🎉 B I R T H D A Y 🎉
Another year... blimey they go fast as you get older! I mean I literally just turned 40 yesterday, didn’t I? This time last year I did not know that I was six weeks pregnant! Fast forward a year and now I’m a lucky Mama to three amazing girls. My 41st year has been a bittersweet one. It’s been one of the best with the arrival of Willow but I’ve also experienced some of my darkest times - something that still lingers but gets easier with every day. I certainly feel stronger now than I did a year ago (not physically because pregnancy has zapped me of my muscles! 😂) but definitely stronger mentally and emotionally. The universe could throw anything at me now and I know that I would come out of it still standing. This is a bit deep and reflective for a birthday post but I just wanted to say, if you’re going through stuff right now or in the future, know that it will pass, you will come out the other side of it and time really is a great healer. So, bring on my 42nd year – the goal for this time next year is to be even stronger physically than I was this time last year, so watch my muscles grow. 😂💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼 Thank you for kicking off my birthday celebrations with me last night lush one, had the best evening with you. @frankie_chelt_chapman 😘😘 And thank you for my free birthday drink @barpadron and the most delicious food! 😍#birthdaygirl
⏰ F A S T I N G ⏰
Here is my opinion on fasting: It’s a tool in your dieting toolbox 🧰 . What I mean by that is most of us own a toolbox but we don’t necessarily use every single tool in it. Fasting isn’t for everyone but I do believe that it has its place. I’ve recommended fasting to a number of my clients over the years but I definitely wouldn’t recommend it to all of them. The clients that I have recommended it to are the ones that are all or nothing. Meaning if they know they can’t eat anything they won’t but if they think that they can, they’ll graze all day. When on a fat loss journey and needing to be in a calorie deficit, fasting is a good way to reduce your intake over the day. I do it myself and this is how I have made progress over the last five weeks. Personally, I am happy and function fine without breakfast and even without lunch on some days. I prefer to keep my calories for the afternoon and evening. There are many different fasting diets out there and I would say the best thing to do is to research them and choose the one that’s right for you, should you decide that it would work for you. That said, it is just at a tool and much like a tool, you don’t use it all the time. I will continue to use it until I have achieved my fat loss goal but once I have achieved that fat loss goal, it will go back in the toolbox and just come out every now and then, when I feel that I need it. Your body will not store fat because you miss a couple of meals, remember that. Additionally, fasting is good for you if you need to get your head around feeling hungry. It’s okay to feel hungry. We are not going to suddenly drop dead because we missed a couple of meals. Once you are okay with feeling hungry, you are far less likely to reach for the sugary stuff every time you get a hunger pang. So, that’s my view on it. It’s not for everyone but it can be an effective tool on your fat loss journey. Happy to take any questions on it below. 😊
🏴☠️ S K E L E T O R 🏴☠️ One thing that I loved about being pregnant was how much fuller my face was. As I’ve started to lose weight, I’ve noticed my face starting to look gaunt again. I do have quite a skeletal face. You can see the veins in my head and not just when I’m angry! 🥴 So when I met with @elizaclarkinfo to discuss my skeletor head, she asked me, “What is it that bothers you?” I said, “My gaunt looking face now I’m losing weight. I think I need cheekbone fillers!” To which Eliza said, “No, you don’t. You already have high cheekbones & this will just make them higher, it wont look right and it won’t fix what’s bothering you.” She then went on to advise me that what I needed was cheek filler beneath the cheekbone, administered with a cannula to support my cheekbone structure, creating a youthful appearance by reducing lower cheek looseness, improving tightness of the jaw and for me, in particular, fanning out the gaunt looking part of my face. I’ll be honest, I had images of those celebs with big puffy cheeks and wasn’t immediately convinced. I didn’t want to go from skeletor to blowfish! But I trust Eliza, she knows my skin, she knows my lifestyle, she knows I’d never want to look like I’ve “had work done,” so I said, “Let’s go for it!” I can honestly say I am absolutely over the moon with the results. They are so subtle but exactly what I wanted. Pic on the left: you can see the shadow under my cheekbone where there’s little fat. This is what I feel makes me look bony and sallow. Pic on the right is after the treatment - the shadow has disappeared and it looks fuller under my cheekbone. I love it! And I still have cheekbones & no blowfish face! I am so chuffed with the results & I’m so glad that I trusted Eliza’s advice! Eliza gifted me this treatment as a push present for having Willow - I have amazing friends! 😍 But I think the results speak for themselves. 😊❤️ #facialaesthetics #cheekfiller #nomoreskeletor #elizaclarkaesthetics
🍫 D I E T 🍫
I’ve seen a lot of posts lately with people slamming the Diet Culture that we live in or #DC as it’s being referred to. I think we’ve lost sight of what a 'diet' actually is. A diet is a way of habitually eating. We're all on one! Some of us are on junk food diets, vegetarian diets, plant-based diets, balanced diets, low carb diets, blood-type diets, IIFYM diets, Weight Watchers diets, eat-whatever-takes-my-fancy diets… the list goes on! Really, when you say you're going on a diet, what you're really doing is changing your current eating habits to new eating habits, going from one diet to a new diet, with a view to achieving, in most cases, weight loss. Firstly, stop aiming for weight loss and aim for fat loss. Ditch the scales - PLEASE! Use your clothes and/or measurements to gauge progress. Secondly, stop thinking of it as a diet because for so many of us, we hear the word 'diet' and we think 'restrictive,' we think misery, we think about abstaining from everything we love to eat and drink and it really doesn't have to be that way. Don’t tell yourself or others that you're going on a diet; just simply say that you're making some changes to your lifestyle. It's as simple as that. You're going on a journey to feel better, healthier, more confident and to have more energy for your kids/family/work. That's what you're doing. You're not going on a diet - you're doing and achieving so much more than that because the outcome isn't just fat loss; you will also improve your mental, physical and physiological wellbeing and isn't that something to be positive about? In other news, WTF is going on with instagram? I’ve seen a few people with a similar number of followers as me are going through the same shiznit. It’s really demoralising to spend time on content that you hope will help people, only to have hardly anyone see it. If you find my content useful, I’d be sooo grateful if you would share it. Thank you. 🙏🏼❤️ #fitinsideoutuk #dietculture #diet #fitness #gym #healthy #health #weightloss #fatloss #fit #healthyfood #workout #nutrition #food #motivation #lifestyle #healthylifestyle #fitnessmotivation #fitfam #eatclean #training #cheltenhamfitmama
🍕 P I Z Z A 🍕
So, as many of you know, I’ve been on a mission to shift some fat & get back into my summer dresses by the time we go to the US on July 21st. I stopped weighing myself a couple of weeks ago and have just been using one pair of high waisted trousers and a dress to gauge my progress. Even as someone who should know better, I got a bit stressed out by the number on the scales so I’ve put them away and stuck to the best way to gauge progress and that’s by my clothes. I’ve managed to do the zip up of a dress I couldn’t do up just a few weeks ago, so things are heading in the right direction. Whoop! One way in which I’ve kept myself accountable is by tracking my food in myfitnesspal. I’m a real grazer and secret eater (“what’s in your mouth mummy?” 😂)so this has helped me to think before I pick! Yesterday, we popped into M&S as mummy hasn’t done a food shop and kept it simple by grabbing some pizzas. I so wanted a pizza but was thinking about having to track my food. So I went over to the Balanced For You range and most of those meals had more calories in them than the cute l’il pizza on the right in this pic. The profile of them, admittedly, was better – more protein, less sugar, less salt and less fat but on this occasion, I wanted pizza, so pizza is what I chose. Well done M&S for making a delicious pizza of this size. I served it up with a big portion of vegetables and it was absolutely delicious. Best of all, I didn’t feel like I’d missed out. The pizza on the left was hubby’s and it was huge. My little one was actually a really good size, it just looks very small in this picture compared to the other one but that one was ridiculously big. I am back in with @wellmeasured on Tuesday. That’s the other way I’ve kept accountable, by knowing I’m booked back in. Holly set me a fat loss target, not a weight loss target and I have no idea if I’m going to hit it. I do know that some of the clothes that didn’t fit me at all 4.5 weeks ago are starting to fit me now, so whether I hit it or not I’ve made progress, whilst still enjoying the journey (Prosecco & Pizza 🍾🍕) and that’s what it’s all about. I’d love to know what helps you to keep accountable! 💪
⛲️ C O N S I S T E N C Y ⛲️ “𝐻𝑜𝓌 𝒷𝒶𝒹𝓁𝓎 𝒹𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝒾𝓉?” - Nicki Ryder, Coach
Ultimately, that’s the question you have to ask yourself. Progress takes commitment, consistency and TIME. It doesn’t happen overnight or even over a few weeks or months. It will take me a good year postpartum to really get back to the pic in the top right hand corner but I’m determined to do it. It’s not about my age, it’s not about how others look or any other external pressures - for me, it’s me against me. I want to be strong both mentally and physically and strength training gives me that. It’s not about looking good for my age - it’s about looking AND feeling good full stop. I’m ok with admitting that I like the aesthetics that come with strength training - I used to have the skinniest gangly arms - I love that they’ve got some size and shape to them now. I can’t wait to reshare this pic with more progress shots - I’m my own motivation. Of course, there are fit mums that got their ripped bodies back in a matter of months but I’m not willing to sacrifice everything that I enjoy and also... they have childcare for workouts! 😊 But I genuinely don’t let pics of them affect me - I use them as more motivation. I want it badly. Do you? 💪🏼
🍩 B E L L Y 🍩
One of my clients, you know who you are, once told me that I should have “You can’t outtrain a bad diet” written on my tombstone. 🤣 I know it’s boring and I know I harp on about it but you really can’t. I still have clients say to me, “can we focus on ab work today because I’m feeling really fluffy around my tummy?” and I just have to say, “Ab work is not going to help with that, what are you eating?“ You can’t train or go to classes, then drink copious amounts of alcohol (sorry) or have regular takeaways and expect to get lean. It doesn’t work like that. I’ll re-share a post to my stories that I wrote about a year ago on the same topic & pop it in my highlights too under “weight.” Ultimately, it’s calories in, calories out. I’m not saying that everyone has to track their calories but you need to be mindful of what you’re taking in versus what you’re expending. If your Fitbit tells you you’ve burned 600kcals in a spin class, that doesn’t mean you’ve got an extra 600kcals to eat, not if you’re trying to shift fat. If you feel like you have a pooch as a result of diastasis recti, then that’s a different issue and you should start by going to see a Women’s Health Physio. Of course, if you’ve had kids, there’s a reality that you will always have loose skin, particularly around your lower abdomen and my best piece of advice there is to make peace with that. I have and it’s liberating. 😊❤️ Of course, a strong core and good posture will help to draw you in and feel tighter but we work our core by engaging our TVA throughout strength training; teaching it to be strong through movement. We don’t need to do ab specific work - I don’t and never have. Exercise can support fat loss but it’s your nutrition that will be the deal breaker in your fat loss journey. Get your protein, fats and carbs in your belly and eat foods rich in fibre to aid digestion. Steer clear of foods that bloat you or that you know your tummy doesn’t respond well to. Get outside for long walks and read about how to engage your TVA throughout exercise, link in my bio. #absaremadeinthekitchen 💪🏼
☀️ S U M M E R ☀️ I don’t want to jinx the weather, so I’m just going to appreciate what we’ve had this weekend and not get too overexcited because as we all know, the Great British Summertime can have ideas of its own! This pasty body hasn’t seen any sun since last August so I finally feel like I’ve got a bit of colour in preparation for our summer holiday to South Carolina! Whoop! Fab weekend with my fab 4 topped off by a morning with Godmummy @sophiescarrott . Though after spending time in Sophie’s stunning home, the other two have bagsied their rooms too - 3 for the price of 1, Soph? 😂😂 When I first moved to Cheltenham, I was honestly mortified by the word “lush.” Everyone used it and I vowed I never would but I can honestly say, this weekend has been absolutely LUSH! 😊❤️ I feel like it’s time for a new word to add to my local vocabulary. Any suggestions? @frankie_chelt_chapman Hope you’ve all had a fab weekend in the sum too! ☀️☀️☀️
