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!