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Thanks for all your lovely comments to my last post! I am still walking around with a huge smile on my face thinking of all the great things we’ll be doing in NYC! I really can not wait to go :-)

As I was working late last night I decided to fit in a workout first thing Thursday morning, thank goodness for DVD’s! To replace my planned upper body weights / interval session I did Davina Fit Top Fit section followed by my MTV Yoga DVD. I had a great workout! For breakfast I really fancied some muesli but didn’t want to open a carton of milk. Instead I made some of my instant coconut milk with added vanilla hemp protein powder (to help with muscle repair after my workout), a mix of Dorset Cereals nutty and high fibre muesli and 2 small chopped jazz apples:

This was delicious and just what I had been craving!

Lunch was leftover sweet potato and black beans with veggies from Wednesday evenings dinner and spinach plus an orange and another amazing persimmon. I snacked on veggies, another couple of apples and an almond honey snack bar before my meeting. When I got home I made myself green smoothie no 7:

Raspberry Carob Green Smoothie (makes one large serving)

• 3 cups of spring greens with stems removed
• 1 cup of frozen raspberries
• 3 clemintines
• 1 tbsp of toasted carob powder (could also use cocoa powder)
• 1 tbsp of agave syrup
• 1 tsp maca (optional)
• 1 tsp mesquite (optional)
• Water / milk – to desired consistency
• xanthan and guar gums (optional but adds thickness)

Toppings:

• Carob flakes
• Granola
• Flaked almonds

This was yummy – I really like carob. Those carob flakes are so addictive too, I was snacking away on them while I was making the smoothie – so good.

Thankfully after my late meetings this week I’ve been able to work from home today to catch up, this meant I could fit in a longer than usual gym session. I had a great 1hr15 minute workout including intervals on the cross trainer, step machine, rowing machine and bike followed by my abs and core. Although I had completed my 7 days 7 smoothies challenge I had an idea for a really delicious combo so I decided to have one more:

‘Bounty’ (chocolate coconut) Green Smoothie (makes one large serving)

• 3 cups of romaine lettuce and spinach (or whatever greens take your fancy)
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 cup of frozen peach slices
• 1 small can (160ml) of reduced fat coconut milk (nom!)
• 1 scoop of chocolate protein powder (I used sun warrior)
• 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder (could use more if not using protein powder)
• 1 tsp of maca (optional)
• 1 tsp of mesquite (optional)
• 1 tbsp of desiccated coconut
• Water / milk – to desired consistency
• Xanthan / guar gums (optional but add thickness)

Toppings

• Coconut flour paste
• Cacao nibs
• Desiccated coconut

This was an awesome smoothie! The addition of the coconut milk, even though it was reduced fat added a delicious creaminess. This also kept me full for ages!

For once I didn’t actually have a plan for my meals today. Usually I love my meal planning but I just decided to go with the flow and see what I was craving / what was on offer at the supermarket / what showed up in my organic veg box. As it had been a whole week since I’d had hummus I decided to indulge my addiction and go for a regular favourite for lunch – a giant hummus topped salad:

This contained sweet pea shoots, romaine, carrot, beets, sugar snaps, red onion, alfalfa sprouts and a large serving of my high protein hummus made with added olives and broccoli (great combo!) I also had an orange and two passion fruit.

Mid afternoon I continued to go with my cravings and made myself a big green juice with apple, celery, broccoli stalks, romaine and lemon. I also ended up snacking on several pink lady apples, not because I hadn’t eaten enough, just because they taste bloody lush ;-)

I had lots of veggies available so for dinner I went with a massive veggie filled stir fry containing shredded brussel sprouts, spring greens, courgette, carrot, mushrooms, ginger and baked teriyaki tofu with gomasio and shoyu:

I love defrosted and baked tofu, it gets such a lovely texture. Its been nice to just go with the flow and follow my cravings – I love that I can still meal plan (for saving money and being organised) but incorporate some flexibility to eat what I fancy! What have you been craving recently?

March review and aims for April

I’ve had an amazing March!

• Put on weight! (I’ll explain why I see this as an achievement in a mo)
• Ran outdoors each week and vastly improved my average pace (total outdoor mileage this month 30 miles, fastest average pace 8.54)
• Got my maximum plank hold time up to 2 minutes 10 seconds (full plank) and 50 seconds (side planks)
• Started to meditate each morning and do more yoga
• Did my green smoothie challenge ;-)
• Made the decision to eat an almost completely vegan diet – but not getting overly hung up on labelling myself

Most of these are in line with the goals that I set for myself at the start of the month. In case any of you are new readers I have recently been having problems maintaining my weight (I’ve actually been losing more weight and getting close to the underweight BMI – see the posts I’ve linked to here – particularly the finding balance post). This month I have gained a pound! It may not seem like much but after 6 months of consistently losing weight it shows that I am on the right track. I also didn’t freak out about the gain as I was worried I would, I think my mind set is really starting to improve. I feel like I may not even need to weigh myself anymore – before I got on the scales I asked myself – am I happy with my body? Yes - I am happy with my body at the moment, I feel great and very healthy so what difference should a number on the scale make?

In terms of next months training I’m looking at pretty much the same as last month, although I’ll be continuing to take a flexible approach, changing up workouts due to the bank holidays / work commitments etc:

• Monday – gym workout: 30 min HIITs, 30 min spin, abs and core
• Tuesday – AM – Yoga Podcast (20 min), PM - Body Pump 50 min
• Wednesday – gym workout: 30 min speed work on treadmill, 30 min HIITs, abs and core
• Thursday – AM – Yoga flow from Slim, Calm, Sexy Yoga (20 min), PM gym upper body dumbbell workout, 20 minutes HIITs
• Friday – AM – gym workout 30 min HIITs, abs and core
• Weekend – Long outdoor run – working up from current 8 miles to 10 miles, one week to run 10k to see what pace is like for my 10k race /optional yoga DVD workout / REST DAY

I don’t want to add in other run quite yet – I need to sort out some new running shoes before I significantly increase my weekly mileage (don’t want to risk injury). I did get Run Less Run Faster from the library and I plan on taking some tips from this to improve my treadmill speed intervals for this month and then eventually a proper half marathon training plan to start in May. Although the structure of my training is staying the same I’m going to change up my interval sessions at the gym (perhaps moving from 1 minute intervals to 30 sec intervals) and the exercises I do for my abs and core to keep my body guessing. Now that I have reached my plank goal I will try out some variations on the plank exercise such as adding in an arm / leg raise. I also need to get back to trying to achieve a full push up!

Aims for April

• Continue to work on having a healthy attitude to fuelling myself properly / focusing on health over weight or size
• Continue to work towards my overall 2011 goals (I think I’m on the way to meeting the travel goal with our trip to NYC!)
• Re focus on my push up aim
• Keep up the running – in particular making progress on my speed
• Make good progress on my Diet and Nutrition Advisor Course
• Keep up the yoga and meditation
• Get ready for NYC in May!

How was March for you? Have you set yourself any goals for April?

Well what a crazy month September has been! I’m happy to say that I’ve achieved all the goals I set for myself, plus some extra!

• Completed the Great North Run in 1hr52!

• Started my Big Budget Challenge

• Did my ‘Healthy Feast’

The highlight for me without a doubt has to be completing the Great North Run. The fact that I did it in the time I did, after being injured and only two weeks before hand considering pulling out, and then tripping over during the race, its one of my biggest ever achievements! I also feel much more balanced after my healthy feast!

Its also been a strange month with regards to my eating and diet, but as the title of this post hints – I do feel like I’ve turned a huge corner recently.

I’ve blogged about how the last couple of months I have started to snack a lot more, particularly on an evening. What I gradually came to realise was that I probably wasn’t fuelling myself as well as I should be (along with stress and boredom issues) which was leading to me craving higher calories foods like dried fruit and nut butters. I’ve also came to realise that the lower weight I’ve generally been maintaining these last few months, although perfectly healthy, is not sustainable for me in the long term.

The fact that I’ve really accepted that I want to gain weight, and therefore eat a little more, is a massive turning point for me. I know I’ve said it before, but if I’m completely honest I don’t think I fully embraced it. I have been, and still am, afraid of gaining back all the weight I lost and and having it spiral out of control, but that’s a fear I’m going to have to deal with. This month I have gained about 4lbs, its been difficult to get my head around but I know look better for it.

With all of this in mind my attitude to snacking has completely changed. I’m a big fan of meal planning for a number of reasons, and I also plan my snacks and after dinner desserts. What I have found is that I haven’t planned for myself to eat enough or I may have planned something that doesn’t satisfy what I may be craving in that moment – I think this also links closely with intuitive eating.

Fave snack – pb and honey with bee pollen on rice cakes

What I plan to do from now on is not plan out my snacks but to make sure I have a few healthy (and not so healthy sometimes!) foods available at all times, and to try and train myself to listen to my body a bit more. At the start of each week I’m going to buy some apples, carrots, hummus, dried fruit, nuts, crackers etc to have at work so I can eat when I feel hungry.

Since I’ve been eating more of what I’m craving (good example being the banana and nut butter combo) I’ve definitely been feeling a little more satisfied. I have still been snacking on some evenings, but its not stuffing myself like before so I’m ok with that.

I’ve been reading a few wonderful blog posts that have helped me around this change of mind set including:

Oh She Glows – Our Weight, when is it happy?

Choosing Raw – Out with the old – ditching clothes that don’t fit

Welsh Girl Eats – Practising Kindness

Stop Chasing Skinny – pretty much every post!

I feel that if I’m working out like I do and eating a good balanced diet then even with the odd indulgence or over eating episode I’m not going to end up gaining a significant amount of weight. I’m hoping that by staying active, trying to listen to my body and eating generally whole foods I should be able to find my bodies true happy weight!

October Goals

I’m so excited about October, its such a great month and I’m feeling really organised and focused so bring it on!

• Stick with The Big Budget Challenge
• Stick to my new training plan
• Blog as part of Vegan Mofo
• Gain or at least maintain current weight by listening to my body
• Practice intuitive eating with my snacks
• Practice kindness
• Enjoy all the amazing autumn foods in season right now!

October sponsors

This month I’d like to welcome new blog sponsor Sarah from Every Day’s a Picnic – check out her wonderful blog! She blogs about all sorts of really interesting topics including her running and eats. She’s also currently working on the Olympic Gold Challenge! I’d also like to welcome back Sarah from Sweet Potato Sarah and Cat from Knitting, Running Eating – why not pop on over and check them out too?

I’d also like to welcome new sponsors Kara Diary Free and Clearspring. I’m a huge fan of both of these companies. I love Kara Coconut Milk, and the range of products available from Clearspring is amazing. I have a great giveaway featuring these companies products coming soon!

I’d also like to welcome back long term sponsors Viva Pure, Goodness Direct and iHerb – the discount codes are all still valid so if you haven’t taken advantage of them yet go for it!

Don’t forget – if your interested in sponsoring check out the details on my sponsor page. Don’t worry if you don’t have a blog button or suitable company logo, I can design one for you!

How was September for you? Do you have any goals for October?

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I looked at some of the things that I achieved in 2010 in this post.

For 2011 I want to build on these things by working towards the following goals:

• Travel – I would love to get away for a couple of city breaks if possible
• Go out more – now that James has a new job we will hopefully have the opportunity for more nights out, gigs, eating out etc
• Get our flat on the market (although I’m realistic enough to know it probably won’t sell)
• Spend more quality time with my friends and family
• Get back to living on a budget (my spending has been a bit out of control recently!)
• Start to think about where I would like to take my career when my current work contract is up
• Maintain weight by focusing on health rather than being ‘skinny’
• Complete the Great North Run again and beat my time of 2hrs 7 minutes
• Improve my muscle tone and definition, particularly my abs, chest and bum
• Be able to do a full push up and be able to hold a plank for 2 minutes
• Continue to enjoy cooking, baking and experimenting with new ingredients
• Keep up my yoga practice
• Continue blogging!

A few months ago I made an inspiration board full of images and phases to keep me motivated. I thought it might be nice to refresh this and make a new one to inspire me for the next few months:

I have this set as my desk top background – love it!  Have you ever made an inspiration board? What are your goals for 2011?

To get the year kicked off to a super healthy start I’m going to be following my own month long special plan that I’ll be starting on 2nd January. I’m also giving my training programme a bit of an over haul to help me meet some of those goals! I’ll post the full details of my plan in the New Year. I actually can’t wait to get started, I know I haven’t gone massively over the top with my eats but I've definitely eaten a lot more indulgently than usual and I feel very sugared out. I see lots of green monsters in my future!

Before I bid you farewell, I’d just like to say a huge big thank you to everyone who reads the blog, follows me via goggle, facebook, twitter or blog lovin and who takes the time to comment or email me, it means more than you can imagine. My blog birthday is coming up in January so I’ll be running another fab giveaway!

I hope you all have a fantastic New Year, all the best for 2011, lets make it a great one!

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Well what a funny month August has been! For the first time in a while I can’t say that this month has been totally awesome, its definitely been a mixed bag of good and bad stuff!

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However, I am choosing NOT to focus on the negative and instead try and find the ‘silver lining’ of my clouds!

• Being injured – so yes, being injured totally sucks and has pretty much screwed up my running training. However I’m confident I’ll still be able to do the Great North Run this month and being injured has just reminded me that I need to take more care with stretching and icing after runs.
• The bed breaking – this was a right pain in the arse – literally! Especially as we had to spend a week sleeping on the floor, but it has now given me the opportunity to re decorate which is one of my favourite things. I’ll be sharing with you the finished room very soon :-)
• Having a couple of minor ‘over eating’ episodes – having these has really made me look at how I’m fuelling myself and has even made me completely re assess what even constitutes ‘over eating’. I’m actually happier that I am listening to by body and eating when I have genuine hunger.

On the completely positive side, this month has included:

My Birthday!

Birthday cake green smoothie

Lots of dehydrator experimenting:

My cousins Hen Party:

Me and my gorgeous Mam!

An amazing bloggers meet up:

My weight has also remained staple this month despite a couple of added indulgences!

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I’m really happy we are now in September, I love the autumn and have already enjoyed getting my autumn wardrobe together!

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For me, autumn is the time of cosy warm jumpers and boots, beautiful colours as the trees turn, squash, pumpkin, Halloween and Bonfire night and I can not wait!

Goals for September

• I’m going to go all out and say my big goal is to complete the Great North Run – preferably in under two hours! I need you all to send me lots of positive and healing thoughts!
• Get back on track with my Diet and Nutrition course – it has fallen by the way side again!
• Get a new training plan developed post Great North Run that includes a bit more strength training
• Keep on fuelling myself with tasty healthy foods!
• Stick to my grocery budget and use up some of the stuff I have hoarded in the cupboards

September Sponsors

I am so excited about my sponsors this month! First up the lovely Sarah and Cat are continuing to sponsor this month – make sure you check out their blogs as they are both awesome!

I’d also like to welcome two new bloggers:

Liz blogs over at I <3 Vegetables – I love her funny writing and great veggie filled recipes! Laura blogs over at Box, Run, Eat – I’ve been reading Laura’s blog for well over a year – check it out, especially for some hard core boxing inspired workouts!

Current sponsors and partners Viva Pure, Goodness Direct and iHerb are continuing to work with me and I would like to welcome my new sponsor: Good Hemp!

I reviewed some Good Hemp products and I am a genuine fan – I love that they use British grown hemp and that the majority of their products are vegan.

If your interested in sponsoring Keeping Healthy Getting Stylish check out my sponsorship info or drop me an email: laura@keepinghealthygettingstylish.com

Don’t forget, I can also design you a tailor made blog button!

This month I will be hosting not 1 but 3 fantastic giveaways that I’m sure you will all be excited about so stay tuned!

Are you a silver lining seeker like me? How was August for you? What are you looking forward to this September? Don’t forget to send those positive healing vibes for my knee!

Well this has been one hell of a week! I’ve been so busy at work with an event on Monday, two evening meetings, a last minute funding bid to help write and interviews for a new member of staff, its been all go!

Obsessed with my stripey top at the moment!

Of course I’ve also had my exciting bits of news which have made the week go by a lot better. I managed to fit in most of my usual workouts:

• Sunday – Outdoor run – in set back week so didn’t track pace but about 4 miles
• Monday – AM gym workout, 5 minute warm up, 30 minutes strength – from ‘Define yourself’ phase of Female Body Breakthrough, 15 minutes HIITs on treadmill
• Tuesday – AM working late so did Davina Super Body DVD, Super Pump workout followed by Yoga Download Detox Challenge Flow
• Wednesday – AM gym workout, 5k speed intervals treadmill, 30 minutes HIITs cardio machines
• Thursday – Anything goes workout! AM – Yoga for Runners, PM Gym – 30 minutes random intervals on bike, 10 minutes HIITs on step machine, 10 minutes rowing, 100 stability ball crunches 
• Friday - AM gym workout, 5 minute warm up, 30 minutes strength – from ‘Define yourself’ Phase of Female Body Breakthrough, 15 minutes HIITs on bike

I was super happy this morning as I managed 8 full push ups! I had been neglecting this 2011 goal and thought I’d better start making an effort again! I did have a bit of an accident at the gym though – I fell off the stability ball while trying to do a prone jack knife (how tough?) and bashed my knee – the gym floor is basically concrete covered with a thin carpet, ouch!

As I’ve been working late I’ve been able to start work a little later in the day which means I’ve been able to enjoy a more relaxed breakfast! I had one of Maria’s pumpkin spice cakes with some sliced plums, Alpro Soya yoghurt, cinnamon and maple syrup:

That cake was delicious, thank you Maria! Another tasty breakfast included some sprouted wheat bread with almond butter sauce (almond butter mixed with apple and mango fruit puree) and a fruit bowl of apple, clemintines and plums:

That wheat bread is so good, it only has a single ingredient (sprouted wheat) and the serving I had there contains 10g of protein. It is so filling! I also had some bread for lunch with hummus and lots of veggies:

As I’ve been working late I’ve been hitting my failsafe late night meal of a green smoothie:

Tuesday night – spring greens, frozen strawberries, scoop of pb swirl spiru-tein protein powder, midori greens, berries powder, water, ice topped with roasted flax peanut butter, crumbled peanut butter puffins and some freeze dried berries.

Wednesday night – spring greens, blueberries, carob powder, hemp protein powder, midori greens, berries powder, water, ice, stevia topped with muesli and goji berries.

To keep me going at work this week I made a couple of portions of my I can’t believe its not M&S Whole Food Salad for lunches served on top of some spinach and red cabbage:

So tasty, I used kabocha instead of butternut since I still have mountains of the stuff!

For dinner these past two evenings I’ve had green lentils with onions, Linda McCartney vegan mini sausages, sweet potato with almond butter and roasted brussel sprouts:

I love sausages and lentils together, and the sweet potato with almond butter is heaven!

A tasty dessert was also had:

Frozen cherries topped with Alpro Soya yoghurt and peanut flour mixed with apple and mango puree and cacao nibs. I’m really loving frozen cherries right now!

Well I’m sitting here getting very excited for the weekend ahead! I have a nice relaxed evening and then tomorrow I’m hitting the town for some serious Christmas shopping! A couple of items for myself my just make their way into my basket too ;-) We are also planning on treating ourselves to Starbucks and lunch out. Can not wait! I’m also planning a massive cooking / baking session – I need some gingerbread in my life!

What do you have planned for the weekend? Have you tried any of the seasonal Starbucks coffees? Which would you recommend?

Hope whatever your up to you have a good one!

Well this has been one hell of a year! I’ve achieved more than I ever imagined and have changed in so many ways. We did have a couple of nail biting moments for example when James lost his job, but other than that its all been good! I think my relationship with food and the weight maintenance thing has been tested, but I feel like I’m starting to get a handle on it! Without getting on the scales (I haven’t weighed myself in over a month - result!) I think I’m pretty much the same weight I was this time last year :-)

I blogged my aims for December and my aims for 2011 and although I haven’t achieved everything on those lists – I’ve achieved most of them and I also feel like I’ve achieved lots of additional things too!

Just to remind myself how truly awesome 2011 has been here’s a quick recap!

• My second nephew Daniel was born
• Attended the Special K bloggers event
• Became ‘mostly’ vegan
• Bought a new car – my little Peugeot 107!
• Went to New York in May after James won the trip in a competition!

• Had a great time in Brighton including two great blogger meet ups and the best meal of my life

• Got my plank hold time up to 2 minutes 50 seconds
• Met up with a bunch of great ladies in Manchester:

• Started studying for a qualification in Diet and Nutrition Advice
• Managed to do a full push up (I can do 10 now!)
• Went to Kendal Calling as a blogger with Alpro Soya:

• Started to experiment with raw foods
• Did the Great North 10k in 49.57:

• Did the Great North Run (after being injured and falling over during the race!) in 1hr 52 minutes:

• Had my first article featured on the Viva Pure blog – Eating Raw Made Easy!
• Keeping Healthy Getting Stylish featured on Channel 4 Food and Beauty Websites
• Featured in Healthy Magazine as a Healthy Hero

• Sorted my finances out on my second Big Budget Challenge!
• Had a great Christmas!

What I ate 2011

Just a few of the delicious things I ate this year!

I ate some of the best food of my life this year. Since I decided to start eating a mostly plant based diet I’ve enjoyed so many amazing foods!

What I wore 2011

One of the big motivating factors in my weight loss journey has always been fashion. I feel so much more comfortable in my own skin now and although I’m no slave to fashion I do think that I’m figuring out my own style – which is what the ‘getting stylish’ thing has always been about!

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My 2012 wish list!

• Have lots fun – and have an amazing 30th Birthday in August!
• Maintain a healthy weight without anguish
• Continue to exercise consistently
• Enjoy experimenting with healthy foods and eating in a balanced way that is good for my body and soul
• Complete the Great North Run for the third time
• Get a half sleeve tattoo done
• Keep my finances in good check
• Make my first meal with veggies I have grown myself on my new allotment
• Set up my Community Interest Company and start delivering  healthy living programmes / holistic health coaching with communities

My 2012 inspiration board

Although I have maintained my weight this year I have gone down and then back up again. It took me some time to get my head around the fact that achieving the lowest possible number on the scale was actually not right for me. My aim for next year is to be able to maintain a healthy weight again, but without the anguish I’ve experienced this year.

I also want to get my half sleeve tattoo done! Again, another thing I wanted to do once I’d lost weight was to get a bigger tattoo done and I think I’ve finally decided on the design I’d like. I just need to save up for it!

The really scary thing for me on that list is the last one. I’ve hinted a bit that this is what I’d like to do, but putting it out there on my list for everyone to see makes it more real some how. I have no illusions on how tough its going to be but my current work contract ends in September and I’m determined to give it my best shot! I’ll probably blog a lot more on this in the future as things progress!

As this is my last post for 2011 I’d just like to say a huge big thank you to everyone that takes the time to read and comment on the blog. It means more to me than you can imagine, I’m so grateful I have this space to be able to share my passions with such wonderful people. I hope you all have a wonderful New Years Eve and an amazing 2012!

How was 2011 for you? What’s on your wish list for 2012?