Fitness Wish List

I'm not sure why I have never done a wish list before, they are so much fun to make! I live in bit of a dream world as it is, and I love fantasising about all the pretty things I wish I could afford, although to be honest I will probably pick up quite a few of these items up when I am in Florida! 

Seeing as I am getting more into my health and fitness I thought I would make a list of work out clothes and accessories that I think would be useful because.

1. A pair of booty shorts from Pink by Victoria's Secret. One of the first things you learn in pole dancing is that the more flesh the better. This is not to be sexy but you need skin to grip to the pole or you just end up sliding down. I particularly like these ones because of the cute polka dot pattern.

2. A pink protein shaker. I think this one is pretty self explanatory. You need the special shaker bottles or the protein powder and water won't mix properly and you will end up with icky lumps.

3. This low back tank top, once again from Pink by Victoria's Secret. I'm quite fed up of working out in my boyfriends old t shirt and think this tank is the right mix of cute and practical.

4. The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno. Eating clean is cutting as many processed foods out as possible and trying to live on things our body can process easily, i.e fruit and veg. I have been introducing this into my diet slowly but think the book is definitely worth picking up to educate myself more.

5. A pair of Yurbuds, pink of course! I have quite large ears (thanks dad) so must ear buds fall out of my ears, but Yurbuds actually measure your ears and have different sizes. They are also sweat resistant so great for working out!

6. A pink iPod shuffle.  I mainly work out at home either early in the morning or late in the evening so it's not fair to my family to have my music blaring out. I'm not keen on wearing a arm band to keep my phone in so the shuffle would be perfect as it already has a clip.

7. A pair of Mint Green Nike Free Runs. I hear great things about these trainers, and they will look great in the spring!

8. Some protein powder. I have started doing enough strength training to warrant needing some extra protein. I'm currently looking for a good one, although muscle milk has cookie dough flavour which sounds tempting. If you have any recommendations let me know!

9. A gym bag from oGorgeous. Not only are these designed by Cassey Ho (my total girl crush), they are very feminine and practical bags with plenty of pockets for organisation and you can even put your yoga mat through the front pocket, perfect! The style I like is currently sold out so when I see it back in stock I will be sure to snap it up.

Looking at this list makes me happy, but I'm annoyed I forgot to add that I am after a new Black Milk swimming costume too. What's currently on your wish list?

Motivation Monday #1 Blogilates

I've decided to start a new mini series all about the people who inspire me to get fit and healthy.

First up in this series is the amazing Cassey Ho.

Cassey is a pilates instructor who runs her own blog, Blogilates, which she posts everything about healthy living, from cute workout outfits to great recipes like macaroons, which I have tried and this is a great substitute for the real thing. 

She also has a YouTube channel with over 100 free workout videos, which are something I have started doing a few times a week and really enjoy.

I find Casseys videos very inspiring and motivating, Cassey stands there with a huge smile on her face talking about random stuff which you just have to laugh at or you will cry with the pain.

My favourite series of workouts at the minute are her Victoria's Secrets workouts, she even has one called bombshell beauty so I think the title shows that she is up for having a bit of fun.

Cassey also has a second YouTube channel, BlogilatesTV where she talks more about food, answers health and fitness questions, vlogs and posts about her personal challenges. 

I love watching this channel too because it is so informative!

A bit silly, but another reason I love Cassey is because she is so feminine.

She has her own range of gym bags which are all pretty and girly, she also likes to wear cute clothes when working out because she talks about how if you look good you feel good and want to work out even harder. The best bit though, is that she has amazing nails too (I know, bit odd for me to notice) but considering she lifts weights her hands are still in lovely condition and she often matches her nail colour to her gym outfit, and even loves a bit of nail art, something I can definitely get on board with!

OK I think that is enough of me declaring my love for Cassey Ho and Blogilates, but seriously if you are looking for great free pilates based workouts check her out, she seems so warm and friendly, and she is in amazing shape which inspires me want to work out harder so I can eventually look like that too.

Let me know if you have any inspiring people you think I should check out!

Third Month on Weight Watchers

Here we are, in April, the month that I go to Florida (so excited!!) and also the month that all the hard work I have been putting in goes out the window as I gorge on pancakes, buffalo wings and fried pickles. Oh well I can always pick myself up and start again when I'm back!

Anyway, the figures.

Weight lost this month - 7.5 pounds

Total weight loss - 18 pounds

It was a great result this month, but I was quite ill for one of the weeks and couldn't eat, which gave me a big loss, and I think the pole dancing and starting doing pilates has really helped accelerate the weight loss this month.

I am definitely getting into eating more healthily. Weight Watchers helps you cut down the calories and somewhat teaches you what foods are better for you and which ones aren't, but you can still have a lot of chocolate and processed foods on weight watchers and I am going to try and clean up my diet and get rid of as much processed foods as possible. This is something I am doing gradually as it's a hell of a lot different to how I have been bought up, and it requires a lot more planning on my behalf, what with preparing lunches for when I'm at work and making sure I get all the ingredients for meals at the weekend to save me having to go shopping after work. 

I have also kicked it up a notch with the exercise too, I introduced doing pilates using Blogilates on Youtube who is amazing, very inspiring and motivating and I even went swimming today, something I hope to keep up at least once a week.

As I mentioned, I am going to Florida in just over a week and so the diet will go well and truly out of the window. I will try and do some exercise whilst I am out there, but I hold no promises, hours of walking around theme parks might be enough to kill me anyway! 

Hopefully I won't completely undo all my hard work, but I anticipate quite a big gain, I won't let it get me down though and I will use everything I have learned in these three months to move the gained weight quickly and then some more!