Too much cake...

I have been a keen gym enthusiast for at least two years now but my yoyo weight doesn't seem to have gotten any better. As soon as I have a few weeks off and become a bit lazy albeit even if it was over my birthday, I tend to just over indulge and therefore all of my hard work gets ruined! 

I have been going to the gym, not to lose weight but to keep toned and fit. I never really ate enough food when I was at uni and just did a lot of cardio, this resulted in me losing a lot of  weight in the third year and a lot of muscle. After this I went travelling for a month and lets just say I ate a LOT. My body really wasn't used to carbs as I had basically been used to starving it and so everything I ate, it stored it as fat. 

Although I wasn't huge, it made me feel extremely lethargic and unhappy and I missed being my smaller size. Since then, situations have occurred which have haltered my ability to get the body I want. And then, when we planned our holiday to Ibiza, I had the perfect incentive to get my arse into gear! 

It was all going great and by the time Ibiza came around, I felt confident and although I had actually put on 5lbs, I knew it was all muscle as my clothes were a lottt more baggy and comfortable to wear. 

Then BOOM. I come home from holiday and think "Oh, it's alright i'm still quite small, I can have this carbonara… and all this bread and dipping oil… and all these ice lollies and pastries"..the list goes on. My birthday also has meant that I have eaten a lot of shit but yummy food like birthday cake and meals out - oh and we can't forget the alcohol! SHOCK..this resulted in me putting on over half a stone!! And I can definitely confirm..none of that is muscle. 

Last week I realised for the next few weeks I have no huge plans or occasions that will result in me drinking myself into oblivion, which leads to the next day, eating myself into oblivion. I thought now is the perfect time to actually crack down and be a bit more disciplined on myself to  get myself feeling content. 

Now, I know i'm not huge but this is more for own personal goals and to put a stop on unnecessary binge eating and drinking..it's just not worth it. It's easy enough to say I will crack down and cut out the crap but harder to actually do it and stick to it. That's why I thought to write a weekly post on my progress would be the perfect way to make sure I don't go off the rails! 

So…

I know in myself, that I am pretty toned..I just need to shift the weight that's covering it all! 

This is why i'm going to have a main focus of HIIT exercises, jogs and yoga. 

I used to do Pilates and yoga a lot and found that it was a really nice way of keeping yourself toned, but without getting those huge muscles…which now I seem to have in my arms and thighs from doing too many weight classes. Not that there is ANYTHING wrong with this, it is obviously a lot better to have muscle than fat. But, I want to become lean and slender - not like a body builder. I feel that HIIT, light exercise like jogging and stretching and light bodyweight shifting work like Pilates or yoga..should achieve this. 

And…

Diet! Diet is a huge factor…no more cakes..crisps..alcohol..chocolate..pastries 

Real food like eggs, chicken, spinach, broccoli, porridge oats, , avocado, salmon, rice and fruit and veg! 

I plan to go to the gym 4-5 times a week. 2 HIIT classes, 1 spinning, 1 Yoga/Pilates class and maybe one to just do my own thing (which usually consists of jogging). I also want to just increase the amount I move around in the day. I am normally sitting at my desk for at least 8 hours of the day and try to squeeze in a walk at lunch time..but I will be getting up a bit earlier to take my dog out, walking to the shops instead of driving and walking in the evening instead of sat in front of the tele.

I have measured my body fat % (this is a good way of measuring how well your'r doing as sometimes an increase in body weight can actually just be muscle as muscle weighs more than fat and therefore this will let me know if I have actually lost any fat) and have recorded my starting weight and each week I will compare and comment on whether it has improved or not. 

I look forward to sharing my progress with you all and hope to inspire some of you to take part in a healthier way and more active way of living.