Swimming!! (Effective Ways to Lose weight)

Guys!!!
The weight-loss journey continues!

Me and my house mates have said we wanted to try new things for a long time and make  more memories at Uni, rather than just sit at home the whole year, why not try new things and have some fun. So we decided we would go swimming together. Best evening so far!! I absolutely loved it. Now two of us couldn't swim until we met a nice man who told us about a Guy who could teach us to swim. Lo and behold we went to speak to him and by the time we left the swimming pool this evening I could capably swim forward and backward in the water.

Now don't get me wrong, I was not perfect, not by any standard and my swimming wasn't anything higher than the basic level of moving through the water but I had gone from drowning helplessly any time I attempted to swim to being able to move on my front and my back to and fro each side of the pool in less than 2 hours. If that is not miraculous, I'm not sure what is.

Any ways, to cut the long story short, when I got out of the water, I almost dropped because my legs had literally turned to rubber. I could not move and every single muscle in my body ached! I knew for sure it would hurt like hell tomorrow morning! Without even realising, I had worked out almost every muscle in my body. And whilst having fun as well.

So if you're finding going to the gym or working out at home a constant struggle, I would suggest you try swimming for a fun yet VERY effective way to burn off fat and get in shape whilst having fun! Sitting in the sauna certainly helps as well. And if you're lucky you might find a nice swimming instructor who would be willing to teach you for free!

Breaking Bad habits!!

Hey guys!! 

I am feeling amazing today! Why is this? Because this is the 5th day on which I am chocolate free. Don't think I'm exaggerating when I tell you I am addicted to chocolate, I actually am. I can eat this brown devil every single hour of every single day and still not get tired of it, I am in LOVE!! But I am no stranger to the dangers of stuffing my face and body with such a high dose of sugar so as part of my weight loss journey I decided I was going to try and give up chocolate for at least a week.

If I'm completely honest, I never thought I would get this far and I won't lie to you, on the second day I went in to Tesco's and bought a massive tube of Smarties and a family sized Cadbury bar but I summoned strength from somewhere and refrained from eating them but let me tell you now, it is most definitely not easy. So to commemorate this impressive milestone in my life (I'm 100% serious), I decided to do a 5 tips to breaking bad or maybe even good habits!

1. Have someone who is holding you accountable!!
I could not do this without my flatmate's support! Literally the only reason I didn't end up eating the Smarties bar is because she took them and hid them from me. Any time I get weak or start rolling on the floor begging for chocolate, she's there to slap some sense into my head. (Sometimes literally, and she doesn't hit lightly either.)

2. Find a replacement.
Constantly knowing you're missing something will only make it more likely for you to go back to that thing. If you have something else taking it's place, it'll take you longer to notice that there is actually something missing. And if the thing you're trying to give up is bad make sure you replace it with something healthy so you're not just swapping bad for bad. Eat a carrot!

3. Going cold turkey doesn't always work.
If you're body is so used to having something every single day, you telling it NO will not go down well and in some cases it won't go down at all. Trust me on this one. The craziness I've displayed for my house mates because of this chocolate business is enough to make them hate me. If you can't go cold turkey, why not try reducing the amount. you eat. If you have 5 a day, try 3 a day, then 1 a day till gradually none. 

4. It's mind over body.
The addiction or bad habit is mainly in your head and thus is mainly about self control. If you're determined mentally to refrain from doing something, your body is more likely to follow your lead. Control your mind and you can control your body. Ultimately it's a matter of self control, try and exercise it!

3. Be easy on yourself!
Addiction is not the end of the world! Neither is a bad habit. Breaking it is a journey and it's okay to slip up along the way. If you are quitting cold turkey like me, it's okay if you slip up sometimes, what matters is that  you get yourself back up and start again! If you don't give in, great, but even if you do that shouldn't stop you from trying again. 

Weight Loss journey!

Hey Guys!

So I just finished an intense work out session with my flatmate and I am feeling soooo good! Never realised how good exercise actually makes you feel. When you're doing it, it feels like the world would end anytime soon, but as soon as you're done,you just feel happy that you're healthier and proud of yourself that you've achieved so much.

I've been meaning to get right for a while in terms of my health and fitness but I've just been too lazy so when my flatmate burst in and announced she wanted to get fit in 6 weeks, I thought why not, let me use this opportunity. Now I have the type of body that unless you look closely, it looks on point, behind closed doors, only I know what's really going on but by embarking on this journey I'm hoping to make my body look good in public and in private.

Of course this means fixing my diet as well! For those who know me they know I am literally the queen of chocolate, like I consume immense amounts of chocolate in one sitting and by one sitting I mean several large packets a day, but today I was able to control myself and didn't buy a single chocolate(boy the struggle was real, trust me!!) but it made me feel proud of myself. (I ended up buying do-nuts to substitute the sugar rush but shhh no one needs to know that.)

So basically this post is to make sure I'm accountable to someone and hopefully guilt trip me into sticking to this journey. If I give up after a few days I may just delete this post and pretend this never happened lol. Feel free to start the journey with me and I hope to be posting pictures, recipes, and progress throughout the phase.

In the meantime, here are some links to some of my favourite work out videos:

1. Tae Bo is actually amazing, like seriously, this guy does not play about. He throws you in the deep end and expects you to swim!! Fast!! But if you're resilient you will love the results.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVwv0bUEJpE

2. Only just came across this today and I am soo in love with it. It's a 2 part dance routine. One african themed and one carribean themed. I found myself sweating by the bucket but yet having fun. I definitely reccomend this if you are a beginner and if you're a good dancer you will love it even more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq7IDD0Ye1Y

3. Everybody loves some Zumba!! This put a smile on my face and got me me working up a sweat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-RMdXvs6bM