Fitness Friday| 2013 The Year of Health

 

It’s that time of the year again, gyms are getting full, health food shops have never been busier, and it appears that everyone is now running or cycling everywhere… all the time! Yes it’s the time of the year when 90% of us pledge that this year we are going to lose weight! So for 4 weeks the gyms are busy, the pubs are empty and we think that we’ve done ourselves some good thanks to our crazy detoxes or exercise regimes. Then it slowly creeps back to drinks after work, skipping a few workouts and before we know it your trainers are collecting dust in the back of your wardrobe and your fridge is fully stocked with wine and cheese!

So this year I am asking you to join me and not pledge to lose weight… no this year we are going to get healthy! You can do this anyway you want, be it small changes such as making your lunch everyday, walking home instead of getting the bus, having a 15 minute run round the block… it all still counts! Or you can really go for it and eat clean, train hard and challenge yourself everyday.

What I am aiming for, and I think you should all aim for is health! If you can change your attitude so you focus of making the correct choices everyday that will make you a healthier and happier person then the weight loss will not only come… it won’t creep back on! If you can teach yourself new habits… no more fizzy drinks, no more wine after a hard day at work, your weight WILL reduce, and it WON’T come flooding back on as it does when you go on crazy diets and detoxes.

What you, I, and everyone needs to remember is that weight loss is a lifestyle change! It is not a 2, 4, or 6 week eating plan, diet or regime. If you don’t learn to adopt healthy habits any weight you lose will just reappear over the year and you will be making the same resolution in 2014… to lose weight!

So my resolution this year is to make sure that next year, 2014, my resolution won’t be to lose weight!

How you learn your healthy habits is very much a personal journey, but for me I surround myself with healthy images, motivating pictures and interesting articles. For me I use my tumblr account where I follow other blogs who post pictures that inspire me to be fit and healthy, plus it’s great for finding workouts, challenges and information. I also subscribe to Zest Magazine on my iPhone, which cost me £19.99 for the whole year, which I think is a bargain! I also enjoy challenging myself and after completing my own Festive flat Tum Challenge and getting some great results, I am now going to follow the Love Your Body Challenge from the Tone It Up Girls. I know that Jayne from Miss Jayne Becca is a huge Tone It Up fan and will be doing this challenge also, so if you want to join us let us know, we can support each other! Having that support and encouragement makes it so much easier to stick to as well!

What do you think? Are you going to aim for healthy this year? How do you motivate yourself? Any tips, let me know!

Motivation Monday| Festive Flat Tum Challenge Week 3

 

*Images taken from Tumblr*

I am writing this post to give both you and myself some motivation as this past week my motivation has been zero!! I am actually appalled at the lack of exercise and control I have had over my diet, I have been a inspiration to no one this week, so I apologise to you, but mostly to myself! I need a good kick up the bum, and need to get my bum into shape!

I have picked my favourite pictures from Tumblr this past week, to motivate myself and you. Who doesn’t love picture of girls looking fit and fab, while working out hard! And  a good motivational poster always makes me want to go outside and run! I think my favourite picture this week is the Princess Tshirt.. I definitely need that to go running in… very cute!

So this next week is a fresh start, I am sticking to my Festive Flat Tum Challenge calendar, and I’m going to incorporate my new Zumba game* into my workout regime to see if it really will give my abs a good workout as it promises. I will also be trying out the below Holiday Squat-athon regime.  As I said before, I need a kick up the bum and need to get it into shape. I have a couple of dresses that are too small at the moment, with the hips and bum area being the worst fitting area, so I really need to loose a good couple of inches off them, and hope this regime as well as my Festive Flat Tum Challenge will help tone my bum up so I can fit into the dresses by Christmas. It’s a big ask, but I’ve got to try!

Squats are a great exercise move, and so simple! I’m going to try and get into the habit of doing my squats while brushing my teeth or while waiting for the kettle to boil… might as well make use of the time rather than stand still! I have also shared the poster next to the Holiday Squat-athon picture, as this shows you that you only need to do three simple moves often to workout out your whole bum and get a lovely toned one for Christmas! So aim to do the squats mentioned in the Holiday Squat-athon picture, but also incorporate lunges and jumping jacks into your fitness regime to get that perfect peachy bum!

How has your week been… inspiring or disappointing? Are you going to join me in the Holiday Squat-athon? Or are you still working on my Festive Flat Tum Challenge? Where do you get your fitspiration from?

The Days Gone By| An Instagram Catchup

 

I hadn’t actually realised how long it had been since I’ve done an Instagram post, so I thought I would give you a little catch up on the happenings in my life.

1- During the middle of October my gorgeous man took me for a romantic trip to Edinburgh for our 5 year anniversary. The highlight was definitely the trip to the zoo to visit the Pandas! I have always wanted to see them, and was completely overwhelmed when I did. You can see more about my trip here.

2- This was my look for Halloween this year. I don’t often take part in Halloween but I enjoyed dressing up for a change. I did a post on the evening here.

3- I have recently started a Festive Flat Tum Fitness Challenge for myself, and for any others who want to take part; you can find all the details here. There is myself and a few others taking part, so feel free to take charge of your body and feel and look amazing for Christmas by giving it a go.

4- I have already ruined one of my Christmas surprises by begging for Michael Buble tickets, so my boyfriend had to let on that he had already bought some for me. I am beyond excited for this and can’t believe I have to wait another 8 months for it.

5-We have recently started Cake Day at my work place, and this week was my turn. We had a Brownie off between myself and another member of staff. It was very close as to who was the winner but I think I just nipped it in the bud.

6- This past weekend I finally visited Quayside market. I have lived in Newcastle for 5 years and never had the chance as I always worked at the weekend. I was pleasantly surprised and found an amazing store; No Bones, which makes amazing dog treats at super cheap prices! Perfect Christmas presents for your four legged friend.

7- I have been running most days for around 3 months now and even though I’m not the fastest I am really enjoying it and am still lapping everyone who is sitting on the couch! I have definitely noticed a difference in my waist line, skin and confidence since I started back, and am aiming to run for 30mins each day as well as doing an additional toning/strength exercise each day.

8- For bonfire night I visited my family in Carlisle and we went to Carlisle Firework display which is really impressive, I think around 35000 people watch it so there is always a great atmosphere.

9- A healthy dinner made my Master Chef of a boyfriend. It’s one of my favourite salads and is very easy to make, it's a mixture of tomato, spring onion, shallots, and chorizo, with a vinegar dressing.

10- An outfit of the day from when I went for lunch with my girls this past Saturday. I miss them a lot, so it’s great to spend some quality time with them catching up and eating good food.

11- I also visited Fenwicks Christmas Window this past weekend; always a highlight of the year for me! It was very busy with people queuing half way down the high-street to see it, quite understandable as there is something magical about it and it’s always impressive.

12- Wearing my poppy with pride on Remembrance Sunday. I very nearly ran into a remembrance parade today, but managed to stop just in time of ruining it for everyone.. now that would of been beyond embarrassing!

If you don’t want to miss anything on my Instagram you can follow me at Cat_Storey.

What have you been busying yourself with these past few weeks? What have been your highlights? Are you getting ready and excited for Christmas?

Fitness Fridays| Festive Flat Tum Challenge

This week’s Fitness Friday is a little more personal. I am setting myself a challenge of getting a festive flat tum! We have 6 weeks and 4 days until Christmas, or 46 days, really not long! However it is long enough to do something about your body if you want to! I know this time of year is busy and stressful, with parties to organise and attend, deadlines at work and university and Christmas shopping to be done, but if you can spare half an hour to an hour a day and make small changes to your diet you will notice a difference in your waistline, and will look amazing in your Christmas party dress... just imagine the dress!

By starting now, and by pushing yourself you will look and feel amazing, but more importantly will be the most confident you! I personally can’t wait to look drop dead gorgeous in my Christmas party dress, and turn some heads this year. Over the next 46 days I am challenging myself and you to become toned, motivated and confident.

I am aiming to tone up my hips, bum and tum (hence the title) and am going to share with you how I plan on achieving this as well  as keep you updated with on-going posts about all my highs and lows, meal ideas and workout reviews.

Diet- “Eat Clean, Eat Often”
With the endless Mince Pies, Christmas Chocolates, buffet tables and cocktails surrounding you over the next 46 days, it is vital that you are full of healthy food all the time to help you avoid temptation. I aim to;

• Eat 5 times a day- 3 meal and 2 snacks
• Eat clean(er)- Swap my snacks of crisps and cereal bars for fruit and nuts. If it comes from a packet it’s not going near my mouth.
• Reduce the carbs and up the protein- My dinner is always low carb, however I eat carbs for breakfast and aim to swap this for a more protein full breakfast, by replacing my cereal bars for egg; boiled or scrambled.
• Keep the alcohol to a minimum! I am doing pretty well at this since I have moved home, but still need to keep control of it at the weekends... no bottle of wines in front of the television on a Friday night.

An example of a typical days meal plan;
Breakfast- Yoghurt and fruit with scrambled egg, bacon & tomato/ boiled egg.
Snack- Green smoothie/ fruit/ nuts
Lunch- Soap (homemade ideally) or vegetable crudités with houmous.
Snack- Fruit/ nuts
Dinner-Chicken or fish with vegetables
Exercise- “Go hard or Go Home”
This is where I am going to excel! Go hard or go home as they say!
I already try to run at least 2 miles a day, 5 times a week, which has significantly helped my waist line over the past couple of months. I aim to continue this and also add another workout, so I will be working out twice a day, one workout will be cardio based, the other will be strength and toning.
The running will make up my 30 minutes of cardio but you can choose a different cardio exercise if running is not your thing. You could try swimming, skipping, aerobics, Zumba, cycling or even a brisk walk.
For my second exercise I plan on concentrating on toning by using a variety of workout videos. I am going to use the 30 Day shred workout, varying between levels 2 and 3 as they both use different muscles, as well as using the workout videos form the lovely Tone It Up girls, who have a Holiday Hotties workout challenge going for themselves at the moment. These workouts tend to last around 30 minutes, so I won’t be over doing it as I will only be working out for around 1 hour a day.
You can find the workouts below: (Note: the videos do not below to me, and I am not responsible for the content of 3rd party sites.)  

• 30 Day Shred- Level 2
• 30 Day Shred- Level 3
• Tone It Up Workouts- You Tube Channel

I have included two workout calendars, one the “Go hard or Go Home” option which I will be using, and another less strenuous plan for those just starting to workout or who don’t workout often. Yes they are both a challenge, but that is the fun of it! With your health and fitness you get back what you put in! If you workout hard and often then your body will soon see results, and you will look fab for Christmas.

I have designed the calendars to match my schedule and Christmas plans, but feel free to change them. Also one last tip; please make sure to stretch well after all your workouts!  

I will be posting regularly throughout this challenge, with updates on my Twitter and two blog posts a week. One will be Motivation Mondays, which will include a load of motivational pictures and sayings to keep you on track, the second will be a Fitness Friday, which will share my highs and lows, along with healthy meal ideas and workout video reviews.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter so you can keep up to date with the latest posts and I can spur you on with your own fitness kick.

Let me know if you do want to join me, I need all the support I can get! Do you have your own personal plans to get fit this Christmas? Are you aiming to fit into the perfect party dress like I am?