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 

Pass The Brown Paper Bag Please...

Your Skin

Throughout my teens I had quite good skin; not too many break outs which is quite a relief compared to some girls I know. 

However, when I started losing weight weight my skin became terrible, blemishes & breakouts I'd never experienced anything like it. Hence, the title, pass the brown paper bag I seriously just wanted to hide away my skin was awful, couldn't image what it would've been like if I was in my teens but now I'm an adult in my mid-twenties with acne of someone who should be 10 years younger. Each month the condition of my skin would be different & different patches on face, one part dry, another really oily I just felt like I couldn't win. 

This was something the slimming groups obviously don't tell you when you sign up. I figured out that unfortunately our skin doesn't hide all of our sins. From all the years I had been eating god knows what full of chemicals & harmful substances then stored away in my fat cells for a long time. I was now breaking these down & these radicals that been stored in my fat were now making there way to face, unfortunately there's not enough concealer to hide them. Having the skin of a 17 year old does make you quite depressed, when your 27 & getting ID'd in Asda for a bottle of voddy, when your going out later that night. 

Some months my skin, would back to its usual normal self, and I would feel great, but then it would go funny again. My mum has always taught my sister & I the importance of looking after your skin. So, I've always practised a cleanse, tone & moisturise routine, with the added in exfoliation & face mask. I found its important to try lots of different products to find the best ones that work for you. I currently use a combination of Liz Earle & Ren Skincare.

So I started to do a little research online about what else I could do, to try and help my acne/blemish problem. I found this handy little website, which uses Chinese medicine & reflexology approach to skin mapping for acne. I thought I'd try this first before going to the doctors, because as we all know the condition of someone's skin is usually a representation of what they've put inside the body. 

http://www.skinacea.com/acne/acne-face-map.html#.VODVUmIgGSM

When I returned from travelling last year my skin was bloody awful, literally the day I landed my sister made me an appointment at the doctors. It was really bad, and she didn't want me to end up like her; having just finished 6 months on Accutane & having to wait for treatment for scarring. I've been using Duac cream since November, which has worked well also now I have got my food back to normal, unlike when I was travelling it was extremely carb heavy. 

A lot of my blemishes & acne breakouts were on my chin, with a combination of my skin routine, the Duac cream from the doctors, and with help from the skin map, I've finally got my skin under control. I've realised that I probably wasn't having enough omega 3's in my diet to regulate my hormones properly. As I make sure I have oily fish a couple of times a week, and I also have a flax seed mix I put in my porridge most mornings, this has helped my skin improve considerably. 

(Gorgeous, Aren't I?)

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/

Becoming Dynamic....

Becoming Dynamic

Before I had made the decision to leave Slimming World, the gym that I go to frequently has open days so that members & non-members can come & try various classes etc. I went to an open day at my gym July 2013, to try out a course that I'd seen advertised & one of my friends told me about...I was unsure about the diet that went with this course but it wasn't that bad in the end. On the open day, we met the lovely Chris who runs the Team Dynamix course. He gave us a brief overview of the diet & sorts of food you can eat, then we did a short exercise session, so basically it was a mini class. The next course would start in 2 days time on the Monday...so naturally I signed up straight away as I felt it was time for something new. 

Team Dynamix

Is a 4 week course, 3 nights a week; it's a small class of about 16 people & it runs for about an hour, you have sometime a the beginning & end of class to discuss food etc. 

The exercises are timed, the first week I think is 30 seconds on, 30 seconds recovery, the next week will be 40/20 and so on, as your condition will improve each week.  The circuit is set so you'll have between 4-6 weight resistant stations (depending on how big the class is & what room your in) each of those stations will have a core workout attached, as usually buddy up so whilst one does the weight resistance the other will do core. Now, either before or after the circuit you also have to do your cardio round this can be either shuttle runs with body weight exercises at the cones or a combination of six cardio exercises such as high knees, squats jumps & the dreaded burpees. 

The exercise for this course is all High Intesity Interval Training (HIIT) it works by you working to your maximum throughout the class, resulting in a higher fat burn & faster metabolism. To some people reading this, this course sounds horrendous & people will probably wonder why I did it, Slimming World was a good eating plan to start me off but my weight loss was starting to plateau as after a while your body becomes used to your new lifestyle, therefore it's good to give it a shock every now & then. 

When I started Team Dynamix I was 14 stone 1lb (89.5Kgs/197.4lbs) when I had completed the course I weighed 12 stone 6 (80.5Kgs/177.4lbs) I had lost 9Kgs in four weeks it was amazing, I couldn't remember when I had weighed that amount before. From attending the classes 3 times a week, for four weeks & following the eating plan (I'll do another blog for that) I had lost a lot of weight, I wish I had started Team Dynamix sooner so that I could reach my goals sooner. 

(I'm in the middle at the back)

TD Bootcamp 

A few months after my brilliant Team Dynamix course, Chris had developed the next phase...bootcamp, like Team Dynamix only heavier weights, more stupid cardio exercises (Spartan flips) & more core workouts, same time frame as before 3 nights a week for 4 weeks, same food plan. Since doing Team Dynamix I had kept the same food plan, as I felt healthier & less bloated so sticking to it wasn't a problem, & I had only gained 0.2Kg during the gap between Dynamix & Bootcamp I had regular gym reviews with Chris to develop my gym program.  However, as much as I loved bootcamp the scales didn't really move I lost the 0.2Kg that I had gained but again my body had got used to the healthier eating, & the range of exercise I was doing. 

If any of my lovely readers feel like they want to give Team Dynamix a go, please follow the links for my gyms webpage & the Team Dynamix Facebook page for more information. 

http://www.balancehealthclubs.co.uk & https://www.facebook.com/teamdynamixweightloss?ref=ts&fref=ts

Chris is a fantastic instructor,  I can't recommend him enough; he really gets you motivated in class (He also laughs at you when your in agony) & he's really helped me over the last 18 months with teaching me new techniques & training programmes in the gym, giving me new

food ideas & making me do cardio (which I hate with a passion) & convincing me to try new classes at the gym such as Functional Training (like bootcamp) and Strength & Conditioning (which was good apart from the bloody cardio). 

I've completed Team Dynamix & completed bootcamp twice & completed a 6 week course of PT, along with various gym programmes & classes in between, you can probably tell I'm not a cardio fan, my lungs aren't that stong because I'm an ex-smoker but I make myself do it because I know I have too! Again it's another situation where I'm not sure what I would have done if I hadn't of started with Team Dynamix.

Weekly Update

A quick one...

So it's been a week since my first blog, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who's taken the time to read it, it means so much to me. The feedback I've had is brilliant I'm glad people enjoy reading it & that I hope you find it useful or insightful, as I enjoy writing it's very therapeutic. 

In my first blog, that I published last Sunday my weight was 81.9 Kgs, since then I have kept my eye on my food diary the last 7 days & I went to weight resistance boot camp on Thursday & had a PT session on Saturday. I weighed myself yesterday to find that I've lost 1.7Kgs or 3.8lbs in the last week! 

Throughout the last seven days I've kept my food diary, I have also taken pictures of what I have eaten, although sometimes it would get to a meal time & I would be so hungry I'd forget (sorry), so to give people an idea of what I eat throughout the day & snack on please follow this flipagram link. Don't forget to wash all you food down with at least 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day, I also have about 5 cups of green tea a day too. http://flipagram.com/f/QYIPeApBkL

A Trick of the Mind...

Breaking Bad...Habits

A habit, is an unconscious pattern of behaviour that is acquired through repetition of requirement to fuel the need or want.

I realise now, that I was a comfort eater throughout my teens & early twenties, when ever I was stressed, upset or felt down & felt completely worthless I would want to habitually comfort myself with any junk food I could get my hands on.

I found myself overweight, depressed & being on a downward spiral path in a life that I wasn't for me. I feel like I've wasted my teens & my early twenties living a shell of a life, by having no confidence & no self esteem to put myself out there & that's time I've wasted that I'll never get back.

A Little Science or Biological Psychology....

From habitually eating junk food especially chocolate, biscuits, sweets & cake (I have a demon sweet tooth) all those bad sugars & nutrients were beginning to effect me biologically. Sugar in our diets causes our bodies to make insulin; so with this spike of insulin, our bodies now have this extra glucose, which races around our blood stream. The glucose when it reaches our brain it makes us produce more serotonin (the confidence hormone) this makes us more focused & confident. 

Now, the trouble is if you have sugary foods throughout the day your constantly spiking you insulin & serotonin levels (sugar rush), once this has worn this has worn off, will feel lethargic & probably won't be in a good mood until you get your next fix, because your body has gotten used to this habitual cycle, it will cause you to crave these foods & when you attain these it also spikes your dopamine levels (succeed at meeting your needs hormone) which makes you happy & satisfied. 

So, it's not only doing damage to your overall health, it's also damaging the receptors for these hormones in the brain, which creates a greater craving each time. 

                                           

For me with the help of my lovely psychology degree, I could understand what was going on at a biological level with my body, why I was feeling the way I was, what causes it, and now was the time to control it. 

Experts say it takes 45 days to change a habit, I'm not sure really how long it takes, I didn't time mine. But the point is, if you understand you're craving those sugary foods because you've habitually been feeding yourself that way, you should be able to change it, all it takes is for you to recognise your triggers, take some time to implement new ways of dealing with your cravings & the situations your in that makes you feel that way & some will power. 

When I started for instance, when it got to morning break time, instead of having a chocolate bar or biscuits with my cuppa, I started have a piece of fruit, or a handful of unsalted mixed nuts, sometimes I wouldn't have anything & be stubborn & tell myself to wait until lunchtime, because I would have prepared a healthy lunch to eat. From making healthier choices, my cravings calmed down because I was giving my body something more nutrious to eat, that would keep it satisfied & keep my hormone levels balanced throughout the day. 

Now, we understand how our brain works & makes us feel due to the food we eat, what about those situations that make us feel that way? When making a lifestyle change like I have, every so often it is wise to take a look around at the people & things in your life & have a bit of a tidy up. You will no longer want to be around pessimistic or narcissistic people (I call them dementors) like in Harry Potter, these people will suck the living soul out of you leaving nothing behind. You should only console yourselves with people who are optimistic, motivational & have your best interests at heart (as long as you have theirs too!) to continue on your journey. If you are unhappy with your job or any part of your life, the chance is now to change it, you have the power (a bit like He-Man). 

When I went travelling in India, I learnt a lot about Hinduism, especially good & bad karma. It is important to cleanse yourself spiritually, mentally or physically or all 3 of any negative feelings, or people, or objects/situations in your life, the longer you carry them the more bad karma will be weighing you down. Once you have learnt the error of the negativity, you can be released learn to love yourself & others again (spread the love), if you give out good karma you will be rewarded with receiving good karma. 

I'm not particularly religious, but I like the Hindu philosophy. You only get out, what you put in. The same goes for the body as well. Overtime, I have changed my mindset, from being negative about myself, to being completely positive & having the belief I can do anything. I look back over the last 3 years & realise that once I had removed all negativity from my life, & learned to understand my body, I could manipulate my mind; from my mind telling me what to do, to me telling it to shut up & that i can do this.

My 5 Top Tips For Weight Loss

5 Top Tips For Weight Loss

These are my five top tips for weight loss, that I have implemented overtime that have helped me & continue to help me stay on track. If I have a blip or a down moment when I loose motivation, I have a manual reboot button & I start again using these.

1. Weighing, Measurements & Pictures

As a woman, my weight fluctuates up & down like a yo-yo all the time, it truly sucks to be a girl.  The weighing scales every girls worst nightmare...I always try and weigh myself once a week, on the same day about the same time, usually on a Sunday morning. This way you 

can get more of an accurate picture of your weight loss, I have weighed myself during the
week before to see that I've lost then gained by the weekend or vice versa. However, weighing scales aren't gospel we all know that muscle weigh's more than fat as it is denser, so if like me you do a combined program of cardio & weightlifting, or are moving over to weightlifting the chances are there could little movement on the scales due to the muscle you are building. 

I take my measurements once a month, that way you get a good 4-5 weeks of clean eating & a good exercise program to notice the difference. I measure everywhere that I can with assistance of whoever is in my house at the time. Arms, chest, waist, hips, upper thigh (on the most flabby bit) lower thigh (one hand above the knee) the reason I measure my thigh in two different places is because the shape of the muscle are different so I can get a clear picture if I'm burning the fat away; I also measure both arms & legs as the stronger side of 

your body maybe smaller.

A picture timeline of your weight loss is a fantastic tool, for when your feel down & want to throw in the towel when things get tough, this is great to look at to see how far you've come.
I've recently taken some new photos that hopefully in 12-16 weeks time I'll will be able to compare them and see how much my body has changed from my new workouts.

2. Food, glorious, food diary

Since I started on Slimming World, I have kept a food diary, it started off as a A4 piece of paper with a grid on for each day & each meal time, that I kept in my handbag at all times. I now use myfitnesspal app on my phone & tablet, as I always have at least one of them with
me. This helps me enter my foods in all day, every day & it's best feature is that it can scan bar codes, so you can scan & add food super easy. You can set your calorie allowance, record your exercise, weight & some measurements. With all the food you eat, it tells you how many nutrients your getting too, which is great when like myself you start counting macronutrients (macros). 

3. Gym Buddy

If you're a first time gym-goer or a regular sometimes it helps to have a friend with you for moral support. For me, this is my best friend Laura, she's great for giving me a kick up the ass when I need one, she's the voice that tells me yes you can, when I'm dying inside. We go kickboxing together every week & beat each other up (when we miss the pad), we've been pole fitness together, which we both love! She's the one who will try new & stupid activities with me, she's my Miss Motivator! 

4. Motivation 

If your Miss Motivator is unavaliable, you can always see your Personal Trainer (PT) if you have one for a pep talk, to help you get in the right direction.

Various forms of media can be used as a motivational tool, I have a Pinterest account, which is a virtual pinboard, and I have a board dedicated to gym motivation full of pictures, quotes & memes, which it look at to prompt myself into going to the gym. https://uk.pinterest.com/emmalbrown87/motivation/

Personally, I find music is the greatest motivator, my iPod is full of all genres of music for every mood. Music can change my mood or enhance it, I have several Ministry of Sound Running Trax albums that I listen to in the gym, but if that's not your cup of tea you could be more old school & listen to some hard rock...cue Eye Of The Tiger! 

5. Say No to Leggings

They're comfortable, affordable & come in several colours & patterns, but ladies don't wear leggings. The elastic is full of lies, you can lie to yourselves & buy a size or two sizes smaller to convince yourself you are that size. Before I started Slimming World, I always wore leggings because they were in fashion, and they were comfy & went with everything, I could wear a size 16. When I came to graduate in February 2012 & had to wear fitted trousers I was mortified, disgusted & completely devastated when I had to get size 20 trousers, what should of been one of the happiest days of my life, I hated most of it because of how big I had got, I just wanted to hid away& be left alone, but I had to go on stage & collect my degree, I hate my photo from that day too. So, ladies I employ you ditch the leggings, wear fitted trousers or jeans so you know your true sizing, and face up to the truth which does hurt a lot but at least you can then do something about it. 

Besides, no one wants to see your underwear, or cellulite ridden thighs & bum through your threadbare leggings...

Fat Fighters

"Half-The-Calorie Diet' so you can have twice as much"


                                        
"Hello Fatties" 

When you think of joining a slimming club, you think of Majorie Dawes ("I just love a bit of cake, yeah") but honestly it's not that bad, you're with people who want the same goal as you, to lose weight.
I had completed my first step and joined Slimming World. When I joined I was 17 stone and half a pound (238lbs - 108Kgs) & I'm 5ft 6in (167cm) tall, so according to my body mass index (BMI) was obese, if I was 6.5lbs heavier I would have been classed as morbidly obese, I look back now & I'm glad I started when I did, who knows what would of happened too me?
Dust? Anyone? No?

I used Slimming World for about 18 months I was using their extra easy plan, which was extra easy to follow; you have super free & free foods which you can eat in abundance and healthy options A & B you pick one of each a day & you had 15 syns a day to be naughty if you wanted to use them. The recipes online & in the magazine are really tasty & get people back in the kitchen & cooking using fresh ingredients, that makes loads of dinners & I took the leftovers for lunch at work the next day. It also encourages you to keep a food diary so you know what you've eaten. I never stayed for the actual group as I got back home from work late, if I had stayed at the group it wouldn't have been 9pm before I had any dinner, so I'm not sure what they do at group (it could be a cult, for all I know!?)

I've never tried Weight Watchers or Rosemary Connolly so I'm not sure how they compare. For me Slimming World felt like the right platform for weight loss, it was simple & easy to follow, and it helped me gain control of what I was eating & the portion size of what I was eating & re-educated me about what I was putting in my body & I was enjoying all these fresh fruit & vegetables. I've never been so full in my life, that first week I was on slimming world I thought I would burst, before I started the plan I had cut my meals down in size in an attempt to lose weight, I now know that this is considered an extremely bad move, as it slows your metabolism down & mine is slow enough as it is! I would definitely recommend Slimming World to anyone who wants to loose weight as a starting platform. 

Towards the end of my time on Slimming World, I had lost about 3 stone (19Kgs) my weight loss had started to plateau & I wasn't seeing the results I wanted when I had been good with food all week, and been to the gym 3-4 times a week, so it was time for a change, I saw that by this point that Slimming World would no longer help me to achieve my goals & that it was just making me loose pounds in my bank account. It was time for something more dynamic...

Eeeek! My First Blog

In the Beginning...

...well January 2012 to be exact.

There I was one cold January evening in a community hall, with other women like myself, waiting to have my turn on those scales, which would reveal years of abuse & self loathing that I had put myself through subconsciously. I had agreed to go to this first meeting with, my mother; who is as cunning as fox had used reverse psychology in tricking me to go with her for support, when in fact it was the other way round. 

Then it was my turn, I placed my feet on the scales & watched the number rocket up to 17 stone & half a pound (238lbs - 108Kgs) it was then I realised that I was officially heavier than my parents and anyone I'd ever known.

From that moment, I hadn't realised how heavy and big I was, or how I looked (when I graduated I was a size UK18-20). I've never been one for actually looking at myself in the mirror, or weighing myself. I just didn't care about me, I had low self esteem & low confidence and had inhibited a downward spiral of uncontrolled eating & making poor choices for myself; being surrounded by people that also inhibited this lifestyle making me think it was ok or being surrounded by people who made me seem worthless so that I didn't care anymore. I just used to drink most weekends, smoke & eat what I wanted when I wanted regardless of the consequences on my health & well being. 

Time is a Great Healer...

Over the last 3 years, I have completely changed my lifestyle, I've tried & tested various "diets" & fitness routines. My confidence & self esteem has sky rocketed (I even had the balls to go around India travelling on my own) & I'm generally a happier, healthier person. On the return from travels last year I weighed my lowest a week after I returned home, which was also my birthday so I was super chuffed, I was 12 stone 1lb (169.5lbs - 76.9Kgs), however, with the lack of training & proper nutrition whilst I was away meant I had lost definition & strength, which I have built back up. 

My Aims...

I want to use this blog to inspire others who are on the verge of taking the plunge to change  their lifestyle & those who have just started. To those already on their journey that they are not alone when times get hard, and for me, to help me stay motivated whilst I continue my journey as I'll be sharing my progress with you.

From Christmas & throughout January I have felt a little lost, and not sure about the next step to take regarding my own fitness, but today I feel more positive and refocused, and ready to take the next step which will be to develop my body to be stronger, leaner & fitter by using weight resistant workouts only which is something new to me as I've never done this before...a bit like this blogging malarky.

Current Stats

Dress Size:UK 12-14

Weight: 12 Stone 12lbs - 180lbs - 81.9Kgs

Body Fat: 36.7%

Measurements (inches)

Arm: 13.5

Bust: 37

Chest: 32.5

Waist: 32

Hips: 41.5

Bum: 44

Upper Thigh: 26.5

Lower Thigh: 21

Thank You's
Thanks to my Mum, for taking me to my first diet group & starting me on this journey, as I never would of done it without your support. 

To all my friends & family that have supported me during this time, it means so much!

Thanks to my lovely beautician Kolaine for telling me I should start a blog and tell my story (you can visit her blog here http://kolaine.blogspot.co.uk/ ).