Fitness Friday: Starting Jamie Eason's Livefit 12-Week Trainer

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I realise my FF posts have not been happening for a while now, but I've just been struggling with my own fitness journey to be able to share anything worthwhile. If I had posted anything, it would've been just super negative stuff about how lazy I'd gotten and how much I was just hating everything under the sun because everything was just so hard for me *the smallest violin in the world plays*

So, a few weeks ago, after much debating, I finally decided to a join a gym, even if it is a 45 minute bike ride for me in just one direction. I have to say, I am pretty darn excited to be back in a gym. I'd been gymless for a year! This is a huge deal for me as I have been teaching group fitness classes for a year, and the gym is my home away from home.

In addition to joining a gym, I have also decided to start the Jamie Eason Livefit 12-Week Trainer.  I have been reading and following a lot of blogs that are written by girls who eat clean and workout predominantly using just weights, and it's really inspired me to do something I couldn't do before/was too intimidated by. I am hoping to stick to the training and the meal plans provided as much as possible, because I am keen to see what I can achieve when I put my mind to it. Honestly, I am not super happy with my body, and I am painfully aware of the pressure media and society puts on women especially, to conform to some kind of "beauty standard", but I'm slowly trying to change my way of thinking. At the same time, I am doing something that I am actually passionate about. I love working out and eating healthy, and I want to look and feel strong.

Yesterday was my Day One of Week One for me! Wish me luck! I have taken a "before" picture, which I am far too terrified to put up now, but if I have stuck to my goals, I will have an "after" picture taken as well so you girls can see the results. I will try and put up pictures of what I've eaten throughout the week if that interests you, so let me know!

What does being healthy mean to you? Are you happy with your appearance, and if not, why?

 

Fitness Friday: Protein Pancakes

I know I've been a little AWOL, but I recently went away to visit a friend in the wonderful city of Nagano, and I've been enjoying my very brief spring break from work, so I've just been enjoying reading blog posts as opposed to writing them.

I've recently attempted to make my diet healthier and more specific for my nutritional needs. I have a massive sweet tooth, and I managed to make it by one week without so much as a piece of sweet goodness passing my lips, but unfortunately my trip to Nagano ruined my resolve, who can pass up the opportunity to try a cherry blossom flavoured ice cream? Not me, that's for sure. 

So I had this massive craving for some pancakes last night, and whilst the box of Japanese pancake mix and I had a stare down, I quickly put the search for hash tags to good use, and found a recipe I wanted to try my hand at.

So kiddos, today I'm going to share with you this pantastic pancake protein recipe!

You will need:

1 x medium sized banana, or half a big one
2 x egg whites
1/4 cup of oats
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 scoop of protein powder of choice (I have vanilla flavoured at the moment)
1 x teensy bit of coconut oil

You mash the banana with a fork and add the egg whites and mix them around a bit. Add the oats, cinnamon and protein powder, and add a dash of water to make the consistency a little runnier. I think I added a tbsp or two.

Warm up your pan, add just enough coconut oil so your pancakes don't burn, and add the mixture to the pan once warm enough. I had enough mix for two pancakes, and I cooked them on a medium flame.

Fail at making my pancake look pretty, but I scoffed down the other one with a bit of peanut butter and blueberries on top and it was yum as!

What do you think, kiddos? Something that you might give a go? What's a simple and healthy dessert you enjoy?

 

Fitness Friday: BodyRock.tv

So I know I've missed out on my FF the last couple of weeks, but I've been struggling with motivation for working out, and my meals haven't been exciting enough to share with you. But I think I've definitely something that could help alleviate my problem with workout motivation, and I thought I'd share it with you.

I discovered BodyRock a few years ago when I was hitting up YouTube for some at-home fitness inspiration. After watching a couple of videos I was immediately drawn to the concept. Unlike the popular belief that you have to work out for hours on end every day to get the fitness level you want, BodyRock's basis is that through fast, high-intensity workouts, split into intervals (usually a minute, or two, followed by a quick rest interval of 10-20 seconds) is enough to give you your fitness boost for the day. Each workout is only around 10-20 minutes in length, and there are videos targeting different areas of the body, as well as a breakdown of the workout, with varying levels of difficulty offered. I think that the workouts are great, I'm usually dead after a 20 minute one.

They regularly hold 30-day challenges, and I've decided to give the January one a go. The 30-day challenge is where they challenge you to workout from Monday-Friday with their provided workouts for 30 days, measuring your fitness on the first day of the month, and then the last day of the challenge, so you can see how far you've come. I think this is great because people nowadays are drawn to immediate results, and this is a sure fire way to get people interested. Of course, as with anyone wishing to lose weight or tone up, you have to be eating clean as well as exercising. No point working your butt off if you're still eating chips and cookies every day!

The fantastic thing about BodyRock is that it's free! And they're constantly uploading new workouts, plus they have a huge archive of older ones, so there's no chance you'll get bored. The biggest thing to do is to just get started and keep going with it.

What is your favourite type of workout? Have you tried anything from BodyRock? Please tell me I'm not the only one struggling to exercise this winter! 

Fitness Friday: Scrambled Eggs and Orange Paprika for Breakfast

As much as fitness is important to us, so is our nutrition. You cannot have one without the other, it's a bit of a yin and yang, Sheldon and Penny situation.

I love discovering delicious and healthy recipes that will vary up my otherwise boring food routine. This may not blow your minds, but this following breakfast is one of my favourites. It's quick, easy and tasty!

So I present to you my Scrambled Eggs and Orange Paprika breakfast á la Maria!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp oil (coconut, or anything that is available to you)
2 eggs (medium or large sized)
1/2 chopped orange pepper (a red one is just as delicious)
a pinch of salt
a pinch of black pepper
a pinch of paprika

Preparation:

In a bowl, whisk the eggs with a fork. Add the salt and pepper. Put chosen oil in pan and heat up to medium. Add in chopped pepper and cook it until it starts to get fragrant and you get a bit of colour to it. Lower heat to low and add in whisked eggs. Cook for perfection. 
Serve on plate and sprinkle paprika over the top for more tasty goodness.

I like to eat this with a side of chopped tomatoes and cucumber. I tend to put a few drops of lemon juice over them and sprinkle on some more black pepper.

As I am slightly gluten intolerant, I try and stay away from bread, but I would highly recommend this with a nice piece of wholemeal and grain toast smeared with avocado.

Enjoy!

 If you decide to give this a go, let me know what you think of it! What are your favourite breakfast meals?

Fitness Friday: Fruit Punch

Following on from the Christmas Detox post, I know how hard it is to eat healthy during the colder days, or to get out and about, we all just want to return our caves beds, snuggle up into our blankets, and hibernate our way into spring.

When you are running low on energy, you're hungry and you just want something that's warm and tasty, the colder days make it all to easy to make comfort food. Or, if you really can't be bothered, ordering takeaways, or eating out. I know I have been guilty of my fair share of butter chickens and Turkish kebab takeaways. And don't get me started on the snacks! And because I think snack food is usually peoples biggest weakness, let's talk a little bit about that.

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The best way to overcome the hibernation syndrome is to make sure that you're eating regularly throughout the day. I know that the supermarkets are lacking in the abundance of tropical fruits, but there are still many fruits readily available that should be your main go-to snack foods.

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Fresh apples, pears, oranges, kiwifruits, grapes, bananas and persimmons, these are the winter fruit that are usually readily available.

So opt out the packet of chips, or mince pie, and toss in a beautiful red skin apple, or a firm green pear in your lunchbox, and instead of that hot chocolate mashed full of marshmallows, buy a box of herbal fruit tea to keep you warm throughout those cold hours.

If you're wanting to get your daily hit of Vitamin C, a couple of kiwifruits pack a good punch. These little brown furries contain almost one-and-a-half times the minimal daily requirement for Vitamin C, so a fruit juice containing these bad boys will do the trick.

Another great snack is muesli bars -- not those that are completely dipped in chocolate with chocolate chips inside, I'm talking about the super grain-y ones that are mixed with nuts and dried fruit (a little dark chocolate on there won't hurt).

So hopefully this will give you a bit more motivation to swap in an extra fruit, or two, every day, and to keep that snacking healthy.

What are your favourite winter snacks?

Fitness Friday: Christmas Detox Version

You're probably feeling the full effect of Christmas and New Years, lounging around in your loosest, comfiest pants, making sure to avoid anything that might possibly show the extra bulges you've adopted over the last couple of weeks. Okay, if this isn't you, it's definitely me currently. I didn't go too overboard, but I have been neglecting my usual routines. So I thought I'd share with you (and the poor girl who's stomach is obviously giving her trouble) some tips that might help with that post-Christmas food baby.

Morning detox! I like to start off my day with a mug of hot water and lemon juice to help flush out as many toxins as I can (and to mainly help keep my bloating in check, I bloat just by looking at bread). Leave about 20 minutes before you eat something for the liquids to swish through you.

Breakfast detox! Eat something full of fibre, like oats mixed with a banana and some super-tasty-and-good-for-you blueberries! Or some bran with a banana and some strawberries! Avoid fatty, greasy anything, and don't skip out on eating breakfast either.

Hydrate yerself! Make sure you keep up with drinking warm teas like peppermint or chamomile (which are great for an upset or bloated stomach), or even better, dandelion tea if it's available to you. Keep slurping back water, but nothing chilly as it tends to upset the stomach.

Lunch detox! Keep away from huge amounts of carbs, go for a chicken salad sans the aioli. Eat some pumpkin soup to get those carbs if you need them, pumpkin is great for stocking up on vitamins but also keeping you full. Make sure the pumpkin soup is a homemade one, or one that's from a trusted health food store.

Snack detox! You'll probably find yourself wanting to snack in between your main meals so make sure you keep your desk drawer stocked up with tasty treats such as roasted but salt free almonds, an orange or apple to keep you going, and some plain yoghurt. Keep away from sugar-free yogurts as these are more detrimental than helpful in keeping the sugar levels done and helping you de-bloat and get that earthy bacteria running better in your stomach.

Dinner detox! A slice of salmon cooked in foil with a bit of lemon and rosemary , with a side of sweet mashed potato (such as kumara), and broccoli is just the healthy punch your stomach needs. Make sure you skip out the glass of wine as you are still trying to get your body off to a good start for this year. And no huge dessert either. A couple of blocks of dark chocolate will do.

Don't be ashamed of what happened, the most important thing is that you enjoyed it! You only live once, eh? :)

Is there anything you'd like to suggest that works really well for you when you've overindulged? 

Fitness Friday: Christmas Version

I know that everyone cuts loose around Christmas, as they should, but sometimes we tend to over-indulge and that creates a problem for the following year. I’m talking having too many Christmas treats starting a month before Christmas, attending too many parties accompanied by too much vino and your favourite choice of alcoholic beverages, using the excuse that ‘Hey! it’s almost Christmas, why not buy it for myself slash that other special person in my life’.

I won’t be there to smack that extra gingerbread man out of your hand, or make you nurse just that one drink for the entire party, and I certainly won’t be there to gently guide your hand away from your wallet containing your credit card, but I can hopefully give you some tips which will hopefully help your waistline, and the waistline of your credit card!

 The Super Duper Christmas Guide to Looking After Yourself this Christmas!

1.    When you are expecting a work function, a party, any kind of gathering involve enough food to feed an army of elephants, prepare for it by making sure you eat regularly the day beforehand AND on the day. That means, have a decent meal (breakfast, lunch and dinner), and in between, follow up with healthy snacks such as a handful of walnuts and almonds, a crisp apple, protein shake or some yoghurt drizzled with honey and topped with nuts of choice.

2.    At said work function/party/gathering of small elephants, don’t stop yourself from eating your favourite food, even if it is an almost only mayonnaise creation topped with gummy bears. Load half your plate with healthy things such as salads sans the gummy bears and mayonnaise, and then section off another quarter for food full of protein, such as meat (no fatty bits!), and then the other quarter use for your other not-so-good-for you favourites. No seconds. Only salad seconds are allowed.

3.    If you’re going to drink, have a maximum of 2 glasses of whatever you’re drinking. Just keep in mind that those are liquid calories and they add up a lot easier than whatever you’re eating. There’ll be more parties in the future, plenty of chances to drink then too.

4.    When buying presents for others, or for yourself!, really think about whether the person would appreciate it, or whether they would prefer something actually made by you. For your best friend, why not search up a DIY recipe for a sugar scrub? Inexpensive, yet easy to make, and a great personal touch. Who doesn’t need a good scrub during these winter months? And for the gentlemen in your life? Promise them a completely home cooked meal of their choice, and a week of no rom-com’s.

5.    If you’re forgoing exercising for quality time with friends and family, sneak in exercising WITH friends and family. Go outside and make snowmen, have a snowball fight, go skiing, take a walk around the park (I’m sure it’ll look like a winter wonderland if you’re living somewhere where there’s snow during Christmas time!), go ice-skating, walk your dog three times in one day, making each walk a little longer.

6.    Save your Christmas chocolate, spread it out over the months, re-gift it, even! Saves you the temptation of eating it yourself.

7.    If you've ever wanted to join a gym, Christmas time is usually a great time to join up as gym's are trying to reach their targets and will have great deals going. If you know you're not going to be able to make the gym during December, ask to delay your start date.

8.    Again, think about those really in need, and consider donating money to charities, instead of buying presents for others. Engage the present-receiver and ask them whom they would like for you to donate money to. (Also, talk about it first with the person, this is a slightly touchy thing, especially if they got you what you really wanted this Christmas!).

9.    Do the 100 workout every morning to start up your metabolism for the day.

10.  And best tip of all…just relax, enjoy the holidays, do everything in moderation (apart from having fun, that should be done in the EXTREME), and stay safe.

Fitness Friday

I know that an issue that concerns a lot of people is staying fit and healthy (or actually just looking good in a new dress slash when they're in their birthday suit). And a lot of people approach these two very broad terms I've thrown out there, in various different ways.
Some starve themselves, then binge, and feel guilty about it afterwards, some avoid certain foods entirely, some exercise too much (but with the wrong form and technique), and other don't exercise at all because they're not really sure what to do etc etc.

With so much information readily available already on the internet, in magazines, books, just ready to slap you in the face with the overload of it all, I thought I'd try and add in my two cents.
I know, I know, I don't have a degree in this, I cannot vouch to being some sort of expert in any of this, but personal experience, my bookworminess and a passion for the gym and group fitness has given me some in-sight which I can share with those who are interested.

I believe that the first step in towards any kind of health and fitness, is...wait for it...it's gonna blow your mind...

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Changing your mindset. 

A lot of women, and men!, have a very negative mindset about their appearance. It's common for women to complain to each other about their "problem areas". I have lost count of the amount of times I have been approached by various girls and women, asking me how to lose fat from certain areas. So this is where I have to start with the myth dispelling. You cannot lose weight from certain areas of you body. To make your bum smaller, your thighs narrower, your stomach flatter, your arms buffalo wingless, you need to lose weight overall. That's how serious this is, I'm using bold font. But back to how people perceive themselves; you are your own harshest critic. A lot of things you might dislike about yourself, nobody else will notice.

So first things first.

Search and destroy the issues. Why exactly do you dislike your bum so much? Is it because some jerk of an ex-boyfriend made some remark about it that one time, and now it's stuck? Really think about why you are experiencing low self-esteem in regards to your body, and try to resolve the issue. Imagine how unloved that part/your whole body feels when you look at it and dislike it. It's you! Why would you dislike any part of you? You're entirely unique, one of a kind, ain't no one else out there like you. It's something you should be proud of!


Put it into perspective. Be grateful. In order to gain a fit and healthy lifestyle, and to maintain it, it's going to be a lifelong dedication, and it's going to start with you looking at yourself with more positivity. Sometimes we all need to take a step back and really put it into perspective. You don't like the way your legs look? Hey, at least you HAVE legs which you can use to walk, run, jump, climb mountains with, etc., and there are others out there who don't and would give anything to have a pair, no matter what they look like. You don't like the way your face has too many blackheads/your cheekbones aren't prominent enough? Well, at least you have a face which hasn't been eaten away by acid, or been melted away by fire.
So put things into perspective. Be grateful you actually own functioning body parts.


Replace the negative thoughts with positive ones. When you're standing there, looking at yourself in the mirror, and being super mean towards yourself, find at least 3 things you do really like about yourself and don't walk away until you have. It doesn't even have to be a physical trait, it can be something about your personality, or something you've done recently that you're proud of yourself for. And then think, it was this body that helped you achieve this positive thing, why demean it?

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Everything has to start with a small step. Let that first step towards a healthier and fitter future start with positive thoughts!