An Ordinary Girls Guide to Fitness and Nutrition

My specialty is Make up and skin care, NOT fitness & nutrition, however, I have spent years working myself from a size 18 down to a size 10 simply down to fitness & nutrition.
So the idea here is to give you a bit of a lowdown from a normal human beings perspective who likes the odd glass of wine or 5 and could quite happily trough my way through a whole packet of Jaffa cakes without it touching the sides!
I'm going to tell you how I manage to live a fulfilled and fun lifestyle whilst keeping my fitness & nutrition in top form.
Fitness & Exercise
First thing I will say, the gym is NOT a necessity by any means, and I appreciate a lot of people find it a complete bore quite frankly.
I find nothing more satisfying than a good gym workout and by using all the different machines you can really concentrate on the areas you want to target, however, for beginners, a brisk 40 minute power walk 3 times a week can have just as much impact on the body.
If you do decide to join your local gym make sure you have a member of staff help to create the right programme for you.
Everyone has a different fitness level so get a plan specifically for you.
All decent gyms should offer an appointment to make a programme for you within your joining pack, so don't be afraid to go for it if you want.
I remember the first time I set foot in a gym, it really was terrifying, but within a few minutes the staff made me feel totally at ease and I realised that no matter how much I think someone appears in better shape than me, we are all in there to do the same thing, improve our fitness and build confidence in our bodies.
Perhaps, after a few weeks, invest in a few personal trainer sessions.
They are qualified to help with fitness and nutrition and are amazing for motivation and spurring you on to run for that extra 30 seconds.

If you don't want to pay for a trainer, here are a few tips from me:-
Stick to about 40 minutes of cardiovascular exercise on either the bike, cross trainer or treadmill, then about 15 minutes of core work and light weights, low weights with high repetitions to start. This will still help to burn fats, and contrary to what you may think, women will not build too much muscle and look like a Russian shot putter from lifting a few 7kg weights a few times a week. These massive muscle women spend their whole life building muscle, not through an hour workout 3 or 4 times a week.

If you get the bus to work get off a stop earlier to give you a little extra walk. I park my car a 15 minute walk away from work, it means that 5 times a week I do 30 minutes walking a day, and that's before I've been to the gym or been out for a run.

Road running is great for toning as the uneven surfaces really work every muscle in the body, but it is more difficult than running on the treadmill so persevere with road running.
Nutrition
Fitness & nutrition go hand in hand, pointless doing all that hard work then going home to eat the wrong food.

I find that the easiest thing to do it make sure I eat the right food at the right times.
Do not skip breakfast, its the best start to the day. A bowl of bran flakes or piece of toast would be enough and keep away from the fry up. My favourite breakfast ever is bran flakes topped with a chopped banana for added sweetness.

I tend to eat the majority of my carbohydrates in the morning or before a long run to give me the energy, but they are equally as important post exercise to help the body recover.

Leave the faddy diets to someone else.
Atkins gives you smelly breath and constipation.
The zone diet is far too confusing.

The g.i diet I have no idea on.
The starvation diet just isn't sensible.

Its all about everything in moderation, if you stop eating anything with even a little fat in it your body will just go into shock the minute it touches your lips again.

Nuts are great for this, they have essential fatty acids and are great for the skin, but if you fancy that little bag of crisps or bar of choccy then go for it, everything in moderation and if you don't you will crave, binge then feel awful after.

Plenty of fresh fruit, veg, and meat with the right carbs at the right time and your sorted.
A little tip I have learned here, don't bother with finding someone to buddy up with because you both want to ditch those last few lbs before your flight departs from pastures sunnier.

There's a pretty high risk one of you will give up before the other, so do it for YOURSELF! Decide to make the change with your fitness & nutrition purely on your own terms, so get on those trainers, a few good tunes on the iPod and get your fitness & nutrition in tip top condition.

I am a professional make up consultant currently working in a retail environment learning the skills needed to become a manager of both stock and people. I am just dipping my toe into the world of Internet Marketing with a beauty website which provides tips, lessons and also the opportunity to shop for standard and hard to get products as and when I can find them. I am a fitness fanatic and spend most of my spare time either running or at the gym.

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