day off

Today was my first day off in what seems like absolutely ages. Unfortunately, if you work in retail you don't get the privilege of having Bank Holidays off... So I jumped at the chance to have a great workout and cook tasty food on this fine Wednesday, and I thought I'd share what I did with you.

I started the day with a workout which ended with me being sick in the gym loos uh oh. I worked solely with a skipping rope and weights today, doing interval skipping with squats, lunges, kick backs and the like, in order to sculpt my bum a bit more. By the end of it I genuinely couldn't feel my legs, maybe that cardio I'm going to do tomorrow isn't such a good idea! (side note, once I had been sick I was fine, look up on Google if you're worried, which I'm sure none of you are, about being sick during a workout. It's more common than you think.)

According to the British Rope Skipping Association (yes, that's actually a thing!) 10 minutes of skipping can have the same health benefits as a 45 minute run. As well as this you can burn up to 1000 calories in an hour of skipping (obviously dependent on the person). Skipping is a full body workout as you use your legs to jump, abs to stabilise your body and arms/shoulders to turn the rope. It aids your balance, flexibility and coordination, as well as toning several muscles at the same time. And on top of all those benefits, it's a zero cost exercise! Once you've bought your skipping rope you're free to skip wherever you like, meaning you don't need to join a gym to workout. I can't praise this simple piece of equipment enough, by the end of a 30 minute skip I'm drenched in sweat. I works a treat.

Now onto the food...

Once I'd done my workout I came home to get some scran. Everyone knows that I absolutely love roasted vegetables, so in typical Flo style I bunged them in the oven and then decided what else to cook. 

I had some sausages and chicken in the fridge, but my meals tend to always be chicken based so I thought I'd go for the former choice. My favourite way to cook sausages is rolling them in honey, or in my case, agave nectar, and sprinkling with chia and sesame seeds. Once grilled they have a sweet and nutty flavour which you can't go wrong with. I grilled the sausages, cut them up and rested them on a bed of couscous for that all important grain factor. I added the vegetables and consumed it pretty quickly!

There are so many health benefits to the above dish, but having been through the vegetables in my previous post I thought I'd quickly tell you a bit about what your plate should look like. Cut your plate into half. The right hand half should then be cut again, so you have one half and two quarters. The half should be green, leafy vegetables. One quarter should be a grain, such as brown rice, quinoa or couscous. The other quarter should be lean protein. Follow this and you'll be laughing in 6 months time when your body fat percent has gone down!

As well as eating the above, you should be drinking water with your meal. Everyone says water is boring but if you add a fruit or vegetable to your water then it naturally adds flavour, making your drink "less boring". I chose water with cucumber and ice today.

Since drinking more water I have definitely noticed a change in my skin. As cliche as this sounds, it's clearer and radiant, meaning I don't need to wear as much skin makeup as I used to. Such a relief. Excuse the cheesy grin, but here is my no makeup selfie - finally, only two months late. 

So yes, this has been my day. I hope you've found it of interest. Now the fun stuff is over, I'm off to write an essay on Bangladesh, please someone do it for me. Enjoy the rest of your Wednesday.