Accidental Break...Ooops..

Wow, December has been a hell of a month. Ofsted + Christmas = STREEEESSSSSSSSSS. I have seriously neglected my workout regime and instead decided to throw all of my energy into work and food. Don't get me wrong, stuffing my face over the last month has been brilliant, I'm not even sorry!

Except...I am a little bit. A visit from Ofsted zapped a lot of motivation and positivity out of me, it was a tricky week but did end in my school being removed from Special Measures, so as you can understand this visit meant a lot, working out wasn't my main concern in December. I am disappointed in myself for falling back into old ways, but like I said my priorities changed.

Anway, all that's in the past. A new year and a new school term is around the corner. I feel refreshed, slightly fatter but injected with more positivity. I'm going to restart my fitness regime the week I go back to work and on the 1st of January I'll be starting a Dryathlon for Cancer Research. No alcohol for January. Not a drop. I've done it before, but this time I'm going to challenge myself and work towards completing a 10k by the end of January. Hopefully I'll manage it, if not I'll stick an extra £20 in the kitty and keep on trying. Talking of which, any donations would be hugely appreciated ;-)

I've also given myself a bit more motivation by spending more money than I could probably afford on a Fitbit Flex. I've been toying with buying one for a while, and while many have dismissed it as a bit of a gimmick, I like the look of it. It's designed to monitor your activity levels, calories and sleep patterns. As I tend to be a restless sleeper, I am interested to see what it tells me. You can also set daily goals and the lights on the wristband tell you how close you are to reaching your target. It's also linked to my Endomondo account which is useful. It's a really nice looking gadget, my Dad has a black one but I opted for the pink. It's the cheapest out of the Nike Fuelband and Jawbone fitness bands, but seems to offer similar functions. I'll give it a try for a few weeks and post a review later, when hopefully I've regained my fitness mojo!

Zaggora Challenge & Review

Ok, so I have been wearing my Zaggora Hotpants for the 2 weeks now, and although I've been giving updates I'm going to consolidate all that into a main review.

The Science:
I bought the 'Atomica Hotpants', which were £65, I was a little nervous about spending that much money on jogging bottoms but the reviews from other bloggers really convinced me to splash out. The hotpants use Celu-Lite Technology which according to their website is a "patent pending, multi-layer fabric technology" which heats the body up during exercise to "help you burn more calories", in other words, they make you work harder and they make you sweat. The '2 Week Challenge' is encouraged by Zaggora itself -  basically you wear the hotpants everyday for between 30-60 minutes while being active. I found this pretty easy most of the time. I'm training to complete a 5k by the end of the year with the C25K plan, so 3 days a week I'm sorted. The rest of the time I've made myself either go out for a walk or do the housework (honestly, our house & garden have never been tidier!). I only missed one day through the whole two weeks, and that was only because I was overindulging with cakes & alcohol in Harrogate (whoops!)

The Look:
The 'Atomica' Hotpants have a fold-over waistband which enable you to hide your midriff if necessary, not something I'm bothered about as I don't make a habit of wearing clothes that show off my stomach! However, the waistband itself is something that really attracted me to these, as it looked really stylish, funky and UNIQUE. I love the quirkiness of the waistband, it really makes them standout from the rest, and when they came in the post I spent a worryingly long time admiring them! I also love how I can cover up my stomach, smooth out its outline and STILL be comfortable without feeling 'squished in'! As a fashion statement, they really are great. I know that's not the point as when I go out running I turn into a hideously red-faced beast who sounds  like Darth Vader, so anything that I enjoy wearing can't be a bad thing, right?

Just to support the 'fashion statement' claim, I once actually wore these to band practice as leggings underneath a dress and [in my opinion] they still looked pretty good.

The Feel:
A lot is said about way the hotpants feel, they do resemble a wetsuit but there's certainly nothing strikingly unusual about them, and like I mentioned above, I've worn them as leggings and I swear no one was any the wiser. Many comments I've seen complain about the sound they make on the inner thighs, this is especially prevalent when you're running or walking when they rub together. Now, I don't actually have this problem, I've always had a gap between my legs, however, even when I do rub the material to test out the sound I don't feel it's anything to be self-conscious about in my opinion.

The Workout:
One question I got asked about the hotpants was how much you can tell you're sweating. This was something I wondered as well, especially as sweating isn't a very pleasant experience (for me anyway). To be honest, they were really comfortable, the fit was good and I didn't feel sweaty until I took them off. During the workout I definitely felt like I was working harder. I made the mistake once of not taking any water with me on a particularly hot day, and I lived to regret it. Obviously, if you're going to lose this much water, you need to replace it! That's one big bit of advice I'd give to anyone using these. For gods sake, keep yourself hydrated! On a hot day they do make things harder, and I did have a bad run this morning because of the heat. I'm looking forward to trying my other jogging bottoms to see if they make things easier. It's not a big complaint though, as you feel like you're getting more from the workout and that can only be a good thing when you're trying to build stamina.

As for washing, Zaggora recommend that you wash on a cool temperature or hand wash. I've been washing these 1-2 times a week and rinsing in the shower every other time. So far so good. They dry quickly as well, so no need to worry about having damp jogging bottoms next time you use them.

Good:

• They look great, nice design and very flattering.
• Good quality material.
• Excellent fit, waistline can be adjusted depending on how much you want to cover.
• You work harder during workouts.
• Easy to look after.

Bad:

• Not great for people who don't like excessive sweat, but that's down to personal preference. If I didn't like that, I wouldn't buy them.
• Expensive. I spent a long time deliberating whether to get some. I gave in to temptation, but I may save any future purchases until my birthday or Christmas.
• You can get very hot in them. Take water with you on a workout.

Overall:
Ok, here's the real test - did I lose anything? That's the big selling point, the thing that Zaggora insist the hotpants help with. I grew quite frustrated with many of the reviews I read, because many mentioned how they worked, how they looked and how much they sweat, I don't feel they addressed the true issue - do they actually work?

Before:
Waist - 84cm
Hips - 105cm
Thigh - 55cm

After:
Waist - 79cm
Hips - 100cm
Thigh - 53cm

So that's 2 inches from my waist and hips, and 2cm from my thighs. Not bad going for 2 weeks! My weight hasn't changed at all though. I see a lot of reviews where people shed lbs quite quickly, but not for me. Like I've said, I am running though so I'd assume that's down to muscle mass (I have lost 2lbs since I started running). My diet hasn't changed much either, I'm eating better generally but I didn't make a deliberate attempt to change anything during the 2 week challenge.

So, a nice little loss there. Something that will certainly motivate me to keep using them (for £65 I'd be daft not to!), especially if I'd lost a couple of inches in the space of 2 weeks. As I'm still on my summer holidays I'll still have the time to wear them everyday, so who knows how much more I'd lose in the next 4 weeks?

I'd definitely recommend Zaggora for anyone who wants to lose inches, but this would have to be alongside a decent diet and active lifestyle. I didn't lose any weight, but I have seen people who have had more success. If you are willing to pay the money, then go for it. Zaggora do some fantastic, stylish products, and I can't wait to keep using the hotpants over the summer. Now I'm going to start saving for my next purchase :-)

Zaggora Challenge - Day 6

C25K - W6D2

Oh dear, that was not a good run! I've been taking water with me lately due to the hot weather but mistakenly thought I'd be ok this morning - wrong! I haven't felt this bad since week 1 when I couldn't even run for 60 seconds! Ouch....a big 22 minute run is coming on Saturday, hopefully today was just a bad day at the office.

As the hotpants, they are still seemingly working their magic. I'm not sure whether to do a 'half-way' measurement tomorrow to mark the first week, but I doubt I'll see much difference. One thing for sure if that they make me work HARD. I've been wearing them everyday, ensuring I am as active as possible. For a couple of days it was just a case of sorting the washing or going to band, but most of the days I have been doing something more strenuous in them (running, mowing the lawn, Zumba etc.) I definitely sweat more from running, today was certainly no exception, which probably increases the need to take water when I'm out.

After every use I rinse them through in the shower, but still stick them in the washing machine once a week. I was quite worried about washing them everyday, but so far there are no ill effects, but that's only after a week. They dry very quickly and this is without rinsing or wringing, they are often ready to wear the next day.

Anyway, I'm still overheating from that run, I might go and sit in the freezer to cool down.

Zaggora Challenge - Day 2

Zaggora Challenge
Waist = 84cm
Hips = 105cm
Thigh = 55cm

C25K - W5D3

Another milestone reached today! I did a 20 minute run non-stop, which meant I kept going for a full 2 miles! Get in! I'm really pleased, especially considering how much I struggled in week 4 (a struggle which I blame on the ridiculous heat). This was my first run with the Zaggora hotpants too. I was worried they would make things more difficult due to the sweating but they didn't at all, I was obviously working harder as that's what they're designed to do, but I didn't feel any ill effects.

Overall the run went well, still experiencing pain in my legs, but not quite as bad as before, I find that slowing the pace helps. It gets worse when I'm going up hill, but I suppose that's to be expected. The weather was much more bearable today as well, at 9:30am it was quite cloudy but a lot cooler. I didn't have the benefit of a day's worth of walking to warm me up either.

Feeling really happy with my self today :-)

Zaggora challenge

I'm so excited, my Zaggora hot pants arrived today, they look fabulous and I can't wait to try them! I'll be taking the 2 week challenge to see how many lbs I shed with them and posting a review later :-)

W4D3

This week has been the hardest since I started, the runs are now up to 5 minutes and although they have been a struggle, I finally managed to complete yesterday's session without a stop, hurrah! I plan to redo a couple of sessions though, just to make sure I am definitely ready to move on. The problem has been that I've only been doing 2 runs a week for the past couple of weeks, this is solely to blame on the fact that I suddenly have a social life! I've been out on the Saturday, then too hungover to move in the Sunday (or at a gig with the brass band I play in). Ok, alcohol obviously isn't the best way to ensure a healthy 'runners' diet, but I'm allowed to relax, right? Anyway, it's Durham Gala this Saturday which I'm very much looking forward to, so that'll be another weekend lost. On the plus side, it's nearly the summer holidays! Yippeee!

I was quite disappointed on the first day of week 4, I just couldn't manage it and dropped about 4 minutes. My calves were very tight and I had a vicious stitch. Ouch. Day 2 got better and I only dropped 1 minute, still with the calf pain. But then day 3, in the blistering heat I got through it, not quite pain free, but after doing much needed warm up stretches I survived to the end. Very happy.

In other news, Ofsted are finally in, cue STRESS. Actually no,....weirdly enough the school has had a really relaxed atmosphere. I felt cool, calm and even ready for an inspector, which for me isn't normal, surely I'd missed something? Apparently not. I had my 'visitor' with a lower set Year 8 class and they were perfect, I'm really proud of them and can't wait to tell their TA how good the feedback was! Overall I came out with a 'Good' which I'm delighted with. One more day with Ofsted and fingers crossed we'll come through alright and then we're on the home straight to the summer holidays. I can't wait!