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Has Winter demotivated me?

If there’s anything I often reiterate on my blog, it’s that everything I write comes from my own personal journey. This means I want to be honest when I find that life isn’t going as planned.

It has gotten increasingly cold in the past month or so, and now I’m working two jobs, I find it increasingly harder to get out and about doing whatever I need. I noticed I’ve only been going to the gym for zumba, as there’s no classes I enjoy anymore, and it’s too busy to use free weights when I have the time to go, so I cancelled my membership. I’ll still be doing Zumba, but at a local community centre that’s only £1. I’m trying to pole twice a week, but that seems to have been a struggle over the past couple of weeks.

Though I know I’m working twice as much, and only have one day off a week, I can’t help but question whether it’s the cold season that’s having the biggest impact on my lack of efforts. As I’m writing this, it is 4pm, I’m still in my pyjamas and I’m wrapped in a duvet on the sofa. I just don’t want to move! So it’s time to make some changes.

As mentioned, I aim to do Zumba each week, and I’m trying my hardest to keep up with the pole as much as I can, but I need to also get a grip on my routine, my writing and even my diet.

I feel like my diet isn’t too bad, but I have been eating out after work a lot as the idea of cooking frozen food when I’m already frozen myself is something I try to avoid, and if I do eat at home, it’s usually snacks. I need to stop this! So I’m filling my cupboards with soups, microwave rice and any other healthier foods I can which don’t involve reaching into the freezer.

I will keep you guys updated, and hopefully my writing will motivate me to make more effort… Especially fitmas!!!

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Pamper Yourself with Anatomicals

This is a gifted item review

You all know I love my face masks, so when I received two, plus a face scrub, from Anatomicals, I was beyond excited. I have been under the weather all week, so the gym has been a no-go, so this gave me something to look forward to after work!

The first thing I should say about Anatomicals is that they are soooooo sassy! The play on words, alongside a funny description at the back, are more than enough to grab your attention. I also think that it makes for a funny stocking filler at Christmas. The brand are cruelty free, though you all know I wouldn’t be writing about them if they weren’t!

Let’s get onto the review!

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First off, we have the apricot scrub. Now I need to be honest here, I wasn’t completely sure about it the first time I tried it. Due to being ill, my skin has been super sensitive, so the “beads” felt really rough on my skin. The second time I used it, however, It felt so nice! I think if your skin is super sensitive, then I would avoid this product, but if it’s sensitive to normal, then you will be fine. My skin was left feeling super soft and clean after I rinsed it all off.

Secondly, we have the charcoal face mask. I actually thought that this would be black, but I realised I was confusing it with those super painful ones that have become a viral sensation this year. This was a regular mask in a light, greyish/blue colour. The mask is intended to clear your skin of breakouts (something I know I could do with). I actually had two really bad pimples before I applied it, and they’re both almost invisible now, so it seems to have helped! The mask was really easy to apply due to it being similar to a clay texture, and rinsing it off was just as simple.

Finally we have the mattifying face mask. I think out of the three, this was my favourite. Although I found it slightly harder to apply, due to it being of a thinner texture, it was so cooling on my skin! When I tested out this product, my nose had reached its reddest point of my cold. As soon as I applied it, my skin was hit with a wave of refreshement. I let it dry and as soon as I rinsed it off my skin felt amazing! I was in awe at how quickly the mask affected my skin. It’s been a full day since and my face is still super smooth. The colour was a lovely aquatic blue, matching the affect of the mask perfectly.

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The products from Anatomicals start from £1.50 up, and like I said, they would make perfect stocking fillers this year, and the bigger products would be great pamper gifts. You can buy their products from Superdrug, ASOS, Urban Outfitters, or you can find more directly from the website.

If you want to be the first to see my reviews, be sure to follow me on Instagram to watch me test them on my stories!

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Redefining Fitspo

This has been re-uploaded from LaceyFitspo Tumblr back in March 2017.

I have always considered myself to be a “fitspo” blog, but a while back I found myself falling out of love with the word as I noticed there were a few people who considered it to be the new skinny. so I thought I would remind myself and others how the perception of fitness has changed over the past couple of years.

When I first started this blog, I wasn’t truly aware of what it meant to be healthy. I’m no expert on fitness and nutrition, but to constantly wear myself out at the gym and worry about whether I am eating right or not is not good. As many of you may already be aware, I have been trying to move away from this focus, and to instead balance a healthy lifestyle with a happy one.

A lot of online platforms are changing the game when it comes to health and fitness. PopSugar are a very encouraging website if you’re looking for health guidance, with not only mouth watering recipes that are good for you, but there’s also body positive articles which bring you down to earth and remind you that you don’t need to have the body of Miranda Kerr for your body to be beautiful. That’s something we need to see more of.

Even Cosmo are jumping on the bandwagon, and they don’t just cover exercise and body talk, they actually cover medical stories too, which some people could feel motivated by reading. I may be slightly biased, however, as the header image on the website is a girl in a sports bra eating a huge slice of pizza…

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I will admit that I don’t get the same encouragement from magazines. I have never been a big magazine reader, but now and then I give them a chance and I will feel like I have wasted my money. Why? Because I buy it based on what’s on the cover, hoping to find some handy guides, but it is mostly just advertising. I know that many magazines make their money through promoting products, but there is often so much jammed into the articles that it’s basically saying “you will never be worthy unless you waste your money on these.” So to round that bit up… Don’t turn to a magazine if you want health and fitness advice.

Social media? I will be honest here, if you want the right advice or inspiration then you need to look in the right places. I have followed various accounts on Instagram only to unfollow them later because their views aren’t as healthy as I originally thought. I stand by Blogilates religiously, but I will also recommend Grace Fit (especially for booty inspiration… not that it should be a specific goal, but it may convince you to not skip leg day). But also remember to follow smaller accounts to create social encouragement and interact with one another.

So this is my take on the great things, and a slight view on the bad things, about being fitspo! What do you do to keep yourself motivated?

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Alternative Exercise! 5 ways to keep your mind stimulated.

One of the main reasons for my blog is that I’m not a regular fitness blogger. Exercise is important, but I don’t feel like it’s something your have to focus your life around, and there is an area I feel we don’t cover enough: Our minds.

Whenever it gets colder I find myself wanting to go out less, but I need to keep my mind stimulated. So I bought myself a few things to keep myself busy during rainy days, and I feel so much better for it.

1. Sudoku or Puzzle Books

I found this little beauty in Poundland of all places! But cuteness aside I looooove Sudoku. I can get around 3/4 done in a couple of hours. There are many studies that suggest puzzles can help our brains as we get older, but personally, I feel at peace while I’m doing it as well.

2. Reading/Audiobooks

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Who doesn’t love a good book? I’m not the biggest reader, so when I buy a book I make it my mission to complete it. I’m currently working my way through The Help by Kathryn Stockett. If you’re not a big reader, however, I recommend using Audible and spend an hour or two laying down and having a listen. It’s a great way to help your mind relax before bed.

3. Art Therapy

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I’ve always been the artsy type, but I’m no longer a teenager. I don’t have as much time to be getting the easel out and whip up a painting, and sometimes I don’t have the brain power to do any decent drawings, but adult colouring really helps bring out my creative side.

4. Bullet Journals

I want to write a fuller piece on this as I am really into my new bullet journal. It keeps my mind and my life organised, and I can style it any way I wish. Not only do I feel on top of things, my creative side is brought out as I like to design each page differently.

5. Learn a new language

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I’ve spoken about Memrise before when I was on Tumblr, but it’s the best app I have come across for learning a new language when you don’t have all the time in the world. What I love the most about this app, is that it gets you THINKING in the language you wish to learn. I use it for learning Korean, but there’s a whole list of languages to choose from!

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A bonus to all these is that I save money in the long run by keeping myself distracted from going out and finding something to do. Though some days I will send myself to a local cafe, just so I’m out the house, I would still be spending half of what I normally would on a day out. What do you do to exercise your mind?

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The Importance of Rest…

And why we don’t talk about it enough.

Today (26/09/17) I was supposed to be heading out with a few of my blogger friends to a Christmas menu event. I had been looking forward to it all week, but the moment I arrived home from work and sat on my bed, I knew I wouldn’t be moving for the rest of the evening.

It’s not that I couldn’t have forced myself up and arrive in the nick of time, I’ve done this many times before, but something happened to me on Friday which made me change my perspective on my socially active lifestyle. See, I was out with friends at a showcase, and as fun as the evening was, I felt a weird pressure come over me. Within an hour of this feeling rising, I had to leave the room. I was having an anxiety attack.

Do I know what caused it? If I’m honest, I can’t be too sure, but what I am sure about is that it is somewhat linked to how busy I have been keeping myself over the past two months. I chose to work part time at a basic bistro job so I could go back to working freelance, but as I’ve been working hard on blogging, while making time for the gym, my friends, my family and my boyfriend, I have rarely had time for myself. After Friday, I decided this needs to change. I had three days off work to readjust my plans and sort out what I should prioritise, and though I did put tonight’s events on my list of what I would make time for, my hectic shift at work was enough to tell me I needed to relax again. I will admit that the lack of sleep from the night before heavily contributed to this decision.

Why is it so important to stop?

It has been said that you are much more productive at work if you take that lunch break which you are entitled to, and I think this applies to your personal life as well. How do you expect to do all the things you want without frequently stopping to take care of yourself along the way? Listen to your body when you think you may be too tired to do something. Even if you do get serious FOMO, you will benefit from it in the long run!

So, I’m going to finish watching GBBO, run myself a bubble bath, set up Netflix and completely unwind!!!

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Life Update: Back from Hiatus

 This isn’t Tumblr…

Hello Fitspo’s. I apologise for being away for so long, but there’s just been a lot going on. Some of it I will talk about and some I shall be leaving out as it’s a bit too personal for me to share, but the important thing is that I am back and ready to get back in the blogging game!

Switching domains

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I have been toying with the idea of moving over to WordPress for a while now as it’s clearly the best place for engagement with my readers and blogs which I love to read, but until recently I haven’t really understood how it works! I’ve just been on Tumblr for so long that I never thought to explore other options and learn what works best, but luckily I’m slowly getting there. I will still be using Tumblr, but only to share direct links.

Side Project: LaceySocial

As I’ve been working freelance in social media, I decided that it may be a good idea to start a new blog for bloggers to utilise social media platforms to the best of their ability. I’m only one post in, but it seems to be a success! I’ll be writing a new one up this week, but if you haven’t checked out the first one yet, I urge you to do so after reading this.

Freelance work and networking

As mentioned, I’ve been doing part time freelance work to keep my CV up to date, but as I’m doing it alongside a basic part time job, it’s taken over most of my time. I have also been heading to many events with other bloggers and have joined a little blog squad! You may have seen this on my Instagram and it’s been really fun, but it’s left very little time for me to sit with my laptop and get writing.

Northern Blog Awards

Yaaassss! I went to the Northern Blog Awards with my Blogger friends and it was a wonderful evening. I honestly felt like a princess for one night and it was probably the best opportunity I have had to get to know other bloggers and see some brilliant writers get recognition for their work. I may write a longer post about it, but I’ll leave some photos here just in case I end up not doing so.

 

MacMillan Coffee Afternoon

Finally, I am working on my first event! It’s to raise money for MacMillan,  but it’s also an opportunity for bloggers to sit down with a bit of cake and talk all things blog. I’m really excited for it and will be posting more information soon, but if you think you may be interested then leave a comment with your email address and you’ll be the first to know of all updates!

So… I think I’ve talked enough for now. I’ll be back soon on the new and improved LaceyFitspo!