Tuesday 10 February 2015

Review of New Years Aims. One Stone Down.

On 14th January I set some goals for the year. Some of them were based around exercise and healthy eating, and that is what I am going to review today.

The whole point of trying to get into better shape is because I want to love the way I look.  I don't hate the way my body looks at the moment, I think it's OK.  But I want to think it looks more than OK, I want to love it. I would also love to increase my fitness levels.

For the last month I have been very careful with my diet and have been going to the gym a few times a week (or at least trying to) and...

I have lost a stone!! ONE WHOLE STONE!!

Cue celebratory dance.

I don't feel like I have been trying particularly hard either. By cleaning up my diet and ensuring I go to the gym I have managed to lose weight.  I feel like these are all lifestyle changes, and it has motivated me to go on.  I know I will have to try and bit harder now if I want to see further progress, but I want that awesome looking summer body!!

Image Source


What changes have I made so far?

Breakfast
The first thing I did was look at what I eat in the morning,  In the past I had some sort of breakfast cereal, with a mug of tea, and usually a mug of coffee too.  Sometimes I swapped it around for Nutella or peanut butter on toast.  Maybe I would have some orange juice too.
I have started to look at food packaging more and breakfast cereal tends to contain lots of sugar. Even the cereal that you think will be more healthy for you, really isn't.  Breakfast cereal doesn't tend to keep my hungry stomach satisfied for long either, and by 10 or 11 AM my stomach is grumbling away.

I have swapped the cereal for smoothies.  They are much yummier and fill me up until lunch time.  My smoothies tend to consist of a banana, some sort of berry (strawberry, raspberry, blueberry etc), spinach, some sort of milk  (dairy milk, almond, coconut etc), and nuts or seeds.
Occasionally I will have peanut butter on toast, and make my own fruit juice.  Or now and then I will have an oatmeal breakfast.  I have given up the coffee saving this for weekends, but haven't been able to give up the tea.

Lunch
I have always eaten fairly healthily at lunch time, however packing your own lunch for work is time consuming and sometimes I can't be bothered, meaning a trip to the shop during my lunch break.  I would pick up a salad, but then a packet or crisps or chocolate bar as well.

So now I always make the time to make my own lunch.  I usually make a salad with plenty of spinach and other veg such as carrot, pepper, cucumber, celery.  Then I add cous cous, chicken or tuna.
On days when I am fed up of salad, some warm soup does the trick.

If I am still hungry then I usually have some sort of fruit in my bag whether it's a banana, orange, blueberries or apple.

Dinner
I'm not always hungry at dinner time as I try to make lunch my main meal of the day, so I would often reach for a bowl of cereals or toast but I am trying to get out of that habit.  My dinner will often consist of a smoothie, small portion of soup or some veggies. However if I am making a proper dinner it will usually involve vegetables with some sort of meat or meat substitute.  I am constantly trying out different recipes and will be sharing them with you here!

Image Source

Exercise
In the past I would go to the gym once a week, twice if my body was lucky.  But I have been determined to go more.  So now in a usual week I will do exercise four times a week, this usually include a circuit class and a pole fitness class, as well as other fitness classes depending on what my shift pattern is like at work.

Alcohol
One of my aims was to stop drinking as much alcohol, and I have done just that! I don't drink every week and when I do drink I am careful what I drink.  I haven't given up on trips to the pub or nights out but I certainly have stopped drinking as much.  This will have contributed to the weight loss too.


Further Aims
Now I have my diet pretty much sorted I would like to clean up my gym attitude.  Whenever I go into the gym I tend to use the tread mill and the exercise bike, perhaps one or two weight machines if I am feeling brave and that is about it.  I feel like I would look silly trying to use anything else, as other people would be lifting much heavier weights than me, or I may do it wrong and look like an amateur.  But everyone has to start from somewhere and I am sure no one would be paying me any attention anyway.  So my next step is to get over this silly fear.  I need to branch out in the gym and make the most of it!!


Have you stuck with your New Year Resolutions?

4 comments:

  1. I have lost a few pounds in the last month without really trying. It has been a goal of mine to eat healthier so my body gets more nutrients and it is having even more effects (for the good)!

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  2. Well done on this achievement! I think alcohol is quite a big cause for weight gain sometimes and people have no idea! Rebecca // rebeccamariee.blogspot.com xx

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    1. Thank you :) Yes alcohol is definitely a big cause!

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Thank you for reading. Any comments are appreciated :)