Get fit in the gym, lose weight in the kitchen.

This week's blog reading music is Swimwear by Hey! Hello! who I went to see play last week, perfect summery goodtime pop goodness.  Play it, it'll improve your day.

Just fuck off.  Right off.

I'm using Instagram a lot, there's a big community of people on there using it for support and motivation, posting pictures of healthy food and weightloss progress and whatnot and it's always good to have like minded people to encourage you, even if they're just on social media.  So of course alongside some great before and after photo of someone who lost 100lbs or a delicious looking grapefruit (this happened, I've been really into grapefruit all week because of an instagram picture) you get a decent amount of horrendous bullshit motivational memes like this awful one right here.   Urgh.   But I saw one that actually was just good advice that said "Get fit in the gym, lose weight in the kitchen" and that's so true.  I remember years ago thinking that if I go to the gym regularly that would make up for me basically eating whatever I liked.  One counteracts the other, right?  Wrong, really wrong. Obviously what I'm looking for is to be generally healthy all over but diet and exercise don't have the same effect on the body and it's taken a while to realise.  You can get get fitter and stronger with improved recovery times and better stamina by just hammering away at the gym but you'll never get rid of your love handles that way, that's got to be taken care of in the kitchen.

Badass.

So I've been in the gym lots and enjoying it more than ever, and doing yoga and even taking it outdoors to work out on Clapham Common in the sunshine, but I've been thinking a lot about eating really clean this last couple of weeks and the weight's coming off more quickly than it has in a while.  I've always loved food and if losing weight meant I had to go hungry this whole this would have never got off the ground for me but I think there's a perception that if food id good for you then it either is going to be boring or taste bad, now pizza is great and all but I find that the healthier I eat the more I enjoy healthy food.  But healthy food doesn't mean a plate of leaves and a boiled chicken breast, it's all about balance, I've really enjoyed cooking new things this week and it's all been good.  We got a BBQ going at the weekend with veggie kebabs with a honey mustard glaze and GIANT prawns that was wicked. My steak cooking skills are getting pretty good so we had a huge rib-eye on Friday with salad and a stack of garlic mushrooms cooked in butter (yes, you can have butter and still be healthy).  I made a spiced spinach and kale soup from chicken bone broth with crispy bacon on top which was just packed with good nutrition and was delicious and I've been making baked egg muffins, frittata from egg whites with feta and brocolli, salmon and squid curry....  basically just been packing in loads of protein and veg and the old bread and pasta and sugar cravings that haunt me have gone away.  I've noticed a change in my attitude towards food and it might be just because I'm feeling really motivated about the entire health thing but I find myself thinking more about what my body needs rather than what it is I want.  I'm heading home after a workout and I don't WANT cookies, I NEED some carbs, I like this change in me because it doesn;t feel like there's any effort or willpower involved in eating healthy, I'm just naturally making healthy choices.

I achieved one of fitness the goals I set for myself this week in that I finally did a full pull-up, I've been able to to one where I jump up and get my chin over the bar for a while but now I've been able to do a couple from a proper, straight-arm hang from the bar and pull myself all the way up.  A big deal for me as when I started this journey last year I couldn't even support myself hanging from the bar for 30 seconds.  Next goal - a full set of 10, pulls ups are really hard.
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The 12 Rounds Boxing crew after working out on Clapham Common.
I'm in the middle at the back, my guru/spirit animal Kat is front and centre.

We got a BBQ going this week, those prawn were HUGE and delicious.

Thanks for reading.  In case you didn't see it here's the coolest rockstar moment ever and a kitten who doesn't realise he's being watched

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