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As you guys know I started the LloydsPharmacy Change Your Health Direction programme 8 weeks ago meaning this it my last week taking part.

At the time I shared a post talking about why I agreed to work with Lloyd’s Pharmacy on this programme, why I liked the sound of it and, what I was hoping to get out of it; increase my water consumption & loose weight (6lbs to be exact).

Image from the LoveLloyds blog

Did I achieve these goals? Well, yes & no. Let me explain-

In order to increase my water intake I started buying 5L bottles of water with my food shop due to the simple fact that the water in my apartment tastes horrific & I’m already bad at drinking water so, drinking horrific tasting water definitely wasn’t going to increase the appeal!

Having the 5l bottles sitting on my kitchen counter not only served as a reminder to consume water, it incentivised this consumption by the fact that it didn’t taste like I was drinking straight from a swimming pool (delightful Dublin 8 water!)

So, increase water consumption? Success.

Loosing 6lbs? I lost none.

Well, the sweetheart Leanne who was my programme mentor (every Lloyd’s Pharmacy has staff who are fully trained to mentor you through the programme) offered me a gratuitous half pound due to where the scales may have been leaning slightly more to the left but the simple fact is I was pretty much the exact same weight.

If you follow my Insta stories  you’ll already know why I’m not upset about this thought…. it’s because I committed from week 1 to going to 4 gym classes a week, I stuck to it & I feel fan-bloody-tastic! My clothes fit better, I feel slimmer, I look slimmer & my body is the most toned it’s ever been.

In hindsight sticking to a workout schedule is most definitely the goal I should’ve set but alas, I focused too much on weight results & not enough on the physical & mental changes that the challenge of those classes could offer me.

I’ve been an avid gym goer for years but committing to classes helped me turn a corner for several reasons, mainly the lack of ‘faff’… having to be in the gym at a certain time each morning meant I couldn’t put it off by faffing around at home… being in an intense trainer-lead class meant that I couldn’t faff about between reps; checking my phone, making playlists etc. So, while my time spent in the gym hasn’t increased the results I’m seeing are much more significant & for that reason I don’t see myself going back to solo training.

Doing all of this under the guidance of LloydsPharmacy Change Your Health Direction programme meant that I could keep my goals in mind with regular visits to Leanne & improve my diet by introducing more home cooking into my week from their blog which is updated regularly with really easy, healthy recipes.

Did I find the programme beneficial? Absolutely…. & I’ll be continuing the gym classes (bottled) water drinking and trying recipes from their blog.  I’d highly recommend it as a kick-start to achieving your personal health goals… & it’s completely free so we have no excuse really!

xx

This post is a sponsored collaboration with LloydsPharmacy but all text was written without influence & created by your’s truly.