2015: A Year in Review

If I were to sum up my 2015 in two words, they would be ‘change’ and ‘coasting’. In some parts of my life there were big changes, but because of that I had to switch on ‘auto-pilot’ in other parts of my life and just coast. 2015 has been a great year and I feel like things have finally slot into place that will allow me to make 2016 an even better year. Let’s take a look at 2015, shall we?

Personal

In March I left a job and team I loved to go for my dream job. I combined my skills (Digital Design) with my passion (Health and Fitness) and I now work as a Digital Designer for Sweaty Betty. If you’ve subscribed to their emails, I design those!

I only had two weeks to finish my old job, pack up my life in Hertfordshire and move back to London. I didn’t even have time to find somewhere to live, so I moved in with my Mum. I ended up living with my Mum for 7 months before my next big change…

I finally moved in with my boyfriend of 7 years! We’d been long distance for a year and a half with me in Hertfordshire and him in Norwich but we both moved back to London and then in together. I’m loving it!

It’s weird how so much has changed this year and it wasn’t even planned or expected. I wasn’t looking for a new job but stumbled across the job listing for Sweaty Betty and just had to apply. Then my boyfriend changed his job and moved back to London unexpectedly too and now here we are.

Health and Fitness

My health and fitness totally took a backseat this year. With all of the big changes in my life I just coasted along with my health and fitness. I struggled to cook for myself whilst living with my Mum because she doesn’t really like the food I eat but doesn’t really cook herself so I couldn’t just sit there eating my own food whilst she sat there eating toast or something. Now that I live my boyfriend I’m looking forward to meal planning and meal prepping for the two of us, I’ll just add more carbs to each meal for him.

I fell in love with Psycle this year after being invited to review the spin class back in May. I bought a batch of credits which have all gone now and I’m gutted. I want to continue going next year but it is pricey. I’m happy to have found Psycle as it’s shown me that I don’t have to force myself to run to get my cardio in. Spinning is fun for me, I love it and it doesn’t feel like a chore.

In 2016 I am going to take control of my eating again, get back into a routine of meal planning and prepping, eat out less and minimise my intake of dairy and carbs. I am going to get back into weight lifting and use spinning as my cardio.

Travel

At the start of the year I got to go skiing with Crystal Ski in Courchevel 1850. It was my first time ever and I absolutely loved it. Skiing is a great active holiday and I’d most definitely love to go again – maybe in the Winter in 2016?

In April I spent 3 weeks in Ghana with my Dad for the first time. I got to visit my roots, see where my Dad grew up, meet my family and it was just perfect. Except for the ridiculously hot weather – I don’t recommended going in April if you ever fancy visiting Ghana!

In August two of my friends married each other in Italy so we spent a few days there and turned it into a mini holiday. The weather was great and I was surrounded by my friends. I got to visit Naples, Lioni, the Amalfi Coast and Milan during my short stay.

In November my boyfriend and I went to Rome for my birthday. I wasn’t ready to turn 26 (aka the wrong side of 25!) but being abroad helped to soften the blow haha. We didn’t really plan the trip which I loved, each day we just picked a different part of the map to explore and spent hours wandering and discovering the beauty of Rome.

I don’t think I’ve ever been abroad four times in one year before but it’s something I’d love to keep up! I’m already planning two getaways for 2016, I just need to add a few more to the mix.

Blogging

2015 is the year I became more intentional with my blog. Instead of posting whatever I fancied whenever I fancied I started planning my content and trying to make sure I wrote useful posts like my meal planning series and that my blog wasn’t 80% reviews. I care about you guys and I want this blog to help you with your goals whilst I try and achieve mine in 2016. I still have a long way to go but I’m excited for 2016!

I’ve stepped up my photography too, it’s great to look back on old photos and see how far I’ve come. I’m still finding my own style and getting to grips with my camera and I still have so, so much to learn but I’m eager to learn and improve even more.

I started an email subscription list in July and now there are are thousands of you letting me into your inboxes. I also sent out my first ever Blog Reader Survey to my email subscribers and the comments you left me were just wonderful. I honestly love my readers, you are the best!!

Of course, a major blogging highlight of 2015 is coming Highly Commended for Best in Fitness at the Cosmo Blog Awards. I am so thankful to you guys for voting for me! I wrote about the awards in more detail in this post and I have been blown away by your comments and well wishes. Truly, thank you.

These are the posts I am most proud of this year:
1. 5 Reasons Why Women Should Lift Weights
2. How To Meal Plan for Beginners + Free Meal Planner
3. Healthy Foods Grocery List + Free Printable
4. How To Choose A Workout Plan That’s Perfect For You
5. Love your body – Positive Body Image
6. Health Tip: Have a Healthy Night In
7. The Importance of Celebrating Non-Scale Victories
8. Running Tips for Beginners
9. 7 Ways To Stick To A Meal Plan
10. Life Goals: How to Set SMART Goals

2015 in numbers

59: The number of posts I published in 2015. I want to at least double that in 2016!
10: How many cities and towns in the 3 countries I visited this year.
3: The number of awards I was shortlisted for, The Blog Awards, MyProtein Blog Awards and The Cosmo Blog Awards.
2: I’ve moved twice this year and lived in 3 different houses. I’m hoping there will be no moving in 2016!
119,643: How many of you visited my blog this year! To have over 100,000 people visit this online space of 50: The number of times I’ve listened to Justin Bieber’s album. OK, so this number is totally made up but I am 100% a Belieber now. Shock, horror!

I’m grateful for everything that has happened in 2015 and I am ready to put 2016 to good use and make it a great year. I hope you all have a wonderful 2016, I’d love to hear what you’ve got planned! Happy New Year you lovely people.