Fitness: Ten things no one tells you about running

1) It never gets easier, you just always push yourself further.

2) Runner's high is actually a real thing that actually happens and is not made up just to make you go running.

3) It's often a struggle to get out of the front door.

4) The proper equipment really helps. Go to an actual running shop (yes they exist) and get help getting the right trainers, and a good water bottle helps too.

5) Some runs are easier than others. One day you may bosh out a 10k in no time, a couple of days later 10 minutes will be hard. I don't know why, but it happens.

6) Having a break can actually be a good thing. I often find I run better when I've taken a bit of break, I also find it can get too much if I'm doing it too often.

7) You'll often be half way round and want to quit, but carrying on makes finishing that much more satisfying.

8) You will be able to tell if you're in real pain and can't carry on any longer 'cause you'll get an injury or if you're brain is just telling you you're in pain 'cause your brain is a bitch who doesn't want you to succeed.

9) Chocolate tastes 100x better when it's eaten after a run,

10) A mile is f**king long.

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Food: 3 Salads for people who don't like salads

I'm all for healthy eating and that (duh!) but one thing I don't really like or enjoy is salad. It's just so blah and cold, I don't really enjoy it. However, with the warmer months coming I've found three salads that I actually enjoy (and don't really taste like salad) for for those of you out there, like me, who don't like salad either.

1) Shredded chicken & roasted veg salad

Another salad for #lunch 0⃣#propoints on #fillingandhealthy

A photo posted by Laura (@fattywantsabiscuit) on Apr 17, 2015 at 5:17am PDT

Here all I do is boil a chicken breast in 2 cups of water with a stock cube for 10 minutes. I then shred it and leave it the side. I then take a sweet potato and a carrot, peal and slice and pop it in the microwave for 5 mins. I then add to a baking tray with chopped peppers and a sliced red onion, drizzle with a tsp of olive oil and cook in the oven for around 20 mins. Once that's cooked I fry some Kale in a wok with fry light and some Soy Sauce for around 5 mins, then add everything else, stir and serve with some salsa.

2) Turkey Kale Salad

#lunch is a turkey kale salad for 0⃣#propoints on #fillingandhealthy

A photo posted by Laura (@fattywantsabiscuit) on Apr 4, 2015 at 5:17am PDT

Similar to above, here I chop up a turkey breast and cook in Soy Sauce. I then add the kale, sweet corn and some pepper and leave to cook on a low heat with a lid on for around 10 mins. I also like to add roasted carrot and sweet potato to it too, cooked as above, but with a tsp of Sweet Freedom too.

3) Chicken Fajita Salad

#lunch was chicken fajita salad with roasted sweet potato for 1⃣#propoint on #fillingandhealthy I thought it'd be good but it was epic 😍

A photo posted by Laura (@fattywantsabiscuit) on Mar 27, 2015 at 6:25am PDT

Here I make up a serving of Old El Paso BBQ Chicken fajitas (chicken, onion, peppers, mushroom, seasoning) and put it on top of a bag of sweet and crunchy salad leaves. (I've also added roasted sweet potato as it's my new obsession.)

So there you go, three salads that aren't too salad like!

Musings: My week without my Fitbit

For Christmas I was given my very own Fitbit after lusting after others for a while, and whilst my obsessive personality ensured I'd love it, I don't think anyone (including myself) could ever have guessed I'd have become as obsessive as I am. I live for the buzz (once I've hit 10,000 steps) and walk round my house to get that number up on days my target has not been reached. Charging it is a task in itself as I also like to wear it when I sleep to show me that it's not just in my head and I do have a crap nights sleep far too often, so I have to charge it whenever I know I'm going to be still for a while, or I just plug it in when I have my daily shower.

So yes, my Fitbit is now a part of me, something that never leaves my wrist, until that is, the day it died.

One day I went to put my Fitbit on charge and no lights appeared. I panicked. I unplugged the charger, tried it in a different socket, plugged it into my computer and nothing worked. I then tweeted for help (obviously) but still, it would not work.

I then got in touch with the lovely people at Fitbit (seriously, amazing customer service) who very kindly sent me a new one. However, the delivery time was 10-12 days, which is obviously a life time to not wear a Fitbit. In the end, I was Fitbitless for a week, as I had a few days charge left and it got delivered a bit early (yay!) and I thought I'd tell you a little bit from my week without my Fitbit.

On the first day all I could notice was how bare my arm felt. I'm used to having this wrist strap on 24/7 and suddenly my arm was naked and exposed to the world. It felt very strange.

I then found it really hard to motivate myself to go for a walk, as what was the point if my Fitbit wasn't with me to count the steps. It was hard to push myself, and I must admit, there were numerous days where I knew if I had my Fitbit, I would've tried harder.

I'd try and guesstimate the number of steps I'd have done each day following days previous with the Fitbit, but somehow I know that I probably wouldn't have buzzed any of the days I was Fitbitless.

Sleeping also felt pointless, as I knew I wouldn't be able to definitely tell if my weird dreams were making me restless and to blame for the fact I felt so tired in the morning.

Then there were activity points. The main reason I got my Fitbit was because it can be synced with Weight Watchers and tell me how many activity points I'd earned, and that week the small activity points sign really left me deflated. I was manually entering my activity into the Fitbit app (sobbing each time I saw the little x over the battery) but I knew that it wasn't going to get me the same as usual.

So whilst I found I'm maybe slightly unhealthily attached to my Fitbit, I also found that it really is a great motivator to me to get up, get moving and not sit on my fat ass all day.

So Fitbit, I thank you, my weight loss thanks you and I beg you to never leave me again.

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Food: Peaches and Cream Ice Cream

I've seen the idea of 'nice' cream floating around the Internet for a while, and I've tried it twice before and it really didn't work. However, I may have accidentally created my own little nice cream when trying to make a smoothie bowl (kinda the same thing really, but still) and oh my gosh it's delicious.

I'd say this it the perfect evening treat, and I can see it becoming a true summer staple for me. The best bit is, everything in it is good for you. Crazy times my friends, crazy times.

This here is a basic recipe, and it can totally be added to or swapped around. I'm thinking of trying it out with mango soon, and you could easily layer it up with all different kinds of fruit and make a sundae. As you can see, I enjoyed mine topped with some passion fruit.

I'm aware it's a super simple recipe but I still wanted to share. It also takes a while for it to all blend together, but it's worth the wait and shaking of the blender. You could also make it pre dinner and pop it in the freezer so it's extra cool and has more of a firmness to it.

"Peaches and Cream Ice Cream" servings="1" time="10mins (plus freezing time)" difficulty="easy"

Ingredients 

1/2 Peaches

1 Banana

2 Cups of non fat yogurt

Method

1) Chop your banana and peach(es) up and place in the freezer for around two hours.

2) Place your frozen fruit in a blender, then add the yogurt.

3) Blend until all the fruit is smooth and serve.

Notes I find using tinned peaches works just as well and is cheaper, so that's something to look into, just make sure it's in juice and not syrup.

Musings: Ten things you don't realise about losing weight

When embarking on a weight loss journey there are certain things you realise about losing weight, you know, you'll need smaller clothes and you'll be smaller ('cause duh!) but there are also a lot of things you don't realise, which I'm sharing with you today.

1) You're shoe size shrinks. How is beyond me, but yeah, I've pretty much lost a shoe size.

2) Your confidence grows. Yes this may be obvious, but it grows in ways you'll never understand. For example I've cut my hair short, I say yes to social things more easily, I walk through restaurants without a sense of fear of getting stuck or knocking someones dinner off of the table with my fat ass (I can just visulaise Mean Girls right there.)

3) You still have nothing to wear. Everything is just too damn big, but you're either not ready for the next size down, or don't see the point in buying new clothes when you're going to be getting smaller too. Also all your big clothes still make you look big because they're too big. It's a real struggle.

4) Your bank balance decreases. See point number 3, and also you try stuff on in a smaller size and if it actually fits you just have to get it because it's a god damn size 12 top from Topshop (that was me yesterday btw...)

5) You can fit into new places. Ever sit in the same seat 'cause you know you'll fit? Just me? Well you'll actually be able to fit in other spaces too. And, more people will be able to sit on the sofa with you. And you may have to adjust your seat in the car now that there is more room between you and the steering wheel.

6) Your taste buds will change. I used to be all about the sweet stuff (strange that) couldn't get enough of it, but now I'm much more partial to savoury foods. I'd often chose a healthy 'fry' up over pancakes nowadays.

7) You start to notice you have bones. I honestly thought I'd woken up hungry in the night one night and eaten my skeleton as the only knowledge I had of being bony was when I banged my funny bone. Now I actually see collarbones on a daily basis, without having to make a funny face, and sometimes when I lie on my stomach I hurt my hipbone (shocked face).

8) People around you become diet experts. People who know you, but don't know you soon start seeing your success and giving you every piece of diet advice under the sun. Either that or they tell you you're looking too thin etc.

9) You get obsessive. You're still constantly thinking about food all the time, however instead of eating the first food that pops into your head, you give it thought and consideration and think about how you'll feel after you've eaten it.

10) You'll realise you're the exact same person you were before, just smaller. You can change the outside through weight loss, but you can't change the inside, remember that.

Food: Snacking on Filling and Healthy

 

I know for some, one of the big things that puts them off trying Filling and Healthy is the thought of the lack of sweet stuff and wondering how on earth they would snack. It's definitely something that concerned me. But I actually found that it wasn't that difficult at all. By eating filling and healthy foods I feel fuller and last a lot longer between meals, however sometimes I need a little nibble on something, and this is the type thing I reach for.

1) Frozen fruit

Whilst frozen fruit is actually quite nice to enjoy just on its own, you can use it to make lovely refreshing smoothies too.

2) Chicken/Meat

I bloody love chicken, I think it's great. At the start of the week I cook a whole chicken (and remove the skin) and put it in the fridge and just grab at that when I'm feeling peckish. If there is no chicken left I move onto things like ham etc.

3) Fruit and Veg

Maybe quite obvious, but yeah, If you're hungry grab a banana or a carrot. I always like to remember the saying that if you won't eat an apple, you can't be really hungry.

4) Popcorn

I have a filling and healthy popcorn recipe up on my blog already, but it makes a great snack and sweet treat.

5) Free Bread

Things like Warbutons Thins or Weight Watchers products are great if you're starving and dinner isn't for another few hours. A Warbie thin toasted is a great gap filler.

6) Cakes

This covers the more sweet treats/dessert side of filling and healthy, but I love nothing more than rustling up a F&H cake to nibble on. Plenty of recipes on the blog.

7) Weekly propoints

Don't forget, you have 49 weekly pro points that need to be used. A great way to ensure you're still having yummy treats but eating the good stuff too.

Musings: To Anyone Thinking of Starting a Weight Loss Journey

Maybe I'm a bit late to this party with January being over and all that (well over), however I'm a firm believer that there is no time like the present to get started on a weight loss journey. Here are some of the things I think are important, and I hope they help.

1) Take measurements & pictures

Oh how I wish I'd taken more 'before' pictures and had taken my measurements. Sometimes the scales don't budge, or you have days feeling a bit crappy and you need a reminder of how far you've come. I'm glad I did take the progress pictures I did, but sometimes it would be nice to see the inches I've lost too, or compare other photos than the few I have. Yes it's embarrassing when you're starting, but so rewarding once you've been on plan for a while.

2) Find a plan that works for you

I've always loved Weight Watchers, and Filling and Healthy is definitely the plan that works for me, however it's not for everyone, and that's ok. Maybe you don't want to follow Weight Watchers, maybe Slimming World or Rosemary Connoley or the 5:2 diet is for you.  It doesn't matter. just find something that works for you and that you can stick to, and that's all that matters.

3) Reward yourself along the way

I have a list of mini goals that I look at to make my weight loss seem less daunting. Each week I give myself a target to aim for, and once a goal has been reached I quickly give myself another one. Make a note of when you accomplished certain goals to remind yourself of your achievements.

4) Find a community and hold yourself accountable

I love Instagram and setting up my Fatty Wants a Biscuit account has been the best thing I've done. I've found a great group of people who are supportive and kind and help to spur me on. I hold myself accountable to things by posting pictures of my food and fitness progress and it really helps keep me on track. Find something similar for yourself.

5) Just do it

Don't wait till Monday or after that important event, start now. I started on a Wednesday, two weeks before my family holiday. I literally woke up that day, looked for a meeting and went. I still had a fabulous holiday AND lost 3lbs. Anything is possible if you just believe.

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Food: Tastiest Gammon EVER

Ok, so maybe the title is a bit of a dramatic statement, but seriously, I've found my favourite most tastiest way to eat gammon and I just had to share it with you today.

"Tastiest Gammon Ever" servings="4-6" time="4+ hours" difficulty="easy"

Ingredients:

Gammon joint

Diet Coke

1tbsp of Sweet Freedom

Method:

1) Place your gammon in a large casserole dish and fill with water. Place a lid on top and bring to the boil.

2) Once the water is boiling, drain it away so you are just left with the gammon.

3) Then cover your gammon with diet coke. Bring to the boil and reduce to simmer for around 3+ hours (depends on the size of your joint, could be more etc.)

You could finish it here and just shred the gammon and eat it that way, or:

4) Remove your gammon from the coke and place in a roasting tin. Rub in the Sweet Freedom and place in the oven for around 15 mins.

5) Remove, carve and serve.

Notes:

I've left sizes and measurements our as it all depends on how many you're feeding and the size of you gammon. This was adapted from the Nigella coke gammon recipe. Technically you'd have to point this on Filling and Healthy as only gammon steaks are classed as free, but as long as I cut the fat off, I don't count it, so it depends if you're a stickler to the rules or not on points.

Fitness: My workout routine

Over the past month or so I've turned into a kind of new person, and my parents are slightly worried that I've been kidnapped by aliens.

Well, maybe that's slightly over dramatic, but I've begun to exercise. A lot. And enjoy it. It's crazy!

I was always the girl looking for ways to get out of PE at school, would avoid anything that could leave me feeling sweaty and would be out of puff going up the stairs. (Still kind of am the last one, guess things don't always change.)

Now however, I set my alarm in the morning to give myself time to workout before I begin work for the day. I'm very lucky now as I get to work from home which means I don't have to factor in getting to work time so I wouldn't have to get up as early as when I used to go to the office. But I've found working out in the morning really helps keep me focused and I take satisfaction in knowing that I've done my main workout for the day before 8am.

I usually do a morning workout on a Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Tuesday is weigh day so I like to do my work earlier so it's done before I head off to weigh in and so far every Monday I've been doing this I've either been too tired from a late weekend or had to drop my boyfriend somewhere.

I try to alternate a workout dvd/video with a run. So usually Weds/Fri will be a video and Thurs will be a run and I also try to do something on the Tuesday evening after weigh-in whether it be a run or a dvd.

I think one of the reasons I'm so into doing my videos is because I found out how to hook my phone to my TV and watch YouTube videos that way, which to be honest makes me feel like a Wizard. I've found lots of good channels that have great videos, but my favourite is definitely PopSugar Fitness. I find them really easy to follow, the instructor to be motivating and I love seeing the countdown timer. They also have their own app too which means you can do their workouts anywhere.

I've created a playlist on YouTube too, to show you the workouts I'm loving and whenever I try a new one I'll add it to the playlist if you fancy trying something new.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBdWscdmTw5DO6HFeGsQuYtR6CzMq6U61

Along with these workouts and runs I also like to make sure I go for a walk at least once a day too. 1) Because I'm obsessed with hitting 10,000 steps on my FitBit and 2) It means I actually leave the house each day.

I hope this post has been maybe insightful and not completely dull, and has even given you a new workout to try.