August is looking like it’s going to be a very busy (and fun) month. Next week sees the start of my birthday celebrations, with a trip to Bicester Village with my Mum, my birthday itself (7th) being spent with Tom, and then a long weekend away camping celebrating it with friends. Also this month I have a trip to London, another trip to London to go on a course, a friend’s wedding, a blogging event and all sorts of other little bits in between. And then at the beginning of September we fly out to the States for 17 days.
Of course with our trip to the US, I’d like to, to use a horrible womens’ mags phrase – ‘be bikini ready’. I’m happy with the results I’ve seen in my arms and legs through the exercise I’ve been doing, but I still don’t have the confidence to wear a bikini because of my belly. It’s been the place I hold any body fat since I was old enough to notice – a few years ago I was even asked by a customer in a shop if I was pregnant, and I genuinely believe that this is because, whilst my arms and legs have always been relatively slim, my belly never gets below looking like I’m about 5 months’ pregnant (some of this is because of my posture – I have really rounded shoulders and constantly stoop forwards slightly – I am trying to improve this!)
I don’t really know how to blast away the belly flab but I do know that a flat tum is probably 80% diet and 20% exercise so this month I’m really going to focus on being completely on point with my diet – less refined carbs, less sugar, more lean protein, less trans and saturated fats. I recognise that this is going to be pretty hard, with at least 10 days of the month filled with events and celebrations, but I’m just going to have to try my best – no diet is worth not eating cake on your birthday, but I want to go on the Trek America trip feeling as healthy and confident as I can.
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So, my goals for August are:
- more exercise
- better food (lots of fruit and veg and lean meats)
- quiet moments every day
The last one might seem a little odd, but over the last couple of weeks I’ve found myself getting quite stressed and anxious at various things (usually my overflowing to do list). I know that I spend a lot of my day ‘on the go’ or on my phone/computer/iPad and I wanted to make sure I take 5-10 minutes every day to just sit somewhere and be peaceful and silent. I think this will definitely help my health and happiness, so I’m going to give it a go.
I also have a few ‘sub-goals’, a little list of things I want to achieve:
- complete a 20k run
- complete a 10k run one morning before work
- complete a 20 mile bike ride
- do three workouts a week every week in August
This is a little snap I took before a morning workout the other day. Pretty much just want to live in this Adidas vest, it’s so comfy!
The gym that I’ve been waiting to join since about May is still not open, but I’ve been stocking up on gym clothes so that I have lots of new things to wear to keep me motivated when it does. I think I might do a little fitness clothes haul on YouTube, though it might take a while as I have gone a bit running/gym clothes crazy lately, oops!
I also have an amazing new Panache Sports Bra and briefs set (£38*), I love the orange and cobalt colour-way. Panache sports bras are brilliant as they’re so supportive and comfortable and this one is no different, in fact I’ve worn it so much over the last couple of weeks it seems to be forever in the wash!
What are your health and fitness goals this month?
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