DAY 14

I've had a very busy 5 days since I lasted posted but I still managed to keep up with my workouts and healthy balanced (clean) eating.

My meals for the past few days have consisted of:
 A green smoothie -- 2 tablespoons of spirulina, handful of kale, 40g mango, 1 apple,1 medium banana

Stuffed red peppers -- 1 tin of tuna, 28g quinoa, 1 small onion, 1 slice of reduced fat edam cheese, butternut squash, mushrooms.

Salad -- cos lettuce, mixed beans, sweet corn, crayfish, turkey, black olives, roasted peppers and olive oil drizzled over it. YUMMMY!!!

Ground beef w/ long grain rice + wild rice -- 1 serving of: extra lean ground meat, kale, rice, mushrooms and tomatoes.

Have a great day guys!!

2.5kg (5.5 lbs) down in 2 weeks + I'm half way to my target for the month ...whoooop!!!!!

I think this method of weight loss is working for me because I'm not doing too much exercise and eating too little food like I was at the start. If I feel like only doing 30 mins of dancing thats what I'll do or just want to go for a walk I will! I'm eating more but mainly healthy calories with portion control.

**I read somewhere about calorie cycling and it's importance for your body's equilibrium. Calorie cycling is basically eating a different amount of calories everyday because sometimes eating a set amount of calories each day, our bodies get used to it and eventually we reach a weight loss plateau. This plateau is basically your metabolism slowing down and therefore you are burning less calories at rest. So this zig zagging of calories keeps the body guessing (the same can be said for exercise -- switching up your workouts every 10 days).

So for example my daily caloric allowance is 1651, so I could do this:

Monday - 1651
Tuesday - 1850
Wednesday - 1300
Thursday - 1600
Friday -- 1400
Saturday 1000
Sunday 1850 etc....

The body adapts incredibly well in situations of "stress" so we have to keep it guessing!! It puts less pressure on you and on your body to be perfect all the time. Try it for a week and see if it works.

Day 9: Insanity fast + furious

I'm doing my fast and furious 25 minute workout in a few mins and then after that I have to eat right. So I'm making a green smoothie (no dairy just adding ice water) and here is the nutrition info from my food diary:

I'm adding spirulina and kale - the superman and incredible hulk of green superfoods.

Day 8: I've lost 1.4kg (3.1 lb) since last week!!! Whooop! I truly think all thanks go to my new food diary app :)

So I exceeded my 2 pound target and this week I'm aiming to lose another 2 pounds with self-control and exercise! Today I'm not in the mood to workout so will just not take the bus or train and I will walk everywhere instead -- so I'm at least burning a few calories. Have a great day guys x

Breakfast -- Nothing
Lunch -- Egg sandwich
Dinner -- Roast chicken with a butter beans, kale, cherry tomatoes and olive salad. THIS WAS DELICIOUS!!!
Snack -- 60g sliced avocado + handful of almonds + 2 bananas

Note === Total calories today 1389

 

Goodnight!

Day 7: P90X SHOULDERS + ARMS

I had a great rest day yesterday but now the weekday is back and so are the workouts. P90X's shoulders and arms workout is 1 hour and 20 mins long but you hardly notice the length because it's a fun and simple workout...I didn't sweat much during this but my arms felt the burrrrn!

• Warm-up: high knees, jogging, wide knees, butt kicks, jumping jacks, running lunges
• Stretch

Set 1:

• Alternating shoulder press
• In + out bicep curls
• Two arm tricep kickbacks - killer!
• Ballistic stretch

16-25 reps per arm (or as much as you can)

Set 2:

• Deep swimmer's press
• Full supination concentration curls 
• Chair dips 
• Ballistic stretch

Set 3:

• Upright rows
• Static arm curls
• Flip grip twist kickback
• Ballistic stretch

Set 4:

• Seated shoulder flies
• Crouching cohen curls - killer!
• Lying down tricep extensions - killer!
• Ballistic stretch

Set 5: 

• Straight arm shoulder flys
• Congdon curls
• Side tri-rise

COOL DOWN + STRETCH! DONE!!

Breakfast -- Omelette + wholewheat toast with raspberry jam
Lunch -- 25g rolled oats + 25g oatbran with lactofree semi-skim milk
Dinner -- Quinoa + skinless chicken breast with chickpeas + mushrooms in spicy tomato sauce

• Remove the skin and large chunks of fat from a whole chicken (to reduce fat content) then season with jerk spices and roast. 

• Boil quinoa and drain. 

• Cook chickpeas and mushrooms in a teaspoon of olive oil. Once the mushrooms are soft add a teaspoon of tomato puree and a splash of water. Season with salt and pepper. EAT!!!

Note === Total calories are 316 for 100g chicken breast, 100g mushrooms, 60g chickpeas, 28g quinoa

Day 6: Billy Blanks T3 + P90X Ab ripper X

I did 30 mins of Billy Blanks T3 workout (see previous post) and then I felt like working my abs P90X's 17 min ab ripper:

25 reps of each workout with some requiring left and right side workouts.

• In + outs
• Bicycles
• Crunchy frog
• Cross leg or wide leg sit-ups
• Fifer Scissors
• Hip Rock n Raise
• Pulse ups (heels to heaven)
• V up Roll up combos
• Oblique V ups
• Leg climbs
• Mason Twist
• Upper ward dog/ cobra
• Child's pose

DONE!!!

Breakfast -- Omelette + wholewheat toast with raspberry jam
Lunch -- Mackerel + 1 slice of toast
Dinner - Tuna salad
Snack - Tea, Almonds + 2 bananas

Water sports

Financial Times Editorial -- features designs by Vera Wang, Max Mara, Akris, Alexander Wang. I adore the various trends in this editorial - from neon to sheer and the colour combinations. It always great to look through magazines for ideas, especially for practical outfits.

 source: fashionising

Day 5: Billy Blank Tae Bo T3

So I did Billy Blanks Tae Bo Total Transformation Training (tongue twister - say it 5 times really fast!) ...and minus the annoying woman counting throughout the DVD - I enjoyed this workout and really pushed myself!

Tae bo - Tae kwon do + boxing is a high intensity workout that aims to increase cardiovascular fitness, strength, muscle endurance and flexibility.

Time restraints today, so I only managed to fit in this workout - below is what I did (via youtube):

 

Breakfast -- Cottage cheese + 1 slice of 50 calorie wholewheat bread
Lunch  -- Nothing
Dinner -- Long grain + Wild rice with smoked mackerel and a side salad

Snacks --Handful of Almonds + 2 bananas

MY TURBO FIRE DAYS ARE DONE! I JUST DON'T LIKE IT...SO I'M REPLACING IT WITH BILLY BLANKS TAE BO

My hybrid program of Insanity + P90X is very intense so I needed a workout that was intense but fun, so I tried turbo fire but the moves were too quick and just too dancey! I've loved Billy Blanks workout techniques for years and the DVD was just collecting dust -- so might as well save money and use it.

For those without the DVD there are a ton of Billy Blanks workouts on youtube -- some good Samaritan uploaded whole DVD's, like this one that I'm doing today:

Not a lot but I've lost 1.4lbs since Monday and I'm within my weekly target loss of 2lbs per week!

I've decided to go slow and steady and I believe a loss of 2 pounds (0.91kg) per week is reasonable -- it would mean a loss of 8 pounds per month (3.6kg). Hopefully I will be close to my goal weight by Dec 2012/Jan 2013.

Day 4: Insanity - Fast + Furious

Warm-up: 

• Jog
• Jumping jacks
• 123 Heisman
• Jump rope + High knees
• Fall squats
• Plank squats

Repeated but faster. 

Stretch

Main workout:

• High sprints with high knees
• Low sprints
• Floor sprints
• Moving push-up

Repeated 3 times

• Power knees
• Diamond jumps

Repeated 6 times

• Ski Abs
• In + outs
• Oblique push-ups

Repeated 5 times

• High Knee oblique twists
• Burpee push-up jacks
• Power jumps
• Football rolls + Plank holds
• Plank punches
• 100 meter dash

Cool down stretch
FINISHED!


Breakfast -- 3 egg omelette (2 egg whites + 1 whole egg -- 107 cal) + 2 slices of 50 cal wholewheat bread.
Lunch  -- 28g Almonds + 2 medium bananas sliced.
Dinner -- Couscous with beef and mixed vegetables.

Review: Nutracheck

I've been looking for an app on my iphone that tells you the serving size and calories of a specific brand of food. There are a ton of them out there but non of them cater to the UK until I stumbled on this gem called Nutracheck. 

Nutracheck features include:

• A food diary with an extensive UK food database including restaurants + takeways
• Exercise diary with calorie burn figures for over 300 exercises
• Bar code scanning for quick calorie counting - instantly search over
  100,000 UK foods* (see image)
• Members' forum access
• Weekly weigh -in facility with graphs
• Week view to monitor progress
• Option to track weight and waist measurements.

 I especially love the forums where there are countless people sharing their wins and defeats, tips and encouragement etc.-- it's like a weight loss family. 

The app has given me a calorie allowance of 1653 per day so that I reach my target of 2lb loss per week.

The app is free and I would definitely recommend it to anyone even those in the US who would have access to the forums and food + workout diary. It has been immensely helpful especially in moment when I want to eat something but am unsure about the calorie content and serving size. 

Inspiration : Jordin Sparks

Just as beautiful before her weight loss but now she has a confidence that definitely wasn't there before. In my opinion she was never fat but we all have our own aspirations and visions of where we want to be, so for her, she needed to lose weight.

Height: 5'10"
Total weight loss: approximately 35 pounds
Dress size before: US 14
Dress size after: US 8

What I love about her weight loss is that she did it without compromising her curves and she is toned -- which is basically my ideal body type!

Here's what she says about her weight loss:

"I made exercise a priority instead of just talking about it...I'm very happy, so that helps as well, and just watching portion sizes." 

“I started slowly by walking the path around my house, and then eventually walking a little bit faster, and then actually going and climbing up the mountain [near my home],” she said. “So it was literally a mountain to climb, but I did that.”

She hired a personal trainer, went swimming, did Zumba, P90X, went for walks + runs and most importantly changed her diet (portion control).

On why she shared her bikini pic with the world:

"I don’t know what I was thinking saying, 'It's the first time I’ve put a bikini on. I’m going to post it to the entire world.' I was feeling really good that day. It's all about how you feel in the bathing suit."   

"For me to even be talking about bikini confidence  is crazy,” she said. “If you had asked me a couple of months ago, I probably would have been like, ‘what are you talking about…’ so it’s actually huge for me to even feel okay with putting a bikini on.”

I'm so happy for her and in a way for myself because I know that making the decision to want to change my body is a huge step -- and hopefully one day I can get to the ME that I know is in there somewhere.

Day 3: Insanity - Fast + Furious

Insanity's Fast + Furious workout is 25 mins of Insanity in double/even triple the speed - hence the title. After doing this, I felt like I had achieved more in 25 mins than in 40 mins of turbo fire (THIS POST).

Warm-up: 

• Jog
• Jumping jacks
• 123 Heisman
• Jump rope + High knees
• Fall squats
• Plank squats

Repeated but faster. 

Stretch

Main workout:

• High sprints with high knees
• Low sprints
• Floor sprints
• Moving push-up

Repeated 3 times

• Power knees
• Diamond jumps

Repeated 6 times

• Ski Abs
• In + outs
• Oblique push-ups

Repeated 5 times

• High Knee oblique twists
• Burpee push-up jacks
• Power jumps
• Football rolls + Plank holds
• Plank punches
• 100 meter dash

Cool down stretch...DONE!

Breakfast -- cottage cheese (1 serving)
Lunch  -- Nothing
Dinner -- Grilled Beef with a brocolli, sugar snap peas + red pepper salad

• Beef seasoned with salt + pepper and 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil then grilled in George Foreman for 8 mins.
• During the grilling stage I chopped up the vegetables (a handful of each) and put them in a pot of boiling water for less than 2 mins -- so they were still crispy. 
• Drain the water and place veg in a bowl
• Slice the beef and toss them with the veg bowl and then drizzle some olive oil + seasoned with rock salt and pepper (to taste) - EAT!

Note::: I started off with 160g of beef but after grilling there was about 77g -- which is the perfect portion size!

Goodnight x

DAY 2

I didn't workout today but I did try and walk everywhere. 

For dinner I had tuna with couscous with sundried tomatoes and vegetables. SO DELISH!

EAT MORE TO LOSE MORE?

THE BIGGEST MISTAKE I MADE IN THE FIRST 3 MONTHS OF MY JOURNEY WAS EATING  1300 CAL + LESS PER DAY, SO MY METABOLISM SLOWED DOWN BECAUSE MY BODY PANICKED AND STORED FAT AND BECAUSE OF THIS MY RESULTS WERE SO SLOW.

 THE VIDEO BELOW (BY MY FAVOURITE WEIGHT LOSS GURU'S) SHOWS THAT IN THE FIRST FEW WEEKS OF YOUR WEIGHT LOSS YOU SHOULD TRY NOT SWITCH UP YOUR CALORIE INTAKE TO QUICKLY BUT INSTEAD EVERY WEEK GRADUALLY REDUCE IT: 2000...1800...1600....1500..etc..

Watch the video and let me know your thoughts?

 

MY WORKOUTS CONSIST OF EITHER INSANITY, P90X OR TURBO FIRE. I DECIDED TO DO A HYBRID WORKOUT TO KEEP IT FRESH AND MORE FUN!

Day 1: Turbo Fire - Fire 30 + Stretch 10

Let me start by saying that do not take Chalene Johnson's over enthusiastic exterior fool you, this workout is intense. Though not as intense as the Insanity 60 day program but it's still a good workout program that will make you sweat.

My only problem with Turbofire so far is that it all goes a bit to quickly for me -- I get used to one move then she's off to another one and I did have to pause the DVD a lot just so I could see what they did, so my heart rate goes down (but I heard after week 1 you get more familiar with her techniques). If after a week I still have the same problem I will replace it with another fun workout program.

So today was day 1 of my Insanity/P90x/Turbo Fire hybrid (mix) program and the start of my clean eating lifestyle and here is what I did:

Fire 30 workout: 

• 5 minute warm up
• 6 minute workout (cardio/kickboxing drills) + 1 minute fire drill of HIIT (High intensity interval training)
• 1 min break
• 6 min workout (cardio drills)
• 6 min stretches
• 6 min workout + 1 fire drill of HIIT
• FINALE - 5 min workout
• 4 min cool down

 Then I did the Stretch 10 workout:

•  shoulder stretch
• neck stretch
• hip stretch
• abductor stretch
• butterfly
• rotator cuff dynamic

...and that's it! 40 minutes of Turbo fire. Would I recommend it?  Well, yes but I don't think people that are super fit will benefit (fitness wise) from a workout like this unless it just for fun.

Breakfast -- egg white omelette with asparagus and greek yoghurt:

*2 egg whites + 1 whole egg with 8 asparagus sticks + 1 slice of reduced fat cheddar (140 calories)

*Fage 0% fat greek yoghurt (5 ounces) with 1 teaspoon spirulina + 2 stick sachets of 0 calorie stevia (154 calories)

This was so yummy and creamy!

 Lunch -- Turkey burger + side salad

 Dinner -- Tuna + sun dried tomato salad. 

It's been a long day and I am so exhausted!!!! My workout tomorrow is Insanity's intense/crazy 25 min Asylum workout -- I'm keeping it short but it wont be sweet because I have a ton of revision to do but I know with this workout I will be burning calories to the MAX!!!!!!!!!!

Goodnight x

HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter everyone! My Lenten fasting is over and it was tough but I learnt the importance of discipline and also that I didn't have to eat to feel something.

Anyway I start a new workout and clean eating tomorrow and I'm excited to see what this next chapter unfolds in my weight loss journey. Unlike my Insanity journey where I was doing 100% insanity workouts I want to switch it up this time around.

I will continue to workout 6 days a week and my workouts will consist of sessions of either -- turbo fire, insanity, p90x or 30 day shred (I will alternate workouts to keep it fresh and exciting) and once a week I will go for a jog.

A typical breakfast on a clean eat plan is: -- greek yoghurt with 1 banana and stevia (203 cal) or turkey hash (214 cal).

So it all begins with getting a good nights sleep. Goodnight guys!!

Lunchbox Awesome

Lunchbox Awesome is Picasso for the playground and it's a great way to make fruit + veg more appealing to kids. I'm 25 and I'm am soo not ashamed to say I would happily take any of the designs for my lunches... .it's just so supercalifragilisticexpialidocious cool!!! I look at these and wonder why my mum was never as creative --dammit!

Check out their tumblr site -- but be warned, get some snacks and enjoy the show.

 source: lunchboxawesome.tumblr.com

H+M SPORTS

H&M have a cute collection of clothes that are affordable and great for workout clothes and other activities.

How great are these pieces? One thing I love about H+M over the years is that their clothes are really durable considering the price.

Recipe: Zero Fat Oatmeal banana bread

I want cake dammit! Banana bread in particular -- I found a low fat recipe and with a few modifications it's zero fat and low sugar.

 

 Total calories:  648.5

10 slices at 65 calories per slice.

2 medium sized bananas - the riper the better
120g whole wheat flour
35g demerara sugar (or sweetener of choice - add according to taste).
3 medium egg whites
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cal spray oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons 0% fat Greek yoghurt

Preheat oven to 350°F, Flour + Grease pan with 1 cal oil spray.  In a large bowl add the dry ingredients.

1. Slice the 2 bananas into manageable size
2. In a separate bowl mash bananas with fork or potato masher till smooth.
3. Whip egg + sugar together (mechanically is best) till egg whites harden and form peaks - makes cake fluffy and light
3. Fold wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix.
4. Leave batter to sit in bowl for 5 mins to allow oats to swell and baking soda can activate.

After 5 minutes pour batter into pan and put in oven for 40-60 minutes. Take out of oven and leave to cool for 5 mins. Then you can take it out and eat!!!

**Unfortunately my got burnt --note don't think it's OK to take a bubble bath whilst baking!!! So I only managed to salvage about 2 slices worth *tears* but it was delicious. I would recommend reducing the amount of sugar in the recipe as the bananas help in adding sweetness, otherwise a really relicious (ridiculously delicious) cake.

What's your opinion on a detox liquid diet for lets say 7-10 days and by liquid I mean soups, smoothies etc...What methods of detoxing have you tried? Have they been successful or just a waste of time?

Chicken, Brie + Plantain wrap

Just got home and haven't had a bite to eat all day + man I am hungry!!!! After a long day of studying I look forward to coming home and eating something so delicious that I go into a food coma then wake up the next morning reminiscing. Well this (below) is what food coma's are made of:

 

It's a BBQ chicken brie and plantain wrap and with a few modifications i.e. minus the bread and brie, I made Roast chicken with (dry) roasted plantain and kale salad. Voila! 

 image source: here