I am in my jeans

That's right. The jeans that began this whole thing. The jeans that made me want to cry on Christmas day. Now here I am on Good Friday, dressed in my jeans feeling fabulous.

They're still a little tight - quite tight. But I don't care because I'm in them! which means that this whole thing has been worth something.

<----how huge do my thighs look haha

Since Christmas I've learned an awful lot about diet and fitness and about myself. I've learned that you can't go into something thinking 'I want to lose weight' it's too abstract, without a goal in mind it all flutters to one side.

I've learned that even if you exercise every day for an hour and you come away looking like a total sweaty-beast, but you still eat like crap, you're not going to lose any weight like you want to.

I've learned that I LOVE weights. I love doing a weighted exercise set and feeling the burn two days later.

I love running! Something I never thought possible. What with my damaged ankle tendons and my dislocated knee, it never worked very well in the past. But with strengthening exercises and a lot of stretching, you really can do anything!

I've also learned that getting into these jeans is not the end of the road for me. First, I need to make them fit better, by running more and tightening up my thighs and bum. But then I need to stay in them, which I think is going to be the real challenge lol

Pin Curls!

For the last few months I've been struggling with pin-curls. I'm very into vintage; clothes, hair, make-up, films, music etc. But I've been struggling with slept in pin curls. The problem, I think, is I either do them too small or I don't manage to tuck the ends in or I squish them with the pin curl clips.

I had them in the night before last, and they did not turn out good. My hair was frizzy and all kinky and not good. So last night I smoothed some Repair and Protect Smoothing Serum all over my hair, kept it dry, and placed large pin curls through my hair. I kept them low in the back, and all facing the same way on the sides.

Pin curls after sleeping on them

After taking them out, I loosely ran my fingers through them, then brushed them with a paddle brush and shaped them with my round bristle brush. They were so lovely! No frizz at all, I think that serum is going to my saving glory when it comes to pin curls. I pinned up one side with a pretty orange flower, because it's not snowing for once and the sun's even out!! EXCITING

I feel very pretty today!

Right side

Left side

It took me all of fifteen minutes to do my hair this morning, and I think it's perfect for going to the shops, the dentist and making my dress today. And my hair feels in such good condition too!

Pin curls are kind of ideal for me. I'm trying to grow my hair out, and I've found that washing it only a couple of times a week help it grow a lot quicker. I washed my hair on Tuesday, and I'm hoping that I won't have to wash it until Saturday morning before work. Tomorrow, I'm hoping to tie my hair up and add a head scarf too - keeping with the vintage feel :).

Cardio Workout

Today I don't have time to go to the gym. I've got revision this morning, then the dentist, then shopping, then seeing my Grandma, then going to my Nana's to hopefully complete the dress I'm making (I'll take a photo once I finish :D), then I've got to get the house all tidied for when my parents get home from their holiday tonight. So yeah, no gym time.

Instead I did this kickboxing style workout, plus the halterneck arms I posted yesterday.
While doing this workout, keep bouncing on your toes, and really spin your hips into all your jabs and kicks.
If you don't know any of the moves, google them :D

New Workout

While it's been snowing every day, I'm getting ready for the end of May and the end of my exams. When I plan to spend quite a lot of time in halterneck dresses :). The fiance and I are talking about going camping, I may be going to Ireland and maybe to Norfolk. So I don't have to plan for a 'bikini body', but I'd like to have toned arms and legs :).

This workout, a few times a week, combined with cardio and of course working other muscle groups will see your shoulders, back and arms becoming sleek and lean in no time :)

Low Calorie Fried Eggy Bread

I'm in the middle of revising, and at this point I'm about ready to just give up, curl into a ball and cry until July. But I can't do that, I must keep going.

I had a smoothie for breakfast, however, it's snowing outside, and when I'm sat for a while in that room with all my notes trying to get everything typed up I get very cold. So I didn't fancy a smoothie for lunch.

Ingredients
1 slice bread - buttered
1 chopped tomato
1 egg
drizzle of oil

Butter your bread and cut a circle out the middle. Place it in a hot frying pan and toast one side, flip over and crack the egg into the centre and cook until done.
Chop your tomato and add to the pan about 30 seconds before the eggs done. Add the oil to the pan and flick onto the top of the egg to cook the top.

Nutritional Info
261 calories
14.6g fat
22.4g total carbs
3.6g fibre

Bandwagon

I fell of the wagon. In a big way.

The last couple of weeks I've been running - loads. This Zombies, Run! app is ridiculous for getting me running. The problem comes because I've been craving carbs. Chips and pizza and crisps and biscuits and cakes. Because obviously with me running more, there's been a significant calorific deficit. I should have been strong and filled it with fruit and veg and good things. But I didn't.

I'm pretty sure I'm back up to about 143lb. Which wouldn't bother me, except I can feel it. I know I've put on weight in the last two weeks.

It doesn't help that my parents went away and left us with crisps and biscuits and such like - and I've been baking! Sticky ginger cake, treacle tart, and ginger biscuits. It's not been good.

So I'm determined to turn myself around. This morning I spent 30 minutes dancing in my living room, using the Wii - Just Dance. It was so much fun too! And hopefully today I'll get my gym membership sorted out for while I'm home from uni :).

This morning I'm drinking a clean raspberry smoothie - 1/3 cup raspberries, same of blueberries, half a banana and enough apple juice to make it runny. I'm hopefully going to cut out as much dairy as I can, plus all the sugary biscuits and things :)

Here's hoping I can get back going :D

Double Raspberry Smoothie

 I haven't been very good at posting. But then I haven't been very good with this whole diet thing either. I think the problem is I've been running a lot....like a lot. I've ran like 10k this week using that Zombies, Run! game, so I've been doing bad with the smoothies. I reckon they'd totally keep me going, it's just my mind is telling me to eat mozzarella paninis and shit like that.

Ingredients
1 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 banana
1/2 pear (tinned)
1 tablespoon wheat bran
squidge of honey
~200mL cranberry/raspberry juice

Nutritional Info
312 calories
2.5g total fat
65.3g total carbs
9.3g fibre
5.8g protein
30.7% vitamin C

Fitness Apps

I'm obsessed with fitness apps, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Frankly, I'll take anything that will help me become healthy.

My goal has changed somewhat. I still want to fit into my jeans, of course I do, but you know what I want more anything? To be strong. I want to be able to do a proper press up, not one from my knees, I want to be able to do an unassisted pull up, and I want to be able to do an elbow stand. Little things, but to me, if I could achieve them, would mean I was a strong person.

I'm signed up to MyFitnessPal. A calorie counting app that frankly is awesome.

I don't use it terribly religiously, but I do use it every day - generally. It's great for putting my smoothie recipes in to and getting a calorie count.

I like this app because of the recipe feature, plus I like the net way it works out calories - you put in what you eat and how much you exercise and it works out how many net calories you've used and how many you have left for the day.

Fitocracy is a site I've only recently found, but I'm already rather addicted to.

It's a fitness social networking site. You put in whatever exercise you've done that day and you gain points, get so many points and you level up! As someone who plays Dungeons and Dragons and is obsessed with look and EXP, I like the idea of leveling up.

The app is great, it has all the features of the main site but condensed, and actually I find it easier to use than the main website. The track features are perfect, and you get little notifications when someone gives you props :).

Zombies, Run! is an app I've only just downloaded and haven't actually used yet. So anything I have to say about it is going off of what my friend has said and what I've heard from listening to hers.

In the Zombies, Run! app, you are a runner for the resistance  and you must run in order to collect supplies and grow your base. The catch is that zombies chase you.

My friend, who is asthmatic and generally can't run for 5 minutes, ran 9 miles in 30 minutes, because she just forgot where she was. She said it was easier to do in the gym, because when she ran down Sunderland quayside (a place where the zombie apocalypse may have already started) she got too scared.

I'm very much looking forward to using this app, because I would love to build up my running fitness.

Super yummy Raspberry Mango Smoothie

I haven't been very good at posting lately. It's been very sporadic and wishy-washy, but I'm hoping to do better from now on...maybe.
I've started revising for my exams, it's not overwhelming me yet. I'm making good use of One Note, making notebooks and sections for all my modules and pages for every subject within those modules and things. I've already got two whole subjects written up - yay :D

Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 raspberry yogurt pot
1/2 banana
~200mL mango juice

Nutritional Info
357 calories
2.2g fat
78g total carbs
8.4g fibre
5.6g protein
86.5% vitamin C

I love the colour of this smoothie, it's just a really nice corally pink colour :D

Fitocracy & Raspberry Stawberry Banana Smoothie

I discovered this website called Fitocracy, and now I'm obsessed.

You gain points by doing exercise, any exercise! And when you have so many points you level up :D I'm not at level 4. It's a little exciting.

Ingredients
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 banana
1/4 cup porridge oats
1 low fat strawberry yogurt
~100mL apple juice

Nutritional Info
238 calories
3.0g total fat
50.3g total carbs
4.8g fibre
11.5g protein
13.3% vitamin C

Amazing Mango Smoothie

I had this smoothie yesterday morning, it was so amazingly tasty!! Coconut milk is my new favourite thing :) Also, this can be vegan if you simply omit the yogurt :)

Ingredients
1 cup frozen mango
1/2 banana chopped
2 tablespoon tinned peach
1 tablespoon wheat bran
~200mL dairy free coconut milk

Nutritional Info
315 calories
5.7g total fat
6.9g fibre
2.1g protein
53.9% vitamin C

In which I think about calories and metabolism

Yesterday I was thinking about weight loss, more than the abstract "I want to lose weight" to the "But how exactly do I go about it?".

In case you don't know, there is apparently 3,500 calories in 1lb of fat (I'm not sure how 'they' worked this out or even who 'they' are, but I'm going with it.) This means to lose 1lb a week, you must somehow remove 3,500 calories from your normal diet.

This equates to 500 a day. But 500 calories cut out of your normal diet every day is a lot!

The daily guideline amounts are like 2000 calories for women and a bit more for men, but I think 2,000 calories is a lot, you know? I only noticed when I started using myfitnesspal, and it counts them for me. Even before I was trying to cut out calories, I was only eating around 1,700 calories a day. My allowance now is 1,200.

So technically, I should be losing 1lb a week, right?

Wrong.

The fact is your body gets used to running on a smaller amount of nutrition. Your body is a wonderful complex machine that has many mechanisms for staying alive, one of which is to adapt to new environments. So eventually the weight loss will taper and eventually stay constant, you won't lose anymore. And that might be a good thing, I know that there'll come a time (fairly soon I imagine) when I won't want to lose anymore weight, I'll be more focused on building my strength and my muscles but I'll be quite happy with the size I am and stick with it.

But what if you hit the plateau and you still want to lose?

It's fairly simple really, you can't have a healthy losing weight campaign without exercise. So instead of cutting out 500 calories from your diet alone, why not try just 250 calories, but burn 250 calories exercising instead?

250 calories really isn't much, which is something I've learned over this little weight loss jaunt I'm on. Here are just some of the ways to burn 250:

• Walk 8,000 steps. This is about 30-45 minutes depending how quickly you walk, and of course the quicker you walk the faster you'll burn the calories
• Cycle for 15 minutes, walk/jog for 20 minutes in the gym
• Do 100 jumping jacks
• Row for about 20 minutes

The possibilities are truly endless, they're just the ones I can think of off the top of my head.

Then this whole losing weight thing led me on to thinking about metabolism.

In every healthy article both online and in print it's all about 'boosting your metabolism' and I can see where they're coming from. But I don't quite get it.

Metabolism is every process in your body (basically), it is both the breakdown and building up of complex molecules to form cells, proteins and everything else your body needs to function. Metabolism involves the breakdown of what you eat into the little amino acids, sugars and triglycerides that your body can use to make cell walls, proteins, DNA and everything else that makes you. It is the oxidation of fats into triglycerides that can be used to fuel the body, leading to a reduction in fat stores. It is also the process of respiration; the combining of oxygen with glucose to form compounds that can be used in a complex series of reactions to form ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) which is the form energy takes in the human body.

So speeding up your metabolism, increasing the rate at which molecules are broken down and reused, should be a good thing, right?

I'm not so sure.

The fact is metabolism isn't just how quickly you burn fat, and if you aim to increase your basal metabolic rate through exercise (which I could find no evidence for) then you're increasing everything else too. You're increasing the rate at which drugs are processed through your body, making whatever doses you take effectively lower, or potentially spiking the dose depending on the form it takes. You're increasing the rate at which neurotransmitters such as serotonin, noradrenaline and dopamine are broken down in synapses - which could be either good or bad depending on your disposition.

But you'll also increase the rate of respiration. Now respiration is a brilliant thing, its what keeps us alive. However, the breakdown of oxygen leads to something called oxygen free radicals. These are atoms with broken electrons, basically, and they're the reason you age. They're the reasons cells die, hair thins and wrinkles appear. It's why everyone says 'EAT ANTIOXIDANTS!' to slow the aging process. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm not looking forward to seeing those wrinkles appear, and if eating chocolate and keeping my metabolic rate at the speed it is now will prevent that, then I'm going to do it!

So I'm all for speeding up my fat metabolism, but I'd rather not end up with wrinkles before my time, thanks.