JESSICAWARD: What I Ate Wednesday

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

What I Ate Wednesday

What I Eat Wednesday

Wow!

It has been an awful long time since I have created a blog post. Lets leave out the boring bits and get straight onto todays topic which is all about mouth watering food and keeping healthy with a slight edge of indulgence. I am no way near a nutritionist or a personal trainer, but I thought it would be interesting to share my experiences with people and the way I approach food/what works for me.

Recently, I have become a lot more motivated to explore the world of keeping fit and healthy. I followed the rule of making sure I don’t ‘’diet’’ and instead, I change my lifestyle to be healthier. Workouts are something I love to do throughout the week; they make me feel motivated, refreshed and ready to tackle the tasks during the week.

I like to visit my gym three times a week, for one and half hour slots. I do yoga at home twice a week for 30 minutes to engage the muscles I have been working at my sessions in the gym. I have overcome some challenges in the gym, with a lot of help from my boyfriend - who has helped motivate me and change my overall mind set towards the thought of weight lifting. Weight lifting was something I found scary due to the thought of myself becoming larger. I was completely wrong! If anything it has made me become a lot stronger and gradually becoming more toned.

Within in the past three months I have began including leg exercises into my work outs which I have always found challenging due to confidence issues and I have always been scared I didn’t know what I was doing (or I would do exercises wrong and look stupid) with a little help, confidence and a lot of YouTube videos later! I began to do squats, leg press, calf presses and lunges etc. All with weight. I am gradually beginning to up the weight each session. I set targets and try to reach them.

I have realised that your mind set is the most important part of this process. Changing your mind set before approaching the weight will encourage you to lift the weight and create results. Convincing yourself you can lift the weight and that it is A LOT lighter than what it is always helps me. Working out with Adam motivates me and he helps me a lot. A gym partner is definitely a good move when you are a beginner and a little unsure! It helps gain confidence and you can have fun too.

When working out and keeping fit, it is extremely important to fuel your body with the correct food to make sure all your hard work is not wasted! I have an advantage because I love healthy foods so much. (I do love chocolate, cake, pizza, chips and cookies a lot though). Keeping healthy 80% of the time allows me to indulge 20% of the time. Within moderation. This could mean going out for dinner, lunch or breakfast one day or baking cakes, brownies or eating some chocolate. What I have found that skimping on your favourite foods isn’t healthy for you happiness so indulge when you want but don’t over indulge! The guilt feeling is never a good one.

Here is a little insight into what I eat and yummy places I have visited!

Breakfast

My favourite meal of the day! Breakfast is usually what fuels my workouts. My main breakfast staple is whole rolled oats with skimmed milk, dried fruit, nuts, omega sprinkle (a mixture of seeds), frozen fruit and 95% dark chocolate. When I have breakfast I love to drink lots of water, make a homemade fruit and vegetable juice or a 100% organic green tea.

My lush two ingredient pancakes! Recipe soon?

Snacks

For my snacks throughout the day I have a huge mixture of things making sure I incorporate fruit. My huge love is making homemade granola and chocolate covered dried fruit and nuts. THE perfect snacks. Maybe a recipe to come?

Indulge Time!

The rule I follow is indulge within moderation. Enjoy it and do not feel guilty! Sometimes indulging can include incorporating your favourite healthy treats with a slight twist. Have fun with it.