I’m alive!

I wanna start this off by acknowledging the fact that I have entirely ignored my sweet old blog for well… probably a year now (Eeee! I’m sorry blog!)

But guys! Not to fear, Mollster is back and I am so freakin’ excited to start blogging again. Don’t get me wrong obviously Instagram is my numero uno baby but I feel like I can express myself way better and more clearly when I type shit out, so here is me – typing shit out.

This blog post is gonna be dedicated to purely catching up and laying out the outline of what the heck has been happening in my life since my last blog post. So, getting to the point, what the f*** has been happening?!

 Hola!

Well, after finishing the BBG guide last Summer in 2015 (BBG 1.0) I had a mini realisation that hey, being healthy and keeping fit is actually incredibly rewarding sooo I think I’m gonna stick this thing out for a while. I had been following some weight lifting chicks on Instagram for quite some time and was bloody amazed at their physiques. For the longest time I associated lifting with proper bulky meat-heads and was convinced that touching anything heavier than a 5kg weight was gonna turn me into Arnie (… silly Molls)

So after doing some basic reading and research I learnt that because women have basically no testosterone it is incredibly difficult to build muscle, at least to the same extent as men. 7 months on and I can safely say that this is 100% true. From around September I decided to take the plunge and stroll on into the weights room and just, well, have a go.

And yes, if you’re wondering, I was terrified. I know that sounds like I’m being a complete wimp but honestly unless you’re a girl and have tried walking into a room full of hulk-like men, cages of iron and pumping testosterone then you won’t know the feeling. Because, as tough and non chalance as I like to think I am, I was definitely self conscious as I dragged my lil’ butt to the squat rack.

Me about a year ago, (although I look like a new born baby lol) heading back from the gym with my dad – first time in the weights room and refuelling with some PROTEIN!

And since then, I’ve been hooked.

The thing with weight lifting is you don’t just experience incredible physical results but it’s a worthwhile and rewarding experience to overcome those mental challenges too. Yeah I may have felt awkward and tense probably the first month of lifting with dudes around but now I honestly don’t even think twice about it and am actually friends with guys in my gym. If you check out my IG feed early on I actually have some posts about how uncomfortable I felt and how I managed to overcome that feeling. ‘Every athlete started as a beginner’, that’s the phrase I kept on reminding myself, it’s the phrase which got me into the weights room and it’s the phase which still pushes me still today.

Me today

I’m gonna be honest with you, I wanted to find a clear, simple, and let’s be real – colourful weight lifting guide. Something which laid all the facts out, instructed me to do X,Y, Z and which I could trust to get me that feminine, curvy physique. I wanted sculpted shoulders, a strong core, a rounder and more uplifted butt and toned thighs. Even though I was constantly reassuring myself ‘I won’t get bulky’ I knew I didn’t need to be doing 20 bicep curls everyday. I got researching and found nothing, sure there were some women weightlifting guides but nothing that really connected with me. Hence, the birth of the Curve Guide! (Yes my complete baby)

I felt like it wasn’t really known amongst girls my age who were into leading a fitness lifestyle that you could truly shape your physique through muscle gain and proper nutrition. I wanted to give girls the opportunity to achieve their body-goals through gaining rather than losing. For the longest time I associated the gym with deprivation and negativity and the Curve Guide really proved to me that it didn’t need to be like that at all.

I created the Curve Guide with a nutritionist and personal trainer and I’ve been doing it since late last year and still completely love it, whatever your ability or strength the beauty of it is you can still keep at it, just increase the weights and sometimes the sets if you’re truly Wonder Woman. If you want to check PPCG more head to http://www.progresspure.co.uk

Does she remind anyone else of the girl emoji with her arms crossed?!!

I’m really not the emotional or overwhelmingly grateful kind of gal, BUT (huge butt… huge butt made out of muscle. LOL okay completely off track) I have to say, looking back over the last year I do indeed feel incredibly emotional and entirely grateful. Not just because I got to finally meet a dear Instagram friend (turned real-life friend!) Jera, (@workoutbean) but also because of the relationships I’ve formed with my followers and the people I follow. I read and appreciate every single comment and feel so privileged that I’m in a position where I can communicate to lovely people all over the world with the touch of a button. So for real, thank you for supporting me through the last year and encouraging me to move forward. You all rock.

Since last year I’ve had the incredible opportunity to write an article about ‘Why Every Girl Should Have Her Own Fitness Instagram Account’ for ‘Hip & Healthy’, an online magazine.

Link: http://hipandhealthy.com/why-every-girl-should-have-her-own-fitness-instagram-account/

I’ve also been interviewed by the Health Blogger’s Community, taken part in their Q&A event and hosted my own health event at Spinn-off London. I’ve also been featured by ‘The DeBrief’ as one of the top fitness peeps to follow on snapchat! (I am low key obsessed with snapchat ‘progresspure’).

But potentially the thing I am most proud of is something which I only found out about a week ago. I’ve always loved Pret A Manger, I mean how could you not – their sandwiches are unbeatable, their juices delicious and their edamame pots are pretty essential. Growing up I’ve always lived within a 10 minute walk from a Pret so can safely say that I know Pret through and through and have always loved it. I’ve recently been more interested in marketing, so even though I was aware it was a long shot, I decided to send in my CV along with a cover letter and a bit about me to the lovely people of Pret.

A few months later and I am so unbelievably ecstatic to say YO GUYS I’LL BE INTERNING THERE!! (… from Monday the 23rd of June!)

Sandwiches make me happy

I’ve also got some extremely exciting stuff coming up which I will be blogging/vlogging/gramming/snapchatting – (you name it) all over Summer. Gahhh I can’t tell you how happy I am that I can finally say I’m on Summer.

To top that all off, I’ve finished my second year at University! Whaaaat. Between you and me, I definitely didn’t live my second year up to its full potential, mainly for personal reasons. But! After this Summer I will be back in Edinburgh and ready to party, to blog and to study.

What an awesome year its been, looking forward to all the weird and wonderful things to come.

Love, Molly xx