Oh dear. The old winter fitness lapse rut. It hasn't always been this way; I wrote a rather preachy post about maintaining fitness in winter back in 2013, though
 frankly I can no longer identify with that stance. Upon entry into 2016 I weighed in at the heaviest ever with a rather sad feeling about how thing were going but still feeling like things were on the turn. I don't really know what to say.

I haven't tried hard, I haven't pushed myself and I haven't stuck to any of the bright ideas that cropped up.
But I know that I would have suffered in other ways if I had put exercise to the top of the priority list so on this occasion there are no real regrets.

What's the plan for 2017? To be honest I don't know yet. It's something I've been considering for weeks. There is so much on my mind... looking back at pictures of myself a few years ago and reading how I felt makes me sad that I've flumped out a bit and surrendered the relentless routine. In my heart I don't feel like I can get back to that place again, that version of me is lost for good.

Looking at the positives though and there really are positives, I have kept up with one tough workout each week. My fitness hasn't ebbed away to nothing, in fact I'm probably stronger than ever. My efforts haven't been in vain, the last few years of training have been banked and I'm ticking over.

Recently, I was sent a Brita Fill & Go bottle to try out. I know what you're thinking; yeah, yeah.
I'm a Brita fan. We already have a Brita water filter jug in the kitchen which is streaks ahead of the generic one we used for years before that. In Norfolk our water is so hard that it's practically solid water round here. Everything gets scaled up stupidly fast which is a total nightmare. The Brita filter makes an incredible difference. We loved it so much that when our kitchen tap went wrong we bought a Brita tap too which has hot, cold and a filtered water 'lever' too. It's a revolution. So it's safe to say I'm already a fan of the brand.
So what's the deal with the fill & go bottle? Well it has a filter disc in the cap so you can top up your water bottle from any drinking water source and be able to drink lovely filtered water which is great for sports or out and about. I'm really sensitive to the horrible taste of tap water; apparently some people can't taste it but I can taste and smell it. Nasty. So filtering it makes such a difference. Plus having a proper sturdy bottle saves buying bottled or re-using disposable plastic bottles (Which I'm sure I've heard is cancerous?!) Anyway, the Brita bottle is sturdy, dishwasher safe and is so much cheaper than buying bottled water. It comes in four cap colours too.
It's a great idea!
Tell me about you; how is your fitness motivation going today? And tell me about your water drinking preferences too - do you like water, are you a tap water hater too?
Sophie
Thanks to Brita for sending me their new bottle to try out. All opinions and content my own, as always.