The #LazyGirl’s Guide To Working Out

I hate exercise. No, I do. I like how it makes me feel after, but before and during? It’s a no from me. I’ve never been happy with the way I look – a string of nasty boyfriends and a bad relationship with food has long seen to that. But this year, I’m determined to feel better about two things: my mental health and my physical health. As I’m sure you’ll all know – both of those things are linked!

It’s taken me a really long time to get motivated. I lost weight naturally when I commuted into London and worked crazy hours, because I was up early, doing 4+ hours round trips of commuting every day, not eating breakfast, running for a train and usually running so late by the time I got home I’d just head to bed. I was ‘slim’, but my health was terrible; both mentally and physically.

Then, I moved to London, where I was able to actually spend time eating for once! And boy did I make up for lost time ;). I quickly put on weight, but in that horrible sort of … ‘Oh is that what I look like now?’ type of way that happens when you see an unflattering photo.

I’m still pretty new on this whole ‘fitness’ (note, not weight loss) journey, but there’s a few things that have truly helped me as a #LazyGirl get motivated.

What’s a #LazyGirl ? It’s a little hashtag I’m coining for those of us who want to get there and be healthy and fit, but aren’t quite ready to instagram our super defined abs just yet… Let’s kick off with this #LazyGirl’s tips, shall we?

1. Input vs my output
This is a simple one, but I never really realised just how much I was eating. I downloaded the ‘My Fitness Pal’ app, which has proved invaluable. To me, knowing I can treat myself to something if I’ve put in the extra effort with a workout, somehow seems so much more satisfactory. Being able to see a trajectory of my progress is also hugely motivating, too.

Download it here on  the App Store

2. Drawing on things you already love…
If you read this blog, you’ll know I love to bake and cook. For a long time I forgot about this hobby, but meal prepping doesn’t have to be boring; smoothies, fritatas, mini quiches, healthy egg and chips … I feel like I’ve finally managed to create a ‘capsule collection’ of easy, healthy go-to dishes, and ones which I enjoy cooking and which keep for the week, too!

3. Workout clothes (all the gear and no idea!)
Sounds silly but, the workout clothes I had, I’d had for years. I didn’t particularly like them and I certainly didn’t feel good in them. I hunted around, because I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I am the heart-eye-emoji personified looking at Nike and Stella McCartney for Adidas… but, I prefer to keep my cash for couture (or, at the very least, Topshop).

4.  Work towards something
I have a personal yearly target of doing something for charity. This year, I’ve recruited a few others, and we’ve signed up to thewolfrun.com – it’s a bit like a Tough Mudder – a 10k run with lots of challenging obstacles. It’s mucky and gruelling but a great laugh (last year I did Cancer Research’s 5k Pretty Muddy last year if you’re looking to start off something smaller then I can highly recommend!) We’ve signed up to do the June one, and it’s given us a good headway to get a training programme up and running.  It’s also great to have a team to motivate you!

5. Planning
I’m an on-the-go girl. I don’t want to spend ‘precious’ time on weekends filling boxes with food and so on, but creating a few different options has really helped. For example, I now make a bunch of ‘snack packs’ – crackers, fruit, peppers, I bag them all up and seal them in the fridge, it means I can grab them on the go and snack on when I get home, or on the weekends!

What are your #LazyGirl tips for working out?

Kate x