Florida Series - Health and Fitness Haul

As you know if you read my blog, I have been trying hard to loose weight recently, and we all know what goes hand in hand with eating healthily right? Yep, you have it, exercise!
When I work out I am normally just in a pair of ratty leggings and a boyfriends old t shirt that makes me look like a sack of potatoes, but after watching a load of Cassey Ho’s Blogilates videos, I decided to get myself some cute work out clothes so I can look good. My theory if I have cute workout clothes it will help motivate me to want to work out more. 
Here are some of the things I picked up.

I got these cute leggings from Pink by Victoria Secret. The pink pair remind me of something out of Grease and are full length, the lilac pair come to just below the knee for when it finally gets a bit warmer in the UK.

It may be TMI to show you pictures of the sports bras I picked up, but I thought I would show them anyway to remind everyone if you are working out you need to appropriate support, no one wants to be saggy before their time!

Both of these bras are also from Pink. I picked up the mint green one because I am obsessed with mint and coral at the moment, and I also got the grey one because I love the contrast of the neon piping, and the lace detail on the back is so cute!

I have also been obsessed with pole dancing since starting my course a couple of months ago. My beginners course has since ended and I have done a couple of private lessons to keep me going until I start my level 2 course next week. 

One of the things you quickly learn is that short shorts are a necessity, you need the exposed flesh to help grip the pole, so I picked up a few cute pairs to wear to the lessons. These will also be great for working out in in the summer, only in the privacy of my bedroom though!

Keeping hydrated is very important, so I picked up this cute pineapple water bottle, once again from Pink. It holds a litre of water so it’s great for when I am working out.

I also picked up the Stitch cup to take to work because all we have is tiny glasses that need to be refilled constantly. My Stitch cup is a pint so it’s a lot easier for me to monitor my water intake level, plus I love Stitch.

I also got a couple of tops to work out into, as nice as my new bras are I don’t think I want to be working out in just them! 

They are nice and light and airy to try and keep me cool when I’m extremely hot and sweaty.

And last but not least, we have probably my favourite purchase of all which is my Nike Flex trainers.

I got these in the Nike outlet, so they were heavily discounted. I love that they are so bright and girly, they are also very light with breathable material making them perfect for when I go out running with the dog. Now all I need is to find a matching lead for my dog....

My first pole dancing class!

On Thursday I had my very first pole dancing lesson at Polaris Pole Dancing School.

Now before any of you get images of seedy clubs and taking clothes off, I'll let you know it's not like that at all, although there is a lot of heavy breathing and sweating involved. It's a killer workout!

The class takes place in Krunch Gym, which seems to be quite a serious gym, not one of the ones where the girls spend 10 minutes on the tread mill then the rest of the time in the steam room and Jacuzzi which gives a small indication of what you are getting yourself into.  

The class is nice and small, only 8 girls and we each had our own pole.

At first I felt quite nervous, being on the heavier side, but I was put to ease when I saw the class, it was a mix of all different shapes and ages, and everyone was lovely and just as nervous as I was, which put me at ease. 

The instructor Rebecca Plume also helped put everyone feel welcomed and relaxed.

Instructors definitely make or break a class, and Rebecca definitely makes this one. 

She is a small fire cracker, and definitely knows what she is talking about having competed in competitions and actually judging them too.

She is also very encouraging and the small class size means that everyone gets individual attention and help when they need it. She definitely gave me a lot more confidence throughout the class.

We practised a few different spins, dancing moves and static poses, including climbing the pole which I never thought I would be able to do (think of it like climbing the rope in PE, I never managed that!).

I was so impressed by what we managed to achieve and learn in a one hour class, I seriously can't wait for the next one!

I am signed up to do a 6 week course, and before we started our class we watched the end of the previous class. They where seriously impressive, hanging upside down by one leg with no hands, it was amazing! They seemed to have really bonded too and all be very friendly with each other, once again creating a encouraging and happy atmosphere.

 At the end of the class Rebecca announced that that was the last class in the previous beginners course, I can't believe that I might actually be able to do what looks like some seriously advanced moves in just 6 weeks time.

Did I mention my 44 year old mum has signed up for this course with me? She was dreading the first class but absolutely loved it after she did it and is really looking forward to next weeks class as well. This is the first type of workout she has done in years, and although we where both struggling towards the end, we kept going.

It really is a great workout, its more toning than cardio but it will definitely get your heart rate going.

The day after I could really feel it in my stomach, arms, shoulders and chest, and I have some lovely bruises to show for it!

I've definitely found a workout I really enjoy, and Rebecca teaches from beginner through to advanced, so my aim is to really throw myself into this until I get good enough to compete, then I will go to all the competitions! I might be getting ahead of myself here, but I have never been any good at sports so it would be pretty amazing to get to competing level.

I could not recommend pole dancing more, although I would say do your research as I have come across courses that are more expensive than Rebeccas, but have a bigger class size and you have to share the pole so you won't learn as quickly or get as much attention. 

Most good teachers will do a taster lesson so you can see if its for you before investing in the course.

If you still think pole dancing is a bit seedy, then I urge you to watch the video below and see how it is essentially gymnastics turned on its side. You have to admire the athleticism of these girls! 

Now to pick out my stage name!

First month on Weight Watchers

So some of you may or may not know that I have been doing Weight Watchers since the beginning of the year.

At the tail end of last year my weight was gradually increasing, and Christmas just saw it sky rocket.

The doctor told me I was overweight, the scales told me I was overweight, and when I saw my face in pictures from New Years, the double chin told me I was over weight so I decided to do something about it and joined Weight Watchers.

The reason I chose Weight Watchers is because it is so simple to do. You are set  your daily pro points, and this is like your calories allowance. Every food has a different pro point value, and most fruit and veg are 0 points so you can get away with eating as much of them as you like.

Weight Watchers is essentially a low calorie diet, which is my favourite type because I think it mimics normal eating, just on a lower scale, and the points value helps teach you which think twice before consuming something.

Another reason I chose weight watchers is because you also got a weekly points allowance on top of your daily points, which means if you are going out for a night out or fancy a take away, you can use these weekly points to have a treat, bear in mind you would still only get about 2 slices of Dominos pizza with these points!

So my first month is up, before I talk about how I've been finding it, I will share the numbers with you:

Weight Loss - 6.5 pounds

Loss on bust - 3 inches

Loss on waist - 3 inches

Loss on hips - 1 inch

Loss on legs - 1.25 inches

Loss on arms - 0.75 inches

Total inches lost - 11 inches

I think the numbers speak for themselves and show that it is definitely working, and looking at those number makes me feel quite happy. When I look at 11 inches on a measure tape it seems quite a lot!

I have found Weight Watchers incredibly easy to stick to and I think the database is really extensive, it even has a lot of popular restaurant chains menus in there, which makes eating out a doddle.

I think the hardest bit is having the will power to say no when my family has massive portions of something I really like, or a take away curry. The weekly points is a big help though as it means I have still been able to go out for lunch and dinner with my friends.

The only downside with Weight Watchers is I think it would be very easy to put the weight back on afterwards if you are not careful, and I have seen some people do that!

Oh and just to add on, I have been doing it online only, I don't really want the embarrassment of being weighed in front of a bunch of strangers, and I didn't really fancy the meetings either. 

I have however, had a amazing support group on FaceBook. The group is made of of girls I do know, and friends of friends. We are all in the same boat, and I don't think I would have got as far as I have without them!

Exercise wise, I haven't been doing much, just some weights here and there, although after seeing Jodie Marsh's Brawn in the USA programme I definitely want to kick the weights up a notch. I have also been doing a lot of hooping with a weighted hoop. It's lots of fun, great cardio, tones up your abs and is quite gentle on the rest of your joints!

So far I would recommend a diet like Weight Watchers, because it's not a diet as such, it's more about teaching you about a healthy lifestyle. Lets see if I still say that after month two! 

Today I went to pilates

That title sounds pretty underwhelming, which is kind of how I left feeling the class.

I'm just not sure it did anything. There was about 5 minutes of intense ab pain, but that was about it. Tomorrow I probably won't be able to move, but right now I really don't feel like I worked out at all.

The class was also a lot different to how I imagined it. Having never done a pilates class before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but after a quick look on YouTube it seemed to be a lot of core work, like constant sit ups, planks, v sits etc. This class didn't seem to have a lot of repetition, it was more static, or very slowly moving positions, which I thought was meant to be what you did in yoga? The instructor had a pretty amazing core and brilliant balance though so that was encouraging.

It doesn't help that the class was only 45 minutes long because the instructor was late, if I had paid for the class I would be pissed! Well its included in my membership so I do pay for it, but you know what I mean, I hope.

I also tried yoga for the first time on Sunday, which I definitely preferred.

The class finished at 9, so I did a full day of work then went to the gym. I feel pretty virtuous right now, I have earned this low fat diet meal, and the full fat cheese I have smothered it in.

I'll keep yoga and pilates up for a while and keep you updated on any improvement/pain, apparently these classes are great for building long lean muscles. That sounds nice. A lot better then short squat muscles.