Being Becca

I'm not really sure what put me in the right frame of mind to really take my fitness seriously suddenly (I mean I was before but now I really am going for it!) I think if I'm really honest I'm kinda hating on men at the moment, they always let me down and I just feel like the new Bridget Jones so I decided to ditch them in favour of pursuing abs instead! There's no point getting down about something you can't control, but I can control my health and fitness and will certainly feel better if I look amazing. And I won't lie, exercise usually works better if you've got a bit of anger to vent too!

So yeh that was basically the massive change of heart I had, and what gave me the kick up the arse to really start focusing on my own health and fitness. This is going to be a long post, explaining what I'm doing really, what inspiration helps me, what my long term goals are and how to do it in a healthy way..

I guess the main reason I'm doing this is that I want to feel a lot more body confident. Don't get me wrong, my body is alright, I've always been slender and I look okay, but I want to look good naked to put it crudely! Well in a bikini anyway! I also just want to feel strong and know that I'm healthy on the inside, to know that I'm giving my body what it wants and needs. After a workout and eating well I always feel more confident about my body even if there's no outside difference!

These last couple of weeks I've done really well for me, although I had a week off work which has made it easier! I've worked out in the gym a few times (a mixture of cardio and weights) I've also been swimming, been for a couple of walks and done an Insanity class the last two Saturdays which was the hardest workout I've ever done! So I think I've got in a good mixture and exercised every part of me!

In terms of eating, I've really just been trying to cut out sugar and cut down on carbs. I usually have carbs for breakfast, Weetabix with chia seeds if I'm working because I need to be out the door by 6am! Or porridge or muesli with blueberries and a banana which I have when I have a bit more time. This week I've switched the milk in my muesli for almond milk too because it's been on offer.

Sorry for the appalling food photos, I can just never make it look good!! But it's healthy and that's what counts ;)

If I have any more carbs they're usually wholewheat and I'll just have a small amount. I've been trying to have protein for lunch and dinner too, usually tuna for lunch and chicken for dinner. I'm loving roast veggies at the moment for dinner so I just chop up a courgette, sweet potato, pepper and anything else I have, slather some coconut oil on them and whack them in the oven with some chicken, so easy!

If I fancy a snack I'm really enjoying natural yoghurt with Agave Syrup and a few almonds or dried fruit in. I also make sure we are stocked up on fresh fruit so I can snack on oranges or kiwis. Although I am eating I am just going to mention that I do not calorie count and if I'm hungry I eat! Please don't do any of those quick fix faddy diets where you starve yourself for two weeks, they're not worth it and the weight will come back on! The only thing I'm wary of is that sometimes I might just be craving and not actually hungry, so I'll usually have a drink of water and see if that takes the edge off, if it doesn't then I'll have a snack or if it's late at night a drink of milk which usually satisfies me. I've been drinking mainly water, green tea, peppermint tea and a new lovely chocolate orange tea which is nice instead of a desert!

My drinking habits haven't changed much because I drink loads of water anyway! Last week I didn't have sugar for a four days, which was so good for me! Well no sugar that isn't natural anyway, so I'm proud of that because I do cast myself as a sugar addict, I love chocolate! When I went to Berlin that did get screwed up, but I think I'm back on track now. I'm just trying to eat it in moderation and not go crazy. I have been substituting sugar with Agave Syrup, which is natural and a lot better for you, you won't get a high then a drop with it, but it still tastes great! I love it in coffee and on my breakfast.

So how do I stay motivated and inspired? This is a hard one because I haven't quite figured that out myself yet! Honestly I think the weather helps me a lot. In the winter months I really struggle, but as soon as we get the first nice day I just get a wave of motivation! It's probably because I realise I'm not "summer ready"!

I think really focusing on that amazing feeling you get when you've worked out or had a good eating day helps. I just picture myself getting stronger and healthier and all the benefits that come with that. I also follow a lot of Instagram Fitspo accounts! I like to scroll through my feed and see all these beautiful women to keep me motivated! Of course I would suggest being very careful with this though as you shouldn't obsess or starve yourself, I only follow women that are completely healthy, not any that eat less than they should be. Only follow these accounts if they are going to give you positive motivation, not if they are going to depress you! But anyway here are some of my favourites:

@heysam.se

Sam has gone through an amazing transformation journey of her own and posts the most amazing recipes! Basically she makes naughty treats healthy!

@hannahpolites

Hannah is so beautiful and has an amazing body, which she works very hard for! She's an Aussie girl and her photos make me long for a holiday! She also has the most amazing trainers collection..

@cleaneatz

Cleaneatz have so many amazing photos of healthy food and great recipes, you'll never think of healthy food as boring again! They post some quotes that make me laugh too.

@annavictoria

Anna has an amazing Instagram filled with great tips, motivation, meal ideas and exercises. She also posts some great positive quotes which I love! She's all about loving yourself.

I'm hoping to update you monthly on how my progress goes with this, I think this will work harder and if you follow my Instgram @xbeccabe I'll probably post some photos of what I eat, positive quotes etc. on there too! I've taken some before photos and measurements, but no one will be seeing those until I've seen some progress! :)

How do you feel about health and fitness? Are any of you on a similar journey? I'd love to know so we can help each other!

A couple of weeks ago me and my old uni flat mate Annabel booked a last minute city break to Berlin! We stopped over last Monday and Tuesday at a Holiday Inn, and flights included it only cost us £100. I thought I'd do a quick post showing what we got up to. We actually went to Berlin a couple of years ago on a uni field trip so we had already done a lot of the site seeing and museums so there was no pressure to ram everything in on this trip.

We got there early in the day and after having a slight subway incident where we were charged €40 for not getting our ticket stamped (how harsh!) which we were very unlucky with as we didn't see any more ticket people after that! We headed to Potsdamer Platz for some lunch. Potsdamer Platz is a lovely area in Berlin and I definitely recommend visiting! Annabel had a jacket potato for lunch and I had crepes filled with smoked salmon and cream cheese (with toast on the side?!) It was really good.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Brandenburg Gate

Had to have a trip to a bier garten in the lovely weather! Unfortunately I'm not a fan of beer..

The weather was perfect both days, just a little breezy!

The bird flew off before I could get it in focus :(

Ready for a night out!

This was our attempt at dressing casual, as Berlin's nightlife is quite alternative and you don't get in if you're too dressed up, but we still got a lot of people commenting that we were over dressed! It was obvious we were English haha. Most people were in jeans but I didn't even pack any!