Crossfit| 5 Months on (Update)

Hello everyone!

Oh my goodness I am so sorry this has been a long time coming. 

Sometimes life just gets busy. One minute you're trying to figure out where you can go on holiday (if you can afford it!) and what bikini to wear and the next you're trying to haul on a thick pair of tights and getting your cosy Parker out of the wardrobe. 

That's kinda how my life has been in the last few months- I'm basically trying to keep up! Very much like constantly being on a treadmill. TIREING. 

But even though I've felt like this, there has been one thing that has been fairly consistent in my life so far. That being Crossfit. 

I cannot tell you how much I'm enjoying it and for me, still being motivated after 5 months of starting is a major achievement. When I went to the gym or wanted to start running I kept saying to myself 'I'll go tomorrow' and never did. For some reason I've managed to keep going to Crossfit at least twice a week and at times 3. In all honesty though I'd like to go more! It's more that I don't finish work and then can't get there in time. (Sometimes it can take 40minutes to get to Crossfit in rush hour traffic). 

Can I just mention- 40minutes is actually quite far to go as well so the fact that I'm motivated to still go after work at least twice a week is still a pretty big deal to me. 

In regards to my body and strength I do think there have been some improvements. I am 100% more stronger than when I first started and have still a long way to go. I've notice I'm able to add more weight to the bar than before and perhaps can do more repetitions. 

My arms and stomach have become more toned although again this still has room for improvement. This will come in time- fitness is a journey and there is no way to rush through to the results. 

I still stick by what I've said in a previous blog and that is I would definitely recommend trying Crossfit. I know it seems intense and scary but it isn't as bad when you get into it and all the people I know who go there are super friendly and supportive. Baring in mind I didn't really know anyone who went before I started and had not done any weight lifting before - it was completely new. 

So anyway I thought this would be a nice update- I'll try and be more frequent with my posts. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

Love C xx

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Counting Macros| My Fitness pal

Sooo, on the subject of healthy living; I have been really trying to keep on track with what is actually going into my body. Not so much that everything needs to be healthy, more just of being aware of how much I am eating and what exactly is in each food I eat.

I have been really loving an app call 'My Fitness Pal'. You may have heard about this app before, I have previously used this app before a few years ago, but have recently rediscovered it. Although I previously used it for counting calories (which I still do), I also use it for counting 'macros'.

'What are you talking about Claudia'?.. 'What are these macros you speak of?'

These were honestly questions I was asking myself nearly two weeks ago. I had never heard of this and was slightly confused on the idea.

Macros are basically carbohydrates, protein and fats.

I honestly am throughly enjoying counting my macros and seeing how much fat, carbs and protein is actually in my diet and what I need to improve on. I found lots of information on 'if it fits your macros' about what it can do for me and what the whole idea of macros is.

I found out what my macros were by typing in my details to the If it fits your macros (IIFYM) website on the calculator and it tells you what you should aim for, for healthy weight loss/muscle growth (depending on what your aim is).

Honestly I have noticed differences already, although I will be honest I have been slacking with exercise recently! So especially when I increase my workouts, the results will be even better! (I will actually be joining cross fit soon- I did a free trial and loved it! Although I was in a lot of muscle pain for about four days as I hadn't used certain muscles before it was a great experience!).

If you feel like you are coming to a bit of a brick wall with your diet, maybe this is something for you to try?! I would definitely give it a go!

Find out more information on the linked website above as I did and see if it interest you!

Happy Sunday!!


Love C. xx

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Stress!| Simple ways to chill out

Ok. Stress. We all have it. Some in different ways than others. We are all individual people who find different ways to soothe the anxieties than come with stress.

I have a few tips and tricks for soothing both the mind and body when it comes to stress, I feel, at the moment for me this is quite important to take the time to do this because lets face it- we all need a bit of time to ourselves or even time to just at least be distracted.

1. Have a bath- if you don't like baths...(*shocked faced*) have a shower. Put some soft or easy to listen to music on, whether you like spa music, yoga music or even a bit of Ben Howard. Let the water wash your cares away for however long you'd like to be in there for and for me- closing my eyes is a major help for relaxing. They get dry and tired after a long day and so its quite nice to have them just closed, not asleep.. just closed.

2. Go for a walk- or exercise. This can either be for distraction or just time to think about things, not to panic and stress over them- but to think theoretically about things and see if you can put a plan in place to help you feel less stressed.

3. Watching movies or videos or even reading a book. Again this is distracting, you can easily loose yourself in a film or enticing book and even start to enjoy yourself a little bit at a time where you're feeling overwhelmed with stress. My preference is comedy films or I do love to watch a bit of Disney. When it comes to Disney films, I'm a little bit like Peter Pan and won't grow up!

4. Yoga or meditation. I've done Yoga before, again this is exercise but it is more stretching and releasing the build up of toxins in the mind and body. Meditation is amazing, if you really get into it and put your all into focussing the mind you feel so refreshed. I use an app on my phone and headphones to help block out any noise or distractions.

5. Going out with friends. Thats if they aren't the ones who are stressing you out of course! Having your friends around you to support and help you through these stressful times is sometimes just as good or better than your family.

6. Obviously healthy eating is something I try to do, however there comes a time when chocolate or just general naughty food needs to be had. Not loads! But enough to just satisfy the edge of the craving or whatever. Food that tastes good releases endorphins which is the happy hormone. One bar of chocolate won't hurt!

Hope you're feeling less stressed out and know you are not alone!

Love C. xx

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Motivation Sunday| For the week ahead

Just a little blogpost for this evening.

One to help you keep positive for the week that lies ahead.

I think it is really important to remind yourself how strong the human mind and body is. The body will do what the mind tells it, you just have to believe how strong the mind is to help you get your goals.
Whether it is to improve your goals in exercise, or if you have an interview you're nervous about.. whatever it is, you, as a human being, as the person you are is more than able to get those goals. Sometimes it may take longer than you'd hope but never give up- those who persist will get their goals.

Quote for the week ahead:

The mind is everything. What you think, you become

Hope you have a beautiful week.

Love C. xx

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A Good Way to spend a Date| A Day out...

At times, as a couple who work full time, it can be stressful to try and organise a date night or day doing something together. But- when you do get the time, sometimes you can't think of what to do which is different to just going out for a meal, or perhaps want to do something else with your time together.

If you're anything like me, you love going out to eat and you also like to exercise when you can. Recently Ash and I had the same day off work (Yay!) and so wanted to do something together. Something that I've always wanted to get (but never got round to getting one, mainly because shoes or clothing items got in the way of buying one!) was to get a bicycle. Okay, not hugely exciting, but Ash had one for a while and we had both wanted to go cycling somewhere.. so it was time to look for a bike!

I managed to find a fairly cheap one, which was flat-packed so Ash had to put it together. Thank goodness he's good with bikes because in all honesty I wouldn't have a clue! Haha.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day so we cycled all the way to Sandbanks which is the longest I've ever cycled (about 2 hours there and back). For me, that was pretty far to go so I was proud of myself. We stopped off at a lovely Thai restaurant called 'Koh Noi' which does amazing tapas. It was so good! I would really recommend it!

So after a lovely meal, we had the issue of cycling home on a full stomach. I was really struggling, with the hills and the amount of food in my tummy. Ash was up ahead, loving life, wondering (probably) why I was so slow. To be honest I was wondering this too because I work out more than him and I'm not normally worn out so easy- so Ash asked if we wanted to swap bikes, to see if it made a difference..

The tables had turned, I was flying on ahead, Ash was struggling behind. As the gentleman he is he carried on cycling my bike till we got home. Turned out he had actually tightened my brakes too much so I was peddling against the brake all the way there and half way back! No wonder I was tired! haha!

So for the next time we do it, my journey will be a bit easier to say the least!
Apart from that incident, it was such a good day out and I really enjoyed spending time with Ash doing these things. I think if you are struggling for ideas, a bike ride is a good way to spend time together, especially if you like food and exercise!

What do you like to do for date night/day?

Love C. xx

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Happy Easter| Mmm Chocolate!

I love Chocolate. I don't often have it, but Easter is a great excuse! Whether you were at church today or just lounging around I'm sure plenty of you have enjoyed at least a teeny bit of chocolate.

I just want to use this blog post as a little reminder, for those of you who may be trying to eat healthier or are on a diet, I think its safe to say- one day won't hurt!

However, it's about motivating yourself to get back on the horse, treat it as a reward and not take it for granted. I know it's hard but I always try and remind myself 'summer bodies are made in the winter'. They don't happen overnight (unfortunately), but you do have to live your life to the fullest because life is short! So if you want to enjoy a creme egg- go for it!

I hope you all had a wonderful day today, doing whatever you were doing!

P.s These aren't all mine! hehe

Love C. xx

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Not Feeling Good Enough| Comparison

As I was saying in one of my previous blogs, I'm on my own confidence journey. Sometimes I feel super confident and feel great about myself. Other times I just feel like rubbish, constantly comparing myself to other people, whether it be friends, family or even people on the street.

It is a terrible feeling, feeling like this- I wouldn't ever make someone else feel like this, so why do I do it to myself? I guess it is all part of being a normal human being but the pressure of our culture, mainly from social media, to be the best version of ourself can be destructive. This is so difficult to keep up with. If we aren't married by the time we're a certain age, if we haven't got a large amount of friends, or don't earn as much as others, if you choose not to have children or don't want to buy a house even though all your friends have, you feel like somehow you haven't quite 'made it' even though all of these things are mainly our own choice or just circumstance.

Having all these pressures and not meeting these standard, makes my inner critic go mental. So many thoughts of 'why can't I be like (so and so)', or 'I wish my life was more like (insert name)', tearing apart my self-esteem until I don't like myself very much and then just want to eat crisps and things that are bad for me.. mm chocolate..

This has been playing on my heart recently, not on a daily basis but on and off. Sometimes it is to do with not looking as good as I want to, not reaching my potential in work or my social life. But maybe I'm comparing myself to a benchmark that isn't me? This day and age blogs about beauty are super popular, as are the fashion blogs. I do feel like this does encourage comparison sometimes, like at times it makes me think 'that product is so expensive, but I could never afford something like that'. This just ends up rolling into comparison of how much I'm earning or just generally consuming information about other people that is almost this fantasy land of wishing I could be more like them. I can't be them, I'm me. That is just the way it is. There are things I can change whether it be trying to improve my workouts to improve my body or trying to get training for work to be able to earn more.
I think I've just got to keep reminding myself that. Yes, I will keep comparing myself to other people, but I also need to keep strong in my believes of changing my life and lifestyle to keep improving the way I want to. Maybe even try and turn that comparison into motivation. Instead of thinking, 'I wish', think 'I can'.

Sure, this won't happen over night.. it will be a constant struggle, probably for the rest of my life, because I'm sure that even the people that I compare myself to, will be comparing themselves to others and potentially even me.

I know this blogpost is a bit random and not really that helpful, but some of you may feel like you're in the same boat and feel reassured that you're not the only one?

Love C. xx

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Too busy to workout| quick workouts

Although I'm trying to live my life in a healthier way, trying to exercise more can at times feel like there isn't enough time to do it.

Well, I'm going to share with you a couple little exercises I do when there is no time- whilst doing your everyday activities.

1) Waiting for a bath to run. I usually try and hold a squat for as long as possible or even put on my favourite tune and hold it for the entire song. That way I can try and distract myself by singing along and potentially even doing a little dance in the squat position- this is not only exercise but a happy hormone booster! 

2) Same principle, waiting for the kettle to boil for your tea- do some squats, one legged or two. You could even do arm exercises. While its boiling, put both arms out at a 90 degree angle and draw tiny circles with your arms. WARNING. This is a killer but so good!

3) Watching a kick-ass episode of vampire diaries or your favourite television show? During ad breaks I sometimes sit on the floor and do as many crunches or sit ups as possible. Have a break when the programme comes back on then the next break try holding a few planks for as long as possible.

4) Cooking prep can take usually between 10-20minutes. Why not multi-task and do some butt squeezes/clenches whilst doing it? Hold the squeeze/ clench for 5 seconds pulse for 10 and repeat. Have a minute break when necessary. 

5) At times, when I'm waiting for the toaster, for pasta to cook or if I just need to keep an eye on the meal then I will hold onto the counter and lift one leg at a time behind as high as possible pulsing the leg up for as long as possible and then swap legs over. Great butt,quad and lower back workout.

These are just five little exercises I try to do if I haven't been able to get to the gym or am feeling like I want to burn a few extra calories. I particularly love the squat whilst waiting for a bath- music makes the experience more enjoyable and then you have a relaxing bath afterwards. 

Do you have any quirky little exercises you do during the day when you have no time for the gym?

I know sometimes I feel a bit silly doing these things but it's just totally worth doing, especially if you're like me and you feel guilty for not going to the gym. 

Hope this helps some of you and maybe gives a little inspiration?!

P.S: Here's what the last blogpost's outfit looked like...

Love C. 

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Fitness| Yoga app

As you may or may not have seen recently, I have been really trying to get into fitness and keep motivated. More often than not, I seem to be working out from home- which has turned out to be great, and I seem to have stuck to this better than going to the gym 4 days a week.

Today I wanted to share with you an app that I have been loving recently, an app for Yoga. Yoga is meant to strengthen the body and mind, whilst also focussing on breathing and flexibility. There is even some evidence to suggest that Yoga can help with high blood pressure, heart disease, aches or problems with lower back pain and can even help with depression and stress.

I've been finding this app great as it not only talks you through the positions but you can even go through the catelogue of positions if you get stuck. From using this app for the past week and a half I can already see improvements in my flexibility and mental wellbeing.

I have found that as a new starter to Yoga this is perfect because they have beginners videos to follow, and then once you feel ready you can progress onto the more advanced videos. They also 

have expert videos for those of you who are more familiar with Yoga and would like more of a challenge. No only this but if you need to organise what class you want to do and when, there is a calendar to keep you on track with your class schedule. 

This app is for iPhones, iPads and iPad mini's only and costs around £2.99. However, I am never one to spend money on an app- this is the first time and I must admit it does seem worth it so far in my opinion. Mainly because I don't have to pay £5 a session to go to Yoga, I can do it when I want and where I want. Simple!

For those of you who haven't tried Yoga, it is hard but so worth doing. I would highly recommend trying it, even if it isn't with this app.

To preview the app click here

Let me know how you feel about Yoga and if you would consider this app?

Love Claudia xxx

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Fitness| Top tips to keeping motivated

Hey ya'll!

I hope you are well?

I wanted to keep this brief and let you in on some of my tips that I do to stay on a 'healthy' lifestyle routine, and how I keep motivated for working out. These are just my thoughts that I think help me keep motivated.

I must stress the importance of having a convenient place to workout. Finding a gym or outdoor space that is easy to access, for example being close to where you live or work, easy parking and or walking distance (or running if you're super motivated). Or alternatively, try and make space for you to workout at home, put any obstacles to one side and push the coffee table to the corner of the room and suddenly you have a workout space- yes, it may not be a large space but some workouts don't need space.

Working out, doing the same thing over and over can get boring, that is why sometimes you're thinking- 'why am I doing this?'
Do what you enjoy doing, if you don't like running, don't run! Simple! Do the things you find fun and you'll find working out ...well..sometimes you won't think it's a workout.
An example would be dancing. If you like dance- even if you think you're rubbish, I can safely say that doing dance in my lounge, following a Youtube video is so fun and when I finish I don't even realise I've worked out- It's great!

In addition to this you can grab a friend and experiment with Yoga or similar. I find that if you're working out with a friend, it can draw the attention away from the dreaded exercise and can make it just fun!

Excuse my big butt, but this was so fun (I've wanted to headstand for ages and now I can thanks to Carly)

Have a reward meal once a week, you don't have to be healthy all the time, especially when you've been working hard. Reward yourself and keep positive by creating a fitness environment. I like to go on Instagram for inspiration. On there I can find clips of routines to do and even motivational body pictures.

Lastly, try to ease yourself into it. It can be quite terrifying thinking 'I've got to workout at least 4 days this week', try and start off with two days and build a routine. Once you've got a routine going you can up it from there. If you fail to go one day or have a bad day of eating and feel bad, DELETE that guilt! We all give in to a bit of temptation here and there- just get back on the band wagon and think about what you've already done for a healthy lifestyle.

Do you have any fitness tips to share with me?

Love Claudia xx

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New Year, New You?| Welcoming 2015

Happy New Year!

I hope you have all rested well over the festive season and been surrounded by your loved ones.

As we all know its the time of the year where we all set goals for ourselves to stop bad habits, be healthier, be kinder, be more confident etc etc..... to basically try and better ourselves either in little ways or big.

The trouble is, is that most of us will be in the chocolate cupboard within a week and the gym membership will be cancelled by February. Is it really worth trying to go on a fad diet to just give up a few months down the line? The reality is that we are HUMAN! We can make mistakes. If you fall off the band wagon.. get up..brush yourself down- put two fingers up to the people who laugh at you and carry on where you set off.
What I'm trying to say is you're allowed a burger or chocolate bar every now and again! Just remember how far you've come and make it a lifestyle choice, not a 'diet'.
My resolution this year will be to a) put me first, because you can only make others happy if you are happy in yourself and b) to choose to have a healthier lifestyle, make it a routine instead of an 'effort' that lasts all of three months.
To me it will be about being realistic, if I want to do some baking- that's fine! I'll just make a 'better for you' version. I'll try and eat less but more often throughout the day and if I'm hungry try and fill up on protein rather than carbs. Little steps, but sometimes you need to walk before you run.

Which leads me to exercise- which is all part of a healthy lifestyle. I used to hate, hate, hate with a passion, exercising. Not because of the actual exercise, I actually enjoy sport, but because of the way it made me look. It isn't because I'm vein, it was to do with what other people thought of me. When I went for a run, I would be totally out of breath, bright red, sweaty and wanting to stop after 5 minutes. I would be constantly thinking about people looking at me, wondering if they were thinking how unfit I was, how disgusting I looked and I just felt so embarrassed.
BUT everyone has to start somewhere. I decided to start putting myself first, persevere, and I'm slowly starting to be able to run longer.. I still feel embarrassed and totally aware of myself when I workout but I just keep reminding myself that this is the whole reason I workout- and if I'm looking like this then it just shows I'm working hard.

So what I guess I'm saying is try and make a new years resolution that you will stick to and if you really want it to happen, you can make it happen.

Let me know what your realistic resolutions are? Are you going to put yourself first?

Love you all and lets hope this new year brings happiness to us all.
Love Claudia xx

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