Be Healthy, Be Happy

I started this post moaning about Scotland and the amount of bad food you can find here. But then I decided to delete it as those are only excuses. It is me deciding if I want to cook something for dinner or be lazy and go to a Chinese/fish&chips/Indian...

My eating habits have changed so much since I arrived here, partly because unhealthy food is so easy and affordable. The problem is that for the last months I have noticed some changes that I don´t like, but I have also be trying to lose 5 - 6 kilos but don´t seem to be able to do it.

First of all, I am not fat. I am around 167cm (5.4 feet) tall and weight 56 kilos (8.8 stones) and I am a size 6 or 8. So you might be thinking what the problem is. Well, when I look in the mirror I don´t like what I see. I also don´t like not fitting in clothes from a couple of years ago. It really brings me down.

This is me before moving to Scotland

I have decided I have more than enough of feeling sorry for myself, or blaming things that are not to blame. We all have choices, and we can make the right ones or the wrong ones, and unless the options are very dramatic, the good news is that we learn from the wrong and start making the right.

And that is exactly what I will do. I will make the right choices. I have all my gear to go running or to use the bike at home, I can also go to the swimming pool a couple of times a week. I want to start seeing a toned body, lose that volume that I know is there, feel healthier and look healthier.

Maybe you guys know this site already, it is called Tone It Up and I think it is great! The videos are fantastic and the motivation these girls give to their followers is invaluable. Plus there is the option to register for the community for free! I started following them just after Christmas and could see results really quickly. Then I went on holidays and it all went downhill...

I will start doing those videos again. I would like to also follow their diet plan but I think 100 pounds for a diet plan is a bit too much, so I rather create my own. I will start posting here what I eat during the week and the results I am achieving. 

My first day, starting slowly but starting!

And this is how I look now. I will keep posting photos to see the difference!

Have any of you been trying to lose weight? What advise would you give others? Any recommendations for websites?

Thank you for reading!

Let´s Do It Friday: Run 5K

I have never run before, just in high school and every single time I struggled to run for more than 50 metres. But in January I decided I would like to try and run for 5k. So I downloaded an app called c25k and started following the instructions.

It is very easy, on the first day you run for 1 minute, and walk for 1.5 minutes, and like that for several times. Day by day the amount of running time increases, but only by 30 seconds or one minute. In eight weeks you are supposed to be able to run for 5k.

I was doing pretty well, but at some point I couldn´t manage to run for the amount of time the app indicated, so I kept doing the same time for some days. I think between that, the really bad weather, and a week off on holidays made me stop going for runs.

But now I want to start again, because when I was going running I was feeling great. There is something about getting home and feeling tired after a workout, that makes you feel good with yourself. And when I stopped I lost that feeling. Apart from that I was able to see some definition on my legs, and last week I realised that was gone too.

Although for me the most important part was to set a challenge and complete it. Seeing how week by week I could run longer and longer was a great feeling, a feeling of achievement. That is why I am so annoyed at myself and why I want to be able to run for 5k.

So here is the deal, do you want to start with me, as from Monday, and start training for 5k? It would be a great way to support each other, check in what we are doing and for how long we are running. We can keep each other motivated and by mid June run for 5k, no excuses! What do you say? Do you want to join me?

You can download the app I mentioned earlier, if you like. The good thing about this app is that it is free, you can select the day you are on and they will tell you exactly how long to run and walk for. Also the phone vibrates when you finish the walking or running time, which is great so you don´t have to keep checking the phone!

I hope you join me on this!