The British 10k, July 12th 2015

This year I will be running the The British 10k in London on Sunday 12th July. I will be running this for a charity which means a lot to me at the moment, Mesothelioma UK.

In November 2013, my dad was diagnosed with a type of cancer called Mesothelioma. This kind of cancer is caused by exposure to asbestos. There is currently no cure for Mesothelioma, however, because my dad was so healthy otherwise, he was offered surgery as part of a trial. He underwent this surgery in January last year. After that he had to have various rounds of chemo and checkups. He seemed to be doing well and we even managed to spend some time in Malta in July. Just before Christmas, he was told he would be getting a break from chemo and that the cancer seemed to be in remission which was the best Christmas present I could have asked for. Of course, as there is currently no cure, we knew that eventually it would come back, but given the circumstances at the time, we'd hoped this meant he would be with us for a good amount of time. Unfortunately, just a few weeks later he was back in hospital, as the cancer had spread to the other side of his chest. He had some small surgical procedures and we hoped that this would help. A little time later my mum and dad headed to the hospital for a checkup, I was on my way to meet them there. At this point my dad was finding it hard to breathe and walk certain distances, which wasn't a good sign. On my way there, my mum told me to let me know when I was there so I could meet her, which didn't fill me with much confidence. When I arrived, she told me the worst news I could have hoped for. My dad had only been given a few weeks to live. I don't think I'd truly ever felt heartbreak in my life, until that moment. The physical and emotional pain was overwhelming. The diagnosis was right and sadly on 10th March this year, my dad passed away. The weeks leading up to that moment were the worst in all my life. Nobody should ever have to watch a loved one deteriorate so quickly in front of their eyes. It's still so hard for me to get my head around and doesn't feel real at all.

That is why this year I will be running 10k for Mesothelioma UK, in hope to help fund finding a cure for this evil disease.

My dad knew I wanted to do this before he passed and was so proud of me. There is no way I will be letting him down! Though it may not be a physical presence, I know he will be there with me on the day.

I began my training this week after not having run for such a long time! I managed to do 6.8k (4.23mi) in 59 mins. I know that with him on my mind, I'll be able to push myself to the 10k point.

My target to raise is £1000 and I'm currently just under the halfway mark. Thank you to everyone that has donated so far, and to those that would like to donate, you can do so on my justgiving page, thank you <3 --  https://www.justgiving.com/mikaela10k

I will be updating this blog with training logs and such, if anyone has any good running tips, please do get in touch! Thanks!!!

Thank you for taking the time to read one of my more personal posts. xxx

Tattoo Break Done!

So I've been out of action in terms of exercise for a couple of weeks due to getting three new tattoos (ouch). They're also all on my legs, so not at all ideal to be doing a lot of physical activity. 

The first two tattoos are on my calves do after a few days of healing, I started doing some yoga videos on youtube. Yoga with Adrienne was my chosen channel. I much prefer yoga classes than doing it at home but I wanted to feel like I was doing something at least! 

I then got my thigh tattooed and with the other two still a bit sore and itchy, I definitely didn't want to be moving around too much. I haven't even been doing the home yoga videos. I feel pretty sorry for my legs at the moment! 

I'm at the final healing stages of the calf tattoos now and my thigh is no longer painful and is getting there. I will start exercising again in the next couple of days which I'm super excited about. 

I will be starting a training schedule now in preparation for my 10k run in July (which I still have yet to do an in-depth post about - but will) - I am raising money for Mesothelioma UK, you can sponsor me here if you wish - https://www.justgiving.com/mikaela10k 

I have also started a new Bootea teatox challenge. This time it's the 28 days! I'm hoping with the re-start of my exercise and training, that I will see some difference in myself with this longer amount of time. 

Posts should now resume on a more regular basis, so watch this space :) - xx

p.s, tattoos can be seen on my instagram page @mikaelaxmk for anyone interested! x

Feeling Blue :(

Today was one of the lowest days I've had in a while. My head felt weird and muddy and I just felt aggravated and angry for a lot of the day. This made me feel even more stressed than usual and I ended up just bursting into tears at random intervals.

As horrible as the day was, it made me realise what a difference eating well and exercising can make. For the last three days I've eaten so badly and not exercised. This was due to my leaving do at work, my anniversary yesterday and just an overall glum day today.

Tonight I'd had enough and felt like I had to do something, if not to just get the anger out! I used the site 'Fitness Blender' for the first time the other day and managed to get a really good home workout out of it. I opted for the same tonight, but different videos. I've posted a photo below of the four activities I did. Two were cardio based and the other two were yoga/stretching. They have a whole library of different workouts for different things, I would definitely recommend having a look.

Half way through the cardio I pulled a muscle in my groin which was hideous! This is why I opted for the two stretching exercises to conclude -- (A hot muscle soak bath has also eased the pain a tad).

I managed to burn 581 calories which surprised me for a home workout. It means that I will definitely  be doing more and feeling like I'm getting an adequate workout in when I can't get out.

I finished the day food-wise with some sweet potato chunks and scrambled egg and spinach.

The last few days have taught me a valuable lesson about the correlation between eating well and feeling good. It will definitely be something I will use as inspiration to carry on being a good egg!

I'm getting tattooed tomorrow and next Friday, meaning exercising will be at a minimum, but I will be trying to do what I can and eating right!

I finished my teatox two days ago as well and overall lost 5lbs. I will be continuing on with it from next week with a 28 day one this time.

Back to the clean eating!
xx

Yoga!

So last year I tried a couple of Hatha yoga classes and really enjoyed them. I never really had the time to go regularly and always ended up putting it off.

I never really thought I was the type of person who would enjoy Yoga. I always thought I wasn't really good enough to do it or flexible enough, but after trying it once, I loved it!

Last week I decided to head back to Yoga Place E2 in Bethnal Green to give it another go and maybe try to get back into it more often. I went with my sister, and as we've been under a lot of stress lately, I thought it would be a good idea to bring a little calm and tranquility back into our lives.

Yoga Place E2 is pretty hidden away on Bethnal Green Road, just a few minutes from Bethnal Green station. It doesn't look too relaxing on first inspection right on the main road, but once inside, you're transported into a bubble of calm. Shoes off and into an inviting reception area where tea and biscuits are on offer, all anxiety about trying something new is gone!

We attended the class of the lovely Trudi, who instructed the first class I'd done. We got our mats ready and sat waiting for the class to begin (we got there a tad early). Just sitting in the room with the lovely scents of the oil burning was enough to get me into the zone.

The class was an hour long and I didn't do too badly. I felt amazing afterwards and slightly achy. The very important aspect of breathing is something that takes some getting used to, it's definitely something I need to improve! I want to try and go as much as possible, once a week in between days of gym classes probably. I may even try and get into some home practice, but that's always hard when you have pets!

Although my fitness goal at the moment is to lose weight, I really want to try and make sure my core, balance, flexibility and mental fitness is just as on point and improving. I'm hoping that adding yoga to my routine more often will help overall with everything.

I'll update with progress! - Namaste :) xx

Bootea: The Teatox

I've used the Bootea teatox teas a few times now. I always get asked if they actually work etc, so thought I'd write a quick post about them.

You can go for a 14 day teatox with Bootea, or a 28 day one if you fancy a real challenge. You get two teas in the pack, the daytime detox and bedtime cleanse. You drink the daytime one every morning (or whenever you can in the day) and the bedtime cleanse every other night. The bedtime cleanse can have a laxative effect as it is detoxing, after all.

The taste of both teas is quite nice. I really enjoy the daytime one which consists of Chinese Oolong Tea, Mate leaves, Ginger root, Fennel seeds, Lemongrass, Dandelion leaf, Ginseng root, Gotu Kola leaves and Nettle leaves. Overall, it's quite a herbal/green tea kinda taste. The bedtime one isn't horrid, but I prefer the daytime tea. It tastes quite pepperminty, which I'm not really a fan of anyway! It includes Senna leaves, Peppermint leaves, Fenugreek seeds, Liquorice root, Burdock root, Hawthorn leaves, Valerian root and Psyllium seeds.

The website advises not eating meat through the duration of the teatox, which was hard for me the first time round, but I learned to substitute it and it wasn't bad at all. Now, I find it quite easy to go for the quorn and vegetarian options (I went to tortilla today and had a vegetarian burrito - what?!) - But seriously, I think it does help, the teatox is supposed to flush you of the toxins found in meat. You can find a meal plan to follow on their website as well. Healthy eating and regular exercise is encouraged for best results.

I'm currently in the middle of a teatox at the moment, I'm doing the 14 day one, it's probably about the 4th time I've tried it. The last two times I ended up giving up or forgetting before work, or slipping up on the exercise/diet side of things. It's pretty pointless if you're not going to follow that side of it, as I learned!

The first time I did it, I saw an improvement in the way I felt, I lost a few pounds and I genuinely felt like I'd detoxed. I've read reviews where this wasn't the case for other people, but it did something for me. At the moment I'm into the second week and have lost 3lbs. I've also done lots of exercise and have been eating quite well.

The thing I like about Bootea, for me personally, is that it does motivate me and keep me on track. It makes me think about what I'm eating and how much exercise I'm doing. I would definitely recommend trying the teas at least once if you're curious to see how they work for you. I will probably post about my end results this time, and I may even keep going with it for another fortnight. We shall see.

There are other Bootea products available, which I have also tried. I loved the shakes but did find them expensive for the amount of sachets you get, so I haven't tried them since sadly. I am currently also trying their 'Little Oats' porridge, I've only had two sachets so can't really comment just yet, but they have been filling me up and taste lovely.

If you're reading this and have any questions, feel free to ask me. You can go to http://www.bootea.com to purchase the teas, they also sell it in Boots and Holland and Barrett now as well.

xx

Zumba! Ay!

Did a Zumba class this morning. Woke up feeling so sore and not wanting to leave the comfort and warmth of my duvet - but I fought the urge and got up and at it!

I bought a fancy glass water bottle I found in Tesco the other day at an attempt to drink more water - I prefer drinking from glass rather than plastic so thought it should work. It's also quite huge so lots of space for adding fruit (which I've been doing quite a lot lately). Today I added blueberries, lemon and lime. Tasted amazing. The brand is 'Voss' and I've added a photo below. 

I hadn't been to the Monday morning Zumba classes before so there was a different instructor. Still had a great time and burned 699 calories. She also did a couple of the same songs my other gym Zumba used to do, so enjoyed the familiar tunes! 

Food wise, had a yogurt for breakfast, the other half of the tortellini pack from yesterday for lunch and cooked dinner from scratch. As I'm currently using bootea detox tea and they advise against eating meat during the detox, I made a vegetarian meal. I made quorn chilli, accompanied with frozen veg and a small sweet potato. Was really filling and enjoyable. 

Had another muscle soak bath also accompanied by Lush's 'The Comforter' bubble bar to make some pretty bubbles and pink water! I'm so so sore at the moment (in a good gym kinda way) but I find bathing for around 30mins really eases the aches. 

I also jumped on the scales today and seem to have lost 3lb since Friday. Happy days! X

Gym Classes/Today's Workout!

One of the things that has kept me on track most with getting my ass to the gym, is the classes. I find it much easier to stay motivated and the time just flies by. they're also a lot more fun that jumping on a treadmill or cross-trainer! 

The classes I tend to go to most are: Boxfit, Bums, Tums and Thighs, Zumba and Aerobics. I try and introduce myself to new ones when I can. 

Today I did two classes; Boxfit and Dance Aerobics. I do Boxfit quite regularly, but today with a different instructor. It was still as good and pushed me quite hard as they usually do! Although today, the person I paired up with missed her kick and ended up kicking me straight in the stomach - (I have a graze and a bruise-ouch!). 

I'd never done the Dance Aerobics class before and it was crazy. I was exhausted enough as it was after Boxfit, but I wasn't expecting the sequences to be so fast! I kept moving throughout but was severely shown up by the regulars that know the sequences perfectly to each song. I'll definitely be going again though, it was fun and I'm quite good at picking stuff up when it comes to dance/rhythm.

Overall I burned 1651 calories. My heart rate averages at around 180 for a lot of my workouts and peaks at 200 sometimes. I invested in a Polar FT7 watch, which comes with a strap that goes around you just under your bra and monitors your heart rate. I find it really useful/helpful and quite motivating as well. 

I came home to a lunch of spinach and ricotta tortellini mixed with a little sweetcorn/chilli/onion pot I got from Crussh yesterday. Bit of a random lunch but worked well! I then indulged in a bath and face mask (courtesy of Lush Cosmetics) - I feel and smell amazing. 

xx

Hello :)

Here's a little introduction to myself and my new blog!

My name is Mikaela (or Kaela), I'm 22 years old and live in London. I'm half Maltese and was born in Malta. I've been trying to lose weight for years and have been up and down with my journey due to life just getting in the way and stopping me in my tracks.

I've recently started getting back on the exercise and healthy eating train again, so wanted to create something online that would help me document my weight loss/fitness stuff a bit better than my instagram and twitter etc. 

I used to have a tumblr like it but that was a while ago and my goals and attitudes have changed since then. Fresh start time! I'll probably post some other stuff every now and again like health and beauty products or whatever, but we shall see. 

For now, I will be documenting my gym visits, classes and my preparation for a 10k run I am participating in this July. (I'll do a post about it!).

You can get in touch with me on instagram and twitter if you wish, username is the same for both: @mikaelaxmk 

xx