Top five healthy instagrams to follow

I absolutely love Instagram, it is the platform where I find my inspiration and motivation whether it is recipes or workouts. The health and fitness community is incredibly helpful and supportive, I thought I would share my top five favourite Instagram account that I currently follow.

Emily @whatiateforbreakfast
This feed is the definition of yolk porn, seriously just look at the photos below. Whenever I am stuck for breakfast this is my go to page, the presentation is always gorgeous and new ideas I would've never thought of from avocado buns to all the stacked crumpets.

Tara @taras_transformation

I am in awe of Tara's feed, everything is presented so beautifully. I don't know how she does it, but seriously Tara can make any dish look incredible, even when travelling Tara manages to make her food always look incredible and so well presented. 

Coralie @shelifts.thefork

Coralie's feed is insane, full of yummy meal and snack ideas (not to mention her incredible cakes, seriously they taste as good as they look). Coralie is a huge inspiration for people to push limits and work their hardest, check out her lifting videos!  

Sofie @healthyfitsofie

Sofie is the queen of porridge and always posting after workouts making me feel inspired to get up and work out! I am so impressed how Sofie managed to stay healthy even when exams and revision were happening. 

Rachael @myjourneytogold 
I would say that Rachael is my biggest inspirations on Instagram, she is always posting simple yet incredibly delicious looking meals. It looks low fuss but high nutrition which I am definitely down for. Even when on holiday Rachael is posting running updates and showing that life has a balance! Plus if you're ever looking for an inspirational quote then this is the feed for you.. or if you love peanut butter.

Who are your favourite fitness and healthy instagrams? 

Initial thoughts on Weight Watchers

It's no secret I have had some strong opinions against Weight Watchers and Slimming World for myself personally. My eyes were opened when a few people explained to me you can eat unhealthy food but it's okay if you're within your points, or unlimited carbs as they are syn free. I couldn't wrap my head around this, and couldn't see how this would ever work for me.

Well.. after a few G&Ts with my friend she explained how Smart Points on Weight Watchers has helped her focus on what she eats, so I thought I would give it a go. My main problem with food is that my portions are too small so I end up snacking or binging. I have no will power so once I have one snack the week falls apart. I have tried so hard to work on this alone and also calorie counting on MyFitnessPal, however I found I am a Yo-Yoer. However I will be making healthy choices within this, not eating a McDonalds frequently and justifying it by saying it's within my points. I looked at getting a personal trainer to coach me as I am the kind of person who needs a little guidance, however WAY too expensive. I wish I was one of those people who could educate and discipline myself, but the reality is that I am not one of those people. I need some form of structure and organisation to help me, I'm more than willing to give this a go with an open mind.  I thought I would give WW three months and see how I get on with it, it has clearly worked for so many people, so why not me? I have spoken to my friend that's a dietician about this she said as long as I follow it healthily I should be okay, but she prefers Slimming World. Maybe that'll be my next tipsy try!

My initials thoughts towards the Smart Point plan:

The Good

I definitely don't eat enough for my main meals, my meal portions have about doubled if not tripled since starting weight watchers, however I am definitely snacking much less.

I have to be more organised to ensure I know how many points I have for each meal, meaning I have to take my lunch into work which has been saving me money.

The app is absolutely brilliant full of delicious recipes and helpful tips from the community. It's easy to pick and choose what type of recipe you're after whether you're looking for a specific ingredient or ideas by meal time.

Chicken is surprisingly low in points, meaning I can up my chicken game in meals and even snacks. GIMME ALL THE CHICKEN.

The Bad

Why does it not take into account good fats? An avocado being more points than a chocolate bar or bag of crisps! Where is the logic in that?

Bananas and grapes are no points, my Instagram is full of people eating huge amounts of these daily but they are so high in sugar I would've thought that would be taken into account.

Nuts are stupidly high in points, these were my go to snack.



Do you follow Weight Watchers or Slimming World? What are your thoughts on this?

RunThrough UK | 5KM Hyde Park

On Saturday 22nd April I laced up my trainers and headed off to Hyde Park to run 5km with RunThrough UK. My friend asked me months ago to do this race with her, even though I swore I would never run again after my 10km last year however I agreed. I completely forgot that I had signed up to do this run and foolishly did not start training until two weeks before the race. Now I'm not a runner, I don't enjoy it and find it so difficult. I guess if it was easier where is the fun in that? Now I only did three training runs before the actual race, which some people will see as more than enough and others nowhere near enough. I am definitely in the nowhere near enough category, to say I struggled is an understatement.

I always find the first 2 km the hardest, running faster than I should to try and keep up with the masses which then slows me down massively. I need to learn to stick to my own pace and ignore everyone else around me. The final 2km were up hill which was unexpected but I kept pushing on. one thing I did find disheartening was that there were so many people sprinting ahead of me, then walking so I overtook them jogging, then they'd speed pass me again and again. I was so focused on these people walking and being faster than me that I let myself get frustrated and downhearted. However I still didn't walk, I kept my solid pace the entire way around. Why does it matter what everyone else is doing, I should just focus on myself and making myself proud as that is all that matters. The event itself was really well set up, it took about two minutes to collect my bib and drop my bag off. I'd say about 2000 people running in absolutely gorgeous scenery finishing with a pretty swanky medal.

I did not set myself a time to complete the race, my only goal was to run the entire thing and not walk. I may run slower than a turtle running through peanut butter but I ran and I'm proud of myself. Everyone has to start somewhere right? Nobody can take away the sense of achievement you feel when crossing the finish line.

Goal: Run the whole thing without stopping (completed)
Net Time: 42mins42sec
Next goal: Sub 40 mins

Thoughts I have during spin class

Why am I awake so early?! 

I seriously wish I had a pillow. 

How are their legs moving that fast?! 

*Sings/hums/pants along to the song* 

I didn't know I could sweat there.. 

What did the instructor just say?

Okay this sprint I will be like Usain Bolt

My legs are on fireeeeeeeeee (Sang to the tune of my sex is on fire)

Half way through... I can do this, four songs left. 

This is the longest hill... EVER. 

Oh I love this song. Wait, do not try and dance whilst spinning, it won't end well. 

Okay Hannah, five minutes left. That means one song and the cool down then you did it. 

I AM THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD!

Five steps to have a healthy January

1. Walk that one step further than you normally would, go one stop further, park further away..
My parents bought me a Fitbit for my birthday this year and it's honestly changed my mindset around London. I've found myself taking actually taking my lunch break at work and walking around Regent's Park. I started to realise how close tube stations are to each other, this has led to me walking one or two tube stops further than I normally would to get those steps in. I was invited to a Workweek Hustle, I found my competitive streak coming out and I was walking everywhere. Even using my lunch hour to walk through London to my meetings! I've found myself seeing so much of the city I live in that I miss when I'm underground. When I was walking to my meeting Google Maps took me right by the gates of Buckingham Palace, which I haven't been to since I moved her. Naturally I was a tourist and stopped for about 50 photos. I was determined to win this Workweek Hustle, spoiler I did, but this competition made me walk further than I ever would have walked! Team up with your friends, family, co-workers and see who can walk the furthest!

2. Setting yourself a tangible goal
I am guilty of setting myself goals that mean absolutely nothing and will have no tangible goal, so what was I working towards? Instead of a flimsy goal that doesn't mean a lot i.e. "be healthy", I set myself the following goals:

• Three gym classes a week
• Bring my breakfast and lunch in every work day
• Walk at least 10,000 steps on weekdays

3. Not cutting out foods
 In my eyes being healthy isn't about eating kale 24/7, it's about having a balance in your life. If there is a birthday in the office allow yourself to have that piece of cake, just don't go wild and eat the whole thing. I find if I cut out foods I just crave them even more. However by not limiting myself I find I don't crave unhealthy foods, but don't worry I do have an emergency stash of maltesers.

4. Make getting snacks a challenge
Following the snack route, make sure you keep snacks in the house. I have a mixture of healthy and naughty snacks, I have put my maltesers in a box on the top shelf in my room, I have to climb on a table and then balance on a lower shelf in order to get them.. dedication to chocoalte! By doing this I am much more likely to go for some dark chocolate or a tsp of nut butter as I can get that easily. My healthy(ish) snack options are; popcorn (salted of course), rice cake with nut butter and a banana or dark chocolate (obsessed with Lindtt Mint Intense).

5. Surrounding yourself with people working towards similar goals. 
The majority of my house are on the January New Year health kick, when I walk in the house and see them all cooking it makes me want to cook something healthy but yummy too. Makes a change from seeing someone have a chinese and then all I want is a chinese. Instagram is also great for this, there is an incredible healthy community on there. Here are just a few people I find incredibly inspirational and often have drool worthy food:

• Coralie at She Lifts The Fork https://www.instagram.com/shelifts.thefork/
• Rachael at My Journey To Gold https://www.instagram.com/myjourneytogold/
• Katy-Louise at Katy Lousie Fit https://www.instagram.com/katylouisefit/
• Tara at Taras_Transformation https://www.instagram.com/taras_transformation/
• Hannah Rose at Hannaheats https://www.instagram.com/_hannaheats/
• Emily at What I Eat For Breakfast https://www.instagram.com/whatiateforbreakfast/
• Arron at Crowther's Kitchen https://www.instagram.com/crowtherskitchen/

Don't try to do everything at once, ease yourself into it by making small changes in your day and you'll find it much easier.