The Thought-Night: Health & Fitness

I thought it would be nice to start my post how I start my days most mornings, with some porridge.

Now, this is a topic that I am not the most comfortable talking about and have slight apprehension with sharing with other people just because of the stigma of people who like to eat 'healthy' and my past experiences with food. I thought I would air it out on my blog as lately I have decided there is no point in me hiding well, me, from other people.

Around a year ago when I started taking A-levels I became obsessed with not eating food that was high in fat or in fact food that contained any fat at all. Still to this day I am not sure of the reason I started boycotting all food containing fat but I just had the mental attitude that if I ate any amount of fat I would, myself, become fat. Which is obviously not true. Now; this is in no way a story of how I recovered from an eating disorder as I was never fully diagnosed with one but I did lose around two stone in weight, began having serious mood swings and I was never fully myself anymore. My family and friends started to become worried about me and would comment on my weight more and more frequently, the comments began to annoy me as I couldn't see a problem with what I was eating and thought I was doing the right thing for my body, I didn't believe any comments that I was starving my body from what it needed to grow, which of course I was.
During this time, I would frequently exercise without fueling myself with the right foods and it wasn't until I discovered a number of health accounts on Instagram, that I saw that health isn't about being as skinny as you can possibly be but about eating foods that nourish both your body and you as a person. Currently, I am still not sure my perception of food is 100% accurate but I do know that I feel so much better in myself mentally as well as physically. And although I may have put on a stone I do not look fat as I once thought I would have, as eating food containing fats do not make you fat as long as you live a healthy lifestyle.

So, with all of that rambling aside, I thought I would share some of the foods I like to eat to stay well, myself.
The foods below are just a guideline of what I like to eat and I am not health expert but these are the things that work for me. I do also eat all meats, however I try to go for reduced fat or leaner cuts.

FRUIT & VEG

Probably one of the most obvious things that would appear on a health related post so I'll get it out of the way first. When it comes to fruit and veg I try to eat as much variety as possible and although some will try to restrict the amount of fruit they eat, due to simple sugars, most days I tend not to as all fruit and vegetables contain different amounts and types of vitamins which are great for your body! I try not to worry too much about the amount of sugar I eat as long as it is natural and my diet is balanced.

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbs seem to be a rather infamous member of the food world in some peoples eyes, however, I make sure I get a helping of whole grain carbohydrate at each meal. It provides me with as much energy as possible to get through a busy day. I have a whole bowl-size helping of porridge oats nearly everyday which is more then the recommended amount but as long as you are not over-filling yourself eat what you need to satisfy yourself not anyone else!

PROTEIN & FATS

I get my protein and fats from a wide variety of sources including nuts, eggs and greek yoghurt. I was surprised, in a good way, that greek yoghurt was so packed with protein as it is delicious.
Often, I will chop up some fruit and nuts and mix into greek yoghurt for a snack. On busier days when I am on the go and don't have time to sit down for lunch, although you should always try to, I will grab a Trek or Nakd bar to fuel myself until I can find time to eat.

FOOD THAT MAKES ME HAPPY

As well as getting all your food groups in you should also treat yourself to food that maybe doesn't give you all those vitamins and minerals just to make you happy. Although I do love fruit and veg, nothing makes me happier then a bit of dark chocolate now and again, which is full of antioxidants which are in fact good for you! I squeeze a helping of choc shot and agave nectar into my porridge most mornings to give it a little extra kick both of which are healthier alternatives to chocolate sauce or sugar!

And just so this post contains some fashion related items these are some of the gym clothes I bought for when I go to university in Bristol from H&M. I have never actually worked out in a gym before as I normally do at home Fitness Blender's videos around five days a week ensuring to target one muscle group for four days and a total body workout on one of the days.
You can check Fitness Blender's channel out here, the best workout videos on YouTube by far.

If anyone has any questions about anything feel free to ask.
Thanks for reading.
Ellie x