Katie's Beauty Injection: My fitness and weight loss journey so far...

So far 2015 has been the year I really stepped up my fitness game and began to fall in love with it. I have always been fairly active as a teenager participating in intensive taekwondo classes 2/3 times a week. But when my A-Levels kicked in that had to become my priority and my diet and exercise took a step back.

Growing up I was always very lanky and skinny, but when I reached my late teens and puberty had done its thing my body shape changed; I was short and on the verge of being “chunky”. With the stress of A-levels and having to achieve the grades to get into university I had very little time to exercise and I just ate what my mum cooked for me.

The one thing that stands out from this period is when my boyfriend at the time made a comment saying “I probably would fancy you more if you lost a bit of weight”. As a teenage girl I was really hurt by that. Looking back now I probably would have told him to do one (put politely).

With my A-levels done and now starting university I thought it was time to do something for me and practice what I preach if I was going to become a nurse.

I had many lectures on health and nutrition and health equality by this gorgeous lecturer. He always wore crisp white shirts which were on the tighter side but to be fair he rocked them, you could tell he worked out and looked good for it. I spotted him on one occasions in my local supermarket with a trolley full of fresh fruit, veggies and lean meats, not a packet of crisps in sight!!

Myself and the uni girls always guessed his age was approximately 45, but were absolutely dumfounded when he told us he was in his late 50’s. I know genetics has a part to play but it did hit me how important diet and exercise is.

I am coming to the end of my 3 years of university and I have noticed a big change in myself and my family. Firstly my dad has had some heart trouble and health scares over the last 3 years and is now being a more conscious eater and participating in a cardiac rehab program, which has helped him lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle. It is hard when you live at home and lead a busy lifestyle you just eat when you mum puts on the table. I spoke to my parents about the amount of lasagne and tuna and pasta bake we were eating on a regular basis and persuaded them to try healthier alternatives. I also make more of an effort to try and help my mum in the kitchen in order to make her life a little easier.

Over the past few years I have lost about a stone in weight and dropped 2 dress sizes for my height I feel that was healthy and not too drastic, I am short so the added weight really did show. I’m not saying that I wasn’t fine the way I was before others may say that I looked better then compared to now but I feel a lot healthier, fitter and overall a lot happier.

A big thing for me was I love wearing tight fitting bodycon dresses when I go on nights out but hated wearing spanks. The awful stomach ache I would have by the end of the night rivalled the ach in my feet from my killer heels. Not to mention the faff of going to the toilet when wearing them. Nowadays I don’t have to worry I just put my normal knickers on and don’t constantly think is my gut sticking out.

I am a member of a gym but for the most part I had been using online workouts such as Jillian Michaels and HITT routines found on youtube . I tried to do at least 45 mins 3-4 times a week, more if I was going on holiday. I did also add on an extra 15 mins of weight training and split that into arms, legs, abs and glutes. Nothing fancy but it helped me lose my giggle in places.

This isn’t my end goal I have a lot more I hope to achieve but I feel I have come a fair way and have a base in which I can develop on. I am interested in upping my weight/resistance training to help me grow my booty in order to give me a more womanly curvy appearance. I still have a lot to learn about diet but I generally stick to mostly healthy eating during the week and a cheat meal on Fridays and Saturdays.

I may update my diet and fitness routines in the future so keep posted, but here are my progress pictures so far…