Chronically Fit

24/06/2026

🔵 The Best Measure of Recovery Isn’t How You Feel During Exercise

One of the biggest mistakes people make is deciding whether a workout was successful based on how they felt during the session.

A workout can feel easy at the time and still be too much for your body.

The real question is:

👉 How long did it take you to recover?

Was it:

🔵 A few hours?

🔵 A day?

🔵 Several days?

🔵 A week or more?

And what symptoms showed up afterwards?

Did you experience:

🔵 Increased fatigue?

🔵 Brain fog?

🔵 Pain flare-ups?

🔵 Poor sleep?

🔵 Dizziness?

🔵 Headaches?

🔵 PEM \(Post\-Exertional Malaise\)?

Your recovery tells you far more than the workout itself.

If recovery is quick and symptoms remain stable, your body may be ready for a small progression next time.

If recovery takes days or symptoms flare significantly, that’s valuable feedback too. It doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means your body is telling you that the dose of exercise was too high for where you are right now.

Progress isn’t made by constantly doing more.

Progress is made by finding the amount your body can recover from consistently.

Train for recovery first. Progress comes second.

💛 Chronic illness changes the rules, but it doesn’t stop progress.

24/06/2026

Another outdoor structure brought back to life

The team at A Price Services recently completed repair works on an outdoor structure, restoring it safely, securely, and back to full working order, much to the customer’s satisfaction.

From careful assessment through to final finish, every step was carried out with attention to detail to ensure the structure is not only functional again, but built to last.

It’s always rewarding to see a job wrapped up with a happy client and a solid result on site

See more here - https://www.apriceservices.co.uk/outdoor-structure

21/06/2026

21/06/2026

Key Health Benefits of walking 20 minutes a day

❤️‍🩹 Stronger Heart: Consistent daily walks can reduce your risk of heart disease by up to 30%. It helps decrease blood pressure, reduce resting heart rate, and improve cholesterol levels.
•
🧬Better Immunity: A study tracked by Harvard Health Publishing found that people who walked for at least 20 minutes daily took 43% fewer sick days.
•
🍩 Weight Management: While a 20-minute walk burns roughly 90 to 110 calories (depending on your pace and weight), it aids in regulating metabolism and reducing visceral fat.
•
🧠 Mental Clarity: Walking triggers the release of mood-boosting endorphins. Walking outdoors has also been shown to increase daytime vitality and energy more effectively than indoor walking.
•
🦴 Joint Health: It helps lubricate knee and hip joints and builds up the supporting muscles, which can ease arthritic pain.

18/06/2026

🏃‍♀️ 3 things people with autoimmune conditions need to consider when exercising

1. Debilitating Fatigue and Post Exertional Malaise (PEM)

* The Struggle: Unlike normal post workout tiredness, many experience deep, systemic fatigue that can last for days. This stems from the body fighting chronic inflammation and an inability of the mitochondria to produce energy efficiently.
* How to Manage: Focus on low impact movements and stay well within a 50-70% maximum effort rule. Listen to your body and break workouts into shorter 10-to-15-minute intervals throughout the day rather than one long, exhausting session.

2. Chronic Joint and Muscle Pain

* The Struggle: Conditions like rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and myositis attack the joints, muscles, and surrounding tissues, causing pain and stiffness. This makes high-impact or heavily weighted exercises incredibly painful and can delay muscle repair.
* How to Manage: Prioritize exercises that reduce stress on your joints. This doesn’t mean you can’t lift weights it just means working within your limits. Always prioritize warm-ups to lubricate the joints before starting.

3. Exercise Intolerance and Symptom Flare ups

* The Struggle: Because autoimmunity often elevates the body's baseline inflammatory response, high intensity exercise can actually increase inflammatory biomarkers instead of reducing them. This can lead to nausea, flu like symptoms, or intense symptom flare ups.
* How to Manage: Incorporate more recovery days than average and consider working alongside a personal trainer who specializes in chronic illnesses to pace your routine safely.

Do you have any tips to share? Comment below.

17/06/2026

🌟 ONLINE COACHING FOR PEOPLE WITH FATIGUE, CHRONIC ILLNESS & BUSY LIVES 🌟

Do you want to improve your fitness, lose weight, build strength, or simply feel better in your own body—but struggle with fatigue, pain, low energy, or health challenges?

At Chronically Fit, I help people create realistic, sustainable habits that work with their health, not against it.

For just £67 per month, you’ll receive:

✅ Personalised exercise guidance
✅ Accountability and support
✅ Fortnightly check-ins
✅ Goal setting and progress tracking
✅ Lifestyle and habit coaching
✅ Support tailored to your health, energy levels, and circumstances

As someone with a background in Health, Exercise and Nutrition—and personal experience of navigating chronic illness—I understand that “just work harder” isn’t always the answer.

My coaching focuses on helping you make progress at a pace your body can manage.

Whether your goal is weight loss, improving fitness, building confidence, increasing energy, or creating healthier habits, I’m here to help.

📩 Message me directly to get started or ask any questions.

Limited spaces available.

14/06/2026

🥤 Diet Drinks & Weight Loss. What Does the Science Say?

If you’re trying to lose weight and wondering whether diet drinks help or hurt, here’s what randomized controlled trials (the gold standard of research) actually show:

✅ Diet drinks CAN help:
swapping sugary drinks for diet versions has been shown to support modest weight loss (around 2-2.5%) in clinical trials.

✅ Diet drinks vs. water:
head to head studies found they work about the same for weight loss. Both are far better than sugary drinks.

✅ No evidence they cause weight gain despite some scary headlines based on observational studies, controlled trials don’t support the idea that artificial sweeteners themselves cause weight gain.

💧 But water still wins overall, it’s calorie free, additive free, and great for hydration. If you can switch to water easily, do it. If diet drinks help you stick to your goals, that’s okay too.

🔑 Bottom line: The biggest factor is cutting calories overall, not which zero calorie drink you choose. Pick whichever works best for YOUR lifestyle and helps you stay consistent.

🥤 Side note: Effect on gut microbiome is not yet studied enough to summarise a conclusion. It’s worth considering how these drinks make you feel after consuming.

What’s your go to drink while dieting? Let us know below! 👇

04/06/2026

🔥 WHY 1600 CALORIES + 4–6 TRAINING DAYS IS WORKING AGAINST YOU 🔥

Most women think eating less and training more is the formula.

Research says otherwise.

When you train 4+ days per week but eat only 1600 calories, you may fall below what scientists call the minimum energy availability threshold, the point where your body starts shutting down non-essential functions to survive.

And the consequences can be significant.

⚠️ Your hormones take a hit first

Studies show that within just a few days of under-fuelling:

• Luteinizing hormone drops• Estrogen falls• Cortisol rises

Your body shifts into a stress response and can begin breaking down muscle tissue, the opposite of what you're training for.

⚠️ Your metabolism adapts

Research has shown that when energy intake stays too low:

• Resting metabolic rate decreases• Thyroid output can decline• Daily movement often drops without you noticing

This is one reason many women hit a plateau despite eating very little.

⚠️ You may lose muscle instead of fat

Training creates a demand for recovery.

If calories are too low, your body may use lean tissue for fuel rather than building and maintaining muscle.

The harder you train, the more important adequate nutrition becomes.

⚠️ Bone health can suffer

Long-term under fuelling in active women has been linked to reduced bone mineral density, increasing the risk of stress injuries and osteoporosis later in life.

✅ For many active women training 4–6 days per week, calorie needs may be well above 2,000 calories per day, depending on body size, goals, and training volume.

Sometimes the answer isn't:

❌ More cardio❌ Less food❌ More restriction

It's:

✅ Better recovery✅ Better nutrition✅ Smarter training

Your body isn't a calculator.

It's a survival machine.

Fuel it accordingly.

02/06/2026

💪 A reminder for all my warriors training with chronic conditions:

Never train two days in a row.

Always leave at least 24 hours between sessions. This isn’t just good advice, it’s backed by science. Research shows that consecutive days of exercise place extra stress on an already busy immune system, affecting how your body’s cells function and recover. For those of us dealing with chronic conditions, that can mean triggering flares, crashes, or setbacks.

Rest days aren’t weakness — they’re part of the programme. Your recovery session is just as important as your training session. 🙌

The goal is progress without punishment. Train smart, rest well, and keep showing up. 💙

01/06/2026

Is hybrid the best way to exercise for health?

Everything in fitness seems to come full circle.

We’ve known for decades that good health and fitness require both cardiovascular exercise and strength training. Yet now it’s been rebranded as “hybrid training” and suddenly everyone’s talking about it.

Don’t get me wrong, if a new name gets more people moving, that’s a positive thing. But sometimes the basics really are the answer.

Lift weights. Do some cardio. Stay consistent.

The fundamentals haven’t changed.