Weight loss happens in the kitchen !

Are you someone who works out regularly, at least three times a week, is aware of how to keep a healthy balanced diet, yet cannot seem to shift those last few pounds? No matter how hard you work in the gym, or out on the road, in the pool etc., the scales is just not moving? It can be so exasperating and can test the strongest of us !

I could hazard a guess, there is a good chance that why the scales is not moving is due to diet. A lot of us fall into the trap of thinking that  just because you exercise regularly, you can eat more, and can have more treats. You might come back from the gym and, after your shower, head straight for the kitchen looking for a little reward after your hard work.

Head for the kitchen yes, but do not reach for a calorific treat. Instead, have a snack of protein to help repair muscle.

Did you know that just by eating an extra 100 calories a day, can lead to gaining 11 lbs in a year !

On the flip of this, by making small changes in your diet, can result in big differences over a year.
So, starting in the morning, why not make some small changes in your diet?

E.g. Reduce your portion of porridge or cereal, start weighing out your portions, aim for 40g of dry porridge oats max.
Or, start your day with protein to keep you full.
Avoid sugary cereal, and resist that slice of white toast, remember, this will not fill you and will only leave you wanting more. Eat to fuel your body and not for immediate satisfaction!

Also, do not be tempted to have a spoon of your kids breakfast ! (This is one I struggle with, it can be so hard to resist a spoon or two of crispies when you are hungry!!


Yes, working out does burn calories, however, probably not enough to offset that chocolate bar, or even that extra spoon of pasta, rice, butternut squash etc. (Yes, even veggies have calories I am afraid, root veggies having more than celery, cabbage etc.)

80% of weight loss is down to diet, so, if you want to shed a few lbs before summer arrives, prepare to work hard both in, and out of the kitchen!  

Watch out for my next blog where I give the recipe for a really healthy, yummy pizza :)

Happy Mothers Day!

For all you mammies out there, have a lovely mothers day tomorrow! And if you are not a mammy, have a lovely day anyway :)

So, am I going to say have a lovely day but don't have any cake or chocolate? No, I won't say that, where is the fun in that?
However, what I will say is, have your treat tomorrow, but make sure to get some exercise in also. The weather forecast is looking good for the coming days, so make the most of it.

As long as you have balance in your life, you will be ok. When the your life goes off balance is when you have to stop, and rebalance again.
This can swing both ways actually. Too much of a good thing can be bad for you. Obviously this relates to junk food, processed food, alcohol etc., however, it can also relate to exercise and obsessing over healthy eating.

There is so much pressure everywhere now, every magazine has images of "perfect" bodies with toned tums, arms and legs. Social media is full of images of six packs, pert bums, defined arms etc., it is very easy to start feeling bad about yourself if you feel you do not match up to these images. This is when your quest for a fit and healthy body could end up in an obsession. Some people are addicted to exercise and healthy eating, but in a bad way. And do you know what, sometimes it can be difficult to see the difference between obsession, and just being healthy.

For me, I have to exercise every day, if I do not get my exercise in, I do not feel right. I feel something is missing from my day. However, if for some reason I do not get out for a run, get to gym etc, I don't beat myself up over it. I just look forward to getting back to it the next time I can.

Is that obsession ? Some might say it is, I would say not. Obsession for me is when you think about something nearly all the time, and it starts to control your life. You might start neglecting other parts of your life just to get your "fix" in. You might turn bad tempered if you cannot feed your obsession. etc.etc.

If you feel like this over something, including exercise, then address it today.  

Also, I do eat healthy 95% of the time. Do I have an occasional treat? Yes I sure do! Do I feel guilty afterwards? Honestly, sometimes I do. And that is just being honest. However sometimes I have a treat and enjoy it, and do not feel guilty. I guess it depends on the frame of mind on the day.


Anyway, back to the images of perfection we see in magazines and online. You know what, a lot of these images are photoshopped, the girls are full of tan, make and hair professionally done, have been styled professionally etc.

If this is not the case, if the people you see have genuine six packs etc, it takes a HUGE amount of discipline and hard graft. You have to sacrifice A LOT and prepare to be very cranky sometimes when you are craving that piece of toast that you cannot have.
Your family and friends will have to understand and support you, and be there for you when you get down over how long it is taking to achieve that physique you are striving for.

So, unless you are willing to make these sacrifices, can you please love your body the way it is. Sure, watch your diet, avoid processed foods and junk, exercise as often as you can, preferably 5 times a week, drink lots of water, and stay healthy. But, once you do your best, then that is good enough for me!

So, tomorrow, have a little treat, enjoy it, but just make sure that it is only a treat and it does not become a habit!

Targets revisited...

Hey all, remember 14 days ago I asked you to set a target for 14 days? How did you get on? Did you stick to it?
I'll tell you how I got on...
I had set two targets, one to write a blog every day for 14 days and the other to drink 2 to 3 litres of water every day.
I did stick to my target of writing a blog every day for 14 days. However, I failed to hit my target of drinking all my water.
Why did I fail? I guess I just forgot. I did drink water when I remembered but that wasn't 2 to 3 litres every day. I wasn't focused enough maybe, and I let my busy life hamper my efforts!
So, what do I do now? I will tell you what, I will reset my target and try to remember for the next 14 days again!
That is the important thing about targets. Do your best to meet them, and  if you don't meet them, don't be discouraged and give up, just  try harder the next time!

If you do not reach a target, that should give you even more determination to reach it after setting it again!

So, if you reached your target, well done! If you didn't, don't be annoyed, just reset it and try harder the next time!

Remember, successful people do not reach their goals with no bumps along the way. It is like the Ballycotton 10 mile race, (or any race). Lots of twists and turns, up hills and down hills, a struggle at the end, and then a fabulous result when you cross the finish line!

Good luck.

Positivity, Consistency, persistence, patience and time !

So, how are we all doing ? I am feeling great, started c25k last night, I enjoyed it, I hope everyone else did ! In 8 weeks time, provided everyone puts in the hard work, we will be running 5k together.

For anyone starting something new, exercise or otherwise, it is daunting. You might question why are you doing it, will you be able for it, what happens if you can't do it, what happens if you are the slowest, most unfit , etc etc etc... The one thing all of these thoughts have in common are that they are all negative ! You are almost setting yourself up for failure even before you start.

If you are one of those people who tries to talk yourself out of something even before you brgin, then please try to not hamper your efforts by being negative !

It is hard enough to get into a regular exercise routine, with life throwing challenges at you all the time, then it is going to be even more difficult if you are thinking negative thoughts !
So, instead of saying "what if", or "I can't", tell yourself "I can do this and I will!".

The visualisation method is something that is spoken about regularly. This involves picturing yourself being the person you want to become. If you want to start running, imagine yourself crossing the finish line of your first 5k, if you want to lose weight, then have a picture in your mind of you being slim and trim. Then, when you are tempted to miss a training session, or tempted to binge on cake and biscuits, bring up the picture of the slim and trim you in your head. You won't be long about dropping the biscuits !

Once you are being positive, and can visualise the end result, it makes the job in hand a little easier ! I am sure Padraig Harrington yesterday didn't tell himself that he won't win the golf ! He stayed positive, and focused, and got one million Dollars as a result ! If we had that carrot of a million dangling in front of us, I'm sure we would be focused too !!

After being positive, it is all about consistency, determination and patience to get to your goals. The harder the goal to achieve, the greater the satisfaction once you reach your goal !

So keep plugging away at whatever your goal is, keep focused, work hard, stay disciplined. And don't ever compare yourself to anyone else ! Everyone achieves their goals in different time frames, genetics play a role here I believe !

It may take a long time to reach your goal, it may take months or even years, therefore you have got to have patience, and whatever you do, do not give up! Never lose focus, and if you do lose focus for a little while, don't worry ! Just refocus and start again. It is a marathon to reach your goals, not a sprint !!

Are your energy levels ok?

Hello all ! Today, I want to talk about energy levels. Do you hop out of bed in the morning and keep going with gusto all day until bed time? Or, do you drag yourself out of bed in the morning and take about an hour to wake up? You are fine until after lunch when, around 3pm you start to feel tired again..? If the latter is you, I would hazard a guess that you have sugar and white carbs in your diet? Am I right? These really mess with your blood sugar levels, causing highs and lows in energy. When you get energy dips, you then crave sugar to give you a quick pick me up. And yes, the sugar does give you a quick fix, but this is short lived until you start to feel tired again and crave more sugar.

Your diet largely determines the amount of energy you have during the day, given that you have had a good nights sleep. So, get rid of as much junk as possible out of your diet, drink lots of water, start your day with warm water and lemon, and help get your energy levels back on an even keel.

Now I will look at sleep. Do you get 7-8 good hours of sleep a night? If not, why? If you have children interrupting your sleep, then this is out if your control. However, if the reason for your lack of sleep is within your control, then try and change it.
If you have trouble falling asleep at night, there are things you can try doing to get to sleep quicker, examples are:

Listen to relaxing music before bed.
Don't watch tv, computer, smartphone, iPad, or otherwise 30 minutes before bedtime.
Avoid caffeine after 6pm.
Try and get some daily exercise.
Meditation.
Try having a herbal tea, or cup of warm milk before bed.
Keep your bedroom nice and cosy, if you are cold, you will not have a good nights sleep.
Make sure you never go to bed hungry. This isn't an excuse to fill up on junk or cereal at night, if you are feeling peckish, have some protein.

It is so important to get a good rest at night. When I am tired I tend to crave sugar more the following day, looking for a quick fix of energy. Also, if you are tired, you will find it harder to motivate yourself to exercise.
Tiredness results in you being more quick tempered, often taking your quick temper out on your kids or close family/work colleagues.
Tiredness also results in you being more forgetful and scattered ! A lot of us get baby brain after having a baby, I think it's just down to us being over tired.

Also, remember, it is when you are resting that your muscles are recovering and repairing after exercise, resulting in stronger and more efficient muscles.

So, in a nutshell, try and get more sleep !

It's March already ...!! Eeeekkk, time to get moving !

Hello everyone and happy Sunday!

Tomorrow is an exciting day in my fitness world, I have Spinning class in the morning which I love instructing, it really sets me up for the day!

Also, tomorrow is the first day of my teaching people how to run, following the C25K programme. I am excited about this as I love running and I love to see people who do not currently run, also catch the running bug! There is nothing like a good run to de -stress and blow the cobwebs away! If you go out with a frown you will definitely come back with a smile ! You also burn lots and lots of calories in the process :) It really helps keep your weight under control.

Here are more great things about running:

Running makes your heart stronger and more efficient, remember, your heart is a muscle which also needs to be worked, along with all your other muscles! It's a great way to get fit!

It also improves your lung capacity.

Running, like all weight bearing exercises, strengthens your bones.

It also reduces the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, some cancers, etc.

You will have more energy during the day, and sleep better at night.

Being active and a healthy diet go hand in hand. Did you ever notice if you are exercising regularly, you tend to eat better?

Running is great as you can do it anywhere, anytime, for free ! All you need is a good pair of running shoes and some workout gear.

So, if you haven't already gotten the running bug, maybe you might think about giving running a try and see how you get on !