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Dear Readers,

Due to the popularity of this blog, I decided to make my blog more professional by skipping over to Wordpress. My husband, Adam Randall kindly did all the heavy lifting.

Please jump over to thosewhoweight.co.uk for more fitness blog posts.

Happy reading!

April Favourites

I haven’t written a monthly favourites blog post before, but I felt compelled to do one this month because I have used a few new products worth mentioning.

Dr Organic Bioactive Skincare Organic Vitamin E Pure Oil Complex - I have dry skin, which requires a lot of moisture to take away the tightness and make my skin look plump and radiant. Over the winter months, as part of my evening skin care routine, I would slather my face in Bio Oil. Not attractive, but necessary. I like the idea of using a facial oil on my face, but I just felt that maybe Bio Oil was just a bit too greasy and I didn’t feel like it sunk into my skin well.


Recently, I watched a Youtube video, by one of my favourite YouTubers Barbara from thePersianbabe. She purchased the Dr Organic oil and gave an impressive review of it, so I hopped on over to my local Holland & Barrett and picked one up for myself.


I have only used this for over a week but I am really impressed so far. Obviously, one week isn’t enough time to give the product a full review, but I really do it. The first thing I noticed when using it, was that it isn’t as greasy on my skin as Bio Oil, and it sinks in quite well.


For £8.49 you get 50ml, but you honestly don’t need a lot to cover your face, so I can see this lasting me a while.


You can read more about the Dr Organic product on the Holland & Barrett website.


Aveeno Positively Radiant Daily Skin-Brightening moisturiser SPF15 - I brought this as I was looking for a moisturiser that didn’t contain any harmful ingredients, such as parabens or phthalates.


It contains light diffusers, which makes the skin look more radiant.


It is clinically proven to even out skin tone and texture.


I also love that this product comes in a pump. The only compliant I will make about this product, is that I wish the packaging was transparent. I have a thing now for using products which I can see, so I know when I am likely to run out.


You can read more information on the Aveeno moisturiser on the Boots website.


Caudalie Beauty Elixir - I have heard a lot about this product in recent weeks and after using a recent 10% discount code on Feel Unique, I placed an order.


The main ingredients include extracts of grape, rosemary, orange blossom and rose extracts. It has a strong herbal scent, so if you don’t like strong mint smells then steer clear. The beauty elixir is somewhere inbetween a toner and a facial mist. I use it to set my makeup, or just to refresh my skin throughout the day, particularly after the gym.


It costs around 9.90 for 30ml. A larger 100ml version is available, but I prefer the smaller size as it’s perfect for travel.


You can read more about the Caudalie Beauty Elixir on the Feel Unique website.

How to eat "clean"

Following on from my Spring fitness tips post, I thought I’d write a post about how to eat well. I know it sounds obvious but it’s not always easy.


Working out and eating right go hand in hand. We all know this, but it is hard sometimes to eat the foods that you know you should be eating. Healthy foods not only provide your body with nutrients and vitamins to function properly, but the right foods also feed your skin and hair, so it is important to try and follow a healthy diet plan.


- Avoid soft drinks and fruit juices - They are loaded with sugar. It is better to eat the actual fruit than to just drink it


- Eat 4-6 small meals everyday


- Drink at least 2 litres of water or 8 cups everyday - Water is essential to flush out toxins and to keep you hydrated


- Never miss a meal - especially breakfast - See my previous post on why breakfast is the most important meal


- Avoid calorie dense foods that contain little or no nutritional value - Eating crisps or chocolate will not provide you with any nutritional benefit, they are simply filling a hole. Swap your sweet or savoury craving for something a bit more nutritious


- Eat fresh fruits and vegetables for fibre, vitamins and enzymes


- Combine lean protein and complex carbohydrates with every meal


- Eat often - aim for around every 3 hours


- Avoid over processed, refined foods, especially white flour and sugar


- Avoid alcohol

Spring fitness tips

This blog post will be shorter than my last blog post, which turned into an essay!


Since we are now officially in Spring, you’ll surely see more people starting their fitness programme in the gym, or you may be one of those people. So, below are a few tips that I hope will help with your Spring fitness goal:


Drink more water - It is recommended that we drink 2litres of water a day, but this is only a guideline since our bodies are different. Swap soft drinks for water to keep your body and mind hydrated. Water is also important for your metabolism, so drink up!


Exercise with a partner - It really helps if you workout with someone else. You can motivate, support and train each other. Find someone who has a similar goal to you.


Eat more greens - Vegetables are full of nutrients, but you already knew that. Aim to eat a portion of vegetables with the majority of your meals.


Enjoy a treat - We’re only human, so if you say to yourself that you’ll never eat a chocolate bar or biscuit ever again, you may be fine for a few weeks, but wanting something you can’t have, only makes you want it more, so don’t deny yourself a treat once in a while, just make sure it’s not all the time.


Have a goal - Go to the gym with a purpose or goal. If you make yourself accountable to your training partner or even yourself, you are more likely to stick to your plan.


Being fit and healthy consistently is hard, but starting out is harder, so I hope this blog post helps.

My leg training routine

Since giving up my cardio obsession, and becoming an avid fan of strength training I've found a new found respect for strong men and women.


My eyes opened up to the many ways I could train legs. I was excited but apprehensive.


I've always quite liked my legs, but you know that being called "chicken legs" was never really much of a compliment, so began my determination to swap my "chicken legs" for legs not so much chicken-like, but defined and sculpted (I don't like the word toned)


I never ever thought that I could lift much weight, but over the year I've been training, I have found increased lifting power and strength that I never knew I possessed!


My training for my legs normally consists of (in order with four sets of around eight reps):


- squats with dumbbells/ barbell
- leg press
- single leg squats with dumbbell (or for balance than anything else) or walking lunges with dumbbells
- bunny hops (for a tiny bit of cardio)
- calf raises with dumbbell in each hand


My routine has pretty much stayed consistent but I have tweaked it every so often, because even the most determined weight lifters suffer from the inevitable boredom that occurs doing the same leg routine every week for three months, for example.


I actually remember when I first attempted to do a single- leg squat, oh my, I could just about manage one rep on each leg, but I am proud to say that this has now increased to double figures and it's probably my favourite leg exercise!


Every couple of weeks, the pin moves further down on the leg press machine, I am picking up heavier dumbbells and I am doing more reps on other exercises and I'm secretly happy. After all, it's proof that I am making progress and for a small woman, I can lift heavier than I ever thought.


I hope this post encourages and helps you a little bit if you're trying to train your legs. Leave any comments or questions below and I'll get back to you soon.


Next blog post will probably be about HIIT or debunking the myth about women and the bulk up!

Love & Loathe Issue 1

I wanted to start a new regular feature on my blog, so I've decided to start a current love and loathe post.

Love
- worked out hard with kettle bells this morning

- one week off from work

- new series Touch starts this week

- season two of Game of Thrones starting soon. I wasn't that keen on the first season, but it is definitely growing on me, especially after the last few episodes, I'm intrigued to see how the story lines evolve.

- finally discovered the name of the song playing on the LoveFilm advert, it's called "A Real Hero" by College. It was driving me nuts and then I realised that I've heard it before in the film Drive.

- watched back-to-back Come Dine With Me, which always inspires me, and I've already noted down two recipes to make (courgette roulades and key lime pie, if you're interested)

Loathe
- not eating as clean and healthy as I know I should be over the last few days (currently blogging with a half-eaten bag of M&S sweets next to me...)

- no access to work gym or local gym whilst I'm off work, so no strength
 training but I'm hoping to do some home workouts a la Bodyrock

That's it! Hope you're enjoying your weekend. I will hopefully post my leg training post on Monday, so keep an eye out for that.

Benefits of green tea

I’m sure you’ve heard countless times that you should drink more water and reduce your caffeine intake. However, studies have shown that tea and coffee (in moderation) actually do have health benefits, and they do count towards your recommended daily water intake.

I am not really a hot drink fan, I much prefer to drink cranberry juice or water (boring I know) but when it does come to hot drinks, nothing beats a good old hot chocolate. However, I have been getting more and more into drinking green tea. My love for it began whilst out having sushi, I ordered a cold green tea, and quite liked it. Since then, I’ve switched to the hot variety.

It’s no secret that green tea has a plethora of health benefits; it increases metabolism, which is great if you are trying to lose weight, it can also prevent bone loss, and is also rich in antioxidants, which help protect the body from free radicals - naturally occurring particles in the body associated with accelerated ageing and an increased risk of major diseases. Exposure to pollution, smoking and excess sunlight increases the number of free radicals in the blood.

According to the Harvard Health Publications green tea is the best source of a group called catechins. In test tubes, catechins are more powerful than vitamins C and E in halting oxidative damage to cells and appear to have other disease-fighting properties. Studies have found an association between consuming green tea and a reduced risk for several cancers, including skin, lung, colon and bladder.

My personal preference is Tick Tock Green Rooibos Tea, because it is caffeine free. Green tea actually contains less caffeine than coffee, but if you like caffeine, you can get caffeinated green tea varieties.

Whilst we’re on the subject of tea, BBC1 aired a documentary recently about Britain’s Favourite Supermarket Foods, which included a tea test and showed that a cup of tea, brewed for seven minutes, provided the best health benefits. And although they used good old fashioned English tea, I think you can brew green tea for five to seven minutes to achieve the maximum health benefits and flavour (any longer and it will taste bitter).

I know quite a few green tea fans and hopefully, after reading this post, you’ve been persuaded to try it if you don’t drink it already. And if you already do drink it, keep going, your skin and health will thank you for it.