Oaty BBQ Fruit & Nut Turkey Burgers

These are so easy to make! 

1.  In a bowl add 400g lean Turkey mince, 40g Sultanas, 10g Chia Seeds, 80g of hard Oats, 10g Schwartz BBQ seasoning and 2 egg whites.  Mix well!!!

2.  Make 4 equal burger pates.

3.  In a griddle pan pre heat with a few sprays of low calorie cooking spray.

4.  Fry Burgers.  Remember not to flip them until underneath is cooked well or they will crumble!!!

Macros per burger

262 Kcals

9.2g Fat

19g Carbs

23g Protein

I made 100g of Cauliflower rice to accompany my burger😁

Low Carb Chicken Supreme Pizza

A super healthy alternative for pizza. 

1.  Pre Heat Oven 

2.  Chop up 700g of Cauliflower and then blend in a blender.

3. Cook in microwave for 3.5 - 4 minutes and then leave to cool.

4. You need to drain the water from the cauliflower.  Empty the cauliflower into a dish towel and squeeze out the excess.

5. Add 1/2 tea spoon of chilli crushed spices, 1/4 tsp basil, 1/4 teaspoon of oregano and I also added pink salt.

6. Pat out on a pizza tray which is lined with baking paper.

7.  Fry 200g of chicken in low calorie cooking spray.

8, smear 80g pizza base sauce over the base,  sprinkle 100g of weight watchers mild cheddar and then sprinkle over 100g red and 100g green chopped peppers.  75g Red chopped onion and add the chicken.

8,  bake for 20-30 minutes and cut into 8 slices

Per slice

103 calories

19g Carbs

16g Protein

3.2g Fat

Chocolate Meringue Protein Cheesecake

The mission was to come make a cheesecake that genuinely tasted amazing.  Some cheesecakes I have made in the past I felt were really dry and I had to add a lot of honey or dark chocolate to take the dry taste away.

However I think I have nailed this one with the taste, but I will make suggestions on how to get better macros and what I plan to change when I make this next time.

For the base

1.  In a bowl,30g Ezekiel Almond Cearl mixed with 5 Rich Tea Biscuits Crushed.

2. Add 30g Natural Peanut Butter and 10g Light and Mild Honey.  Mix with the Ezekiel and rich teas, then pat out onto the base of a cheesecake tin (I used an 8cm diameter)

For the Cheesecake

1. All of the below ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth!

- 300g Light Soft Philedelphia Cheese

- 500g. Weight Watchers Quark

- 1 Whole Egg

- 3 Egg Whites

- 60ml Unsweetened  Almond Milk

- 1 table spoon stevia

- 66g Choc Mint Smart Tec Whey FX

Bake for 60 min at 150 degree pre heated oven.

Leave to fully cool!!!

Melt 6 squares of Milka Chocolate over the cheesecake and then 3 crushed mini meringues.

Set in fridge over night or for around 6 hours

Macros per serving (8 slices)

178 Calories

4.5g Fat

14.5g Carbs

21.2g Protein

The Highs & The Lows

This week has been my best week yet in terms of "mirror progress" however its also been one of my lowest weeks. 

Cardio is now permantly twice a day. Morning Cardio lasting anything from 30 to 45 minutes. On leg days post workout cardio is moderate intensity around 20 to 30 minutes, and upper body workouts consists of 15 to 20 minutes PWO HIIT Sprints on the Treadmill. 

 Carbs are 140g this week, then 130g next week before starting to go into High, Mod, Low carb cycling for a further 2 weeks before I start my depletion. I am hungry, but not to the point of starving, just that I know am hungry and I am grumpy because of it, and the best solution for that is just to sleep or shut myself away. 

 Unlike other people who do comp prep I can honestly swear on the bible that I am not craving naughty food, but I am craving a right good feed! I would pick a good nutritious meal over "shite food" anyday. I want 24 hour marinated chicken in spices, baked slowly in the oven, with copious amounts of Harry Ransons Sweet Potato Chip Recipe (check it out). A full plate of grilled marinated vegetables, some fage yoghurt for dipping those chips into and melted grilled mild cheddar. For desert I want my Nutella fage Sundae with lots and lots of fresh fruit, pineapples, strawberries, rasberries, melon, grapes. 

 I think the reason I dont crave too much "shite" is because am terrified of the stuff. It was that "shite" that made me overweight, unhappy, tired, riddled in cellulite and feeling worthless - so why would I want to binge it. I am happy to say I am able to control the "shite", so perhaps with my Nutella Fage Sundae I would throw in some ferrero rouche! 

Worst part of this week is I should finally find out if my contract over in Vienna is being extended. I have managed to secure a part time job in the UK but its not doing what I do, its only part time hours and the wages (well lets not even go there) but its a job and it cant be sniffed at. I am abit worried about the job situation but I am trying to think of it in a positive way. If I dont get my contract extended then I am only 3 weeks out from comp and have plenty of time to chill and focus on that without being stressed at work as a carb deprived zombie.

 I think the final 6 weeks of prep are actually the hardest. I struggled at this point the last 2 comps and am struggling again because I would rather be one of these people who hibernates for 6 weeks than put on false pretences that prep is easy at this stage. 

 Last nights back session my head just wasnt in the game, and thats when I start to hate prep, when I start to dread going to the gym because I feel shitty. Last week I did a good few double sessions so that my training lined up with Andy so he could help me push through my sessions during this hard stage, and it is working (I am getting shouted at alot though). Those 4 abs are out all the time now, which is pushing me through, but I feel flat and depleted already which gets me down. The mind games are well and truly kicking in. 

 To finish this post on a high note, Sammie emailed me to say my Sparkling Sapphire Bikini is finished! I love it! I can't wait to see it next week when I return back to the UK.

Progress Update 5 Weeks Out

That's me back in Vienna for another 2 weeks - which is great because my food sources here are cleaner and the gym is so much better!

I am really starting to notice the low carbs now.  Some days I look flat and feel so fatigued, it doesn't help that it's sitting late 20s to early 30s either which is also making me sleepy.

Mid section though that 4 abs are out all day.  I have managed to knock 1cm off my hips and waist, 0.5cm gain on my biceps and calves.  Chest/Back remains the same and a decrease in my quads by 1/2 cm ( this will be down to the increaSe in cardio).

I have now incorporated PWO HIIT at the end of each upper body session, I always find HiIT works so well with my body and leaning me in so I kept it as one oft last cards to play during prep.  Morning cardio is now everyday ranging from 30-60 min.  This week il be doing my posing practice at the back of the 30min cardio sessions.

Afew other changes made to my diet, eating a lot more vegetables and whole foods which will assist me with leaning in and fill up the plate!

Frozen Yoghurt

200g Fage 0%

Fresh Lemon

20g Rowse Light and Mild Honey

200g Frozen Rasberries

1. Blend the frozen Rasberries then add the Fage, squeeze of lemon and the honey and blend.

2. Pour into a bowl and stick in the freezer for 10-15 min

3. Serve with some melted Nutella and fresh Rasberries

Protein Nut Balls

No excuses for these healthy protein nut balls!

Pile all the ingridients listed below into a bowl then make 18-20 balls! (Ladies if you have long nails I recommend wearing gloves). I also recommend lowering the oatmeal quantity to 100g as there was a lot left in the bowl.

My macros based on 18 balls.

Quinoa & Sweet Potato Felafels

Up until afew months ago I had never tried felafel's before, however in Vienna they are on the starters list in most of the restaurants.  Our main course in one restaurant was delayed so they sent some complimentary felafel's to our table.

HEAVEN! - standard felafel's tend to be high in fats, where as this alternative is low fat!

I found a recipe on Pinterest and as usual the ingredients and macros were not to my liking so I exchanged them out.  I must admit i was dubious of the consistency.  Felafel's are normally round balls, but once the ingredients were in the blender it was not solid enough to roll into a ball, so i spooned them into a cake tin!

Macro per Felafel's is listed below.  Prep time around 15 minutes, bake time 10 to 15 minutes.

40g Chopped Red Onion
3 tsp of Coconut Flour
1/2 tea spoon of Cumin
1/2 Tea Spoon of Coriander Leaves
3 Table Spoons Quinoa Flakes
1 Cup of cooked Quinoa
275g of cooked peeled and mashed sweet potato.

1.  Cook the Quinoa and Sweet Potato
2.  Add all ingredients into the blender
3.  Spoon onto a baking tray.
4.  Bake for 10 to 20 minutes until brown
5.  Leave to cool and serve.

82 Calories
1.1g of Fat
15.6g of Carbs
2.6g of Protein
2g of Fibre

Six Weeks Out - Progress Update

This week I returned to the UK to collect my new car (love it! Pics below) and of course as usual hit my training hard! 

Every day I smashed 2 resistance sessions and cardio. I am defiantly getting leaner and I am a lot happier with my mid section this past week. My 4 abs are out all day, every day now and I am in fairly good spirit for only being on 150g of carbs. This Sunday marks the start of some carb cycling for the next fortnight, with High and Moderate days based on muscle groups, and a low day for non training day. 

The past week I have also been upping my posing practice, as I mentioned before posing is my weak area, and I know on stage you have around 10 minutes to shine and nobody knows your journey prior to you stepping up so posing has to be nailed. I do feel a lot more confident especially the change in category from Bikini to Fitness / Figure. I just always felt really awkward in the bikini category with the provocative moves (hair and heel flicks, winking etc) it’s just sooo not me at all, and if I feel awkward it’s only going to show to the audience and the judges. I love training and pushing myself and sometimes I felt I wasn’t bikini but yet I was still too small to be in the figure and fitness categories. I always think federations change the goal posts for bikini requirements. They want you to be soft, but still have muscle? One qualifier the girls are soft, the next qualifier for the same federation they all look hard. Some bikini girls I think should be in figure categories (recently I have seen bikini competitors with bigger shoulders and quads than some girls in the figure and fitness categories!). It’s a really subjective category and I do think stage presence play equally an important role with aesthetics. 

The great thing about training abroad is when you come home people notice a difference in you, and this weekend I had a good few compliments about my appearance which am chuffed about, because for a while I was really worried I wasn’t progressing and some days I just felt really fat and bloated. The next 2 weeks in Vienna is ‘Boot Camp’ which will take me to 3.5 weeks out at the end of it, and I am super confident I will lean in over the next few weeks to where I want to be. Given the outside temperature is 30 degrees most days here and the gym has no air con and is around 50 degrees I should have no fucking excuse for holding any water because it should be sweated out after every session!

 I never took any measurements this weekend, there was too much factors that would affect the readings, so I will do this on Sunday instead, however here are some progress pics!