Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
1 eggplant
12 brussel sprouts
12 large green olives, marinated
100g feta cheese
250g low fat ricotta
6 – 8 semi dried tomatoes, sliced thinly
6 eggs
½ cup milk
A small amount of basic salad dressing (olive oil & balsamic vinegar)
6 weeks in and check out my legs!
This week has been an interesting one, involving some fun new workouts and a couple of days in which I made a significant diversion from my nutritional guidelines.
In the past I would have felt quite guilty about my ‘slip’ and proceed to place harsh dietary restrictions and an even more gruelling workout regime on myself but this time around it is different.
When talking about goal setting and putting any plans into action, lifestyle gurus often talk about the principle of accountability. That is, telling people what you are going to do so that you instil something like a fear of failure into yourself, spurring you on to do what you said you were going to do.
Now, I am all for telling people what your dreams are, but I believe you should do it for a very different reason.
Let’s not beat around the bush here – a crudité is just a fancy word for veggie stick in my book!! And one of the best & healthiest snacks you can basically go to town on is veggie sticks & homemade dip. The veggies speak for themselves, but the homemade dips are so worthwhile, cutting out all the extras (preservatives, additives, excessive oil & salt) that shop bought dips are full of. And once you get the hang of a basic dip foundation, you can really get creative with flavour combinations!!
Read more…
5 weeks in guys!
This week was a really good week for me. My ability to listen to my body is developing swiftly, I am allowing myself and my body to use the energy that I have provided (food) as well the energy that I have stored (fat).
How am I doing this? It’s simple really…..
We often talk about what we should be eating. What about the why?
Why do you eat? Why should you eat?
Surely you only eat because you are hungry. Why else would you eat?
When people think “baked spuds” for tea, an image of a potato dripping in butter, melted cheese, sour cream, those weird bacon bits & chives often springs to mind – not exactly a healthy meal idea for the calorie conscious amongst us!! But when I think of baked potatoes, I immediately start thinking about all the delicious, fresh toppings that I’m going to pile up on top of it, creating my own little Spud Bar experience in the comfort of my own home. And I’m not even thinking potato…..I’m dreaming about gorgeous, golden sweet potato!!
The transformation has now been going for almost a month and is having an impact far beyond the transformation of my body. It is transforming my entire approach to food, fat loss and exercise!
I have been trying to become more aware of my body and only eating when I am hungry.
This has required much more focus than I originally thought.
I am an absolute sucker for sweets – whether it’s cakes, muffins, brownies, pastries, pudding or cookies, I LOVE delicious home baked goods for morning or afternoon tea. There’s nothing better than the smell of something delicious baking in the oven wafting through the house! Here is my adaptation of a flourless orange cake recipe that will have you absolutely salivating – guilt free.
There is so much information out there on how you should exercise, how long for, how often, at what time of the day and what types of exercises you should be doing.
If you want to get fitter, stronger, more flexible and lose body fat, you can’t go wrong if you follow these 10 tips to more effective workouts.
Read more…
Changing your lifestyle can be hard. Really hard. But why?
Because our subconscious is so often in control of what we do. We often already know what we need to change to improve our lives but often (most of the time) we just revert back to what we have always done.
But if our subconscious is in control – what hope do we have?
One of my favourite things to do on weekends (or weekdays if I’m feeling super luxurious) is go out for breakfast; but the great thing I’m beginning to discover is that café breakfast menus are often really easy to replicate at home. So I decided to invent a baked egg brekky, as baked eggs seem to be all the rage at the moment & eggs for breakfast are an excellent way to hit up the protein first thing!
I am now 3 weeks in to my 90 day transformation and things are moving steadily in the right direction.
Tuning in to my body and deciphering which cravings are habitual and which are those of my body calling out for energy is a challenge but I am getting better. The conventional wisdom says eat 6 meals a day but why would I eat if I am not hungry?
Does my energy have to come from food?
Have you ever been committed to an exercise regime only to find that you have run out of time to exercise? Of course you have.
How about dedicating yourself to a healthy eating plan only to have it undermined because there is nothing (healthy) to eat in the fridge? I would put money on it.
Then Planning and Preparation are your friends.
One of the things most people struggle with when it comes to salads is a general feeling that they lack substance, and therefore either won’t fill you up or won’t be satisfying. I sometimes feel the same way when it’s approaching lunchtime & I know I’ve planned on having a salad, but all I really feel like eating is a great big toasted focaccia!! Here are some helpful tips on ingredients & tricks that you can incorporate into everyday salads to make them that little bit more super. I promise that once you get the hang of making a great salad, you’ll not only find it delicious, but you might even be full after eating it.
14 days down people.
Everything is going great! The physical results were not huge this week but I am feeling sooooo good! Planning out delicious meals for each day of the week means there is no shortage of healthy food to consume. But how much do I need?
That is the question.
If you are going to start and then successfully complete a transformation, by far the most important aspect of your planning and preparation is the setting of your goals. Without a clear idea of what you are trying to achieve then the chances of you reaching your goals are pretty much zero.
Goals are the light at the end of the tunnel and if you set them properly, then they are also the lights along the tunnel too, lighting your path all the way to the end.
A very dear friend of ours, who is a seriously health conscious cook herself, will always serve up one of these delicious muffins & a cup of piping hot black tea every time we visit her. It wasn’t long before we were asking for the recipe, & I was very pleased to learn that they can be eaten completely guilt free as they are packed full of goodness, with nothing unhealthy in them at all. Satisfies my 3 o’clock sweet craving an absolute treat.
So here we are – 7 days in to the 90 day transformation.
Week 1 went really well. I completed all my workouts, stuck to my nutrition guidelines 90% of the time and I am feeling great. I am feeling way less bloated with the huge reduction in processed carbs, I am feeling stronger after getting back into resistance training (I had 3-4 weeks off during preparation for my triathlon), I am sleeping better and I am getting results.
Enough from me, let’s hear from the stats.
There is a great group of people growing in each Group Training Class here at The Fitness Monk, & we’re excited that you are all committing to coming regularly because that is absolutely the best way to achieve results!! With that in mind, we’ve decided to streamline the weekly sessions to make them better for those who are training 2 & 3 times each week.
Ingredients
1 large sweet potato
1 eggplant
12 brussel sprouts
12 large green olives, marinated
100g feta cheese
250g low fat ricotta
6 – 8 semi dried... 6 weeks in and check out my legs!
This week has been an interesting one, involving some fun new workouts and a couple of days in which I made a significant... When talking about goal setting and putting any plans into action, lifestyle gurus often talk about the principle of accountability. That is, telling people what you... Let's not beat around the bush here - a crudité is just a fancy word for veggie stick in my book!! And one of the best & healthiest snacks you can basically go...