Losing My Mojo...

Losing My Mojo...

Hello...it's me! Not Adele, it's Emma!
Sorry I haven't posted in a very, very, very long time, I've got myself a second job; I know I'm crazy for doing so, but what else is a single girl supposed to do at the weekends? So with both my jobs & trying to make time for the gym and other things in my life, I've let my blogging take a back seat.

I feel like 2015 has been my random wandering year as I've sort of lost my mojo of healthy eating & exercise, which is sad because it's something that I do enjoy participating in & I enjoy all the healthy food I make.

Over the past year, from fracturing a bone in my foot, to having my heart broken at the beginning of the year, then having a car accident; the first six months of the year didn't go as I had hoped for. These set backs meant I missed classes & some of the classes I was attending eventually closed due to low attendance, so when I was ready to return I had no class to go back too!
Even though I had these sets backs I struggled through with the help of my friends & family. My best friend Laura & I manage to complete The Suffering 5K, which was great fun but in total was 8.5K long instead, but that's another story.

The second half of the year, hasn't been too shabby; I managed to pull myself together & get out of my funk & get things back on track. I've felt great about myself & felt more confident & have become stronger in the gym, but still I have been feeling that something isn't right. Then I lost my mojo, in October a month before I was due to go away for my holiday to Australia. It just went; I was grumpy & unhappy with myself & my body but I continued to go to the gym regardless. I don't think there has been much change to my body over the year that I can see, which is a little disheartening, when I had tried to put in so much effort. I feel like I've become exhausted & feel like I've made no progress.

The Land Down Under...

Luckily, whilst I was on holiday in Australia, not only did I get the rest I needed, but I also found myself inspired again, by my wonderful cousins! I really liked Australia as I felt that the lifestyle there is more healthy, restaurants have much more to offer in the way of gluten free, dairy free etc. and there's specialist health food shops scattered everywhere full of lovely organic & alternative foods. Also the weather really helps, not only does the sunshine help everyone's mood, but you can do more activities outside, which is what sucks about the lovely English weather...roll on summer! 
So, by talking to my cousins about their health & fitness regime's & what I do back home, really helped me refocus my mind, which is what I desperately needed.
I was eating quite healthily & enjoying the sunshine by going on lovely long coastal walks whilst I was visiting Australia, it really gave me a renewed sense of what I want to achieve & what I want to push myself to do. So, that once Christmas was out of the way I can start again in 2016 with a renewed perspective.

Peace & Love.

 

Count Your Macros

Count Your Macros

I know you're probably reading the title like this......

Macro's or macronutrients are nutrients that provide energy/calories, in large quantities hence the 'macro'. There are three macronutrient groups that the body needs to function properly. These are protein, fats & carbohydrates. 

So, how do we know how much we need to eat? 

Depending on your goals, will determine how many calories of each of the groups you need to eat. Firstly, you need to figure out your basal metabolic rate (BMR) this is number of calories your body needs just to complete its basic functions e.g breathing & brain function if you were to live as a couch potato.  From this you can either add calories if your gaining or decrease your calories if you wish to lose, as we all know managing our weight is basic maths. Here's a link where you can find your BMR http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/bmr_calculator.htm

My BMR is 1612 if I were to live as a couch potato, because I want to lose fat I usually eat 1400 calories a day. This number of calories is enough for me I usually feel nice & full at meal times, however, sometimes I do go over this depending on what I've trained, if it's leg day I'll go over because I know I'll need extra protein for my muscles to recover & repair, some days you're more hungry than others & obviously I go over it on treat days too! When I do go over my calorie allowance it's usually not by that much & I probably end up eating my BMR, and most people reading this probably think that 1400 calories isn't a lot of food, but when you eat clean, you can usually eat a lot more food. You can also find macro proportions based on your somatotype, I'm an endomorph so I basically need to manage my fat & carb intake.

My calorie allowance is made up into percentages of the 3 food groups 45% protein, 35% carbs & 20% fats.  I sometimes play around with the percentages as my goal is fat loss, so I have tried increasing my fats & lowering my carbs, although don't lower your carbs too low otherwise you get grumpy, & no one will like you. 

This is why I find my fitness pal an extremely useful tool, as you can set your daily calorie intake & set your percentages. Then your off ready to record your food diary, I enter everything I eat into it. I'm usually like this at every meal time...

28 Days Later....

So, as everyone knows I reset myself at the beginning of Feburary on a mission to fight the fat & I've been keeping you all updated with my weekly progress. This week I've not been feeling myself & not sleeping properly which has led me to make poor choices when regarding caffeine...I chose builders tea instead of green, also aunt flow is on her way & unfortunately with this comes some water retention & bloating, plus it's end of the month & I decided that I'd been good all month I think I deserved a few G&T's. 

However, from having such a poor week, my weight is 80.8Kg which means I've gained 0.6Kg (1.3lbs) over the month which I don't think is that bad, I'm also hoping that some of this is muscle (fingers crossed). This week my body fat percentage is still 38.1% which means I've lost a total of 0.4% over the last month,which considering I'm an endomorph I'm pretty happy with that. 

This biggest difference has come with my measurements.....

At the beginning of February                        28 Days Later.                    Difference 

Measurements (inches)

Arm: 13.5.                                                              14.                                  0.5 gain

Bust: 37.                                               37.5 (Hooray for boobies).               0.5 gain

Chest: 32.5.                                                          32.                                  0.5 loss

Waist: 32.                                                              32.                                   -

Hips: 41.5.                                                             41.                                  0.5 loss

Bum: 44.                                                                43.                                   1 loss

Upper Thigh: 26.5.                                                26.                                    1 loss

Lower Thigh: 21.                                                   19.5.                                1.5 loss

So over 28 days I have lost 3.5 inches, by weight resistance training working one muscle group at a time & by eating properly, again this week I've forgotten to take pictures of my food (sorry) so there's no food diary this week. 

This week at PT I smashed my PB on the 45 degree leg press 10 sets of 10 reps at 120Kg, which is over my starting body weight back in January 2012. Over the last month I've become stronger & fitter, I can't wait to see my results at the end of March; besides summer is only round the corner & I can't wait, it's time to get buff! 

Week 3 Update....

Week 3 Update

Afternoon all! 

My weekly update, this week I've gained 0.1Kg again this week I hope it's muscle (fingers crossed). I've also lost another 0.1% percent of body fat! which again isn't a lot but it's hard to shift. This week; exercise wise I went to pole fitness, bootcamp & PT,  totally smashed 100Kg leg press at bootcamp (check out the video https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=889820191040043&pnref=story).

I also attempted a cheeky little jog/run yesterday I didn't go very far, but I was testing my foot as I've had a broken navicular the last few weeks, which has repaired I still have some soft tissue damage, but I can go back to kickboxing next week! 

I haven't done lovely flipagram this week of my food diary as I forgot to take photos haha but I hope everyone had a lush pancake day! 

Know Your Shapes

Know Your Shapes 

Are you an apple, pear, hourglass, banana, rectangle, triangle, or a footlong? 

Do you have a spare tyre, rubber ring, tree trunks, bingo wings, pooch or are you bow legged? 

These are some names that women & the media use to define & stereotype women's body shapes & parts, these multiple names that are given to our bodies, some of them actually belong to the same group of body shapes, we as women just call them a million different things as what they look like, who knows why?
These names all stem from the original works of William Sheldon (1940) on the somatotype's people's body shapes, there are three categories which you can fall into. 
Mesomorph, ectomorph & endomorph, from this you can see what shape your body falls into & now you can find workouts & exercises plans for your goals based on your body type. 

Mesomorph

Mesomorph's are naturally gifted athletes, they can gain muscle & fat easily, they can also lose it easily. Naturally lean & muscular with wider shoulders than hips. They have an efficient metabolism.

Ectomorph 

Ectomorph's are life's natural skinny bitches, lovely long limbs, small shoulders, low body fat percentage & a fast metabolism; which means they can get away with eating what they like. 

Endomorph 

Endomorph's have high muscle & fat mass, meaning they are solidly built short & stocky but struggle to lose fat. They also have sluggish metabolisms, which they should watch what they eat, & if they go off track they'll find they gain fat easily. 

Unfortunately, I'm in the endomorph group, which means you must sweat like a pig & work like a horse, if you want to look like a fox! I have lost a lot of fat, but it's always easier to lose excess fat in the beginning of any lifestyle change. Now, I wish to progress my body & shape further become fitter & more toned, I'm now struggling with losing fat, this is where my hard work begins. 

As now I have to compete against my own body, as everyone a has a natural fat storage level, I have plateaued around the same weight for a while now because I think my body has reached its natural fat storage level, but because I want to lose more fat I need to make sure I eat right & exercise well to be able to achieve this. 

I have done some research for myself using my somatotype to find eating plans & exercise ideas which have helped, I'm naturally not going to be great at cardio, however, my short yet stocky build means I can lift heavy, which is great because being able to lift will help burn the fat so I will get leaner & more toned whilst keeping my endomorphic softness & curves. 

So my lovely audience, I ask you to take the brave step & look in the mirror & really look to see what shape you see. Take your measurements as this is also a good indication of what shape you have. You can put your measurements into a website (see the link) & it can tell you what shape you are. Once you have your shape, do some research about foods & exercise for the body shape you'll probably be surprised on what is good for you! http://www.calculator.net/body-type-calculator.html

The other night I completed a questionnaire online on body shapes, which told me I was more endomorphic but I was also mesomorphic, it was quite fun filling it in, apart from when I asked my parents whether my forearms where big, average or small, my dad who thought he was being hilarious kindly replied that they were big like Popeye's, I replied that I would get anchors tattooed on them so I looked the part! (I always thought I had average forearms & I do love eating spinach). Here's the link if you fancy doing it. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/becker3.htm

Weekly Update...

Weekly Update

Hi y'all, here is this weeks update. This is week I went to my pole fitness class, bootcamp & PT session! This week I have gained 0.2 Kgs which is about half a pound, which I hope is muscle; as my body fat percentage has decreased by 0.2% which isn't a great deal but it's a start! 

Here's the link to my food diary...

http://flipagram.com/f/QxaXbRmezB 

Let's Talk About Fat

Let's Talk About Fat

Take a look at the image above, and really look at it...

Disgusting isn't it? This is what our bodies are filled with, it lays between our muscles, sits between our organs and lines our arteries. Fat. 

I've spent the last 3 years ridding my body of the excess yellow stuff, and it's been a hard slog! The reason I ended up so big was because I was eating an excessive amount of calories & doing very little movement, it's basic maths if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain weight. Fat takes up more room in the body & therefore 5lbs of fat looks ginormous when compared to 5lbs of muscle (Hence, the stretch marks & cellulite). 

Everybody needs body fat to function healthily, it's just how we are as humans some of us have less body fat than others, some have more. There are two types of fat in the body visceral (which protects our organs) and subcutaneous (under the skin), when I was obese I probably had more visceral fat than what I do now, as over the last 3 years I have lost about 10 inches from my waist which would probably be a combination of visceral & subcutaneous fat. It is important to maintain a healthy level of visceral fat around your organs, too much fat can put strain on your organs leading to serious health problems. 

The foods that I used to consume on a daily basis, we're full of the wrong carbs, wrong fats & full of sugar. Now, that I have changed my lifestyle & my food choices I have a better understanding of what my body needs & how much. 

Everybody needs to eat some sort of fat, what type is what defines whether you gain or lose weight. Yes, that's correct LOSE weight! If you eat healthy fats, this can actually help you shift the fat you no longer want. 

I use my fitness pal to record my food diary everyday, it counts calories & all the nutrients you eat, you just need to remember that fat has the highest amount of calories per gram, so even though you're eating healthy fats, you still need to control how much. (1g of fat = 9 calories, 1g of protein = 4 calories, 1g of carbohydrate = 4 calories). 

Avoid trans fats at all costs! Trans fats come in the form of all our favourite things, crisps, cake, chips, takeaways; all processed & fried foods. Look out for the magic word hydrogenated on packaging, then put it down and walk away. 

Saturated fat is the not so good fat, but you should still have the foods in your diet in moderation as these foods have other great nutritional values, saturated fat is found in red meat & dairy products. 

Poly-saturated fat is a healthy fat, it can help lower cholesterol and usually are foods high in omega 3 fatty acids, which are essential for building a strong body & regulating hormones. Poly-saturated fat can be found in nuts, seeds & oily fish such as salmon & mackerel. 

Mono-saturated fats are also healthy fats, these are my favourite kind mainly because I love olive oil. Mono-saturated fat raises good cholesterol which keeps our hearts healthy, this type of fat can be found in avocados, olive oil & peanut oil. 

It's taken a while, but I have educated myself on what to eat, what not to eat & other nutritional benefits of certain foods, if other people can take the time & do the same then that is half the battle, knowledge is power, use it wisely.

Personally, I always ensure I have a good mixture of saturated, poly & mono fats to maintain a healthy level of fat, but also because the food that contain these fats have other healthy benefits too, and can contribute to fat loss & overall health & well-being. 

Food Glorious Food

Food, Glorious, Food 

When I was using Slimming World, I found it quite a useful tool as it taught me portion sizes, to set limits to things like dairy, sweets, chocolate; it taught me about delicious new foods,   & swap sugar for sweetener & making low-fat or no fat choices; it still allowed me to eat a little bit of what I fancied by using the syn system. 

When I started Team Dynamix, it used the acid/alkaline diet, which was completly new & terrifying to me but actually it wasn't that bad; it actually made me think more about what I was putting in my body, and that I needed the right nutrition to fuel my body for the exercise I was doing. 

It works on the principle that the body is made up of alkaline cells, and that if we eat more acidic foods our cells will swell & bloat with the acidic foods because it takes longer for our bodies to process them, where as if you eat mainly alkaline foods, our bodies will return to & maintain at an alkaline state.

For this I had to give up all man made processed foods, anything white, caffeine, alcohol, all refined sugars & sweeteners, and red meat (but only for the first two weeks) & I went gluten free. 

This is a food diagram of what you can eat, you should aim for 80% alkaline 20% acidic.  

So, I swapped my breakfast for gluten free granola with almond milk, my builders tea (milk & 2 sugars)  for  green or herbal. You could have one portion of fish & one portion of poultry a day, so I alternated my lunches & dinners, with a portion of complex carbs so I used sweet potatoes, quinoa & couscous. For my morning snack I had one portion of fruit to stabilise my blood sugars throughout the day, eventually I cut this out. The good thing about this diet is that you could have some full-fat products such as yoghurt, houmous & milk, the reason for this is you need fat to break down fat. If you have low fat & no fat products basically it's had  all the good fats taken out and replaced with several "ingredients" or chemicals that you can't pronounce. The basic rules are, if it has more than 5 ingredients don't eat it & if it has anything in the ingredients list that you can't pronounce, you probably shouldnt eat it either.

                                        

For the first 3 days I was walking around like a zombie, I was lethargic, had a headache & chills. This was my body's response to going cold-turkey to my caffeine addiction, I like drinking tea; only I used to drink it in bucket style mugs, several times throughout the day.

I now had zero caffeine & it was awful, I now see why drug addicts don't quit, it's bloody horrendous, however, after 3 days I felt fantastic I had all this energy, because of this diet & no caffeine meant that my body was using energy from my fat stores (yay!).

I think I got away lightly as some other members of my group not only drank loads of coffee, they drank coke so some of them had to ween themselves off of it which took a few days longer, so I would cut the fizzy drinks out as soon as possible.

At home we have steak night once a week, it's like an unwritten law. So for the first two weeks of Team Dynamix I could've cried everyone else was eating steak & I had chicken, it sucked. However, after that you could have it once a week, so having a steak for dinner became my treat meal of the week, with sweet potato wedges & cheesy 'slaw.

My sweet tooth has got better over time, I still have days where I could totally eat a whole cake, but I have a new love now, Green & Blacks dark chocolate is divine. Dark chocolate that uses 70% cocoa solids is also good for you! As it's a purer form of chocolate is has some fat burning properties, and also because it's bittersweet you don't need much to satisfy your cravings! 

I've also tried doing this diet on the 5/2 theory for 2 weeks after I completed bootcamp, so every other day I ate 600 calories after 2pm, to shock my body again, it did work & the first day is always the hardest, I drank water & green tea until 2pm & I found the trick is to have your first meal prepped ready to go, so I had my porridge ready to go for 2pm on the dot, that way I knew I wouldn't binge on my first meal. 

The thing about the alkaline/acid diet, it may have a funny name & the word diet in the title but really it teaches you to eat clean. By not having any man made processed foods & it teaches you to be more wise about your food options throughout the day, to actually think about what you're going to eat next. 

I've found from being on this diet, well it's not really a diet to me anymore it's my lifestyle now & over time my tastes have really changed, I can no longer stomach a takeaway, as all I can taste is the grease they've cooked it in, I also no longer have extreme cravings for sweets & chocolate.

I contantly think about food but for the right reasons, about my next meal what can i make next, I have a pinterest board dedicated to health food inspiration, which really comes in handy. https://uk.pinterest.com/emmalbrown87/healthy-foods/