I’m back and I’m here to stay!!!

I have to apologies to all my lovely readers for going a little MIA over the last few months and falling off the edge of the World. I had a little dry patch in my fitness and healthy lifestyle and in tern didn’t have the motivation to exercise or blog anymore.

But that’s all in the past now, I have reassessed my lifestyle and kicked this healthy living into hyper drive.

Since we last spoke I have moved houses and jobs, cancelled my gym membership and taken up running, which I have to say I’m terrible at! I have also decided to re-look this blog and make a few changes.

Why I lost motivation

When I started my fitness career in the middle of last year I had a goal, I wanted to lose as much weight and get as fit as I could for my trip back to South  Africa in February of this year and I really did do I good job. I managed to lose more than half of my target weight loss and really felt fit and healthy. I was eating healthy and loving it, passing up a chocolate or a naughty fast food meal was easy and I actually lost the taste for it. Where my down fall came was during and after my trip. while I was there I allowed myself to change my eating patterns thinking I’ve worked so hard the hole year and that a few weeks on holiday wouldn’t hurt

well it did!!! it hurt a lot.

In a few days I got the taste for fast food and sugary treats and then found it hard to say no, one chocolate turned to two and so on, I was in a downward spiral. Once i got back to London and went back to gym it had all changed. My personal trainer had move back to Brazil and as much as my new trainer was great we didn’t have the same connection and  I slowly lost my drive. even cancelled my gym membership

Back on track

After a few months of neglecting my healthy eating and exercise I started feeling the weight coming back. Even though the scale hadn’t moved up that much I knew that I had lost my muscle and was putting on double in fat and knew I had to try some how get back on track and fast before I undid the hard work I had done.

It took a little time but I have found my motivation,

I never realised how much weight I had lost or how much better I looked until a few days ago when I decided to look back on some old pictures and saw how big I was. the worst part was I remember looking at the photos at the time and thinking that I actually looked good in them.

I am more motivated then ever to not go back to that and have decided to change my exercise routine a little

Updates to follow…

Go for blue!!!!

Ever wonder why McDonald’s colour scheme is yellow and red?

We are naturally drawn to red, yellow and orange in our dining area or restaurants because psychologically it stimulates us to want to eat — and eat a lot. Studies show if you put your food on blue plates it can cause you to eat less.

Tip of the day

1. Fat-free? Not necessarily…

Put the words “low-fat” or “fat-free” on the label and people will assume it won’t make them fat. But it’s worth knowing that “fat-free” or “low-fat” or “no added fat” usually means more sugar. Simple white refined sugar is the very stuff which converts to fat once in the body.

I feel like a fraud

Over the last few months I have blogged about gym, weight loss and healthy eating but yet I haven’t been following my own advice. I have only gone to gym once or twice a week, always having a sneaky sweet or packet of chips and then trying to appear to you all that sticking to this healthy lifestyle is easy.

I have felt so guilty about it that I’ve even stopped posting updates as often.

I think my first step to getting back on track is to admit my mistakes, come clean about my bad habits and then start taking steps back in the right direction.

Looking in to mirror this morning I could see how the past few months had changed my body already. I hadn’t got to my goal weight yet but I was still looking good and now I feel fat and frumpy. Tonight I went to my usual spinning class but pushed myself back into action.

It’s going to take one step at a time to get back on track but im not throwing all my hard work down the drain so I am going to make sure I get back to the motivated person I was a few months ago.

Carrots charity walk

It’s tough love time!!!

Every child tries to avoid eating vegetable or brushing their teeth even though they get told day in and day out that these things are good for them and keep them strong and healthy.

Let’s face it we are just as stubborn! Every day we tell ourselves we need to eat healthy and exercise, but we seem to try avoiding it like a plague, but once we are in the routine of going to the gym our going for the walk around the block after work and you start feeling great there is usually no stopping you.

So while you wait to get into a routine and waiting for all those lovely endorphins to start motivating you and making you feel good you need a bit of tough love!

I have had to give myself a little of it in the last few weeks as my motivation went right out the window but now with a little tough love I seem to be getting back into the routine of it all.

Getting back on track

This year has started off very bumpy, my personal trainer moved back to Brazil and since then I have found it hard to get back into the swing of things. I also went home for a few weeks in February and found myself eating out every lunch and dinner. Now trying to eat right again is proving to be very difficult.

I have tried everything to get back into it but nothing seems to work. I have gone from going to gym every day to maybe twice a week.

Does anyone have any suggestions that would help me get back on track?

Sunny South Africa

So I’m just over half way through my holiday in SA and loving it. I’ve manage to skip all the snow inLondonand soaking up the sun here.

With all the visits to friends and amazing restaurants I am eating a little to much so decided to pop into the gym for a good workout to get the blood flowing. I popped into the Virgin Active and joined a Retro Aerobics class. Wow, so much fun! They have put together an aerobics class collaborated with 70’s and 80’s music and some very funky old school dance moves.

If you can get yourself to one of there classes it’s a must.

Walk the line…

I know I can’t speak for the English but I’m sure most South Africans can agree that one of the hard things about living in London is the lack of wide open spaces. Yes I know there are a lot of parks and commons to take a stroll in but sometimes it would be nice to see a horizon in the distance and not the next sky rise building.

I have recently learnt that there are thousands of miles of former railway lines open to the public, offering traffic-free, family-friendly routes.

The air is crisp and the only sound is birdsong or perhaps a stream running alongside the path. The pleasure of stretching your legs and enjoying the fresh air is even sweeter because there are no cars around, no large buildings blocking your view.

There are plenty of historical interests to. Look out for the signs along the way explaining the history of the line and the area.

The closest route in London is the Parkland Walk, London

A four-mile treelined route known as the Parkland Walk. The route is mostly flat but there are a couple of slopes due to tunnel closures. It can be muddy.

It is London’s longest Local Nature Reserve, with more than 2,000 wild flower species recorded, as well as hedgehogs, foxes and the occasional muntjac. It is also part of the Better Haringey Walking Trail, a 12-mile circular walk around the borough of Haringey.

You can access the walk at the following points:

• Finsbury Park, N4
• Oxford Road, N4
• Florence Road, N4
• Lancaster Road, N4
• Stapleton Hall Road, N4
• Blythwood Road, N4
• Crouch End Hill, N8
• Crescent Road, N8
• Holmesdale Road, N6
• Cranley Gardens, N10
• Muswell Hill Road underpass, N10
• St James’ Lane, N10
• Muswell Hill Road, N10

Visit: tinyurl.com/railwayparklandwalk

What do I need?

• You don’t need any special equipment– just comfortable shoes or boots.
• Most railway line walks are easy to navigate, so you won’t always need a map. But do consider taking an Ordnance Survey or Sustrans map if you think you may need help finding the start of the route, or to help you work out where the nearest café, or other destination, might be.
• Take a bottle of water with you. If you’re going on a longer walk, you may also want a snack such as a banana or some sandwiches.
• Choose a rucksack with padded straps, which is easier to carry than a carrier bag or handbag.
• Wear layers that you can take off if you get too warm, and take a hat and gloves and a waterproof jacket just in case.

Get your diet on track.

I hope by now everyone has started the 2012 fitness plan and is well on their way to a healthy year. In order to reach your goals faster and have the energy to keep active and not be tempted to eat all those naughty foods you also need to make sure your diet is on the right track

I’m sure you can see how pointless it would be if you went to the gym and let’s say burnt 500 calories in a spin class but then went and had a lunch at KFC with the average meal being about 1300 calories.

The key to my success has been to educate myself in what my body needs and how much of it to give it. Your diet should not only be about how many calories you are eating but are you giving your body the nutrition and energy it needs. A slice of cracker bread may be low in calories but it’s not giving your body any nutrition. Swap that for a handful of nuts and a cup of green tea and you will have more energy and be filler for longer.

I’m currently on a 1400 calorie diet; I try eating 500cal for breakfast, then a 1oocal mid-morning snack;. 400cal for lunch with another 100cl snack in the afternoon and then 300cals for dinner. If I’m still a little hungry before I go to bed I have another 100cal snack.

Take some time to put together a weekly eating plan for yourself, this will help you to eat healthy and keep you on track.

I’ve added one of my eating plans below to give you some guidelines to how I do it.