Four Fitness Bloggers to follow this January...

With today being "Blue Monday" I thought it would be the perfect time to share this post for a bit of extra motivation during the January blues. I know one of my main goals this year is definitely to improve my health and fitness and I find I have been turning to a certain few bloggers recently for motivation, inspiration and general tips and advice on living a healthier lifestyle. I definitely recommend following these 4 (if you don't already) if, like me, you are looking for some advice, information and general motivation for getting fit and healthy in 2016.

1. Rosanna Davison
Website: http://www.rosannadavisonnutrition.com//
Instagram: Rosanna_Davison (104k followers)
Snapchat: Rosiedavison5

I am sure most of you (especially if you are Irish) know who Rosanna Davison is. The Beauty Queen, who won Miss World in 2003 has recently become an author with a book based around healthy, natural living. Rosanna is a qualified nutritional therapist and if her book is anything to go by, she really knows her stuff. Last year I made the decision to start following a vegetarian lifestyle and I am really loving all of the nutritional information and recipes based around a vegetarian and Vegan lifestyle that Rosanna shares in her book. If you are interested in a plant based diet then definitely follow Rosanna Davison for amazing recipes, nutritional advice and of course serious body envy!

(Images source: Instagram @Rosanna_Davison)

2. The Food Medic
Website: http://hazelwallace.co.uk/about/
Instagram: thefoodmedic (59.9k followers)
Snapchat: thefoodmedic

If abs are what you're after then you need to follow Hazel Wallace. Hazel shares healthy recipes, and healthy lifestyle advice on her blog 'the food medic'. Not only does Hazel blog consistently, she has a first class degree in medical science and just signed up to get a qualification in personal training. The Food Medic is the perfect blog to follow for inspiration if you lead as busy lifestyle, as Hazel states on her website that she set up the food medic blog "in the hopes of using it as a platform to show people that eating healthy, or eating ‘clean’, can be enjoyable, uncomplicated and easy to incorporate into busy lifestyle – like that of a medical student!"

(Images source: Instagram @thefoodmedic)

3. Lydia Elise Millen
Website: http://lydiaelisemillen.com/
Instagram: LydiaEmillen (277k followers)
Snapchat: lydiaemillen

Lydia's blog is a go to site for fashion, beauty, health & fitness and everything in between. Lydia's blog is must read not only for the articles on physical health but also for her focus on how to improve your mental health, with some of her recent blog posts covering 'Learning how to breath after anxiety', and 'How to de-stress after a busy week'. With her enviable style, healthy, positive attitude and a career we could only dream of, Lydia is definitely one to follow for some New Year motivation.

Images source: Instagram @lydiaemillen

4. Heidi Somers
Website: http://www.buffbunny.com/bio/
Instagram: BuffBunny (866k followers)
Snapchat: Buffbunny

Heidi Somers is an American 'Vlogger' and fitness guru from Alaska. Heidi (also known as BuffBunny) has competed in bikini contests, represents some huge fitness companies in the US, creates youtube videos with her diet and workout tips and is a general funny and quirky person to follow on social media. If you like weight lifting and a bit of humor then BuffBunny is the perfect person to follow.

(Images Source: Instagram @Buffbunny)

My Fitness Journey Week 7 & 8

Hi Everyone,

Over the last two weeks, since returning from holidays I went a little bit off track with my workout routine, however I have still been more aware of eating right but have not been as strict as I was for the first 6 weeks building up to my holiday. I have been taking Raspberry Key-tones over the past week or so which I think have helped me keep the weight off since before my holiday, I weighed myself this morning for the first time since returning and thankfully, despite how I felt, I have not gained the weight back.

I decided to purchase a detox tea 'TeaTox' today to help boost my metabolism, but this is not a quick fix, you do not substitute meals with this tea, you drink it as well as a low calorie, healthy diet. I want to lose 3-4 stone altogether so I know this will take time and hard work but there is no harm adding a natural supplement that can help hopefully the process along :) If you have already been following my journey so far you will know that I have an under active thyroid which slows your metabolism and can cause weight gain, so I think taking something natural to help boost my metabolism might help me lose weight at a more regular, frequent pace. I purchased mine in Holland & Barret but for more info or to buy yours online click HERE!

The TeaTox I decided to go for is a 14 day natural detox by BooTea, consisting of 14 morning tea's and 7 night time cleansing tea's. The aim is to have 1 morning tea a day and 1 night time tea every second day. I am only starting tomorrow so I will be back with an update in 2 weeks to let you guys know what I thought and how I got on.

Talk to ya soon,

Lots of Love,
SassieDoll
xXxXx

My Fitness Journey... Week 3

It's Fitness Post time :) And I have just finished my 3rd week of healthy eating and exercising!
I am currently down a total of 4lb in 3 weeks which is a slow and steady pace but like I said in my first post, with an under active thyroid it can be hard to lose weight so once I see the scales going down even a small bit each week then I'll be happy! :) This day 2 weeks I will be in Peurto Banus so my goal is to lose 2lb each week before then so that I will have lost just over half a stone for my Holiday! Just think... that would be 8lb in 5 weeks, so if I keep that up (or push myself even harder which I defo think I can) I could be down nearly 3 stone by Christmas!!!

I want to start this post by saying that the support and encouragement from everyone both friends, family and readers since I started my first fitness post only 3 weeks ago have been amazing. I have received messages saying my honesty in my first post has been motivating and inspiring for others and I think that is just so Amazing and has spurred me on even more to make sure I reach my goals not only for myself but for anyone else who is struggling or has a medical condition that contributes to weight gain and makes it harder for you to achieve your goals. I am lucky that I can take tablets to regulate my thyroid but I know how much of a struggle weight loss can be for so many people no matter what their circumstance so if I can even help one person by posting both my struggles and achievements then I will be one happy Girl :)

I started my week off great with my usual breakfast of berries and yogurt, or scrambled egg on 1 slice of wholemeal toast. If I had egg for breakfast then I would sometimes have fruit and yogurt for lunch, but if I started my day with fruit and yogurt then I would have chicken salad for lunch! I think I only had egg on toast twice for breakfast this week as I am trying to stay off heavy carbs such as bread and I am not a big fan of egg on it's own so I find the berries and yogurt a better option personally! I also went to the gym this week Tuesday, Weds, Thursday and Saturday! I introduced weights into my workout this week so my typical workout has been about 20 mins of cardio on the cross-trainer and then 20 mins weight/resistance training such as the leg press, squats, arm/shoulder/chest weights, planking, press ups etc. I usually do about 3 sets of 15 reps on each machine.

Above: Scrambled egg with tomatoes and cucumber on wholemeal toast

Above: Dinner, Lemon & Thyme chicken with Roast Veg

I want to be honest in these posts so I am going to start by saying I had quite a bold weekend when it came to food and drink, On Saturday I ate well but I went to the Dublin match on Saturday evening and of course ended up having a few too many beers, which led to a hangover the following day and indulging on a few slices of oven pizza and a few oven chips (I had hardly eaten any carbs up until this point apart from brown rice and the odd slice of wholemeal toast)! Although the drinking and eating was bad I did still go to the gym on Saturday morning before going to the match as I knew I would probably have a few drinks. But if there is anything you can take from this post it is learn from my mistake, if you are serious about your health, fitness and weightloss then avoid drinking too much beer and eating hangover food :P I know I won't be doing it again anytime soon, haha! If I do want to have a few drinks I'll stick to Vodka with diet 7up, but I think it's the next day that is the worst when your body is trying to recover from the alcohol and craves carbs so probably best just to avoid drinking alcohol as much as possible until you reach your goals. I have been feeling a bit guilty about the beer and carbs, but no point dwelling on something and getting bogged down so after having 2 days off from the gym Sunday and Monday I have picked myself up and am back in the gym today putting in an extra tough session and I had a breakfast of berries, yogurt and flaxseed this morning and for lunch I had a chicken fillet with veg and brown rice.

I think that's all for this week, if you have any questions or any suggestions that you would like to see me add to My Fitness Journey than you can contact me on Facebook HERE or E-mail me at sassiedoll@outlook.com

My Fitness Journey...Week 2

Hi Everyone, 

I have just finished week 2 of my new Healthy lifestyle and I am feeling great already :) I have lost 3 pound this week and I am delighted! I know it's not a huge amount but slow progress is better than no progress, right? :) I have also been told that losing up to 2lb a week is the average healthy pace for long term weight loss and prevents muscle loss!

Aside from actually losing weight I have noticed my moods improve and my energy levels have improved a serious amount! I have been waking up earlier and I have been getting straight up and making my breakfast and then preparing my lunch for work. 

So, what have I been doing this week? Well, a friend of my Sister's who has lost 5 stone in less than a year e-mailed me some of her tips on both diet and exercise and I found this really motivating as she has really worked so hard to see results, so the next day I went grocery shopping and picked up some of the things she recommended to start incorporating them into my diet. Some of these included, Flaxseed, Natural/Greek Yoghurt, Coconut Oil and berries. Most mornings this week for breakfast I have had strawberries and grapes mixed with Greek Yogurt and sprinkled on top with Flaxseed, it is so yummy and is so refreshing first thing in the morning. Flaxseed is great to add as it contains Omega 3, Protein, Iron and Magnesium among many other things that are health beneficial. 

For my lunch I have stuck with my marinated chicken fillet and salad, I have been cooking the chicken in coconut oil this week. I

also want to start using coconut oil on my skin and hair so I will do a separate post on that :) 

I was really craving chocolate this week so on Sunday I had a lil cheat and had a bowl of Cocopops with low fat milk and a low fat hot chocolate. I know cereal isn't great and is full of sugar but you have to allow yourself a lil treat sometimes so as not to deprive yourself and end up binging! (Excuses, excuses!) Haha! 

I worked out 4 times this week and I tried yoga with a friend. It was fun and relaxing and I had sore muscles in my stomach and arms the next morning so it must have done something right! And another day I went on an hour long cycle in the park to mix things up a bit! For the week ahead I plan on sticking to the same eating plan as last week and just increasing my weight training in the gym as I have still been doing mostly cardio this week with just a few weights mixed in at the end. However I know that the more muscle you build, the more fat you burn as well as shaping your body and toning up so I am defo going to take that on board this week in my workouts! 
I think that's everything for this week :) and remember if you have any questions or any advice you'd like to share with me then you can e-mail me at sassiedoll@outlook.com or Private message me on facebook HERE

Thanks for reading, I'll be back next week with another Fitness update... 

Lots of Love, 
SassieDoll xXxXx

A bit of celebrity Body Inspo for this week...