Fitness Friday: 5 Ways to Get Back on Track

Happy Fitness Friday! Since my brother headed back to uni, I have been struggling to motivate myself to work out and keep my exercise routine on track. I've also been swamped with work, blogging and the stress of applying for my first full-time job so I wanted to put together five ways to get back on track, both physically and mentally:

1. Take time for yourself

Sometimes it's important to take time for yourself, away from the stress of the world. I like to make a cup of tea and my current favourite is this blend from Strangeways Road Tea, a new opening in Cambridge. I particularly love this Ramsey Court blend, which is slightly smokey and full of flavour. I love nothing more than taking 15 minutes to make a cup of tea and catch up on emails or read a chapter of a book before I charge into the day ahead.

2. Little and often

If I’ve had a break from exercise, I am terrible at going back to the gym all guns blazing. Although this may seems like a great idea, I often overdo it, resulting in the need for another break which means my new gym routine immediately fails. I’ve discovered that easing myself back into exercise, perhaps just by starting with a short 15 minute run or half hour gym session, is much more effective in the long run than a killer two hour legs set.

3. Clear the fridge

Carbs are my weakness; give me bread, pasta, crackers, cake or biscuits and I simply can’t resist. However, if the food isn’t in the house, I am unlikely to head out to specifically buy something for my cravings, and instead find a healthier alternative. Therefore, I find the best way to eat healthier is simply to ensure I don’t have any naughty foods in the house.

4. Drink Water

I know I don’t drink enough water so perhaps if I keep mentioning it on my blog, I might start doing it myself! Keeping hydrated is so important and having a bottle of water by your side is going to give you a boost, as well as keeping you focused on that health kick. I personally love adding lemons and limes to my water to give it a citrus flavour – although this always results in comments about the appearance of my water bottle at work!

5. Get a Buddy

As I mentioned, I find it so much harder to stay motivated when I am only working out on my own. If I have promised a friend I will attend a class with them or have a gym session together, I am far more likely to go and do it. Luckily, I got chatting with some blogger buddies about this problem and Sarah from Salaco had the genius idea to create a blogger fitness challenge. Corinne, who I always rely on to inspire me to workout, has designed a #Fitmas Christmas Fitness Challenge to keep you motivated and get fit throughout December and I can't wait to get involved next month! It's going to be a great way to keep myself motivated and I'm excited to see how everyone enjoys the challenge.

What are your tips to stay on track? Will you be getting involved in #Fitmas?

Jess

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Pizza Express Autumn Menu

A few weeks ago I was invited to review the new Autumn menu from Pizza Express at the Newmarket branch, near Cambridge. I was really excited to get the opportunity to review something in my home-town as I’ve never had a blogging opportunity there before:

I find that all Pizza Express restaurants are clean, well-decorated and have a great variety of sizes of tables, perfect for two people to dine or twenty. I had browsed the new Autumn menu before our meal and I immediately knew what I wanted to try – the menu was full of some of my favourite things. To start, I was pleased to see that Calamari has made its way onto the menu as I absolutely love fried squid. It can be hard to get right in the UK, and I am very picky as a result of spending my summers since childhood eating fresh Calamari throughout Greece. However, I was pleasantly surprised with the Calamari at Pizza Express, they were slightly chewy but the batter was very good and the dip was delicious. I also thought the fried squid were well priced for a fish starter, at just £5.75, and they were an enjoyable start to the meal. They went really well with the Soave DOC I had chosen, a new Italian white wine added to the menu which was crisp and refreshing.

For my main course, I chose the Autunno pizza. If I could design my own pizza with any toppings, this would probably be the pizza I would choose; butternut squash, goat’s cheese, chorizo and plenty of chilli. It was delicious; full of heat which I love when the weather gets colder and on a light and crispy base. There were so many toppings on the pizza, every bite was slightly different and I wouldn’t hesitate to choose this pizza again. My friend Katt from What Katt Eats chose the Pennette Bolognese, which was also new to the Autumn menu, and she also really enjoyed her main meal. Thumbs up on the main courses!

The salted caramel profiteroles were my choice for dessert, accompanied by a mocha. I was feeling pretty full by this point and I always like that you can choose a smaller dessert and coffee in Pizza Express. I was really excited to try the profiteroles but unfortunately they were my least favourite dish of the night. I had envisaged traditional-style profiteroles, with salted caramel rather than chocolate smothered on top, but these were entirely encased in a very sweet caramel-flavoured exterior. They somehow just didn’t taste fresh and I think I should have chosen something less sweet to finish my meal, as it left me feeling a little stodgy and full of sugar. If you have a sweet tooth, these would be a perfect dessert but they just weren’t for me.

The waiter was obviously fascinated about blogging and I actually headed back to Pizza Express the following day, thanks to a birthday voucher I had received entitling me to a free bottle of prosecco – sign up to their newsletter if you haven’t already! It was great to see that everyone was being treated with the same level of service as I had received the night before and I was happy to get to answer a few questions the staff wanted to know about the crazy world of blogging. Overall, I was really impressed with Pizza Express and their new Autumn menu; there are an impressive range of new dishes and drinks and each one has clearly been designed over a long and careful process to create creative dishes full of flavour. 

Have you tried the new Autumn menu at Pizza Express yet?

Jess

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24 Hours in Manchester: Sleep Well, Shop Well

Last weekend, I attended one of the most exciting events I have been lucky enough to be invited to. I feel like so many of my posts start like this at the moment, but I’ve been fortunate enough to receive some amazing opportunities over the last few months. This time, I was invited to Manchester for a dinner with The Front Row Society, followed by a relaxing stay at a Premier Inn and a day of shopping - what more could a girl want?

As I previously mentioned in my post about my weekend away in Birmingham with Travelodge, when I head on a UK city break I almost always stay in Travelodge. I have never actually stayed in a Premier Inn before, but I was excited to give the chain a thorough test drive with a stay in one of their king-sized beds. The Manchester City Centre Piccadilly was the perfect base for the blogger event, just two minutes from Piccadilly station, and so easy to find. Overall, I was really impressed by my room; the bed was massive and so comfortable, the room was really spacious and well-designed and the free WiFi was a huge bonus. I settled in (ie. I threw my bag down and changed my top, before running downstairs) and went to meet my fellow bloggers.

I hadn't met any of the other bloggers before who were at the event but I was so excited to be heading to a meal hosted by Megan, a blogger who I love reading. We were then treated to one the best meals I've ever had the pleasure to eat. Fumo is a San Carlo restaurant which produces incredible Italian food, and I have never eaten so much in my life. We were treated to plates and plates of food, including duck salad, goat's cheese, gnocchi, spaghetti bolognese and seafood linguine... Then we were told that the main courses were on the way! Nobody could believe it, but we were then presented with delicious pizza, pork belly, steak and perfectly cooked sea bream. Finally, we finished off the meal with huge piles of ice-cream, smothered in Nutella - perfection. 

The next day, we helped ourselves to breakfast at the Premier Inn, which I was pretty impressed by as there was a huge range to choose from, including a full English, various fruits and even muffins. I think I must have truly been in a blissful state thanks to my Premier Inn sleep, as I didn't take any photos of my shopping travels around Manchester. However, you can check out Megan's guide to the vintage shops we visited. I then headed to the Arndale where I picked up some knee high boots from H&M and a cute pinafore dress from New Look - keep an eye out for the outfit post!

Overall, I had a fantastic weekend thanks to Premier Inn, Propellernet and The Front Row Society - I'm looking forward to heading back to Manchester soon for some vintage shopping and delicious Italian food!

Jess

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