My Fitness Journey.

Hello my lovelies! How’s everyone doing this week? Are you a lets go splash around in the rain kind of person or are you more of an indoor- let me wrap myself up in a duvet person? I’m a bit of both, but more of the duvet person, because who doesn’t like getting cosy?!

So.. onto this week’s post. This week I’ve finally decided to put pen to paper (or rather fingers to keyboard..haha) and tell you about my fitness journey.

This journey is one that I’ve been on for a long time, and I’ve had mixed feelings about posting this purely for the fact that I have a love hate relationship with fitness posts; because they always lean towards the side of “here’s how to change your body”. Which is something I am not about at all, the aim of this post is to simply tell you about my journey with fitness and how I’ve got to a place where I actually look forward to my workouts.

If you’re new here, then you might not know about my history with my body, long story short: I was extremely overweight for my height, I then healthily lost weight and then developed an eating disorder and then I overcame that and have been in recovery for over a year now.

And because of the last few years going through hating to loving to hating my body, it’s safe to assume that I’ve had a pretty complicated relationship with working out and just any exercise in general.

But for the last few months, I have finally found a workout routine that makes me feel amazing and the best thing is that it isn’t all about changing your weight, your appearance and it doesn’t tell you to eat a certain way. It’s all about body-neutrality.

Body-neutrality is not the same as body-positivity. Body-positivity is where you are always being positive about your body. Whereas body-neutrality is where you can sometimes you feel bad about your body and sometimes you feel good about your body but you always respect your body no matter how you’re feeling about it on the day.

The workout routine I’m now doing is called the be.come project. It’s an app, but you can use it on their website too, and I actually found it because of a Buzzfeed video! You can view the video here:

As soon as I finished watching this video I started looking up the be.come project, and after reading what the project was all about and Bethany’s story I was sold! I signed up there and then and couldn’t wait to give this a try.

The project costs around £29 a month which I think equates to $36 per month, which when you think about it it’s around what you could be paying for a gym membership.

Something that I absolutely love about this workout project is that IT’S A NO IMPACT PROJECT!!! That’s right, for all of us out there who can’t do impact exercises for health reasons, Bethany has got you covered! All you need to be able to do is any form of plank and lunge.

The be.come project also doesn’t do before and after photos, so if you were hoping to see some, I’m afraid you’re going to be disappointed, partly because I didn’t take any and I want to stay true to be.come – sorry not sorry!

So what does the app look like?

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You can download the app from the app store here or google play store here! Or you can always go through the be.come website!

Each week you get a workout video to do all week as much or as little as you like and then on Monday it changes and you start to learn another one. It’s really helpful that the workout changes each week because I don’t know about you, but doing the same exercises over and over and over again every single week is so boring!

At the start of the week is when you begin learning the routine and then by the end of the week you’re skipping the tutorial portion of the workout and getting straight down to business. And that’s also when you start to see how much better you’re getting at the routine and how strong you’re be.coming! (see what I did there? Hahaha).

Also, at the start and end of every workout you input what your mood is for the day, which is something I find really helps me reflect on how I’ve been talking to myself and my body that day, sometimes positive, sometimes negative; but after every workout I always feel so positive, strong and energised.

So far I’ve been be.coming for around 10-12 weeks, and I workout around 4 times a week. Every workout is about 25 minutes long which is great if you’re short on time, or just can’t be bothered to do hours on the treadmill.

So, since I’m not sharing before and after photos, I’ve decided to share with you how I feel about my body now compared to before I started this workout routine.

Before starting this process I disliked a lot about my body nearly all the time. I wanted to change so much about myself but I didn’t want to spend hours doing boring workouts so I just decided I wasn’t going to work out really at all, especially because when I did any form of cardio and gym workouts I’d be in a lot of pain because I have muscle skeletal issues.

Since working out with the be.come project I now feel a lot better about my body and I now like my body most of the time and I’ve noticed that my clothes are getting a little looser and my weight has actually increased by a few pounds too.

Side note – I can’t believe I’ve even written that I’ve gained weight for you all to see because that’s something I’ve feared for so long, but it doesn’t scare me anymore because I know why I’ve gained weight; it’s because I’ve built up muscles. Muscles that were hardly there before.

I can see such a difference in myself mentally and physically, so I’m not about to stop working out with the be.come project now!

I now use my workout time like you would a meditation session, I spend the whole workout focusing solely on each muscle I’m working and just being in the moment for the entire 25 minutes.

If you’re interested in checking out the be.come project’s social media, here’s Bethany’s Instagram! Each post is motivational, real and just makes you smile. Plus, Bethany posts informative videos so you can make sure you have the correct form when you’re working out too!

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A post shared by the be.come project (@thebecomeproject)

And that’s about it for my fitness journey with the be.come project! I’ve never stuck to a workout/fitness routine for more than a 2 weeks due to just hating every minute of it, but Bethany has made working out something to look forward to and enjoyable.

Well, that’s all for today my lovelies! If you’re into yoga, dance or pilates I recommend trying this! I often get asked about my workout routine, so I hope this answers most of your questions! The most important thing I’ve learn’t from this experience is that it’s okay to not love every aspect of your body everyday, what’s important is that you give your body respect for everything it does for you. – I sound a bit like a motivational wall decal right now but I don’t care.. haha it’s true!

What’s your workout routine look like? Do you go to a gym, or do you like working out at home? Let me know in the comments!

Have a great weekend! Love,

I Tried BoomBod For A Week!

Happy Saturday everyone! This week my mum and I came across a product called BoomBod. I came across this when my mum sent me a link at around 10pm at night (that’s usually when she’s looking at the daily mail online and finds all sorts of hidden gems which are usually a load of old twoddle). The article that was linked said that BoomBod prevents bloating and helps you lose weight and inches. So, mum and I decided to order ourselves a seven day supply and put it to the test/review it.

Here’s what you get for a weeks supply, 7 x ‘Morning Energizers’ Sachets, 7 x ‘Afternoon Motivators’ Sachets and 7 x ‘Night Rejuvenators’ Sachets.

So.. I’ll take you through my experiences with BoomBod day by day.

First things first, THE PLAN: Take a sachet  30 minutes before every meal 3 times a day whilst eating normally and exercising as normal.

Initial thoughts and predictions: If this actually does something this could be great, however, it’s probably going to do nothing.

Day 1: I’ve just taken my before photos (which I’m dreading uploading but never mind !). First sachet down and I’m regretting doing this already.. They taste like those cystitis sachets you have to take when you’ve got cystitis – in other words, they taste disgusting imo.

It’s lunchtime and I’ve just realised that I’ve eaten way more than usual which is weird considering these are supposed to fill you up and make you eat less. Bit confused..

Ok, so it’s  been 2 hours since my ‘night nourisher’ with dinner and I’ve now also worked out and I actually feel full finally but also feel like a slob and bloated.. which is the opposite to how I normally feel after a workout!

End of day 1 thoughts: This is a load of rubbish.

Day 2: It’s first thing in the morning and I feel so bloated and like I’ve put on weight! Fingers crossed this goes away and I start feeling better later today or tomorrow.

Lunchtime has come and gone and I’m still eating loads more than usual; don’t know if this is because I’m really trying to test if this thing works or if it just happens to make me hungrier.

End of day 2: Mood is that I hate everything about this.

Day 3: Finally feeling better!! My ‘morning energiser’ has kicked in and I’m feeling good and FULL! About damn time too because I was really giving up hope on this thing..

I’ve had my lunch and it went okay, but I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the taste of these things.. But yay I’m less bloated so far!

End of day 3: Forget my earlier comment, the bloat has just come on..

Day 4: I’ve just taken my half way photos and it’s done absolutely nothing! No visible difference so far, but that is sort of what I expected.

Again I’ve eaten way more than usual because I’m super hungry and could happily demolish a bucket of chocolate right now.

End of day 4: Why am I doing this again?

Day 5: I’m feeling good, still not used to the taste of the sachets but at least I’ve only got a few days left!

I’ve noticed you definitely have to plan ahead when doing plans like these because if you’re eating out at any point, you need to get your sachet in in advance.

End of day 5: Not as bloated this evening so that’s a plus! Don’t think it’s the sachets doing this though..

Day 6: Yay! One more day to go!

Feeling super bloated today.. what is happening?! What happened to yesterday’s no bloat?

End of day 6: I’m so ready for this to be over!!

Day 7: IT’S THE LAST DAY OF BOOMBOD!! Hallelujah!

Ok, so I don’t think it’s done anything other than inconvenience me.. actually I know all it’s done is inconvenience me and made me hungrier than ever.

So, what am I taking away from this week of BoomBod and do I think it’s worth doing?

Well you tell me, here’s my before and after pictures:

Here’s before, during and after my week of drinking BoomBod sachets.

I will say, it did make me think about my food choices and plan ahead more, but in saying that, if you’ve read any of my earlier posts then you’ll know that I suffer with an eating disorder and half way through this week I realised that this is just playing into my disordered thoughts. It occurred to me that I’ve come so far with my recovery from my eating disorder that this is testing my determination to get better and I’m actually kind of happy that BoomBod did nothing for me because otherwise I’d be spending a fortune to just decrease my recovery progress.

My mum was supposed to do this with me but she kept forgetting to take her sachets so she’ll write up her thoughts on it when she does it in a few weeks time.

I want to say that BoomBod is a complete sham; but I can’t say that for certain as this is just my personal experience and everyone’s experience is likely to be different depending on your body, food and exercise habits. BoomBod just didn’t work for me, and I’m glad it didn’t overall because it taught me a lesson.

Can I just say, I nearly didn’t post those images on here because I am not comfortable in my own skin, but I think it’s important to shine a light on the fact that we all have body insecurities and it’s about damn time we embrace them and love ourselves. And if this helps anyone feel a little less alone with their body insecurities then I’ll know that something positive (other than learning a few lessons along the way) came out of this week!

Moral of the story is that you should do you. And if you want to try something new then go ahead, but make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Doing this has just reminded me of how we need to forget all of the ‘rules’ about beauty and health that has been drilled into us from such young ages. Don’t conform to what all the stupid women’s magazines are telling you you should look like.

I hope this helped any of you thinking about taking or trying any diet supplements(I’ve also reviewed BooTea here)! And I just want to say that being what society has conditioned us to think as being ‘imperfect’ is actually what makes us perfectly imperfect, and I think that’s beautiful just like all of us (cheesy but true!).

Have a great week ahead everyone! Love,

Ways to De-Stress

Life can be pretty stressful at times, and there are times where it can be hard to know how to deal with it. Now, there’s good stress, and then there’s bad stress. I find that I can function when I’ve got good stress; but as soon as that turns bad.. Well that’s a different story.

I’ve not always been great at managing my stress (I think we all have those days where nothing goes your way), and I’m definitely still working on getting better at managing my stress levels, but the past few months I’ve learnt a few things that are helping me to manage stress. So maybe they’ll help you too.

1. Staying positive. This one can be hard at times, but I’ve learnt that finding the good side to every situation (although it may be hard to find at times..), makes me feel better about whatever is stressing me out, and it makes me remember that things could be worse. I also found that the whole ‘fake it till you make it’ can come in to play with this one, sometimes you just don’t feel like being positive, and that’s totally ok! You can always fake a smile in the meantime, and I found that on days like that, after about 15 minutes of putting on my happy face I’ve completely forgotten why I was stressed in the first place!

2. Do something active. Running on the treadmill or doing a quick HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout tend to do the trick for me. All your focus is going on the exercise that you’re doing so you forget about what was stressing you out, and the endorphins you get are great

3. Have a bath. Or shower. If I’m stressed out, a big bubble bath with candles, chill out music and a magazine (and sometimes a glass of something yummy..) make me super relaxed and I can wash away all the stresses on the day down the plug hole. This one’s perfect for the end of the day. If you’ve not go a shower then don’t worry, you can still de-stress here too. If I’m in a hurry or it’s the start of the day, I found having a hot shower, blasting tunes, dancing and singing my heart out in the shower does wonders! Sometimes I’ll turn the shower to freezing at the end, and yes I know that it sound insane.. But you get loads of endorphins and adrenaline from the cold burst and it completely wakes you up for the day!

4. Listen to some music. Whenever I feel stressed I put on some tunes that I can’t help but sing along to and make me smile or I put on some chilled out music and let that take me away. Having a dance around the kitchen or my bedroom always makes me feel better, especially because I can’t dance at all, I look a lot like a toddler dancing tbh.. So I often end up laughing at myself, which is a huge stress reliever!

5. Yoga. Now I know you’ve probably heard this one a million times before and are sick of hearing it, but after I finally gave this one a go and stuck with it for a few weeks I couldn’t get enough. Now, if you’ve tried this and it’s not for you, then that’s ok too. I’m certainly no yoga connoisseur, and I mainly stick to the beginner and intro stuff, and that does the trick for me. Sometimes just laying down and focusing on my breathing helps.

6. Do something creative. For me, I love being creative, and I can’t really turn that part of my head off, it’s just who I am. But when I get stuck into something creative, I go into what I call the ‘creative black hole’ and that’s where I tend to lose track of time, space, stress and anything other than what I’m working on. Once I’ve ‘resurfaced’ from what I’m doing, I feel refreshed and have usually forgotten what was bothering me! The good thing with this one is that not only do you relieve some stress, you also can make some awesome artwork and creative pieces! (Let me know if you want a post about my artwork in the comments below!).

7. Talk to someone. This can be anyone who you feel comfortable with. Family, work friends, your boss, your best friend or even your pet! Just getting the thing that’s stressing you out actually out of your head can do wonders, I am lucky that I very close to my mum (she’s like a best friend, super cheesy I know..) and my work friends and I know I can tell them anything without judgement and the fear of being told to just ‘stop stressing’. After all, that’s what friends and family are for; supporting one another. If you don’t feel like you can tell anyone about what’s bothering you, you can always try writing it down on a piece of paper and then throwing that paper away. It sounds silly, but this one does work. I don’t know if its the thought of the worry or stress coming out of my head or the throwing away part, but just try it. It works.

8. Lastly, have a laugh. I know this one sounds like if can be hard. You’re probably thinking: “Vickie, if I’m stressed out, why would I feel like laughing?!”. Well, here’s the thing, you won’t. Not to begin with, what I tend to do is put on some of my favourite stand-up comedians on the telly and have a watch and they never fail to make me laugh. Or put on funny YouTube videos. And if that fails, then google ‘funny cats and dogs’ and that should make you smile.

So there’s a few of the things that work for me. Naturally you can modify and change these to make them work for you, these are simply what work for me. I hope this helps you out if you’re having a stressful time!! If you try any of these out please let me know how it goes; and if you do anything creative send me photos of your creations @worldsweights on twitter!

Love,