My Personal Fitness Cleansing Water Recipe

So, thousands of people across thousands of variations of blogs, pages, Facebook accounts, and other forms of social media, all talk of something called Tummy Toning Water. Naturally, I'm intrigued, and did some research.

Firstly, I would like to make as a disclaimer, that I personally do not know for sure if drinking this has any impact on your weight loss. However, I do believe it has a good impact on your general health. What I've found is that the water is more of a detox/cleansing water (which helps flush out any bad toxins from your body) which does make you feel healthier, and with all natural, low calorie, no fat ingredients, is one of the healthiest drinks around.

My Personal Fitness Cleansing Water Recipe

Ingredients: 

Peppermint fusion bags (you can find these in the tea bags and coffee aisle in Tesco)

Squeeze of lemon juice

1/3rd of a cucumber, sliced

An apple, thinly sliced

A squeeze of honey, for sweetness

Method:

Boil the kettle, and pour the boiling water over one peppermint fusion bag in a jug. Squeeze in some honey, and use a balloon whisk to mix. Leave to cool for at least two hours.

Once cooled, add in the slices of apple and cucumber (don't do this while the water is still hot or the cucumber will go soft). Place the jug in the fridge and chill for at least three hours. 

Once chilled, you can serve! 

Clean Eating on a Budget

A lot of people associate eating clean, with being expensive, and, for that reason, are intimidated to give it a go. However, it's really not the case. I eat clean, and I have a maximum budget of £25 per week for the food shop (to feed myself and my young son) and usually, it doesn't even come to that. I want to help other people achieve their goals and realise that it is possible, even when your budget is limited.

I wrote out this list a couple of weeks ago and have found that it works for my family. So, I'm gonna run you through the food shop, and then tell you the meal plan. FYI, I do our food shops at Tesco.

Food Shop

- Brown bread (I get a small loaf) - 70p

- Skimmed milk (for me) - £1

- Whole milk (for my one year old) - £1

- Apples - 69p

- Raisins - £1.25

- Monkey nuts - £1

- Eggs - £1

- Lentils - £1

- Two cans of chopped tomatoes - 2x39p

- Fresh Spinach - £1

- Wholewheat pasta -75p

- Cherry tomatoes - 69p

- Carton of fruit juice - £1

- Fruit squash - £1

- Peppermint tea bags - 75p

- Fresh veg casserole mix - £1

- Salad bag - £1

- Bernard Matthews pack of roast turkey meat - £1

- Kallo dark chocolate rice cakes - £1.56

- Fresh carrots - 56p

- Honeydew melon - £2 

- Olives - £2

- Red Thai curry cup a soups - 80p

= £24.00

So, for breakfast, my son and I will usually have marmite and butter on brown toast, and he will have orange squash, while I have a peppermint tea with one sweetener.

For lunch, I will usually give Rhys toast again, but I will put jam on his instead. He will also have a selection of fruit, raisins, apples, melon, carrot sticks, and monkey nuts, with more squash, or juice. 

For my lunch, I will usually have a red Thai curry cup a soup, a peppermint tea, carrot sticks, melon, olives, and monkey nuts. 

And then we come to the meal plan for dinners...

Monday - turkey salad

Tuesday - tomato soup

Wednesday - egg salad, or poached egg whites on brown toast with spinach

Thursday - lentil soup

Friday - pasta with spinach and cherry tomatoes (crumble in a veg oxo cube for flavour)

Saturday - vegetable soup 

Sunday - we finish up what's left before the food shop again the next day!

As for snacks, we usually snack on fruit, monkey nuts, carrot sticks, hard boiled eggs, olives, and dark chocolate rice cakes. If I'm particularly hungry I make another peppermint tea as that helps to fill me up faster.

So, I hope this has helped you see it's not as expensive, or as difficult, as you may think! Try to plan ahead and come up with a personalised food shop list that suits your family. It's all down to trial and error, but it will be worth it, I promise! 

Blog soon, Sam x

My Personal Fitness Fitspo

Here at My Personal Fitness, I have been looking at some Fitspo today (AKA, 'Fitspiration'). Fitspo is fitness-inspiring pictures, quotes, and transformations. 

How good does Mischa Barton look? She's always been beautiful, and I remember thinking that when I used to watch The OC about eight years ago. However, her stomach is something I am insanely jealous of! That's what I'm aiming for. No six pack, but perfectly toned, and not too skinny.

Although saying that, Demi Lovato is so gorgeous! I love her Latina curves.

#this

I do not know who this girl is, but I have so much respect for her commitment and drive. Damn, those abs...

I just adore toned stomachs. 

And I adore Fitspo. 

My Personal Fitness Exercise and Diet Tips

Hey guys! So, as a bit of a background, my name is Sam, I'm 23, and a single mum to a beautiful little boy. I live in Scotland, and recently I have caught the fitness bug, in a big way! I decided to start this blog to document my weight loss, share with you any exercise and diet tips that I found useful, and show you guys my favourite clean-eating recipes. 

I'm not going to do a body selfie yet as I don't feel comfortable to do that at this stage. At my last weigh in two weeks ago I weighed 10 stone, and unfortunately have had the 'mummy tummy' for around fourteen months now, as I didn't have the time to try to lose weight when my son was a newborn. I want to wait another two weeks before I weigh myself again as I'm hoping I will have lost a reasonable amount by then! 

Something I have found really useful is the 'My Fitness Pal' app, on which you can record your daily food and exercise diaries. This really helps me to watch what I eat, and make sure I do a good amount of exercise each day. I generally aim for a healthy diet of wholewheat, with fresh fruit, veg, and pulses. 

I also do at least half an hour of light aerobics each day, and incorporate 250 stomach crunches, as I really want to tone up my stomach. I use my ab trainer for this, which I am finding really useful, and can already feel my abdominal muscles starting to tone. I bought my ab trainer for £21.99 from Amazon. And it's pink! 

As a final tip, I would advise you to stay committed to your goals. I am very focused on toning up and getting fit, and it's important to not blow the hours of hard work you put in, for a few moments of pleasure in the kitchen. I find healthier alternatives for the things I like to snack on - for example, when I fancy a bit of chocolate, I reach for a Kallo Dark Chocolate Coated Rice Cake (55cals) instead of a bar of chocolate. When I fancy crisps, I snack on monkey peanuts and almonds. 

My mum is always trying to get me to stray from my goals because she thinks it's fun, so she's always offering me biscuits, or doughnuts, or cookies. You have to have the willpower to say no, and choose the healthier option. 

Hope you enjoyed reading this post! Update soon, Sam x