Category: Fitness

Protect Your Joints: LQ Liquid Health Jointcare

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You probably take your body for granted until you get that first twinge after exercise, or that niggling pain, or that ache a few days after you pushed yourself really hard during a session. Truth is, your body does what it’s supposed to – until it doesn’t! I had an experience like this last year when I sprained my ankle really badly training for the London Marathon. It still hasn’t healed, and no, I didn’t get to compete. I’ve deferred until next year, which gives me even more time to get ready.

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My Essential Kit for Winter Running

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If you’re stupid like me and you signed up for the London Marathon and then spent the summer getting even more unfit than you were before, then you probably can’t afford to wait until January for your training plan to start – or maybe, you actually like running and you do it in the winter anyway*… Either way, you need special kit for running in the cold, dark months – but you don’t need to spend a fortune. Here’s my essential kit for running in winter – mostly aimed at beginners, but if you’re a pro, maybe you can read it anyway and give me some tips!

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ZeroFat iR1 launch: burn it off on a bike!

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Last week, I was one of the first people in the country to try a brand new piece of exercise equipment called the ZeroFat iR1. I came away really impressed and excited to share my experience with you all, so here goes!

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Calorie restriction: keeping those hunger pangs at bay

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When I’m dieting, I try to stick to 1200 calories a day. I’ll confess, I sometimes go lower. The Fast Diet is a pretty well-respected method for dieting that sees subjects take two 500 calorie days a week, and eat what they like the rest of the time. In a more hardcore version of this, dieters can restrict themselves to 1200 calories on the non-fasting days. This was my inspiration for my calorie counting in the first few weeks of the diet. Hard, yes. Dangerous? I don’t think so. Unprecedented? Not at all! In fact, calorie restriction may actually lead to not just weight loss, but better health all around. (As I keep saying, everyone is different, and none of this information is being presented to you as my weight loss guide for general consumption.)

So, what works best for me? First of all, skipping breakfast. Breakfast is the Holy Grail of dieting. The advice used to be that you should never, ever skip breakfast. Eating first thing was supposed to kickstart your metabolism, and besides, isn’t there that saying, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a pauper”?

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Variety is the spice of life: getting my groove back

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I’m not the kind of person who does very well with the same thing, over and over. I like routine, but I hate monotony. I love playing computer games, but if I have to do the same level more than three times, it’s literally game over.

Exercise can often be a dull task, let’s face it. I’ve tried plenty of things in the past, but it’s never stuck. Judo, kickboxing, running, yoga, belly-dancing, going to the gym… I love all of these things and I’d do them again tomorrow, but not every day, every week, for years and years and years.

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My weight-loss history: a concrete goal is the key

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Right, I promised I’d tell you what I’ve been up to this past week and a half, weight-loss wise, but actually, I think the best way to start this ongoing journey is to give a bit of context. The last time I embarked on a successful weight loss project, I was losing weight for my wedding. I ended up going from around 10-11 stone to just over 8 (around 160lbs to 118lbs). The secret of my success really boiled down to one thing – an immovable, unyielding deadline. I hated the way I looked and I wanted to look as good as I could on my wedding day – for me, that meant losing weight (and learning how to use make-up properly!).

The last time I embarked on a successful weight loss project, I was losing weight for my wedding. I ended up going from around 10-11 stone to just over 8 (around 140-150lbs to 118lbs). The secret of my success really boiled down to one thing – an immovable, unyielding deadline. I hated the way I looked and I wanted to look as good as I could on my wedding day – for me, that meant losing weight (and learning how to use make-up properly!).

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Fitness is a form of self-love: a confession 

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Guys, this has been a really hard blog post to write, so please be gentle with me…

Last summer, I told you I was taking a long hard look at myself following a fairly bleak period in my life. Depression, self-destruction and self-neglect were unfortunate side effects of a death in the family – which had already been preceded by two more over the space of a few years, all just before or just after Christmas. I don’t often get too personal on my blog, but it’s really confession time here: I’ve let myself go.

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Get your body ready for January with LQ Liquid Health Joint Care

Get your body ready for January: keeping healthy in winter

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People love to pour scorn on New Year resolutions almost as much as they like to make them. January is a natural time to reflect on the last year and try and make the next 12 months better than the last, though – and it’s a good time to get stuck into exercise too, if you’ve spent December on the sofa overindulging!

I get sent a lot of supplements and vitamins throughout the year, so I thought I’d share my favourites with you in time for the New Year. These are things you can start taking right away to get your body ready for whatever you want to throw at it come next month!

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