat free salad dressings
My average day would go something like  this:
Breakfast: Herbal tea & 1 piece of fruit (personally I can't eat in the morning)

Lunch : Tuna and reduced-fat dressing salad with1 eggs & green beans. 1 apple & 1 little pot of pineapples.

Dinner: Chicken cut into strips and vegetable stir-fry with brown rice; bowl of fresh fruit salad

Snacks and drinks: Snack on raw celery sticks, radishes, carrots, apples. Drink water, diet coke, green tea and other herbal tea.I like to have a little extra treat now and again, so I keep a box of very low fat ice lollies in the freezer, and have one as and when. Callipos have very few calories.

Of course that is one average day.. Some days don't go like this... In fact it can be hard being a mum of 2 small ones, and actually get time to make healthy food for yourself.So sometimes I do just grab whatever I can, but the key to stay on track here is to always have nice healthy option in your house, so you grab those  rather than grab a bag of crisps.

Me with my eldest son a few months after having my second baby (seen in the background)

Even though my 5 year old is at school and I give him packed lunch, he never has crisps or sweet things in his lunch, as I know if we ad those things in the house- well Mummy might just eat them.. (Whoops..) And of course also I want him to be healthy and fit and have a great source of energy for the long school day they have!I make sure I always have things like Ryvita, low fat soft cheese spread, rice cakes, apples in the house so when the going gets tough I can still grab something fairly low in calories and fat.I have a major weakness for crisps, and am not really a chocolate lover at all.. If I get cravings I tend to go for a bag of Walkers baked crisps, which are extremely low in calories and tasty.  So in my life I still eat things I want, but try to chose the low fat options, it really makes a big difference I think.So that is me- I do hope that was somewhat helpful. Of course I could go on and on, but I don't want to bore anyone too much.. If you however would like posts on diet or food, let me know, I am happy to receive ideas and suggestions in the comments below.
*Again I feel the need to say I am not a professional, but I do have  long history of working in the health & fitness industry, dieting, exercising and trained as a personal trainer*

My current exercise routine~ Strength training~

Hi everyone, and thanks for following this new project.

I wanted to update this with my current exercise routine that I am doing at home. I hope and pray that by beginning of July I can be 1 stone slimmer, and really toned and happy in my skin. As well as feeling better for all the water drinking.

** DISCLAIMER** I would like to mention here that I am a qualified personal trainer and therefore have plenty of knowledge in that field. However- my advice and my blog is about how I do things, and without knowing you and your needs it is very hard, if not impossible for me to help any individually. Take from my blog what you wish- if I can inspire you, then my job here is done.

On Monday & Tuesday I follow the Davina DVD 

Love this DVD, if you're after a home DVD, get this!

A very good all round workout that gets your heart rate going and you feel the sweat. I don't find Davina annoying, which of course helps.

On Wednesday and Friday I follow this book at home. 
This book is all about strength training for women, and how important it is.
I cannot strength train a muscle today and tomorrow. I allow at least 24-36 hours of rest. Lifting weights on consecutive days leads to over training, muscle fatigue, and possible injury. Fact: All of our strength gains are made during the rest time!

I have a set of dumbbells (well 3 sets, from Argos) and I use them so much.

This book is fantastic, I have had it for a few years and find it a brilliant guide to make a weight training programme at home. It literally spells out to you how to do each exercise, how much to do, how often and so on.

On Wednesdays I focus on lower body and core, so I'll make a little programme up, that includes squats, lunges, leg raises, plies and abdominal crunches.
The reason I do strength / weight training is that strength training is absolutely essential if we wish to create visual changes in our bodies, and it's been proven  that the benefits of strength training extend far beyond the visual.

I use my dumbbells like shown in this picture, to make my workout a little bit harder.
Years ago I used to be of the perception that weight lifting was for men, and I didnt' want big muscles- so I never touched weights. Instead I pounded away on the running machines day in and day out. Not overtly effective, but I wasn't aware at the time that women can further benefit from strength training because of the increase in resting metabolism created by strength training. Because of this increase, women who are trying to reduce body fat will do so more easily. 

When done sufficiently and consistently, strength training increases muscle fiber size. Once muscle fibers enlarge, they consume more energy - which boosts our metabolisms. So effectively this will speed up your weight loss, and you'll see results quicker.

When squatting, I rest 2 dumbbells on my shoulders.

I have a note book in which I have written a programme for myself, using the book as a guide. I put in my note book how many repetitions I am doing and how many sets of X amount of reps. When I've done them, I tick them off and move on to the next exercise.

The benefit of working out at home for me is that A: It is free (apart from the initial outlay for equipment and or DVD) and B: I can watch TV at the same time.. Only joking - I don't watch TV much. Yesterday I used the time I was exercisign to catch up with Sky news. Well what am I if not a multi tasker?

I do straight leg raises, feel that burn in the back of the thigh- ouuuuch!

And bent leg raises, this exercise is very good for firming up that bottom and it burns but in a good way..

 Strength training does not be complex or really time consuming. It can fit easily your day/ evening, since it requires minimal equipment and time. 

Free weights such as dumbbells will all enhance muscular strength and endurance with as little as 20 minutes to one half hour a day. I think most of us can find 30 minutes a day? 

All major muscle groups need to be worked to avoid muscular and postural imbalances. 

It is recommended that you choose a weight or load that produces muscle fatigue somewhere between 8-12 repetitions of an exercise for the upper body, and 12-15 repetitions for the lower body. 

After my weights workout I really ache all over and the next day I feel achey and stiff.. But for me that is a good thing - it makes me feel alive and like I have worked hard.


I hope this has been vaguely helpful or informative?
If you have any questions -  you know where I am (I hope)- just leave me a comment, and I shall reply back in the comments section.


Lots of Love, Stina x