It Started With A Dress: Beating The January Blues

When I started this, I wasn’t unhappy with my figure. I just had a few extra pounds that most people sport after Christmas. I’d also made my couch my second home for most of the festive season, so I saw taking on the Lidl Fitness challenge as a bit of a kickstart to my New Year. There was no magic potions or empty promises. It was healthy eating, regular moderate intensity exercise, and no expensive plans that were going to make more of a dent on my bank balance than accomplishing my health goals. In fact, there was nothing other than some decent advice, easy recipes and some common sense I know but choose to ignore when someone offers me a miracle cure that works in less than 10 days. Yes, you might drop those unwanted pounds, but you’ll probably be miserable doing it. I also refuse to spend a small fortune on a gym membership that goes back to gathering dust once February creeps in. So this is week four, and I was a little adventurous with my food. I ate everything I love  - salmon, steak, coleslaw, and added roasted vegetables, sweet potatoes and started using a mix of spices, herbs and a dollop of garlic butter on everything (that’s my secret by the way. It makes everything taste delicious) I should point out, I have a garlic addiction. You should never let me cook for you. I’ve also started eating breakfast every morning which is a new habit that has surprising benefits. Like feeling a bit more pep in my morning step, finding it easier to concentrate and actually being able to resist snacking and chocolate temptations in work. I’d also be lying if I said I went wild with exercise this week. The truth is, I was tired over the past few days. I don’t think I’m alone either. January stretches on forever, and that lazy, sluggish mood seems to seep into the air by week three. I chose not to make my workouts the enemy, so I worked on my circuits, and actually looked up some home resistance training tips online. I may even have done some tricep dips during my Sex and the City marathon… I know – I’m a skilled at multitasking. (And thankfully, I didn't have any unplanned trips to the hospital) I’m also starting to feel a bit more confident about my fitness levels. While I’m not about to set off on any marathons just yet (because I genuinely run like Phoebe in Friends), I have decided that when these 30days are up, I don’t want to let my good food and fitness intentions fall by the wayside. So I’m looking at boxing, TRX, aqua aerobics and I might even try and force myself into some kind of spin class. Even though typing that just gave me chills and my bum still hasn’t recovered from the last time I tried to sit in that saddle. But I do plan to give you the inside scoop on whether a class worth ditching your Netflix for... We've all gone through the pain of a terrible class. Let's try protect one another, shall we? They say it takes 21 days to break a habit, so now I just want to make a habit. To actually keep up what I promised myself. Which is abs by summer. (No, I’m joking, don’t worry) But I would like to tone up, keep experimenting with healthy food and continue on my foray into fitness. Which all starts with making a plan. Even if it’s one I have to draw up for myself.