How to eat healthily at work...

Sorry for not posting in a week or so, I have returned home for the summer from uni and have been back at work full time and going back and forth to uni to sort bits out. Anyway, being at uni is so easy to organise meals as you are home for the majority of the day, you can be creative with food especially lunch. The one thing I hate about working full time, is the lunch restrictions. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg at the canteen and I don't want to eat their horrible greasy disgusting food. So I have to take in my own. I make sure I prepare it the night before so I am not rushing in the morning before the gym. The only thing I make in the morning is my protein smoothie, just so its fresh and hasn't separated so I can drink it straight after my workout.

So here is a little sneak peek into the food i take everyday.

I usually have granola, yoghurt and fruit for my breakfast. Sometimes I will have fridge oats or porridge depending on how I feel. I just really like the freshness of granola and yoghurt.

At the moment I am heavily into big salads for lunch. I mix it up with avocado, chicken, salmon etc. The basis of my salad is always mixed leaves and spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, mixed seeds and cottage cheese. I like the cottage cheese almost as my dressing, its full of protein and gives the salad a different texture. I like to cook my chicken with the skin on but I take it off before eating as it really isn't that good for you, however tasty it may be.

I always take lots of fruit with me or carrot sticks etc for snacking. I find the more snacks take in the more choice I have and the less likely I am to snack on the biscuits and cakes. But overall, I think the key is preparation. Make ahead and then you have no excuses not to eat healthily.

My week through a lens 2...

Top Row - Stranger in the sky, Work night out, Heart in my drink

Middle Row - Steak dinner, Apple Munchies, deer in my garden

Bottom Row, Ready to go out, Meal at Jamie Olivers Restaurant, After my Half Marathon

Walking on sunshine...

I am extremely extremely pleased to say i completed my first half marathon in 1 hr 50mins. Not bad when my target was 2hrs 10mins. I found it extremely tough as it was boiling hot with very little wind and for the last 6.5miles it was a gradual up hill climb. I timed my run on Nike+ but it says I ran slightly less than 13miles even though the course was accurately measured at 13.08miles.

 I felt really strong for the first 6miles as it was more of a sheltered trail run, it was actually a pleasure to run. But past the half way point i really struggled and had to really pull it together to keep going. But overall I am thrilled and just wonder how well I would have done in kinder conditions.

For anyone scared to take part in a more competitive run, I found it really helped push me harder when running with other athletes and also keeping pace with them throughout. Also everyone was so nice and I continually heard words of encouragement from other runners and tried my best to offer words in exchange.

Now on to the next challenge, after putting my feet up and enjoying this sunshine.

If you were thinking about entering a race... don't think... just do it!!

xx

Sunshine salad...

I am a huge fan of salads. Many people find them boring or not filling enough but think the complete opposite. Yes, if you are just going to have some leaves, a tomato and a cucumber on your crazy quest to be a stick, then you will find your blood sugars crashing and find yourself starving within half an hour. I on the other hand cram my salads full of yummy goodies so that each mouthful is nutritious and enjoyable. 

This was a post workout salad I ate today for lunch. Some people think I am strange because I put fruit with various different ingredients, i have a huge sweet tooth and I find that blueberries on a salad really make it more enjoyable and break up the taste a bit. They are also full of antioxidants and are brilliant for your hair and skin. I don't believe in depriving your body of anything, so diets lacking in fruit are a big no no for me. They may have sugar in them, but it is naturally occurring and in moderation, they help to indulge your sweet tooth and provide a varied diet.

Salad ingredients:

-spinach

-cucumber

-tomatoes

-avocado

-chicken

-cottage cheese

-blueberries

-seed and nut mix

-homemade lemon and rosemary olive oil

What ingredients make your perfect salad? Don't forget to follow my blog and I would love to hear from you guys reading :)

xx

Benefit 'They're Real' mascara review...

I recently bought Elle magazine and the freebie this month was a sample of the new Benefit mascara, 'they're real!' I am a self confessed make up snob and would rather save up and buy myself the product I feel really works than buy several products that are often cheaper and less effective. My current favourite mascaras are Diorshow Black out £23 by Dior and surprisingly Extreme volume mascara £2 by MUA at Superdrug. I tend to use the MUA as my everyday mascara and the Dior if I am going out or dressing up slightly more. 

I always think i look a bit albino without mascara as my eyelashes are so pale and my eyes end up fading in to my face. So i pretty much will always wear mascara even to the gym. For this reason it is important for mascara to be waterproof, long lasting and have strong colour... a tough challenge for the Benefit newbie.

However, I can say I am very very impressed. Even though just a tester, the packaging is luxurious and sturdy, a treat to open. The little tube encloses the brush which is an artistic masterpiece. There are hundreds of long and short bristles meaning that even the shortest of lashes get a good coating of mascara. My favourite feature of the brush is the slightly rounder tip, which enables easy application to lower lashes, something I always struggle to do without a serious touch up job afterwards.

So anyway here are the before and after pics, please excuse my eyebrows, I took these literally on my way out of the door to get them sorted.

Before

After

Even though it is slightly pricey at £19.50, I am definitely going to buy myself the full sized mascara after the tester runs out as it is the perfect mascara to wear even whilst working out. You can buy it at all Benefit counters and online on the Benefit Website

Don't forget to follow if you like my blog :)

xx

to be inspired...

http://pinterest.com/zolakt/fitness/

I think its important to remember that just because you want to look a certain way, you need to look at the progress you have made so far. Make each achievement a big deal. It will give you the inspiration to keep going.

So get up and do something active... you will feel so good afterwards.

xx

Last run before the race

So I completed my last long run before the half marathon on Sunday. To be honest to start with I felt pretty terrible, heavy legs and very lethargic. But after a few hill sprints I came in to my stride and really enjoyed the run. I managed just under 10miles running at a 9min mile. So pretty chuffed. 

Post run still smiling!

I have started using the Nike+ running app and so far absolutely love it, I may do a review after a few more uses. However today when changing my music I managed to pause my run so It says I have done a mile less than I did but oh well.

Took a few progress shots today. I am really starting to notice real muscle definition in my stomach and its much flatter bellow my tummy button. It gets bigger during the day but definately less than it has previously since the Gluten Free era. I still want to work on my obliques the dreaded muffin top but that  whole band around my torso is a real problem area.

Please excuse the poor quality, I wanted to quickly take a picture before my run on my phone!

On another note, my beloved Asics are coming to the end of their life, I feel a lot more discomfort down the sides of my feet post run and pressure under the ball of my foot, a sure sign they need replacing. Does anyone have any suggestions? I am loving the look of new Nike Free 5.0 just because they look so funky, and my dad always says if you look and feel good, you will perform good! 

Anyway let me know, Iv also noticed I am getting lots of new visitors to my blog everyday so feel free to follow me or post any comments :)

xx