5 Day Slim Down Prep

So it's only the 2nd week of the 2015 Love Your Body Challenge and I have been slacking the last couple of days. I can feel some extra weight around my stomach that wasn't there before Christmas, so I have decided to give the 5 Day Slim Down another go to try and shift it fast.

Tonight I will be food shopping and prepping some breakfast and lunches:

Banana Protein Pancakes

Recipe by Runs and Roses
LYB Cupid Oats
Tuna and bean salads
Avocade salad dressing
Peanut butter smoothies

Got to stop the slacking - my wedding is coming up in June! Speaking of my wedding, the invitations have now been sent out and the tin cans have started to be painted for the table decorations. We brought the cacti a couple of weeks ago, ready to repot into the tin cans.



This Sunday we have our menu tasting at the venue. I can't wait! We have chosen beef quesadillas as a starter, and chicken mole as a main. I will let you know how that goes!
I am also going to enroll on a Saturday workshop at my local college to learn how to make wedding bouquets, buttons holes and corsages, as we will be making all our floral stuff ourselves. Then I have to remember how to do it and teach my bridesmaids....!

Frisky Fall Challenge Week 1

Hello! It's been a while. I am 1 week in to this challenge by the Tone It Up girls, Karena & Katrina. I must admit I haven't been perfect as I had a break away in London for a few days but I am feeling much better already. I have at least stuck to the 1st weekly schedule and completed my 5k today, so I am happy. I am now up to 18 miles for my 100 By Halloween challenge!


I have been eating Protein Pancakes for breakfast, having smoothies for snacks in the afternoons and choosing TIU recipes for dinner. My favourite so far is the Cashew Crusted Salmon & Quinoa Cakes. Yummy. Anyway, my goals are as follows:
1) Complete the weekly schedules
2) Get out on my bike more
3) Drink less alcohol
4) Improve my 5k runs
5) Eat TIU approved dinners

I decided to get instagram so I can connect with other TIU girls. My username is fiddlestickstoni :)

Finally finding exercise that I like

It started off with a zumba class. I loved it, I sweated a lot and it was so much fun. Then I joined the gym so it wasn;t worth paying a fiver 2-3 times a week on top of my gym membership, so I quit. The gym offered Zumba classes but the teacher just wasn't the same.


I did find classes that I liked though - Hips Bums and Tums, Body Pump and eventually, Armageddon (killer!)


Again, I stopped because my dad and I had a joint membership. He never went, so he cancelled. For about 6 months I tried finding DVD's to do at home instead. First off, I tried getting back into Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred again. Very hard and effective workout, but oh my god sometimes I just wish she would stop talking. After a while, I just got frustrated and bored. I still think that's the only routine that's made me swear out loud!

Next, Zumba DVD's. Very fun, and offered a lot of different routines due to their being about 4 DVD's (I'm probably wrong, I'm too tired to go and check). Anyway, I liked doing it but it's just not hard enough. I never sweated like I did in the classes.


I also tried Davina's 30 minute DVD thingy, but that also left me bored. Don't even get me started on the Weight Watchers Move More DVD! It's good that there are lots of options for type of workout and timings, but the instructor was just dull and didn't motivate me at all.


I started reading loads of health blogs and saw Blogilates mentioned. Gave that a go....very good workouts, but I find she talks to you like a child or something. Far too bubbly and excited and high pitched for me. I give her routines a go every now and then, but on mute most of the time (if i've done the video before).


Another blog mentioned Tone It Up, and I have to say those girls are flippin' fantastic! I can't fault them. They're really good at explaining how to do the moves correctly, have so many videos and different routines, give lots of recipes and advice, do weekly schedules for you and provide lots of different exercise series' (Bikini Series is very popular). I recently tried their 5 Day Slim Down and got great results - 2 inches lost from my hips and arms and 1.5 from my waist. I actually look forward to waking up everyday to do my morning "Booty Call" (30 mins exercise, preferbly cardio but anything will do just to wake your body up). That's never happened before. I can see that I'm changing shape and toning a lot already, so am excited to carry on. Give it a try!