When the going gets tough...

The tough have monster munch, christmas chocolate and fish fingers ( not all on one plate). 

#firstworldproblems but we are currently looking for a flat to buy in London ( very exciting!!) but also very tiring and stressful. Every night we are consumed by right move or are traipsing half way across London to view a hovel to potentially call our own. 

Last night we viewed 3 places and it was  very cold and involved lots of standing around and I was feeling poorly :( I decided on the bus on route to property number 1 that somewhere there was a packet of beef monster munch calling my name. 

Phase 1. Beef monster munch consumed on 40 minute walk to next viewings (eating whilst walking causes negative calories right?!)

Started to feel more poorly (#poorme) and by the time we got home I was in pjs,onesie and faux fur throw- imagine the glamour. It was at this point that the chicken and cauliflower rice I had planned just didn't cut it. 

Phase 2- old school classics. 

Bring on the fish finger sandwich with beans. Even better, cooked for me by rich whilst I drank tea feeling sorry for myself. 

Phase 3. Poorly= chocolate. For the first time ever in my life we still have christmas chocolate left past New Year's Eve. (Stupid dark chocolate replacement) so last night I carried on the roll and had some chocolate coins and baubles! 

Was in bed fast asleep at 8:15. Rock and roll.

Anyway aside from making you all feel jealous of my fish finger supper- the morale of this blog post is sometimes you just have to have what you fancy. I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a tiny bit guilty but I'm up- off to the gym, feeling a bit better and back, as they say, on plan. (Urgh back to American preachy- 'back on plan guys!')

Enjoy some treats but just not too excess everyday and guess what- life goes on and weight comes off. 

Try something new!!

On Friday I went to Rich's gym and was one of only two girls! I think gyms can be quite scary and I know as a girl it is hard to feel comfortable and get straight in there. 

Top tips! 

1. Read up- invest in a fitness magazine! Everytime women's fitness arrives on my doorstep I get firstly a sense of guilt, and then one of intrigue. It's so good to help you learn about what to do and why- pick a few exercises and try them out at home first before braving them at the gym.

2. YouTube! There are some really good exercise videos to try on YouTube and seeing videos of people working out can help you improve your form. 

3. Just do it!! Be brave. Get out there and pretend you know what you're doing- I always look at people in the gym and steal ideas- I don't know if they have had years of personal training or if they are rustling up their own routine. I think looking confident is half the battle. 

4. Let's face it- most blokes (and some girls) are way too busy looking at themselves in the mirror to give two hoots what you are or aren't doing!! (You all know I'm too busy taking selfies to look at other people- follow my Instagram account!!) 

Try a new peice of equipment this week at the gym! On Friday I tried inverted sit-ups- will post the video as evidence!!!

Hilarious photo of myself struggling below- your welcome. 

Banana ice cream- taste sensation.

So this happened tonight...

I've shared the recipe for the pancakes before (1 egg, 1 banana mixed and fried). But tonight I upped its game. Served with banana ice cream and hot dark chocolate sauce...

Ice cream: (courtesy of my sister n law) 

Simply peel a ripe banana and pop in the freezer over night. 

Put it in the blender with a spoon of natural or Greek yoghurt... Et voila- completely guilt free banana ice cream!! 

Topped with some melted dark chocolate  which goes all hard on top of the ice cream. 

So amazing we contemplated having it twice in one night- I mean it is pretty guilt free.... 

No carbs before marbs- so what to eat?!

I'm not off to marbs but I like the saying. 

As part of our cutting back on processed foods we have inevitably cut back on carbs. 

Now I've got to be honest, well I love crisps, bread, rice, pasta etc I'm not entirely addicted to them. I have more of a sweet tooth- that's why I think this step hasn't been massively troublesome.

I think as a nation our reliance on carbs is one more of convenience and cost. Whilst out and about your main lunch choice is always going to be a sandwich. Breakfast- usually cereal or toast. Dinner a carb, meat and veg. I partly think our addiction to carbs is one of habit more than lust. 

My biggest downfall is that I adore chips. Chip shop, mcdonalds, pub. Any variety- I'm not fussed. If I do need a chip hit now I make my own- peel and cut up potatoes Pop them in the oven with spray light herbs, salt and paprika and wait patiently! Love them :)

Other vegetable Tricks of the trade:

Have your carb intake at lunch and not at dinner- carbs release energy throughout the day so have them at lunch to help you get through the afternoon at work- could stave off stacking too. 

Swab to wholemeal! This is such an easy change to make but im lead to believe that wholemeal carbs are better for you- think bread, pasta, brown rice. 

Or even better still- cheat with veg! 

Swap out spuds for sweet potato- I actually prefer it- makes nice roast potatoes/ chips. 

Sweet and carrot mash instead of potato.

Courgette peeled/ shaved can make great pasta- simply stir fry and serve along with bolognese. 

Carrots done in the same way can make good pretend noodles in stir fry and cauliflower in the food processor and then baked makes an excellent rice substitute. 

For me I think it's more about seeing enough food on the plate and having seperate things to eat rather than what they actually are... Try a pretend carb at dinner time and see how it goes :) 

THE WEIGHT-ING GAME

As a society I think we put weigh (see what I did there..) too much emphasis on how much you weigh. 

The amount of times I've stood in the gym and heard girls complaining about the fact they've tipped 9 stone something and it really makes you feel terrible (and they know it!)

I'm tall- 5ft 11 and I'm Never going to be under 10 stone- hell I'm not even close. I did contemplate writing my weight in here but don't think I'm quite there yet!! 

I think it is really important to remember that the scales really aren't important. When you first decide to make a change I do think you should weigh yourself- to get a reality check but nothing else. It was weighing myself after years of never knowing that encouraged me to carry on being healthy and exercising. Although it took me a month of exercising and being healthy before I would even step on them! 

Just like foot size, hair length and eyebrow re growth- weight is totally different for everyone. DONT GET HUNG UP ON IT- you don't walk around with a tshirt on saying 11 stone or anything. (No I'm not 11 stone either- I thought I wanted to be but I actually think I'd look a bit ill).

Also to those girls who weigh themselves everyday- stop it. STOP IT! You're body weight changes massively depending on all sorts of things- less is more! 

So I would go off two things: 

1. Clothes- your clothes know your body better than anyone. Buying my first size 14 for years was exciting but now i can't quite accept that some (SOME) size 10s fit ( I can't move but Obvs I buy them anyway). 

2. Body fat- we've heard it before- muscle weighs more than fat. You get to a certain point and end up weighing more but looking slimmer. Wierd but true. 

I also took some Measurements at the start of january this year so will report on how that's going.. Scales haven't changed but I do feel fitter eating clean. 

Sooooo use the scales as I guide and most definitely do not compare how much you weigh to other people. You can weigh the same and look completely different. 

Han

Washing Tupperware- organisation, patience & support.

I just love washing up. Said no one. Ever. 

Tupperware has become somewhat the bane of our lives. Each day we take to work Tupperware for the following things: breakfast, nuts, protein, snack, soup and maybe something else for good measure. 

There is nothing worse than getting home looking at your lovely empty sink then proceeding to fill it with these nuisances. And then- AND THEN you have to refill them. I feel like I send about 1/2 my home Life stood in the kitchen. 

Anyway rant over. 

I really think the keys to being fit and healthy lie in the following: organisation, patience and support.

1. Organisation: Sunday is prep day- make a huge batch of soup to keep in the fridge (or freezer) and eat throughout the week. We use whatever we have in the fridge (or have planned in advance) favourites include suede, leeks, onions, sweet potatoes, carrots, lentils... Chuck anything you have in a pan- leave for a while with some tasty stock ( I use boullin) and then blitz with a hand blender. If you don't have a hand blender- buy one.

Boil some eggs to keep in the fridge as snacks (yes you often see me and rich waking down the road tuckig into an egg- really wierd). 

Cut up veg/ prep fruit in Tupperware (grrr!) ready for the next few days!

2. Patience- anyone who knows me knows that patience is my a virtue I have in any form let alone abundance. But I think you have to be patient when being healthy! You aren't going to lose weight over night- don't weigh yourself everyday- not even really once a week but if you have to Make sure it's the same time/ dayish. 

Don't give up after a week cuz you haven't changed dramatically (although every night u ask rich if I've got a 6 pack yet- the answer is, and will always be no). 

3. Support: there is nothing worse when you are trying to be good then somebody saying- 'go on have a biscuit one won't hurt' (or if you are that person- don't be please!) let's all support each other, compliment each other and learn from each other (amen- that all got a bit churchy).

Let people know your plans/ aims and that way you get support and encouragement rather than feeling shy about it- and it's much harder to fail because people know!! 

I am really lucky that my friends, family and rich are massively supportive or have got bored of trying to corrupt me ;-) 

Also I think it's important to know that everyday is a new day and they aren't all easy (big strops in our flat over washing up this week) but it's all worth it in the end! 

Can't wait to wash up later. 

PANCAKES- ON A DIET.

My main food struggle in life is that period after dinner and before bed- affectionately known as pudding time. 

I have a real sweet tooth and all day long look forward to that treat after dinner. Before decided to 'eat clean' for a while- I would spend my days looking forward to a mini milkyway or curly wurly or chomp (all under150cals) and I really find that having a little bit of what you fancy to look forward to works. 

At 3pm I say to myself- if you have a treat now there is no 'pudding' and more often then not the treat of having a peice of fruit post dinner works. 

Now we are 'eating clean'

I am really proud of myself for switching from milk and white chocolate treats to dark chocolate. I am even told that a little bit of dark chocolate each day is good for you (that's what I'm telling myself anyway). I have mine mashed up with a banana and a little bit of peanut butter or the below! 

Paleo pancakes (thanks Sam small!!) 

Per person 

1 egg

1 banana 

Blitz in food processor and pan fry (I use fry light but you can use oil) 

Simple as that!! Feels heavy and like a proper pudding treat! So far we have ours with our dark chocolate melted and a bit of sweetened natural yoghurt- might try lemon next week or stewed apple and honey!! 

Enjoy- guilt free!!! 

Pic below- no it's not glamourous but it tastes good and is filling! 

Cheat days!!!

This weekend we have been down in Bournemouth seeing Richs family for birthday celebrations... 

Safe to say staying 'clean' was going to prove difficult so right from mid week we knew saturday would be out cheat day. And how we looked forward to it!! 

So in a very health and fitness fashion- pics below!! 

We stayed healthy for breakfast with han  omlette, then hit a panini and banoffee cheesecake for lunch (you can't do things by halves!). We went out for Mexican food having fajitas and nachos in the evening too. 

We did do a lot of shopping though which definately counts as exercise (?!)

Thoroughly enjoyable but too be honest I think we are both glad to be back to routine today- already noticed becoming a little less firm- why is food so difficult!!

Whatever diet you are on, or if just simple trying to be good I really believe that what has helped me is understanding that every day is a new day... Don't beat yourself up for something that happened yesterday, and likewise get back on the wagon as soon as you are ready. 

You do so only live once after all. 

COUNTING CALORIES AND LEARNING THE UNFORGETTABLE

I am always incredibly flattered when people notice ive lost weight- It is those comments that really inspire you to carry on doing what your doing. It's sometimes hard to see the change yourself!! 

I thought I should blog about a really good help to me over the last year- and that's the app- MY FITNESS PAL. 

On my fitness pal (MFP- because I'm too lazy to keep typing the full name) you can basically diarise what you eat all day long. It has been this education for me that has lead to me making better decisions and sticking to those decision life (it absolutely isn't a diet!). 

It gives you a set amount of calories to eat to reach your goals and you can always add in cardio to give you more calories for the day if you decide to eat the ones you've burnt! (Which is fine. Because you are still eating less calories per day anyway)...

Negative things include the two following: 1. You can't count weight training as calories burnt- this is kinda crazy for a fitness app as everybody keeps telling me you burn more calories doing weight but MFP leads you to want to do more cardio So you see the benefit of the calories coming off on the app. 

2. It does give you nutritional break downs but if you are working to 1500 cals a day, within reason you can eat those however you like... I.E I've got 250 cals left pass me a twirl. To be fair I actaully ate chocolate everyday when losing weight with MFP (which I will blog about- sorry don't hate me) but health wise it isn't fantastic. 

3. It works on weight- weight loss on the scales can be an unrealistic goal to have. You can be heavier and smaller... I weigh a lot on the scales but have had to accept it because it's how I am (and muscle weighs more than fat don't you know!) so it can be disheartening if you don't take it with a pinch of salt. MEASURE YOURSELVES WITH A MEASURING TAPE LADIES- and go off dress size. (Not saying that's loosing a few pounds in the scales isn't a great feeling though)!

BUT!! I would really recommend FMP for anybody who wants to learn about food and start to make healthier choices- there are so many hidden calories in things and it just makes you reflect and learn and make slightly better decisions about what to eat and drink!!! (Like some cordials/squash have as many calories as fizzy drinks but you might not realise that and think you are being good 😣) 

Also with MFP you can never forget what you learnt when you go to pick up a glass of wine but are quite happy to have a gin and slim instead ;) choices choices... 

Thanks My Fitness Pal for teaching me a lot of what I now know about food :) 

BLOG HIJACK!! Rich on shakes, supps and support

Hi there, my names Richard and I’m Hannah’s partner. Along with Hannah I have started to eat clean, train hard and achieve the results I want. I have already found it a lot easier to eat clean when there is someone supporting (nagging) me and giving me the motivation to carry on especially when cakes appear in the office.

 

Yesterday was the first time I had been back to the gym properly for around 6 months and I’m not going to lie – it was tough. Being able to lift 24kg on my arms before and only managing 18kg yesterday shows just how long the road is in front of me. I’ll be lying if I said I was a gym pro (I’m certainly anything but) however I thought I would take time to give some tips and tricks which I’ve learnt over the years.

 

Firstly in this blog, what I want to talk about and that you hear a lot in the gyms is protein shakes or sups. When I first started going to the gym I thought it was a gimmick and people only had used it to show off - but how wrong I was. I have found having a shake immediately after my workout session not only fills me up and stops me feeling hungry very quickly, it has dramatically helped my recovery time and you can certainly see the results after a couple of weeks. I’ve tried a variety of shakes and suppliers since I first started - normally buying ones on offer from Holland and Barratt or the local gym but now I only use one place - MyProtein on the web and haven’t looked back.

 

When you first go one their page it can be pretty daunting but the drop down menus under ‘Your Goal’ helps quickly identify the products that will benefit you. The prices are very reasonable, have a huge variety of flavours and arrived very quickly through the post. 

 

Probably the mainstay of my sups supply is something called Hurricane XS and I use this after every work out. Not only does it have a high whey protein content (helps grow muscle) it also includes something called Creatine to help performance in the gym and help get an extra rep or two one a set. As I normally head to the gym after work I like to have a protein shake mid-morning/after lunch to help with recovery and give my muscles every chance of repairing. I like to use the Impact Whey Protein as this contains 20g of protein per serving and it is not as advanced as the Hurricane XS above. For the first time I have bought a new sup called BCAA 4:1:1. Apparently it helps the maintenance of lean muscle and adds to growth but I shall try it out and see. 

 

As with any new product you buy, always start small and try them to make sure you are happy with it – there’s nothing worse than having a 2.5kg load of protein delivered only to find you can’t stand the taste! Try to be adventurous with flavours as this helps keep your diet different and becoming boring/monotonous – I have just ordered a Banoffee flavour and a Sticky Toffee Pudding flavour – look out for reviews on these soon.

PT HEAVEN OR HELL?

Today I had my first ever PT session!! Last night I kept waking up throughout the night practically in hot sweats for fear. 

It. Was. Tough. 

She chose to do upper body with me today which would have been ace but I did it two days ago and my arms were aching even when I put my rucksack on this morning... Imagine my joy at doing 9kg bicep curls... Or 25kg bent over rows. 

Felt good though- I always watch the PT sessions going on in the gym and secretly steal ideas... Also it made me confident that a year of watching YouTube vids, reading women's fitness and spying on fellow gym goers has actually given me all the right tools and moves to know a bit about exercise and weight training :) 

But then she introduced me to HIIT Training. WOW. So it's 30 seconds sprinting on the treadmill, jump off for 30 seconds and repeat for 20 minutes!!! Sprinting, not jogging, not running. I actually enjoyed it (soz) but I was literally dying and we only did 12 mins today?! 

Anyway she told me it burns calories way quicker than running so come on guys get on it!!!

(Practise jumping off the treadmill first at a slower speed!)

Upper body work out: 

Chest press- 3 sets of 10 reps s (30 second breather between sets) 

Bent over row- 3 sets of 10 reps (30 second breather between sets) 

Overhead extension- 3 sets of 10reps (30 second breather between sets) 

Bicep curls- ( elbows glued to your waist!)- 3 sets of 10 reps s (30 second breather between sets) 

Can't wait to put my ruck sack on tomorrow morning. 😳😳😳

All pub no grub

Pub quiz time last night- really tricky one when eating healthy- especially when they have baked Camembert on the menu. Last night we ate just before we went to makesure we couldn't justify ordering anything- and kept busy comin 4th in the quiz... :( 

Eating out is quite annoying when you are trying to be healthy but I also think it's really important to not be that person that says 'I'm on a diet can't do lunch'- life's too short. 

So the trick is to plan. If I'm going out for food and it isn't cheat day (bring on Saturday!!!) I plan where to go and what to eat first.  

Before clean eating I found that pizza express was a diamond - everyone loves it and there Leggera pizzas are under 500cals but you still feel like you're having a treat. 

They also do mini deserts and their mint tea to go with them is fab- desert kinda guilt free as it's bite size but gives you the treat you might need... 

Off for dinner next week so I recommended nandos- I'll be having 1/2 chicken and corn. Again healthy (ish) but still get to enjoy a meal out. 

Might get round to trying some of these healthy eating resturants but can't find anyone to do with yet :-p 

Han

Breakfast time

My friend recommended a little breakfast idea stolen from slimming world called overnight oats... 

Id been having golden syrup oatsosimple porridge as its really easy to make at work and low calorie, but now I'm trying to eat clean it's got too many chemicals so I've swapped for this beauty...

I was actually full until my next snack too.

Scotch porridge oats (pure simple no additives) low fat Greek or natural yoghurt and frozen or fresh berries... Simply put all the above in a tupperwAre box and leave in the fridge overnight so the oats soak up the yoghurt and enjoy the next morning! 

So far I've tried frozen mixed berries but I hear peaches and lots of other fruits are also tasty.

Had mine with a bottle of lemon water- very refreshing- makes drinking lots of water easier with added health benefits!! 

Enjoy. 

The healthy eating begins...

So today saw the end of christmas, new year celebrations and wedding seAson for us. After some amazing times, food and drink we are now going clean!! 

I am learning as I go along and will post any cool recipes or meals and ideas as I go along!! 

After our run today we needed to refuel so opted for the old classic- the Omlette. 

Eggs I am lead to believe are our new best friends- got 18 coming in this weeks shop. 

Just nice simple recipe- added peppers, red onions, mushroom and a very light sprinkle of cheddar. Oh and tons of ham- protein for big strong muscles.

Picture below- doesn't look glamourous but tasted nice and a good way to use up loads of veg. 

Just do it

Last night was our last extravaganza for a month or two- a fab wedding with lots of booze and lots of food! Safe to say we didn't hold back- bacon butties, hog roast, crispy cremes, gin, beer, Lindt- oh sorry wait this is a health and fitness blog...  Back on track! Today we had a long drive after a relatively healthy cooked breakfast with friends and spoke about the potential of an afternoon run upon our return home. 

Feeling mildly hungover and somewhat tired after our fab weekend when we got home safe to say we didn't fancy wrapping up warm and hitting the road. However, whilst my excuses were many- sore throat, tired, it's cold... I decided to just put my gear on and then see how I

Felt. The hardest thing to do is to leave the house- very dressed is the first mink hurdle. Once dressed I felt more inspired to get outside- so just one more push- get some tunes on! 

We went out and intended to run 5km (I'm not a fan of running in the cold) but actually living in London and the amazing scenery pushed us to run 10.13km in 1 hour 10! (not massively fast but still

Impressed)

The morale of this story is- next time you can't be bothered to get out and get to the gym or go for a walk- get dressed get ready and then try again to convince yourself to noT go!! You know you'll feel better afterwards 

 ;-)