Health and Fitness

"It's not what you do, it's how you do it. It's not what you see it's how you look at it, Its not how your life is it's how you live it."

Hello my lovely people! I hope you're all well! 

I've been hugely lacking in inspiration for blog posts as well as time to sit and write something! But a while a go I started on a bit of a health and fitness journey, I thought this was the healthiest approach to achieve my goal of a healthy, slim, toned body and particularly more recently I have immersed myself into this new way of life. 

I've had a couple of questions about it and I thought what better to write a blog post about my ongoing health and fitness journey!?

Exercise Motivation: 

Firstly i want to talk about motivation because that was probably the hardest part for me (and I'm sure I'm not alone in that) "How do you find the motivation to exercise/ eat healthily?"

The biggest motivation for me was myself, I used to get very upset about my weight/body/appearance and that admittedly did drive me to want to lose weight, however fitness was also a big thing, when I was at school I used to do a lot of exercise. I would do P.E every week, I took part in rounders, netball and cross country. I also swam twice a week and went on small jogs. I was never slim but I was relatively fit. As soon as i started 6th form I stopped pretty much all of that, and consequently my fitness deteriorated. It's something I'm still very much building back up! 

The second thing I used as motivation was photos, I went on the #Fitspo tag on instagram, tumblr and pinterest and printed off some photos of girls with abs and slim (NOT thin) bodies, girls who clearly worked out and ate accordingly. I printed off photos of nice healthy foods, fruits, and exercise routines, and made a collage of them on my wardrobe! 

The third thing I did was went and bought myself some fitness and workout clothes, I bought bright coloured sports bras, tops trousers, trainers and snazzy socks (had to be done) which make me want to exercise more rather than just a baggy top and leggings. 

The final thing I've done, and this is very recent is bought myself a monthly membership to fitness classes where I live. They do several classes a week (I'm aiming to do 5-7 a week) and they range from yoga and Pilates, Zumba dance and step, insanity and Kettlercise ( which is fantastic if you've never heard of it definitely check it out!) I always used to be very adamant i wouldn't pay to workout because I could just do it at home!  I used the Wii fit a lot and just dance, I also have a few other work out DVD's, I use YouTube and go for jogs, but because no one's making me do it I only stick to it for a bit and never push myself very much, however in a class I feel like I'm much more dedicated, me and my friends do it together and its SO much fun I love it! 

Eating Healthily: 

Now, I am currently surrounded by Easter eggs and yummy treats so it is harder this time of year, however I am yet to delve into one so I'm doing ok! I tend to do a workout in the morning and to be completely honest once I've finished and I've got home i'm craving fruit, smoothies, salad and water... After you've done a lot of exercise you don't really crave chocolate or sweets or anything too heavy because you feel really good! At first the cravings are stronger but after a while of cutting down (NOT OUT) sugars and treats you don't lean towards them so much anymore, If i want a snack I often go for a chopped up apple or a homemade smoothie, or cucumber dipped in BBQ sauce (if you haven't tried it you are missing out!) 

Now.... I am HugELY against cutting food groups out of your diet. I don't think its healthy to have a mindset where you are avoiding and restricting any type of food unless you don't like it/allergic (obviously) All these people who go on 'no carb diets' or 'no sugar diets' I think are silly. I also think it's silly to promote any form of restriction to anyone. As a funtioning human being you NEED carbohydrates. ESPECIALLY if you are doing exercise, studying for exams/school or working long hours. Carbs are slow releasing energy which keep you fueled and full up for longer meaning you can focus & keep your body working correctly! I know you don't need sugar in your diet, for me the sugar thing is more of a mindset, I have been in a position myself where i have been scared to eat anything unhealthy because i'd cut it out of my diet and that kind of mindset is NOT healthy!! the key word is BALANCE. the best approach I've found works is to eat healthily all week then have a 'treat day' at the weekend where you can have something yummy. hey why should anyone miss out on Domino's pizza or those new Ben and Jerry's flavours!?

My favourite thing to do is make smoothies, I used a combination of fresh and frozen fruit, low fat yogurt and ice, you can make nearly any flavour you like, they're very quick, easy, healthy and refreshing. 

Essentially I want to make this part of my lifestyle, not a quick fix, not a weight loss journey. A fitness and health journey. i want to be FIT and HEALTHY.

and most importantly, do this because you love your body, not because you hate it! 

I hope you enjoyed reading :)

Lots of Love, Evie  x x