My Fitness Journey

Recently I asked my lovely twitter followers to tell me what posts they would like to see on beautybakingbella and surprisingly health/lifestyle & fitness posts won over my food recipes (don't worry there are going to be more recipes coming up later this month.)

I always add a touch of lifestyle into my blog but writing about fitness is a new topic for me. I am a fit person, I go to the gym and attend classes and have learned a great deal about my body and the benefits of exercise. So I have decided that if I am going to start writing about fitness what better way to start than writing out my fitness journey to-date. Everyone is different and you will read how my journey has changed from the beginning until now and how much more benefit I am getting from my healthy lifestyle and workout days.

So carry on reading for a real and honest account of my fitness journey..

FROM THE BEGINNING

I would say I have always been an active person, at school I would always be playing football or netball and I loved PE (even if I was always the one left without a partner!) and I used to always love dancing at home and at the weekends at Theatre School. As we get older and we move on from our school years and we naturally get less active, it happens! We start full time work and our lives are filled with working and socialising. This is why it is important to make the time to exercise.

When I left school (I've always been naturally slim) I began doing low intensity exercises like Yoga and I used to do a lot of walking when I travelled to London to go to University every day. At the age of 18 that was all the exercise I thought I needed to do and once I hit 21 that is when I noticed my weight gain, loss of definition and tone on my body and muscles. My Uni days were filled with lots of going out, drinking, eating (not so healthy foods) and lots of late nights and early mornings. This was no good for my body!

THE NEXT STAGE

At 21, I graduated University (a BA Honours in Marketing and Advertising Communications, if anyone wanted to know) and I went straight into full time work. At this point I had moved out and in with my then boyfriend and now husband and I knew I had to get my body and health back on track. I decided to start doing some home workout dvd's and used my WiiFit. Before I knew it I was doing them regularly and started to feel better in myself and my eating habits improved.

At 22, when I was pregnant with my first baby I had to stop exercising as I suffered terribly with Hyperemesis Gravidarum. I didn't gain a lot of weight because I couldn't eat but I did suffer with a lot of water retention which made my body feel bloated and heavy. After I stopped breastfeeding I got back to it and started exercising again. So I took up road running and even participated in Race for Life in 2013, where I ran 5K, you can read about my experience here.

THEN IT ALL CHANGED

In 2014, I then discovered the amazing Joe Wicks THE BODY COACH. I randomly started following him on Instagram and he was the one that finally knocked it in to me to change my views on eating and exercising and to find a great balance between the two. I have never done his SSS plan but took inspiration from his Instagram videos and when he launched his books and videos I obviously got involved! I love his recipes and I use his online HIIT workout videos when I can't make it to the gym, more on that in the next chapter! Since the day I discovered that I could create my own balance of a 'healthy lifestyle' I have never looked back.

REGULAR EXERCISE & ANXIETY/DEPRESSION

In the past I have suffered from extreme depression and have had many episodes of anxiety attacks and feeling of anxiety. As I have got older this has improved a lot and my depression has pretty much diminished and disappeared, anyway that is a story from another post.

Now that I had regularly started exercising and seeing results and building muscle I realised that I actually felt amazing. My mind was clear and able to think positive and I was sleeping again, not feeling anxious or stressed and I was happy with myself for the first time in what felt like a life time. In the past when people or doctors/dieticians have said to me you need to exercise regularly it can cure depression and anxiety and help you stay fit and positive, I will admit, I was the first to say, "err no I'm good thanks". When you feel low and depressed the last thing you want to do is get out of bed in the day time and go for a run or see people fitter than you at the gym. If that wasn't enough to put me off the thought of leaving my house to do something so different and active scared the life out of me, I didn't want to put myself in a position I wasn't comfortable with. Depression and anxiety stopped me until now where I can say I kicked it's butt!

AND HERE I AM NOW

If you are still with me then thank you and sorry if this has been long winded. So here I am now, after my second pregnancy in 2015 (a write off again with the exercising as Hyperemesis Gravidarum is a bitch!) and even while breastfeeding I was back to exercising after 3 months. I started going to a Zumba Body Blast class, high intensity and brilliant cardio, where after only a few months I noticed I had gained muscle and lost a lot of weight. A few months after I then started doing Pilates with the same instructor. In between finding a new love for a type of exercise I joined the gym, I have been going a minimum once a week ever since! The routine I have created for myself allows me to exercise at least 3 times a week and around being a full-time mum and working which has given me to power to have some 'me time' and become fit and healthy. I attend my Body Blast class for a 'I'm nearly dying' cardio session, my Pilates class to help re-align my pelvis (SPD when pregnant is a killer!) strengthen my body and muscles and finally my gym days where I use equipment to tone and build muscle and lots and lots of weight #girlsthatlift.

I never thought I would be a fitness obsessed girl, like never ever had I imagined that I have better gym clothes than normal clothes. I honestly feel the best I have ever felt, I am happier and healthier and it all comes second nature to me now. In the future I will be uploading health/fitness posts on my blog to share my experiences and give tips on what works for me. For a great place to start check out My Top Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle here for some inspiration today!

Once you find what exercise works for you you will be amazed how much you will push yourself to work for a healthier and happy body.

Thank you for reading, let me know what you think? If you have any fitness of lifestyle tips for me to try please let me know.

Love & Light

♥ 

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