Week One : Be the best you

I'll start with the positives! I lost an inch and a half off my hips and an inch off my thighs which I was delighted with. I have no idea where I am weight wise as there is no scales here to work off! 

I'll be honest my first week in Finland eating wise and exercise wise was a bit of a write off. I was sick for a few days and couldn't eat so I couldn't exercise as I was too weak. The other nights I was drinking and eating rings around me. I managed to get to the gym once and attempted one of my HIIT cardio sessions. 

Claire Kane of Volta Fitness, has put together a great plan for me exercise wise taking into account that I'm not a member of a gym (but got to use one while I am here) so many of the exercises are squats, lunges, Russian twist, hand to toe crunch, burpees, mountain climbers and squat jumps all exercises you don't need equipment to do. all of the exercises are predominantly done in three sets of 10 or in the case of burpees and mountain climbers as much as you can for 40 seconds, 30 seconds etc. 

The high intensity interval cardio is so hard I am not gonna lie. Felt like I was going to faint after one set which was five minutes! 

Examples of what I have been eating is a low starchy carb high protein diet. A boiled egg some bacon and fruit for breakfast and green tea, then some snacks of fruit such as apples, pears, plum or orange and cashew nuts/sunflower seeds then a lunch focusing on protein and veggies. Then a workout and following that something post workout that includes a starchy carb ie a banana some rice or sweet potato or even porridge oats. 

It's hard to get used to this way of eating, I find I get so hungry at lunch time because I am not eating bread or pasta with my meal. I made lettuce wraps today but I definitely need to sort out lunches as I end up very hungry and liable to make bad food choices otherwise.

It's been a great motivation being in the group able to post in it asking questions about diet or exercises and all of us taking part are supporting one another.

This is my second day of my second week and I am so much more focused and determined. 

Yesterday's breakfast and dinner are below:

Changes I would make would be:  I would avoid the croutons in the Caesar salad and have dressing on the side. Those are also sweet potato fries. I made a mistake with my breakfast and ate some muesli in my yoghurt which is full of sugar so I will be avoiding that in future. Lunch was three rye crackers and tinned sardines which meant I was absolutely STARVING for dinner. I need to find the right balance and make sure I'm satasfied after meals to stop me picking or making bad food choices. 

I did a serious workout in the gym which was as follows: 

Squats with 5kg weight 3 sets of 10 reps

Lunge with 5kg weight 3 sets of 10 Reps 

Russian twist with 4kg kettle bell 3 set of 10 reps (repeated 3 times) = 60 reps

Hand to toe crunch 3 sets of 10 reps 

Treadmill 15 mins brisk walk

Donkey kicks to the side 10 reps on each leg and backwards 10 reps on each leg 

Leg extensions 3 sets of 8 reps 15kg

Leg press 3 sets of 8 reps 40 kg 

Shoulder press 12 reps of 15 kh

Bicep pull down machine (no idea of name sorry) 20 reps at 20 kg 

I also attempted to plank, only got to 30 seconds and nearly died, I was shaking so much. I also did ten push ups trying to improve upper body and core strength. So body is definitely sore today! Would love a sauna! 

How are you all getting on? Follow us in Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #BeTheBestYou

Be the Best You Begins

So last week I posted on the six week lifestyle challenge I would be taking part in, yesterday it started and I got off to a flying start at breakfast. 

I'm in Finland at the moment and they have a few strange things at the breakfast buffet in the hotel so I decided to try a few of the more unusual options for breakfast including herring fillet. I had a boiled egg, herring, a slice of Turkey, some pineapple, hot water and lemon, berry yoghurt and a brown seeded roll. Slip up 1 was having the bread as you should only eat a starchy carb after a workout. *The diet I'm following recommends this.*

Lunch was a healthy option again of a salad from Subway. You can order double chicken over here for double the protein for a euro extra, so I got double grilled chicken, lettuce, red onion, tomatoes, jalapeños, and a little bit of honey mustard dressing. The dressing wasn't totally clean and maybe not allowed on my plan, I had water and an apple as well. 

I attempted my workout which consisted of sprints, squat jumps, burpees, mountain climbers and push ups. I definitely found it a struggle. I was jet lagged and very tired as well which didn't help also really hungry as I didn't have a pre workout snack and hadn't eaten for about five hours. The workout is challenging but you can really see how HIIT (high intensity interval training) cardio helps burn fat. 

Imagine me doing sprints and squat jumps in my hotel room, God I looked a sight I'm sure the people on either side of me were wondering what was going on! 

I'm really gonna give it a better go this evening, the first workout is always the hardest! 

We went out for dinner to an Italian restaurant, I avoided the pizza and pasta options and went for garlic chicken with salad, veg, and a small amount of potatoes. 

All in all I don't think it was the worst start to the program...I did forget we weren't supposed to be drinking alcohol and had a couple of glasses of wine and I was really hungry between lunch and dinner so strayed off plan and had a handful of crisps. No one is perfect though!  Onwards and upwards. 

Fuschia Pro Palette Review

                

Fuschia makeup don't seem to have the most glowing reputation but after having tried the eyeshadows in this Fuschia pro palette I can't see why they have been getting a bad rep. In fact I have nothing but praise for these buttery easy to blend shadows. They are very pigmented and this palette contains a variety of colours, finishes and also six blushes. 

                   

Above on my arm, swatched only once with one swipe are my favourite eye shadow and blush shades. The top is golden bronze, followed by Oh My Orange, then a gorgeous creamy champagne colour called Bisque, Tender Taupe, a base colour that doesn't seem to have a name, and then my two favourite peachy blushes. One is peach fascinato and the other is apricot bliss I think. I'm on a train in Finland and have been travelling almost ten hours so forgive me! 

These shades work well with a variety of skin tones and especially well with blue or green eyes. 

Have you tried out any Fuschia products? Let me know in the comments below xoxo

Be the Best You Lifestyle Challenge

I am so excited to announce I will be taking part in a 6 week lifestyle challenge with personal trainer and qualified nutritionist Claire Kane of Volta Fitness . The challenge will start on the 9th of March and end the week of the 13th of April with final weigh in, photos and measurements taken on the 20th of April.

This challenge is entitled 'Be the Best You' and it is focusing on lifestyle as a whole and how your diet and fitness fit into all of that. It will take into account dealing with emotional triggers that may cause you to comfort eat and Claire will also be on hand to give guidelines for a healthy meal plan and she will also be creating personalised training plans for myself and four other women who are taking part.

The beauty of this is that it is all done online. No making it to meetings or having to try schedule the time in, because you can freely converse in a private online group on Facebook and you can help motivate one another. Obviously the exercise isn't done online too - finger typing doesn't count! ;)

I'm super excited to get started and have already weighed, measured and filled out a goal checklist created by Claire. My goals are to improve my overall physical fitness, tone up, start eating a healthier, more balanced diet and learn how to deal with triggers for overeating or in other words mood swings that make you go on a chocolate binge. I will be sharing my progress here and on the Facebook page Blogging it Beautiful so feel free to follow and check in with me on my progress and your own if you are also doing a lifestyle challenge.

The focus is on creating manageable goals and writing everything down has really made me focus more. Here are some example goals that I have set myself:

1. Drink 2-3 litres of water. I really don't drink enough water and it so important for your body to function properly.

2. Stop picking at unhealthy foods and eat regular balanced meals.

3. Start a consistent program of exercise to improve my physical fitness ie thirty minutes minimum of exercise five days a week.

4. Walking to and from college which is the guts of an hour (50 minutes) exercise everyday.

5. Make sure to get enough sleep.

These are simple enough goals but once you get them all working in tandem you should start to see results.

I will be checking my inch loss every week and weighing in either once  a week or at the end of the program it has yet to be decided. There will also be a recipe of the week to try so I will definitely share my efforts with you over on Instagram! Follow me at katiejanewheeler

 

I will be using the hashtag #bethebestyou on Instagram and on Twitter if you want to follow my posts :)

 

That's all for now!

 

xoxo