New Year's Resolution: Healthy Lifestyle Update

This year, I'm so keen to make sure that my New Year's Resolutions actually come to fruition that I've been keeping a super close eye on my progress so what better way to log it than to blog it? One of my main resolutions was to have a healthy lifestyle 'most of the time'. What I mean by 'most of the time' is that unless there is a special occasion or one meal a week where I want to pig out, I'm trying to be really good and put the best things into my body and up my fitness levels. It is no secret that I'm not fat. Seriously, I know that. But still, my tummy had pinchable flesh which I'd really rather wasn't there, my upper-thighs touch and my arms have a larger surface area than I'd like. Plus, although I don't think I look any bigger in person and my clothes fit the same as before Christmas, the camera really does seem to add those ten pounds of chocolate I'm sure I consumed over the festive period... So, what have I been doing to claw my way to a healthy lifestyle?

Well, firstly, I've stopped eating things like this...

*I am such a cheese freak and I ate TONS of it over Christmas! No good for cholesterol and very fatty...*

*My Dad bought a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts for New Year's Eve dessert... Yummy, but lethal!*

*A tapas feast at La Tasca is always dangerous, because I know the dishes are smaller than your average meal, so end up ordering too many. This was paella, prawns, chorizo and manchego cheese with sundried tomatoes. Totally delicious, but a massive over-face of food as this was only half of what I had brought to the table.*

I have totally cut out Coca-Cola which tends to sneak up on me every now and then in a 'ohI'lljusthaveoneglassbutendupdrinkingfourbottlesbecausethey'reonofferinTesco' kind of way. I can't give up fizzy drinks entirely though, so although I drink mostly water, I also treat myself to Tonic water with my evening meal. 

From the 3rd of January I launched myself into my healthy lifestyle, so these are some of the meals I have been eating since...

*This is a tuna salad with pickled onions, cucumber, tomatos, carrots, avocado, a tiny bit of blue cheese crumbles, a few peanuts and a quick squirt of salad cream*

*This is a 'Christmas Leftovers Soup' which my dad made. It is mostly vegetables but also had a bit of ham in it too. I added a grating of Parmesan cheese and a scoop of pickled red cabbage*

*This was just a dish of Christmas leftover parsnips, sprouts and gravy with a bit of Parmesan on it*

*Here's another salad. This one has just tomato, cucumber and peanuts involved with that squirt of salad cream*

*I whipped myself up this prawn and veg stir-fry with some prawns, green beans, tinned peaches, honey, soy sauce and Tabasco. I had half a nest of noodles with it too. It was GORGEOUS!*

I made myself an English muffin with prawns, an egg yolk and a squirting of low-fat mayo on top for my brunch last week. Nom gobble*

*I've been getting myself into the habit of eating breakfast, but as I don't like cereal I've been starting my day with a few tablespoons of natural yoghurt, a squeeze of honey and halved cherries. Its really nice!*

For the first week of my healthy eating, I'll be honest, although my meals were healthy, I was snacking on chocolate in between, just as I had done over Christmas. I was still cutting calories as during Christmas I was snacking AND eating masses of unhealthy food, but still, I knew I would have to cut the chocolate, so I'm doing my best at the moment to avoid the leftover Celebrations and Miniature Heroes!

As for the exercising side of my new healthy lifestyle, a friend of mine has put on a fitness program which offers six weeks of four one-hour sessions a week for just £55, so I signed up immediately. The classes include two circuit training sessions, a Zumba class and also a box fit class, so things are always varied. It is much easier to get motivated when you know there is a bunch of other ladies who will be in the class feeling exactly the same. Plus, there's nothing like seeing women double your age huffing and puffing half as much as you to push you to work harder during a session!

At the moment, I've been over-taken by what I can only describe as a minor strain of the norovirus, so I've been off my food for a couple of days. However, hopefully when I'm back on it I'll be driven enough to keep up the good work I've put in so far and keep working my way towards a healthier lifestyle... Watch this space.

How are you getting on with your New Year's Resolutions? Do you have any ideas on how I can kick my choco-addiction? What have you been cooking since Christmas?

Love and snuggles

GabriellaSofia

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