My first 10K & life after the break in!!

So i've always wanted to get into running, i've tried many times, road running and on a treadmill and i just can't love it.

Yesterday, whilst in my boyfriend car, one of his colleagues rang and said he'd signed up to do a 10k race in May. I suddenly got a buzz of adrenaline thinking about it (probably from a whole week of not working out) and before i knew it, we both had signed up too. 

Today thinking about it, i'm actually nervous. I don't think i'll be able to do it but i want to prove i can. I can do this!

I found this training plan and we're starting tonight.

We only have 9 weeks, so i suggested we just skip week 1, however, Warren thinks he can start on week 3, so we'll see about that tonight...

I can currently jog for 30 seconds and i hate it. See my optimism? ;)

	Session 1	Session 2	Session 3
Wk 1	Walk 30mins	Walk 30mins	Walk 30mins
Wk 2	Walk 5mins/ jog 1min  repeat 5 times Total – 30mins	Walk 5mins/ jog 2min  repeat 5 times Total – 35mins	Walk 5mins/ jog 3min  repeat 4 times Total – 32mins
Wk 3	Walk 3mins/ jog 4min  repeat 4 times Total – 28mins	Walk 3mins/ jog 6min  repeat 3 times Total – 27mins	Walk 3mins/ jog 8min  repeat 3 times Total – 33mins
Wk 4	Walk 1min/ jog 10min  repeat 3 times Total – 33mins	Walk 1min/ jog 12min  repeat 3 times Total – 39mins	Walk 1min/ jog 14min repeat  3 times Total – 45mins
Wk 5	Jog 20min	Jog 25min	Jog 20min, walk 1min, jog 20min – Total 41mins
Wk 6	Jog 25min	Jog 30min	Jog 40min
Wk 7	Jog 30min	Jog 30min	Jog 50min
Wk 8	Jog 30min	Jog 30min	Jog 60min
Wk 9	Jog 30min	Jog 30min	Jog 70min
Wk 10	Jog 20min	Jog 20min	10k race  -  ENJOY!

I am pretty excited to get a workout in, because of the break in, i haven't done anything properly since Feb 20th! 8 days ago!! 

You see, i prefer to workout when i'm home alone, but i haven't felt safe home alone. 

Today is the first day i have been here since it happened last week and i have lasted all day, which i cannot believe! Last night, i was terrified at the thought of it, i was crying and didn't think i could get through an hour on my own, but here i am having managed nearly 8 hours and it feels amazing! I still haven't felt safe enough to have a shower or do a workout, though, i'm also terrified of the kettle because it's so loud, i'm worried i won't be able to hear any noises if someone tries to get in. I've just been sat on the sofa, keeping my eye on the outside world and whoever comes near my flat. A few times i've been absolutely petrified and near driven to my mums, i've been really anxious and constantly shaking too, but it's a start though, a good start.

This quote is definitely my new favourite and i have even toyed with the idea of getting it tattooed on me. Until you are put in a life threatening experience, you don't know how strong you actually are to get out of it, deal with it and get over it.

To help me cope we have installed a door alarm on our lounge door leading to the hall way/front door and are going to get more on the front and back door. When we get a front door back. It is still currently just boarded up which isn't the best, either.

We also decided just to rearrange the whole living room and make it seem more 'homely'. It weird, but after break in, it doesn't seem like your house or personal space anymore, it feels empty.

We got 2 big leather sofas (which we needed anyway), a nice new rug and had a clear out. We got a bulb for our lamp so it works and i bought a nice smelling candle to burn at night to make it smell lovely. It's made such a difference, it just feels a nice room to be in and so homely! I'm SO grateful to finally not feel that petrified to be in my own home, it's the worst feeling imaginable. 

At least i have something to focus on now, running my first 10k!

Healthy snack ideas!!

We're currently watching the football, it's a big day, the carling cup! We have the lads round and i put on some food & drink! Clearly not healthy pickings though, with 7 grown men. They want cider and nuts!

Our snacks on our coffee table!

We have our scarfs up and the boys are wearing their Liverpool shirts!

I'm joining in too ;) Loving my new top from mum, casual & comfy, perfect for Cider Sunday!!

Snacks are something i sometimes have lack of inspiration for and what trip me up when i'm busy or super hungry! That inspired this post to help all of us when it's not Cider Sunday and there's no excuse! Enjoy :)

Wholegrain crisps/tortilla chips and hummus! 

 Banana protein muffins with peanut butter.

A few squares of dark chocolate & a small handful of almonds! One of my favs :)

Walnut & raisin cookies!

Healthy oat snack bars.

Piri piri fridge raiders.

 Dried mango!

Low sugar granola with extra fruit & seeds.

Cheese deli sticks!

Half a carton of yummy soup!

What snacks do you enjoy? Any recommendations?

Scary situation!!

I just wanted to do an update for you and also just to get it out my system. 

Some of you may or may not know through twitter, but on Wednesday, the day after i got sacked, i was home in the afternoon, at around 2pm i decided to do a workout, like i normally do on any days off, i was half way through when i heard a loud bang on our front door. I never answer the door when i'm on my own and being halfway through my workout, i chose to ignore it.

A split second later, i heard voices and decided to look out our lounge window to see who was out there. I jumped back as there was a guy stood with his back to me leaning against the window. I could hear him swearing and at first i thought he was on the phone and just angry. 

My thought process was; He's on the phone, he got angry about something, he thinks no-one is in so he's kicked the door in frustration. If i leave him to calm down, he might just go away. 

I picked up my phone just incase, i was about to ring my boyfriend just to tell him what had happened, when i heard another massive bang on the front door, i open our door to the hallway so i could see the front door and screamed when i saw our front door was half way off it's hinges and 3 more guys were kicking it down. 

I screamed at them to get out and asked them what they were doing, but not so politely. I thought if they realised someone was home it would scare them away but they just kept kicking. I knew i had to run and luckily, i knew our back door was open, i ran as fast as i could to the back door, kicked the tumble dryer and rubbish out the way and flung the door open. By this point, i could hear they had got in and were coming through the house towards me.

Like in a scary movie, you would think it would never happen in real life, i slipped over when i got out the door and could hear them getting closer. 

I knew i just had to run, i ran around the side of house to the upstairs flats front door, i just had to hope the door was open and they were in. 

THANK GOD the door was open and my neighbour was in! She had heard me screaming and was half way down the stairs with her keys to lock the door so no one got in. As she locked her door she saw the guy run past the door and back out to the front, by the time we had got upstairs, they had got into their car and we just saw the back of the car speeding off.

I looked down at my phone because i could hear talking and somewhere along the way, i had dialled 999 and the lady on the other end of the phone was asking if i was ok. I was so shocked i couldn't speak i just had to hang up. She rang back and i managed to compose myself and tell her the whole story calmly.

I then rang my boyfriend who said he was on his way and the police arrived. They checked the property and the door was literally collapsed in half and i had to check nothing had been taken or moved etc. They hadn't taken anything which was weird and still puzzling us now. I almost feel they were after me. We had to go and make a statement and then the CSI turned up to do fingerprints, she was confident they got a good hand print, its just wether it was on file or not. We're still waiting to hear back from any officers. 

Needless to say, it was terrifying and the flat doesn't feel the same. We stayed there that night but we only managed about 3 hours of sleep because we were petrified. 

Since then we have been staying at my mums as i'm too scared to be at home on my own while Warren is at work. We are thinking about staying at the flat again tomorrow night because we have to do it one day or another. Long term we're trying to figure out what to do, wether to move back in with one of our parents for 6 months until we can afford to buy our house, or wether i should try and be brave and try and get back to normal in our flat. 

During this time i haven't managed to do a workout or eat too healthily either, but thats not my main priority at the moment, but i am craving some normality and routine!

I just wanted to explain my situation incase i don't blog much while we figure out what we're going to do!

Walnut & Raisin Cookies!!

After my workout on Saturday, i was pretty wiped out Sunday, i could reeeeally feel my muscles which was good, but i couldn't do another workout! Damn you DOMS ;) Monday night, i was still feeling my muscles and was still quite tired but i knew i had to do some cardio! I did the At home circuit workout, but i modified it! I took the burpees, push ups and plank out (i just did more jump roping instead) and slowed down the mountain climbers! It was still a good sweat on but not the best! I also did the standing crunchless abs first which i can still feel my obliques and back today!!

I'm going to cut this story down, because i don't want to get into details, but yesterday, i went to work and everything seemed fine, then when we were closing my manager asked to speak to me and sacked me. It was a big shock, no reason for it and no warning. It's not the worst thing that could have happened because things were bad there anyway so i'm just trying to stay positive and look for other jobs and apply asap! And don't worry, i'm keep myself occupied by baking cookies and dancing around to Beyonce :)

Walnut & Raisin Cookies! 

I made around 10-11 cookies from this recipe.

4 tbsp milk,

1/4 teaspoon baking powder,

175g light/low fat soft butter,

1/2 cup sweetner,

50g caster sugar,

140g wholemeal flour,

300g oats,

50g raisins,

50g walnut pieces.

First, pre heat oven to 170 degrees celcius.

1. Dissolve baking powder into the milk,

2. Cream together butter and sugar until pale and creamy,

3. Add all the other ingredients and mix until formed into a dough (you may need to use your hands & get messy!),

4. Get a small handful of the mixture and form it into a ball, then flatter to make a cookie shape roughly 1cm thick and 5cm wide,

5. Place onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and sprayed with low fat oil spray,

6. Place in oven for 15-20 mins or until they look golden!

Make sure you allow them to cool on a cooling rack before getting your hands on them!

Muffin fail + cardio intervals tabata styleeeee!!

I had this weekend off, so we made plans to see my parents and some friends! I got up on Saturday morning to clean the house and get a workout in before my parents arrived at 11. I grabbed some breakfast (toast with banana + pb) and then got to work searching YouTube for an exciting and challenging workout! 

I wanted some cardio and I wanted it to be quick as I had to get ready for our day out! I've been subscribed to Sarah's YouTube for a while but always overlooked her videos (I have no idea why!). When I found some cardio interval style workouts, I watched through so I could choose which one to do! I decided on this one for my morning sweat on!

To help make it easier to follow, i wrote it down so i didn't have to keep pausing and moving the video!


Cardio Intervals Tabata Style!
Time using the beach fitness tabata clock!


Mountain Climbers for 30 seconds,
Rest 10 seconds,
Hover jacks for 30 seconds,
Rest 10 seconds,
Burpees for 30 seconds,
Rest 10 seconds,
Get down, get ups for 30 seconds,
Rest 10 seconds,
Squat press (with 1.5kg dumbells) for 30 seconds,
Rest for 10 seconds,
Squat pulse for 30 seconds,
Rest 10 seconds,
Donkey kick (left leg) for 30 seconds,
Rest 10 seconds,
Donkey kick (right leg) for 30 seconds,
Rest 10 seconds,
Side plank twist (left side) for 30 seconds,
Rest 10 seconds,
Side plank twist (right side) for 30 seconds,
Rest for 1 minute.

Repeat x 3-4 times!


I repeated this 4 times, so 5 times in total, but i will be honest, my 5th was a complete fail poor attempt! I was tiiiiiiiiiired! This definately did what i wanted, it got my heart rate up, i got my sweat on, i felt the burn annnnd i was done in around 30 minutes, result!

Today, i can really feel it in my back, triceps, shoulders and my thighs! I love it :)


We went to some friends last night for a night in with some good food and drink! It was a good night and i can't wait to move back closer so we can hang out more!
We got up this morning and had a lazy morning with lots of bacon sandwiches and tea, then headed home!
I already had some baking on the agenda for today and was excited to make Katie's banana bread protein muffins! 

I got some new protein powder on Friday that was on offer! It was £14.99 down to £8.49! It was too hard to resist a offer like that ;)

I'm not even sure if i'd heard of this one before, but the offer together with the 'rated 5 stars by bodyfit' was a no brainer, i had to try it! I got to work this afternoon on making my muffins, i followed the recipe to a 'T' except i used 0% fage greek yogurt instead of chobani because i'm in the UK!

As you can see, they did not go to plan! I tweeted this picture, saying they looked more like yorkshire puddings than muffins! FAIL! I'm really not sure what went wrong.. i did notice the mixture was very runny when i was spooning it into the muffin tray, but i wasn't sure how it was supposed to be! Or maybe my oven was too high? Who knows!

The texture wasn't too bad inside, almost a bread/doughnut texture. They were a little dry but would be 'nice' when warm with a smear of nut butter. I think these are a work in progress for me and i might attempt them again when i know what to change!

I have Thursday off this week and i plan to spend all day baking, so be ready for more!

Sweet & Sexy Valentines day workout!

So how did i celebrate Valentines day? With the tone it up workout, of course! I know, i know, i'm not really that sad but we hadn't planned to do anything anyway, we're crazy saving to buy our house so we'd already decided not to get each other anything. So it was just a normal night in for us! I workout, he watches football... I'm not too fussed, i don't rate valentines day much, buying our house is all the love i need from him :)

I'd been dying to do this workout for a while as

A) It's got some moves in i've never tried before,

B) It looked like a good combination of moves, working the legs, abs, obliques, back, arms and booty!

C) It looked a little bit fun with all the hearts going on..

Verdict? There's a reason i've never tried those moves before... they reaaaallyy buuuuuuurn! And that's not an exaggeration! But, it is a good combination of moves, you can feel it work (my shoulders are rock hard already) and i enjoyed it because it was different! 

I've noticed that is the key to me doing well with my exercise, take a look at my workout log, the weeks where i do 3/4 workouts, they are all different which keeps me excited and not dreading the same old workout! I have become obsessed with Tone It Ups videos, they are all so good but each one is different to mix it up for you and your muscles!


I highly recommend this workout! Let me know how you feel find it ;)

This weeks loves & loathes!!

Ahhh, it was nice to feel a hint of warmth in the air today! The bitter cold seems to have subsided and that makes me a happy girlie! I can smell summer air on it's way already...

Another thing that makes me happy is that my rota at work has changed, woo! I 'designed' it myself, is that the right word? Anyway, it's a bit better than before! I no longer have to work 9 days in a row or 3 long days in a row! I'll finish at 6 on the Saturdays i work and i get a Thursday off instead of doing 9-8. I'm so happy, atleast now i can hopefully have a bit of a life and i want to start baking more! I already have a few recipe up my sleeve!

Loves;
While wandering the aisles of the supermarket, i was debating wether to buy agave nectar or maple syrup, when low and behold the boyfriend springs this in my face..

the best of both worlds! Best purchase of the year so far and it tastes AMAZING with bananas.. maybe a recipe to come? ;)

Another good purchase has been this baby..

I was sceptical as it doesn't have the nicest smell (it stinks to be honest!) but it makes a salad taste soo much better, more like a stir fry thanks to that sesame oil in there! Mmm and 100% vegan, beautiful!

Yesterday, i indulged in this glorious cupcake! Cupcakes, rolos, chocolate icing.. mm what more could a girl dream off?!

Loathes;

I haven't been loving this cold weather, we had a 'bit' of snow but that was enough for me! It does look pretty but when i have to get out of a nice warm be? Not so pretty, i assure you!

I've been loathing my nails lately, i know they look pretty but i've had the urge for 'project natural nails'. Acrylics are a lot of up keep and can be expensive (without the perks of my job..), it's also really damaging my natural nails underneath and if i carry on, i'll have no choice but have acrylics because my nails will be horrendous! 

PS. Happy Valentines Day!! :)

 What have you been loving and loathing this week?

Good wifey duties & snack bars round 2!

This morning, i was rather psycho emotional, shall we say. It's currently my 'time of the month' and woahhhh! This may be TMI but it is so bad this month. The hormones are crazy, the pain is crazy and my stomach looks like i'm 4 months pregnant! Not attractive...! Needless to say my workouts have been non existent this week :( I'm hoping to get one in on Saturday & Sunday when it's not so bad and has calmed down a bit! 

I can't wait to do Tone it ups valentine routine, it looks like a good one!

I was going to try and get it in today but when my stomach is cramping i feel like i'll do it more harm than good if i start exercising! But i should do some kind of workout today, i haven't done one since Sunday!

Anway, back to this morning, i went a little mental at Warren (woops). I just didn't want to get up and take him to work, my stomach was cramping and i had a headache and it was cold outside, why would you want to? I did drive him to work, really moody and in silence. When i got home, i did feel a bit bad! So i decided to jump into 'good housewife' mode and text him to say sorry!

I did the washing up, cleaned everything, vacuumed, ironed some shirts for him for work this week and changed the bed linen!

I also prepared tea into the slow cooker and that's been cooking away all day! I got these packets at the supermarket specifically for slow cookers!

I just put an onion, some mushrooms, 4 medallions of bacon, 4 chopped chicken breasts, 2 tablespoons of tomato & garlic puree, the packet mix and 1/2 pint of water.

It doesn't look like the front of the packet though...

but it does smell good! I hope it tastes just as good! I also mixed up another batch of healthy oat snack bars, but this time i altered a few things. I put the hazelnuts in whole and i omitted the salt and put 1 tablespoon of brown sugar in to try and make them a bit sweeter. 

 I havent tried one yet but the texture seems a lot better this time and they do smell sweeter! I'm going to attempt the valentines workout now and then tonight, i'm going to chill out with a green tea and maybe have a bath with some Aromatherapy Associates oils to help these hormones! Check out my beauty blog on my post about the most amazing oils in the world!

Healthy chocolate & banana protein pancakes...

...served with a peanut butter sauce.

Sounds too good to be true! 

-

This morning i got up and had to take Warren to work, it's my day off so i didn't mind but i only had one thing on my mind this morning...pancakes! I grabbed a pear before we left as i didn't have much time, then i came home ready to perfect my protein pancakes.

 Chocolate & banana protein pancakes!

-1.5 scoops chocolate protein powder (i used maxitone definity),

-2 teaspoons wholegrain flour,

-3/4 teaspoon baking powder,

-sprinkle of cinnamon,

-1 teaspoon of brown sugar,

-1 egg white,

-2 tablespoons soya milk,

-few drops of vanilla essence.

While the pan is heating on a medium heat, mix all dry ingredients together and make sure there is no lumps. Then add all wet ingredients and combine thoroughly.

Pour into the pan and cook each side until nice and golden!

NOTE: when using chocolate powder, they will look quite dark, that is normal! :)

Peanut butter sauce. 

1 tablespoons all natural peanut butter,

1 tablespoon maple syrup,

2 tablespoons soya milk,

1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Mix altogether and then place in microwave for 30 seconds or until the peanut butter is melted into a nice gooey sweet sauce! 

Then sit down and enjoy your pancakes with a beverage of your choice! Delicious start to a Monday morning off work!

PS. My beauty blog was updated today with a post on my new favourite mascara!

New favourite workout & complete exhaustion!

So as i was bog loving in my last post, i came across one of my favourites, Life and times of alison and justin. In her february fitness post i spied a workout that looked like something i'd love to try! So on Thursday, i had the day off work and thought i' try it out while i had a bit more time on my hands! The result? I LOVED it! It's a great workout and got me nice and sweaty but they were moves i loved and i didn't feel like i needed to give up.

My new favourite workout is this At home circuit workout! 

I did it twice like it says and actually got my 'buzz' back after working out. Try it!! 

Talking of the 'buzz', i seem to be lacking any motivation this week and just feel completely exhausted again. I go through lapses of weeks where i have absolutely zilch energy, even to type this now is hard, i just want to flop into a ball on the floor and not move a muscle! 

I've been to the doctor about it and they can't find anything wrong with my blood works to indicate any cause of the exhaustion. One doctor gave me a leaflet on ME/Chronic Fatigue Sydrome and asked me to read through it with an open mind and then go back to see what i though. He said if i did have it, it would only be mild, but to not immediately think it is that. 

I've read through the symptoms are they are pretty much exactly what i have. Here's a little of the information about it;

Fatigue

The main symptom of CFS is severe fatigue (exhaustion) following mental or physical activity. This does not go away with sleep or rest, and limits your usual activities.

Fatigue is mental as well as physical. Some people describe it as overwhelming. You may feel that:

• It is a different type of tiredness from what you have experienced before.
• After sleeping you do not feel refreshed.
• It is not due to exhaustion.
• It is not simply a loss of motivation, which people with depression often experience.

Exercising can make symptoms worse. This is called post-exertional malaise, or "payback". The effect of this is sometimes delayed. For example, if you were to play a game of sport, the resulting fatigue may not develop for a few hours afterwards, or even the next day.

Other symptoms

There are other common symptoms as well as fatigue, although most people do not have all of them. They include:

• muscular pain, joint pain and severe headaches
• poor short-term memory and concentration, and difficulty organising your thoughts and finding the right words ("brain fog")
• painful lymph nodes (small glands of the immune system)
• stomach pain and other problems similar to irritable bowel syndrome, such as bloating,constipation, diarrhoea and nausea
• sore throat 
• sleeping problems, such as insomnia and feeling that sleep is not refreshing
• sensitivity or intolerance to light, loud noise, alcohol and certain foods
• psychological difficulties, such as depression, irritability and panic attacks
• less common symptoms, such as dizziness, excess sweating, balance problems and difficulty controlling body temperature

 It does all ring true in most of my cases, exercise does also make it a lot worse, since that workout on thursday, i have barely been able to function and i'm literally exhausted like you wouldn' t believe. no amount of sleep leaves me refreshed, sometimes i feel worse with more sleep but i'm always tired. It would also tie in my stomach pains/problems i get and my dizzy spells/lack of balance.

One thing i have noticed though is it is worse the week before my period is due for some reason, which is why this week has been so bad! Maybe it's something to do with that?

I'm back to the doctors tomorrow so hopefully i can get some more answers!!

Whats your new favourite workout? Do you ever feel completely exhausted?

Update from all angles!!

Ahhhh joys of the weekend a day off! 

If you're catching up, here's what you've missed!

Our weekend in pictures.

Weekend wrap up and exciting news.

On the beauty blog;

Review of St Moriz Dark Tan!

Pre christmas haul and recent beauty buys! 

I booked today off work as holiday so i could have a chill out day before working all weekend! I've been working a lot lately and it's looong hours! I feel i never have time to do anything and i work weekends too! Needless to say January was pretty quiet for us and i can't believe it's over already! 

Where does time go?! 

So i had a great lie in this morning! Got up and i'm STILL lazing around in my pjs! I'm just catching up on all the programmes i record while i'm at work and don't get to see them. The programmes i've been loving are;

The only way is essex.

The biggest loser.

Masterchef australia.

and One Born Every Minute.

Oh geeze, i'm so broody lately it's actually crazy! The pain doesn't even scare me, i just can't WAIT until we're blessed with a baby! Hopefully a couple of years and we'll be ready :) Exciting!

I supposed i better try and do some housework later! And i want to try and get a workout in later, I've been good this week in terms of workouts even though i haven't really had any energy!
 I've still been eating healthy too, although last night i did have a night off and didn't do a workout, we also had a date night at the infamous Nandos! Yummy!! We're addicted to chicken :)

Whilst lazing around i've been browsing some blogs and came across some amazing ones! My favourite one was 'A charmed life'. Her passion for fitness really excited me and gave me some motivation to do a hard workout today!! Also, i think her wedding dress is AMAZINGly perfect and i definitely want one like that ;) just need to work on that body! 

As for valentines day, we both have the day off but Warren has the hospital about his foot to see if he can start driving again! So we have to go their and probably won't celebrate much, maybe we might have lunch out? We'll see! 

What are your valentines plans? What TV programmes have you been loving?