Cars, Hair and Energy!

Hey guys!

Goodness what a week I have had...started off with a car crash last monday (hence the no post last week) which wrote off my gran's car and scared the hell out of us both. We are both okay, other than a bit of whiplash and some nerves. It could have been so much worse. No point thinking on it eh?

The last time we spoke I had just started taking my Juice+ berry capsules...so it's been about 2 weeks since I started taking two every morning and I must say I have noticed a difference already. I have a lot more energy in the mornings, many of you will know I have never been much of a morning person, I am happily (and naturally) waking at about 7am every morning. I feel like I have been given more time in the day. It's wonderful!! My skin has stopped breaking out everytime I feel a little stressed and my hair has been in wonderful condition. The change in my hair has been the most noticeable. I have psoriasis from time to time and have to use T-Gel on my hair twice a week, usually  making my hair look and feel horrible. I haven't felt this since using my capsules! 

Due to the whiplash I haven't really had a chance to test out how I feel while exercising so I can't really tell you, but the morning energy alone has been great so far. I feel like I am able to squeeze more into my day. Who wouldn't want to be able to do more in a day? 

I think I will record the things I get done this week for you and share it on here so that you can see the difference it makes getting up just an hour earlier.

Goals

I forgot, my Juice Plus+ capsules finally came today!! I will be blogging my journey from today on so keep an eye on this space !!

The Gym, Exams, Walking and Audiobooks

Hey guys! Sorry this weeks post is a day late, it's been a very busy week. Started off with my gran (bless her for her loveliness) driving me to Newport so that I could take my first set of exams for my gym instructor course. I had a little extra time to revise due to unforeseen train issues...I may have got on the wrong one...in any case! The extra revision time was really nice, I wasn't feeling all that confident about the exams, so it gave me a little more time to get myself comfortable with the areas. It's all very new content for me so it is taking a little time to settle into my brain. Still loving it though!! I think the exams went well in the end, should get my results either today or tomorrow so we'll see!

After all the exams and my poor brain exploding I had my leaflet job to be getting on with which was great, I am still enjoying all the time I get to walk and I have started listening to Harry Potter and the half blood prince on audiobook. Do any of you like listening to audiobooks while walking? I first started listening to audiobooks back when I started running over 5km, I have found that when I listen to music while running long distances I seem to run faster which will fatigue me quicker therefore making my runs ultimately shorter or slower :(. So I decided to try listening to an audiobook and I haven't looked back since.

The greatest part of this week so far - going back to the gym yay!! I haven't been part of a gym for a little while due to not being able to afford it and not particularly enjoying leaving the house... So, I have joined Fitness4Females, a female only gym in Hucclecote (the one I have been promoting by posting leaflets) and so far everyone has been so lovely!! I think that it's really hard to talk to people in a gym environment, everyone seems to be competing with one another over something, it's not welcoming at all. Fitness4Females is so different to any other gym I have been to, it's small but it has everything you need for a complete workout and they have classes everyday (can't wait to get stuck into that kettlebells class)!! Maybe I'll make some friends there :D

See you next week!!

Start at the beginning

Hey guys!

I have had the busiest week so far, and it’s only Tuesday!! Yesterday was all phone calls, facebook messages and emails. I don’t think I have ever seen so many emails in my inbox.

The most exciting thing was that I ordered my very first Juice+ capsules!! They will be arriving this week and I can’t wait to try them out. I have been looking for something exactly like this for a long time so I can’t wait to share my experience with you all here. The plan is to take these everyday alongside exercise and healthy eating. I am hoping that being honest with you all about how I am feeling will inspire you to make a difference in your health as well! So watch this space.

I started my new leaflet delivery job today (a nice little temp job to help me pay for Christmas) which allowed me to walk 24,000 steps in 4 hours, what a work out!! I really enjoy being out of the house, especially when I can get some fresh air and discover new places and people. Hopefully this little job will help me be able to connect with people again. I have also decided to join a gym again, I have been unable to be in a gym for about 6 months so I am really looking forward to it !!

Sorry about the quick blog today guys but like I said, its been manic! I will see you tomorrow! 

Off to Dance!

Hey guys! 

I have had such a busy day of studying, revising for exams on Saturday...I'm a little nervous but my tutor has been very helpful and supportive. The exams are for my fitness instructor course and since I have been studying really hard I am sure I will do okay, still got another 5 days to get all the information under my belt. 

I always feel so happy when I have had a constructive day, I wasn't so sure it was going to be one when I woke up. I had a little bit of insomnia on the weekend which resulted in my staying up until 4:30 playing the sims....naughty naughty. Still, managed to sleep a little! So I woke up feeling a little groggy this morning. As soon as I got downstairs I put my walking boots on and took the dog to the park, was a brisk walk as the temperature has decided to plummet over the last few days and I hate the cold but at least it woke me up some! Then I went out on my delivery job for an hour (woke me up some more!) got my 10,000 steps for the day completed by 11am, then did a little exercise before lunch. While I was out walking I couldn't help but think through all my plans for this site, for my life and for my business. It all seems so far in the future...I'm thinking, 5 years down the line, 10 even?! I would be 35 in 10 years time....of course that's daunting. Freaks me out too much sometimes. But, like I said, it's been a good day. My mental state seems to be much more stable/calmer now that I have something that I am working for. 

Now I want to share with you something that I have been doing for about 3 months now....DANCE FITNESS! 
I think that the title of the class speaks for itself don't you? I found this dance fitness class while looking online for a club to join (an exercise club of course) since I was missing the gym so much I felt I needed to find something to fill that gap. 
I was terrified during my first session, but the teacher was lovely and messaged me a few times before I came in and then welcomed me into the hall. It was so reassuring. The lesson is 45 minutes.....they were the most exciting, painful and breath-taking 45 minutes I had experienced in a long time. I was sweating everywhere, I almost drank my whole drink during the session and I laughed so much it was hard to move. I was hooked after the first song, its fast paced, cardio heavy and fun. I recommend it to everyone! All ages would benefit from this as the teacher shows you alternate ways to do the moves and it really is so much fun.

I am off to Dance Fitness in about 2 hours time, I guess I better make myself some food to burn off there ha! (I will ask the teacher if I can put her site on here for all of you to see). See you all again!

Hey!

Hey guys!

Welcome to my blog, this is where I will share my thoughts, feelings and ideas with you. Let’s start with a quick introduction; This blog is a way of sharing my story with you all and creating a business.  My name is Stacey, I am 25 years old and I have just started training to become a personal trainer, I live in Gloucestershire with my new husband Adam and my wonderful dog, Theon. I love to exercise; I participate in dance fitness classes, Pilates, running and any other exercise that may look interesting. I also enjoy reading, colouring (I love adult colouring books, so soothing!), writing and playing video games. Three years ago I was unhappy, overweight and unhealthy so I decided to do something about it. I began following a YouTuber who creates Pilates routines and you can follow along without having to leave the house. She also created a meal plan which I followed for 6 months, helping me to lose 3 stone. Doing this helped me to get my confidence back and I was starting to feel fit and healthy again so I decided to go back to the gym, once I started going to the gym I couldn’t stop. I knew that my obsession with exercise was only just beginning.

During this time I was working as a support working for adults with learning disabilities, an extremely stressful and time consuming job. I loved my job. I really enjoyed the people that I worked with and the staff but it reached a point at the beginning of 2016 where I had to stop working. I would find that I couldn’t talk to people; I was becoming very anxious when I had to leave the house and I was just downright sad all the time. I went to the doctors as soon as I realised that this was going to be a problem and I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression disorder. This knocked me a back a lot. I had to quit my job after a long time off sick, I didn’t leave the house for days on end and I would have to ring my boyfriend at work at least once a day because I didn’t feel safe. The doctors put me on medication to help with my anxiety but I also needed more mental help so they put me in contact with Let’s Talk, an NHS run system that helps people just like me. I started going to classes which taught me how to self-manage the anxiety and depression.

I started to fall back in my training, I had to quit the gym since I couldn’t afford it anymore, and I couldn’t exercise at home (I had began running in order to run the race for life 2016) because 1. I didn’t want to leave the house and 2. I just couldn’t find the energy a lot of the time. This furthered my depression. I knew that I needed to get back into exercise. So, slowly, after going to my NHS classes for a few weeks I began to go out to run again using the techniques they had taught me...with the dog. This was amazing for me, to be able to go out to the park and run with the dog beside me was a huge step in feeling better. I kept this up for a few weeks then transitioned to running with headphones on without the dog. Eventually I got so confident I would be able to go out running without the headphones on.  This progressed to where I am today. It took time, determination, an engagement, a wedding, a terrible diet, a lot of upset and some bad choices to get here but I did it!!

Here we are today! Me, newly married, happier than I have been in a long time, typing on my new laptop with my wonderful doggy by my side getting excited about the weeks to come and this journey I hope you will take with me.