This blog post today is going to be about a healthy lifestyle change, the benefits, motivation and a little bit about food!
(bought from Amazon)
Firstly. Not tomorrow. Today. Right now. Change it, right now. You don't burn calories making up excuses, and I learnt this the hard way. I'm certainly no super model, I don't have the body of Kim Kadarshian, and I don't spend hours of my days in the gym. I'm a normal girl hoping to get the bikini body and confidence I've always wanted. Anybody can do this. It is not rocket science. It is as simple as ABC, 123. Eat better. Move more.
I've tried all these faff diets, I've became obsessed with numbers on a scale, and I have to say, I hated loosing weight this way. I used to do slimming world (i follow it just don't go to classes any more), and every week I'd be anxious and nervous about what a stupid piece of technology was going to say back to me. If you follow these classes and enjoy it, good for you! But I was getting obsessed with numbers instead of getting obsessed with how my body was feeling on the inside.
By eating healthily you can reduce your risk of a series of health problems. You don't have to be overweight to decide to get healthy. Anybody can benefit from healthy eating! Your body will thank you for it. Especially eating plenty of fruit in veg, it will totally flush out your system. So when you're at the local super market picking up fruit and vegetables, you'd benefit from buying some Imodium tablets also...
Confidence. This word is new to my life. If I've ate plenty of fruit and veg and went for a walk or two within a few days, I will walk with my head held higher. I don't know the science behind why eating healthily is mentally beneficial, but I know it works.
I'm no health expert, doctor or nutritionist, but I'm a real life case of weight loss so I'm going to talk a bit about the weight that I have lost and how I done so food wise.
I used to always skip breakfast, and there's a reason why people go on about it being the most important meal of the day. Why? Because it is. Trust me. On a college morning, I can't stomach a big meal too early. I opt for two wheetabix with semi-skinned milk and I love chopping up some banana and putting it in the bowl too. It's really light but really filling, the wheetabix will keep you going until lunch time! When I have more time in the morning I enjoy two slices of a seeded batch bread (i like the hovis stuff!) and an egg, boiled or fried depending on how I'm feeling. Another thing, I always use FryLight, the one calorie spray.
Lunch is always my killer, so I opt for a semi healthy option, and just cut down on portion size! I will usually have a sandwich with ham and some veg on it such as onion, cucumber and lettuce. If I don't have a sandwich, I'll probably have a baked potato with beans on it and a very light scrape of butter. I always try to include fruit or veg (or even better, both) in all my meals. I aim for at least 1/3 of my plate/meal to be super foods (fruit and/or vegetable)
My mum will usually make dinner for her, my dad and myself to eating healthy can be quite difficult, instead I opt for less on my plate. I try to make everything on my plate no more than the size of my fist. Basically, I don't need three handfuls of chips or chicken nuggets, etc! But when I am making my own dinner I go crazy with the vegetables (cue the Imodium tablets!). I love chicken breast with carrots (boiled) and peppers (fried with FryLight). Any sort of meal with any sort of veg will tend to be my dinner. From a chicken salad to my carrots and peppers - which can also be a really nice lunch.
When it comes to snacking, I do the obvious and either reach for fruit or veg, but I'm a girl with cravings. Instead of having a high calorie packet of crisps, I'll opt for something with less calories such as Quavers or Velvet Crunch (my favourite). When it comes to a chocolate craving, I'll have my chocolate. Just less. I don't need a 8x8 square galaxy bar to knock my craving, a freddo or a kitkat will do just the job.
Drinks wise, I drink the same as an average-non-dieting-person does. Except from when it comes to fizzy juice. I actually prefer the diet versions of Coke and Irn-Bru so this is the best option. I cut down on the amount of milk I drink and I try to only have it in my tea/coffee and cereal. Water is always going to be your best friend too, it has so many extra benefits.
Eating out can always end up a problem when trying to loose weight. I will always try to plan ahead. If I know I'm going out for a big meal I'll have a small breakfast, maybe just a yogurt and a piece of fruit, etc. One thing is though, i DO NOT count calories when I'm eating out in a restaurant Everybody is entitled to a treat and you don't have to feel guilty about this. I try to eat out less often and have less take-aways and greasy chippy's. But I'm a 19 year old teenager with a social life and a family life, you will end up going out for meals and phoning out for pizzas. Instead of this being a nightly routine, this is now considered a treat. When you have been working hard too loose weight, a Chinese once or twice a month is the best treat EVER.
Some food pics now, all healthy/slimming world inspired!!
My favourite snack! I love raspberries, and they also boost your metabolism!
My kind of dinner! Now this is a BIG dinner, but it's chicken and vegetables, so no harm done! I hadn't ate all day so this massive, healthy meal went down an absolute treat!
It's two bits of chicken, with carrots and broccoli - boiled. With peppers and mushrooms, both fried using FryLight!
Another fruit picture! These are persimons, newish to the UK but I always buy mines in Tesco! They look like cirtus fruits, but they taste very mango/peach like! They're pretty big and filling too, making the perfect snack for in between meals.
This is a slimming world inspired lunch. Baked potato with beans, I also added some cheese - not the best but I wanted cheese, so i had it. Just not the whole block! Diets are fun when you realise that you can still have things you like, just in moderation.
I'm a girl with not a lot of spare time on her hands due to college, work, friends and family. An hour or more at the gym can sometimes be just a massive inconvenience to me. This is when I came across quick, fast paced work out DVDs such as Vicky Pattisons 7 day slim. The work out DVD consists of six work outs. 1 being the easiest and 6 being the most difficult. You do the work out for 10 minutes each day and it really does work. I get more out of this 10 minute work out a day than I ever get going to the gym for an hour every day. Which is a big bonus to me with very little time on my hands, there simply isn't enough time in the day. I use tiny little dumbells (weight like things) when doing this work out dvd, just for a little bit extra!
I do the obvious and just walk more. I don't need chauffeured every where and I have my own two legs to get me to places. It's light exercise but you don't realise how much you're burning. When I'm walking to the train station in the morning I put on the RunTastic app that measures how far I've walked and at what pace, and therefore works out how many calories I have burnt. Between walking to the train station then walking to college (once I'm off the train). I've burned 100 calories before half 8 in the morning. I will also walk to the train station then walk back home at the end of the day, another 100 calories. That's 200 calories without making that much of an effort.
I think motivation is the hardest part, and it's a tough mentality to get into, but think a moment on the lips, forever on the hips, And do you want to eat that McDonalds even though you've already had your dinner, or do you want to wear what ever you want? That's the worst part of being overweight. Shopping and trying on clothes becomes your own personal hell. Once I've lost the weight I absolutely 100% cannot wait to walk into a shop, pick up something I like and just buy it. I don't have to worry about how I can hide my bingo wings, or consider if my Spanx are going to hide my belly.
Another hard part about weight loss, is realising that you need to do it. Realise you've went to far. My biggest concern with overweight and obesity is the health issues. It might be fun and games when you're a teenager, but people need to remember that in the long term obesity can effect your whole life. Your employability, your fertility and of course - it can reduce your life expectancy.
Currently on the 7th of February I want to loose two stone for going on holiday. I did the math and realised, if I simply lost a pound a week, I would be exactly two stone lighter for going on my first girls holiday. I'm not going to stop there. I want to loose 4 stone in total. (A long way to go yet!) But I know it would make the world of difference being more confident in a bikini, and especially at night! I wouldn't have to be paranoid about immature boys making fat jokes at me. Everybody has their own reason for loosing weight, and mines is being able to have confidence and freedom.
Thanks for reading, I love to help people on their journey and bring them along with me.
xoxo Lauren
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