Happy Hump Day week 10

So today, I weighed myself after plucking up the well needed courage and i've lost 0.4kg since 18 days ago, now that was a little disheartening but because I did measure my body and saw real progress thats the only thing that hasn't made my motivation drop to rock bottom.  I cant say I'm not a little disappointed about it I had lost a whole stone in 1 month, this time 3 years ago, but then I also didn't have an arse this firm or thighs and arms this strong before (or started at a considerably larger fat percentage before). So I did a bit of research and put it down to muscle gain balancing out the fat loss. I haven't beaten myself up about it too much, because at the end of the day, I'm seeing progress in my measurements, alarm bells should be ringing if in 10 weeks I haven't seen progress whatsoever. Weight is just a number it doesn't reflect your fitness level whatsoever.

My motivation hasn't dropped whatsoever which I am surprised about, I guess its because I adore hooping and the only way I can do hooping is at the park a 10 minute bike ride away or a 30 minute walk. HIIT is a mere 12 minutes long, 5 days a week so really there is no excuse not to do it.

If there is one positive thing I can take from today is the fact I have noticed I am so much stronger than I was this time 3 years when I had dropped down to a UK12. I can do pushups on my knees with ease, normal pushups (just about), and planks which was my biggest problem!! Also, I can squat and lunge very low now (need to up the weight now) and noticed I'm more flexible and I have not experienced any muscle cramps since Thailand. Woo!!!

Slow and steady always wins the race, just have to keep my goal in mind!

Week 9 Progress!!!!!

So I've measured myself 18 days ago, I don't know why I did not measure myself 9 weeks ago (I do really, I had let myself go quite a bit, I could't face to see how much fat I had gained)

I wasn't going to measure my weight and fat percentage for another month, but seeing the progress I've had after 18 days I'm going to brave it tomorrow!

Thigh- 64cm (lost 3.5cm)
Neck- 37cm (lost 1cm)
Forearm- 25.5cm (lost 1.5cm)
Waist- 95.5cm (lost 7.5cm)
Chest- 110.5cm (lost 3.5cm)
Hips- 110cm (lost 9cm)
Arm- 36cm (2cm)
Calf- 37cm (3cm)

I say that calls for a celebration!!! That's motherf****ing progress and there was me getting down about how slow my progress is coming along but after 18 days theres that much noticeable difference, give it 3 months i'm gonna look fabulous!

Super happy as always! :)

Stronger than yesterday

Well hello my lovelies!!

Today has been fab f***ing-tastic. Had another hard core day hooping, cycling and of course Interval training. It's been intense and tonight, oh boy am I going to sleep like a baby!! The amount of calories I've burnt today is hard to get my head round, I've done over 2 hours of hooping alone, 20 minutes of cycling (10 mins to the park, 10 mins back) and my usual 12 minutes of training. It's insane I can spend that much time hoop dancing, it's not without it's drawbacks though, my hands are bruised and swollen again as well as my arms aching and bruised from doing arm to elbow spins. It's all worth the pain though, because today I've cracked a move I've wanted to do since I started taking an interest in hooping and that's waist to lasso, I'm so chuffed there's no words to explain my happiness, but I need to work on it because it's still hit and miss, but with practice it will just come. Super chuffed is an understatement I tell you!!!

I genuinely am so happy with how things are going :) positivity all the way!! Today was the last day of week 9. I found out there's only 2 weeks left of HIIT Max :( but not to worry bodyRock.tv always have stuff to follow which is why I love working out to them.

Oh yeah the total solar eclipse was beautiful but only because I managed to watch a live stream online, otherwise I would have been extremely disappointed looking at the skies of London. Yay for the Internet!

Lots of love. Peace x

Korean Interview/ Fitness Progress

So guys, I just had my first South Korean school skype interview for the city Gwangju, I found out the school is private :P I'll be teaching Kindergarten + Elementary! I am praying with all my might that I got this job, Gwangju is a city I really would love to live in and the school sounds amazing!!! All I can do is wait for a response now.

I also woke up this morning that pooch has shrunk!!! After one day of extreme exercise (I went all out 3 hours of hooping, 20 minutes of cycling with a load of slopes and my 12 minute HIIT Session) its shrunk!!!!!!! It's not disappeared but by god it has gone down!!!! This is what keeps me motivated every day!

Today has started so brilliantly, now its time for my religious routine of caffeine and some breakfast, I'm thinking clean pancakes to celebrate such a positive start to the day. Let's hope it continues!

See you on the flipside, sending positive vibes from London! Peace out x

Just go with the flow

Well Hellooooooo!!!!!

If you haven't guessed by the flow reference this is going to be a post solely on hooping and how my first day went!! You can probably gather I am in a particularly vivacious mood today!!! That my friend is because, I got my hula hoop in the post, in all its gorgeous blue and silver glory. (See pics below) I got a bit Kodak happy ;).

You wonder why I am pleased you ask?? Because this awesome weighted fitness/beginner hoop cost me a mere £20 on the ol' Amazon with FREE P&P!!!! Hoops at 42" and the fact you can dismantle it into 6 and downsize it to a 38" (that's 2 hoops in one!) should cost me a good £60 maybe? I've seen other hoops like this but they are only made in the US, not in anything bigger than a 38" (what can I say I'm tall, tall beginners need large hula hoops too!!) so these are very hard to come by and expensive to ship and make (damn my tall genes!). 

So that's why it's amazing! Plus it's beautiful I can't really ask better than that, this thing doesn't weigh much to travel with and is easy to transport which is why its so fabulous!!

Of course I've been itching to get that hoop spinning, so naturally as soon as it got here I jumped on my bike and cycled 10 mins away to the park! 

I got into the center of the field stuck my headphones in and I was gone, I left the world behind as soon as that hoop was around my hips and that music started playing in my ears. I must say its therapeutic, I was fluffing about trying out Isolations, stuff I've done before and stuff I've never done before and just going with the flow (as the title suggests). I was gone for a good 3 hours just moving to the music (apparently 30 minutes a day should suffice) and in that time I re-awoke certain muscle memories, as soon as Sia- Chandelier, that was it, it came so naturally again.

I also managed to teach myself Lassos and elbow spins, I kept trying to learn getting the hoop off my hips into lasso's and getting it from Lasso's back to my hips but right now I'm not there yet, I really wanna be able to vortex :P (sorry if these terms don't make sense just give them a google). 

Anywho, the aftermath at the moment is not so great my right hand has swollen because of bruising due to the hoop (this is normal) and my core feels worked, which is just fucking amazing!! I don't know if I will be so optimistic tomorrow, but no amount of bruising is gonna stop day 2 tomorrow!!! Today is not even over yet I still have to do today's HIIT session. Cycling, hooping and HIIT, this fat is just gonna melt off!!! 

One love, MWAH! x

My Hooping Playlist

After doing some research into music great for hooping i combined peoples suggestions with my own tastes and came up with my own diverse selection of hooping music, all compiled into a playlist, when I get a chance I will try and compile all of these into a youtube playlist or even better a spotify one!!!

But I havent had time to day so for the mean time I've attached pictures of what it contains so far! Enjoy!!

If you guys have anymore suggestions please let me know :)

Motherfucking progress!!!

Before I start my ramble for today, I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all you lovely bunch! I hope you have shown your appreciation in some form for that special woman who brought you into this world!

So I start week 9 tomorrow of HIIT and this week hooping begins (when the damn hoop arrives).
So as you may know my progress is slower and I know exactly what the culprit is, now the other day I was feeling down (emotions all over the place anyways, bloody hormones!) because progress is slow and its frustrating as hell! But something today changed my view on my body....

I put on a fur coat that was tight on me when I got back from Thailand, now there's extra room around my bust, arms and torso. This changed my thinking immediately just because I am so impatient I haven't cut myself any slack and I'm mad at myself and the past month every Friday, Saturday and Sunday my clean regime goes out the window (hence the slower progress), this is down to many factors and without trying to play the blame game, these occurrences have only occurred when I've been with friends for those days.

Now theres times when I would say that were justified, but other times I feel were just pure disregard and lack of respect for my health regimen. So I'm avoiding every situation now where this may occur, sorry but I value my health more than eating bad food and jeopardising my progress (yes, i'm gonna be that guy). I'm determined to get back down to a size 12 again and so far I've probably made it back to a size 16, maybe a 14/16?  Size is just a number I cant stress that enough, it doesn't define you, but I don't fit into any clothes I have, I'm limited on what I can wear from my wardrobe, and I can't afford to buy new clothes for every time I put on weight. I need to be more self aware of my body, It's not a vanity thing, its a health thing and a body confidence thing.

Anyways, I'm super chuffed I have learnt that things are getting there and maybe the slower path is better because I am not so strict on myself, that I have completely cut out things I know I will crave, now I'm not saying I eat this stuff on a regular but I'm trying to limit my intake as much as self restraint can allow me, therefore I'm not left craving foods instead I have a little of something now and again rather than over consuming everyday and not exercising (a major difference).

I took this pic today now, my double chin has yet to go but It's getting there but my cheek bones are becoming more and more apparent which makes me so pleased!!! Just one of the few things that are apparent at the moment that I'm progressing :D (view pic below).

I think I'm in love....

...with hooping!!! (come on what did you think I meant?)

So yes after the realisation I had the other day and more and more obsessing online over it I can safely say I think hooping is the love I have been looking for, (reasons mentioned in my last blog).

I have gone full blown hooping obsessed!! So I've ordered a gorgeous weighted blue and silver 44" hoop that can be taken apart in 6 pieces and down sized as I progress, and means yes I am taking it across the world with me :). But the more and more i look into hooping the more and more I think I should also pay to get a hoop that is also light weight and thinner for other tricks. Now the predicament now is whether I fork out £67 out of my credit card to get a stunning collapsible 38" rechargeable LED hoop. (see vid below), or order a £25 non led dance hoop. Every ounce of me wants the LED for obvious reasons and the fact its on sale at an affordable price makes me want it more (LED Hoops retail anything from just under £70+). Decisions, decisions....

So I'm dying of anticipation for this hoop to arrive, as you may or may not know since I returned from Thailand a whole 6kg heavier (i was already a whole stone heavier then I used to be before I left!!!) I have been training and just finished week 8, this hooping thing has not only got me more excited about having a new way to shred some fat and lose my tummy, but the sheer fact I can do this whilst having fun and maybe one day looking awesome whilst doing it!!! Don't get me wrong I love my High Intensity Interval Training, I get to lift weights and I have seen progress already, but the progress is slower than usual and this may be down to the fact I am not still being active enough throughout the day. So the new way I think this will help me is to get a hoop, jump on the bicycle get down to the park, stick on my ipod and hoop as well as upkeep the HIIT 5 days a week. I'm growing impatient as my progress in strength is growing and my legs have toned and my butt looks fabulous, but my stomach by now should have shifted more than it has, which in all honesty is p*ssing me right off! Last time I trained I dropped a whole stone in a month!!! It's the end of month 2 and results that I have at the moment are noticeable just not as drastic as last time :(

My strive for perfection and how I rekindled the passion I lost as a teenager

So if you know me well I have always been this person whose always full of energy, some say crazy, I say eccentric ;).

Not many people know but I've strived since a little girl to perform, I love everything to do with performing. I used to sing a lot at home (yep proper mic and all), in primary school in front of the class, I've performed at Croydon Fairfield halls, I took part in every school play possible (I even got lead role as Sita in a play about Rama and Sita), had a keen interest in dancing (I took dance and singing classes for a while), my life ambition as a child was to be a singer, I went to choir club after school and trained with the vocal coach of Girls Aloud as a teenager, I did cheerleading at university,  I did street dancing classes, I bought the pussycat doll dance DVD's, I will use any excuse to sing karaoke and my guilty pleasure is using the karaoke app on my ipad (shhhh...).   Don't even get me started on musical instruments, as a kid I wanted to learn violin and flute. I can play recorder (does that even count?) I taught myself to play some piano, some guitar, some bass and a very minute bit of drums. What can I say, I've done everything!!!

I was a very energetic happy confident child, I wanted to participate in many extra curricular activities such as gymnastics, ballet etc. (to think where I could be now if I had got given those opportunities). *sigh* But some things have changed...

Along with growing up, my dreams were left in my childhood, my confidence peeked and dropped a lot through life and I became a realist, I've got no ambition to be a singer anymore (I said I enjoyed it, I never said I could sing), however being this creative person that I am, It wasn't long before I had to find new ways to express myself (tattoos, piercings, my apparel are great but I felt like something was missing). Pole dancing, burlesque dancing, street dancing, I've dabbled in it all, but never stuck at any of them. I still kept searching for that thing I am missing, that flare of passion that makes me want to get up everyday.

A couple of years ago, I heard of a fire troupe called "the fuel girls", at that time I was also dabbling in alternative modelling and had a keen interest in admiring and idolising suicide girls and FRONT magazine models. They were what got me into researching and looking into fire performing and such. I looked into classes they were so expensive I could never afford them, so i looked into alternatives, I came across poi!

Last summer I started up poi, I bought my first pair which had LED's in, I watched Youtube videos taught myself stuff, then I bought a poi book that teaches you different techniques of poi spinning. I worked on this for a while and then I went to Thailand. I took my poi with me but never had the time anymore to practice, then I found out one of my friends I trained with in Thailand also was a poi spinner, this got me passionate we performed a routine for the talent show, (she even taught me a new move) but I still felt such a novice, I admired how good she was and me being a very impatient person got bored of trying to learn new moves I couldn't master.

As time went on my interest in poi dwindled, then one day I picked them back up because travelling to Koh Samui seeing fire performers got me inspired again! I practiced now and again not as often as the beginning but stepping back and leaving them for a while and coming back to it had somehow made something click, because the one move I had been trying to master for so long just happened, I dunno how but my muscle memory changed and It worked!!

The lightbulb moment.

At present, I've taken a break from poi again, I just feel like I need to step back again because I'm progressively getting frustrated with not being able to do new moves. But then something amazing happened and I had an epiphany, just like I had this great life changing moment, when realising all along my life calling was teaching and everything in my life had pointed to becoming a teacher.

It suddenly dawned on me what other new skills I could try and teach myself, it hit me as a kid how good I had gotten with a hula hoop, I used to hoop on my legs, waist, neck, arms, I could toss and catch etc. It never really occurred to me that hooping (dancing and hula hooping) could be something I would love, whats awesome about hooping is, I could integrate all the things I loved into one thing, performing, dancing and fitness!! Theres even some hoop moves that replicate poi (weaves etc.)

So here I am, trawling the internet on every video and website on hooping. I just ordered my first weighted travel hoop, dying in anticipation for it to arrive! This is going to be the beginning of a new beautiful journey!!!

One day I would like to proudly perform at this standard!