Things that make me smile - Soup

My health kick and this cold weather have coincided nicely and resulted in me making some homemade soup!

I've made two different varieties of pea soup over the last week. One with cubes of pancetta and one without. Rather than the traditional pea and mint soup, I prefer to make it with basil. It's low in calories, filling and pretty damn yummy!

I think I will make some homemade cawl (a Welsh word for casserole) next weekend to keep us warm and healthy!

I have done some exercise over the last week too, mainly in the form of walking, but every bit counts eh? Despite reducing my calorie intake and doing more exercise, I haven't yet lost any weight, but we will have to see how that goes!

A healthier and happier 2013

So far in 2013 I haven't been feeling particularly great for a number of reasons, but this year I want to aim for a healthy and happy year!

I have put on some weight over the last couple of years, mainly due to moving into an office job where I don't get much opportunity to be active and am generally too tired and demotivated to do any exercise when I get home. I want to lose about half a stone to make me feel better about myself.

I am planning to do this not by drastically changing my eating habits as generally they are not too bad, but by introducing more exercise into my life and by making more informed choices.

I eat quite a lot of fresh food as due to food allergies it is easier for me to cook from scratch than to go down the ready meal or takeaway route. The main changes I need to make are to add more fresh fruit and veg to my diet and to keep an eye on my portion sizes when eating with my boyfriend.

Most importantly I MUST start doing some exercise! I never used to have to do any specific exercise as I previously had an extremely active job. As I get older and am now spending a lot of time sat at my desk I have found it difficult to find an exercise regime that inspires and motivates me. The few times I have managed to get myself in some sort of routine of trying to take up some sort of exercise, the routine has been ruined by illness or work pressures.

I know that if I exercise I will feel better about myself, it will raise my mood and it will make me look better, but I just can't motivate myself to do anything!

In the last week I have done sit ups on 3 occasions and have also done 30 minutes of step on the wii fit. I know it's not much, but it's a start. I have also downloaded the myfitnesspal app to record my eating habits and exercise so hopefully this will motivate me further to do something to lose that half stone and keep it off!

Are any of you doing anything special to make your life healthier and happier? Do you struggle to get motivated to exercise or get stuck in the vicious circle of not being able to force yourself to exercise due to a low mood?

Reading in Progress

You may have noticed my lack of posts on my blog recently, and more markedly, the lack of book reviews. Fear not, I have not stopped reading. My friend Elaine and I have decided to set up a blog dedicated to book reviews and news as we both read a huge amount and thought it would be a good idea to pool efforts.

Please check it out and add it to your reading list! http://readinginprogress.blogspot.com

My intention is to use this blog to talk (and rant) about the important things in my life and other bits and bobs. Watch this space for new posts....