You are what you eat...

You are what you eat is such an underrated phrase in my opinion. You hear it all the time but how often do you actually take into account what it means?

I will be honest when I heard that phrase I would think yeah if you eat unhealthy processed high fat foods continuously then you will feel awful, be overweight and generally feel like crap, flip side if you eat healthy well balanced diet you feel wonderful - am I right?

So lets rewind to last summer, around May time 2016. A rash starts appearing on my body, a really red, sore rash on my legs, under arms and side of my stomach, I didn't notice it much until it started getting really painful and really obvious! 

Now I have super sensitive skin, it has taken me ages to work out my skin care routine and get the balance so I don't break out, and now something has tipped the balance.
So I tried changing my deodorant, my washing powder, cleaning products used around the house, even down to my exercise trousers, and nothing changed! 

Fast forward to September, winter is on its way and I am about to change to winter breakfast - summer is eggs and toast, winter is porridge with almond milk. I also take out a morning coffee as I find the porridge to be really filling and can't manage a coffee as well. 
After a few weeks I notice some changes, I am less bloated and also my rash is looking a little less red not by much but it looks like it is clearing up. 

So I start to consider that the phrase you are what you eat might have more meaning to that I originally thought, now I think about it I don't even know why I didn't think that the food I am putting into my body would effect the outside, my diet was always 80% clean 20% dirty, so I didn't think think that my diet would ever effect my complexion. 

So I looked at everything in my diet that contained dairy and took it out. Cheese (crying), milk products, yogurts, butter, chocolate, pizza etc and started from scratch. 

Since then the rash has completely cleared up, I had a flare up over Christmas, further confirming that any dairy product is going to effect me, the way I feel and also my complexion. 

At first it was a bit of a pain if I am totally honest, sometimes I would eat things and immediately feel sick, bloat out to looking 6 months pregnant, or break out- so I knew that had to leave the food group. Now I read every ingredient before buying and consider what might be in the meal when I go out to eat. After a few weeks of food shopping I pretty much knew what I can and couldn't have in my daily diet. I am pretty regimented with my eating, always the same thing every day, makes macro counting easier as well! 

I also look for alternatives - so pizza is my ultimate food I love it, so now I look at the free from section and making things from scratch, home made pizza is actually way better and the difference is SO much better. 

The free from aisle is now my favourite section, for foods that contain dairy they have the alternative, the only thing that is really not the same is cheese. Free from cheese is awful, so now I just don't eat it all, it makes me so sad because I love cheese, one day my body will change its mind I am sure.... ;)

So if you are having a similar problem I would highly recommend looking into your diet and thinking more about what you eat. 
Keep a food diary and if you have any reactions from bloating, feeling sick to hives make a note of what you ate and also at what time, and how you felt that day. 


Looking for nutrition plans, advice or eating tips email us barbellasandbuns@gmail.com for more information! 

Workout Wednesday - The Leg Circuit

Do you always hear about leg day but not sure how to get involved?

Here is a great leg circuit to get those legs working and is adaptable to all levels of exercise from beginners to the experienced!

Equipment:

1x Bosu ball
1x Sandbag - 10kg or lighter if needed - if you dont have sand bags at the gym use dumbells
Alternative 2x dumbells - pick a heavy weight, one that is going to challenge you!
1x kettlebell - again a heavy weight that will challenge you, if your gym doesn't have kettlebells select one dumbell.

The exercises!

Station 1 - Front lunges - 12 reps (6 on each leg) with a dumbell in each hand or the sandbag on your shoulders behind your head positioned like a back squat.
Station 2 - Squats - 12 reps with kettlebell or 1 dumbell held in front of you close to your chest.
Station 3 - position this near a wall for balance - on the bosu ball hold the squat position for 30 seconds keeping very stready - engage your core for extra stability!
Station 4 - Thrusters - this is a squat combined with an over head press. 12 reps with 2 dumbells - squat down and when coming up press the dumbells over your head then repeat.
Station 5 - Back lunges - 12 reps (6 on each leg) with a dumbell in each hand, or the sandbag.
Station 6 - Kettlebell swing - these can be straight in front of you or overhead if you can do this. Make sure you engage the core and hips to get a good swing!

Repeat the circuit 4 rounds, when the exercises become easy make sure you increase the weights to really challenge yourself!
When the balance on the bosu ball becomes easy make sure you add weight to this as well!

Eating out - to cheat or not to cheat!

Going out for dinner is one of my favourite things, good food is also one of my favourite things so when I go out for dinner I like to make the most of it! 

I used to use it as an excuse to eat loads of food, feel stuffed and basically crappy. 

Now I use it to eat good food, enjoy what I am eating - maybe have a small treat but know my limits. I am on a no cheat meal at the moment because of holiday so when I go out I choose the healthier options when I am eating out such as salads, a starter or a dessert - not both - and go from there.

Usually I would make this my cheat meal of the week so I would choose a burger with a bun or have a sweet instead of a starter. 

I have been out for dinner a lot lately with birthdays, evenings out etc I have tried to stay on track and opting for meals with side salads, no chips, and no desserts.

When I went out for my boyfriends birthday I chose the vegetarian option of a spring roll with sundried tomato, ratatouille and side salad and it was amazing! With a started of bread and houmas it was one of the most delicious meals I had eaten in ages, drinking water and a small amount of alchol I left the restaurant feel full, satisfied and did not touch a chip! 

I like opting for healthy foods not because I have to but because I want to! I don't like feeling overly stuffed and like I cant move for a few hours - I save those for my once every six months epic pizza cheat, when I am at home in my pjs - it was nice to enjoy my meal and still feel like I am on track to my goal! 

It is true that you don't have to be strict all the time and that once meal won't mess up your hard work but there are certain sacrifices you have to make to ensure you stay on track and meet your goal - if I have to give up chips and chocolate etc everyday then so be it because I have been working hard for so many years to get into shape and honestly I want abs god dammit!! 

Workout Wednesday - Rowing machine

I have a love/hate relationship with the rowing machine - when I switched gyms and they don't have good rowers then I realised how much I missed it! 

Thankfully my other gym (yes a member of 2 gyms) does have a rower, it is a good rower and oh man does it feel good to be back on and rowing! 

Rowing works your entire body, from your back and shoulders right down to your legs - take a look at this picture to show just how many muscles it works! 

It is the perfect exercise to improve your endurance and increases heart function. It is also a good calorie burner so if you are looking to lose weight this is the machine for you! 

It is also a low impact exercise so if you are looking for something that is going to be less of a strain on the joints again this is an ideal exercise. 

Overall it is a total body workout - I do around 20-30 minutes on the rower on level 9-10, the more resistance the stronger the pull and the more you will work! 

Workout Wednesday - Russian Twist

Having a strong core is as important as any other muscle and you should ideally be adding a full core session into your routine - I do mine the same day as I do my cardio so my session is split with 45 mins cardio and then 45 mins abs.

So Russian twists are an awesome for targeting all ab areas - they can be done in a variety of ways if you are new to this exercise then I would start slowly and build this exercise up!

Sit on the floor and bring your knees up with your feet flat on the floor - if you have done this exercise before then elevate your legs so they are still bent at the knees but now in the air.

Sit up with a slight lean creating a V with your body.

Using a weight or kettle bell - I use an 8kg kettle bell, twist your torso from side to side keeping your core engaged and your back straight.

Repeat this for 12 reps 3 sets.