Wednesday 25 January 2017

Wednesday Weigh In - Week 55 - Any Loss Is Good



Well, it's been a bit of a nightmare of a week. It started off with me still in pain from my back after falling on ice. So I spent a few days just doing some stretching as I didn't want to risk causing any more damage. As my back subsided, pressures of work took over. I work as a freelance so basically I don't have set hours and just have to work when the work is available. So for the last few days this has meant getting up, taking my youngest to school, coming home and working solidly until school finished then starting work again when my youngest goes to bed and working through until the early hours. This can be three or four in the morning sometimes and has been so this week.

All this has meant that I've been in no fit state to work out and just functioning on a daily basis has been hard enough. Sadly, I need the money for us to last until the end of the month. So,  that's just the way it has to be.

On the plus side I have a gorgeous new pair of Nikes!



Doesn't look like I will get to try them out before next week though.

I'm quite pleased that in the middle of this hellish week I still managed to lose a quarter of a pound. Any loss is good! Hopefully next week will be a bigger loss as work will be slightly less manic!

Hope you are all having a good week. Speak to you soon



Love Erica xxx

SHARE:

Saturday 21 January 2017

Flex TV - a new way to work out at home




One of my New Years resolutions was to try and mix up my fitness routine and introduce some more variety. So when I was given the opportunity to try out Flex TV and it was described as a brand new concept in home workouts, I was really intrigued and jumped at the chance to give it a go.

Flex is an online platform which streams live workout classes by qualified instructors. For a monthly subscription, you can take part in as many classes as you want. There's a wide range of different classes to choose from.




There is also a series of classes designed for pre and post natal exercise. 

So far I have tried 2 HIIT classes, a burlexercise class and a power yoga class. I loved one HIIT class and wasn't so keen on the other. But that is one of the great things about Flex, you have a choice of instructors which makes it easier to find one you like whereas at a gym you may only have one instructor to choose from. The Burlexercise class was great fun and something I had never tried before. I don't always find it easy to pick up routines in new classes but this was surprisingly easy to follow. Power Yoga was also something new to me and has reawakened my love for yoga. I will definitely be trying more classes in the future. 

If you follow my Instagram account then you will have already seen some pictures of me working out to Flex classes.



Probably the best thing about Flex is that you get to do all this in the comfort of your own home. It's ideal if you are a Mum like me who is short on time or who can't really afford gym fees. I also tend to feel a little bit intimidated when exercising in front of people because I'm still quite big despite my weight loss. Flex is the perfect way to gain confidence. 

You can stream Flex on lots of devices so it makes it really easy to watch. I just used my laptop but you can use smart TVs, an Xbox, PlayStation, Blu-ray players and Chromecast amongst others.

Flex are looking to build a real sense of community amongst their users. You can already connect with your Facebook friends and there are plans to develop a chat facility so you can talk to a friend while you do the same class. Even the follow up emails after I did a class helped me feel that I was part of a community.




So would I recommend Flex TV? Yes, I would. There is a good range of classes which are pitched at all levels of fitness. As it's a fairly new site I would expect the number of  classes to increase even more as time goes on. For me, it was an easy way to work on my fitness at home and make it fit into my daily schedule without major disruption.

If you are interested and would like further info then have a look at the Flex TV website at www.joinflex.tv


Disclosure
I  was not financially compensated for this post. I received free membership of Flex  for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.



















SHARE:

Wednesday 18 January 2017

Wednesday Weigh In - Week 54 - Bad Backs and Birthdays


That's a teeny quarter of a pound back on this week but there's reasons for that.

On Sunday I slipped on some ice and went smack down on my back. I have a history of back problems and although it's normally not too bad, landing on it was not a good thing! I clearly jarred something and by Sunday night it was quite painful. I think it might have been bruising coming out. Any way today is the first day that I've been able to walk without limping although it still twinges when I bend over or sit down. So no workouts for me since last Friday. Frustrating as I was getting into a good routine.

My diet wasn't helped by the fact that it was my birthday on Monday. My daughters bought me prosecco and chocolates and we went to Nando's for dinner. My back hurt and I was genuinely fed up about turning fifty so I didn't even try to eat something low calorie. It's a good job birthdays only come once a year!

Still next week should be back to normal and my back will hopefully continue to improve 

Speak to you soon 



Love Erica xxx
SHARE:

Monday 16 January 2017

Monday Motivation - Still Nifty at Fifty!

So it's my birthday today and as you can guess from the post title it's a big one - the big 5 0. Now I will admit I don't particularly like my birthday. I find it quite depressing as it's just a reminder of time marching on and that I'm getting older and frankly there's absolutely nothing I can do about that. I think it's also to do with my birthday coming just after Christmas and even when I was a kid, my parents never really made a huge deal of it.

This year I'm trying to use it as a motivator. I don't think I actually look that bad for 50 years old



So I know that it might take me longer than younger women to improve my fitness and to lose weight and I am aware of my age in so far as picking up niggling injuries and routine aches and pains. BUT I think that the fact that I am doing this at my age and am trying to basically reinvent myself is remarkable and I'm trying to motivate myself by recognising that this is an achievement.

Yes, I do wish that I had turned my life around earlier but I can't change that.  If I can inspire one middle aged lady to also think she can do it if I can then I will be really proud. I'm not trying to set myself up as a role model but I'm an ordinary woman of advancing years trying to better myself. I'm not one of those stick thin models or a muscle bound gym bunny and hopefully my blog is showing people that you don't have to be like that to improve your fitness.

I may be fifty today but I'm motivated by the fact that I'm still quite nifty at fifty, haha.


You can still be a queen at any age! Hope you are all having a fabulous day! Speak to you soon 


Love Erica xxx



SHARE:

Wednesday 11 January 2017

Wednesday Weigh In - Week 53 - Christmas Gains Gone



Well, this was my first full week of being completely back on track and I lost three quarters of a pound. That means what I put on over Christmas has completely gone! It probably would have been more but I struggled with maintaining my healthy eating 100% through the week. It didn't help when my oldest daughter bought wine to celebrate her last night at home before returning to university but it certainly did taste good! My weight loss may also have been higher if this wasn't the one week each month when I am cursed by PMT, bad hormones and water retention. At least that should sort itself out next week!

What I am pleased with is my fitness routine this week. I've really tried to mix it up this week. The lovely people at Flex TV have certainly helped me do that and I've tried out HIIT classes, burlexercise and power yoga. Watch out on the blog next week when I'll be writing a full review of Flex TV for you. I've also been working hard on the wondercore smart and using my swing stepper too. I plan to carry on trying to add as much variety as I can into my fitness routine over the coming weeks.

Keep an eye on my Instagram account as I post videos and photos to show what I'm up to with my fitness.

Speak to you soon


Love Erica xxx
SHARE:

Monday 9 January 2017

Monday Motivation - Flex TV

If you have read my blog before then you will know that I have been talking about wanting to shake up my fitness regime and really try to mix up my workouts. So when I was offered the opportunity to try out Flex TV, I jumped at the chance.





Flex is a really exciting new concept in home fitness. It streams live workouts from qualified instructors covering a wide range of different disciplines. It's perfect if you can't afford the money or time to attend classses at a gym or if you are shy about working out in front of strangers.

I've only had the chance to try out one class so far and that was a 30 minutes HIIT class which I enjoyed and found easy to follow.




I'm going to try out a whole range of different classes over this week and next week and then I'll write a full review to let you know what I think of Flex. If you would like to know more in the meantime then have a look at their website at www.joinflex.tv

So far I'm quite impressed and it's definitely motivating me to fit in as many classes as I can this week.

Speak to you soon


Love Erica xxx
SHARE:

Saturday 7 January 2017

Sultana and Date Pancake Cake



Breakfast can often be a difficult meal to sort out especially if you are not a huge fan of cereal. The weekends are fine as there's more time but during the week, I literally have five minutes to prepare breakfast and eat. This cake is the perfect solution. It was born out of a desire for pancakes even though I didn't have time to cook them. It's called a Pancake Cake because it is basically made from sweetened pancake batter with added fruit. Trust me, it really does taste of pancakes!

Ingredients 

225g plain flour
1 tbsp baking powder 
2 eggs
200g golden syrup
300ml skimmed milk
50g margarine 
100g sultanas 
100g dates
100g porridge oats


Method

1. Mix all of the ingredients together except for the dates and sultanas. Whisk until the mixture is completely smooth. I used a hand blender.

2. Chop the dates into small pieces.

3. Fold the sultanas and dates into the mixture, stirring just enough so that they are distributed throughout.

4. Pour the mixture carefully into a greased cake tin. I actually used a pie dish as I wanted a wide low cake.

5. Cook near the top of a preheated oven for approximately 30 minutes at 175 degrees. Use a skewer to check the cake is cooked throughout before removing it from the oven.

6. Allow to cool fully before removing it from the tin.


The whole cake is 3080 calories. It easily cuts into 16 slices which would be 193 calories each. 



This is a lovely moist cake which really does taste of pancakes. It was also really filling and I found that I just need a fruit snack mid morning to keep me going until lunch time. 



A little tip for you is that I cut my cake up into the 16 slices as soon as it had cooled.  This meant that I could make sure each slice was the same size.


The cake should keep for up to seven days in an airtight container. Let me know if you try making it. Speak to you soon 



Love Erica xxx












SHARE:

Wednesday 4 January 2017

Wednesday Weigh In - Week 52 - One Year On So Look At Where I Am,LookAt Where I Started



Wow, I cant believe that my weight loss journey has been going on for a whole year now. So I have currently lost 29.5 pounds. I know that this doesn't sound spectacular compared to some of the stories in the press lately where people have lost six or seven stone. The important thing to me though is that I haven't put any of it back on. That's a big thing for me as I have done the quick big weight loss before and then sadly piled it back on again. Slow and steady wins the race. My weight loss journey is absolutely not over and I'm keeping it going.

That's a half pound loss this week which is quite pleasing as that is just down to switching back to healthy eating. It'll be interesting to see what  my weight is next week as I'm planning regular workouts.

If you follow my Instagram then you will have seen my new swing stepper yesterday. 


So far I'm really impressed, just five minutes was seriously making my legs burn. It's all part of my plan to mix up my fitness routines. Today I was back to HIIT training. 

Also keep your eye on the blog over the next week as I'm going to be telling your about an exciting new fitness workout concept that I'm going to be testing.

Hope you are having a great week


Speak to you soon 



Erica xxx

SHARE:
© Fitter.Thinner.Happier | All rights reserved.
Blogger Template Created by pipdig