Weight Loss Wednesdays: Week 8

I can't quite believe I've been doing this for 2 months. I usually get extremely fed up long before this kind of timescale and give in.

I've lost around 6lbs since my last update (which was rather naughtily 2 weeks ago instead of 1) but lately the scales have been behaving very stubbornly and sticking on 1 figure, although quite possibly due to the fact I have had extremely long days for the last fortnight and no time to do a single jot of exercise...

So after 2 months (check out my Weight Loss Journey post to see how much weight I've lost so far) I think it's about time I start thinking about toning up, having a look at my body fat ratio and getting rid of some of the flab I still most definitely have; hence a delve in the world of strength training.

There are hundreds of websites and resources out there to help and it can soon become overwhelming choosing what to do. So here are some possible plans of action:

1. If you're a member of a gym, pop in and ask your favourite trainer to show you a strength or resistance circuit/workout that you can do. If you tell them your woes, they'll be happy to make up a programme for your needs.

2. Get yourself some workout dvds. P90x, Jillian Michaels, Kettlebells, whatever takes your fancy, you only have to Google them to see before and after results and decide what would work for you. 

3. Decide on the parts of your body you'd like to work on most, whether that be your back, underarms, stomach, legs, and Google something along the lines of "back toning exercises" etc. Go through the links on the first page of results and make a note of the exercises you like the sound of/those that come up most often. 

4. Check out Youtube for some body toning routines. There are dozens of great videos, I like the ones by FitnessBlender and the Tone It Up girls, and as a bonus, they're free.

In terms of food and drink, here are some things I've been loving this week:

Chilli chicken with Barenaked noodles, tomatoes and spinach.

This dish tastes so far from healthy. It's similar to my Chilli Chicken Wraps (recipe here). A university lunch favourite of mine was Zizzi's Casareccia Pollo Picante, and after managing to get the recipe for that, I tweaked it a little to make it healthier and ended up with this; it still tastes the same! (Let me know if you'd like me to post the recipe for either!)

Herbal teas.

I've always been a fan but these are some of my latest favourites.

The Slim Me tea by the English Tea Shop is organic and naturally sweet. I wouldn't buy it for any slimming properties but it tastes lovely; a mix of green tea, ginseng, cinnamon, ginger and acai berries. The packaging is really quite pretty too, each teabag comes in it's own little cellophane wrapper.

Green tea and jasmine is my all time favourite, particularly Harrods' Jasmine Dragon Pearls but they're hardly a sustainable purchase (£25) so I've managed to find some cheaper, but just as tasty, alternatives: Taylor's Green Tea with Jasmine and the same flavour by Tesco's Finest.

Lastly, I bought this book, I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson, the other day on a whim and although I've not yet had a chance to read it properly, I had a little flick through and was pleased to see lots of interesting and different recipes including fresh, homemade Rooibos Chai and Raspberry Ripple dessert, yumyum.

If you have any great resistance exercises/workouts then do let me know, if not, then the very best of luck on your journeys and until next week!