Bikini body blast

It's that time of year again. The sun is peaking out giving us a taste for summer and the smell of sun cream is in the air.

Our summer holidays are upon us plaguing our minds while we look down at our winter pouch.

Because, let's face it, even the fittest of us do not keep up with our routines as thoroughly in the cold months. The drizzly mornings make us roll over rather than roll out of bed.

The Christmas chocolate, cheese and biscuits are still sitting heavily in our greedy guts.

But the short shorts are staring back from the dark corner of the wardrobe and we know it isn't long until we will need to whip them on.

So this is the way I ensure I have a good week. I get organised!

Forward planning is the key. It is essential in ensuring you don't get stuck on a night with nothing in to eat and the "goody cupboard" enticing you in.

Now trust me, I'm no saint. The plan below was faltered by the fact that today (Tuesday) we had a working lunch so we had to put on a spread for clients making it inappropriate for me to pop out of the meeting room to get my packed lunch, and also, my boyfriends mum wanted to make us tea.

Obviously, you cannot dictate what someone else cooks for you. So Tuesday was a flop, but it is okay because you cannot let one day ruin the rest.

And in the grand scheme of things - one day is okay.

By planning and putting the time aside to prepare lunches and set your workout routines you can make sure the rest of your week is planned around your health and fitness schedule.

It might sound tiresome to some people but to enthusiasts alike, it makes life complete. And once you get in to the swing of it, you will enjoy it. Particularly when you see the results and feel yourself getting faster and stronger. But the final satisfaction comes when you strut down the beach, in the bikini you dreamed about all last year and couldn't face, with the confidence to match your hot bod!

Prepare! Prepare! Prepare!

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Snack	Dinner	Workout
Monday	Scrambled egg and watermelon	Feta and avocado salad	Greek Yoghurt and banana	Broccoli and beef stir fry	Run, Chest and Abs
Tuesday	Protein and banana smoothie	Chicken and avocado salad with watermelon	Apple and nuts	Sesame crusted chicken fingers and courgette quinoa	Sprint intervals, and arms (Biceps and Triceps)
Wednesday	Scrambled eggs and watermelon	Courgette quinoa salad with tuna	Protein shake, apple, almonds	Salmon and sweet potato	Morning run, Legs and obliques
Thursday	Monkey nut yoghurt and granola with watermelon	Salad and fruit	Protein shake and nuts	Mexican quinoa	Morning Swim, Shoulders and Abs
Friday	Scrambled eggs	Tuna salad and fruit	Apple and yoghurt	Simply cook box	Back  and cycling

Metafit

This week I took the week off work and went back to my home county, the glorious Yorkshire.
I have spoken before about the temptations that present themselves at home. The dreaded "goody cupboard" as expected has not been avoided and I haven't been able to resist my mums delicious home baking (lemon and coconut cakes) my hips worst enemy.
So this means I have to make sure I keep my exercise regime tip top. Luckily the beautiful Yorkshire countryside makes this easy. I love running the old rail tracks at the back of my house and the weather at the moment is perfect for running, sun shining with a slight breeze and not too hot. Ohh how I enjoy myself.
However, I can't run every day and shouldn't really be running at all right now as I have hurt my ankle. I don't know what I have done but after a run it swells up and I am in agony. I have limped and squealed all day today.
So to break it up I tagged along with my step mum to her metafit class. For those who don't know, metafit is a new type of interval training that uses body weight and short bursts of intense activity to target the largest muscle groups. The classes vary from 16 minutes to 30 minutes and participants are expected to put in maximum effort but for shorter periods of time.
It is proven to raise your heart rate much faster then a standard cardio workout, raises the metabolism and keeps you burning calories for much longer.
Now don't be mistaken, 16 minutes does not sound like much, and trust me I am quite fit so I thought, yeah I can do this. I did do it and it didn't kill me but my god I could really feel it working. It felt like I was getting more toned and fit as I was doing it.
In the class I went to, we did four exercises for 30 seconds with a 10 second rest between each one. Then did all four one after another, no rest. We then moved on to four different exercises and followed the same pattern. And finally the third round, we did the same again with four new exercises. Then to finish just for good measure, we did all 12 exercises one after another, no rest.
Needless to say my step mum and I stood up at the end, looked at each other, no words were needed, we just gasped.
Red faced and sweaty we walked out feeling like we had done a good hour in the gym. That was last night, today I have felt a little tender and stiff. I have a funny feeling tomorrow I am really going to feel it and my long walk is going to be torture.
But whatever the weather, I could not recommend trying this class enough. It takes no time out of your day at all and really works. What more do you want?

Sometimes, it's ok

So there is no escaping it. It is my birthday on Wednesday.
As I live away from home I have come to spend the weekend jumping between family homes.
It is my birthday weekend with my family and childhood friends.
Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, there is no avoiding birthday food.
The parents know I am not eating chocolate (although my mums house is filled with chocolate in the "goody cupboard") so no chocolate cake has appeared. However, chocolate cake is my least favourite so they have found a way around that.

My stomach was faster than my camera.

My dad bought be six cupcakes instead of a birthday cake. They are delicious and I am supposed to eat them within a couple of days. So I am replacing meals with them. My parents are divorced so I get two birthdays. My mum has baked banana bread as a birthday cake. A bit of a healthier alternative but combined with cupcakes, a very sugary weekend is in store.
It also means I went out for "birthday dinner" with my dad last night. I made some healthy swaps with my sides but ultimately a pulled pork wrap with sweet potato chips is still twice as bad as my own homemade dinner would have been.
I wouldn't usually beat myself up for eating these things on my birthday but tonight I will be going out with my friends drinking. I only brought two dresses to choose from, both tight fitting. And I promise you, my stomach is showing last nights indulgences. Crap!
To top it off mum is making my favourite naughty dinner tomorrow, Gammon, Egg and Chips. I can't wait as with a hangover it will be incredible, but coupled with cupcakes it is safe to say I am having a fat weekend.
But one thing I must remember is it is my birthday, I only have one a year (even if I extend mine over four weekends) so I should enjoy it and let lose a little bit.
So why not, I have the rest of my life to eat well every day.

The resistance

Well, today I was put to the real test. In my last post I mentioned my two 21 Day Challenges.
The first challenge is 21 Days of exercise which I didn't think would be too hard as I work out on average six times a week anyway. It turns out it is, that one rest day makes a world of difference and I'm pretty sure i'm over exerting myself.
So today I did 30 minutes cardio in the gym and that was it. I felt like i'd really treated myself and it felt great having a nice long evening to relax.
But where I was most pleased was when a colleague of mine bought a box of brownies in. My other challenge, the one that really is a challenge, is 21 Days without chocolate!

Delicious, delectable brownies

These chewy treats were also within arms length of my desk. Unfortunately my desk is the one right next to the "goody table" as it is known, every office has one. 
The worst part is knowing they are still there tomorrow but I will persevere. 

I knew I had to get my sweet tooth under control and like many before me, saying no to sugary delights only led to me eating twice as much. So instead I just cut out chocolate, anything with chocolate as an ingredient. What has kept me going this week (which surprisingly has been the worst week, all I want is a Twix, bourbon biscuits and chocolate digestives, not much really) is knowing how well I have done now. It has also shown me I can do it! 

My 21 Days is up on 26th February, coincidentally, my birthday. So I can indulge without guilt in cake (which I can technically eat any way given that it isn't chocolate cake) and my lovely little chocolate heart a colleague bought me for Valentines Day. 

Thanks Charlotte can't wait to eat this! White chocolate and raspberry heart, lush.

I am going up North to my home town this weekend. That will be a challenge. When visiting my mums all I seem to do is dive into a dream of chocolate. She has both a "goody draw" in the fridge and a "goody cupboard" I hear it's a mum thing. So I will be doing my best to avoid those.

I will try to harness the strength I have felt today.

Wish me luck.