MIA

Hi guys!

Sorry for being MIA on here recently, since the USN challenge I have been crazy busy!

Work has been hectic and I have been settling into a new training routine – I don’t know about you, but the first week of a new programme is a killer!! Talk about DOMS in muscles I forgot I had, it’s like an anatomy lesson every time I train.

I’m also doing a lot of research into a different nutritional approach which I feel will be more suited to me and my goals. Once I have everything totally sorted I’ll update on here. At the moment it’s just about experimenting a bit and seeing what fits and what doesn’t.

So… the day after the USN challenge finished I felt totally lost! I had goals in mind for 2013 but no definitive plan written down. I was booked in with my Trainer as usual on the Monday so we took some time before the session to get a focus sorted out. I like to have goals and direction, to strive for something seems to engage my mental attitude as well, I don’t like to ‘drift’ and planning is one of the keys to success!

I set 3, 6 and 12 month goals and have been cracking on with them ever since. I will be doing a separate post about the goals as I feel they need their own feature :)

In the meantime (running up to Xmas) I am focusing on getting settled into the new routine, building a decent base on lifts such as squats, deadlifts, pull ups and bench etc; and honing in on my diet.

What I will say is that my focus is based much more around Athleticism and things are going to be getting gritty and hard-core – I am very excited and can’t wait to see the physical, mental and fitness changes over the next year.

I have lots of things lined up and will be making 2013 one hell of a year!!

 

I also want to thank every last one of you who has supported me over the past 3 months, it has made the process much smoother – my life has changed completely and the whole journey has been even more fulfilling and rewarding knowing that I have encouraged others to change too.

I may not be where I want to be. I may not be where I should to be, but thankfully I’m not where I used to be. My past has made me who I am today, it has been a long hard journey but I have become stronger, and learnt more about myself and what I want to achieve through every experience I have encountered. Now I am confident that nothing can stand in my way of fulfilling my dreams – all it takes is courage, dedication, a little bit of fight and anything can be accomplished.

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

Happy Monday Peeps :)

It felt so strange this morning waking up and not having the USN challenge to crack on with - I felt a little bit lost.

I haven't really had much spare time to reflect back on the challenge yet, but want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has supported me over the last 12 weeks. It has made the whole process even more enjoyable, and I have grown so much as a person from it - thanks guys :)

So...
I am going to share with you today a new recipe!! I hope you give it a try, it actually tastes like Nutella. I will warn you that you will need willpower to not eat the whole batch straight away- I had to take my dogs out for a walk to take my mind off the little jar in the cupboard.

Chocolate Hazelnut Butter

200g Hazelnuts

3 Tbl spn Cocoa Powder (Green & Blacks Organic dark)

1 Tsp Vanilla Essence

1 Tsp 100% Pure Maple Syrup

1/2 - 1 Tsp Coconut Oil (melted)

• Preheat oven (200c)
• Lay Hazelnuts on a baking sheet on a tray and toast in oven for approx 10 mins
• Once cooled remove most of the skins (I left some on because I got impatient)
• Place Hazelnuts in Magimix or food processor and blitz until smooth (this took about 7 minutes. Have faith that it will eventually turn creamy)

• Once the Hazelnut butter is made, add the cocoa powder, vanilla essence and maple syrup and blend again (keep scraping the mixture from the side of the bowl, don't worry if it turns into a ball just keep mixing)

• After about 1 minute add the melted coconut oil, blitz again and wait for your Nutella to turn creamy and glossy.

At this point you may want to taste it to check for sweetness. I prefer it to be more of a bitter chocolate taste so you may want to add more vanilla, maple syrup or even a sweetener such as Xylitol if you have a really sweet tooth.

And there you have healthy Nutella!! If you have any willpower it should last for about 2 weeks in the fridge.

I would say you could get around 15 reasonable servings out of this with each serving containing:
101 cals, 1g sugar, 9g healthy fats and 2g protein

 

Let me know what you think if you decide to give it a try - I am currently planning a few other flavour variations so keep an eye out!

Dropping In To Say Hello

Happy Hump Day!!

I just wanted to drop by and let you all know that there won't be any big posts now until next week.

Hopefully I will get chance on Monday to sit down and write a bit of an overview about this week, but as you probably know I am in the last few days of the FINAL week of the challenge and seem to have soooo much to plan and organise before I submit my 'after' picture and report.

I will say that training is going well; even though I wake up aching a little bit more each day, and a little bit more tired, I am still ploughing on all the way to the finish line!

I'm super excited to see the 'after' picture which I'll take on Sunday morning, but I am also treating myself to a photo shoot on Friday!!

Although this is all really fun it's also nerve wracking so I'm trying to keep chilled on a night, get plenty of sleep as usual and just keep focused on what needs to be done. However the pictures turn out I am extremely proud of how far I have come in the last 12 weeks and how I have developed and grown (not only in muscle, but as a person too).

Haha, I sure know how to ramble on!! I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and thank you for your support and encouragement - it means the world to me.

Learning Curve

Happy Sunday

What a week this has been - talk about getting stressed (not good - cortisol - bad news)

So what happened?

I took some time to reflect on Thursday about what had made this week so different to the others. Things had been going great until Monday then everyday seemed to get a little bit harder until I finally broke on Thursday.

It wasn't exactly bad - although training on Wednesday was one of the hardest sessions I have ever had to get through (I was drained and my head was all over the place trying to figure out what was wrong) I still managed to increase the weights and was lifting more than when I was gaining! But something wasn't right and I felt rough.

After getting great results from Carb Cycling - getting leaner, maintaining muscle mass and seeing my abs come through; I got a bit over excited and decided to drop my carbs lower and was just going to have one carb re-feed at the end of the week - Never again!!!

This did not work for me at all - my training frequency and intensity needs to be fuelled with adequate carbs, as does my body, and i dropped to a silly level. It had the opposite effect to what I was getting with Carb Cycling, I was totally fried physically, lost the filled muscles and looked 'puffy'. This sent my mind into overdrive, worrying what was happening - I'd just ruined everything I had worked hard to get from one daft idea. As each day went by the worrying got worse, the fuel reduced and I was in a vicious little cycle - by Thursday everything was fried, physically and mentally I was drained.

So much so I was crazy emotional on Thursday so took the afternoon to relax and switch off from everything - I knew my body was shouting out for a break and some fuel, so I increased my carbs again and came up with a plan of action; to train once on Friday at a lower intensity, get to bed extra early and carb up on Saturday and train my circuit as usual.

It worked a treat :)

By Saturday afternoon I was back to normal - not stressed out, well fuelled and much happier in the gym again. I woke up today lean again with full muscles!!! Happy Days!!

So...this week has really been a massive learning curve for me - it's reiterated how important it is to:

1. Listen to my body
2. Stick to what is working
3. Remember that because something works for one person doesn't mean it will work for me
4. To eat according to my goals and training etc
5. To never again cut most carbs out of my diet again!! The body doesn't like extremes
6. Don't try and fix what isn't broken

Lucky for me I analyse everything, and if something isn't right I'll change it and this has saved me this week. After taking my measurements on Thursday I am sooo pleased I got back on track with the plan that was working because this morning my measurements are right where they should be.
Body fat down, and girth measurements showing that I've maintained muscle!!!

Hope you've all had a great weekend - I am now off work for a whole week - the longest break I've had all year, so I can focus everything on the FINAL week of the challenge!!

"Never a failure - Always a lesson"

What's Next?

So… the other day my mum was asked a question that made me realise she may not fully understand why I train like I do, and that I am not only training and eating like I am for this 12 weeks.

She asked

“Will you slow down and take time off after the challenge is done?"

I replied (with a smile)

“Well Sunday is my rest day, but I’ll be in with Jord (my PT) again on Monday to start the plan for the next goal”

Training hard and clean eating is part of my life now; I missed out on it for so long that now I am only just starting out on my true fitness journey and I’m pretty excited about the future!!

There is sooo much that I still want to try, area’s that I want to develop, and lets not be naïve here – once I have achieved one thing there will be something else I want to work on – that’s how you grow, learn and keep evolving.

What does 2013 have in store? Some BIG plans!!!

Once I have completed this challenge I will be putting plans into motion for an 8 hour CrossFit Endurance Challenge for charity, and will be joined by my fellow Spartan Warrior Terri :)

For a long time I’ve wanted to do an event for charity but haven’t been in the right place to do something so challenging and I really wanted to do something different to the usual marathons etc.

If things go to plan it will be happening in June; giving us 6 months to train, raise awareness and money and hopefully get support from organisations to really make it a big event.

 

I’ve chosen to do the challenge for BEAT (an eating disorder charity), mainly to raise awareness of eating disorders, to show people that you can overcome the illness, and to highlight how it was fitness that really helped me(and Terri)  fully recover from Anorexia. 

I also want to try and reduce some of the negative viewpoints of sports supplements, as I feel they have received a lot of bad press recently. These sports supplements have helped me massively in building my body up – there was a lot of damage done from the past 5 years, and without USN supplements helping me hit my nutrient goals, recover from intense training, and helping me build my body back up, the whole process would have been MUCH harder!

 

So that’s goal 1 – Goal 2 will be…..competing in Miss Galaxy Universe in Autumn.

After following Carly Thornton’s preparation for the stage recently, I was inspired to get on the stage myself.  The hard work and dedication that she put in each day to achieve the physique needed was amazing!

So after the CrossFit challenge I will be gunning for that stage. What is great about the Galaxy Universe show is that there’s a great support network of girls, and even better – A fitness element too!! I think after training to complete 8 hours of CrossFit, I might be in with a chance of beasting that section ;)

And yes, there are a few more goals too…

 

From a physical point of view I obviously want to keep building on all aspects, increasing lean muscle mass, but with particular focus on my rear delts, legs and of course my abs.

I want to continue improving my Athleticism, which I hope to do whilst training for CrossFit.

I want to continue building up a career in Fitness – helping others achieve their goals, work on developing recipes to produce a clean eats e-book and keep learning about different supplements and how they can benefit people with different goals to maximise their performance.

 

And the biggie – I want to continue working hard to be able to work for USN one day. Be it for the company internally or as an Ambassador/Hero. They are a company that I admire not only for their top class supplements, but their Body and Lifestyle Challenge has not only helped me change my life for the better, but countless others too and I would love to be a part of supporting others on their journey - Who wouldn’t want to be part of that?!

 

So there you have it, the plan for 2013. I guess to answer my mum’s question – No, I won’t be slowing down :)
(I will have a de-load week to get my body back in balance)

“A person can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm”

“Don’t limit your challenges – Challenge you limits – It’s all about results”

 

Have a great weekend – I’ll be back on Sunday with an update and overview of this week.

It’s been a big learning curve!!

The Pressure is ON!!!

Hey :)

Can you believe it's week 11 of the USN challenge?!! I can't - only 2 weeks to go and I'm starting to feel the pressure.

It's all pressure I put on myself, to do my absolute best, but if I didn't put this pressure on I wouldn't be who or where I am today - It's that passion and dedication to succeed at this that has kept me working hard for the past 10 weeks.

I won't skirt around the fact that the last 10 weeks has been one hell of a journey, and after the last 2 weeks I am pretty tired.
This weekend has probably been the hardest one so far - the cold, rainy weather doesn't help when you are starting to crave things you wouldn't normally crave due to reducing carbs and calories, whilst bumping up training; and living with a family who decides Indian Takeaways and Sunday Roasts are on the menu for them. Normally this wouldn't phase me, and I would happily continue to eat my own clean meals but boy was I nearly ready to crack!!

BUT...I didn't. When I wanted to sleep all day Saturday, I got up, got straight into my gym gear and had a beast of a session. When I wanted to cram every carb I could into my belly on Sunday, I stuck to the plan, had plenty of vegetables and got comfort from Green Tea.

I am NOT going to let anything derail the progress I have been making - my measurements this week again were stellar and I am really happy with how things are looking, and that is all the motivation I need to dig deep and keep going. These choices are mine, and that makes the journey even more rewarding. Knowing I have put in 100% at every stage makes me proud, and also makes me a stronger person.

Everybody has tired days, hard days, days where they want to eat for England, days where they would rather stay in bed....but getting through these hard days is what makes you successful.

Hard days are the best because that's when champions are made. -Gabby Douglas

 

Today I will do what others won't, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can't. -Jerry Rice  

 

So...I can only imagine the next 2 weeks are going to get that bit harder, I'm probably going to get that bit more tired, and I'm going to get through it and work that little bit harder everyday. Why? Because I want to be the best that I can be, and that isn't going to happen if I take the pressure off now!

 

2 weeks will fly by just like the first 10 weeks has and I want to live every minute of it - I will be experimenting this week with different nutrition strategies to get me looking in top shape for my final photo and will continue training as I have been doing for the last 2 weeks (fasted a.m cardio and p.m weights on weekdays, Saturday full body circuit, Sunday rest).

 

Bring it on!!!!

I Came, I Fought, I Conquered!!

Hello :)

I'm going to warn you now that this may be a long post! It's taken me quite some time to get together what I want to say; and to be honest I've been having a blast working so hard with training, nutrition, my day job and fitting in time for clients and advising my amazing supporters, that this is the first time I've managed to sit down and put it together.

So...I am now in week 10 of the USN Challenge - It's gone so fast and I cannot believe how much I have changed, grown and developed.
My whole outlook on life is amazing and I can't wait to continue on this journey.

Many of you reading this, and those who have read 'my story so far' will know that the past 5-6 years haven't been amazing to say the least. Having an eating disorder is basically like existing without a life; no happiness, no passion - just a hollow existence.
I don't want to get all wallowing and go on about the ins and outs of it, but, I chose to fight the illness! There have been good months, bad months and many months where I was stagnant but I never once gave up the fight. I just dug deep, took a different path and continued on the road to recovery.

When I started this challenge I was still caught in a battle with anorexic thoughts - no where near as frequent or bad as previous years - just occasionally the voice would be there trying to stop me following my dreams, knocking my confidence and putting doubts in my mind as to whether I was really good enough to fulfil my dreams and passions.

10 weeks on...I can confidently say that I have WON the battle!!
At around week 8 I was talking to my parents about the challenge and how its caused an unbelievable change in me. They agreed that I am a whole new person.

I am no longer controlled by this negative illness - I Came, I Fought and I Conquered Anorexia!!
It's by no means been an easy process, but worth it? Absolutely.

I seriously can't thank USN enough for holding this challenge, and for all their team and athletes supporting me throughout it. When Dave Titterton tweeted about me being part of Team USN, and having a drive that will make me succeed, EVERYTHING changed!! I am forever grateful for that - it gave me that final boost of confidence to believe in myself and fight to the end.

Without this challenge I could guarantee I wouldn't be where I am now. I would have got here eventually because it's not in my nature to quit (my PT likens me to a terrier!), but this has been my catalyst to change, and I am going to continue putting 100% into my training, nutrition and development so I WILL achieve everything I want to achieve (there is a lot!)

So here's to a new chapter, a brighter, healthier, fitter future.

At this time I can't think of anything better to say than - what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

It's All About Results!

(I also want to thank everyone who has supported me so far during this challenge - it means the world to me and I am humbled by everyones kind words and help. I never thought I'd be someones idol, but hey, I'll take that!)

A Healthy Cake!!!

Happy Sunday :) Hope you've all had a great weekend and either trained well or taken a well deserved rest!

I've done the latter today, caught up with friends, prepared food for the week and had a nice long dog walk to get the blood flowing (can't sit still to save my life!).

Just a quick update before I share with you a beauty of a recipe that is clean, healthy, quick to make and ever quicker to eat :). This was week 9 of the USN challenge and my first week of following a carb cycle, overall reduction in calories and a revamped training program, described in more detail in this post. As you may know Sunday is the day I 'weigh in' and take my measurements, so today I got up and got to work recording my stats. I was a little apprehensive as I wasn't sure what the results would be (body distortion, and seeing yourself everyday makes it difficult to see changes)

However, it was GREAT NEWS!!! The carb cycling has worked a treat this week - my weight has dropped slightly, my body fat % has dropped as has my stomach measurement BUT, my thigh has increased 0.5cm since last week, as has my chest and my arm circumference has stayed the same.I'm sooo happy with this, essentially I have managed to drop body fat (and probably a bit of water) but increased lean muscle mass, exactly what I was wanting from this phase.
So the plan will stay the same this week - why fix something that isn't broken at the moment.

Right, on to the recipe. This is a single serving Chocolate Protein Cake!! Made with very few ingredients, and flavours can be modified (cinnamon is lovely).

Ingredients

• 2 Egg Whites
• 1 Tbl spn Coconut Flour
• 1 Tbl spn Dark Cocoa Powder (Green&Blacks is great)
• 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 tsp Apple and pear spread/Apple Sauce/Sugar Free Jam

All you need to do is:
Put everything in a bowl and whisk to combine (it doesn't look pleasant at this stage but keep going).
Transfer to a smallish microwaveable tub
Microwave on full for approx 1 minute (leave to cool slightly before removing from tub - it's hot)

That's it! I always like to put a topping on mine to give it a boost and make it even more delicious. My faves are:

USN Premium Casein Frosting (1 scoop mixed with a small amount of water)
Almond Butter
Greek Yogurt + 1/2 scoop chocolate USN 100% Whey Protein

Keep an eye out this week for a big update post, I have something I want to discuss but it's taking some time getting it together and I don't want to blab on for hours!!

xx

Update - Training and Nutrition

Hi :)

Who has tried the Protein Ice Cream from the last post yet? Seriously you need to give it a go, you won’t regret it!

I wanted to give an update on my training and nutrition plan for the following 4 weeks. It may be tweaked slightly according to weekly results but I have hopefully come up with a plan that will help me tighten up whilst preserving as much muscle mass as possible; I've trained and eaten hard for this muscle and as I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m not at a stage to do a complete cut.

Training:

5 x Fasted Cardio (30-45 mins)

3 x Weight Training with Personal Trainer (45 mins, Complexes)

2 x Full Body Circuits, 1 with weights, 1 body weight – Abs to finish (45-60 mins)

1 x HIIT session (sprints/rower – 30 mins max)

Sunday REST

 

So I will be going back to 6 sessions per week, although if I feel like my body needs more recovery I’ll adjust the schedule and take an extra days rest when needed. I will be setting my alarm extra early for the fasted cardio and will be doing it every weekday, allowing me to get a bit more sleep on a weekend (much needed) and I tend to hit the gym on Saturday mornings. Sunday will be a day for food preparation, spending time with friends and family and a long dog walk.

The sessions will be done around work as usual; some scheduled for lunch breaks, some after work, and some later in the evenings depending on my schedule and whether I have PT or Massages to do. As I see it, there are no excuses to missing sessions. Yes, I may be tired sometimes but I will always bring 100% effort and dedication and will stick to the plan each and every day. It's what I love to do!

 

Nutrition:

Carb Cycle

3 x High days

4x Low days

I dropped my calories gradually over the weekend from 3500 to 2500, which is the level I will stay at for this week (I was gaining roughly 1lb per week at 3500). After the first week I will take my measurements as usual on Sunday and make any necessary adjustments. 2500 may seem quite high to some but I naturally burn through calories so really have to be vigilant that I don't drop too low.

In terms of Macro’s I’ll be keeping Protein high (2g per 1lb body weight). Carbs will be higher on the 3 days I Weight Train with my PT and the remaining days will be low carb. Fats will then be adjusted daily to take me to the calorie requirements for the day (higher on low carb days/lower on high carb days) As always I will be aiming to drink 2 litres of water per day.

So that’s about it – if anyone would like to know more about the foods I will be eating, meal timings, pre/post nutrition or what supplements I will be using and when please get in touch. I'd love to go into more detail – I've been doing lots of research and learning about different supplements, what's best to take for different goals and timing them optimally. As I said before I LOVE this stuff.

Hope you're all having a great week.

Keep training hard and eating clean – It's all about results!!

Protein Ice Cream!!

Hey :)

Today I was going to write a post about my training and nutrition program for the next 4 weeks but I had to share this recipe and a variation.

It was fellow fitness dudette Terri who shared this recipe with me on twitter so this is a shout out to her - I am officially addicted!

I know it's freezing outside but you honestly need to try these - put an extra jumper on and make a mug of Green Tea to warm you through afterwards.

Strawberry

• 2 scoops Strawberry USN 100% Whey Protein
• 2 tblspn Flax, Goji, mixed Seed (linwoods)
• 2 cups Frozen Summer Fruits
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, Ginger, Nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence
• 1 Ripe Avocado
• 1 scoop USN Glutamine
• 200ml (approx) Coconut Milk (canned or kara)

Place all ingredients in a blender or smoothie maker and blitz
Transfer into a plastic tub with a lid and put in the freezer
Every hour take a fork and mix the ice cream mix (this will help keep it creamy)
Once it's at the consistency you like (or if you can't wait any longer) DIG IN.

Like Terri said, all the ingredients are wholesome, healthy, aid recovery and help reduce inflammation.

Here's my variation I made today (I missed out the Glutamine as I get it in USN Power Punch - orange)

Pistachio (serves 1)

• 1 scoop Pistachio IGF-1
• 1 tblspn Flax, Goji, mixed seed 
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1/2 Ripe Avocado (slightly frozen)
• 100ml Coconut Milk (canned or Kara)

Follow the same instructions as above and enjoy! 

I am currently planning more variations like Chocolate Banana, Vanilla and Chocolate Peanut Butter.

I hope you try these recipes, they taste just as good if not better than regular ice cream but without all the sugar, and nasties - just good clean ingredients and obviously the best Protein Supplements (where else can you get Pistachio flavour with nutritional stats like IGF-1?!!)

Happy eating :)

Decisions

HAPPY FRIDAY - Who's ready for the weekend?!
I know I am :)

It's been a busy but amazing week again, and I absolutely love it. This post is going to be fairly brief (if I can stop myself from talking).

This has been the last week of my 'gaining' phase - I'm really pleased with my progress and development in the first 8 weeks, gaining lean mass with a reduction in body fat levels (big smiles). The next 4 week phase I had planned to follow a traditional 'cut' thinking that my gains in the first phase would have brought along a little fat but this hasn't been the case.

As of Tuesday this week, the planned phase has been getting to me. It's taken 5 months of solid eating and training to get my muscle mass to where it is now - starting to look more athletic - and I didn't want to jeopardise it by following a severe 'cut' as i lose weight extremely quickly.  After lots of deliberation, mind changing, and grumpiness (sorry mum) I talked it all through with my trainer and the lovely and very helpful Melinda at USN, and have decided to follow a carb cycle to help drop water and fat but retain as much muscle as possible.

Once the decision had been made and I had calculated my macro's for higher and lower carb days, I felt relaxed again and I'm confident that this is the right process for me.

I guess what I have learnt this week is that you have to do what is right for you! My goal is to be strong, fit and athletic, and at this stage a traditional 'cut' would not  be right for me. I am at the start of a long process of growing and developing my physique; I must trust my body and do what I know is right for it.
This challenge has been a significant turning point for me, and I want to look in the best shape I can for my final pictures.

So now is the time to keep going and trust the process! It's worked well so far and I know I have put everything I have into it, and will continue to do so - that drive and desire is never going to change.

I'll be back on Sunday to update you on my training and nutrition strategy - now it's time to go and get some rest - I have a big session planned for the morning :) can't wait!!

Here's to the next 4 weeks - It's all about results!

"Even the greatest was once a beginner - Don't be afraid to take the first step"

The USN Influence

Here we go, week 8 of the challenge!!! It's unbelievable how much this is changing my life, I'm like a whole new person :)

It's not just been the last few months when USN have had an impact on my life - it stems back to the illusive BodyPower Expo earlier this year in Birmingham.

At the time I was struggling. Physically I had go to a weight that I felt was 'safe' (still underweight). I was overdoing the cardio, and under eating massively again. I had just started to get into weight lifting but obviously as I was not fuelling myself properly, no progress was being made.
Mentally I was slipping, heading back down a path I didn't want to go back down, but struggling to move forward.

Until THAT day.

I travelled down to Birmingham with two friends, excited to feel the buzz of BodyPower. What greeted me as soon as I walked through the doors? A huge USN booth with Jenny Pacey on the stand giving out advice, and the impressive figures of Ryan Terry and Dave Titterton with crowds around them.

Highlight of my day :) both super friendly guys!

 

From that moment I knew I had to move forward. If i was ever going to live the fitness life I wanted so much, I had to take action - stop talking, start doing!

Seeing those Athletes was the best thing that could have happened. They inspired me then and still do now, and sparked my biggest goal of all - One day i want to be representing USN on that booth!

 

After that weekend I went home, cancelled my plans to move out from home and put my money into something more important, hiring a new Personal Trainer, who I still train with 3 times per week now.

We clicked immediately and I put my trust in him, following what he suggested in terms of calorie and carb consumption (fearful stuff at the time) and training (more lifting, less running).

 

I set myself a goal for 3 months, to build strength and confidence. It was difficult - mainly dealing with the 'fat' feelings etc, that come along with battling an eating disordered mindset and bulking - but I kept focusing on the image of BodyPower and my ultimate goal.

 

After those 3months were up I had made great progress but had only just begun!! I had the bug and researched everything (and still do) about training and nutrition. I'd reached a place physically and mentally where I could sign up to the USN challenge and be able to tackle what ever it threw at me and could put everything into it.

 

And here I am now, at week 8, developing, learning and growing every day, with no intention of stopping and every intention of working even harder to make my dreams a reality!

 

Thanks again USN!!

 

"A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work" 



Fight against negatives

Happy hump day everyone!

I haven't posted much this week. It's been a harder one, and I have had to really focus and pull out all the stops but it's been worth every bit of grit I have dedicated to get through it - and you know what? I am happy with how I have reacted to the event that NEARLY made me waver.

At the weekend what I thought was a good friend asked why I was training so hard, why I wanted to build more muscle and have an athletic physique (it's apparently not nice!) and why on earth was I entering a challenge against countless others to be an ambassador for the brand I love, and why did I want to live a life of fitness instead of going out and having fun getting drunk every weekend? According to her it's pointless because I'm never going to make it, and living how I do at my age is plain weird!!

Lets just say this took me by suprise! It hit me hard. Why would a friend be questioning me like this? Am I being unrealistic and living with my head in the clouds? It upset me and knocked my confidence a lot. I have never forced what I am doing on anyone. I will offer help and advice but never tell someone what they should or shouldn't be doing. I have just set myself a goal, and got on working hard, day in day out, and giving my all to this challenge - I can honestly say I have never worked so hard for something before, and am loving every minute of it, learning more and developing an amazing new lifestyle and outlook.

Before I started this challenge, these comments would have probably made me give up, worrying that what I was doing/wanted to acheive wasn't right. BUT, who's to say what is right or wrong - the way I am choosing to live my life (not just now but for the rest of my life) is totally up to me, it's my choice and I don't see anything wrong with that.
It's not a sacrifice for me to skip things like drinking alcohol, staying out late every night and eating junk food; it's my choice not to do that because really, I don't want that. And I'm not going to judge anyone who does want that lifestyle because that's their choice. Maybe one day i could inspire someone to change such habits and follow a fit life?

So, although my initial reaction was 'what if she's right?', my gut reaction was 'I believe in my choices, this is what i want and I'm going to work even harder to make it happen'.
What a turning point for me: not only am I working hard and getting physically stronger, I am making vast improvements to my mental strength -- having the confidence that I am doing what is right for me, and not living by other peoples standards or beliefs.

Luckily I have a great support network around me and a lot of inpsiring athletes from Team USN offering guidance and encouragement.
There's my family, who have fought through the dark times of the past with me and are supportive in every way possible.
Friends, who understand how much this means to me and understand that training and nutrition come first for me (one even making sure the menu at her birthday dinner in a few weeks was going to have something suitable for me!).
And a Personal Trainer who also knows the worth of this challenge to me, is there picking me up and motivating me when I've been hit by a drainer, and pushing me beyond where I thought my body could go.

Needless to say, the negative individual has been sidelined, but I would like to thank her. She made me realise just how much I want to continue down this path of fitness and change my lifestyle for the better, and I'm not giving up.
So thank you for making me a little bit stronger than I was yesterday!

"There will be obstacles. There will be doubters. There will be misakes. But with hard work...there are no limits" - Michael Phelps

Fuel the fire

I want share my current nutritional breakdown with everyone. I don't normally go into detail about this as everyones requirements differ but I would like to show people just how much fuel is needed to build muscle.

For a long time I thought I could fuel my training on very little food (bird like portions) and gain muscle - this is not the case. It wasn't until I started working with my current personal trainer that my intake was directly addressed and I put my trust in his guidance to get me started. Now I have the confidence to increase/adapt my intake as and when required.

For the first 8 weeks of this challenge the aim is to gain lean muscle mass (the final 4 will be a cut to drop body fat)
I have had to tweak my calorie consumption and macro nutrients over the first 6 weeks as I have gained size and hit a plateau a few weeks ago and the intensity of my training has increased. My intake now is working well, I'm gaining around 1lb per week and my body fat % has actually dropped from week 1 by 1.5%

Considering I am a small build it takes an awful lot of food to fuel my workouts and leave enough extra to build muscle. Here is the breakdown:

3500 cals
350g - 370g Carbs
215g - Protein
100g - 120g - Fat

This is spread over 7 meals which look a bit like this:

Carbs
5 meals = 42g
2 hrs pre w/o = 80g
post w/o = 80g (which comes from Muscle Fuel STS and a Banana)

Protein
6 meals = 28g
Post w/o = 45g

Fat
6 meals = 20g (I ommit fat from my post w/o meal)

I use these USN supplements to help meet my requirements, help with performance levels and aid recovery.

I try and stick as closely to this as possible and track everything on myfitnesspal. I plan all my meals the day before and prepare all my meals a day in advance so I am never caught out and can always hit my calorie requirements with clean foods. I will continue to follow this plan for the next 2 weeks taking me to the 8 week mark of the challenge.

I am currently researching a few different methods for when it comes to the final 4 week cut. I want to make sure I follow a plan that works for me as I am aware that this will be the first time I have really had to cut calories since I started recovering properly from my eating disorder. I know I will have the willpower to stick to the diet as this challenge means so much and I am dedicated to putting all my effort in to reaching the end goal. It's going to be a shock to the system but I am looking forward to seeing how my body changes and what more I can learn about my body etc. After all, it's all about results!!

When rest is good!!

Happy Friday!!

Week 6 of the challenge is coming to an end, and it's been a great one. Despite suffering from crazy DOMS, tiredness and near burn out, I've made some massive steps forward (for me) and progressed well again.
The main positive was recognising that my body genuinely needed a rest mid week, and I honoured that. With a bit of persuasion from my trainer (who is keeping an eye on me over doing it again) I took Wednesday as a rest day. I had a busy day at work but spent the evening resting up, sleeping and filling up the tank with nutritious food ready to hit the gym again on Thursday.

Guess what?.....It worked!! :)

I woke up feeling fresh and had one of my strongest sessions of the challenge. For the remaining 2 weeks of this bulk phase I will be continuing to take 2 days rest per week as outlined in my new plan of action. One day mid week and one day at the weekend.

Hopefully this will give my body chance to recover and grow!!

Enjoy your weekends :)

When "give it all you've got" isn't beneficial

WOW - I ache! DOMS is making every day tasks pretty difficult this week - I'm not complaining either, I like it :)

So, todays post may be a bit scattered, I'm tired so I apologise in advance.

I'm going to be honest, last week wiped me out. This new program is hardcore and I think I underestimated how much rest I was going to need to recover adequately for this week. Since starting the challenge I have trained  6 days per week, sometimes training twice per day - Combined with a busy work schedule, trying to develop a client base for sports massage and personal training and trying to catch up with friends, this has left me on the fringes of burnout.
I can be very 'all or nothing' when it comes to doing something I am dedicated to and passionate about (and this challenge means A LOT to me) and I have taken the phrase "give it all you've got" a bit too literally!

Luckily I have spotted the signs early (as has my trainer) so can do something about it before it gets any worse and I do actually burn out. I can work through the physical pain barriers, preparing myself mentally and just pushing through, however things tend to affect me more from a mental perspective. My self-esteem drops, little things turn into mountains, I start to isolate myslef a bit, I don't sleep well and I generally start to pick holes in myself (not good when you are 6 weeks into bulking and looking a little carby!)

So; what am I going to do about it? A plan of action of course!
It worked well before so lets do it again. After all this is a big learning curve, it's about readjusting/tweeking to make sure we get the best out of ourselves.

Here's the plan for the next 2.5 weeks:

• Take an extra rest day (it's perfectly acceptable to train 5 times per week)
• Only train once per day (to stop digging deeper holes and allow my body to repair and grow)
• Sleep when I need to - allowing myself to lay in on a weekend
• Keep meeting up with friends - balance is important
• Concentrate on the positives - how much stronger I am, how I can beast through a gruelling session and how far I've come not only in 6 weeks but in the last 5 years
• Look at the facts - yes, my weight is increasing but my bodyfat has dropped from week 1and I am lifting heavier which means one thing, more muscle!!

Let's hope this plan of action is a successful as the last one. Keep positive, keep focused, keep learning and keep developing!

"A stumbling block to the pessimist is a stepping stone to the optimist" - Eleanor Roosevelt 

Adapting to a new program

This week marked the start of a new 4 week program with my Trainer (I typically train with him 3 times per week then do 3 sessions by myself). He introduced me to a method called Escalating Density Training (EDT) and I absolutely love it!

I’m a competitive type, don’t like to be defeated, and set high goals for myself which has resulted in me leaving these sessions totally wiped out. I know for sure that I have pushed myself to the max every day this week, and my body has been telling me about it since the first session on Monday!! My hunger has been through the roof, I have DOMS in muscles I don’t even know the names of, and I have slept like a baby trying to get my body recovered (roll on rest day Sunday).

When I train I always put all my effort into it. I believe you only get out of something what you put into it; but the first week of something new is always a shock to the system – the body has to adapt, and QUICKLY! It just highlights how the body gets used to one type of training, and why it’s crucial to change variables such as weight, reps, sets or type if you want to continue developing – whatever your goal may be.

I can’t wait to see what adaptations have occurred this week when I take my measurements; and now I have set the bar high, I am going to have to dig a little deeper and pull out all the stops next week.

Let the good times roll!

Life Changer

What a week so far…I have finally found a bit of time to sit down and update the blog.

As nice as it is to have this time, it’s also great that I am keeping so busy!  And even better that I am now fit and strong enough to cope with a hectic schedule of an office job, sports massages, personal training, my own training, food prep and spending time with friends and family – I really am enjoying every minute of it :)

Before I started this USN challenge I was still very much lacking in self-esteem, confidence, strength and energy. I was putting everything into recovering from an eating disorder, training to build my body up and preparing food so I could stick to my requirements, but that was it. The rest of the time I would be so tired from being previously under nourished and still underweight that all I wanted to do was stay in and isolate myself.

Not anymore!! Now I am a much happier person, I am focused on achieving what I want and forging a career within the fitness industry and am confident that with hard work, dedication and will power I can achieve it. So much so that I am now working part time in my Marketing job to dedicate more time to my training, nutrition and recovery and building clients for sports massage and personal training. This is a huge turnaround from the girl who used to shy away from challenges in case she failed.

I can only put this down to me taking part in this challenge – not only does seeing members of Team USN reaping the rewards of their hard work and dedication make me believe it is possible, but the strength and confidence I am developing physically and mentally from training hard and nourishing myself properly is empowering. I am finally at a healthy weight for my height for the first time in 5 years and feel on top of the world – this is life changing.

Oh and while I remember – the new program I started this week is amazing :)

I have ached from head to toe since Monday evening. It’s a good job they say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger; I am going to be a beast!

 

It’s all about results

When a plan comes together

Hi, hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Just writing a quick update today as I still have lots of food preparation to do for the week.

Sundays are my log in days, where I weigh in, take measurements and check bodyfat % levels.  You may remember that last week their was no changes to these measurements, I had maintained my weight and not managed to put on any size so came up with this plan of action. I've stuck to the plan solidly and consistently and it's paid off! This week I gained 2lb and added 1/2 - 1cm on most measurements with my bodyfat % staying the same as the previous week - lean gains right there :).
Needless to say I was a happy camper this morning!

It just goes to show that if you keep working hard and put the effort in you will progress over time.
So whenever you feel like you aren't getting anywhere with your goals, re-evaluate what you are doing, maybe switch things up a bit, but always keep going - stay dedicated and the results will happen.

Now I'm going to go and finish this prep, rest, and fuel up for the first day of my new 4 week program tomorrow - can't wait!

"The roots of true achievement lie in the will to become the best you can be" - Harold Taylor

Going out in Style

Today marked the final training session on my current program with my Personal Trainer, and it was done in style :)

Last week when i did this set of complexes was the day I had the world on my shoulders and hit that dreaded stumbling block - I was determined that today was not going to be a repeat of that!!
I prepped well, getting a good early nights sleep and fuelled up before heading to the studio. Everything seemed to click, I was feeling fit and strong and the weights went up. It felt worlds apart from the previous week and I left the session one happy girl.  I think this just shows how amazingly powerful the mind is. Obviously there were other factors to my increased performance but what was mostly responsible was my mentality going into this session, and how my trainer motivated me and kept me focussed throughout. Today I was strong and ready to finish this 4 week phase on a high note.

Since playing around with my nutrition/macronutrients on Monday, I feel like I have had much more energy (even after a hectic week), been stronger and progressed well all week. This highlights the importance of adequate, good quality nutrition when training and pushing yourself hard day in day out is your top priority.
Hitting my requirements for building muscle and recovering well has been made so much easier by using USN supplements, and the recent addition of Muscle Fuel STS is providing some great results (double bonus as both the chocolate and vanilla taste BEAUTIFUL).

Once again, thanks to USN, their team and all their athletes for the support along the way, and for not only providing top class supplements, but also the opportunity of this challenge - It's seriously life changing.

Now bring on next week when the new program begins - sounds like it's going to be hard work and I can't wait!!

Plan of Action

So I’m a few days into week 4 of the USN Body and Lifestyle Challenge. I know I keep saying this but seriously, I can’t believe how fast it’s going!! I have already been thinking about how I want to continue after the 12 weeks (more of that in a later post) 

Right now I have set goals for this 12 weeks and they are my focus and will build me a great base for what I want to progress to.

Sunday was my progress measurement day – I got up feeling apprehensive about it because I want to grow each week and see big changes. This is probably unrealistic, particularly when it comes to building muscle mass – it’s hard going and requires A LOT of calories (all clean too).

Although my strength has gone up in my training sessions, I didn’t manage to put on any size this week. I was very disheartened as I had put all my effort into training hard, preparing all my food every day, getting plenty of sleep at night (my bedtime is getting earlier!! Granny right here) and getting up early at the weekend to make sure I fit all my meals in. I was not in a happy mood :(

BUT; rather than dwelling on how badly I thought I had done for not gaining, I came up with a plan of action!! I have learnt from last week and can look back and see where I may have gone wrong – I am still very new to this gaining and leaning process and have a lot to learn, all of these little glitches teach me valuable lessons.

So here's my plan of action:

After analysing my food intake from the previous week (all documented on myfitnesspal)

·         I have added 200 extra calories per day

·         I have adjusted my macronutrients and will be getting more calories from carbs (~350g per day)

·         I have purchased some Muscle Fuel STS to help get the carbs I require post w/o and will also include a banana with this for an added carb hit.

·         I have increased my protein intake slightly to ensure I am getting 2g per lb bodyweight.

Hopefully these changes will be the shift I need to pack on a little more muscle, and see my measurements increase as they did in week 1 and 2.

One thing is for sure, I’m certainly not giving up. I’m going to work harder – If that’s even possible!!

Facing Fears

Happy Sunday :)

What a week again!! And another one that has flown by. I am still loving the USN Challenge, and really working hard to do all that I can to acheive the goals I have set of increasing lean muscle, and making myself a healthier person not only physically, but mentally too.

This week I addressed a long standing food fear, stemming back to the worst days of my eating disorder, which is red meat. I know red meat has huge amount of benefits and needs to be incorporated into my nutrition plan to ensure I get a varied diet, but until now I've stuck to eating within my comfort zone - potentially reducing my chances of building decent muscle.
Not any more! As of yesterday I will be including red meat twice per week - I am determined to get rid of any fears that could hold me back from acheiving my dreams.

I'd like to thank Melinda from the USN Team for her advice. I used it to back up my own research and the advice from my Personal Trainer to quieten any disordered doubts in my mind.
After having my first Steak in 5 years!! I am very happy to be including it in my diet from now on. It was delicious and devoured in no time :) - It left me asking "why have I not eaten this for so long?!"

I believe that magic happens outside of your comfort zone. More and more often I am pushing myself out of mine. This challenge has been the catalyst for this new drive, and long may it continue.

So, here's to the next week - new challenges, making our comfort zones bigger, and making ourselves the best we can be!!!

Vanilla-Coconut Casein Pudding

When I was devouring my pre-bedtime meal last night and appreciating how amazing it tasted I knew it was one I wanted to share on the blog. I have this very same thing every night (creature of habit that I am) just adjusting the Macro’s to meet either bulking, cutting or maintenance requirements.

This version is what I have when bulking. It contains just 3 ingredients and fits the bill of being clean, nutritious and tasty – Bonus!

Serves 1

·         2 scoop serving Vanilla USN Premium Casein

·         100ml Coconut Milk (I found a pure coconut milk from a Chinese market but canned works as well)

·         20-30g Ground Oats

Simply put the ingredients in a shaker, add about 50ml water (more if you prefer a thinner consistency), shake it up and transfer into a bowl.

Leave in the fridge for 1-2 hrs for the pudding to thicken up a bit more, then dig in!!

You will get a mousse like pudding that will keep you fuelled through the night, allowing your body to do its thing and repair those hard worked muscles.

Again, thanks to USN for developing a super tasty Casein!

Enjoy :)

1st Stumble

Happy Hump Day!!

I wasn’t planning on blogging today but I wanted to write about my first stumble in the challenge. As we all know, when you are training for something that is important and means a lot to you, bad days are something we don’t want to come across but they are inevitable. Well, yesterday was one of those days for me :(

Training was tough going, my shoulder and hip were giving me aggro meaning my lifts weren’t as strong as I would like, which left me down in the dumps and throwing a mini tantrum. It was a heavy fall from the high times I had been experiencing so far.  Normally this low feeling would eat at me for days/weeks until I finally snapped out of it – but yesterday something was different.

I returned to work feeling like I wanted to cry and wondering what had gone wrong overnight!

The answer: my mind-set.

The day had started with some bad news, I hadn’t slept well and my mind was going a million miles an hour. So although my body was in the studio, my mind wasn’t, resulting in me getting more and more frustrated at myself for not being “perfect” and progressing how I “should” be.

So, instead of wallowing in self-pity for having a bad day, niggling injuries and not being present in my session, I chose to change my attitude. Everyone experiences bad days, it’s how we deal with them and move on that makes us stronger, fitter or wiser. I put the session behind me and focused on the positives – I still put 100% into the session, I completed the session, I got the recovery process started straight away with a post w/o meal, and enjoyed the rest of my day knowing that I would be back in the gym on top form the following day.

Today I can look back and see that the session really wasn’t that bad, I did increase the weight on some exercises just not ALL of them. I also wondered what it was that made me change my attitude for the rest of the day. And I really believe it’s because since lifting weights and becoming stronger physically, I have become much stronger mentally. I have hit many stumbling blocks during my recovery and during training but have learnt from each experience and come back stronger each time.

I know throughout this challenge I will hit many more stumbling blocks and have days where things don’t go quite how I would like them too – but that’s life, and what’s important is how I pick myself up from them and move on regardless. No one said it was going to be easy, and I don’t expect it to be, but I will keep working hard every day because this is the journey towards what I want the most.

Sometimes in life it isn’t how hard you hit, but how hard you get hit and keep going.

How do you get over bad days and pick youselves up to hit the gym again?

It’s all about results   

Week 3 already!!!

Wow, I am into week 3 of the USN Body and Lifestyle Challenge already! Time flies when I am focused on doing what I love. I’m putting everything I have into this, training hard, resting up with early nights, prepping food, researching different training methods and nutritional strategies and doing my day job so I can pay for my Personal Trainer.

Literally all my thoughts and energy are going into me changing my lifestyle to make me the best I can possibly be in 12 weeks. And it won’t stop when the challenge is over either!! I’m looking into a career change so I can return to personal training more, develop my skills and gain more qualifications. The challenge has already cemented the fact that my true passion is health and fitness, and working in the industry would make the last 5 years of hard work and struggles worth every minute.

I have a lot of plans for the future, and this challenge is making me become more confident and determined to make them become a reality. This is where the hard work and dedication really begins and boy am I ready for it.

I have used USN products since I really started training properly and learning more about supplements, and I’m really happy with the results they have produced so far. These supplements, combined with proper nutrition, solid training and a new found determination from entering the challenge that could be life changing, has resulted in some great gains!

Here’s a quick overview of some developments since starting the challenge to the end of week 2:

·         Weight: Increased 1kg

·         Thigh: Increased 2cm

·         Upper Arm: Increased 1.5cm

·         Bodyfat %: Decreased 1% (very happy with this considering I am bulking)

So as you can see, USN products really do bring about great results, and I am even more excited to see the changes over the rest of the challenge.

Bring it on :) !!!!

Fitspiration Friday!!

After speaking to people about what they find difficult when they start living the fit lifestyle, I often get told that it's the weekends that cause the majority to struggle.

There seems to be less routine, offers of meals/drinks out with friends, long days out, nights out - the list goes on.  I used to struggle with this myself, not planning, not prepping my food to take with me on days out and not setting out a plan for my training - this would leave me under fuelled and partaking in chronic cardio because I didn't have anything organised.
Thankfully this has all changed! Since starting this challenge I now plan and prep everything, no matter what day it is or where I am going to be. It has quickly become a habit and one that I really enjoy :)

So...I decided to put together a little collage of some fitspirational pictures to try and help you remember why you are wanting to live the fit life and hopefully keep you on track this weekend - these certainly work for me...

Hope that's inspirational - have a great weekend!!!
Stay focused - its all about results :)

Can't beat a nice clean Pancake!!

Happy Thursday!

Can't believe how fast this week has gone. I have to say I have loved every minute of it :).
The challenge has really made me step up to the plate - I always push myself hard in training but it has now gone off the chain!! It's great to get even more support from the USN team and all their Athletes/Ambassadors, I feel like I have a growing network of motivational people and that's amazing so a big THANK YOU!!!

And when I thought it couldn't get any better, my nutrition has also been spot on for the whole 2 weeks. I have stayed consistent with fuelling my body with what it requires (quite alot :)) and I know this is allowing my body to recover and get to work building me some muscles ready for the next session. I am even embracing all these carbs I need to support muscle growth, something I have struggled with for a long time.

So, seeing as though I love to cook up some clean and tasty food I thought I'd share with you my fave Sunday breakfast. Here I present you with - Pistachio Protein Pancakes!!!

Ingredients:

• 1 Egg White
• 1 Scoop Pistachio IGF-1 (can use any flavour - they all taste amazing)
• 1 Sachet Quaker Oats/30g Ground Oats
• Fluid to mix to a thickish batter consistency (I like coconut milk)

All you need to do is:

1. Whisk the ingredients in a bowl,
2. Pre heat a non-stick pan on low/medium,
3. Spoon the pancake mix into the pan (I use a tablespoon, sometimes 2 per pancake depending if you want lots of small ones or a few bigger ones)
4. Wait for a few bubbles to appear on the surface of the pancake
5. Flip and cook on the other side for about 30 seconds
6. Remove from pan and place on kitchen towel while you cook the rest of the batch

It really is super easy, they taste amazing and are nice and gooey in the middle.
(if you use 100% whey protein they can be a bit dry and rubbery)
You can even adapt the recipe to suit your Macronutrient requirements - I have made them with 2 egg whites, more oats, less oats etc. As long as the batter is quite thick they seem to work every time.

I like to top mine with Greek Yog, Almond Butter and Berries but the possibilities are endless - just top them with what you love to eat!!

Hope you try them out and let me know what you think - I can't take any praise for the taste though, that's down to the deliciousness of the IGF-1 (USN are spoiling us)

Enjoy the rest of your week and have a great weekend - Keep on track - It's all about results!

Something about a challenge....

Happy Monday!!
Today was the start of week 2 of the challenge and I have kicked things up a notch. Todays training was a series of complexes :) and it was a nice sweaty session, increasing the weights on all exercises. I LOVE getting stronger!!!!

My Personal Trainer has also twigged how competitive I am and set a plank challenge a few weeks ago. Firsty I had to beat his 2 minute plank - easy done with a nice 2.26.
Last week it was on!! I had to beat my previous week and clocked in at 2.56. Sooo close to 3 minutes but didn't quite make it :(
Today I had to hit the 3 minute mark. It was going to be tough following the session I had just completed but I was focused and determined (something about a 12 week challenge that does that to a girl) My whole body was literally shaking, I stopped with the joking chatter and pushed on being encouraged all the time by my trainer.
Once I collapsed in a heap my time was announced.....3 minutes 7 seconds!!!! Whooop - felt like a champion.

All in all it was an awesome session, which always makes me happy for the rest of the day. Plus I got to refuel with a monster protein shake - 1 scoop Pistachio USN IGF-1, 60g ground oats and 1 banana :)))

What's your favourite way to refuel after a hard workout??



 

1st Post!!!

The first post!! I am super excited :)

I signed up for the USN challenge last week and decided I wanted to get a bit more involved by starting a blog to document my journey – who knows, if I'm successful the blog may continue to keep everyone informed about life as an ambassador for what is in my opinion, the best supplement company out there.

 

You can read a bit about my past in the 'my story so far' tab, and this post is to let you all know what my goals are for this challenge, and how I want to transform my lifestyle.

Let me tell you now, it’s all exciting!!

 

I am under no illusions that there will be extremely hard times, lots of ups and downs, successes, knock backs – it’s no easy journey. But I am hard working, dedicated and have a passion to work in the health and fitness industry; it is my dream and something I am not going to give up on. I want to show people that no matter where you have been or who you are, if you put your all into something you can make it a success.

 

So, what are my goals?

Firstly I want to build lean muscle mass. I am naturally small (and can eat a tonne!) and used to use it as an excuse for not being able to build any muscle. This all changed when I started training with my Personal Trainer – in the last 3 months I have gained 3kg of lean muscle mass and now I want more! This is going to take a consistent high calorie diet, and I will do this from clean food sources with a balanced combination of Carbs, Proteins and Fats. Alongside this I will be supplementing with these products.

 

Along with building muscle, I also want to build strength! Obviously physical strength (who doesn't want to be a machine!!) but also emotional strength. As I have become stronger physically I have faced up to many more fears, tried new challenges and pushed myself harder than ever - there have been stumbling blocks and failures, there has also massive highs and some great successes, but through it all I have become stronger as a person. This 12 week challenge is going to throw in more highs, lows, successes, failures and that's great :) Because I will earn from these moments, develop new skills, change tactics and do whatever it takes to make it work.

 

 

I want to live the fit lifestyle - no more yo-yo ing between bulking one week and not fuelling myself properly the next. I will be consistent, I will learn and grow from the struggles, I will ride the wave of the high times. More importantly I will have fun and enjoy doing it because I LOVE fitness!

 

 

Let's not forget - "Out of the ashes grows a Diamond"