Original Image at: BeachYogaGirl IG

Exercise
Swimming - It was pretty hard this week! We focused more on leg work and by the end of the lesson I was completely knackered! Front crawl is still going well but I need to try and make sure that I breath on every 3 strokes rather than 2 as it's getting me out of breath pretty quick.

However,breathing on every 3 strokes is SO hard when Im so used to every 2, it's like learning all over again. I've just gotta keep practicing. I'm consistently doing full lengths without having to stop so I'd say I'm doing pretty well.

4 x Running - Did 3 of my runs this week out of my 4 scheduled. I was away in London on Friday quite early and wasn't back till quite late so I wasn't able to fit in that run.

I did all the others though. I had my 7 mile long run today and it went pretty well. I actually ran with music this time which helped and I think also running half of it cross country was easier on my legs but I can't do that all the time since none of my HM will be cross country.

Not following me on Instagram? Follow me HERE

Yoga - I've been struggling this week with the Yoga challenge. I've completed all the days but I've been SO close to calling it quits. I kinda feel like the challenge isn't really for beginner beginners. There have been a lot of poses this week where I've looked at the beginner version of the pose and wondered how the hell anyone is able to do it.
I've  got to try and stop comparing myself to other people as it's really damaging to my yoga confidence. I've been looking at other peoples photos for the yoga challenge and seeing everyone doing perfectly with no problems, yet I seem to be struggling. It's been getting me quite frustrated. To the point where I have been almost dreading doing the next pose.

I'm hoping the poses ease off and become a bit easier. I wont be giving up on the challenge as we're almost done..but somethings got to give!

Misc - My other challenges have been seriously slacking this week. I was OK at the start of the week and then as the week got busier, I started to miss a day, then had to do two days in a row. My legs have been pretty sore from the increase in reps and its making them SO tired for runs. Im back to normal as of next week so i'm just going to start off on the day we're at rather than trying to catch up.

Food
Food has been so-so this week. I've had 4 days where I've eaten out for lunch or dinner for events so it's not been the best of weeks.  I've not gone all out for the meals, they've just been standard meals which isn't too bad and I've been making healthy choices for snacks and other meals to make up for the extra intake this week.

Like I said, everything is back to normal next week so I should be back to a normal eating schedule.

Plan For Next Week
I did say last week that I wanted to increase my water and change my normal teas to green teas, I have been doing this quite successfully.

I actually tried the Cherry Bakewell flavour from Twinings Tea and it's quite good. I'm still trying to get acquired to the taste of green tea, it still tastes quite weird and I almost feel as though it's not sweet enough... darn sweet tooth. I'm hoping the more I drink it, the more I'll get used to it.

This week, I want to keep my water up to help rid the excess water I'll be holding onto this week. I generally just want to get back on track, have a nice, balanced week with good food choices and get back to a routine again.

***

I'll have a couple of posts going up this week, one of which will be my post on the Stella Sports VIP Day that happened Friday where I got to meet the gorgeous Jordan from MyGeneralLife. She's just the best and I miss her already! So keep your eyes peeled for a blog post on that.

I'll also have a YT video going up tomorrow with a haul of everything that I got from the event, so if you are interested in what I got, then go and subscribe to my channel and you'll be updated when it goes live! :)

Question: Ever tried Green Tea? What did you think?Any favourites?

Exercise
Swimming - Swimming was good as usual, we were practicing backstroke and breaststroke for a little while this week. Backstroke has always been something I've been fairly good at since starting my lessons(I used to be terrified prior to my lessons as I hated not being able to see what was underneath me or where I was swimming).

Breast stroke still needs a lot of work. Since front crawl is my primary focus for swimming atm, I don't get much time to work on it, so hopefully it will just click one day like front crawl did!

4 x Running - All of my training runs completed again this week. Things changed up slightly this week and I am now doing an easy run, tempo run, speed run and long run during the week. The tempo and speed runs were fairly new to me and they're quite hard but I'm getting used to them.

I have done a video this week on the different types of training runs and a little into my schedule. I'm gonna be doing a blog post on my half marathon training schedule so people will know what types of runs I do during the week.

My long run kinda sucked this week. I fight with myself every Sunday to get out for my long run as I really dislike them. I'm hoping this eases slightly. My time was the same as last week too so there's not really been any improvements. I'm hoping the speed runs and tempo runs during the week will help to improve my times naturally.

Yoga - I've still been doing the #JourneytoHandstand challenge this month. It's pretty tough.. I've also had a couple of tumbles this month trying to do handstands and it's almost caused injury so I really need to be careful. It's still motivating me to get in a bit of yoga practice during the day, even if it's just 10-15 minutes.
Misc - These challenges are getting SO hard! The reps are getting to the point now where I need to take breaks in between which is fine with me but they're SO tiring and get my heart pumping so they're doing their job!

Food
I have still continued to stray away from any chocolate, cake and biscuits this week. I've had the odd healthy dessert after dinner but nothing other than those.

I've still been continuing with high protein for breakfast and lunch and it's working really well. On the days where I run and do my challenges in the morning, I've been trying out some protein powder as shakes that I've received recently and they've been working quite well.

Increased protein is definitely keeping me sustained and less hungry. I'm hardly snacking throughout the day so that can only be a good thing!

Plan For Next Week
There's not much to really comment on for last weeks plans as I've already spoken about them in the post already, I've been sticking to my challenges and my training schedule and I've been making healthy choices for food so everything is going really well.

I do want to try and up my water intake. I want to swap my cups of tea for green tea or water and just generally try to take in more water and hydrate myself. I also want to make sure that I have a glass of water pre-run during the week so I make sure I'm hydrating, sometimes I've been slacking and it makes me feel awful.
This week is going to be massively busy and might not contain as many healthy choices. I've got a work outing on Tuesday for Bowling and a meal.. there aren't any healthy choices on the menu and I can't really refuse to eat so I'll just pick the best choice. On Tuesday evening, I have a meal with the family, some of P's relatives are coming down and we're all going out for food.

On Friday, I have a special event that I'm going to in London which is SUPER exciting. I'll explain more when all the details are confirmed and everything is 100% but as long as it does, I'll be meeting Jordan from My General Life which is even more exciting! I can't wait to see her.

Theeeeeeen on Saturday, I'm back in London for the XFactor Live Tour which I'm excited for too.

So yeah! I've a really busy week and it might be filled some unhealthy choices but I'll do my best!

****

So, that's it for this week! A positive week this week and a busy week ahead.. what could go wrong?! ;)

Question: How much water do you drink daily? do you try and get the recommended daily 8 glasses?

Exercise
Swimming - I had my swimming lesson this week after having a break last week. It was quite odd to be swimming whilst my toe isnt 100% and it was really putting my kicking off alot. With that said, I definitely made progress this week. I was able to swim a full legnth without stopping half way down the pool, my breathing was great and my strokes were great. My coach was quite happy about it too.

I now need to work on gaining some stamina in the pool as I get very out of breath just doing one length, I'm not sure if that's because I'm not breathing enough or waiting too long to breathe..

2 x Running - I did a 1 mile run on Weds and then the 10km London Winter Run this morning. I'll have a race recap on the Winter Run coming in the next day or two.

I didn't get in any other exercise this week other than walking. It seems my toe has wanted to be troublesome this week and has been giving me some sh*t so I've just stayed off it most of the week leading up to my race today just so it could heal as much as possible.

Now that the race is over and done with, I'm gonna get on with other exercise regardless so daily yoga is gonna be making a comeback.

Food
Food has actually been ON POINT this week and I'm quite proud of myself. I've had proper breakfasts with porridge and bagels during the week(except for one day when I was running late).

I've had some delicious salads this week with Chicken and they've been really nice and satisfying. It's been a while since I've had salads so It's made a change from usually having warm foods throughout the week.

Dinners have been good, but they usually are anyway so there isn't much change there. Then Snacks are where I've really improved this week. I've been drinking way more water this week and I've been feeling pretty satisfied and full for the most part so I definitely haven't snacked that much.

All in all, it's been a great week food wise and I want to continue that for next week.

Plan For Next Week
I think everything went mostly to plan based on last weeks post. I just want to continue this on throughout next week and get in a couple of runs throughout the week along with some Yoga.

I've had to adjust my morning routine slightly. Some things have changed at work which now means that I'm going to have to get up earlier as I need to be in work earlier. So I'm having to shift my routine around a little bit. Now that it's getting lighter at night, I may do my runs/workouts later at night rather than in the morning to give me some extra time to play with.

I want to get back to a normal blogging routine too, it's been slacking recently and I haven't been getting up as many posts as I'd like. I'm aiming for at least 3-4 posts a week. I have some posts coming up this week and I've got my thinking cap on for new blog post ideas.

If possible, I want to pre-write some blog posts so that they can be put on a schedule rather than me writing up posts on that particular day that go live on that day.. so when I have some spare time during the week, I think that's what I'll be doing.

Other than that, there's not much else I need to plan.

****

As I mentioned earlier in the post, I'll have a recap for the London Winter Run going up this week, probably on Tuesday. I have my weigh-in, measurements & progress pictures for tomorrow since it's a new month(talking of a new month, where the hell did January go?!).

If you haven't seen from my social media, I also posted a new video up on my Youtube channel this week which was my Top Weight Loss Tips, although, they're pretty much tips for living a healthier lifestyle too, so if you're interested, you can check that out HERE

I hope everyone has had a great week and weekend.

Until next time! 

Question: Have you been to any events in the month of January? A race, health event, meetup? Tell me about them! :)

Exercise
Swimming - wasn't too bad but certainly wasnt the best this week. If you remember a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I had a replacement swim teacher for one of the lessons and she didn't speak to us the whole time. It was my worst nightmare to see her again this week. To be fair, she did make more of an effort but I think that's because she was probably being watched.

I just used the swim lesson as a practice session. Hoping to get back on my game on my next lesson.

Running x 1 - Only did one run this week which was pretty bad of me, I wish I'd managed to get in another run this week. The one run I did have sucked really bad and my legs felt like lead. I probably didn't fuel properly for the run.. either that or I just wasn't feeling it. We all have bad days.. just gotta keep going at it.

I was supposed to get in a second run this morning, however, I stubbed my toe and now I can hardly walk on it, let alone run or do any other workouts :/

Yoga x 6 - Same as last week with this, I've been doing the Yoga with Adriene videos and I'm still very much enjoying them. I think that I'm probably going to make daily yoga practice part of my usual routine as I'm really enjoying the relaxation on the mat. Even if its just for 5-10 minutes each day.

Misc Workouts x 3 - I had my 2nd week of SKNY box workouts. They were the same workout as last week but with extra sets. As I mentioned, I stubbed my toe so I wasn't able to do my last workout of the week and probably can't for a little while now.
Food
Food has actually been OK this week, apart from breakfasts which I really need to get on top of next week. My lunches have been healthy, I've been having Rye Bread with Ham and Salad which was delicious. I've been having lots of veggies with my evening meals and I've cut down on my snacking and been drinking more tea and water.

If only I could get on top of this breakfast issue, this would have been a great week.

Plan For Next Week
My plan for routine didn't go the way I wanted to. It is getting better and I have been getting up earlier to do my workouts and Yoga, however, my breakfasts are still slacking and I'm just taking an on-the-go breakfast like a 9bar to work instead of having a proper breakfast so I'm getting on top of this as of Monday.

I need to really stay in control of my eating this week. Since I'm injured from my toe stubbing, workouts and running is completely out of the question until I can put pressure on that foot properly so It's important I keep my eating in check.

I did my Youtube video like I planned this week, you can find my channel HERE. Like I've already mentioned, the videos on my channel are going to be similar to the topics I talk about here on the blog so they will range from Health, Fitness, Weight loss, Yoga, Running and other things too.

I'll have a video going up Thurs or Fri this week which will be all about my weight loss story, so if you're interested in that, head over and subscribe to my channel to be updated with when it comes out.  If you have any questions about my weight loss that you'd like me to answer, then feel free to leave them below.

Question: Have you ever stubbed your toe? Isn't it just the worst pain in the world(except for maybe child birth but i've never experienced that)?

Exercise
Swimming - was SO good this week. It was my first lesson back since before Christmas and I was able to do a few FULL lengths of the pool. I still have a log way to go and I get SO out of breath just doing one length. Deffo need to get into the pool more often to practice.

Running x 2 - I only did 2 runs this week, but I did get in a longer run so I think that's OK for me, especially since I was active in other areas this week.

Yoga x 7 - I was STORMING with Yoga this week. I'm doing #30daysofyoga with Adriene and her videos are fantastic so I have been practicing yoga every day without fail :) and also got in some yoga stool time! :D

Misc Workouts x 4 - I started the Skny Box workout plan the other week so I've been doing Body Weight workouts and HIIT workouts this week. They've been tough and if you're following me on Social Media, you know that I'd be suffering with some major DOMS but I'm getting used to the workouts now.

Food
I'm not gonna lie and say it was hunky dory and I made fantastic choices as that's definitely not what I want to do here on the blog, I like to be honest with you guys and keep it real.

I've struggled with food this week. I've done great in some aspects like my lunches, I've had great lunches with Ryvita Crispbread and Tuna with Cucumber Slices, which were delicious BTW!
However, Breakfast has been none existent, or at least, not a proper breakfast. I've been having Nakd Bars or another type of bar for breakfast and that's it. There's no excuse really except I'm just completely out of routine. Of course, Nakd bars are not unhealthy, but they aren't a sustaining breakfast and therefore I've been hungry early and snacked more than usual.

I've had too many left over cookies and biscuits this week. They're gone now and I'm definitely giving myself a kick up the ar*e and getting back to good, healthy eating this week.

Plan For Next Week
Routine, Routine, Routine! Getting up earlier, getting in my morning workout/yoga/run and then having a healthy, fulfilling breakfast before leaving for work, or leave earlier for work and have breakfast before 9 am work start.

I discussed this with a couple of #HBloggers in tonight's twitter chat and I am making this part of my plan to keep myself accountable for my actions. I want to start doing Youtube videos. I already have a channel HERE and an introduction to my channel that I did quite a while back, however, I found that I was so shy and nervous to film, that I just never got round to making another video.

Since I made YT one of my resolutions, I'm gonna stick to my guns and try and get out a new YT video this week and I have all my readers to keep me accountable for it, so keep your eyes peeled for a new video from me this week! There WILL be one! :)

****

On another note, I've been participating in #Janathon this January, where you commit to doing something active each day and then blogging or talking about it on social media within 24 hours after completing it. If you'd like to catch up on some of my Janathon Posts, you can find them HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE :)

Question: How have you handled your first full week back at work(if you work)? Did you get back into your normal routine or did you struggle?

Exercise
Swimming - WENT GREAT THIS WEEK, YAY! I made a lot of progress this week and I even got two compliments from some ladies that are in the swim class after me(they usually sit by the side of the pool during our lesson until is time for them to get in). They said they'd been watching me during my swim classes since the beginning and thought my swimming had improved loads since I first started!

Running x 3 - I did 3 runs this week, which I'm taking as a bonus as this week has been incredibly busy with events so I'm surprised I managed to fit them in and hopefully its cancelled out some of the food from this week. ;)

Food
Like I mentioned right at the start of this post. My eating this week has not been good and I decided rather than stress out and not enjoy myself as much as everyone else, I joined in and enjoyed myself this week and i think it's just to just live a little and not worry so much!

We've had parties and events all week. It was Atmel's(the company I work for) 30th Birthday on Tuesday and we had a birthday party to celebrate as an office. There was pizza, sweets, cakes, games ect and I would have looked a little silly being the only one not having anything.

So yeah, I just lived alittle and enjoyed myself!

Plan For Next Week
So, the only plans we have for next week is our Office Christmas Lunch, it's the only food choices that are not necessarily 'healthy', they're OK but not something I would have on a daily basis.

So, with that in mind, I want to make sure that I eat good and healthy this week. I'm actually going to try and restrict myself this week which is something I don't usually do but I've had enough cake and sweet treats to last me the rest of the year so I will be trying to stay away from them during the week except for our office lunch.

Plenty of water should be drunk this week too to try and rid my body of the toxins from this week. Preferably at least 8 glasses a day, I'm going to be keeping a record of it.
I need to get in a 6 mile run this weekend as I haven't done one in a while, so that's on the cards for either Sat or Sun and I'll make sure that I am well fueled as a trial for the race.

I have made a workout plan for this week. I'm starting a workout routine that I was supposed to be starting from the SKNY box. I'm interested in seeing how it goes. I've got some Yoga incorporated in my schedule too and since I've been so off track this week, I think I definitely need to step my game up and work my ass off!

THAT IS ALL! My week is all planned out so fingers crossed it all goes right!

***

If you haven't seen, I started a Gift Guide Series that I'll be doing over the next week or two. I put up a Gift Guide for Runners last week and also a Gift Guide for Yogis this week! so go check those out if you're still looking for Christmas ideas!

Have a great week! x

Question: Have you had any christmas-y events this week? Anything planned for next week?

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Exercise
Swimming - If you follow me on social media, you'll know that my lesson this week was utter crap. Our usual teacher wasn't there this week for whatever reason and we had a substitute. The substitute was useless, she didn't talk to us or coach us for the whole 30 minute lesson, all she did was spend her time talking to the lifeguard on duty.

Needless to say, I was SO annoyed and ended up complaining to the pool manager as I'd rather not have a lesson with her again.

Running x 3 - I did 3, 3 mile runs this week. They were OK, not the best of runs. Sunday was the worst as I'd had a 3 mile run the day before and my body and legs don't respond well to a run when I've had a run the previous day.

I don't slow down and all the runs were around the same time(under 30 mins) but I just feel really pants during and after the run and it really puts me off doing another run.

Food
Food choices were good again this week, all my main meals during the week were great and nutritious. This weekend slacked from Friday onwards. Me and Phillip went to London for Christmas shopping on Friday and food choices weren't the best, they never are when I haven't planned what or where we are going to eat. 

Everyone has their bad weeks, this week(end) was mine for food and I wasn't as on point as i usually am with my food. I will just get back on the band wagon as usual and have a great start to the week, eat healthier and clean choices. I have been drinking more water this week which is a bonus and hopefully it will have helped to clear out my system!

Plan For Next Week
My running plans this week were fine, my plans to drink more water were on point. However, like I mentioned earlier, I've been busy this week, I've had a change of plans and therefore some of my plans I set last week were scuppered.

I didn't have chance to get in any yoga or cross training this week unless you count walking since the GCC started this week and I've been doing at least 10k steps per day! But I'm pretty sure that doesn't count. 

So, my plans for last week are copied over to this week. I've no trips to London, no extra plans to stand in my way, I have no excuses! Clean eating, plenty of exercise, move more(not just running)

I will do this! It's a new week! A new start. I know some people would just decide to wait until the new year before starting new plans but I want to get a head start on my goals for 2015, so it's time to get my arse in gear!

Let's do this!

***

If you haven't seen, I started a Gift Guide Series that I'll be doing over the next week or two. I put up a Gift Guide for Runners last week and also a Gift Guide for Yogis this week! so go check those out if you're still looking for Christmas ideas!

Have a great week! x

Question: Are you a runner? Do you have bad runs? How do you get past them without loosing motivation?

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Exercise
Swimming - I actually made some good progress this week and I was so proud of myself when I left the lesson! I still need to work on rotating in the water but I was able to swim further without stopping which is a good start.

Running x 3 - I managed a short run with the dog, a 3 miler and a 10 k this week. My shorter runs were OK but not the best. My legs just felt like lead and I really didn't enjoy them. surprisingly, my 10 k run was my best run this week but I struggled to even get out of the door.

I had planned to do 6 miles. I didn't do it in the morning and REALLY wasn't feeling it in the afternoon and decided to just do 3 miles. However, when I was actually out running, it felt good, my legs felt good, my stomach was a little uncomfortable as I went out too soon after eating but I just decided to keep going and ended up getting a 6.2 miler done with a time of 58 mins.

My last 6 mile run was just over an hour so I've shaved at least 2 minutes off my time and I know if I eat properly before hand with plenty of time, I should be able to do this new years 10 k in about 55 minutes. That's my aim at least!

I didn't do any other forms of exercise this week! Really annoyed at myself that I didn't so any yoga as I really have no excuse. I'm just ridiculously off my routine at the moment!

Food
Food has been good this week. I've made healthier choices. I've been drinking more tea/water which has stopped me eating so much and so I've not been snacking as much but I don't think I'm drinking as much as I should be and need to try and get in some more water during the day.

Meals are on point. I usually don't have any problems with my main meals and always get in veggies, proteins and carbs for a balanced meal. So nothing really needs to change there.

Plan For Next Week
I did the 3 runs this week that I planned to do so I'm happy with that. I'll try to get in another 3 runs this week, if not, at least a long run on the weekend for my training.

I think most of my focus needs to be on my routine cause it sucks. I need to get up earlier in the mornings rather than staying in bed for an extra hour in the warmth. This is one of the reasons why I'm not getting in any cross training during the week and I HATE working out in the afternoons so it's got to be in the morning!

My yoga has been neglected and I want to get back into it. By the end of next year I want to be able to do a headstand and handstand confidently so I've got A LOT of work to put in to get to that point. It's best to start early! I've also been wanting to try out Boxing Yoga since I saw it at the OM Yoga Show and they have a 30 min vid on Youtube so I really want to try that out this week!

Other than that I'm gonna try and drink more water and stay hydrated. I'm aiming for 8 glasses a day!

Hopefully I have a better week of exercise! You'll know next Sunday whether I did or not! ;)

***

If you haven't seen, I started a Gift Guide Series that I'll be doing over the next week or two. I put up my first one on Friday which is a Gift Guide for Runners, so check that out. I also put up a new recipe yesterday for Carrot Cake Muffins with Cinnamon Icing which were delicious so be sure to check that out too!

Have a great week!

Question: Have you any tips for getting in and staying in a proper routine in the mornings?

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Exercise
Swimming - I'm making very slow progress. I'm obviously not there yet and I'm still struggling with the rotating in the water to breathe, however, my stroke technique and kicking is fine, I just need to get the rotate and practice, practice, practice!

Running x 2 - I'm slacking this week with running, I usually do at least 3 but didn't fit them all in. I did two, which I was more than happy about.

I actually went out this morning early to do an in-the-dark run to test out the head torch that I won during the #ukrunchat from Unilite. It's fantastic, its almost like running in daylight and the torch is SO light!

Yoga x 2 - It's been a while since this made an appearance and I've really missed it. I don't know why I ever stop practicing. It's blissful and calming.

Food
Food has been good this week. I've made healthy choices for my main meals. Snacking has been OK, not the best but its getting better.  I'm definitely drinking more water/tea which has actually been keeping me from feeling so hungry.  I've got some healthier snack choices planned for this coming week so I don't stray and pick something else like a biscuit or chocolate.

One food I HAVE to mention.. although not really healthy.. was Five Guys! Me and Phillip watched the Mockingjay Part 1 last night(which was amazing btw) and then we saw Five Guys had opened. I'd heard of it and its an American chain if I'm not mistaken. There's burger and hotdogs and you choose any toppings and as many toppings that you want on it.

Freakin' delicious. I was stuffed and it wasn't healthy, but it was so worth it!

Plan For Next Week
I want to say that I'll do 3 runs this week but with this miserable wet weather.. I might not. In the event that I don't get out for a run I at least want to use the time I would have run, to do something else like a workout video or a routine from the Nike Training App.

I've said a million times that I don't agree with restricting foods at all and it tends to make you crave foods more but the sweet treats are hindering any sort of progress in my weight loss right now and I've gone without them for almost a full month before so I want to see if I can stay away from them for at least this week. Stick to fruit and healthy snacks and stay away from sweet treats for this week.

I'm hoping I can get both of these goals this week and hopefully it will give me a boost to get some weight off. I haven't weighed in yet, that's coming the week after next but I'm not expecting any massive changes unless I step it up!

Lets see what I can do this week!

Question: What was the last movie you saw at the Cinema? Are you a fan of The Hunger Games films/books?

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Exercise
Swimming - Was different this week. We went back with our usual teacher, which I complained about in my post last week, however, she was SO much better this week.

I noticed everyone else in the class was struggling with the front crawl.. so I told her I just couldn't get the rotate in the water.. others piped up and we went back to basics so that helped a lot. Although I still can't do the rotate in the water, I'm slowly learning the technique and I hope it wont be long before I can do it, at least for longer than I am

Running x 3 - I got in a short run on Thursday -  I was running late and had to cut my run short, that and the fact that it was freaking cold and icy and I had two mini heart attacks from slipping on the pavement.

However! On a more positive note, because I was rushing so much, I managed to run a 8:40 min/mile pace for my first mile which I was happy about! I've not been able to do under 9 min/miles for about a year!

Then I had 2 runs this weekend, a 4 miler and a 2 miler. Both were OK runs!

Other than that, I've not done anything else exercise wise other than walking. We had a massive switch in weather lately and it's FREEZING. As a result, I've been struggling to find the motivation to get out of a warm bed to workout. I've had a week to adjust to the weather change, now I can get back to a proper schedule!

Food
Food has had it's highs and lows this week. Some parts of my week food wise has been on point. My actual meals are great and I'm making healthy choices. However, snacking has been ridiculous.

My meals contain plenty of protein and nutrients that should keep me feeling full until my next meal. Instead, I literally feel as though I've been none stop eating. I don't know if it's because it's got cold or not.. but it sucks!

I really need to get it under control next week.. and thank f*ck I'm not weighing in on Monday.. I don't want to see what the number says.

Plan For Next Week
I made some plans last week, they didn't go quite go as expected. I know I complained about the weather but it shouldn't be a problem when I'm working out indoors(and now that the heating has FINALLY been put on ;) )

So I want my sole focus this week to be on getting into a proper routine in the morning and making sure my eating is right REGARDLESS of the cold. I can still workout indoors and you can't out exercise a bad diet, so I need to focus on both of these!

I want to run at least 3 times next week and try to do some sort of workout everyday, whether that's Yoga or a workout video, just something extra to get me moving!

With regards to eating, I just want to be more sensible. Get my snacking under control, drink lots of water(or tea) and try and have a good week of food choices!

Fingers Crossed!

Question: Am I the only one that struggles with the motivation to get out of bed, where its lovely and warm.. and go out into the cold?

And anyone have their moments when it's cold and you feel like you're always hungry?

Please let it not just be me!

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Exercise
Swimming - As usual my swimming lesson this week. I actually felt great after this lesson. We had a different coach this week which I think made a major difference. He was more patient and more informative and was giving each of us our own feedback.

The problem with our regular coach is that I feel all she does with us each week is focus on us as a group and we get no real feedback individually on our swimming techniques. It's a shame we always have the same coach. If I could pick a coach, I'd rather have the one from this week.

Running x 3 - Got in a 3 miler, 4.5 miles and 1.5 mile runs this week which is great and was exactly what I planned last week.

I decided not to go as far as a long run this week. I don't need to be doing 6 miles every week it's just not necessary. I think having mileage of 4-5 miles as a long run each week and some speed runs leading up to the race should be more than enough and I will do more long runs closer to 6 miles as I get closer to the race.

Cross-Training - I didn't do any other forms of exercise this week, however, I have my plan, I'll discuss it later but I did drop PiYo from my workout schedule for the time being and actually, I feel SO much better for it. I'm no longer stressed or crying for no reason and I don't feel a black cloud above my head when I know I have to do it.

I will probably come back to it at some point but for the time being, its been put away.

Food
Food choices were good this week. I'm being more and more mindful of what foods I'm eating. Obviously it's not perfect, but who is?

Drinking more water/tea has also been a massive help as a majority of the time, I find I'm thirsty rather than hungry. I'll feel 'hunger' have a glass of water and if I'm still feeling hungry after around 10 minutes, then I know that I'm actually hungry and I'll have a snack, otherwise, a majority of the time, the hunger feeling has gone.

I also did some baking this weekend and I made some Banana and Raisin Mini Muffins that were sugar and dairy free. They were great, tasted yummy and most of them were eaten by members of the household within the first hour, so that's good right?!

However, I'm not sure I'll be sharing the recipe here on the blog, purely because I didn't think they were perfect and I don't want to share them and someone else thinks they're horrible, haha! ;)

Here's how they turned out though!

Plan For Next Week
1) After a chat with Katie on twitter, she recommended a fitness channel called 'Fitness Blender' which has lots of different short workout videos that target different areas. So I'm going to be doing these videos throughout the week and start getting back into Yoga. I've also been wanting to try out the Nike Training App too, so I'm gonna be trying out some of those workouts this week too.

Yoga videos are pretty easy to find online but I think as a starting point I'm gonna be using Erin Motz Challenge videos, they're short enough that I can fit them into my regular routine and I really enjoy her videos.

2) I want to bake something else next week. I actually want to make it a weekly thing and get back into it. However, I want to learn how to adapt the recipes to make healthier versions.

3) I want to get into more of a routine in the morning, I had a bunch of inspiration from Jessica's Post on AM routines! and I want to make sure that this includes a glass of water. I want to drink a glass of water as soon as I get up in the morning to help wake me up and it'll help with keeping me hydrated for my workouts too.

That's it for this week! Lots of plans to keep me busy!

I hope you have a fantastic week ahead :)

Until Next Time!

Question: Do you like baking/cooking? Are you experimental with it? 

If anyone has any tips for baking/substituting ingredients for healthier alternatives, PLEASE feel free to share them!

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Exercise
Swimming - I always forget to add this to my weekly post as I only go once a week but I had my swimming lesson on Monday this week(as I do every Monday) and it was a little frustrating. I'm trying not to be hard on myself but sometimes I literally feel as though I've made ZERO progress in my classes. It will just take time. I have improved and I'll get there eventually!

Running x 2 -  Only ran twice this week. I ran once on Thursday for 1.5 miles and once today for a 10 k.

Both runs were fasted as usual. I just had a short quick run on Thursday before heading off to work and then my aim for today was to make sure I did a 10 k so I could at least see where I am at with regards to a 10k time.

I managed to run the 10 k in 1 hour and 50 seconds so I'm pretty happy with that, especially since I was fasted. With fuel, I should be able to shave at least a couple of minutes off my time. So I'll just continue to work on my speed up until race day. As long as I'm able to do the race in under an hour, I'm happy.

Piyo x 4 - Didn't get in my weeks worth of PiYo workouts this week. In all honesty,  dread them every time it comes to doing them. If you follow me on twitter, then you've seen me mention a couple of times that when I'm doing these PiYo workouts, I seem to end up in tears. I have no idea why and it's quite frustrating, so now I dread doing the workouts every time.

I'm considering stopping the PiYo program for the time being and just focus on Yoga, get a stronger core, maybe incorporate some kettlebells back into my exercise routine and come back to PiYo later.

Which brings me on to my next topic.

Food
Food has been OK this week. I've really managed to cut my snacking down, I've been eating much healthier snacks during the week. I want to try and limit my sugar intake. Cut down on sweet treats during the week and focus on having foods that are fulfilling and satisfying.

I want to try baking something healthy this weekend, I've been inspired by the low-carb/low-sugar twitter chat that we had this evening for the #hbloggers weekly chat and I've been saying for a long time that I want to get back into baking, so this is the perfect opportunity.

Plan For Next Week
Like I said above, I want to try and bake/make something healthy next weekend as a dessert, so I've got some recipes saved that were mentioned during tonight's Twitter chat  and I'll pick from those which one I want to do.

I need to amp my runs back up - at least do 3 runs this week, a 3 miler and either another long run on the weekend or a speed run or both..?

Make a decision on what I'm going to do with the PiYo program. If I decide to keep it, workout schedule will stick to the 6 per week. If not, I need to ammend my schedule to include something else to take its place.

Other than that, I think I've covered everything for this week! 

Question: Have you tried going low-carb/low-sugar, how did you find it, do you have any tips? Especially regarding low-sugar..

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Exercise
Running x 3 - One less run than usual, I did two shorter runs on Weds and Thurs and then a longer run of 5 miles on Saturday.

Saturdays run was cr*p. I think running with the dog is seriously effecting my endurance. I run around 1.5 to 2 miles with the dog during the week and I hardly ever do a long run. When I did a long run this weekend(5 miles), I was really struggling when I got to 2 miles. My legs felt like lead and I had to keep stopping almost every mile.

I can probably do one shorter run during the week, but if I want to build my endurance up for this 10k on New Years.. then I need to do at least a 3 miler as well during the week.

PiYo x 6 -  As per, I've been continuing to do my PiYo workouts during the week. I've just finished Week 3 and I don't see much difference, however, as I've already discussed in my previous Sum It Up posts, my eating hasn't been fantastic so I won't see the results I want until I sort out my eating.

Food
When I discussed last week about eating more mindfully, I put that plan into action this week. I haven't completely cracked it, it's not as easy as just doing it, it'll take baby steps to get out of bad habits again but I'm slowly but surely getting there.

I did have a few slip ups this week where I just ate because I wanted to but it was far out weighed by my decisions NOT to eat and to have a glass of water instead. So I'm proud of that.

Plan For Next Week
My aim is to do at least 3 runs next week, like I discussed above, I'll be happy with doing a shorter run, but I ideally want to have a 3 miler and another long run at the weekend, so hopefully I'll be able to do that.

Obviously, I also need to keep up with my mindful eating this week. Try to break some more of those bad habits and it'll do me a lot of good.

That's it! I think it will keep me busy enough!

Oh OH! AND it'll be OM Yoga Show weekend next weekend, so I'm thoroughly looking forward to that. I'm really excited to see what it's all about. You can be sure to see a recap blog post about it after I'm back!

Question: Got anything exciting planned for this coming week?

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