I Be Up In The Gym Just Working On My Fitness

So you may or may not have heard that I'm getting married in September. I probably haven't mentioned it . . . ;) Anyhoo, I've had a bit of a lifestyle change this year with regards to my diet and fitness, and I thought you might want to read about it because I've found it really interesting to go through. It started in January with Tim and I joining our local branch of Pure Gym in an attempt to lose that sedentary sofa weight that we had both gained over the last few years. I had this idea of dropping 21lbs for the wedding. This would take me to 10 stone which I haven't seen since my mid-twenties. I think I've always been quite heavy boned (lol, soz) because even at my smallest size 6-8 as an 18 year old, I always weighed around 9 1/2 stone while my friends at similar sizes would be 8 stone. It never bothered me though, I've always been more about how you look in the mirror then what the scales say. But, as a future bride, I wanted to be 'thin' and 10 stone seemed a decent goal weight. So off I went on this new self styled fitness regime of weight training, treadmill running and fat burning classes, combined with a somewhat dubious healthy eating diet change.

Although I'm conscious of my diet, I'm not super strict about it because I LOVE my treats and I get seriously unhappy without them so I made a few little tweaks that I knew I could stick to. I switched out my daily morning cereal (usually something sweet) for granola with red berries and natural yoghurt. This keeps me going until lunch which is usually a seafood sandwich or salad, or a bowl of soup. Previously I was lunching on convenient pot snacks of all sorts. BLEURGH. Tea is made up of Quorn, chicken or steak with salad and sweet potato fries or falafels, with the odd Chinese rice based dish thrown in mid week to break it up. We used to eat a lot of pasta and pizza, these things are more of a treat now but if I'm honest I always feel bloated and unwell after either now. When it comes to snacks I have pretty much figured out what I can get flavour-wise for the cals. Soreen lunchbox size cakes are my fave, and I also love frozen yoghurt, light rice pudding pots and the occasional rich tea finger biscuit dipped in chocolate spread. Ahem. I'm eating more fruit than I used to as well. I adore grapes and raspberries, but I'm also taking in more fruit via juices like B.Fresh, a range of British grown and produced cold pressed juices, bottled fresh and full of nutrients. This particular brand works out at £2.50 a bottle, but it's a nice treat every now and again and for a fruit dodger like myself, an easy way to get onto your 5 a day. Sure you can do this at home with a blender, but you know what, some of us just hate meal prepping of any sort and prefer the convenience of grabbing a bottle from the fridge whenever we want to. It's pretty much the same as buying a bottle of water instead of investing in a filter jug. Basically, I don't want to do any of this myself if I can help it. If you're interested, my fave flavour is #strawberryfields, which is also a whopping 2 of your 5 a day. It's a fab blast of tasty strawberries followed with a refreshing touch of cucumber - nom! We've also both reduced our alcohol intake. Tim used to drink a lot of recreational beers and we both enjoyed a Disaronno and coke, but now we might share a bottle of wine at the weekend instead. You can't cut it all out, but it's about moderation as they say.

I try to go to the gym 3-4 times a week now. I do fat burn/weight bearing classes 2 or 3 times a week and on the other day/s I do my own little weight training plan and at least 20 mins on the treadmill. When I started in January, I could barely jog on the treadmill for 1 minute straight and I struggled to complete an LBT class because my legs turned to jelly, now I'm pushing through to 25 straight mins on the treadmill and doing 3 classes back to back. Obviously I'm full on sweating but this is the point right? Nobody is looking at me but me. This isn't Instagram, we're all there for a reason and the people who are only there to do selfies in the mirrors usually disappear after a few half arsed sessions anyway. I buy fun leggings and flattering vests for the gym because they make me feel good. The Shock Absorber bra that I begrudgingly paid a lot of money for in January, is now my best friend. Some days I wear leopard print sports socks pushed down over my leggings and I don't even care because they make me smile when I look down. It's pretty freeing I don't mind admitting. Once you get past that initial self conscious newbie feeling and realise that everyone is in their own little bubble, it's just so GOOD. 

So I've been on this now for what, 7 months, and have I reached my goal weight? Nope, not at all, but I have reached a point of fitness of the like I haven't felt, well, EVER. Don't get me wrong, I've lost 14lbs of the 21lbs I was aiming for so I know I've done okay, but I can't seem to shift that last 7lbs without a major calorie intake drop and I don't want to do that because I will hate life and I LOVE carrot cake. I do feel STRONG. I think I AM strong, at least compared to how I used to be. I definitely look tighter all over. I can't grab anywhere near as much back flab as I used to be able to. My butt has a nice curve to it. I can press and lift about 3 times more than I could in January. I have these impressive thigh muscles that I've never seen before, and so far this summer I've been happily baring my shoulders for the first time in years. In other news I no longer feel super lethargic at the end of a working day, my mysterious back pains have disappeared (I was actually having intermittent physio for said mysterious back pains all last year), I've started taking a big interest in gym wear and I'm actually reading the technical details about trainers instead of just looking at the colourways. To my surprise I actually enjoy exercising now and pushing myself to go that bit further each time, though it took about 2 months of it to get to that point. I'm not sure I would have pushed so hard if I didn't have the wedding to aim for but this is a lifestyle change that I don't see changing just because our wedding day comes and goes. I already have this revelation like, why didn't I do this earlier instead of just sitting on the sofa and buying bigger clothes?! I guess what I'm saying is that if you feel like you want to make a fitness change, it only has to be a little one. We are very easily overwhelmed by what we see on Instagram. Abs for days and photogenic menus are not unachievable by any means, but you have to do it your own way and stop comparing yourself to other people. Some people have help from professionals, others just have the type of get up and go that I will never have, but I was pretty jealous of them all regardless of how they went about it. Since I let the Insta-envy go, I've been so much happier with my own progress and my own body. I'm pretty sure that if I applied myself even further then I could reach my original goal and then some, but I'm happy the way I am for now and that's just fine with me :)

J xoxo