Confessions of a Former BBG Girl

Check out my vlog: Confessions of a Former BBG Girl.

I have been documenting my fitness journey just short of 3 years now, when it all kicked off my goal was literally to loose weight and get skinny, as the weight was falling away my goal changed course, I wanted to tone up alongside this. 

So I carried on doing what I was doing, I didn't adjust the calories I was eating in order to compensate for the level of exercise I was doing...which resulted in me continuing to lose weight, and yes grow SOME muscle, but because I was still eating a low calorie diet (with a huge calorie deficit) I got smaller and smaller....

In this photo I was consuming 1,200 calories a day and weight a mere 7 Stone 12lbs.

For a long time this picture above was my ultimate goal. When I looked at this picture I saw hard work, I saw determination, dedication and I saw will power. I was proud of how I looked in this photo and I defiantly did not think that I was 'too skinny'. When I look at it now, I wonder how I ever actually got that 'small', how I managed to stick to such a strict eating regime and how I had the energy to get through the workouts. 

I have come a long way since this photo, I have been so many different weights on my fitness journey, but I am now actively gaining weight and at this precise moment in time I am 8 stone 12lbs. For a long time I held the perception that if I gained weight and ended up weight the same as I did before I started this journey, that I would look overweight and frumpy....again, and this filled me with dread. I did not want to look or feel like the old me ever again. I loved the confidence and the way exercise made me feel inside and out.

It's taken me a long time to get my head around the whole eating side of a 'healthy lifestyle', it's taken me equally as long to work out that the scale is meaningless, because it doesn't matter what digits it displays, it cannot measure how I feel, and even if I end up weighing exactly the same weight as before.... I could look entirely different. 

Weight is NOTHING.

I have upped my calories from 1,200 a day to a whopping 2,300+ (usually eating over 2,500+). For me I have learned the hard way that I need to feed my body in order to grow and achieve my goals. Food is fuel, Food is energy. Food helps our bodies recover and it's what we eat that opens the doors to reaching the next milestone.

I have recently turned my workout regime on it's head, many of you know that I used to follow Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide (BBG), but I am now focusing on weight lifting. I am still doing everything from home, over the years I have invested in a lot of the weights that I need in order to be able to do this from the comfort of my own living room. 

The food I am eating (no calorie deficit!) and the training I am pursuing is helping me grow muscle and with that, the scale is starting to go back up again. I no longer look like I could snap at the slightest touch and I am loving how I am starting to fill out. Once upon a time seeing this sort of weight gain on the scale would have shook my very core, but thankfully I have finally come to terms with the fact that what I weigh really does not mean anything. 

This before photo was once upon a time my AFTER photo.

I am head over heels with the way that I am now training. I never go hungry, I have 3 meals a day and snack whenever I want. If I am hungry I eat. It really is that simple. If you are going through my old mindset right now, please, please, please take a moment and think about your goals. You don't need to restrict food (we all know that I have learned this lesson first hand), you don't need to diet, you don't need to go to bed hungry. 

What you do need to do is eat nourishing food. Whatever your goals are, weight loss, strength, muscle...You need to eat good food. 

Back to Fitness (3 weeks in)

This month I have finally got around to kick starting my fitness regime again, it's been a long time coming and three weeks in I am starting to feel so much better for it. It's amazing what a little TLC and consistency can do for your body, that combined with a range of healthy foods, water and no sugar for 16 days really can spur your body into action!

Last year I treated myself to a Polar A360 and for the first month I was really pleased with it, and then it started to fall apart...Literally. The Bluetooth stopped working altogether which ultimately made it useless as it would no longer sync with my phone. I contacted Polar and they addressed the fact the band had deteriorated but ignored the issue with syncing. They never did actually send a replacement band for it, and after discussing the issue with fellow A360 owners, I realised that this was an issue that many of them faced themselves. 

I soon gave up on the idea of Polar and found myself without a fitness tracker. I hadn't realised how much I had come to depend on the statistics that it provided me with, and I felt like I was working out blind. I was at a loss, because I had spent so much on the Polar that was now broken, and I couldn't justify forking out more money, and even if I did I didn't know what I would want as a replacement.

I began to fall out of love with my exercise regime, I work out at home so the stats provided by my heart rate tracker are the only way I get an idea of what I achieved during any one work our. Without that information I began to loose interest, and before long I just stopped. 

Flash forward to January, and I am now 3 weeks into Kayla Itsines BBG program, and although I was yet to invest in a new fitness tracker, I pushed on. I decided that as a treat to myself, and to keep me moving in the right direction, I would buy a new Apple iWatch 2 for myself. Yes it was a lot more money, but I figure that you get what you pay for, and I know that it is something that I will make use of. 

Before I purchase anything, especially of high value I always have a look online to find out what the average price is, where is the cheapest I can find it and whether there are any voucher codes available to get some money off, I always have a look at this website to see what deals are going on.

I did all of my research and decided to bite the bullet last night. I ordered a shiny White iWatch 2, and as I type this I am waiting for it to arrive. It was a rather extravagant gift to myself, but do you know what? Why not!? I figure if it gives me that additional motivation and helps me achieve my goals, then it's money well spent. 

I have a long way to go to get where I was....

Now I am back on the right track though, I know that with hard work, determination and willpower that I can get back to where I was. My New Year's Resolution wasn't about finding a new me, it was about slipping back into a well worn pair of shoes and buffing them back up.

Which is exactly what I am going to do...

Watch this space!

5 Reasons to Get Fit in 2017

Hey January...

So this is the first time I have sat down at the keyboard since mid December, how shocking! I have had very good reason to shy away though, and that is because I have been busy with the family over the festive season and haven't quite got around to dragging myself back to work again...

I have however dusted off my dumbbells, and I have taken those tentative first steps to getting back into my fitness regime which definitely slacked during the later part of last year. I have started by cleaning up my eating habits which had definitely gone to pot over the Christmas holiday, and a week in I am already feeling the benefits of not over indulging, and I am hoping that very soon I will start to see a physical change.

I am back working out, and I know from experience that this combination of clean eating and exercise is going to help me push forward and reach the goals I have set myself. One of my resolutions this year was getting my iPhone protected so I don't smash it during a work out again... So I was excited to find a stunning range of leather iPhone cases here. Another of my resolutions was to dust of those dumbbells (11 days in and I am off to a good start!) and finally to get more walks in with the puppy! In fact the dog decided to get over involved in my work out the other evening... I will leave the video below...

January really is the perfect time to start getting your fitness in check, because lets face it... Summer bodies are made in the Winter, and with the warmer weather only months away... Now is the time to plough forward with those New Year Resolutions!

So why get fit in 2017?

1. Because you can do it all from home these days, you don't even need to go to the gym and you especially don't need to over complicate the process (I workout in my living room!). Weight loss and results do indeed come from hard work, but you only need to flick on over to The Body Coach's Instagram Feed to find a whole load of tasty nutritious lean in 15 meal ideas! You only need to try one of his online HIIT routines on your living room floor to start making all round improvements, and I promise you, you will feel a whole lot better for it!

2. Because it feels incredible - If only that feeling of being fit could be bottled up, it would undoubtedly get the world up on their feet! You would be amazed how quickly change happens when you eat well and train consistently. Take photos each and every week, keep taking photos, because YOU WILL see changes happening.

3. You don't need to eat rabbit food - Diets are a thing of the past in my eyes, diets themselves are not sustainable, you will crave other foods if you are not enjoying the food you are eating. That is why I enjoy The Bodycoach's recipes so much, because I look forward to my next meal, and I love what I am eating. It doesn't feel restricting, and it's a sustainable lifestyle for me.

4. Wear what you want - This was one of the reasons that got me working out almost 3 years ago. I wanted to wear clothes that would have looked slightly ridiculous on my heavier frame. It gave me a real push in the right direction and the reward of reaching my goals meant that I had to replace my entire wardrobe after I dropped 2 dress sizes!

5. Body confidence - Perhaps the most important reason of them all. When you feel confident in the skin that you are in there is nothing that you cannot achieve. When I started working out I surprised myself, I achieved things I didn't think I was capable of, but I also saw huge emotional changes starting to shine out. I started grasping at new opportunities that I would never have reached for and I subconsciously demanded people treat me with respect. I used to be quite shy and reserved, but 2016 definitely saw a more feisty side coming out to play!

So there we have it, my 5 top reasons to start working out in 2017 (and a cute puppy video!). Today is abs and arm day, and I am working extra specially hard as we have just booked a big family holiday to Greece at the end of May, so that is my first goal... I will be posting further fitness updates in the coming weeks/months ahead.

Good luck everyone, you can do this!

Feeling confident in Summer

It finally feels like Summer has arrived here in the UK, and over the last couple of weeks I have been able to wear my hot pants on an almost daily basis. Instead of reaching for my jeans and a warm jacket, I am finally pairing those short shorts with a tee, taking little man to school and coming back to crack on with some work in the garden. 

Being able to bring the laptop outside and relaxing in the sun writing up posts is by far the best feeling you can have at work. A cup of coffee to the side of me, legs catching some rays all rolled into a day in the office. 

Not bad going eh?

2 years ago this month I was dreading the summer, I was carrying a bit of extra weight back then and the thought of having to put my legs into a pair of shorts, or worse...A bikini filled me with dread to the very pit of my stomach. I longed to wear crop tops and short shorts, but at that moment in my life it quite simply wasn't going to happen. I really was at my lowest and my confidence was at rock bottom. 

I decided to make a change so that I could feel confident in the clothes I longed to wear, so I felt good in them. It's amazing what 2 years can do to your confidence, self esteem and your BODY! Just by cleaning up my diet and finding a exercise routine that worked for me, I lost 2 stone, 2 dress sizes and toned up my body. Today I long for summer, I feel happy, confident and love an excuse to get my short shorts out to play! 

Summer makes me want to shop, I love the dresses, I love the shoes and the crop tops, the cute tee's and that's before I have even got started on the play suits! I do the majority of my shopping online as I find that there is so much more choice, I can walk down the high street and find absolutely nothing that catches my eye, I log online and suddenly I don't have enough money to fund my clothing lust! 

I recently discovered Lyst, they are a fashion tech company based in London and New York (two of my favourite places!) and they offer a shopping experience that is tailored to each unique visitor that enters the site. Let's face it, my taste will not be the same as yours and vice versa, so what I want to see popping up on my screen, won't reflect what you would want to see. The website learns about your shopping habits as you shop, and the more you use it, the more you start to see things that really relate to you, completely tailoring your shopping experience to YOU!

In addition to this rather incredible form of online shopping, you can also lyst the items you like to plan wardrobes, entire outfits and wish lists. If there is something that you really love but it's out of stock at that precise moment in time that you want to pop it in your basket you can lyst it so that they alert you the moment it comes back into stock. 

I have lost the last few hours today oggling over all of the beautiful dresses that are currently featuring on Lyst, there is absolutely something for every occasion, but I decided it would be fun to share my top 10 dresses for Sumer 2016 with you.

So here we go...

My Favourite Lyst Dresses for Summer

1. Sachin & babi Cuba Short Sleeve Fitted Dress

2. Timo-Weiland Danielle Dress Blue

3. Bridge & Burn Green Fleer Dress

4. Krisa Surplice Flounce Dress

5. Jonathan Simkhai Cutout Trim Shirt Dress

6. Mara Hoffman Cross Front Mini Dress

7. Marysia Swim 'mott' Scalloped Halterneck Dress - Yellow

8. Solace London Alana Mini Dress

9. Pinko Pink Women's Dress

10. Alice & Olivia Yellow 'Pacey' Floral Lace Lantern Dress

Fun Fitness Additions

Fitness has been a big part of my life over the last 2 years, and I genuinely cannot believe that it has been that long (2 years in June) since I decided to turn my lifestyle on it's head and make some big changes, that have not only stuck, but become a way of life.

My love of fitness has opened up so many other passions to me, one of which happens to be my admiration for gym kit. I very recently changed some furniture in my bedroom, and this meant taking all of my gym wear out and transferring it into a new chest of draws. It was only in this moment that I realised I owned more leggings and sports bras than I did anything else. 

When it comes to my sports wear I like to add a bit of fun to my wardrobe, the reasoning behind this is because for so long, everything I owned was Black. I felt that Black slimmed me down, and didn't draw attention to the parts of my body that I was uncomfortable about. Now it's a completely different story. The brighter, the bolder, the more out there... The better.

When I am looking to purchase a new item for my bulging gym wardrobe I look at the following aspects:

- Is it bright?

- Does it have a quirky saying/slogan?

- Can I personalise it?

For me I want something that is going to look good, and put a smile on my face each time I wear it. I especially love it if I can add a personal touch to it, like maybe throwing my name or Instagram name somewhere on the item. I recently got my hands on a new Tee from Spreadshirt, Spreadshirt have a variety of different T-Shirt designs from hen party's right through to training tee's!

Printing T-Shirts is the name of the game and they even have a online T-Shirt Designer so that you can design and personalise your very own creation by adding photo's and custom text. As I already had an idea of what I wanted I looked through the Women's Funny Gym collection and decided on a Black 'You Can't Squat With Us' tank top with Pink neon text. On the back I personalised it and picked a funky font that featured my name on the lower back.

The order process was simple and the product arrived within a week, and the finished tank top looked brilliant. I was so pleased with the end product and have been incorporating it into my work out attire for the last few weeks now. It has washed really well and I love the loose fit it provides.

I have been really impressed with my experience with Spreadshirt and I will definitely be using them again, you can personalise so much more than just T-Shirts on the site, and they have a whole range of gifts that you can add your own mark to, such as sweatshirts, hoodies and mugs!

A Fitness Update

It's been a while since I posted about my fitness, but it is still something that I am actively pursuing, and more importantly enjoying. The last few months I have turned everything I was doing on it's head, I seemed to plateau and my results went backwards instead of forwards, and I found that I was no longer enjoying what I was doing. I was disappointed in myself and realised that I needed to make some changes in order to regain the control over something that I was loving.

In hind sight I realise that I was over doing it, it's true what they say, there most certainly is the possibility of to much of a good thing. I found myself at the gym multiple times a day for the many different classes that were going on, I was enjoying them, but my back track seemed to continue. I kept ploughing forward almost trying to convince myself that more was better. 

I knew that something had to change.

I took absolutely everything back to basics, I thought about what worked for me and decided to revert back to the plan that I had been using and loving before I took things a little bit to far. I decided to listen to my body and re-gain the control that I had lost. 

I haven't been to the gym now in 2 weeks.

I have realised that I have everything that I need at home in order to get everything that I need to do done. I decided to restart Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide from week 1 and really get my eating back on track. I am now 5 weeks into the guide and I am already starting to feel leaner again, and it couldn't come at a better time, because in just under 5 weeks time I am jetting off to the clear blue skies of Greece, and I honestly believe that it is because of this that I have finally pulled my finger out.

To think about just how much I have turned things on their head, you really have to look at how my habits have changed. I am the perfect example of an alarm snoozer. I am the least morning person you could meet, and I have been known to leave it until mere minutes before leaving the house in time to get Leo to school. However over these last few weeks I have been making the conscious effort to get up in the morning, get outside and do some high intensity training or getting my work out's done bright and early in the lounge. Of course I can't function before I have had some caffeine, but in the spirit of being healthier I have been enjoying some Mighty Matcha Green Tea!

For me getting the work outs done and dusted in the AM, really sets me up for the day ahead. I am up hours before Leo awakens, I can finish the work out and shower before I need to awaken my sleeping beauty and get him up, fed and off to school. 

I am doing all of my cardio in the great outdoors, which is proving to be a lovely way to burn those calories rather than staring at the cross trainer screen for an hour every other day. In fact I am doing so much more walking, that I am going to treat myself to a Sketchers Memory Foam Leisure Trainers! 

Now once that morning work out is done, that's me done for the rest of the day. No more hours spent in the gym, I am getting everything done, seeing results and im back to enjoying it again.

Enjoying what you are doing is ultimately the most important aspect in anything you apply yourself to. It keeps you moving forward and on target.

New Year, Same Me

January is the month we make resolutions and promises to ourselves. It's the start of a new year, and it's the opportunity to better ourselves and to grow. For many people health and fitness is the top of the priority list, whether it's just to clean up old eating habits and push aside the takeaways, or to make those tentative first steps to get into shape. 

January is the month that we make those resolutions and promises to ourselves.

As we step further away from 2015 and prepare for another year, I think it is important to set goals so that we can try to excel ourselves and grow. I have thought long and hard about my own goals that I would like to achieve this year and they look something like this:

- Sort my skin out, Christmas has brought out swarms of spots!

- Start #TheKaylaMovement on the 11th January 2016

- Not to miss a work out

- To be stronger and fitter than 2015

- To meet and work out with many more BBG ladies!

- To step further out of my comfort zone

- Start a new class

- Push myself

I have already taken on some new challenges in 2016, just last week I joined a Cross Fit taster session that spans over the next few weeks. This alone is something that a year ago I would never have done, going along to a session where I knew nobody would have scared the living daylights out of me. Not knowing about the exercises or what is expected from me, would have put me off even giving it a go. I wouldn't have even considered it, and I would have written it off before even saying 'Wait one minute Laura, give it a go!'.

I actually saw the advert on Facebook, and instead of just scrolling past it I clicked through. I read it, and didn't think twice about filling out my details. It was something that I really wanted to try, and I crossed my fingers hoping I got the opportunity. They were searching for 10 newbies to take part in the sessions throughout January and I didn't for a moment expect to hear back from them, but I was lucky enough to be chosen to go along and take part in a training session that is completely different to anything I have ever done before.

Cross Fit is high intensity workouts that are constantly varied to ensure that the body cannot and will not get used to the routine. After all routine is the enemy when it comes to fitness, your bodies get used to what you do, and routines can became boring and mundane. 

In all honesty though when I pulled up at the new gym, I sat there in my car for a little while. Would I fit in? Would I be able to keep up with everybody else? Should I just turn around and go home? As soon as those thoughts entered my mind, I got out of the car and walked towards the building. The gym is a boxed room, it looks like a real man's gym and not somewhere I ever envisioned myself feeling at home. I walked in and met some of the other newbies, some of who weren't regulars in the gym and were taking the initiative to try something new. 

The session was incredible. Bloody hard work but they had me doing things that I had longed to do, but didn't want to try in my usual gym through fear of having no clue what I was doing. I did my first ever box jumps on a 16" box, it might sound like nothing, but I was so proud of myself. As I looked around the room I noticed that no one else was jumping, they were standing up and standing down. I did bar bell squats and very quickly worked the weight up to 32.2kg (over 5 stone!) which beat my personal best.

The end of the session saw us working through a circuit with 8 minutes on the clock. The name of the game was to get as many rounds in as possible. When the clock called time, everyone collapsed on the floor, and I stood there catching my breath, but I wasn't ruined. I could have carried on, and it was then for the very first time, I realised how much my stamina has improved over this past year. Once upon a time I wouldn't have been able to do that, and it was while I was jumping on the box that one of the ladies called out to me 'HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT!?', but I hadn't thought twice. I guess it just goes to show that when your persistent with something, you do grow and develop.

The last session was on Thursday evening, and it focused mainly on arms. There were pull ups, reverse pull ups and Kettle Bell Snatches to name a few. This session officially kicked my bum and 4 days later my arms, chest, shoulders and back are still burning, the thought of going back and inflicting more pain tomorrow not only makes me shiver, but excites me. This after all is the only way that I am going to get stronger, and this burn means that it's working.

Towards the end of 2015 I slacked, I was still working out but my food routine was shaken up and I was just an eating machine. This meant that I lost definition and put on a few lbs. I am now ready to get this show on the road and surpass where I was in the Summer. Yes I blipped, but I am taking my fitness by the horns and really pushing myself. In turn Christmas didn't help, I only took 2 days off, but those 2 days have brought some beautiful spots to the surface. Spots that won't go away, spots that are leaving dry peely skin in their wake.

I am hoping that now my diet is back on track, that normality is resuming following the Christmas period that I can start to really push myself. 

I have already told myself that 2016 is going to be an incredible year, so I decided to spontaneously book a trip to New York with some of the BBG Girlies for November. You know meeting girls on Instagram and jetting off to New York is just totally normal in 2016!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas and I hope 2016 is treating you guys well. What are your resolutions for the New Year?

Kayla Itsines and BBG Midlands

In February I started a fitness guide. That was all it was, an e-book on my phone, laptop or tablet, a fitness routine that was hopefully going to get me from A-B. Not for one second did I think that this... Guide... Was going to be anything more than it said on the tin. 

Little did I know that this guide, Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide to be precise was actually going to become a way of life, it was going to take my world by storm, it was going to introduce ladies, amazing beautiful ladies from all over the world, it was going to to push me well and truly outside of my comfort zone and make me do things that I would never have done before. 

On top of course of pushing my body into realms that I never ever knew it could go....You can read more about that here.

In June I met the queen bee herself - Kayla Itsines! She was on her world tour and I was lucky enough to be there and experience #DeathByKayla in all of it's sweaty glory! Then... @Lisa_PittBBG and I decided that we had to re-create that buzz, that adrenaline, that empowering feeling that you get when you work out with fellow #BBGGirls!

So that's what we did. Together we put the word out, we created a Facebook Group for ladies from the Midlands area, we got to know local girls who all shared our love and passion for Kayla and of course fitness. We set a date, we found a venue, I designed BBG Hoodies and T-shirts and the amazing Colin of The Printed Gift Shop turned them into a reality! Lisa put together an awesome BBG routine that will forever be known as #DeathByLisa.

Once upon a time the prospect of meeting ladies I had never met before would have scared me out of my wits. I wouldn't have done it, no way, and absolutely no how. With the date looming (Sunday 25th October 2015) in Birmingham's Cannon Hill Park, I felt nothing but excitement. I knew that these ladies were going to be friends. They weren't to be feared, they were to be embraced. 

With my good friend Alessia (who I had roped into coming along only the day before), I drove us to the BBG Meet. I drove to Birmingham which in it's self was un-heard of. I had vowed a long time ago that I would never drive in or around Birmingham, but I was doing it. There was no worry, no dread. 

I was confident. 

I arrived, late as always and everyone was already there and waiting for us. We walked around the park to find the perfect spot. It was a sunny but chilly Sunday and the 9 of us were all feeling the cold (unless you count Lisa in her shorts!).

We kicked off with a warm up, and it wasn't long before we were drawing attention to ourselves. I glanced over my shoulder and saw a group of young guys snapping photos of us. I only hoped they caught the back of our t-shirts and made use of the #DeathByKayla hashtag! What surprised me was how I just didn't care that they were watching, that they were capturing the moment. 

The warm out expanded into the 4 circuits that Lisa had lovingly laid out to destroy us! They were only 6 minutes long but I am sure I am not alone in saying that we all felt them! Then of course there were the bonus work outs, just in case Lisa hadn't killed enough of us off as possible in the first few rounds!

The meet was so surreal, it's not everyday that you walk into a group of ladies (most you have never met before in your life) and feel like you have known them for years and years. That's exactly how the first BBG Midland meet went down. Everyone was incredibly friendly, and it didn't take long for the giggles to start, and if working out together doesn't break the ice... Well I really don't know what will.

Of course we seized the opportunity to talk all things Kayla, I can count on one hand how many people I can discuss this rather amazing lady with, without their eyes glazing over and them wondering when I may shut up. These ladies got it, they got all of it. They live it themselves, they know how burpees are the evilest invention in the history of exercise, and they know that there is no escaping them. They know first hand how fantastic this community that we are all apart of really is, and they know that we will support each other through thick and thin.

Shaena reserved us all a table at the Plough in Harborne and everyone soon experienced Laura and her love of food.. Most of us ordered the very tasty Quinoa Chipotle Chilli which just so happened to come with a mountain of flat bread. I guess I am pretty proud that I was the only BBG Girl to demolish the entire lot... 

The giggles and chatter continued and by the time we left, we were already discussing our next meet, which is now all organised in Nottingham for the 29th November at Gotham Memorial Hall. If you are local to the Midlands and want to come along, please do! You can join our Midland's Facebook group here.

I tell you what though... I cannot even begin to put into words how proud I am to be a BBG Girl and be part of this absolutely incredible community. 

Here's to Kayla Itsines, and here's to the BBG and all of the girls who complete it.

You guys ROCK!

A Typical Food Day for this BBG Girl

I have been following Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide for the past 31 weeks now, and one of the biggest lessons I have learned is that when you are trying to achieve your goals, food is the absolute basis for everything. 

You can exercise all you like, but unless you follow through with your diet plan, long term you aren't going to for fill your all time objectives. I tell you this from experience. Back in August I was much leaner than I am today, and that is because my eating was working hand in hand with my exercise regime. 

Today my eating is getting back where it should be, but I expect it to be a good few weeks before I get back to where I was. It really does just go to show how much you can undo when you fall off the band wagon and your eating goes to pot. Today I wanted to walk you through a typical meal plan for a typical day in my shoes. I am no dietitian, I don't proclaim to know everything, because I am not trained and I quite simply don't, but this is what works for me personally, and they are meals that I enjoy...

Breakfast

Breakfast can be a variety of different things for me, after all it is the most important meal of the day. 

These are some of my favourite and a regular go to breakfast choice for me.

- Hard Boiled Eggs on Rye - It's a great way to start the day and always keeps me feeling full and sustained.

- Coconut Porridge with honey - This is an indulgent breakfast for me, I absolutely love it and I could eat so much more than I probably should!

- Green Smoothie - I enjoy these as it is a great way to kick start the morning, your getting a blast of everything that is good for you, it's filling and nutritious all at the same time.

- 2 Weetabix with coconut milk and honey.

Snacks

I snack throughout the day, one in the morning around 11am and once again in the afternoon around 3pm. It's so important to keep yourself fuelled especially when you are training so you want to pick snacks that are going to provide you with energy and there are many different options that can help you feel full and benefit your goals.

- Celery and Peanut Butter

-  1 Apple

- Almonds

- Water Melon

- Blue Berries

- Hard Boiled Eggs

I seem to be favouring eggs in every corner of my day to day life at the moment. For me they are the ultimate fast food and I think that is why I love them so much. I boil them up in batches and keep them in the fridge so that I have a protein blast to hand whenever I fancy one. The problem is..I can eat quite a few in one sitting!

Lunch

I find if I have a big breakfast, sometimes I am not feeling a huge lunch. A typical lunch for me could be anything of the following:

- Omelette with a sprinkling of cheese and a side salad.

- Chicken Wholemeal Wrap

-  Ham and Cheese on Rye Crackers

- Steak and Salad

- Chicken and Salad

- Water Melon

Dinner

Dinner is by far my favorite meal of the day. and I seem to go through phases of what I am really enjoying. If you follow me on Instagram then you will know that I am absolutely loving Steak at the moment. Thankfully there are so many different ways that you can enjoy steak.

- Chilli Steak on a bed of baked Broccoli, Spinish and Kale with a sprinkling of fresh Parmesan. 

- Chilli Steak with Sweet Potato Fries and Corn on the Cob

- Chilli Steak and Mediterranean Vegetables

Other dinner variations include:

- Chicken Pesto Pasta 

- Chicken topped with Pepperoni and Cheese on Whole Grain Rice

- Honey and Soy Chicken with black pepper and vegetables

- Chicken/Steak Stir Fry

- Omelette

- Vegetable Base Pizza - Why not try Courgette Base? 

Night Time Hunger Pangs

If you are anything like me than night time is the worst. It's when you want to just reach for the chocolate and be done with it, but you don't have to throw in the towel. When hunger strikes the first thing you need to do is drink some water. It could just be that you are thirsty. 

If that doesn't cut it, then maybe these solutions that I use regularly might to do the trick:

- Camomile Tea with Honey (my favourite flavour has to be Twinings Soothing Camamile and Spiced Apple! It's got a gorgeous taste and is a great way to un-wind for sleep!).

- Cacao Hot Chocolate with Cinnamon and Honey. You can find the recipe here.

I especially find that the Cacao Hot Chocolate stops you feeling hungry because it's so thick and indulgent, and not to mention that it sustains your sweet tooth at the same time! 

It's all about moderation...

I am currently taking my eating right back to basics and making sure that I am giving my body everything it needs for fuel. I let it get out of control but I am taking it back, and I am now ready to continue hitting my goals.