Personal Challenge

Since I got back from my skiing holiday with my family a few weeks ago, I decided to set myself a challenge of running three times a week. Last summer I was running pretty regularly and was able to run quite far but I let it slip a bit over the winter as I've been concentrating a bit more on toning than cardio.

My first run after my holiday was really hard - I felt like I was running through quicksand. I've heard that you can lose your fitness after three days, so having not been to the gym in 1 and a half weeks I was really struggling. I kept at it anyway and in the first week I did three 3.5 mile runs. The next week running suddenly felt so much easier. I found that I could keep running for much longer and was starting to enjoy it again. I believe the more you do something, the better at it you become and then the more you enjoy it so you continue to do it.

Yesterday I ran 6 miles (I know it doesn't sound like much especially to any amazing people who ran the marathon last weekend!!) and I felt great after. This morning I have just been for a run with my little sister who is a really good cross-country runner. I definitely think running with someone who is a little faster/better than you really helps to push you out of your comfort zone and improve - it really helped me anyway! At the moment I'm running 9 minute miles which is a whole minute quicker than when I started a couple of weeks ago. I'm also gradually building up my distance - this week I'm running between 5.5 and 6 miles and next week I will run between 6.5 and 7.

I really think setting yourself simple challenges like this can help to improve any aspect of your life, whether it's exercise related like this one, or eating 100% healthily during the week, or challenging yourself to read more instead of watching TV - the feeling of succeeding at your challenge and seeing improvements in yourself is one of the best feelings out there.

So, set yourself a little challenge and enjoy it! x

Eat Your Breakfast!

Hi hi!

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while.. Just thought I'd take a little time to write about my absolute favourite meal of the day: BREAKFAST! I literally go to sleep thinking about what I'm going to have for breakfast and it's the first thing on my mind when I wake up!

Eating breakfast is so important for staying healthy because it fuels your body so it can do all the amazing things you need it to do throughout the day. It not only fuels you physically but eating breakfast has also been proven to help improve memory and concentration levels - so in the run up to this busy exam period breakfast can be your best pal. I have so many different breakfast ideas that I love so for now I'll just tell you my standard one and follow up with posts about different breakfast ideas soon.

I always start my morning with a big glass of water (sometimes with a little slice of lemon in) before I've even had anything to eat. This is really helpful for your body as it flushes out toxins, purifies your colon and speeds up your metabolism.

My standard breakfast is usually almond milk with granola and berries. At the moment I'm obsessed with Lizi's Granola - it's so delicious and uses agave syrup which is the lowest glycaemic sugar, I love it! For an extra health kick I add Linwoods ground flax and goji berries and half a teaspoon of Organic Burst maca powder. This breakfast is great if you're in a bit of a rush because you literally just throw it in the bowl and it's ready - no excuses to skip breakky!

No matter what I'm having for breakfast, I always have a green tea, lots of water and my daily vitamins with it.. and then I'm all set for my day.

Enjoy your breakkie! x