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?

Review | The Breakfast Club

Now a weekend just isn't complete without brunch, where better to go than The Breakfast Club? If you want to visit any of The Breakfast Clubs you have to be prepared to queue, they are extremely popular brunch spots and 100% worth the queue. If you are just two people you will be seated much quicker than larger groups. Luckily there were just two of us so we were seated within about an hour of queuing on a Sunday. 

We headed to the Soho branch for a pre marathon watching brunch. The staff were absolutely lovely with one coming up to continuously update everyone on their wait time. One lovely waitress was also called Hannah so we instantly bonded. The decor can only be described as hipster, random signs on the wall, currency from around the world..  yet it still had a homely vibe. 

It is no secret that I have a love for avocado and poached eggs on toast, it would be rude if I didn't order this. Safe to say it did not disappoint, the poached eggs had the perfect runny yolk. I added a few drops of tabasco sauce to give the avocado a bit more of a kick. Both our plates were cleared and every drop of the hot chocolate was gone. I would happily queue again and again to have breakfast here. If you have a sweet tooth I saw a fair few pancakes floating about that looked insane! If you're around London and looking for a brunch and cannot recommend this spot any more, don't be put off by the queue. 

Where is your go to brunch spot?

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

Recipe | Chocolate Protein Cookies

I was craving cookies over the Easter weekend, I rummaged through my cupboards to work out what ingredients I had to work with. I decided to experiment with five ingredients and the results were pretty tasty so I thought I would share my recipe with you that makes roughly six cookies.

What you'll need:

2 cups of rolled oats

2 ripe bananas

2 tbsp maple syrup

30g whey protein (I used Whey Box Chocolate flavour)

Handful of chopped dark chocolate


A medium bowl

Potato masher (or fork)

Mixing spoon

Baking paper and baking tray

Oven (duh!)

What you'll do: 

1. Pre heat oven to 180C.

2. Peel the bananas and mash with the potato masher, you can use a fork but this is SO much easier.

3. Mix all the ingredients with the mashed banana until everything is well combined.

4. Line your baking tray with baking paper and divide the mixture in half. Then out of each half make three balls and pop onto your tray and squash down. (So you'll have six cookies...)

5. Pop into the oven for 10 mins (keep your eye on them though), when they are golden brown take out and leave to cool. (This is always the hardest step for me, I 100% burnt my mouth eating one straight out of the oven. Learn from my mistake!!)

6. Enjoy your chocolate protein cookies.

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!

Recipe | Healthy banana bread

I am guilty of buying loads of bananas each week and not managing to get through them before they turn to mush. Usually I chop them up and pop them in the freezer to add to my smoothies, however my housie suggested I make banana bread. I went on a hunt for a healthier banana bread recipe and I ended up combining a few recipes so I thought I would share my recipe with you. I used cup measurements just because I find it so much easier and less hassle than weighing everything out.

This makes around ten slices, depending on how generous you are with the slices. This works out at 191 calories per slice!

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1/2 cup of coconut oil (melted)
1/3 cup of maple syrup (I bought mine from here)
1/4 cup of unsweetened almond milk
1 3/4 cups of spelt flour
1 cup mashed bananas (this was about three bananas for me)
1 tsp of vanilla extract
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
As many dark chocolate chips as you'd like, I did a generous handful

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C then pop some baking parchment into a loaf tin to stop your bread from sticking.

2. In one bowl mix together the flour, cinnamon and bicarbonate of soda.

3. In a separate bigger bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, maple syrup, milk and vanilla. Once combined add in the mashed banana, flour mixture and chocolate chips.

4. Pour the mixture into your lined tin and sprinkle the top with cinnamon (I love cinnamon if you can't tell). Bake for 45 mins, check after 30 and use to a skewer to see if it has baked. Pop it into the bread and if it comes out clear then the bread is finished baking.

5. Once baked fully, take out of the tin and leave to cool. I drizzled mine with a little choc shot and it was good to go.

6. Enjoy.

My healthier baking has never been successful before but this was absolutely delicious and so moist (pained me typing that as I HATE that word, but I couldn't think of an alternative).