Getting more protein into my diet! #protein #lifestyle #blogger #fitness #gymgirl #fitness #gym #girlwholifts #healthy #fitspiration #motivation

So as i said in my last post i am trying to make better choices and get more protein in my diet. 
first off let me start by saying trying to find the right protein is a freaking mind field!!! Seriously why is it so hard?  I spent many nights googling different brands and reading reviews and i finally settled on My Protein.  

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Food is always better than a substitute, if you get a lot of protein from your diet don't add more, natural food is always better for you! 

I wanted this to be a little protein idea post! These are my Instagram posts, check it out for more ideas. 
Protein Pancakes - 
1 egg 
1 banana
 1 scoop of vanilla protein powder
 a little vanilla essence 
Protein Shake -
1 scoop of chocolate protein 
200ml milk or almond milk
3 ice cubes
As i keep repeating i like to make better choices and i won't be giving up the sweet stuff , this is why i love Lenny & Larry's complete cookies because i get my sweet fix but they aren't that bad for you.  They come in several different flavours.  up to now i've only tried two, Birthday Cake and Double Chocolate. 
Servings: 1/2 cookie

Macros per 1/2 cookie
190kcal / 8g protein / 27g carbs / 6g fat 
Does not contain
No Cholesterol
No Dairy
No Egg
No High Fructose Corn Syrup 
No Sugar Alcohols
No Trans Fat
Non GMO
Nothing Artificial 
Soy Free
 

Protein balls are a great treat to have made up in your fridge for when you need that sweet snack or you feel peckish, I stole this recipe from Laura Gril Gainz, she has a ton of recipes on her page and the ones i've tried are great...check her out! 
Servings: Makes 10 balls 
Macros per ball: 
77kcal / 5g protein / 6.5g carbs / 3.5g fat 

Ingredients:
30g oats 
40g protein powder of choice (I used cookies and cream flavour but chocolate, white chocolate or vanilla all work well in this recipe) 
35g cashew butter
15g honey
1 tbsp water
1 Hershey Cookies & Cream Bar 

Changing my life #fitness #beforeandafter #transformations #weightloss

Over the last two years i have changed my lifestyle, like many others i was a slowly gaining weight due to life.  I work in an office where i sit for pretty much 8 hours straight and the last thing i wanted to do when i got home from work was exercise it was a vicious circle.  I felt tired because i didn't do anything physically at work which meant most nights were spent sat in front of the TV or with my head in a book.  I was happy with my life, i have a wonderful husband who loves me regardless and two great kids.  I can honestly say i didn't see my weight as a problem. 

In  2014 my family took a holiday to New York & Texas.  like most families we took dozens of pictures, indulged and enjoyed ourselves, after all that is what holidays are for right?  

It wasn't until i came home and was looking back at the pictures that i noticed i was seriously big, to the point where it was possibly affecting my health!  Talk about a wake up call!  
My AMAZING Husband had been diagnosed with skin cancer a year before and went through an intense schedule of radiation.  We are very lucky because his cancer is treatable and he can manage it and live a long and happy life.  This was another reason to reevaluate our lives, Having such a shock we decided that we needed to live our lives right and be as healthy as we can.  
We all as a family signed up to the gym and started going.  My Husband had recently joined the local dragon boat team and when he had his induction they asked what his motivation was and he said "to be in the Great British Dragon Boat Team" i smiled at his enthusiasm because i really wasn't sure what he was capable off after his treatment.  

So over the next year we changed our eating habits not a great deal because we still wanted to live our lives and enjoy ourselves we just made better choices.  It soon came apparent to me that i couldn't motivate myself in the gym, i would stop as soon as it started to hurt or i felt tired, i just had no love for it.  My husband on the other hand had made great progress but i was still not getting it, i just couldn't find the motivation.  I stopped going to the gym and joined a running club which was fun for a while until it wasn't!   I was a similar weight to when i started and i wanted to give up! As a last resort I decided to try classes (group exercise) Zumba which i found i loved, i worked up a little sweat and felt like i had achieved something afterwards.  I continued to go to Zumba twice a week and i did enjoy it but it wasn't until i made some gym friends that i really started looking forward to going.  We all encouraged each other to try different classes and as a group we tried them all and soon we were doing 8 classes a week.   This is when the weight first started to shift.  I was eating normal and by normal i mean i was still eating cake and chocolate because lets face it i didn't get fat eating veggies now! 

Soon 8 classes turned into 16 classes a week and for me to manage that many classes somethings at to give at home and my wonderful family who saw that i was gaining confidence and  really enjoying getting fitter supported me and didn't moan too much about me not having dinner on the table each night and me being out of the house most nights 6pm-8pm. 
All it takes is dedication, i saw the results in weight loss but it soon became much more than that, i love the endorphin high i get from exercise and the thrill of achieving something new.   Trust me when you physically feel sick at the thought of a burpee because you are too big to get your ass back up of the floor to then be able to do multiple burpee tuck jumps it's an achievement!   

Now i am happy with my weight and my shape, i'm not tiny and i don't think i ever will be, i love cocktails and cake too much but i'm happy now focusing on toning, and muscle gain. Strong is sexy and all that!  You need to keep having goals in mind and once you achieve it make another and so on because small manageable goals are much easier to achieve and keep you motivated longer and if you had a terrible diet day write it off and start again tomorrow.  Life is for living! 
Also because my husband is freaking amazing he smashed his goal and in 2015 he was successful in making the Great British dragon boating team and competed in Canada at the International competition and in 2016 Rome, Italy European competition. 


Harry Potter @wbtourlondon #Harrypotter

Ellissa and i decided to take a roadtrip to London to the Harry Potter studios.  From our house to the studios it took 4 hours and thanks to Ellissa being a massive Harry Potter nut her excitement kept the journey fun. 
 On entering we noticed quite a lot had changed since the last time we visited (3 years). 
 As we arrived early Ellissa wanted to visit the gift shop! 
I love that they have added Harry's under the stairs bedroom! 
The Sorting Hat!  
 The Great Hall as seen in the movies.


 The boys dorm room! (that's Harry's Bed).





 
The Hogwarts Express is new and Ellissa was freaking out! So funny!
 Pictures are a must! 
 A little railway shop, super cute.  There is also a chance for you to sit in the carriage they used for filming and have your picture taken, we did this but the picture is utterly terrible...i wasn't meant for the acting world...my scared face looks like i need the loo.  
 They now sell ButterBeer ice cream!  The Butter Beer is ridiculously sweet. 
 


 Gift shop time!  This time we managed to leave without buying another wand!
 
 

Yorkshire Soap Co #York @ysoap

I had never been into the Yorkshire Soap Co store in York, to be honest it's on a street i've never been down so i have been missing out on all it's beauty for years! 
Coming in to the most amazing smelling shop ever (well apart from chocolate of course) i was overwhelmed by the pretty, my eyes wouldn't focus in on one thing they were darting around in awe! 
Everything looked delectable, good enough to eat! 
Yes it's all soap...amazing right?!?!
I couldn't resist a purchase, i bought a cupcake bath bomb that is still in its package because it smells so good in my bathroom and it's too cute to use. 

If you are ever in York make sure to pop by, the staff are excellent and don't mind crazy fan girls like me talking pictures of everything.

@Lesmills Live Manchester 2016 #Lesmills

 Anyone who knows me knows i love all things Les Mills, so you can imagine my excitement for this event!  
Leaving home at the ungodly hour of 6am on a Saturday to get to Manchester as early as possible to ensure we were close to the front of the queue might seem a little crazy to some but we wanted to experience the whole event from beginning to end! 
I loved getting the first picture of the Les Mill Live sign...i pretty much ran towards it as my friends laughed at my crazy antics! 
Sarah and i in our first of many Les Mills outfit changes!  
Our schedule was awesome, we attended the first big class which was bodypump...how many steps! 
With our muscles feeling the burn we move onto CXworks which was a new one for us to try as no local gym has this class.  The class was focused on core strength.

We then had a couple of hours to view the venue, shop & eat. 
15:00 we had BodyStep Athletic which i have never done before but is freaking unbelievably awesome...i need this class in this area! 
BodyVive was next and all i can say about this is it's Attack but lower impact.  i really didn't enjoy it and didn't see the through class through! 

Finally it was time for BodyAttack (woohoo) this was an amazing high energy class full to the brim, you could feel the excitement in room.  i worked my butt off hopefully literally! 

Our last the the last class of the day was BodyCombat which again we loved and had enough energy to push us though the last song! 

So 31,539 steps, 4,153 calories burned i was ready to head home!

Arriving home after 22:00 i was ready for my bed. 
My packed lunch...who chicken wraps, two apples, blueberries, 2 krispie squares and those awful raspberry things... 
My bag of essentials...yes the cookies and rice cakes were essential.