Hi angels, welcome back.
I know I know, the whole ‘new year, fitter me’ can be annoying and daunting to some people. It was for me last year. I knew I wanted to be healthier in 2019 but it just simply didn’t happen for me. I know I’m not alone though, getting this whole fitness routine to become a normal weekly or daily task is hard, but it’s finally showing some small results so far.
I’ll take you back to 2 years ago. I wasn’t in a good head space at all, I ended up not liking how I looked and felt just rubbish 24/7. I also didn’t eat well, as in I would just eat chocolate, crisps and lots of unhealthy snacks. For 2019 I wanted to truly get fitter and to begin with I was feeling great, but towards the summer I ended up not eating well and then not liking how I looked in dresses, swimwear and all sorts. Just wasn’t feeling myself. Taking you all to the end of last year and in all honesty, the way I was eating wasn’t right. I would have a packet of Oreos for work and would have a share bag of crisps and chocolate to munch on throughout the day. It was good at the time for keeping me awake but in the long run, I would end up wanting to sleep for ages. Felt very lethargic and tired when eating those kinds of foods all the time.
I absolutely loooove Oreos, sweet stuff and hot chocolates etc, but I realised it wasn’t keeping me awake for long, I would easily lose concentration on tasks and it wasn’t doing my body any favours. I’ll forever eat these foods of course, but I needed to get a routine into my everyday lifestyle.
So for 2020 that was it, I knew what I had to do and I’ve stuck to it so far. Yes the occasional choccy bar has slipped into my lunchbox once or twice, but I’m feeling incredibly proud of myself. I’m sooo wide awake with my uni tasks, I feel more energised and wanting to eat more healthily which is what my mind and body needed.
My goal for 2020 is to tone up my body and to just feel good in myself. I don’t have a ‘goal weight’ or anything like that, I want to be able to look in the mirror and wear clothes I wanna wear and then feel good on the inside and outside. That’s my goal.
So, as a routine I’m eating either some fruit for breakfast or scrambled eggs. I’ve been enjoying this as both of these foods (groups) do fill me up, so I don’t need to snack before lunch.
For lunch I’ve been having mostly salads, which are sooo yummy. For the WHOLE of my life, I’m not even joking here ok, I’ve hated lettuce / salads. They have never been my thing. Now I’m making my own, I honestly find them so tasty. I’m currently on the ‘keto-diet’, which consists of your meals mostly being ‘fats’ instead of ‘carbohydrates’. In the week I’d say I’m doing it for 6 days as a whole, then probably one day a week I’ll munch on something else as I’m a sucker for pasta.
An alternative lunch for me is also soup, so if I’m sick of salads, I’ll have soup. It keeps me full and on colder days I really love it, warm and lush.
Then i’ll have dinner, which so far has consisted of one meat item and then a tonnnne of veg. Lots and lots of vegetables. Veg is brilliant for me as I really do love it. During the past 2 years, I really did forget how much I enjoy vegetables so it’s been good to incorporate them into my meals.
Then I might have a snack later on after dinner, or a cuppa tea. It’s a balancing process for me that I’m really trying to do this year and I’m 100% carrying it on as a lifestyle. I’m enjoying prepping my meals and making them fun again. I never understood when people told me ‘everything in moderation’, as I really loved sugary snacks wayyyy too much. But I won’t look back now, I definitely will follow the ‘everything in moderation’ and just eat whatever I’m feeling for that day also. If I want a chocolate bar, I’ll have one, but not to the silly extent of what I actually was.
I think my problem last year was that I got bored a lot, mostly doing uni work & this impacted my health. I began to eat when I was bored & I KNEW I WAS DOING THIS, but just didn’t have the motivation to stop. So since the start of 2020, I’m really making a difference for myself, as I feel so much more motivated to do uni work now that I’m more awake and willing to get started.
I’m not a ‘foodie’ either, I’ve never massively enjoyed trying new foods or anything so I tend to be quite boring in this part, but I’m going to try and change it up most weeks and include new produce in my salads & meals.
For fitness, I’ve struggled for some years now. I used to dance my whole life and after sixth form, I stopped. It was the first time that I wasn’t doing regular exercise and since uni, my fitness has plummeted ie I’m not strong or toned.
This is something I wanted to add onto the lifestyle change. I’ve been doing home fitness for a couple weeks now and incredibly, I’m feeling good. I wouldn’t say I can ‘see results’, but in terms of pain and sweat, the sweat comes naturally with doing exercise which is great, but the pain has gradually gone, meaning I’m getting used to working out again!
I’m following a few people on YouTube / Instagram and I’m just doing their daily home workouts which are super! Following fitness youtubers / influencers / gurus really does help me personally because I can literally mimic their moves whilst exercising. I was definitely one of those who wanted to go to the gym with someone else, as I felt like I had no clue what I was doing, but people like Leah Delahunt, Pamela Reif and Chloe Ting are amazing at what they do and I can mimic their moves. Leah is also creating a YouTube Channel soon so stay tuned as I’ll be following her steps for sure.
- Instagram: @leahdelahunt_
- YouTube: @pamelareif
- YouTube: @chloeting
https://instagram.com/leahdelahunt_?igshid=ymavke7v91lj
https://www.youtube.com/user/PamelaRf1
https://www.youtube.com/user/ChloesAddiction
I’m not ‘fit’ or ‘healthy’ yet and I know that, but I definitely feel it’s a lifestyle change for me and I’m actually looking forward to my meals and the day now, which is something I’ve never said before. I hope to improve my fitness and show you all in a couple months time an update of my health & shape. My aim is to tone up and feel better in my mind, soul and body. Last year was not my year for this, so I’m pushing myself and proving that I can. In addition, I’m not doing this for anyone else, I’m purely doing it for me as I want my mind and body to love what’s going into it and I’m enjoying it so far.
I’m not a fitness person whatsoever, so it’s going to be hard, but I’m trying and I’m feeling very motivated and want to prove to myself that I actually can achieve this for 2020. Let’s do this.
Love, Sophie Eleanor x
itssophie.com 