Fitness Friday #3: How To Get Motivated For The Gym!

Having been going to the gym regularly for about 3 months now, I have come to understand and experience for myself the peaks and lulls in working out. I like to go to the gym 2-3 times a week and work for about an hour. I absolutely love and relish the times where I feel really energetic and am powering through my workouts very sweaty but not like I'm going to pass out. I feel great afterwards and this gives me a massive confidence boost. However, there are times when I really don't want to go to the gym or when I'm there, I just don't have the energy to go hard like I usually do. This is both tiring and frustrating. 

Here are my (realistic) tips for staying motivated with your workouts...

Tip 1: Pinterest

Like the digital kid I am, I go to the internet. You know how much I love Pinterest and you can look at all my boards here. Pinterest is full of health and fitness tips, tricks and most importantly, motivation. All you have to do is type in 'gym motivation' and you are presented with a plethora of quotes and pictures psyching you up for your next workout. I've included one of my favourite motivational quotes here for you and why I love it...

This is a very encouraging quote for me. There are a load of magazine articles that claim to 'BANISH', 'BURN' and 'SHRED' your extra pounds, love handles or bingo wings. That's a little too aggressive for me. Now, this may sound a little preach-like but I believe you should love your body and want to 'SHAPE', 'PERFECT' and 'FINESSE' it to its best potential. "Workout because you love your body, not because you hate it", such a positive and motivating outlook. 

Tip 2: Keep track of your progress

There is honestly nothing more rewarding than seeing your weight loss written down in front of you. Be it in a journal or on a graph, it's a big deal. After my first month of working out, I lost a stone. Yes, a whole 14lbs! As well as being elated, I realised too that the reason why that weight literally fell off of my body is because it wasn't supposed to be there. So with that significant weight loss under my belt, I could believe that I can really shape my body and become healthier. Once you start to see results, it just spurs you on to maintain that through toning or to carry on to achieving your goal weight. 

Tip 3: Plan your workouts

If you go to the gym without a clear idea of what you want to do, you won't push yourself to your ultimate goal. Jot down on your phone a clear and realistic work out routine that you can power through and that gets your heart rate going and that sweat dripping! 

My work out routine still needs some adjusting as I need to work harder and sweat more but here it is for a rough outline. It's also a good idea to set specific days/evenings to working out. So you could go on a Monday evening to get your week started and release some of the stress of Mondays, Wednesdays to keep you on track and then Saturday morning to make sure you keep on track for the weekend but have Sunday as a rest day to chill out and even have a naughty roast dinner at your local pub!

So there are my top 3 tips for getting motivated for the gym! Tell me what yours are in the comments!

Thank you for reading!

Throw Back Thursday: Prom Edition!

It's prom season and I've seen so many pictures of girls (and guys!) all dressed up to the nines for a glamorous night with all of their friends. It's lovely to see all the different gowns that girls wear for the night; sparkly, sequinned, lace, corseted, long, short, you name it, I've seen it! 

My Year 11 prom was 5 years ago now. FIVE YEARS! I can't believe it was that long ago, I remember the whole day getting ready with my Mum like it was yesterday. She had freshly bleached my hair (I was platinum blonde many moons ago), applied my fake tan in the garden, took me to the Body Shop to get my make-up done, done my hair for me, helped me into my dress that we chose and lent me some of her jewellery to add some extra bling! 

Even though I had two other proms after my Year 11 one, this was by far my most favourite look. I guess Mum's really do have that touch. I would definitely recommend keeping make-up very natural and bronzed. Your dress is probably a statement enough so let that do the talking!

I've trawled my Facebook and found this photo of me all those years ago. The more I look at this dress the more I want to go to my Mum's and dig it out and wear it again (if it still fits, that is!) I had an absolutely wonderful night with all my friends, taking lots of photos and if you have had your prom or it is coming up, I hope you have a wonderful time!

Thank you for reading and I hope you found it fun to go down memory lane with me.

REVIEW: NYC EXPERT LAST LIP COLORS

I love a bright lip for a night out and in the summer when I'm a little bit bronzed so am always on the lookout for something affordable, that I can chuck in my bag and if worse comes to worse and I lose it, I won't be completely heartbroken. I don't usually look to NYC for make-up purely because I haven't heard enough about them. However, I was swatching some of their lipsticks on a whim and I was really surprised! They initially looked very pigmented and soft so I grabbed two shades; 404 AIR KISS and 402 RED FLAME.

404 AIR KISS I really really like this shade. It's a lovely dark pink with blue undertones. The colour is extremely pigmented on the lips but doesn't make my lips feel dry or chalky. It's quite the opposite actually. The formula is very creamy and does not feel sticky at all. There could however, be the potential for transfer. This lipstick would not be a wise choice if you are wearing white or even giving your loved one a cheeky kiss. I would definitely not wear this on a first date. Nothing is less attractive that smearing pink lipstick across your face. 

402 RED FLAME As you will notice, the pictures of this lipstick look different to the previous ones. I had to do some colour setting changes to get the truest visuals of the lipstick. 

Red Flame shares the same characteristics as Air Kiss in the sense that it is creamy, does transfer and is very pigmented. However, it is not as stark as Air Kiss. It's a much more subtle red compared to pillar box red. It has a shimmery/metallic finish which is a upcoming trend for Autumn/Winter. This is because it has slightly golden/pink undertones to it that catch the light. Unlike Air Kiss, it does show the creases of the lips, so may be a miss is you have very chapped lips. This colour would be just lovely with a golden/coppery eye and bronzed complexion. 

Overall, I do really like these lipsticks and for the very affordable price of £1.99 each, they are definitely worth grabbing to stick in your bag on a night out or even on holiday! I would definitely recommend these to anyone looking for bright colours and is prone to losing things! The one thing I really do not like about these lipsticks is the packaging. You cannot wind down the bullet all the way so if you haphazardly put on the lid, you could squash it. The lasting power is also not great, they are completely gone after eating except for a faint outline around your lipsticks; not a good look. 

Have you tried the NYC Expert Last Lip Colors? What did you think of them?

Thank you for reading!

Get The Look: Kim Kardashian's Airport Chic

Hi, my name is Paris and yes, I am a fan of Kim Kardashian. 

Image from Daily Mail Online

I await the comments berating me for liking her but that's okay, I know she is not everyone's cup of tea. I wouldn't say I admire Kim, but I definitely look to her for style and make-up advice. I love a good contour and I think she (most of the time) dresses very suitably for her body shape. I do not by no means have a rear like her, but I have curves too and we are a similar height. That makes me sound like I've met her... I haven't, though I'd like to!

I have loved watching her style evolve over the years of watching Keeping Up With The Kardashians and seeing her splashed across internet sites. Though I do not have her wealth; nor access to fabulous designers such as Roberto Cavalli, I can definitely take some inspiration and incorporate into my wardrobe at a fraction of the price.

Kim has recently been snapped waltzing through LAX in a very casual but still very chic and put together ensemble. I really like this outfit for everyday and when thrown with some heels and a whack of hairspray, it can also double as a great evening dinner outfit. 

Partly because I don't even want to devote brain cells to work out how much this outfit may have cost, I have found some high-street and online pieces that can recreate this relaxed chic look. By clicking on the image, you can go straight to the product webpage for more information.

Black Satin Feel Bomber Jacket from missguided.com - £24.99

Starting from the top down, I have found a few different bomber jackets. For an almost identical option to Kim's, I have found this plain black satin feel jacket available for £24.99 from missguided.com (right). This piece is very versatile and can be paired with any outfit and is a great transitional piece to take you from Summer to Autumn! 

Onto the simplest part of this outfit; the white tee. I haven't included any dupes for this as almost everyone has a white tee and/or they are widely available in Primark if you are really in a pinch. My only piece of advice would be to make sure it is not see through especially with a tight tee; bra outlines are not classy! If you are conscious of wearing a tight tee, go for an oversized one! Versatile, see?

Grey Ripped Jeans available from ASOS.com - £21

Now for the jeans, I have found this pair available from ASOS and currently in the sale for £21 down from £30... I love a good bargain. These aren't an exact copy as they aren't as washed out on the fronts of the legs and they also have ripped knees. However, this is a trend that Kim has been seen wearing recently. 

Shoes, shoes shoes! Kim loves her heels but the heels I have found are a little more snazzy than Kim's but I really love these and again like the jacket, they are very versatile. They are available from River Island for £50. Try not to be put off by the price as nude heels are such a staple item in any woman's wardrobe, I can assure you that they will go with any outfit. They are also a great alternative to black heels in the summer when you've got a tan!

And there you have it! A replica of Kim's airport chic for a fraction of the price with some key pieces that you can mix and match with your entire wardrobe to create a variety of cute outfits!

Shoes available from River Island - £50

Fitness Friday #2: Dinner & Dessert Under 550 Calories!

As well as a love for make-up and fashion, I have a very hearty love for food and cooking. This stems from years of being fed good food from my Mum. She is a wonderful cook who loves experimenting with different recipes and flavours. She makes a rather delicious chilli con carne and very famous bruschetta- my friends love it and she makes it especially for them when we visit. I did actually film a vlog of her showing how she makes it which you can watch here (it's quite an old vlog so prepare for some shaky filming haha!) I guess I have inherited this same love for experimentation. In my food. A love for solely experimentation could be perceived somewhat differently haha.

When it comes to food, I generally go for more red meats like beef etc. However, on this new healthy lifestyle I'm on, red meat isn't the healthiest of protein choices I could be making and have gone back to chicken. I usually like chicken but do not love it. I find it can be very flavour-less and bland. To add some flavour to my chicken, I concocted (great word) a rather tasty marinade that consisted of the following:

2 tbsp of vegetable/sunflower oil

1 tbsp of tamari

1 crushed clove of garlic

1 good shaking of paprika

1 tsp of mixed herbs

and another good shaking of black pepper

I then added my 2 chicken breasts making sure each side was well covered in the marinade and I left it to soak in all those flavours for around 45 mins to 1 hour. Of course you can leave it for longer as I normally would but I just didn't have the time. It still packed a lot of flavour though so don't worry if you're pushed for time like me.

Instead of pan frying, I popped the chicken underneath the grill for about 14 minutes in total (7 minutes on each side) and sliced through the middle to ensure it was all cooked and there was no pink left. Salmonella is no fun so any hint of pink means more time in the heat.

Whilst that was cooking, I boiled some water and threw in a cup of frozen peas. These were done by the time the chicken was done so timing was on point. Try and refrain from slathering on butter onto your peas, its unnecessary calories you don't need. Buttery peas are nice on a Christmas dinner, not on your weekly meal.

Everything done and dished up and you should have a little something like this...

Looks good right? And it's only 376 calories!

Now onto dessert which is a recent favourite of mine. I'm not normally one for cereal at all (I was more of a marmite on toast kind of girl back in the day) but I've really been loving Cheerios with soya milk and fruit. I made the switch to soya milk from semi skimmed cow's milk a few days ago and I LOVE it. It's much sweeter than cow's milk but it is less creamy. 

With my cheerios, soya milk and some cut up strawberries, I enjoyed a rather delicious dessert that was just over 150 calories! God, I love eating healthy and I don't feel like I am starving myself at all. I'm still able to enjoy something sweet in the evenings without feeling guilty amongst a mountain of Daim bar wrappers. 

I hope this post hasn't made you too hungry but gives you some ideas on how to spice up a piece of chicken or how to satisfy that sweet tooth whilst trying to be as healthy as possible!

Let me know what you think and of course any recipes you have tried that you really enjoy!

Thank you for reading!

Fitness Friday #1: Long Walks & Apps!

Hello there and welcome to my first Fitness Friday blog post!

This is a new series born out of my desire and goal to become fitter, healthier, stronger and slimmer! Every Friday I will sharing with you my tips and tricks that I've picked up to really boost the benefits from a healthy lifestyle.

Kick starting this series is a post all about how you can visually see how a long walk can help you burn those calories!

Living in London it can be difficult to find 'peace and quiet'. I hear ambulance sirens and people shouting all hours of the day. With all that rustling and bustling, complete relaxation is a near off impossibility, making me a recluse with my laptop permanently attached to me. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to work out that this is not healthy nor am I losing weight.

I did some browsing on Google Maps (as you do) and found there was a huge park about 10 minutes from me so I decided to devise a 2 mile walk that I could track on my phone and keep track of calories lost.

I downloaded this rather nifty little app from the App Store called 'MapMyWalk' and the first thing I noticed about it is that the interface is very similar to Facebook. Therefore it is really easy to get used to as you can like and comment your friends progress. 

Image from Google Images

To start, you simply click 'Record my workout' then 'Start Workout' and a map of your location will be shown. As you walk, the app will create route line calculating your distance, pace and calories burned. 

On my first walk, I clocked a distance of 3.32km in just under 40 mins burning 134 calories. It was also quite humid that day with very little of a breeze so I sweated quite a bit (sexy, I know). I felt awesome afterwards because it was a relaxed type of exercise where I wasn't staring at the timer on a treadmill, but the nature around me. 

Here are a few snaps I took whilst on my walk. I just fell back in love with the colour green!

Another feature I really like on this app is that you can pause and resume your workout if you stop to have a sit down in the sun or chat to someone. 

I'd highly recommend this app if you are looking for a great exercise if you are away from your gym or in the countryside but don't want to get lost! It's also great if you are not into very rigorous exercise but still want to keep fit and get your blood pumping. 

Do you use any other apps to record your fitness or eating? Let me know in the comments!

Thank you for reading and check back next Friday for another Fitness Friday post!