I have been feeling a little bit deflated about myself recently, as I feel like I somehow managed to gain weight all at once. Whenever I put on a few pounds it never goes to anywhere but to my stomach area for some reason, which is the area which most bothers me. I know all girls have body hangups and with summer on the way and holidays and festivals being booked I want to look good. It really boosts my self esteem and makes me feel good about myself. I have definitely piled on the pounds since starting uni in September, I am not sure why maybe its having the freedom to buy whatever I want, whenever I want. I haven't started to eat that much different to what I would eat at home, I think the problem is I now snack more. I have been going to the gym regularly since before Christmas, but I haven't seen much difference. Previous to starting uni I went dancing for 2 hours once a week where I did ballet, tap and jazz. I started going when I was 3, so I was really sad when I had to leave to come to uni as it is an excellent way to exercise. I have always been quite lucky in that I have always been able to eat quite freely before and not gained much weight. But, I have definitely managed to somehow gather a few pounds recently. As I am 5 foot tall it is easy for me to monitor my weight, I if I put on any weight I can tell straight away. You know your body better than anyone, and even though people tell you that you do not not look any different you can tell in yourself.
So as lent started yesterday, I have embarked on a little mission for March to really get fit and get rid of those few pounds. I have called it - Make It Happen March. I am planning to up my outings to the gym to five times a week, which I don't think will be to hard for me as I always go at least three times a week at the moment, usually four. It is just finding the time to fit in the session in between my everyday life. I am not wanting to do anything to big or set out on some huge fitness regime and diet, as I know I will stick to it for two days and then I will want to eat everything and anything in site. For lent I have given up takeaways, hot chocolate and hobnobs. Hot chocolates are a major downfall for me I adore them, but I like the full works with cream and marshmallows. I recently had the shock of my life on my weekly pre work trip to Costa, discovering that my medium hot chocolate with the trimmings has over 500 calories in it. When I make hot chocolates at home, I always have to have two hobnobs with it, its just a routine which I am in. I am going to find this so hard, but I think after a few weeks I will be fine. I have given things up many times before for lent and have managed to do it until lent finishes. I have also decided to add takeaways to the list, as I do not have many really probably one every two weeks, but they are sooo bad for you and I just want to completely get rid of them all together from my diet. I am just going to try and eat all round healthier, as I said I do not think I eat badly I like to eat a wide range of different food. I have a few things in my cupboard that I am either going to eat, nothing major just like crisps, or I may donate to my friends at uni. I will then properly start this at the end of the week, as I do not want to waste any food that I have in my fridge or cupboard. When I do my weekly shop later this week, I have come up with the easy idea that if I don't buy it, it is not there to eat. Fruit is so expensive these days especially at this time of year, but I have decided that without those sneaky snacks here and there, it should not cost me too much more. I am not in anyway going to go on some crazy crash diet or stop eating. I am simply sprucing up my food intake to make it healthier. I am going to eat lots of vegetables, soups and chicken, and try and cut down my pasta intake. Pasta is my favourite food, and there was no way I was giving it up for lent or cutting it out of my diet. If you do this, you end up being in a rut of just eating for the sake of it and you do still need carbs in your diet. I am going to try and only eat one portion of carbs a day, but like I say if I have two portions I am not going to make a big deal of it. I have not weighed my self as I will feel more inclined to loose the pounds more quickly. I want to do this throughout the weeks of lent, and do it properly. I don't think this is going to be to hard as it is nothing dramatic, I am just cutting out the more fatty foods. The main outcome of this is to have achieved tonned abs, so if I loose a few pounds and go the gym hopefully it will come naturally. I have been considering joining Results With Lucy, which if you don't know Lucy Mecklenburgh who used to be on The Only Way is Essex has turned into a bit of a fitness fanatic and has created a fitness programme. She has started this regime where she has created lots of videos which you watch online, and there is a lot of different types of videos depending on what you want to achieve, and you simply follow them. I was a bit skeptical about the whole programme, but there does seem to be a lot of people out there who has followed this regime and have noticeably lost a few pounds. The only problem is I am not sure how dedicated to it I will be, and it is £35 for 3 months which is not bad value, but I do not want to pay for something if I am not going to use it effectively. I do think though for those days when I am too busy to go to the gym, or simply can not be bothered to go, I could do this instead and still be sticking to my little plan. I will have to see how I get on for a few weeks with the gym and healthier food before I decide whether to join or not.
I hope this has been in no way a negative post, I want it to be a positive post of trying to improve my all round health and improve my self esteem. I am doing this for me, and me only. As I have said many times throughout the post, this is nothing dramatic just a little health boost I want to embark on. I think getting healthy can be fun, and as long as you don't emphasis it too much in your life, then it is a simple switch. If anyone else has decided to get healthier and fitter recently I have called this post Make It Happen March, as a bit of inspiration and positivity that you can achieve what you want with a bit of a hard work.
Other recent posts: H&M Haul / Selfridge's Haul / Weekly Round Up / Pearl Drops Instant White
Lucy
xoxo