​It can be hard to stay motivated when the nights draw in....the temptation to just stay on the sofa rather than go out to exercise is HIGH..I get that!!!!
 
Also the shops are already starting to fill their shelves with the Xmas goodies.......soon the coffee shops will have their specialty drinks in......I was behind 2 ladies in a queue in Aldi this week both buying mince pies....
 
BUT IF WE START EATING ALL THE GOODIES AND HIBERNATING NOW.......WHAT WEIGHT WILL YOU GAIN AND HOW WILL YOU FEEL BY THE NEW YEAR
 
I love this time of the year...this run up to Xmas is my ABSOLUTE favourite and I am no party pooper...
 
BUT
 
If I start on the mince pies and baileys now then I will gain a stone by January...FACT!!
 
And I do not want to do that!!!!
 
​​​​​​​So my message today is stay motivated.....make good food choices.......avoid the SUGAR and rubbish and keep up with the exercise routine...it only takes 2 weeks for your fitness levels to start to decrease!!!
 
 
Kelly xx

And if you do...why shouldn't you!
 
We only get one life and I believe in living it...whilst being as healthy, happy and active as I can be
 
AND SO
 
If you like to eat out...go on holidays and have a drink at the weekends....I encourage all my clients to carry on doing that!
 
I always tell them never to cancel social occasions they just need to learn how to create the right balance........I eat out, drink alcohol and eat chocolate.......but I also follow some other simple rules to stop me from gaining weight...and this is the sort of info I share on my 6 week Kick Start Home plan.....
 
It doesn't have to be all or nothing...there is another way!
 
Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com

This is a question I get asked a lot by my clients....perhaps if they are injured, or haven't exercised in a while or simply struggle to lose weight and they worry that a lack of exercise is hindering them...
 
So here are my thoughts
 
Exercise is really important for
 
Heart health
Keeping your joints supple and flexible
Helping with weight stability
Enhancing mental health and a positive mind
Muscle tone
Feel good factor
 
HOWEVER
 
If you are looking to lose weight WHAT YOU PUT INTO YOUR BODY is the main thing...you can't out exercise a POOR DIET
 
So if you don't enjoy exercise at the moment maybe because you feel self conscious or find it hard because you are unfit...or if you are injured DON"T LET THAT STOP YOU EMBARKING ON IMPROVING YOUR DIET
 
Once you start to eat better and lose a bit of weight you will then hopefully find that you feel more like exercising and the two then go nicely hand in hand....
 
I am a perfect example of this....I do tons of exercise but I still have to watch what I eat...Yes I can get away with more because I burn such a lot of calories with the level of my activity BUT I have to keep an eye on my food or I gain weight...
 
So that is why on my 6 week Kick Start Home plan we focus on the food and then work on increasing your activity levels as we go along......if we have people in the group who are happy to exercise from day one then I supply short at home workouts for you do ......
 
I would love you to join us on the next one starting in just 6 days!!!
 
Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com

"But I cant give up my glass of wine"
 
This is something I hear all the time!
 
And why should you!
 
So this is my take on booze and this is what I follow myself and what I tell my clients..
 
Yes alcohol is not full of nutrients and yes it can give you the munchies and mean that you are more tempted by treats...BUT it is nice and many of my clients and me myself really enjoy a drink and DONT WANT TO GIVE IT UP
 
So how do you get healthier and lose weight whilst still having a drink?
 
This is something I will be covering a lot and teaching on my next 6 week Kick Start Home course...BUT for today the tip I will share with you is
 
Have a think about how much you drink and what drinks you tend to choose.....if you drink 5 nights a week now could you drop to 3.....if you love wine on a Friday and Saturday could you make the Friday a G & T night instead......?????
 
Maybe you just need to get a bit smarter??
 
Let me know your thoughts.........what is your favourite tipple?
 
Kelly x
www.keepfitwithkelly.com
 
PS: Mine is a red wine.......(a little bit of dark chocolate goes so well with that too)

This is a question I get asked A LOT!
 
People don't want to have to cook separate meals for everyone, they don't want the hassle and also if they have kids they don't want them to see them eating different things all the time.
 
So the answer is
 
DONT
 
I pretty much, unless its a very spicy dish, cook the same thing for us all to enjoy...I may tweak my meal slightly but not so that anyone would even notice.
 
I think it is so important to get our kids used to eating what we do from a young age, I haven't got the time to cook lots of different things and also I want my whole family to eat healthily!
 
Yes shock horror of course my kids eat fish fingers and pizza sometimes...we are all human...but I would like to think that about 6 times a week we all eat the same meal.
 
So this is something I promote with my clients and in my online groups.....I show them easy family friendly meals that everyone can enjoy!
 
Let me know your thoughts on this? Have you got fussy eaters at home?
 
Kelly xx

Or do you prefer a one piece?
 
I did a lot of people watching on my holidays last week.....we were in France and there were a lot of French people holidaying in the resort we were at, lots of German, Dutch, Spanish and English....
 
But it did occur to me how body confident some other nationalities seem to be....not all I am sure but I think on the whole they are really confident to walk around in their bikinis.......a lot sunbath topless....I don't know I just get the feeling that we English sometimes don't have the confidence of other nationalities..
 
I might be making a sweeping generalisation their but its just something I pick up on when I am away..
 
Hands up on this for me though...I have always been the one grabbing a cover up if I get up off my sunbed BUT this year I tried really hard to be more confident!
 
I think their has been a lot in the media in recent times about embracing the way we look and it may have started to rub off on me! I actually walked around without grabbing a cover up...now don't get me wrong I wasn't parading around our campsite in my bikini!!
 
But I definitely tried to think of my body more positively and tried not to be so covered up all the time...I am 40 and I have had 2 kids...I love a glass of wine and chocolate so I am never going to be rocking a 6 pack...I always want to lose half a stone...I am just like everyone else!
 
It can be really hard to look at your body in a positive way for some people but we really need to try as we only get one.......
 
I FEEL THAT AS LONG AS 
 
I eat really well 80% of the time and I exercise.....I need to embrace the body I have been given.....
 
I would love to hear your thoughts on this........
 
Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com
 
PS: If you are reading this on holiday....let me know if I inspire you to rock that bikini or swimsuit today........
 

​

The last email this week in relation to mental health is around body image...

How do you see yourself??? Do you stand in the mirror each morning focusing on all the things you don't like? Maybe you judge yourself by the number that flashes up on the scales each day!

I would urge you to stop if this is the case.......flip it around and this morning when you look in the mirror say 3 things to yourself that you LIKE about your body and the person inside......

Your body has done amazing things and the fact that we are here and healthy should be celebrated but all the time I hear women hating themselves...beating themselves up for eating a biscuit!!!

I am all about eating healthily 80% of the time, moving your body and being active, feeding it lots of water so we are hydrated......taking time to look after ourselves as we only get one shot at this..

I would love to hear your body image stories........have you got more confident and accepting as you get older or maybe not?

So for today lets focus on all the good bits about ourselves.......we should always strive to be the best version of ourselves we can be NOW not 20 years ago!!!!!

Let me know what you think xxxxx

​This week we are covering different areas around mental health as part of mental health awareness week..


Today its self care.....

We are all running around working, looking after families, trying to be a great Mom, wife, daughter, sister, friend, colleague that sometimes we get put to the back of the queue....

Anyone agree???

So how about taking a bit of "me time" do you worry that that is selfish?

I am a big fan of taking time out...I am sooooo busy that I would go mad if I didn't ..

So for me it is ....... going to my book club, reading in general, cup of tea in the garden on my own, getting a massage once a month, going to the gym, spa day, meeting a friend for coffee, breakfast with my Mom, mooching round the shops on my own....

Just little things but so important to me..

What do you do in a month that is just for you???

Carrying on the mental health theme this week...today I wanted to talk about the positive effect exercise can have on your mental health....
 
I know personally that if I am having a bad day, feeling tired, maybe fed up...then exercise is my go to medicine....I love classes the most as the music and the buzz of working out with other people really lifts me
 
I know a lot of people get the same feeling from running, walking, playing sports etc
 
That natural endorphin rush really can help to turn your mood around....plus feeling that your body is strong helps a lot too
 
When people have things on their mind...coming to a class and spending that time concentrating solely on the class and what they are doing really does take their mind off their problems...I always include a relaxation session at the end of my Pilates and yoga classes as I think meditation is something that people maybe miss from their routines....deep breathing and being silent really helps to calm the mind..
 
I would love to know your thoughts...is exercise good for your soul like it is for mine or maybe you are thinking after reading this that exercise might be good for you..
 
Get in touch and let me know xxxx

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and I am going to be basing my blogs and videos around how I think our mental health can be affected by what we put in our body, how we move it, how we treat it and how we view it...its a big subject and I think its great that more of us are talking about this......all the views I am going to give are just my thoughts reflecting on how I feel from time to time and what my clients are telling me on a daily basis (and I come into contact with a lot of women!)
 
The first one today is looking at food...
 
Lets start by looking at our body like a car.......your car needs fuel and that needs to be the correct fuel in order for it to run smoothly with no glitches and do the job that it needs to do..
 
Our body is the same.....if you are not putting enough fuel in or the wrong type how can we expect our bodies to function properly, effectively and without glitches...
 
I know from my own personal experiences along with all the women that I speak to that if I drink a lot of alcohol, eat takeaways all week, pump myself with sugar that I feel CRAP....(excuse the language)
 
Yes we all needs treats and life needs to be a balance but when I have days where I drink loads of water...eat veggies and proper food....I FEEL so much better!
 
So I am not talking about weight loss here necessarily I am talking about how I FEEL..........
 
Eating junk and drinking a lot will affect your mental health 100%...I have had the pleasure of interviewing people for my radio show and coaching people who have mental health issues and they all say that when they consciously think about their food and making it as healthy as possible there symptoms are more manageable....
 
So to tie it all up...yes I have a glass of wine and a takeaway sometimes and so do my clients......but I try to have more days that I go booze free and keep my meals healthy not just to keep my weight in check but so that I feel good in my mind..........
 
I would love to hear your thoughts on this...do you have experiences of your diet or maybe your caffeine or alcohol intake affecting your mental health....I will be doing a live video on this on my Facebook page and my Instagram account today..
 
Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com
 
PS: Catch me on Switch Radio 12-2pm today where we are covering mental health topics all week