Slave to snacking

I love a good snack, whether it be sweet, salty or savory. 

So this week I am setting myself the challenge of stopping the snacks. If I can do this week without snacking on the naughty stuff even just one or two bits here and there I will feel such a sense of achievement. 

I am so weak when the good stuff is put in front of me but one thing I have learnt about myself is I am stubborn and competitive. Give me a challenge and I will do it. Therefore I challenged myself to this. 

I need to prove to my brain that I don't need bad snacks, they are not a treat and I don't really enjoy them while I eat them. It is all in my head, I know that but sometimes my head is very strong willed. 

(There maybe a left over Easter egg in it for me if I can do the seven days). I have done two days so far no problem. And temptation has been put in my way so there is a positive I can thrive off. I have shown some strength.

Fruit salad is one of my favourite things to eat so I have made a huge one to put in the fridge for snacking on.

I have banned everything naughty from my flat and have a healthy eating plan in place. 

This can be done!

Back on the track

Wow did I pound the pavements today. 
Anyone who loves to run will appreciate where I am coming from. I hurt my ankle running one month ago and made the stupid mistake of pushing through it. It meant I spent the rest of my week off limping around. But after 10 days taking it easy, the weekend came and my ankle was feeling better. After one too many vodkas I decided to sprint home from town. 
What a huge error on my part. I further hurt my ankle. Terrified of doing more damage and having to "rest" my ankle for longer I vowed to take three weeks off from running and stick to low impact exercises like swimming, bikes and cross trainers. 
Running for me is a form of stress relief and body wise, I react to that cardio and stay leaner when I jog then any other exercise. 
So these other exercises have not been cutting it. But today my three weeks were up! I rolled out of bed first thing, strapped on an ankle support and off I went. I iced it last night pre-run because, well, what would it hurt, and iced it after the run. Low and behold, the day is over, I have spent it all on my feet and my ankle feels fine. Hallelujah!  
Words cannot describe how much I needed to run. I only did three miles. Initially I only intended on doing two miles to ease the ankle back into it, but I just can't help myself. I will stick to three miles this week, up it to four the week after and then hopefully I can get back on with my five mile runs. 

Beating the buldge

I have seriously got my skinny head on right now. To kick start my motivation again after a couple of months of it seriously lacking I am going with two tried and tested tricks.
First of all I am back on the Bootea. As I have written about in previous weeks I did the two week detox and noticed great results.
I had a flatter belly, better skin and felt lighter and fresher. Knowing that I have spent £20 on a product that has to be used daily really helps keep me on track too. I would not want to have wasted my money for the sake of a steak or chocolate bar.
I am also doing the 30-day-squat challenge.

Currently I am on my first rest day

I have done this once before. I went from having a pretty flat, flabby bottom to having a booty! Something that I have maintained to a degree. The first week is killer, after that it stops hurting as much but it can get pretty boring so I tend to squat while watching the tv. It really helps!
Squatting is a great overall work out and it really targets your glutes and upper thighs (inside and out) which is just what I need right now.
Once I start seeing results I will feel loads better about myself and hopefully it will really help me get back on track. So far so good. I am on day four of both and I am feeling great.

Protein princess

So yesterday I blogged about my bad habits and not doing so well on the healthy eating front.
I also think it is equally important to blog about the successes I have.
I know it has only been one day but it is the first of many good ones. I had convinced myself I had fallen off the bandwagon and would struggle to get back on again. Alas, today I did it. I had three healthy meals: protein shake made with milk, soup and sourdough bread and chicken stir fry. Snacks have been healthy and nutritious: kiwi, boiled eggs and peanut butter on sourdough bread. I know I have had bread twice but I did a big weight training session today so I needed the extra carbs and anyway sourdough bread is a healthy alternative.

Today's nutrition chart

I always feel a sense of achievement when protein is my main source of energy because it seems so hard to do, especially as most go to foods are carb heavy or fatty. But today I got the balance right.
I have eaten approximately 1,418 calories and burnt 357 calories during a cardio workout. I would not know how to work out how many I burnt weight training but I'd say enough to warrant the peanut butter on bread as more of a post workout snack than a naughty snack.
Tomorrow should be another day great of healthy, nutritious food. The feeling you have at the end of the day for eating well definitely outweighs the five minutes of pleasure from eating crap food. I just wish that was something I could remember more often when the chocolate bar or sausage roll calls my name.

Binging

I was fully prepared tonight to blog about my achievements of the day. I am sorry to say that will not be what I blog about but I will tell you all about my failures.
My post was supposed to be about how I had some little treats today, a couple of pieces of chocolate and a small amount of birthday cake (co-workers birthday, we all know the score) but at the last hurdle I failed.
Unfortunately I cannot mentally get it into my head that it is ok to have something naughty as long as it is in moderation. I go into this mindset as soon as I eat something bad that I have failed so I may as well eat everything I want in one day, get it out of my system and start better tomorrow.
So, when 9pm came and I had managed to enjoy three very healthy meals and a few small treats I felt very smug and proud of myself that the little voice inside my head hadn't got the better of me.
But I am sorry to say the one little Thorntons chocolate that wouldn't harm turned into six and then before I knew it I had binged on everything.

The cake that started it all

I don't tend to have bad food in like chocolate and biscuits but I had caved earlier today and bought a small bag of chocolate (which would be fine if I could managed one or two a day but I can't). I'm like Pringles, once I pop I just can't stop. Before I knew it I had finished the chocolates, eaten two bowls of shredded wheat and nibbled on just about everything in my fridge.
To be completely honest I have really fallen off the bandwagon lately. I lost quite a bit of weight and started to feel great so I began to go a little bit easier on myself. But that turned into ooo just one won't hurt, maybe another, oh I may as well have that and slowly I am putting the pounds back on. It is a slippery slope and one I need to fight. Willpower is something I have never been very good with. So tomorrow is a new day, and I am going to eat well, do a massive workout and set myself up for a clean eating weekend. Starting Monday I am going to feel energized and refreshed. It will set me up for a good week. I am also going to do another round of Bootea which helps keep me on track because I refuse for it to be a waste of money.
One thing for sure is I am an emotional eater. I recently hurt my ankle running so have had to stop that for a while which is something I am struggling with. I love running and I am itching to get back out there so the frustration of not being able to just go is getting to me. One more week of rest and I plan on seeing how I get on going for a short run.
But for now I am going to feel guilty about the amount of food I have consumed today and look forward to a healthier future.