My workout routines:

Hello lovely bloggers,

Recently i was asked to make a post about my fitness regime. 
Since my break up, i have lost a fair bit of weight, mainly due to a combination of working out and my diet (with a little bit of stress weightloss in there too).

Height: 5ft7
Starting weight: 61kg/135 pounds
Current weight: 57kg/125 pounds

To give you an idea of my journey, here's a before an after:

I'm not going to lie, it was hard work, and it really is more of a mindset/lifestyle than a diet.
I've written about to stay healthy on a budget and about previous weight loss/diets on my blog as well. 

But for this post, i'm going to show you more of an example of the workouts i actually do rather than my diet. I will be doing another more in-depth diet post though.

YOU DO NOT NEED TO JOIN A GYM TO LOSE WEIGHT.  All the weight i've lost has been done in my own bedroom, or out running round parks. 


Workouts:

HIIT:  This stands for high intensity interval training.  For me, this is the most effective form of cardio. Not only is it known for burning fat quickly, but its incredibly efficient. Unlike going for a 45 minute jog, you can burn the same amount of fat in 20 minutes through this type of training. Its designed to be a short cardio session, but training yourself in intervals. A great example of this is if you run often.  Running for 1 minute as fast as you can, and then taking a 30 second break continuously for 20-25 minutes is much more efficient than simply running at an even pace for 40 minutes. There are so many different forms of HIIT training, but the ones i follow are ones that can be done at home.  So no need for a gym! They're quick and will kick your butt! 

The main workout video i use is this:

I only do this work out 3-4 times a week, with rest days in between. Mainly because HIIT is quite intense, and it would be too harsh on your body to be doing it every day. Your body needs rest days.
On days that i do not HIIT train, i stick with lower intense cardio such as walking (i walk EVERYWHERE) or i'll go for a quick, relaxed run round the park.

That being said, i tone every single day.

In terms of toning, it takes a tiny portion of my day to do.  I'll often do it just after waking up.

The main areas i focus on are my abs, and my lower section.  As someone who is pear shaped, i need to focus on my lower body because its where i store all my weight as opposed to the top.

My average toning workout compromises of this (I've included videos for ideas):

Abs:

- 50 crunches

- 60 side crunches (30 on each side)

- 40 reverse crunches

- 30 leg raises

- 40 bicycle crunches (20 on each side)

Legs and bum:

- Squat challenge every day

- 20 plie squats

- 20 sumo squats

- 40 fire hydrants

- 40 donkey kicks

- 3x 30 second wall sits

Even though i don't focus that much on arms, i still do some of the toning exercise for them.

I have rounded shoulders so in order to bring them back, i've had to strength my back and stretch out my chest.  

If you have bad posture like me, i would DEFINITELY recommend this video, its helped my shoulders dramatically:

As for arm workouts, these are great:

Like i said earlier, you do NOT need a gym membership in order to lose weight. You just need motivation and a good, clean diet.

My next post will be on foods i eat, foods i avoid, and a couple of healthy recipes for clean eating :)

How i lost weight and toned up in 2 weeks

I am aware that everyone's bodies react differently and lose and gain weight differently, but this is how i managed it.  I started off at 59 kg (130 pounds) and ended at 61kg (134 pounds), and i am 5ft7. I found that the way to tell if i was losing weight was through pictures and measurements as opposed to weight. This is due to the muscle you build weighing more than fat.  Ladies, don't always judge your journey by your weight!

Here is a before and after photo between the 8th of july and the 22nd of july.

I was so proud of this progress, and this was down to two simple things.  A clean diet and daily cardio/strength training.
Now i know this doesn't happen over night, but it just goes to show how much a change of what you eat and how you exercise can affect your body.

This is how i did it:
On the 8th of July i joined a gym in Cardiff, and committed to go there at least 6 times a week in order to see any change.  If you can't join a gym, start running! its just as effective but costs nothing!
I began with cardio training on the cross trainer and bike, slowly working my way up to 45 minutes of cardio everyday.  As well as this, i started strength training for abs and arms mainly as i felt they were my problem areas, especially as i have scoliosis, i have to build up my abs in order to alleviate back pain.  Funnily enough, i did no butt or leg training but the cross trainer toned those for me!


Diet wise i ate completely clean. This meant NO soft drinks, sugary sweets or anything along those lines. It was ok for me as i'm not particularly a fan of those anyway. Hardest thing for me to cut out were the more savoury snacks like crisps. It was a  high protein diet, mainly turkey or chicken, a lot of vegetables and a few carbs (all either whole meal or whole grain if i do) and the occasional fruit! a diet low in bad fats and sugar.   I also tried to eat good fats like almonds or avocado. I also tried to eat a MINIMUM of 1300 calories a day.  anything under that will send you body into starvation mode, and it'll store any fat you eat. Its counter productive to barely eat!

A massive help was drinking two cups of green tea every day as well, 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon.  It helps boost your metabolism and burn fat!

I drank A LOT of water, i could not stop peeing most of the day but my skin was so much better. i think a lot of my weight was water weight as well, so upping your water helps to flush out water retention! If you want to help eliminate water weight, i suggest cranberry juice (the ones without any added sugar or flavouring as they tend to be packed with sugar) and it helps flush excess water from your kidneys!

i cut down sodium/salty foods.  If your body has too much salt and not enough water, it will store excess water in your cells, which means you will hold more water weight!

If you want some ideas for abs, arms and other parts of the body training, check out blogilates youtube, most of the toning exercises i use are from there.
it was a lifestyle change rather than a diet!