5 Ways to Motivate Yourself to Exercise

Now that we're coming up to winter, the days are getting shorter and shorter and a little bit nippier, for many of us, definitely myself included, it can be so hard to keep up the fitness motivation we had in summer. Especially now that we can snuggle up in big jumpers and not have to prance around in bikinis (unless you're jetting off somewhere hot for a winter break, in which case I'm very jealous). But one of my favourite sayings when it comes to fitness is: 'Summer bodies are made in the winter'. So here are a few of my little tips to hopefully keep you going even when you really don't want to...

1. Make a new playlist

There's no worse feeling than getting to the gym and realising you forgot your headphones, am I riiight?? It's just so much easier to workout harder or run further while listening to your favourite tunes. Making a really fun and upbeat playlist always gets me excited to have an excuse to listen to it while I work out.

2. Treat yourself to some new kit

I don't mean you have to splash out on a full blown Nike outfit + trainers (unless you really want to). It could be just getting yourself a new pretty sports bra or water bottle. Get something that will make you want to get in the gym or get out on your run just to show it off. It's just like when you were little getting all your new stationary for school, this was literally so exciting to me so I couldn't wait to get back to school to use it. I get the same feeling with gym kit now - is that just me or...?

My favourite places to buy workout clothes are Nike and Victoria's Secret Sport, but H&M and Forever21 also have really nice stuff for a much lower price.

My favourite Nike leggings - they're so comfy, I'm obsessed

3. Mix it up

If you can, try to change up your workouts to keep them interesting. Running everyday can get really boring so try switching it up with a pilates class, weight training or spinning etc. If you're an outdoorsy workout kind of person (very brave in the winter but I salute you) you could mix up running with bike rides or outdoor bootcamps - just google them, they're everywhere.

4. Use fitness apps

My absolute favourite workout app at the moment is Nike Training Club. It's sooo good! You can choose workouts based on their length, the equipment you need (there are loads of no equipment ones that you can do right in your living room), or what you want to work on (i.e, endurance, strength etc). And there are fit Nike people guiding you through the movements - what more could you want?! I also love Kayla Itsines' BBG programme. I haven't used her app but judging by the guide I'm sure it's really good too. 

For running, having an app is always great for tracking your progress and staying motivated. Try the Nike running app, Runkeeper or FitBit. 

5. Focus on how you feel rather than how you look

If we exercise purely to improve our appearance it's easy to lose motivation. Often we expect to see immediate results and this just doesn't happen. Physical changes happen gradually, and although long-term regular exercise will definitely result in aesthetic improvement, it is way better to focus on how exercising makes you feel in order to sustain it. Going on a long run immediately makes me feel relaxed, healthy and good about myself. So try to concentrate on these instant positive results, (e.g mental clarity, positivity, feelings of health) rather than beating yourself up about not having a Victoria's Secret model body after a couple of weeks of workouts.

All in all, exercise should be something enjoyable. If you prefer to play tennis with a friend rather than hit the treadmill then that's great! I just try to do whatever exercise I feel like doing that day and try to think of it as a chance to destress and enjoy myself. Definitely take some rest days too and always stretch!

Half Marathon Round 2

(Yeah...I don't know why I am doing this either)

It's true, you are not losing your marbles, I have signed up for another Half Marathon but this time....in MADRID!

So before I start documenting my training progress, something I know you are all DYING to hear about in great detail, I wanted to talk a little about my last attempt at the half marathon and what I learnt from it.

9 months ago, in February, I ran my first ever half marathon - The Hampton Court Half Marathon. I signed up with my sisters and was excited (*completely and utterly pooing my pants) to see how I would do.

I started running long distance about 5 years ago when I joined the cross country club in a desperate plea to never have to play netball again. (Yes, I am a middle class, basic, white girl how ever did you guess!?) I really enjoyed the racing but these rarely surpassed 10km and that was basically the longest distance I had ever run in my life, so the idea of running over double that (21km) was, to say the least, beyond terrifying and the stuff of nightmares.

SO, it began. I signed myself up to an app which sets out a training program, complete with weekly running schedule and a pace guideline for each run. I decided I was aiming for under 2 hours (shall we all just linger on that for a sec... '2 hours' of actual real life, no cheating or stopping for snacks, running!)

The plan that was created for me based on my aims and running history set out a meticulous plan for success, weekly running schedule with a specific pace guideline for each run. The idea is if you follow this plan, you will be ready and raring to go when race day rolls around... Seems simple doesn't it?

Side note: It's RUSS

                                               


HA.

Here is where I made my fatal mistake....

I thought I was better than the plan. I am telling you now, YOU ARE NOT BETTER THAN THE PLAN.

The reason I so foolishly thought this was because the plan starts you out running at a very slow and gentle pace, and for pretty short distances - aka 6.45 min/km for 5km - and for someone who usually runs 5 km in 30 minutes this felt pretty slow. (I'll let you all take a minute to do the maths there...and to take in how arrogant that last paragraph sounded... sorry not sorry)

Let me explain myself.

At this point in time, I was running about 3 times a week at around 5 min/km for anywhere between 5-8 km each time. BUT, this is me trying to run this distances as fast as I can and really really pushing myself hard, partly because it is good for you and also because it means you can go home and eat sooner. On a serious note, it is good to push yourself and find your limits. In fact every time you workout you should be in some way pushing yourself out of your comfort zone, otherwise how do you expect to improve? However, when you get to 8km feeling like your going to die the last thing your body wants to do is carry on for 13 more km.

Pacing yourself is KEY.

So basically, by December I had thrown caution to the wind and was running like a mad hooligan for about 12-16 km 3 times a week as fast as I could each time. It felt good, I was Mo Farah, I was the Brownlee brothers' long lost sister and then suddenly I was...in a huge amount of pain. Yeah, running at that intensity consistently had taken its toll. My knees hurt, my body in general felt tired and all of a sudden I didn't bounce out of bed to find my trainers but instead I felt a feeling of my dread in my stomach when I knew I had to go for a run.

Not only did this lead to aches and pains that made running those longer distances more difficult, but it also changed my mindset drastically about running. Suddenly it wasn't so fun anymore and I lost sight of why I fell in love in the first place, it sets my mind free but now I just felt trapped...

...Yeah I am completely melodramatic but this is how I felt at the time, so cuff me.

Despite this set back I kept on trying to run as much as I could and stay positive, but being completely honest I was really scared.

RACE DAY! So, the moment of truth finally came around and I was just hoping that I could make it round the course and maybe even try and get my aim of under 2 hours. AND I DID IT! I finished the race in 1.50hrs on the dot.

I don't want to scare anyone who is embarking on their first half marathon, but... BE PREPARED. Having already lost my dignity at around mile 8 after having to wee in a bush that was so clearly not hiding my modesty, whilst an american lady cheered me on (thanks babes) things could only get better right? The last 3 miles of that race were, for lack of a better word, heinous. My feet were killing me, my knees felt like they were made of barbed wire and my brain was willing me to stop. I had to really try to stop myself from crying and remind myself that 'You're so nearly there, you're so nearly there...when the hell am I gonna be THERE!?'

Despite this, seeing the finish line and my family at the end honestly made the entire thing worth it. I felt elated, proud of myself and my 2 sisters who did it with me, and also SO TIRED. I was dead, but happy... now we could go and eat!

So there you have it, a little (actually really long, congrats if you made it to the end) account of my first half marathon...which I now see makes it sound like something really really horrid and not very fun at all but that's actually not the case. This blog is about what I learnt, and for me I usually learn more from my mistakes (hence the slightly negative slant on this post). But clearly it wasn't that bad, because I have another one coming up in 4 months...Wish me luck!

I was vegan for 2 weeks: Here’s what I learnt...

  In my life I have always been a meat-lover, controversial as that may be to say out loud in this day and age it is true, I crave meat and I enjoy it a lot (gasp). That being said, I have been extremely lucky in that my mum only buys and cooks really amazing organic meat and fish from our local butchers (Check out these guys http://www.lewismeat.com/). Once I left for university and started buying my own food, I realised that cheaper, non-organic, supermarket meat doesn’t taste (or even look) the same. This revelation left me eating a lot more plant based meals, much to the delight of my vegan sister whose ethics and commitment I respect a hell of a lot. 

      So when my boyfriend turned to me as I was cooking and said, I bet you couldn’t be vegan for one week, I turned back and said ‘what about 2?’ (Another lesson about me: I’m quite competitive…okay I’m very competitive). And so it began, the first time in my life that I would go two weeks without any dairy or meat product in my diet – and I want to share the journey I had with you. 

        At first, living vegan life seemed pretty simple. My breakfast on most work days consists of porridge made with almond milk, topped with banana, cinnamon and honey (Vegan meal 1, check). 

Making your food instagrammable is all part of the vegan lifestyle 

           So I was off to a flying start!

      

           Then it dawned on me…my coffee.

  Coffee is one of my most favourite things on this earth; a good coffee can completely turn a bad day around and is the perfect pick me up when I am feeling a bit low. For me, coffee = happy.  And let’s be totally honest here, an Americano just isn’t going to cut it. 

     My mum is a big fan of soy milk (Forgot to mention: my mum is also a vegan… I know, my family is so modern) however, I have just never found it tastes the same, it’s too sweet and it leaves an odd taste in my mouth.

    Honestly, oat milk is the bees’ knees. It isn’t too sweet and it actually lacks much flavour, (bear with me here), which is good because it doesn’t affect the taste of the coffee which I find soya and almond do. Oat milk coffees are officially top of my list, when I had my first cappuccino with cow’s milk it just had this taste that I hadn’t really tasted before, an almost fatty taste so I am sticking with the oat milk! Trust me, it’s the way forward. (Try Alpro’s version, it’s the bomb)

    So now that I had my coffee I was feeling good about this new venture… maybe there was no going back! (Spoiler alert: I did go back)

      

    Anyway, lunch wasn’t so hard either; I get my lunches from a salad bar near work that caters pretty well to the vegans of this world. My lunches over these 2 weeks consisted of soup and salads, which works for me because this is what I like to eat. I did find that I needed to add a bit more substance into these lunches or they didn’t fill me up, eg: butternut squash, quinoa, chickpeas, avocado etc just to up the calories and to keep me going through the afternoon. One amazing thing I noticed after only a few days of veganism, was how light I felt. After lunch there was no bloated tummy, and I felt so much more energetic in the afternoon instead of feeling dozy and sloth like. However, I did find I was starving by the time I got home at 6.30pm and was in need of a substantial snack such as hummus and avocado on toast or a lot of fruit and nuts... or as my flatmate calls it 'rabbit food'.

      

    In terms of exercise, I didn’t feel much different in the gym except for the fact that having lost a little weight I felt a bit leaner in my gym clothes, but energy wise I couldn’t tell much of a difference.

      By the end of week one I was feeling chuffed, if a little smug, that I was on a roll with my vegan life AND that my usually quite tight denim skirt was feeling very loose – one good thing about not being able to eat dairy is not being able to eat biscuits, cakes and chocolate which turned out to be v good for my waistline

    However, there were some things that were starting to get me down about veganism...

        1)  EGGS. Holy guacamole did I not realise how much I love eggs before not being allowed them. Scrambled eggs and avocado on a Saturday morning is what I get through the week for, and without them there was a definite hole in my life. In addition to this sadness, I found that I was replacing eggs (a good source of protein and vitamins B and D) with heaps of granola and PBJ toast to make up for it…not so nutritious, so maybe eggs are something that I can keep in my diet in moderation.

     2) EATING OUT. Side note: I live in Spain, and with 2 boys – a combination that does not fare well for the wannabe vegan. On my first weekend of being vegan we had 2 friends come to visit, and we took them to our favourite sushi place…cue the grumpiest person to ever go to a sushi restaurant ever in the world…aka me. I cannot describe pain like what I felt watching the rest of the table dig in to my favourite spicy tuna maki rolls, honestly so devastating! 

     However, the tofu pad thai was actually really nice and once my hanger subsided I recovered (I know, my life is really hard.) 

      3) YELLOW FOOD. Stay with me. Confession, I love bread and crisps, probably more than a person should admit… it’s a daily struggle. BUT I am usually pretty good at trying to avoid these as I know they should be eaten only in moderation amongst other, more nutritious, things. However, for some reason the fact that these items are vegan friendly made me more inclined to choose them for a snack, don’t ask me why… I just feel like they were an easy option when in need of a quick bite and due to the fact that they are vegan my mind set changed (Basically I ate more original Walkers crisps and Pringles than I care to admit)

  

    At the end of my 2 weeks I felt proud of myself, the knowledge that I can have the self-control to complete this challenge was satisfying and it was an interesting journey. However, my conclusion on vegan life is that no, it isn’t for everyone BUT I do believe that everyone could forgo a lot of the meat and dairy products that we eat and implement a more plant-based diet. I realised that I don’t need meat or dairy to feel full and satisfied, and I also realised that by eating vegan just a few days a week I could make a difference to the environmental effects that the meat/dairy industry has on our planet. From now on I won’t be eating meat every day, and I have found my new love for oat coffee, something I never would have found if I hadn’t been inspired by my sister to do this.

An Afternoon in Amsterdam

On our way back from our two week trip around India, my boyfriend and I were lucky enough to have a seven hour stop over in Amsterdam! I've been wanting to go for a while now so it was a nice surprise to realise we had time to go and explore the beautiful city, despite one of the airport staff saying we wouldn't have time.. (not like we had seven hours to kill or anything..).

We had breakfast at this beautiful little café called Pluk! 

I had a HUGE açai bowl, it was seriously the best smoothie bowl I've everrr had and it filled me right up!

We looooved Amsterdam and can't wait to go back for a longer visit... (hint hint Tom!)