I was going to title this post along the lines of “Why laughing is important” and we all know how much I love a good meme so I Googled “laughter quotes” and it gave me the above. I snorted water out of my nose at my desk.

Laughing is good stuff. I do it a lot. Probably too much sometimes. Then again maybe not… Exhibit A:

1. Laughing lowers blood pressure
2. Reduces stress hormone levels
3. Works your abs
4. Improves cardiac health
5. Boosts T Cells (something to do with your immune system)
6. Triggers the release of endorphin’s
7. Produces a general sense of well being

And the best part? Some of you think my little blog is funny. So not only can I sleep at night knowing I have taught some people how to make banana bread but I am also, unless you are all liars, PHYSICALLY conditioning you. You are totes welcome by the way.

A few things I wanted to discuss today. First the article I just read in The Daily Mail *booooo hisss booooooo*. Yes yes I know it is tripe but the article was BRILLIANT. http://dailym.ai/1LQeGu7 – I implore you to read it. I just found Aj Odudu on Instagram and sent her a message telling her how much I loved it. Another thing I love is the This Girl Can campaign. You’ve definitely seen it. The Missy Elliott song with the women swimming, running and playing football? FIERCE. We need more of this I think. Remember I was talking about PMA yesterday? Well it’s an important thing.

My friend asked me to put my “light bulb moment” into a sentence this morning. I went on to write a full email about it and then he said it was too much! Well in that case I will share it with you guys…

“So yeah, you obviously know my history with the whole going backwards and forwards with diet etc. I actually had a similar conversation with Mum in Scotland. Long story short: People think dieting for 4 weeks will get them the body they want for the rest of their lives. They don’t realise that in order to maintain a body achieved through, let’s say, juice diet – you would have to keep doing that juice diet forever to stay that way. That’s why, obviously, the way other people approach it is so much nicer and more realistic. The whole body for life with a lifestyle worth living. Not living on juice.”

“Anyway – so I started seeing results and then I plateaued and was really demotivated but it was one day in the gym where I suddenly felt strong and lean and I knew it was working and I just had to keep going. Fast forward like 6 months and I was the best shape I’d ever been. But I think it is very hard for people who are used to losing say 4lbs a week and seeing instant results. Instant results that then instantly undo themselves. It has literally taken me the best part of a year of throwing tantrums and doubting myself and everything else to realise it is a lifestyle. It’s not something you do now and again. I thought it would be dead easy to hit 10st and 15% body fat in the space of 4 months. It’s not. It takes ages. What’s great though, is in the process of chasing your goal you start to realise some things don’t matter anymore. Weighing myself. Doesn’t matter anymore. Being a certain body fat percentage. Doesn’t matter. I don’t even track my calories or macros anymore.”

“It was when I said I wanted to be 15% body fat. I thought it was just more HIIT and less carbs but it’s way more. People don’t realise what it takes. To get to 18% body fat I drank ZERO booze, counted every single calorie and macro, didn’t go out with friends, trained over 9 times a week and that was my life. I’m the sort of person that quite enjoyed it but it was a lot of work and effort.”

“I think the difference for me now though is certain things that seemed like a lot of effort before no longer feel like effort. They are just part of day to day life. Even on holiday!”

• I always have a water bottle on me, usually 1l and I drink it constantly
• I always have good food to hand – prepping chia seed jam or having Total in the fridge or cooked chicken to have with salad
• I train every day in some way or another (more or less – obviously not on rest days). Training can be a walk or it can be 2 hours in the gym or just doing press ups when I wake up

Is that helpful? I don’t want it to sounds patronising! That would NOT be larfs. However, I promised I’d be more honest so there it is…

Let’s get back to cheery cheery shall we? In fact! Let’s talk about some food?! Hot outside innit?! See that frozen yoghurt that’s 0% fat? Yeah it’s not your friend – it’s 0% fat and 100% sugar ergo it’s carbs ergo it’s not getting us leaner. Ha. Sorry sorry. Let’s show the negativity the door shall we?!

Positive stuff. LOADS of nice summer recipes out there at the minute. What are peoples thoughts on cooking? Are you experienced? Novice? Utter shite? Be honest and I’ll help you if I can. I have a plethora (right fancy word that! Means LOADS) of recipes to suit most levels of skill.

I posted a picture on Instagram this morning of the food I was taking to work – I woke up feeling like I’d done six rounds with a crate of tequila and considering I only trained, ate and slept last night this was a grim awakening! BUT! Food prep to the rescue meant I avoided the Pret latte and croissant and was able to chuck my food together in around 4 minutes. Summer means fresh foods so we have ZERO excuse to be eating rubbish. A list of foods you will generally find in my kitchen in the summer:

• Chia seed jam (365 days a year)
• Quark
• Total Greek Yoghurt
• Mango (post training)
• Watermelon (post training)
• Cucumbers (I eat them whole sometimes)
• Cherry tomatoes
• Bags of salad leaves
• Tupperware boxes of cooked chicken
• Eggs
• Smoked Salmon
• Milk
• Asparagus
• Broccoli
• Egg whites
• Avocado
• Fish (I am obsess with the Waitrose Sea Bass with pesto butter – posh but worth it)
• Steak
• Sweet potato
• Pistachios (unsalted)
• Almonds (unsalted)
• Ice cubes (seriously – slice some cucumber and fill a pint glass with water, cucumber and ice – so nice when it’s hot out)
• Raspberries
• Strawberries

With that list of ingredients I am ALWAYS covered for breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners…

Anyway – slightly random one today and I get told off for not having a concise point. If this post has a point it would probably be laugh more. It’s not all doom and gloom. Roll with the punches. It can take time to make progress with stuff but that’s ok. Moving forward slowly is better than not moving at all.

As always – feedback is awesome

Oh wait – that sounds like I’m saying the feedback I get is awesome – I MEAN getting any feedback is helpful. Yes? Clear? Excellent.

C xxx