Keepin' fit - motivation, cookbooks & activities


Guilty as charged - keepin' fit is something I don't do enough. In fact, I'm sat here eating chocolate with one hand and typing with another. Standard. The point is though that I want to go for a seaside holiday this year and therefore I NEED to do something with the folds around my waist, the chicken wings and all that hideous stuff that's going on under my suspiciously lose top. Let's have a look at a few things I've been doing lately to work up my appetite to get back into exercising (read going shopping to real shops instead of shopping online all the time) and eating less take-aways. The three key areas of keepin' fit for me are my motivation (currently at the bottom of the Mariana Trench), my cookbooks (I've been really getting into cooking, nomz!) and different activities that encourage me to be positive despite my laziness!

👊🏻  MOTIVATION

You are probably expecting something more 'roaaar' but one of the hardest kicks I've been getting are from the 'keeping fit' YouTube videos! Just search for things like keeping fit, staying healthy, my fitness routine, healthy lunches. You will get hours of fun colourful videos of people being (at least in front of the camera) their best at fitness and being 'good' with their food, exercising, lifestyles. I find it very inspirational to watch someone else (a real human, not a celebrity) to do something, to change the way they live, to improve on their habits. Another thing I've been enjoying is reading a book called 'The Happiness Project' by Gretchen Rubin (get it here). The book describes 12 months of her life - starting with a day when she realized that she could be happier and have that little bit better life than she already has. In the quest for the ultimate happiness, she tests various theories and practices for life betterment. Just one of the ones I really like:
'It's fun to fail'
Without failure you wouldn't have success, just like you wouldn't have good without any bad. It's absolutely crucial to admit to yourself that you are allowed to fail. All you need to do is pick yourself back up because you know that once there's a possibility to fail, there's also a possibility to succeed. Well, I am currently a bit of a fail on the fitness front, but hey - one day, one day I will succeed!

👊🏻  COOKBOOKS

Another great inspiration of mine have been cookbooks. How have I never noticed what absolutely beautiful cookbooks are out there? My current favourites are these three:

⇢ The Forest Feast by Erin Gleeson (the most stunning illustrations; buy here)
⇢ Plenish by Kara Rosen (all about juices and detox; buy here)
⇢ The Picnic Cookbook by Annie Bell (handy tips not just for picnics but also for lunch boxes, ha!; buy here)

Not only that I've been enjoying cooking way more than I used to (the large kitchen in our new house definitely helps!), I've also been thinking more strategically about what I'm putting into my mouth. Apart from food (doh), I've been also consuming some different supplements to what I used to take - the one I've been currently testing is the Organic Chlorella from Viridian (read more here). In all honesty, I can't see much difference, but I also believe that I'm more to blame than the chlorella is. Chlorella helps you with nervous tummy, it improves your immune system and digestion. Lately I've been so very stressed that I don't think anything on earth would help me get rid of the stomach spasms, but hey - there's always the possibility that without chlorella it would be even spasmier in my tum!

👊🏻  ACTIVITIES

Now my activities are not particularly active, but a passive activity is an activity nonetheless, right? I say - do anything that makes you feel active. Lately I’ve been putting a lot of effort in our new house (we’re renting but the landlord has been so lovely that she lets us do the house up a little). Almost every weekend I’ve been cutting hedges, digging up flower beds and planting flowers, shrubs and herbs around the garden. I’ve been putting up shelves around the house and painting walls. One would think that it’s a bit of a wasted effort (and money) on someone else’s house but I can’t live in a not-very-me environment. Which I believe is a rather good start to kick off a healthier lifestyle. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying – clean home means clear mind. Once you’ve dealt with the external – you can deal with the internal. Make yourself happier, more approachable and get a more active mindset. There are endless fun things you can do to get motivated, to get the wheels spinning - from getting a new gym gear (they have this terrific marble collection in Matalan, have you seen it? Lush!) to football betting (because it gives you an excuse to watch all the fit football players on telly and have a shouting match with your brother/boyfriend/dad whilst you might even win a few quid on top of it!) and running your own 'Happiness Project' (because everyone thinks they can be that little bit happier than they already are). Just do it! I’m off to watch my new Davina McCall DVD. Maybe even exercise a little!

What do you do to get the kick-start for a healthier lifestyle?

💭 Viridian were kind enough to send me their new Chlorella for testing however the sore tum, lazy bum and everything in between is my very own. 

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