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I’m doing this to help me rediscover my love for everything fitness and nutrition.
GSN 30 Day Challenge… Let’s go
So how have I found the 30 Day Challenge? AMAZING. I can’t believe that GSN allowed me the opportunity to take part in this and offered to feed me for a month to help me come back stronger and healthier from my mental health break earlier this year.
Mentally, I feel like these past four weeks have taught me the importance of ensuring that no matter how you’re feeling (unwell, fatigued, drained etc) – you’re still eating foods that are nutritious and filling. My relationship with food (especially at this time of year) has drastically improved thanks to this challenge – Where I’d previously decided to skip meals or not eat because ‘I’d already indulged too much’, I actually planned out my meals which allowed for the little treats and indulgences! And I’m so much happier doing that for myself!
Physically, my weight has been consistently dropping in the past 4 weeks – even though we are in the run-up to Christmas! (which has NEVER happened to me before!) I didn’t give myself a drastic weight loss goal because I knew that would be unachievable at this time of year. But overall I’ve lost 2.85KG (6.2lbs). I plan on continuing this little GSN deficit in the new year, but for now, I want to enjoy a bit of festive food (without overindulging!)
The fact that I planned and tracked my food throughout the month is what really made this month fly by. The convenience of the GSN pot meals and frozen chicken breasts meant I could enjoy some of the time I’d have normally spent cooking, spending time with friends – being social and spending more time with my partner and kitties! I have always sworn by the pot meals, I’ve been having them for lunch for over a year and the variety of flavours means I’m never bored or tired of them!
My favourite products overall have been the pot meals and the frozen chicken breasts – honestly. Going forward we’ll be continuing to order these monthly. The frozen chicken breasts are so versatile and easy for both lunches and dinners – they defrost in the fridge during the day to be ready for lunch, or can be pinged in the microwave and defrosted quickly to throw into salads, stir fry’s, curries etc. Again, the pot meals are a godsend. Especially for those days when you don’t feel like cooking, don’t know what you fancy or if you and your partner just fancy something different from each other! I haven’t had a pot that I haven’t enjoyed, and as a fussy eater who’s VERY fussy about meat (in particular) … I think that’s a big win!
GET ON THE 30 DAY CHALLENGE! If you haven’t already tried GSN, I would highly recommend it. I wouldn’t say that if I didn’t mean it – especially considering I’ve been using GSN monthly for over a year myself before this challenge began! The food is always top notch, tasty, flavour filled and exciting! The quality has never ceased to amaze me, every box tastes fresh even though they’re frozen when delivered to me! I have a discount code that you can use (in my links on my Instagram) and will continue being proud to represent such a kind and customer focussed business! I just want to say a big thank you (as a side note) for letting me be a part of such an amazing team 🙂 BRING ON 2023
And here we are! At the final week of the 30 day GSN challenge, and I can’t believe how time has FLOWN! This week has been a little up and down – mainly because I had to recover from our Christmas Party, partake in a Christmas buffet at work, and avoid the big table of treats in the office! Although I’ve ended up poorly with a cold/flu, I’m still impressed I’ve managed to stay on track and keep on top of my nutrition and diet – even if I haven’t been able to train as much as I’d have liked this week! It’s okay though, I’m feeling better already so will likely be back to the gym this weekend (yes, the gym on Christmas Eve and Day…. That’s just me!)
Although my meals haven’t been as consistent in terms of planning, I’ve still managed to stay on track all thanks to GSN – It’s helped me to maintain a balanced diet every day!
My weight loss journey is still going, and I’m still dropping weight by the day.. which is exciting for me, as I’m already feeling better and more confident in my own skin AND I got to wear a pretty green dress for our Christmas Party without feeling uncomfortable or that I looked like a potato!
So although I’ve been a little more inconsistent this year… The entire month has been a big win for me and I’m so excited to work with GSN in the new year and continue working on being the best athlete I can be for them!
Another week DONE and dusted! And to be honest, this has probably been the most difficult week I’ve had staying on track.
It’s Christmas food season. And Christmas gifts season. And to be honest, most Christmas gifts I have had so far have been food related! (Chocolates, biscuits, festive doughnuts etc!) And it would be rude NOT to have indulged in one (or three) festive doughnuts…But that’s balance!
My weight has still been dropping all thanks to GSN and the 30 day Challenge… And we’re making our way down to the baseline weight I’d like to start the new year with.. so let’s keep the momentum!
My food best friend this week has been the snack bars! The honeycomb crunch bar has been a lovely snack to keep me happy and fuelled at work, and has kept me away from (most) of the festive treats we have at the office which just helps me get closer to my goals! As for meals… This week it’s been Thai green curry with chicken and chicken biryani that have been the clear winners in our house, made with the GSN frozen chicken breasts. We haven’t had to make much more because we made too much both times – but easy enough to chuck in the fridge for lunch the next day!
I can’t believe three weeks have FLOWN by, but eating healthy and eating right has been unbelievably easy with GSN. Absolutely gutted there’s only one week left of this challenge but, I know I will definitely keep GSN a solid in my healthy lifestyle going forwards.
I’ll keep this one a little more concise – my word to sum up this week: effortless.
I didn’t think it could get any easier, but it did. I pre-planned my meals for the week with GSN’s frozen chicken (and changed out the ones where I ate off plan as I went) and found that I have spent very little time this week thinking about my food – and a lot more time focusing on my workouts and Christmas festivities! I must admit, I made a couple trips to the Christmas Markets and treated myself to a pizza on payday… but that’s called balance.
My favourite meals have been using the chicken breasts to cook Yaki Soba, and the Salt & Pepper Chicken Kebabs (the recipe can be found here) we made last night… SO tasty and more-ish, and I think we’ll be making them more often!
My weight is still slowly coming down, but I think realistically it would be useful to focus on upping my NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis. NEAT is the energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or sports-like exercise) by spending more time going for walks or moving about (even in the freezing temps!)
My workouts are now at the point where they are increasing in intensity, but I’ve found that even though I’m a little snacky after the workouts – I’ve been munching on the Rocky Road or Honeycomb bars on the drive home as a little sweet treat! And they’re the perfect little pick me up.
My favourite thing from this week has been trying some of the different flavoured Pots! As I’m a creature of habit, whenever I’ve placed an order I’ve placed it for the exact same pots – so trying some new ones has really varied my diet and taste buds!! I’m ALSO looking forward to my next delivery, which is going to include the Malaysian Coconut Curry! SO EXCITED for that new flavour!
I’m ready to up my cardio and NEAT to get me to the next level of weight loss… that Christmas dress is waiting to be worn next Friday – Eek!
Now it’s time for breakfast, and I’m off to eat a Honeycomb Bar because I fancy something a little indulgent this morning on this cold cold morning!
I want to start off this blog with summing up my week in one word: REFRESHING.
Have I replaced every single meal I’ve been having with a GSN meal? No, but I can hand on heart say that I’ve managed to stay on track throughout the week (but, in the interest of balance, I treated myself to a mulled wine with rum and a chicken gyros from the Chester Christmas Market on one evening, and got straight back on track the next day!)
The biggest positive for me (mentally and physically) is starting to see a shift in my weight and measurements slowly starting to come down, which is exciting! So far I’ve lost 1.25kg, and I couldn’t be happier! I’m not hoping for massive weight loss, but I’m hoping to be able to fit comfortably in my clothes and be happy in my own skin again. I’ve been finding with the high volume of protein I’ve been eating, my cravings to snack have been much lower – and if I feel like snacking, a little pot of the salt and pepper chicken bites is my go to at the moment!!
Has it been easier than I’ve expected to eat healthily? Yes. Especially with GSN.
As someone who has very little time to be creative with food – I always lean towards more convenient foods that I can eat as I go. One unexpected positive for me has been the amount of money I’ve saved. I’m a creature of habit, and buying meal deals every day was an expensive habit I never realised I had until recently. So opting for these nutritious little meals and snacks on the daily has led to some nice savings to put towards my Christmas budget – yay!
My favourite thing this week has been the frozen cooked chicken breasts. I’ve actually found it quite enjoyable thinking about different ways in which I can make it exciting – which is a nice little boost to my creativity! Experimenting with food is my downfall because I’m a lazy chef, but being able to ping the chicken breasts in the microwave and have them ready to incorporate into meals within a couple of minutes has been so, so easy.
I’ve been keeping consistent with my gym workouts, but not managing to keep on top of my 10k steps a day (which I had a feeling would happen). Starting work in the dark and finishing work in the dark gives me very little time to enjoy being outdoors – and I don’t really fancy walking for an hour on the treadmill… so I’ll have to be creative and think of different ways to hit my step goal!
30 Day Challenge, with purely GSN and snacks?
Yes please!
I’ll be tracking my progress, my highs, my lows, my overall feelings and experience as the 30 days go by.. And I am so excited by the opportunity!
About me… Hi there! I’m Emma, and I’m just your average 33 year old fitness-freak with an interest in anything strength and gym related! I work a normal office job 9-5.30 where I’m sat at a desk all day, so outside of work I enjoy being quite active. I do have tamer hobbies such as spending time with my cats and my partner or being cosy at home playing video games, but the majority of the time you’ll find me spending time outdoors surrounded by nature, exploring new places or trying new things! (such as paddleboarding, wild swimming, climbing, rollerskating etc). Lifes too short to sit still!
Why I’m taking part… I’m doing this to help me rediscover my love for everything fitness and nutrition. I took a mental health break from the fitness world earlier this year due to the culmination of a few badly timed life events, but now that everything is in a stable, settled place, I want to get back to focusing on bettering myself and practicing a little more self love for my mind and body. I want to work on bettering my physical AND mental health, and build a better relationship with healthy eating and nutrition.
What I hope to achieve… I hope to lose some of the weight I put on during my break from the fitness world (just in time to better fit into my Christmas Party dress!!) and work on improving my nutrition at the same time as getting back into the gym. They’ve always gone hand in hand for me, but I want to start thinking of food in a better light – and actually hitting my protein target everyday! My relationship with eating the right foods has always been a little tumultuous as I’m an impulsive person with a craving for easy, salty or sweet food… so having food that’s easy, convenient AND protein packed is a win win for me!
My Journey… About four years ago I started a fitness profile on Instagram to help hold myself accountable and track my progress… and I guess I never really stopped! Everything I’ve learnt about fitness and nutrition, I’ve pretty much taught myself through trial and error and through my parter Ste (as he’s a PT). My fitness page has grown over the years as I’ve shared the honest truth about being someone who suffers with anxiety just trying to take up space in the fitness world, which can be very intimidating at times! But I’ve always tried to be authentic and real, and share the good with the bad, and the wins with the fails. If sharing my journey has ever helped anyone else feel less alone on their journey – that’s what I’m doing it for .
Starting weight: 74.50kg
Macros:
Calories: 1697
Protein: 169
Fat: 37
Carbohydrates: 169(Get yours here.)
To follow my journey and for regular updates you can find me on Instagram here
