New Year Same Resolutions.

Happy 2014!!
This is going to be an exciting year. I can feel it in my bones!
And with so many important events coming up, hen do's, my best friends wedding I know I need to get back on track with my fitness.
Christmas really did a number on me and the scale jumped up back into a number I promised myself I would never see again.

However I refuse to let that get me down so I have embarked on a free 90 day challenge called the bikini body mommy challenge, now obviously I am not a mommy so I have renamed mine the bikini body bridesmaid challenge instead!

So my half year resolutions are as follows.
Lose 15-20lbs
Stick to the BBM challenge
Eat as 'cleanly' as possible
Enjoy my rest days and don't feel guilty for a cheat day now and again!

Do you have any New Years fitness resolutions?

Selina.

NSV - Non Scale Victories

Now let me start off by saying

 I LOVE MY SCALE

  even when it shows me a number I don't like

for me stepping on the scale in the morning is the best way to get myself ready for the day. If it shows me a loss I feel fantastic, if it shows a gain, it reminds me to stay focused and to work my ass off!

However sometimes it can be incredibly gratifying to find some NSV's or non scale victories.

Like this comparison picture

When I was originally putting together this picture I did not realise just how different I looked, and while the weights aren't hugely far apart it really shows me how much my body has changed!!

another NSV has been fitting into all three pairs of jeans that my mum bought me for Christmas,

When I got them and tried them on I was gutted to realise that not one pair of them fit well, and I almost send them back but a mere two months later and they all fit perfectly!! (now they are even getting a little loose after being worn all day!)

I recently bought this dress online

In a size a lot smaller than I am today and I am hoping that this will be one of my future NSV's!!!

hopefully in time for my 25th Birthday!!

What are your latest NSV's???

Fitbook Review

I came across the Fitbook on Amazon a while back while looking for a food journal of some sort, and was instantly attracted to it, especially because it functions as both an exercise and food journal. oh and it comes with a super cute little pen!

"research shows that people who write down their goals are 75% more likely to achieve them. true - living a healthy, fit lifestyle takes discipline and hard work, but setting up yourself for success starts with jotting down your goals and making a realistic plan for achieving them.

introducing fitbook™ - the personalized, flexible and functional line of fitness + nutrition journals that offer a unique 12-week system to plan for success, track your progress, and reach your goals."  - visit the fitbook website

I have been using my fitbook for 6 weeks now and during that time I have lost over 10lbs, so I really wanted to share what it is like.

At the beginning of the book it gives you some sample pages to give you an idea of how to fill it in,

borrowed from amazon

Then it is time to get started yourself.

First up is setting yourself a 12 week plan, there are spaces for you to enter your current stats and your goals, and on the other side a 12 week exercise planner so you can figure out when you are going to get your workouts in.

as you can see I have not entirely filled in my plan yet as I always think of extra things as I go along.

And then you can really get going 

Each week starts off the same way with a weekly exercise and food planner on one page and a place to write down goals, rewards and notes on the next page.

I really like this feature as I am a natural born planner with lists coming out of my ears, so sitting down on Sunday evening and planning the week ahead is very satisfying.

Next you have your daily pages

an exercise log on one page

I really like that it has separate spaces for strength training and cardio and also has a little section so you can jot down anything noteworthy from the day.

and a food diary on the opposite

Probably one of my favourite features of the whole book is the nutrient tracker and recommended servings next to it. It certainly helps me keep in mind what i SHOULD be eating during the day.

At the end of the week it has a lovely little wrap up section where you can write down how well you followed your plan, you also get spaces to note down the good points from the week and the not so good, as well as a space to journal your thoughts and feelings from the week.

I especially enjoy the inspiration section on this page which helps me remember why I am working my ass off each week!

Then when you finally reach the end of your 12 weeks (mine finishes on my 25th Birthday!)

you will find this page

which lets you see how you have done compared to the goals you set yourself!

I cannot wait to reach the end of my book and I hope I will have achieved some of my Goals, I know for sure that I will 110% be purchasing another Fitbook, maybe in white this time!
and so should you!! go grab one! they are a fantastic way to reach your goals!

this review was done entirely off my own back. I am recieving no compensation from FITBOOK

Hello April

I have a feeling you are going to be a fantastic month, and I have a lot of goals to achieve while you are here, But first a look back on my March goals

they were,

 1. Work towards completing 5 cardio sessions a week and try and add in a small weights session

I still haven't managed to get 5 in a week but i am still working hard on it!

 2. Lose another 10lbs

Proudly completed

I am not 20lbs down in my Weightloss and still trucking on.

 3. Carry on with the 30 Day Shred

This I didn't do, the weather has been too nice for staying inside and working out, instead I have been hiking

 4. Make time to Read more (not fitness related but very important for keeping my stress down) 

I have been working hard on this one and while I haven't read as much as I would have liked I did start the fouth book in the Of Ice and Fire series and started a new Gillian Flynn book.

5. Keep a written food and exercise diary. I do currently use MFP but i really prefer pen and paper for keeping me accountable.

Yes! I have been using my new FITBOOK

Review coming soon.

 6. Try a new meal every week! (and blog about it!)

Yeah I had high hopes for this but honestly once I get home from work all I want to do is just throw something quick in the oven, no time for experimenting or photographing.

Now for my April Goals

1. Lose another 10lbs! 

Summer is creeping ever closer and those bikinis are calling my name

2. Change up my Cardio routines to reflect the weather

Hiking, Running outside (fear zone) Swimming along with the usual Spinning and Treadmill

3. Get back on the Yoga train

Now that I am losing weight at a fairly rapid pace, I think I need some Yoga to help avoid too much saggy skin!

4. Beat my PB on the Treadmill

Currently I am able to run for about 15 straight minutes on the Treadmill, I want to get to 20

5. Keep logging food in my FitBook and eating healthily.

Self explanatory.

I promise I am going to try super hard to not make my next post a recap of my April goals and instead attempt to actually publish a variety of posts this month!

in the meantime let me know what YOUR goals for April are?? 

How to get more out of your workouts...

invest in a heart rate monitor!

seriously this thing has completely changed the way i work out!

you  may have noticed if you follow my instagram that i have been posting a lot of pictures of my polar ft4 watch.

I purchased it at the beginning of February and instantly loved that it could show me not only my heart rate but  also calories burned while working out! 

It was perfect for spinning because it has helped me see how effective my workouts are.

I also just recently realised that it kept track of all of my workout data so i am able to see how many hours i have worked out and calories i have burned since getting it!

I am super proud of how hard I have worked so far! and I am hoping to have at least doubled the amount of sessions by the end of April!

and I am completely in LOVE with my polar watch! 

If you are thinking of getting one and you are not sure you really want to commit to buying a top of the line expensive one then this is definitely for you as it only cost me £52 which is pretty cheap compared to some of the others!

Do any of you use a heart rate monitor to improve your workouts?

Fitness Goals

In January i made myself some goals, not all of them were fitness related but most, so i wanted to address them and add a few more :)

My goals were..

1. cut out junk food and anything that is overly processed

I did pretty good on this one, i certainly cut waay down on the junk food and my general diet now consists of healthy proteins and vegetables so a definite tick for that!

2. home cook as many meals as possible and try and blog new recipes

This i did really well! i think in the past two months i have home cooked around 90% of my meals, its not always easy and i do find myself eating a lot of the same meals again and again, so i think i need to get on pinterest and find some new healthy meals to try.

3. CARDIO 5 times a week in some form or another

This goal was really hard and if i am honest with myself i don't think i managed it once in the past two months, however i am now spinning between two to four times a week and i am trying to fit in some 30 Day shred as well so i am almost there for this goal.

4. my weightloss goal from now untill my 2 year anniversary with my lovely boyfriend on Feb 12th is to lose 10lbs

I DID IT!!!!!

i managed to get that magic number 1 day before my anniversary and it made me feel amazing!

5. be consistent with my skincare routine seeing as my mum bought me a lovely clinque kit for christmas.

and last but not least

I definitely failed at this one :( I really did not get along with the clinique kit at all, so i switched it out for a Mary Kay one which i am LOVING but i'm not great at using daily :/

6. complete the 30 day shred eek!

Pfft! I haven't even made it past workout 1 yet, but i am still going with it. I am using it as a supplement to my spinning so only doing it once a week at the moment.

and now for my March Goals.. 

 1. Work towards completing 5 cardio sessions a week and try and add in a small weights session

 2. Lose another 10lbs

 3. Carry on with the 30 Day Shred

 4. Make time to Read more (not fitness related but very important for keeping my stress down) 

5. Keep a written food and exercise diary. I do currently use MFP but i really prefer pen and paper for keeping me accountable.

 6. Try a new meal every week! (and blog about it!)

Moderation is the Key

Often when a new year starts we all jump feet first into one fad diet after another and after maybe 3 weeks of barely eating the cravings overwhelm us and we end up gorging on junk food until we are right back at square one.

I saw this picture on Tumblr and it really stuck with me.

It makes so much sense really when you think about it, neither of the extremes of eating can ever really be good for our bodies and what is the point of food if you can't enjoy what you're eating along the way?

This links nicely to one of my January goals which was to home cook as many meals as possible. I have decided that instead of ordering a pizza when i get the craving, to try and make one at home instead, that way i can control what goes into it, omitting any unhealthy preservatives and still enjoy some tomato-ey cheesy goodness.

I have already started this idea, i found the inspiration on pinterest here

Source: translate.googleusercontent.com via Selina on Pinterest

and here is what i made

okay so it doesn't look amazing but it tasted fantastic and i made every aspect of it apart from growing the veg myself so i think it was a pretty good start to home cooking my meals.

I have a pinterest board where i am collecting healthy dinner recipes and i would love some reccomendations Do you have any healthy versions of junk food for me to try?

2013, Goals, Promises and New Starts

So it is that time of year again when the world and their mother is writing down resolutions and breaking them a few days later.

This year i have decided to try and set myself small monthly resolutions that are easy to stick to...i hope.

so here are my January Goals

1. cut out junk food and anything that is overly processed

2. home cook as many meals as possible and try and blog new recipes

3. CARDIO 5 times a week in some form or another

4. my weightloss goal from now untill my 2 year anniversary with my lovely boyfriend on Feb 12th is to lose 10lbs

5. be consistent with my skincare routine seeing as my mum bought me a lovely clinque kit for christmas.

and last but not least

6. complete the 30 day shred eek!

Obviously my goals are very health/weight orientated as our summer holiday to California is going to come up real fast and i have dreams of being able to wear whatever i want on the beach!

I am using the Kardashian sisters as a little bit of inspiration ;)

Bloggers Biggest Loser . Fitness Goals 2012

Hey Guys today i am linking up for..

and today we are talking about fitness goals of 2012!

Mine are the same as always although this year i feel focused! 

my goals are...

1. first and foremost lose weight, i have been trying for many years to slim down and get my body healthier but so far i have no succeeded it is often down to following impossible diets, a lack of will power and an overwhelming sweet tooth.

But this year i shall be following the

This isn't a crazy diet which makes you cut everything of joy out of your life, instead its a healthy and easy to follow plan! my colleague is on it and she has lost a lot of weight without starving her into a bag of bones!

My overall weight goal is to get to 125lbs

2. start running, i have tried running so many times but i just hate it!! this year however i really want to work on loving it! so i am trying the nike + walk to run program! and hopefully i will run a 5k this year instead of walk one like i did last time!

3. stick to my goals! plain and simple

yes it will!!!!

Tuesday Loseday

Now that the Holiday season here and there is a lovely layer of snow covering the ground i really find myself falling off the diet wagon more often then i should.

Afterall,

 this is the season to bake sweet treats, eat with friends and generally be Merry!

and my motivation to go for a walk outside has been lacking.

who want's to go and walk in the snow for an hour when their boyfriends mum can show them how to make donuts fried in Lard! (they are actually delicious!)

BUT

(and it is a big but to go with my big butt!)

New Years eve is fast approaching which means New Years resolutions are right behind, 

and i have decided to get a head start on mine and try and reign in my sweet tooth for the holiday (sort of)

Using inspiration from a bunch of different blogs and websites i have decided to try a new method
6 days on 1 day off


This way i stick to healthy eating 6 days a week and then allow myself one day a week to do some Christmas baking and indulging
not that i intend to spend the whole day gorging
 i just want to allow myself a little freedom to do what i love
Bake and Eat!

I also started the Walk to Run program on Nike+
which gives me a motivation to go out in the snow everyday and also sets me reasonable goals each day.

If any of you ladies are looking for a similar program and want to join up
 i would love a blog running buddy!!

sorry for the wordy post, i promise further Tuesday Loseday's
 (oh yes i plan to make this a regular thing)
will be more interesting.
and lastly because i love this pin and should have it printed out and hung on my wall

Source: fromflabbytofit.tumblr.com via Selina on Pinterest