Blog - Keep Fit With Kelly: Health and Fitness

Who am I?

12/3/2019

A deep question hey!!!

This has come from a video I did on Facebook this week looking at what sort of coach I am? What sort of women work with me?

Click HERE to have a look at the video..

I also asked the question on social media........if you come to my classes or work with me one to one how would you describe me???

Some lovely words were used to describe me....positive, fun, upbeat, energetic, non judgemental, supportive..and one lady simply said "you care"

How lovely is that.........the purpose of asking the question was so that i could give you an idea in this blog post of what I am like as a coach and hopefully they have summed it up perfectly...

I would also add that I am REALISTIC!!!

I am a real women who eats chocolate and drinks wine..............and the women I work with are real women too...we are not about bulging biceps and rippling abs...we are about being the healthiest and happiest versions of ourselves we can be

I know that over the next few weeks thoughts will be turning to your plans for next year in terms of the exercise you are going to do and maybe the type of eating plan you will follow...give working with me a thought if you are resonating with any of this....

Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com

Real life living with a puppy

11/26/2019

So if you follow me regularly you will know that we recently got a cockapoo puppy.....we have had him 3 months now and it has been wonderful but challenging!

I have spoken about this on my social media A LOT...it was really tough...

I have never had a dog...any pet for that matter and so it was a really big shock...many times during those first few weeks I questioned whether I had done the right thing.....it was as hard as having a baby!

But with perseverance.......patience and lots of time we have got a lovely little doggy now.....he is toilet trained and is really getting a character and has certainly become part of the family..it was the sleeping that was the hardest...we had him downstairs in our kitchen and he just really wasn't getting on with it....waking at 4am every day if not more than that during the night and we just couldn't take it anymore.....

But I had always said I didn't want him upstairs...

Eventually we caved and he now sleeps in with my daughter and we have never had a disturbed night since...it seems he was lonely...

So to anyone reading this thinking about getting a puppy, my message would be it is super hard and you need to be prepared for that........it changes your life and you always have to think about the dog going forwards....getting back for him...not leaving him too long..daily walks.....toilet training is tough...you will say he is isn't going in this room or that but they probably will........

BUT

We wouldn't be without him now and I am pleased we got him.....here is Alfie who will be 6 months next week

Are you stressed?

11/11/2019

Today is National Stress Awareness Day..this is something that the charity MIND arranges each year on the first Wednesday in November and it is just to get us talking about stress and what we can do to reduce it..

I did a poll on my Instagram story yesterday and simply asked the question Are you Stressed?

It was a pretty much 50/50 split on answers so that is half of us that are stressed currently.....

I had a great guest on my radio show yesterday to talk about this...Faye is a hypnotherapist and also is an expert in reflexology and massage and she shared her top tips...you can listen back HERE

She advised speaking with your GP as a first point of call but then these pointers may help as well....

1. Get some exercise.......staying active whilst it won't get rid of stress in our life will help us handle it better

2. Spend time with family and friends and talk to them about how you are feeling and don't bottle things up

3. Me time...making time to just do something for you...be that a bath, getting your nails done, meeting a friend for coffee...I chipped in that having a cuppa and watching Loose Women helps me!

4. Challenge yourself...trying a new hobby, doing something new

5, Reducing unhealthy habits, so watching your caffeine and alcohol intake

6. Volunteering apparently is a stress reliever as we are doing things for others

7. Be positive...every day look for the 3 things that have happened that day that have gone well......always look for the positives

I hope that has helped if you are stressed at all.......get in touch and let me know

Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com

Do you use a slow cooker?

10/29/2019

Mine is my best friend all year really but especially at this time of the year...

I use it to cook whole joints of meat, stews, curries, chilli......so many different things

It is great if you are busy and don't get home until late some days......what is better than walking in to that delicious smell......

I find if you have people coming home at different times it works well too as you can all just eat from the pot when you need to...

Have you got a slow cooker? What is your favourite thing to make....share your favourite recipe with me and I will send out a few of the favourites on Friday..

Kelly x
www.keepfitwithkelly.com

Should you use weights?

10/23/2019

So many women ask me this question?

They see things written about weight training being good but do not really feel confident or know where to start....

So yes weights are a great addition to your workouts, for women to bulk up it is very difficult, so never worry that you don't want to be muscly, using light weights and high reps will increase your muscle mass, improve your shape and do wonders for your fitness without bulking you up.

Most of us want to look better......so it is best to stop obsessing about the scales and start to think about your body shape and muscle tone...using weights as we get older is brilliant for combatting menopausal weight gain as well

Resistance training with weights or bands can be extremely effective at preserving or even increasing lean muscle mass, which normally declines with hormonal changes and age

So now to getting the confidence.....attending a weights based class or perhaps using a trainer is a great idea as you then know that you are doing things correctly...

I run 3 weights based classes on my timetable if you are near enough to me..

Tuesday - 8pm Kettlercise Coppice School
Thursday -10am 50+ Kettlebells Holy Cross Church Hall Walmley
Thursday - 6.15pm Kettlercise Falcon Lodge Community Centre

Please hit reply and feel free to ask my any questions about working out with weights

Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com

Do you wear a bikini?

9/3/2019

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........

Are you Body Positive?

5/15/2019

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

Are you looking after yourself?

5/15/2019

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???

Eating for Mental Health

5/15/2019

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

No Social Media?

3/13/2019

Yes for me on Sundays!!!

I decided to give up something a little different for lent....I decided to try out no Social Media Sundays!

This week was my first one....

I really missed it.......that just shows how addicted to it I have become...but I did it and I think it is a really healthy move for me...

I use social media a lot for my work and I do actually really enjoy it...BUT

I dread to think how many hours I spend on it!!!

So lets see how I get on......maybe I will keep it up after Lent!!!??

Are you a social media addict or do you avoid it?

Kelly xx
www.keepfitwithkelly.com