Along the way I've picked up different fitness related things that I really couldn't live without anymore. Hopefully this post will inspire you to start coming up with your own must-have collection! And if you already do, I'd love to hear about them! :)

1. Stainless steel water bottle


Ever since discovering the hazards of bisphenol A, I ditched plastic bottles. I avoid them the best I can, as BPA is used in certain plastics and it can dissolve into the water. While the research is still ongoing (mainly tested on animals) and the risks to humans isn't completely clear yet, there is evidence of BPA causing hormonal issues and danger to infants and young children. This is enough for me to steer away from plastic. And ignoring the health side, it's more environmental friendly.

2. Running shoes


Getting good running shoes was one of the most important things for me when I started getting back into running. My gym shoes just simply don't offer enough support for my ankles and lacked the grip on wet ground. Quite a lethal combination, don't you think?

3. Sports bras


A bit of a no-brainer really! I want to be as comfortable as I can when I'm exercising, and having proper support is so vital. Keeps things out of the way and they're just a million times more comfortable than a normal bra. I've actually started using a sports bra to work, I'm constantly bending over to lift things and wearing a sports bra just keeps the girls in their place. ;)

4. UP-band


While I haven't used my band for a while again, the Jawbone UP has definitely been a great investment. When I was still getting used to my own calorie burn and activity levels, being able to track it all was very valuable. Both times I've stopped using it has been because I got fed up with it getting caught on my pillow when I was trying to sleep. I like to be comfortable when I sleep and the band was having none of it!

5. Phone


Yes, as weird as this one sounds, my phone keeps me up to date with everything. I listen to music when I exercise, I track my activity and calories through various apps (I'm going to make a post about a few later on) and it's my main platform for taking pictures as well.

And my phone has definitely taken it's fair share of battering, the amount of times I've dropped it on the ground mid walk when I've been changing the song is a bit silly.


6. Foam roller


I've been all over this one lately! The benefits of using a foam roller are simply incredible - prevents injuries, helps you de-stress (I normally find myself rolling my calves for a good half an hour at least, time just flies by as I roll away while watching TV!), keeps you flexible, gets rid of muscle knots you didn't even know you had.. The list goes on! A foam roller is a very inexpensive way of keeping your muscles in good shape and it lets you get more familiar with your own body.

A whole year has passed since I started all this. It's gone so fast! January's weigh in came in at 71,8kg - far away from my goal for January, but I'm not going to beat myself up too hard over it. I've been far from good diet wise for a very long time now, it's something I've been working on to get fixed and I should start seeing good results very soon. :) Also going to rejoin a gym after the first January rush has calmed down, can't wait to get back to it! More about my new gym later on.

As it's been a year, I think it's a good idea to look at the numbers a little. I'm going to compare my measurements to a year ago instead of last December, in a way this new progress check system makes me feel like I want to start "fresh" in a sense and not look back to last month.

4th January 2013 - 5th January 2014
Weight: 84kg to 71,8kg - 12.2kg lost
Bust: 106cm to 97cm - 9cm lost
Waist: 85cm to 72cm - 13cm lost
Belly: 102cm to 90,5cm - 11.5cm lost
Thighs: 63cm to 57cm - 6cm lost

Overall I'm really happy with my progress so far. I've had a few injuries along the way and I think it really slowed me down last summer, but I've been strong enough to carry on after recovering instead of throwing in the towel. :) It is, after all, a lifestyle change and bumps on the road are a part of it.

I'm posting my progress pictures tomorrow morning, I've been at work all day and it's too dark now to get good pictures out of my phone. I've also got plenty of post ideas just waiting for a bit of spare time!

Oh it's been so nice to get hold of my usual routine again - both exercise and diet wise.

We spent our New Year's eve at home. We kept thinking about going out to watch some fireworks but we never figured out who's organised it around here and on top of that it was raining all day, so that did dampen the party mood a bit. And we've never actually gone out for New Year's before, why break that tradition eh? ;) Instead we subscribed to Netflix, watched Hunger Games and a few episodes of Rome. Was a very chilled way to end the year and I loved it! I prefer to stay in instead of going out to drink, such a blessing when it comes to trying to stick to your healthy diet.

I mean don't get me wrong, I do like to have a few drinks every now and then to relax. I just don't agree with going out to drink just for the fun of it and get completely off your trolley. It's just not me and I'm quite glad about it. Saving both money and my liver.


It's been really nice to go back to normal cooking after the holidays. I'm just so packed with motivation and energy to get back to it all and it shows! My menu has looked quite lovely so far; salmon cakes with sweet potato chips (+ a few potato chips I cooked for my other half), salmon with quinoa and veg, red pepper and onion omelette.. Yum! 


My foam roller has been in good use so far as well! I've started rolling after every walk and workout I do and it really seems to help with recovery. I also got rid of some shoulder tension last night but oh my god did it hurt!! My muscles and joints kept crunching as I rolled away, at times I felt like I was going to pass out when I went over a sore spot! But it's so worth it, I feel a lot more... nimble now. ;) I think I need to go over my shoulders again today though, just to make sure all the knots are gone.

And the sides of my thighs are incredibly sore, I can't actually roll them for too long because it does get quite painful after a while. Just need to do them a little at a time until I get rid of all the tension. It's weird how you never actually realise that you have all these painful spots in your body until you really go over them with a roller or during a massage. I believe that your general wellbeing has a lot to do with knowing how to listen to your body, both physically and mentally.


The very first thing I did this morning was go for a walk (didn't even have coffee when I got out of bed!). I knew the weather was going to take a turn for the worse again today and I thought that it was best to take advantage of the brief period of sunshine we had this morning and go for a walk. I decided against running as I did a leg & bum workout last night, better to let my muscles rest a bit.

As I love going to the seafront when I go for my walks, I couldn't resist going over there for a bit of fresh sea air. We've actually had weather warnings and they recommend you to stay away from the sea and I can see why! I have never seen the tide so high over here and the wind was insane, it actually made my eyes water as I was trying to get a nice picture of the waves! I can only imagine what the wind would do to a little toddler or a small dog. I hope people listen to these warnings instead of trying to be brave and see how close they can get!


Hopefully you all stay safe today and avoid all the damage to your houses, the wind is only going to get stronger from now on.

People really tend to make the mistake of getting far too into their weight loss resolutions and when they burn out because of it, they give up. Here's a few helpful tips to everyone who's recently started their journey into becoming a better version of themselves!

1. Start slow. There's no point going all out the very first week. You need to keep in mind that losing weight and getting in shape requires a lifestyle change. Just going on a fad diet will get you absolutely no results in the long run and a lot of people gain all the weight back after going back to their old diets. 80% of weight loss happens in the kitchen, so make sure to tweak your overall diet to a more healthy one! It takes a while to get used to change, so don't overburden your body by changing too many things at a time.

2. Rest. When we exercise we actually damage our muscles so our bodies really need the rest to be able to repair all the damage we have caused. Don't worry though, it's not bad damage - as long as you don't go all out and don't rest. If you overdo it you will really injure yourself and that will put everything on hold or even make you quit.


3. Find something you enjoy. It goes without saying that trying to get fit by doing something you don't enjoy will make you give up eventually. Not a fan of the gym? Try an exercise DVD you can do in the privacy of your own home or go for a run instead.

4. Spot reduction is a myth. All these exercise programs claiming to target your problem areas and melting the fat away is a bit fat lie. Your body will burn fat evenly around your body (granted, some people seem to lose more from certain areas) so it's no wonder if you feel frustrated when you don't get the results the program claims.

5. Balance. For best results combine cardio with resistance training. While cardio will make you look lean, having a bit more muscle mass will make you look incredibly healthy and it'll also increase your rest burn. Don't worry ladies, weight lifting won't turn you into a Hulk unless you actually aim towards a muscular look, it'll simply make you look incredible!


6. Don't give up. Body transformation takes a long time, it's not going to happen overnight but requires a lot of dedication. Don't think about how far away your goal is, but how far you've already come! Just imagine yourself a year from now, just think about how amazing you're going to look if you just stick to it!

7. Track your progress! I really can't stress this enough, track it track it track it! Weigh yourself, take measurements, take pictures! Only weigh yourself once a week for most accurate results. Your weight can fluctuate throughout the day so you will just get discouraged if you keep stepping on the scales every day at different times of the day. I personally do it every Sunday morning, right after waking up and going to the bathroom.

Good luck!

Happy New Year everyone! Did anyone make resolutions regarding their health? I've got a few aims/goals I'm going to push towards, but first I'd like to look back to 2013 and see what I've accomplished so far!

• lose the last 6kg by June
• get into some sports in a more serious way
• track my food and drink more carefully (been slipping with this one again)
• track all my activity on HeiaHeia
• have less takeaways!!

I am also changing the way I do my progress a little. I'm only going to start posting my weigh ins once a month with the progress check instead of every week and then one big chunk of progress every four weeks. This is what I've wanted to do for a very long time now but I felt like I shouldn't do it mid year, but now that it's officially 2014 I'm going to start doing it. :)

Oh and I am going to do a summary of how I've done measurement wise on Sunday as well. I'm really not looking forward to it, I have a feeling the scales won't show the numbers I'm aiming for!