New Year, New Changes

      

      

      

      

      

A slightly different post from me today but like many I have embarked on a few changes this year to improve myself that I wanted to share here! I feel New Years resolutions are so easily broken because they are so quickly thought about. That being said this isn't a New Years resolution as such but a new change that I am determined to keep. I'm sure 99% of the Country make similar statements as this time of year but I'm fixed on being that small percent that continues past January! To me its all about feeling comfortable with yourself and in your own skin which is where I want to get back to. Healthy eating and exercise for me is the only way to go about this and in turn I think that will help improve a lot of other things. My love for anything chocolate covered and sitting on my butt makes this extremely difficult! (Even writing the word chocolate makes my mouth water!)

Something I really struggle with is knowing how much I can eat and what foods have in them which is where the MyFitnessPal app is really helping. If you are having the same problem I can't recommend this app more as its so useful, easy to use and free! The app in its simplest form is where you can record what you eat and how many calories you are consuming. I wouldn't recommend calorie counting obsessively but its a good starting point to help you know what and how much you can eat. My favourite part of the app is that you can scan the barcode of your food, choose your serving size and it'll automatically add it in in seconds. I can already see by using this just where I was going wrong! 

Just the word exercise fills me with dread! I can't run and never have been able to which I am trying to change. I know I'm not going to be out running miles at a time any time soon but I am slowly progressing. I think being able to see how far and fast I've run really helps me and motivates me to beat that. The Nike Running App has been great for documenting all this and again is free! It maps your run and saves it for you to look at and compare with other runs whenever you like. Without this I would have no record of the progress I am slowly making! As well as cardio I'm very aware of the benefits of strength training to help tone and define which I actually really enjoy. Luckily my brother has many free weights and a bar which is perfect for what I need. I'm looking forward to see the changes weights can make! 

So there we have it a couple to things that have really been helping me keep on the straight and narrow! Can you recommend anything else to help? What helps you? 

What's on my iPhone& new case!

        

        

        

        

        

                     

                     

A new phone of course validates a new case right?! I spotted this 'Aimee Wilder' beauty whilst browsing through TKMaxx last week and knew it was coming home with me. As you may be able to tell from my blogs colour scheme I'm quite partial to some turquoise and the whales add a perfect amount of cuteness and fun! I like to change my case up fairly often so didn't want to spend a bomb (I'm looking at you Cath Kidson however pretty you are!)  so at £4.99 what a win. I'd never heard of Aimee before but having had a quick google I found she's an American designer with a selection of pretty and quirky designs on iPhone cases to wallpaper. She's defiantly worth a look at if you have a spare minute.

I've seen a 'Whats on my iPhone?' tag going around YouTube recently and thought it'd be interesting to show you my most used apps. I've recently had a de-clutter of apps I didn't use so am just left with the necessities, yes Candy Crush it a necessity to those of you wandering! 

I'm sure it's no surprise that my most used apps are mostly social media related, I seem to find any spare time I have gets whittled away scrolling through Instagram and Pinterest accounts looking for inspiration or making me want something I nearly always can't afford. Facebook makes it easy and useful for me keep up to date with friends whilst Twitter is where I like to interact with other blog users and occasionally nosey into a celebrities world. 

C25K and MyFitnessPal have really helped in my mission to get fit recently, if you can't run, C25K standing for couch 2 5k is what you need. It slowly helps you to build up to running a full 5k by switching between walking and running and altering the times. I'm not one for calorie counting obsessively but MyFitnessPal really helps monitor yor intake if your struggling, it has so many foods registered on it and a super easy feature of scanning the barcode of anything your eating. 

If you've ever heard a song you like but don't know the name Shazam is where it's at. It listens to the song, tells you it's name, stores it so you can go go back later and even links you to it on iTunes. I use Dropbox almost daily to move my pictures and documents between my devices and whatsapp is essential for chatting away with my best friend in America for free! 

I'm always looking for new apps to download can you recommend me any of your favourites? 

Time to work it #1

                       

   

Now lets talk about fitness.

Let me be honest with you now, real, embarrassingly honest with you...I am lazy, I do not do fitness, unless walking to the fridge and back counts?! The words fitness, workout, run, cardio bring me out in a sweat alone. You know those people who look at the dessert menu before the mains, yeah that's me. I'm in no way overweight but I have put on weight over the past few years to the extend where I'm no longer comfortable or happy with the way I look. I'm not looking to lose stone, just pounds to tone up and become healthier. 

I've tried, oh I've tried many times in fact but these spurts never seem to last. Ill feel pumped and ready to change things around but each time it ends the same way, failing. After much thought I've come to the conclusion I've been going about it all in the wrong way. I've been trying to change everything straight away and put too much pressure on myself only to set myself up for a fail. I need to add things in slowly, set smaller goals and change things I know I can stick to. Instead of cutting out everything bad for me, I'll allow myself to a certain number of treats a week, I won't set unrealistic goals of exercising 6 times a week instead ill make it 3 times a week and increase when I feel ready. 

My ultimate goal is a half marathon. Most of my family have done several over the last few years and I'd really like to prove myself to be just as capable, I know that's the last thing they'd think I could do! 

Beauty, fitness, food all over lap and if we're not looking after ourselves on the inside how do we expect to look our best on the outside? Being healthier will translate in our skin, hair, nails,and body. I know it'll be hard work but I also know in the end it'll be worth it. 

Inspiration and motivation 

1- Instagram, tumblr and blogs

I know there will be those days I won't want to get up and exercise and that's where these girls come in. Your probably all aware of them already but just in case they've slipped through your path these are the girls that inspire and motivate me. 

Lydia Millen from www.lydiaelisemillen.com 

Lydia's Instagram 'LydiaMillen' is full pictures of motivation. Her body is ah-maz-ing and her love of health and fitness really shows. She proves being fit, and having strength is the way forward and that skinny is not the aim. 

Lauren Spearman Instagram 'LaurenSpearman' 

Lauren's results are amazing, her before and after photos are so inspiring to see what can be achieved with hard work and determination. The running updates and pictures she posts almost make me want to get up and go! 

Charlotte from www.writelikenooneswatching.com

I followed Charlotte on her recent 30 day shred journey, knowing that she's a mum and still had time to exercise everyday means there's no excuse for me, who isn't a mum and has no one else to look after!

If you put #health or #fitness into Instagram or tumblr it also comes up with hundreds of inspirational and motivational pictures. Tumblr like Instagram is a great way to find pictures and read people's stories and journeys. I especially like the before and after pictures posted, seeing other people's progress really spurs me on to see how well they have done and know I can do similar. 

2 - Lucy Mecklenburgh

       

    

If you haven't recently seen Lucy's body you must've been hiding under a rock. She's been constantly displayed on the cover of every magazine making us mere mortals feel rubbish about ourselves! Yes she had a great body before but seeing how with good food and exercise her body has changed is so inspirational for me. If I could choose my ultimate, dream body, Lucy's would be it. Slim and toned. 

Throughout this fitness journey ill be adding my motivation and inspiration as it happens to hopefully help inspire and motivate anyone needing an extra hit! Once I find a routine that seems to be working for me I shall let you all know! 

What's your motivation?