fitness files - july

 Oh what a lovely month July was. We spent the first two weeks in the south of France catching up with family, eating yummy food and spending a lot of time in the pool, which was uncharacteristically warm. But what was July like health and fitness-wise? Well, I've already mentioned that we enjoyed lots of good food but I'm happy (and maybe a little surprised) to say we were generally pretty good at portion control and, because of all of the beautiful fresh produce available at the market, we ate really quite healthily (big chunks of marzipan aside). I've been trying to get more into cooking fish and, as I mentioned in my Today in Lodeve post, my aunty Julie and uncle Peter inspired this cod recipe which I loved and will be cooking again tonight.  B A K E D  C O D  W I T H  O N I O N  A N D  C H E R R Y  T O M A T O E S :Dice and fry a large white onion in some olive oil without letting it caramelise too much. Try to stop at the slightly transparent but fully cooked stage. Slice a load of cherry tomatoes in half - about a punnet sized amount. Fill the bottom of an oven proof dish (I like Le Creuset best) with the tomatoes and onion and pop in the oven at about 200 for 15 mins. Once the 15 mins are up bring the dish back out of the oven and pour over a little white wine and lay a few springs of rosemary in there too. Then place your cod fillets on top and drizzle with olive oil. At this stage I like to grind on loads of black pepper and chuck in some sea salt to season. Back in the oven it goes for another 15 mins and after that, bang, you're done! Serve with new potatoes or griddled asparagus. But let's back track a bit so I can tell you about how I've changed up my morning routine (or more accurately, started trying to have a morning routine). A couple of months ago I got into skincare and started looking after my skin properly which led to having a morning/evening skincare routine (post on that coming soon) and I've really enjoyed the addition of a little more structure because of it in the mornings. Reflecting upon how beneficial this tiny change had been, I made a conscious decision at the beginning of July to try to start my days much more intentionally. One of the things I've started doing is drinking hot water and lemon when I wake up and before I eat anything. The health benefits are huge and it's such an easy step to add in to your day.  W H Y  Y O U  S H O U L D  B E  D R I N K I N G  H O T  W A T E R  A N D  L E M O N :- lemons are a rich source of vitamin C- they contain pectin fiber which serves as a powerful antibacterial- hot water and lemon early in the morning helps flush out toxins and aids digestion- it also balances pH levels in the body- it's a great source of citric acid, potassium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium- it helps with reducing pain and inflammation in joints and knees as it dissolves uric acid- the potassium content in lemon helps nourish brain and nerve cells- it strengthens the liver by providing energy to the liver enzymes when they are too dilute- it's great for your skin as it helps prevent the formation of wrinkles and acne- it helps maintain healthy eyes- it also helps replenish body salts I've also been trying to do a little gentle exercise, every morning I can manage it, before breakfast. I find that making a conscious decision to start the day well in this way really helps me make better decisions regarding food and exercise all day long. I'd really recommend it. My morning warm ups of choice have been swimming (it was far too hot to run in France) and yoga. I got into swimming so much in France that upon my return to London I really missed it. We had a family wedding in Sussex in July and stayed at the Spread Eagle Hotel (which was everything a Sussex B&B should be so if you're ever in the area you should totally stay there) and which turned out to have a pool, steam, sauna and jacuzzi. Result! I had no idea it would and we were only there for one night, but such was my excitement at the idea of getting to have an early morning swim before the wedding, that I managed to purchase myself a nifty black Speedo cossie at the spa and swim I did! It's actually quite nice to have a super practical swimming costume. Here's the one I have.  I'm not quite sure how yoga crept up on me but I'm really liking it. I'd done a bit of Pilates here and there but not really yoga and wondered if I'd find it too challenging. It's possible I would actually find it a bit much if I was going to 'real' classes and feeling like the least flexible person there but I'm not, I'm 'cheating' and doing it at home with the utterly wonderful Adriene. I've totally fallen in love with Yoga with Adriene and am working through her 30 Days of Yoga videos. It's totally doable, totally rewarding and totally free! It's so nice to wake up in the morning and 'go to the mat'. Adriene makes yoga very accessible and I'm feeling a real sense of achievement every day I practice. Yay me! Maybe at some point I'll be able to peal my spine one vertebrae at time rather than it just plonking the whole thing down in one go, but for now I'm pretty proud of my planks and who doesn't love shavasana?