How to Stay on Track with Your New Year Health and Fitness Goals

Did you know that most people break their New Year's Resolutions within a month? It's January, the weather is freezing and miserable, it always seems to be dark and foggy, everyone's trying to save money, most of us haven't booked our holidays yet so there's just not much to look forward to!

But don't resort to binge watching your favourite show with a load of creme eggs just yet (yes the shops are stocking them now!) hold on, if you stick to your health and fitness goals through the winter months there's a very good chance you'll carry on throughout the summer months! And it's true what they say, summer bodies are made in the winter. I've so far this month done well at sticking to my health goals (there's a first for everything!) and I've thought about what has helped me in particular and here is what I've come up with: 

1. Meal Prep

Now I'm not the best at meal prepping, but the one thing I do is make sure I prep my lunches for work on Sundays. This prevents me from buying food on my break, or rushing round in the morning and just grabbing whatever I can find! Try and get into the habit of meal prepping, even if its just a case of making double what you have for dinner and having it for lunch the next day too. It's also a good idea to get some snacks prepared, putting some nuts into containers etc, so you have something to grab if you're hungry!

2. Snack

If you're hungry, you're doing it wrong. If you're hungry you're also more likely to binge, so keep those sugar levels steady by snacking regularly on healthy foods, I like to have a banana between lunch and dinner to keep me going! Also eating healthy should be a lifestyle change (not a diet), I know its necessary to control how many calories you eat in order to lose weight, but this should be a part of a balanced diet, and you should never be cutting calories so much that you're hungry, as you'll just lose weight in the short term. If you don't eat enough you'll just end up binge eating so just make sure you're eating enough of the right foods and you'll be fine.

3. Schedule Cheat Days

Honestly this has kept me sane! Last week I went for a curry with work, so I scheduled it in as a cheat meal two weeks previously so that I didn't have to struggle choosing the healthy option etc and could really enjoy the night! Whenever I was craving I just kept reminding myself that cheat night was soon! Valentine's Day will also definitely be a cheat day! I try to limit cheat meals to once a week, but if its a full cheat day then probably once every two weeks.

4. Find an exercise routine that you love

If you hate your exercise routine, bin it. Find something else! For most of us it is a chore getting to the gym, but its usually enjoyable once there. If you're struggling to enjoy the gym or running, I really advice finding a good quality exercise class. I go to two HIIT classes a week, which are separate from my gym and ran by someone local, they're great because I genuinely love the classes but they are also so tough! I've been going religiously for over a year now and it really helps that I know a lot of the people there now, so I feel incredibly guilty if I don't go!

5. Download an app that tracks your macros

I like to use MyFitnessPal for this, I log everything I eat and it helps me keep track of my calories and macros. It also works out how many calories you should be eating which is helpful. What I like about it is it really makes you conscious how much sugar is in certain foods etc, and its really helpful in helping you eat the right amount of food too; sometimes you can be overeating and not even realise.

6. Think of healthy foods in terms of their nutritional benefit not how low fat they are.

This is really a pet peeve of mine, when people eat foods because 'they are low fat' but have 0 nutritional benefit to their body. Really try to eat foods that benefit your body, and remind yourself how good they are for you when you eat them, for example spinach is high in vitamin A and iron. Cameron Diaz's Body Book is great for tips on nutrition, she goes into exactly how all these vitamins benefit your body, and what will happen if you are deficient in them.

7. Remind yourself why you're doing it

Are you sick of being tired all the time? Always wanted to be able to run for more than 5 minutes? Whatever the reason is, keep that goal in mind and keep reminding yourself why it's worth it! I'm doing it to feel good inside and out, and hopefully it will help me in living a healthy life longterm.

8. Finally, ditch those excuses, you can do anything if you want it bad enough!

Starting a New Fitness Journey

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!

Monday Fitspiration

I thought I'd provide you all with some fitness inspiration this morning! I was in need of some and then I remembered that it's Monday, and what way to start of the week than with a positive burst of will power? (Especially after Valentine's weekend!).

Here are some of my personal favourite fitness pics, (most taken from Instagram, but there's a foody in there of my own!) 

I want this to be a light hearted post, but I should probably just cover myself here by saying don't take anything to extremes, skinny is not necessarily healthy, as long as you're fit and healthy it doesn't matter what size you are, and the occasional treat is fine just remember that key word moderation!

Happy Monday!

Polar Watch Review

So if you've read my other posts on my blog, you may have seen that I'm into fitness. I'm not overly obsessed, but I like to do what I can to keep my body fit and healthy!

I follow a lot of fitness account on Instagram, and I noticed that a lot of them used polar watches, which, in simple terms, is a sports watch. By wearing a strap around your chest which monitors your heart rate tells you how many calories you have burnt off during a workout.

I decided I had to have one of these. However, shopping for a polar watch proved quite difficult! The prices vary immensely, mine was one of the cheapest I could actually find online, which was just over £50, however I've seen them range up to £300+!

When shopping for a polar watch, I think it's important how seriously you are into fitness, and what you really want to get out of the watch. Personally, my watch, which is the "Polar FT4F Heart Rate Monitor and Sports Watch" in purple/pink, is great for me.

It's very simple, when you activate it it stays on all the time and you are able to enter your details, height/weight etc. So that it is able to calculate how many calories you are burning accordingly. The strap is easily adjustable to fit any chest size and fits just below your bra. 

When you start the polar watch you can scroll through different views as your working out, such as just seeing your heart rate (which I like as I can make sure I'm pushing myself hard enough!) or you can just view your calorie count and theres also a setting with your in-zone and another with how long you have been working out for and the time. If you go for a more expensive watch, it might feature GPS which is useful if you like running or biking, or I know some of them feature calories as a percentage of fat (or something complicated like that!) but to be honest when I was reading through the descriptions it just meant nothing to me! All I need is my calories and hearth rate.

I discovered the other day that it even shows how many calories I've burnt in total!

In terms of my workouts, it has really helped! It really does make you push yourself, when I'm working out I always want my heart rate to be 180+ and now if I look at my watch and see it slipping, I know I need to crank it up a gear! I also wouldn't trust the machines to give you an accurate heart rate/calorie count. Sometimes the machines tell you're burning off more than you actually are, and sometimes less! These watches are also good because you tend to set up a competition with yourself, you always want to beat your last count! It's quite addictive!

My workouts have improved so much since I purchased one of these, it actually astounds me that I never see anyone at the gym wearing one! It's amazing! If you want to get the absolute maximum out of your workout and want proof that you're working hard, then the polar watch is for you. View the polar FT4F here on Amazon.

Outfit of The Day...

I thought I'd throw in my OOTD too :). I was working so it's a smart/casual look. The top and shirt are both from New Look, and the skirt is the one from H&M that I mentioned in my London post here. I like to be comfy at work since I'm on my feet all day so I just paired it with my vans!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Gym Outfit of the Day!

I felt like I should do an OOTD post today, however the only time that I changed out of my PJs was to go to the gym! I had a major sorting out day today, my dressing table was looking disastrous after I dumped a load of stuff on there when I came back from uni, so I completely cleared it and chucked out loads of stuff! I also have "priority products" that I'm sick of seeing/don't really like that I need to use up before I start on others! So here is my GOOTD!

I don't look great on these but hey its the gym it's not a fashion parade! ;)

P.S. Notice my BarryM nail varnish that I mentioned in my other post! It's chipped here but I reapplied it later in the day because I love it so much!