WORKING IT

On my old blog I used to do food diary posts and talk a little bit about my workout routine. The reason that I haven't done it here yet is that in the past year or so my life has been so crazy and hectic that I very much fell off my routine and created a terrible cycle of dieting and bingeing. It was my decision that as soon as I'd get to France and start a quieter life I'd start training properly again and sort out my diet.

Before having children I never exercised properly. I'd go to the gym regularly for a month and then not go at all for two. And even when I went I fell into the category of women who read a paper whilst lazily pedalling away on a cross trainer, year after year, never seeing any changes in their body or fitness levels. I now know that it's impossible to read whilst working out! IF you're actually working out that is!

After having my first baby I quite quickly got into the best shape of my life. I was determined to shed the baby weight and I did that in a very well planned, healthy way rather than by starving myself. I also started training with a Personal Trainer and learned what it actually meant to work out. Most of my training was high intensity. I saw results quicker than I had ever expected and maintained my routine until I got pregnant again.

After my second baby I again lost most of the weight I had gained and was back in my old clothes in a matter of weeks. However I didn't get into the same workout routine and for some reason started having really bad sugar binges, which meant that I never lost the last few kilos. I can't remember when exactly they started but every week I was on a diet, eating clean for four days and bingeing for three. I worked out but due to one reason or another kept on changing gyms and routines and ended up not really training that hard or regularly. And even if I had it's impossible to out-train a bad diet!

Not being happy with your body is one thing but feeling terrible guilt over your eating is another. It makes you feel very low. This cycle continued on and off until now. Or I should say until a couple of weeks ago. In fact I can even tell you the date of my latest binge... it was exactly two weeks ago. Now you can laugh but this is the longest I have managed not to do it in two years. It's a start.

(Can you spot George the dog??)

I don't know what I weigh right now but I have a pair of trousers that I haven't been able to fit into since having my second child. I haven't been anywhere near able to do them up. After ten days of managing to stay off sugar and bingeing (I've started following James Duigan's clean eating principles and recipes again) plus training regularly in high intensity style (I've found an amazing Personal Trainer at a nearby gym) I decided to see how far I had to go to fit into them again and was so surprised when they slipped on comfortably! That's how bad sugar is for you!! Only ten days without it and my hips were a couple of centimetres smaller. And I do eat. I eat a breakfast, a snack, a lunch, a snack and a dinner every day. I cook everything in plenty of coconut oil, I pour olive oil in my salads and have avocado, nuts and full fat natural yogurt every single day. I just don't eat sugar and processed foods (they're all full of sugar anyway). Good fat doesn't make you fat, sugar does. I've known that for a long time and absolutely believed it but the past couple of weeks have been a great reminder of it.

My goal for this summer is to get back into that shape of my life that I was in three years ago. I don't have scales and I'm not going to get them. I'm going to keep on using the mirror and those trousers as an indication of where I'm at. Dieting and bingeing really makes you feel awful. Eating clean and working out regularly makes you feel strong, healthy, energetic, happy and positive about life. I hope I never loose sight of that again. Of course I will have my moments and I will go through some failures but I'm hoping that telling you guys all this will help me not to stray so easily :-) Apart from that one cheat meal that I've been told to have every week! Last week it came in a format of a dinner out in a restaurant where you just couldn't say no to the numerous courses of delicious food not to mention the different types of bread between the dishes and the to-die-for dessert. I'll tell you more about that meal in another post. I'll also keep you up-to-date on my progress over the summer and start doing posts about my workout routine. Maybe I'll even include a food diary post or two.

I want to wish the best of luck to all the lovely ladies out there wanting to change their lifestyle. It's hard at times but definitely worth it. Why to feel bad forever when you can change it? That's what I'm telling myself when I get tempted by the highly addictive drug called sugar.

Now I'm off to cook myself some yummy dinner. I'd like to say that I'm going to enjoy a peaceful and relaxing evening eating outside listening to the birds sing but that's not going to happen... Our neighbours have been partying non-stop for two days and it doesn't sound like they're about to finish anytime soon. Well at least the music they are playing is pretty good! :-)





Minna x

L-SIT PRACTICE

Here's a super efficient body weight exercise that you can practice anywhere. No excuses!
Ideally you lift yourself from the ground and hold the position: straight legs in 90 degree angle to the torso. You can also lift your legs closer to V-shape, but that seems totally impossible, to me at least. It takes time to master L-Sit, it's so hard. On the top video I'm demonstrating the pose although I can't hold it very long with straight legs.

The way I've practiced this move is I lift my bum up as high as possible and try to bring it behind my arms keeping my feet on the ground at the same time holding the position as long as possible or doing sets of 5-10 repetitions. If you have a foam roller you can keep your feet on top of it and do the same thing. It takes some of the weight off. When you get a little stronger you can start lifting one leg at a time and then slowly both, first knees slightly bent and little by little straightening them.

L-Sit works on your entire body especially core and arms. Give it a try!

Heidi x

JETSET PILATES

If you are planning a trip to Miami and you want to try Pilates this is the place to do it. The studio on South Beach has 8 megaformers (pretty similar to reformers) and you book your classes online.

We did a class at lunch hour and it was nice and  intense. I definitely felt my core and my abs were burning after some sets of planks and pikes.

The only thing I was missing was a towel. Next time I have to remember to bring my own.



After having babies I did quite a bit of Pilates in London and I think it's one of the best ways to flatten your stomach. Also a 50 minute session is relatively easy to squeeze somewhere in your day. No excuses!

And some stretching.

Heidi x

TRX HANDSTAND PRACTICE

Anybody else gets bored in the gym? Not that I have time to go there at all for the moment, but if and when I do, I like to play a little using my own bodyweight, challenge myself and bring some spark to the whole workout.

Last spring I was doing TRX group exercise classes on a weekly basis. Great workout! TRX bands are a tool for bodyweight exercises that builds your strength, balance, flexibility and core stability.

Here's another clip from last fall. This exercise builds strength for handstands and handstand press-ups.

Heidi x      

PULL-UPS

Here's a body weight exercise for those who are looking for challenges. I have a love-hate relationship with pull-ups. It's very rewarding when you start building up strength and manage to do few of these in a row. But  before getting there you are going to face some frustrating moments when you just hang in there and literally can't pull yourself up.

I like to practice pull-ups with a partner who can hold my feet on those last repetitions when I need an extra push. You can also use an elastic exercise band that takes some of weight off and makes the whole exercise easier. Another good way to work on your strength is to hold yourself up for a while and and then let yourself down slowly.     

Heidi x

SHOULDER STRETCH

I pulled my hip flexor a little while ago so I've been taking it rather easy for the past few weeks now. I'm slowly back to my beloved yoga practice. Trying to do it daily but it's not always easy to find the time. Those days when I'm busy lazy I still try to stretch for few minutes.

Here's an intense stretch for your shoulders. Ideally your legs would be 90 degrees. I'm working on that as you can see. I like to keep a block between my hands. It prevents your hands getting closer together and keeps the stretch strong. If you don't have a block a book works just as fine. Pull your shoulders away from your ears, breathe and relax.

Heidi x    

STOMACH CRUNCHES

I like to exercise using my own body weight to obtain strength. This exercise works not only your abs but your arms and lats as well.  

After having babies your stomach is not quite the same which is fine but I do want a strong core. My aim is to do this exercise with straight legs. So hard!  

Heidi x

RUN IN THE PARK

I'm not too keen on running, but a slow pace jog out in the park is a great way to start your day.    

Wishing you all a good weekend.

Heidi x

SKIPPING DOUBLES

I've had the pleasure to train together with a former boxer, Vesna Fisher Kocoska. She is hard core. And that's how I like my work outs.    

Skipping is a great way to do your cardio or warm up and you can do it pretty much anywhere. Vesna makes skipping doubles look easy, but I can guarantee it's hard work. When I skip I do about five sets of doubles or fast jumping depending how heavy my legs feel.

And that's me jumping like a kangaroo.

Heidi x

SAY HI TO HEIDI

I have a little announcement to make... Please say hello and welcome to my friend Heidi who I'm going to be sharing my blog with from now on. She is great in the kitchen and very passionate about a healthy lifestyle. You can therefore expect her to be posting about diet and nutrition (including some great recipes) as well as about working out and keeping fit. She had been toying with an idea of starting a blog and we thought why not join our forces. I like W1 to include as many areas within the Lifestyle bracket as possible so this will be a great addition. Plus I personally welcome those recipes... I need to get my cooking going again I've become lazy with it recently! :-) 

Minna x