Life Fitness Balance

Life Fitness Balance

Life is for enjoying and making memories that will make you smile for years to come. It’s about spending time with your friends and doing fun things and exploring amazing places. It’s about taking advantage of the opportunities put in front of you and experiencing them to the fullest.

Sounds easy right – doing things that will make you laugh and are fun. Why would you even consider passing up the opportunity to go on holiday, try out an amazing restaurant or party the night away? You’d be stupid to actively avoid such great activities. But sometimes, we are stupid right and as much as I hate to admit it, I have wasted times that could have been well spent, hiding away.

Why? Because a holiday means an extended time away from the gym, restaurants mean it’s not possible to know exactly what you are eating and a night out probably means a lot of alcohol - aka empty calories.  

I have heard it from a number of people, and experienced it myself – when the need to keep up with fitness and nutrition leaves you isolating yourself from the outside world. I personally have been known to turn down social engagements or orchestrate meet ups so I can fit people in around my gym session and sort out my own meals. I have been known to miss out on nights out, staying at home in the evening because that way I can make sure I finish my day within my guidelines. But why? Because the obsession with being 100% committed to fitness doesn’t allow for time out – or at least it can feel that way.

Over the past few months this has been something I have really looked at addressing - learning that fitness doesn’t have to control my life choices and should instead should enhance them. If I have worked hard in the gym that morning, then I deserve to go out with my friends and have a big burger and chips later. If I have eaten well all week, then I should go out, dance the night away with a few drinks and show off my hard work. There needs to be a balance, where you find the right time to make fitness the priority, but also know that it’s ok to put other things first as well.  

The past month or so I can honestly say my outlook on life has transformed. Whilst fitness will always be a huge priority for me, I have really taken on board the fact that it doesn’t have to be the only option. Yes I still plan in my gym sessions and track my foods, but I am becoming much more ok with letting go and not being in control 24/7. If I’m sticking to the plan the majority of the time, then obviously I can have a burger, chips, ice cream, cookies if I want them – because it’s fun to share that with friends and that’s what life is about. What’s wrong with ordering a bit of wine with dinner – I would never have dreamt of doing that a few months ago – but it just makes experiences that little bit better so why not?

So my advice, no matter how hard it may be – and believe me I totally get it because I've been there - is to not let fitness and nutrition be the be all and end all. Yes it’s great to look good and feel hot in the mirror, but is it worth sacrificing memories that can last a lifetime, just for a great bikini mirror selfie? Sometimes fitness can feel like an all or nothing kind of thing, but there has to be a balance between following your goals and living life. I for one don’t want to look back in 10 years time and have regrets and neither should you!


Time Out

Time Out

How many times have you looked in the mirror after eating a big burger and chocolate cake and thought, that’s it, I’ve wasted all my hard work in the gym?

How many times have you pushed yourself to train, even though you’re knackered and need a rest, in fear of losing all your gains?

How many times have you looked at your body and thought it looks worse than the day before, blaming the fact you ate too much or too little or you haven’t worked out in few days?

I for sure can hold my hands up to all of these, on countless occasions.

It’s funny right, because we all know phrases like Rome wasn’t built in a day or one good meal won’t make you skinny, just like one bad meal won’t make you fat. Despite understanding these, when it comes to fitness, it’s so easy to ignore all logic, dissecting any small change to your normal routine and picking up on/ totally inventing negative side effects that a change in behaviour must result in.

I used to be super bad for these kinds of thoughts, particularly when it came to food. If I indulged one evening, I would wake up certain I had gained 10lbs, totally wasted my gym sessions for the whole week and needed to eat next to nothing the next day to compensate. I’m sure I knew it was only water weight, if it wasn’t just my mind tricking me into thinking I looked fatter because that’s what you would expect after eating pizza and cake - it’s quite likely I looked absolutely no different whatsoever. But it’s such an easy thing to think right?

Recently, I have got a lot better with this and quite often wake up the morning after a night out, check myself out in the mirror and acknowledge how normal my body looks - well aware it hasn’t changed. However what I’m currently finding harder to convince myself of, is gym related changes. 

Take the past few weeks for example. I have severely injured my hips, struggling to walk at times, and definitely struggling to train any lower body at all. Despite knowing I should take at least a week off to fully recover, I just can’t bring myself to do it. Instead I push through each session, pretending to myself it’s ok because I spent 20-30 min stretching and foam rolling first and then only trained upper body with minimal leg work. Except now, because my lower body isn’t engaging properly when I exercise, other areas are compensating for this and my back is totally messed up, leaving me in constant discomfort (and pretty poor from countless physio sessions and massages).

So why am I putting myself through this? I tell myself, and others, it’s because I love training – but what’s to love about being in pain with every movement you make? I also say it’s because I would go mad if I was just sitting down all day at work and then went home without being at all active. But surely it’s even more mad to go and do something that’s leaving you in agony and could cause long term damage?

I think the real answer can be summed up quite nicely by a conversation I had today in the gym when chatting to a friend. Me: ‘I’ve not been able to squat in almost 2 weeks because of my hips. I can tell I’m loosing my quad muscles.’ My mate’s reply, smiling: ‘Ye right Sam, it’s all in your head!’

I kind of laughed at the comment at the time, but thinking about it, he’s totally right. You don’t work endlessly for months to build up your muscles and strength, all for it to disappear in a couple of weeks or even days. Sure the pump goes, but that’s all it is, a pump. It’s not muscle mass, it’s not power, its not all your hard work (or if it is, it’s super minimal amounts that you can get back pretty quickly).

Fundamentally, health and fitness is a long-term goal that works based on consistency over an extended period of time. As much as we would love it to be possible, we all know and accept that you can’t have the body you’ve always wanted just from a few days of hitting the gym and eating well. So why is it so much harder to believe that it works the other way too? (Ie. you won’t lose everything you’ve worked for if you have a week off.) It sounds so obvious right, but almost all my mates I chat to in the gym tell me about the latest injury they are nursing and how much pain they are in, yet I still see them there, grinding away, day in day out. For some reason, this information just doesn’t compute in our brains…


So I’d love to say that I am going to take my own advice and take more than 2 days in a row off the gym, giving myself time to recover, so that I can squat again, and even just roll over in bed without wanted to scream in pain. But, assuming I am still able to get up in the morning, drive my car and walk around, I know that would be a lie. I guess all I can hope for is that all the massages and stretches are paying off, and slowly but surely, my body will make it back to some sort of functioning capacity. Because my biggest fear currently is being forced to take a long time off, which really would have both a mental and physical effect on me – and ultimately – I’d only have myself to blame…

What Are You Craving?

What Are You Craving?

Food craving are normal and we all get them from time to time right? Whether it’s the need for some chocolate, a bowl of ice cream, a huge pizza or juicy burger, whatever – there are simply times when we know exactly what we want and will stop at nothing until we get it. Despite this, due to the ‘unhealthy’ nature of most cravings, it is a common trait to try and suppress such feelings, attempting to ignore that burning desire for a specific food.

I have to say, I have fallen victim to this countless times and, despite really wanting to devour a huge piece of chocolate cake, told myself this is unnecessary and that chicken and vegetables will be much more satisfying. Whilst for a few hours, or maybe even days, I have managed to convince myself of this and resist the urge, I am yet to remember a time where I didn’t eventually cave and end up devouring not only that slice of chocolate cake, but probably another one, along with biscuits, ice cream, peanut butter, toast, cereal – you name it. As you can imagine, this left me feeling shit and wishing I had just eaten that one piece of cake when I really wanted it. Not to mention, sugar addicted, with even stronger cravings, which were too hard to suppress and lasted for a good week. 

So, how have I tackled this problem? Well, it’s been a long time coming, but I think I’ve finally got things under control and it all comes down to the flexible dieting approach I take. As long as I am not in a calorie surplus (ie. Consuming more than I burn), I will not gain fat, no matter what it is I am putting into my stomach. Whilst I have macro nutrient goals to meet – total protein, fats, carbs etc and of course micro nutrient quantities – fibre, vitamins etc, if I choose to get there with a chocolate bar over a banana, at the end of the day, I know it will make no difference to my goals.


Now, this by no means gives me the licence to choose ice cream over fruit every single day, because of course, one is better for my health than the other (an important life factor of course). What it does allow me to do however, is substitute certain foods into my diet, when and if I want them, knowing there will be no negative repercussions to my progress. In fact, it’s likely to do me the world of good, as I satisfy my cravings and don’t feel the need to later indulge, then exceeding my calorie allowance.

Take the other day for example, I had been craving chocolate spread all day at work, but obviously I had no Nutella to hand (and spooning it out the jar at work probably isn’t acceptable – although maybe it should be…). As soon as I got home, I went straight into the kitchen and whipped myself up 750 calories worth of protein pancakes, topped with peanut butter and Cadburys caramel spread and I enjoyed every single bite. Obviously this was not the healthiest of dinners and I wouldn’t do it very often, but for one night, who cares! Did I go over any of my macros for the day? – no! Did I gain 10lb from it? – no! Was I left feeling immensely satisfied and happy? – absolutely! And you know what, I actually woke up feeling leaner than I have done in a while… (maybe pancakes for dinner is the way forward?).

What I am trying to say, is don’t be stupid and ignore the messages your body is sending you. If you want something, don’t be afraid to have it, because it’s deemed unhealthy. Progress works on a long-term basis and you will only undo all your hard work in the gym by over eating for a sustained period of time. By listening to cravings on the occasions you have them and feeding your body with necessary feel good foods when you want them, you are less likely to spend your time feeling deprived and underwhelmed with your choices. And as we all know, those feelings are definitely not #lifegoals. 

Get in touch
Email me: nextstopfit@hotmail.com
Insta: @nextstopfit4
Twitter:@nextstopfit4




My weird food habits

My weird food habits

If it fits your macros has been around a long time now within the fitness community and it has been something I have previously looked at people doing and been super jealous of. Whilst I stuck to my lean chicken, vegetables and minimal carbs in an attempt to lose body fat, these guys were eating chocolate when they wanted it, cake, ice cream – you name it – and still staying in the most amazing shape. As much as a followed these people on instagram and tried to read up on such eating habits, I just couldn’t bring myself to get involved. Why? Because of the huge emphasis on weighing all of your foods, which seemed obsessive and unnecessary, not to mention socially awkward, to me. Also, how could eating chocolate, and not of the dark kind, be good for me and my weight loss goals?

 So when and why did I decide to finally get into it?

When I started back on my fitness hype around June last year, my metabolism was pretty destroyed because of the way I had been treating my body – super low calorie days followed by huge binges a few times a week. I couldn’t afford to eat a high volume of food and still expect to lose body fat, with a maintenance level of around 1400 calories, which is really low, especially for someone who loves eating as much as me. As we know, in order to lose body fat, you must be in a calorie deficit and so for me, this meant consuming less than 1400 calories every day.  This was where weighing my food had to come into it, because otherwise, there was no way I would know that I was keeping to my daily allowance. I weighed out everything, tracked it all on myfitness pal and tried as hard as I could to stick to my macros. It was a struggle at times, but definitely had it’s rewards and the weight dropped off me pretty fast. That, alongside my training, meant my metabolism began to speed up and I started to burn more calories each day. My body began functioning properly again and with this increase, I was able to start reverse dieting and build back in more calories to my day. I added an average of about a hundred calories to my weekly intake every few weeks, sticking pretty rigidly to this, until finally after about 6 months, I hit around 2000 – which is where I am now.

So what do I do now?

Well, I still track and weigh my foods, but my reasons and methods are totally different to what they were when I first started. I wouldn’t really call what I did before an IIFYM approach, because I avoided a lot of foods and really just weighed stuff to make sure I stayed in a calorie deficit. Nowadays however, I would call myself an IIFYM gal or ‘flexible dieter’ as I decide what I want to eat, weigh it out, fit it into my macros (and micros) and adjust the rest of my day’s food accordingly. Whilst to me, this now seems a totally logical thing to do, outside of the industry, I am well aware of the stigma that such an intense and somewhat obsessive focus on numbers brings. In fact, I used to be so self-conscious about telling people this was how I ate and avoided questions on it. It’s not that I was ashamed, but I totally get that it’s not considered ‘normal’ to weigh out and measure your food and then to devour bowls of chocolate, cake and spreads in the evenings when you’re not especially hungry, just because you have left over carbs and calories. It was just easier not to talk about it. But since writing about it on this blog, I have inevitably been getting asked questions and have had to start opening up more about my food habits. At first it felt weird, because a lot of the time, people won’t and don’t get it, and quite rightly so – it’s an obsessive concept to get your head around. But having to explain it and what I do, has made me realise how far I have come and how amazing it has been for me.  

IFYM has given me back a normal mentality and attitude towards food and eating (in one sense of the word anyway). It has allowed me to see beyond the whole ‘clean eating’ fad and know that I can eat what I want, when I want, even if it’s made of carbs and chocolate. I no longer get scared about going out for a pizza on a Saturday night, worried it will make me fat. Instead I think - that’s 100g of carbs, which means I have about 50g left today, so I can probably afford to share a dessert if I want one and even if I can’t, it’ll only take me over my calories by a couple hundred, which won’t really make a difference to anything. It has allowed me to stop constantly fearing weight/fat gain and I have been able to re-build my loving relationship with food. I now follow a much more sustainable diet where I no longer feel the need to starve myself of the foods I want and then binge because I feel deprived. Everything can be fit in to my day, and if I’m a few hundred calories over, I’m sure I will eat a little less over the course of the week and everything will balance out. It also means that I can set new goals in the gym, knowing I will be able to reach them, as I tailor my calories to what I want to achieve.  

So yes, when I look at food I see numbers as well ingredients and do mini calculations in my head and yes, food prep takes longer because I have to weigh things and track it all down. But is it worth it for me? 100%! Because by keeping tabs on everything, knowing how much of my intake I’ve used up and how much I’ve got left, I can choose to eat a chocolate bar at the end of the day without feeling bad about it. I can know I am on track to get a new PB in the gym because I have fuelled my body accordingly. And I can afford to eat all the food with my friends, because 80% of the time, everything is so on point, that a little bit extra here and there won’t make the slightest of difference. There’s no need to tell me it’s just a different obsessive habit, because I’m well aware it is, but it’s an obsessive habit that has done, and is doing me, a lot of good when it comes to my mental health and attitude towards food. I have to say, I really do see it becoming a long term venture for me.

Now I don’t claim to be an expert at all, but if you would like to chat about my food habits, or would like to know a bit more about this approach, do drop me a line or whatever. I am slowly getting my head around opening up about my weird food choices, but would love to share and chat if you are interested!

Get in touch
Email me: nextstopfit@hotmail.com
Insta: @nextstopfit4
Twitter:@nextstopfit4



Bad Day Binge Eating

Bad Day Binge Eating

We all have our good weeks and our bad ones, and for me, this one has been pretty tough if I’m honest. But I have to say, looking back objectively on the way I’ve dealt with feeling so shit, I couldn’t be prouder of myself.

In the past when I have felt low, I have used food as my comfort blanket, eating anything and everything in my path in the hope that it will help all my problems disappear. I recall times where I've ploughed through 2 cookies, 3 KitKats, half a tub of Ben and Jerry’s, 3 slices of bread drenched in peanut butter and whatever else I could get my hands on, eating and eating until I feel utterly sick. Why? I don’t really know, but I guess because whilst I’m eating, I'm thinking about the sweet taste in my mouth, rather than the shit thoughts going on in my head.

As much as I would love to say that after each binge I was left feeling 100% better, quite frankly, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Once the sweet taste had worn off and I no longer dared attempt to fit anything else in my stomach, all I have ever been left with is feelings of guilt, sickness and the exact same sad thoughts that I had been dealing with before I entered the kitchen. So was it worth it – absolutely not! Did I still do it the next time I felt sad – unfortunately so!

So what happened this time? Well, I have to say, a binge never once entered my head. Despite feeling low, not at one point in the week did I even consider going to the cupboard and eating all the chocolate I could find. I will admit that by Friday I decided I deserved a glass of champagne and one of the mini Lola’s cupcake that were being given out at work - when maybe on another day I wouldn’t have had one - but this was because I really felt like I wanted them, rather than because of a burning desire to try and bury all my problems. It was Friday, so I had the alcohol and cupcake and I did enjoy them, but they didn’t make all my problems go away and I felt no need to have any more.  Even at dinner time, I ordered what I wanted off the restaurant menu, felt content afterwards and when I got home, I went to bed, without stopping off for any unnecessary foods.

I have to say, this behaviour is a massive testament to just how far I have come these past 9 months, because the old Sam would not have dealt with this week in that way. I know her and she would have first finished off the half tub of Cadburys chocolate caramel spread in the cupboard, before moving onto some ice cream, probably a protein bar – because you know, protein – finished off with 3 or 4 slices of toast covered in any other wonderful mix of sugary ingredients. And this would have been after the champagne and cupcakes and dinner…


Me aside, it’s a known phenomena that many of us like to attempt to bury our feelings with food as it will help us to ‘forget’ what’s going on, but I can tell you from years of experience, that it only leaves you feeling worse than before. I’m not going to suggest you deprive yourself of a chocolate biscuit when you feel bad, if that’s what you want at the time, but I will say that having a second, or third, isn’t going to solve anything. Sometimes we need to just put our head down, take what ever is going on on the chin and try to get on with things. Because at the end of the day, it’s all just character building and you need the hard times to appreciate the good ones and come back fighting harder!