Run Forest, run!

Today I paid my entry to the Great Women's 10k run. It takes place on 11th May in Glasgow, I'm already excited! Now I have a bigger excuse to get myself to the gym and start increasing my running distance. Hopefully getting 20lbs off in the next 6 weeks will also help this (ha).

NHS Choices Couch to 5K programme.

It's January. Was your resolution to lose weight/ get fit? This cleaver little programme is what kickstarted me last year, so I thought I'd share a little bit about it. 

Back in the day, I couldn't have imagined running for a bus. The C25K programme starts off with walking, and short jogging bouts, slowly increasing each week. Even the first session is difficult, but it's amazing how quickly your body adapts to the exercise, and each week you will feel your fitness improving. If you stick to it for the whole 9 weeks, by the end of it you will be able to run for 30 minutes non-stop, which should roughly equate to a whole 5k.

The podcasts are FREE, and once you get past the cheesy music, and the slight patronising 'Laura' saying 'Well done, you're doing great!' it really is a great help and a starting block for a schedule. 

Here's the link If you want to know more, or even download the podcasts. 

As I'm starting my 6 week transformation programme on Tuesday, doing 3 HIIT (High intensity interval training) sessions per week, it's likely going to cut into my running schedule. That being said, I'm hoping to start walking to work. 57 mins walk just seems like aaaaages, and I'm worried I will be late. 

Also: Every wondered what a spinach, yellow pepper, and mushroom omelette looks like? A little something like this. 

The journey begins...

It’s Friday! 

I finally hit the treadmill  yesterday, for the first time in about 4 weeks (since my knee injury). I made it to 5k, but I did have to keep slowing down because my fitness level has dropped. Christmas didn’t help either :P 

A few helpful tips for trying to shift some lbs....

• Eat food you like! Don’t force feed yourself leaves if you don’t like them. 
• Don’t feel bad if you fancy something sweet. Yesterday I had a quality street. 44 calories man, that’s less than an apple. 
• Don’t feel the need to not eat out. Have you ever tried a Nandos salad? Delicious! 
• Read labels- a pork pie looks delicious, but imagine how much food you can eat for that 800 calories.... 

Think about it this way… If you’re serious about losing weight and being healthy, there are some changes you will have to make for life. If you think of yourself as ‘on a diet’ and restrict yourself from eating anything tasty, you’re not going to lose weight and keep it off. 

My 6 week transformation plan starts on Tuesday. I just got the nutrition plan today and nearly fell over at the changes I'm going to have to make. More about the plan in my next blog post (hopefully Monday/ Tuesday). Let’s see if my plan works. Hope you have your fingers crossed for me. 

Do you like my peri peri chicken salad? It was delicious.  The couscous helped keep me full, too. 

Also- Just so you know... I'm 2 and a half stone lighter than I was on January 3rd 2013. 

Happy New Year!

Hello! Welcome to  my first ever blog. 

This is a little scary. *takes deep breath*

Where to begin? I'm Vicky, I'm 23 years old. I work full time in a customer service role, which I really enjoy. I like making excuses to shop, playing Call of Duty, running, and watching trashy German TV. I speak German, and would love to travel and see more of the world (and learn Spanish). This blog is going to be like a public diary for me and my weight loss journey, a way to track my own progress, and be a little more expressive. I guess you could say I'm not really sure I want people to read this (and I can't guarantee there'll ever be anything worth reading) But I feel like this is going to be a good year. Things are going to change for the better.   

One day in around 2012, I looked at myself, and realised that things had to change. I had to stop buying clothes which were too small for me, thinking that one day I'd get into them. I had to stop taking late night trips to Asda to buy cakes and chocolate, and I had to get back into exercising. 

One good thing is I can lose weight. I'm not your typical morbidly obese twenty something. I like exercise, I love fruit & veg. I'm just lazy, and very much a lovely of all things sugary. The yoyo dieting went on for some time, losing and gaining weight. 

In March of 2013 I went to visit some friends in St. Andrews. While there, we got onto the topic of losing weight, and my friend mentioned how she's been running for about a year, and loves it. She told me about the NHS Choices Couch 2 5K programme, a set of podcasts to teach you how to run 5k. 

I took the challenge on, and found that running is right up my street. I loved it! Every week I would do a little better, and even though it exhausted me, I could feel myself getting fitter, and I was so proud! That combined with healthy eating was my plan of attack. And guess what? It worked!


By October of 2013 I had lost 3 and a half stone. Whoop whoop, right? Sort of. 

Since then, I've sort of been a yo yo dieter. I am still around 2 and a half stone lighter than I was this time last year, but I should have done so much better. And now is the time to change! Again!

I'm starting a 6 week 'body transformation programme' whereby you follow a nutrition plan, and take part in 3 classes a week. After a running injury at the beginning of December, I haven't been running for around 4 weeks, however I hope to have a decent enough knee to start again tomorrow (wish me luck!)

I want to document this 6 week journey, but then also continue to keep track on how it's going. 

Finger's crossed that I'll be dropping by soon with some more updates. (and some pretty pictures)

Bye For now :)