Left is now and right is at the beginning of jan!
I've been itching to write this post all month, although I was a little nervous about posting my actual progress picture....I was like NAH, be proud of what I've achieved - so there ya go! Back in end of November I bit the bullet and bought Kayla's Bikini body guide. I chose this particular plan because a lot of fitness plans you end up paying for a nutritional guide and I didn't want that - I don't want to be told what to eat! Plus I had bought loads of new healthy cookbooks and wanted to be able to use them but I knew I needed some kind of guidance for my fitness and I thought getting a plan I could stick to meant I wouldn't be aimlessly going to the gym and getting nowhere like I had been.
I want to point out that during december I knew this was coming so...obviously I ate everything and anything - I wish I was joking! I started January really bloated with low energy, I felt uncomfortable in a lot of my clothes, even my leggings! Being a small person a lot of people don't think I have any weight to loose because in a way I am a lot naturally smaller than people, but I really do and maybe I'm okay at hiding it.
I've found the plan really easy to stick to, guaranteed I haven't really taken my LISS seriously this month but I will go into that in a sec. The plan essentially gets you to do 2-3 circuit/resistance sessions a week and then 2-3 LISS sessions. LISS is kinda the opposite to HIIT where you are fat burning with intervals, LISS is keeping your heart at a steady pace for 35-45 minutes this could be anything from a walk/jog outside to a swimming session, you can kind of do what you want for LISS and a lot of people choose to do something towards another goal like running though it is recommended you stick to something more like 35 minutes at the same pace on a treadmill or crosstrainer. For my LISS I decided to do yoga/ hot yoga and bouldering for the first month and then next month I'm going to step it up by starting running again - I'm sure you agree it's just too cold for that right now! But I have been walking to work for 20-25 minutes there and same back again so in a small way that's my LISS too.
The circuits are really easy to follow and I find it quite easy to motivate myself through them - I do all of this at home in my bedroom. So lets say we have legs and cardio circuit - you will have two circuits to do and in each circuit you have 4 exercises to do. For example 15 squats, 24 lunges, 24 step ups and 50 skipping....something like that you just do as many as you can in the 7 minutes and when you do the circuit just repeat, so once you've done your 15 squats you go on to do your 24 lunges. You can take your time doing each circuit sometimes I need a quick breather and some water and then you jump straight back into it. Once your first 7 minutes is up you get a 30 second break and then you do 7 minutes of circuit 2, you then have a 90 second break and then you do 7 minutes of circuit 1, 30 second break and then 7 minutes of circuit 2 and you are DONE - make sure you stretch because you will be DYING the next day if you don't. I had to waddle for 3 days after my very first legs session, the struggle was real. When I struggle I think oh...only 7 more squats to go and thats done, then right another 24 lunges when it gets hard I stop and think of how many I have left and count that, next thing you've done two circuits then you only have one left, its only 7 minutes... that's kinda how I think and get myself through it!
You will need some equipement if you are at home but you can get a little creative, the plan is really adaptable. So I already had dumbbells but instead of a medecine ball I used a Kettlebell I had and instead of a step up I've been using a trunk I have! I'm using the minimum weights required for the plan so when I've completed the BBG I will repeat it using double the weights. There is also a great community of girls doing the plan, I'm part of a fb group and they are all real supportive on instagram.
Most importantly, how has this affected me? Well, I felt a change after 2 weeks and not just in my appearance. A lot of girls said they noticed a chance after 8 weeks - everyone is different. Sometimes the change is there and you don't notice. I'm not really weighing myself at any point because my weight isn't my goal and it can be very de motivational. I'm going on how my clothes feel and inches lost. I know for a fact I've lost an inch or two on my inner thigh - which I am buzzzinn about. I can also feel that my stomach has shrunk quite a bit and my back fat is melting! I also feel stronger, I really struggled with lunges at first having to pause a few times and now I can bang out 12 on each leg with weights. It's also making me really motivated throughout my life to work towards achieving all my goals.
I really can't wait to see where I am at the end of the plan! I've got a holiday to Thailand at the end of March which is really motivating me to keep working, I've really been trying to cut out as much sugar as I can and eating better so I am really feeling it! -I'll update in another month on how I am getting on!
Are you guys on the plan? what did you think? How are your healthy goals going?
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Fitness is a really big thing for me and I wanted to put more fitness posts in my blog this year, I'm going to be doing recipes for sure but I'm not sure what else to include? What would you guys like to see? Maybe my favourite instagrammers? Youtube videos? What I have tried? Tips?
I thought I would do this post with just a few little things I have been doing to kickstart my fitness for this year. Ultimately I said in my resolutions post I want to have a toned body but I also want to become a lot more flexible, you know like crazy yoga poses flexible.
I've been quite ill for a few months with sinusitis which means that I am really not up for going to the gym at the moment. If I feel up to it I try and to a mini workout at home with a kettlebell or weights but mostly this month the few things I have been doing:
1- Drink green tea twice a day, usually I drink one when I get to work and after lunch
2- Drink more water, I also like to infuse my water for additonal benefits! You can read a little more about that here. Drink water is probably an obvious one but I drink enough at work and as soon as I get home I don't drink anything.
3. Trying to eat better, I won't lie, I've still eaten many a pizza but I'm trying to eat meat and veg mostly. Snacking on carrots and hummus and eating granola for breakfast.
It seems to have worked because I have definitely dropped off what I put on a christmas! I may do like a monthly update, with recipes in between and tips and tricks and all that jazz. What do you think?
Ciao x
PS. Check out my favourite Missguided Active pics here
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