Yoga Update

This is now my 3rd Yoga Beginners class and I am hooked!  Its amazing how interested you can become in a subject when you click with the instructor!

I am almost at a point of managing downward dog with my feet firmly flat on the ground - this is a huge achievement for me as I lack flexibility.  When I was practising yoga myself, it took me around 6 weeks to touch my toes without the use of blocks, however now with Jenny explaining better what I should be doing and feeling, I managed to touch my toes on the 2nd attempt (and I haven't practised this posture in months!)

What I love about Yoga is it can be treated as some 'me' time and as a therapeutic treatment, I have started looking foreword to Wednesdays and at the moment its my favourite day of the week! huge shocker for me as usually my leg session with a back 2 back step class has been my favourite for the past year.

Hopefully I can get to a point over the next few weeks where i feel confident enough to go into an all level Yoga class and practice a few times a week!

Additional Blog Pages

I am starting to add some additional pages to my blog, with recipes / progress pics / samples of training programmes etc! unfortunately these are only viewable if you access my blog from safari and not the mobile version of my blog!  if accessing from a mobile scroll to the bottom of the page and click view in web browser and then you can access the additional pages of the blog!

Lainey's Turkey Pumpkin Chilli

I am not the biggest fan of red meat, so I opted for lean turkey mince, however I am going to try this recipe again next weekend using Piedmontese Mince from Andrew Gordon www.freshfoodguru.com (trust me if he had been open today I reckon I would have opted for Piedmontese!)

Anyway ... back to this recipe! Extremely simple to make and brilliant macro's!  If your having this post workout i recommend using some basmati rice for simple carbs! for any other meal time slot why not change out rice for Quinoa like I have done??? 

Serves 6 People!

Ingredients

1 green pepper chopped

1 red onion chopped 

800g Asda lean Turkey mince

1 table spoon Schwartz cumin
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
25g Jalepino Peppers
1 1/2 Tins of Chopped Tomatos
400g of Pumpkin Puree
1 Cup of Water
1 Tablespoon of Chilli Powder
1 Teaspoon of Ground Cumin
1/2 Teaspoon of Pink Salt
100g Red Kidney Beans

Method

1. pour the Olive Oil into the pan and heat
2. Add the onions and peppers and simmer for a few minutes
3. Add the turkey mince and cook until browned
4. Add all remaining ingredients
5. Simmer for 30 minutes

Macro's

That Saturday Night Feeling

If someone has said to me 10 years ago I would be heading to the gym to spend my Saturday Evening I would have told them they were having a laugh!!!

Yesterday joining me was my inspirational sister Sharon and it was Leg and HIiT Cardio!

Although I love my individual gym sessions having a gym partner also keeps you motivated and pushes you! If Sharon wasn't there with me last night I would have bailed out of my HIIT at 200 KCals but she was doing 300 so my competitive side took over and I powered through to 300 with her!

The best thing about not boozing it up on a Saturday is how much more you get from a weekend! I was up at 8am fresh as a daisy and in the gym smashing another session!

💪😁

End of Week 4 - Phase 1 - Block 1

The end of another week!  I am still struggling with the air conditioning units at work, and constantly sneezing and feel like my chest is tight, I have now started waiting until around an hour after work to hit training as it takes about this time for my body to recover after leaving work.  If anyone has any suggestions on what to take to help the issue please let me know!

I have struggled to hit my macros this week, sometimes being as much as 10g out on some days!  I do find that when 'Aunt Flo' is here, I am not consistent with hitting them down to trying to factor in my cravings for sweet things.  She's packed her bags today and has gone so I will defiantly be hitting them macro's this week!!! 

Progress pictures to follow! Struggled to take my pictures today myself, I need to look out my tripod out of the loft, as my camera fell a good few times when balanced on a ladder and if it didn't fall by time I walked into position the camera was wobbling and I had some nice blurry pics!!!

At the moment am sitting on 45g Fat, 150g Protein and 215g Carbs on a normal day, however am still in deficit with my training.  Hopefully in the next few weeks I should be out of it!  I

I am very aware that its 5 weeks on Saturday until my op, so gym sessions are my main focus, ensuring I make as good a foundation as possible before i have to take my week out, and slow the pace for a good 6 weeks post op.  I am starting to worry about loosing my condition after the op, the good thing is I can still train legs, but my main focus this year was shoulders/delts and the concern is that I won't be able to train these again until into the New Year.

Here is hoping the fact that I am fit and healthy my recovery is quicker!

Hope you all had a good weekend x

Lainey's Protein Nutella Cheesecake

I I love Cheesecake! but its something I find hard to fit into my macro's (okay so I am greedy I like a huge portion of cheesecake!).

I have taken my Almond Protein Cheesecake and tweaked the recipe slightly and created my new Nutella Protein Cheesecake!  At the moment I have already hit my FAT macros so I will not be test tasting this until tomorrow!

This is a great recipe to prove to cheesecake lovers that a cheesecake doesn't have to be loaded with fat to be tasty!

Method  / Ingredients for the base

1. 40g Asda Ground Almonds
2. 80g Meridian Almond Butter
3. 15g Light & Mild Honey
4. Mix all the ingredients in a bowl then pat out in a small cheesecake dish (the mixture above should fill a 9" diameter dish)
5. 25g Nutella spread on top of the base.

Method / Ingredients for the topping

1. 250g Quark
2. 170g Fage 2% (however the shop had none when i made this so i had to use 0% which is what my macros for this recipe is based on!)
3. 1 teaspoon of Stevia
4. 3 Egg Whites
5. 50g My Protein Vanilla Whey
6. Whisk in a bowl until fluffy.
7. Pour over your base
8. Heat in Oven for 30-45 minutes at 150 degrees
9. Leave to cool
10. Drizzle approx 10g Nutella (warmed up in micro 10s) over the top of the cheesecake.

Another suggestion would be to crumble 2 Ferrero Roche over the top of the cheesecake!

The macros based on 8 portions and using same ingredients and quantities as me.......

Launching 'ThisFitNutSquats'

I am fast approaching 10000 hits on my blog which am really delighted about!  The last few weeks I have had so many people speak to me about it, and how they are avid readers, which motivated me to freshen up the blog.

Big Changes to come over the next few months including.....

Domain purchased.... www.ThisFitNutSquats.com  you can still reach my blog with the old address! 

For those of you new to my blog, I am also sitting my final Level 3 Personal Training Exam in the next month having already passed my Level 2 and Nutrition Weight Management Courses!  I will be launching an Online Coaching Website very soon so keep your eyes peeled!  

At the moment I have taken on a 'Secret Client' who I have been prepping for the last few months as part of my course, this client has committed to me for 12 months and I will be introducing this person very soon to you all on the launch of my website!  I will be looking to take on a 2nd client for a 12 month programme (completely free)... details to follow very soon with the chance to apply!

Hope you all have an amazing weekend x

What do you do to look the way you do?!

This picture came up on my Instagram feed this morning, and I instantly re posted it on my own page.

At the gym, a lot of females come up to me in the changing room and ask what I do to look the way I do, I know these girls are regular gym users, so my response is always greeted by funny looks – ‘What is your eating habits like?’

Nutrition plays a huge role in getting the results you strive for…. it doesn’t matter how many hours you do in the gym, the amount of cardio classes you do, or the 100 ab crunches you do at the end of each workout – if your still shovelling rubbish down your mouth or have no understanding of portion control or good nutrition then the results you want will never be accomplished.

‘So what do I have to change’ is the response I get back.

Truth is it’s a lifestyle change, but simple changes can make a huge difference, and good nutritional habits don’t happen overnight! Their built upon daily / weekly / monthly and yearly.  Nobody can wake up and suddenly know everything there is to know on good eating practices, it is learnt in time.

5 small and simple changes that can be applied instantly...

1.     Eat

There is a huge mis conception that if you cut your calorie intake you will lose weight, eating too few calories ultimately makes weight loss slower by slowing your metabolism as your body goes into ‘protection mode’ against the possibility of starvation.

Living off 1200  calories per day is unsustainable over a long period of time, but is fine as an interim short term solution to reach a specific weight loss goal (if the 1200 calories consumed is by means of good nutritious food sources), however most people on a calorie controlled diet will  plateau around week 3 to 4 weeks, bin the diet, hit the convenience foods / alcohol and pile on the pounds that they shed!

Although there is no evidence to back up claims that 6 smaller meals increases metabolic function compared to 3 large meals per day, I do think for anyone losing weight that you should opt for the 6 smaller meals approach.  We all know the typical traits of being on a ‘diet’ your mind automatically tells you your hungry all the time!  Its defiantly mind over matter!!

2.     Drink 3.5 Litres of Water per day

Water composes 75% of your muscle tissue, dehydration leads to weakness, fatigue and dizziness and shall greatly affect the performance and recovery of a workout, it also assists the bodies transport system to transport nutrients around the body!

Water can assist with weight loss! I drink 300ml of water before every meal I have to make me feel fuller!

There is so much benefits to drinking water I could fill my blog with it!  When I changed to drinking water all day I noticed changes in my skin glow, and I didn’t get blemishes as often either!  My horrendous migraines I use to get in the past no longer exist and I strongly believe this is down to drinking water and good nutrition!!!!

3.     Remove convenience foods

The great thing about convenience or fast foods is that your food can be ready in a matter of minutes… but as far as I am concerned that is the only positive. 

I prepare all my foods on a Sunday while watching X Factor, it takes me 1 – 2 hours and I can usually make around 14 meals which I then freeze!  I defrost the meal I plan to eat the next day the night before slowly in the fridge, couple of minutes in the micro and meal served!   At least I know what’s been added to my food, how it’s been cooked and prepared.

There is a huge mis conception that healthy food is too expensive, but this simply isn’t true.  I can spent £50 a week and make 6 meals per day for 2 weeks!... I am going to go as far as proving this claim in another blog I am currently working on!!!

Convenience and fast foods lack nutritional value and the ingredients and preservatives may in fact damage your health!  There is so much proven studies with cancer patients where there life expectancy with terminal cancer was extended purely down to nutritional changes in their diet. 

4.     Reduce Alcohol

Removing alcohol from your diet will speed up weight loss, however its not always realistic for someone to cut it out completely, and that there is the social element as well.

Be Alcohol Smart,…

·         If you’re not finished your drink when someone is ready for the next round, say no you have a drink.

·         Opt for Diet Soda’s as a mixer to spirits.

·         Avoid drinks like beer, cocktails and alcopops

·         Be AWARE that alcohol encourages you to consume foods you might normally never eat when sober!

5.     Cut out Sweets / Cakes / Biscuits & Crisps

Reducing sugar will also speed up weight loss!  Chocolate, cakes and sweets are low in fibre and lack nutritional value! 

When I cut out sugar from my diet in the first initial 12 weeks of my weight loss plan afew years ago, the immediate effects I saw was the reduction of cellulite from my buttocks and thigh area! I have the pictures to prove it!!! 

Sweets / Cakes / Biscuits / Crisps etc are meant to be classed as a ‘TREAT’, yet many people consume these on a daily basis!  When I consume a biscuit, it makes me want more!!! There is plenty of people out there that can’t control sugar urges!

You don’t have to quit these items, but by opting for healthier options or smaller quantities can be a way of curbing and reducing your cravings… when you start reducing sugar, the craving for sugar does subside.  In time I have found myself baking chocolate peanut butter protein cakes and finding these much more satisfying than chomping on a chocolate chip muffin!

End of Week 4 - Phase 1 - Block 1

I finally managed to get over my food poisoning from last weekend, but it wasn't until Wednesday I started to feel more me.  

This week is deloading in training, all sets reduced by 1 and weight 10% decrease.

I have to say my legs and Delts are showing visible "gains" and I can't believe the difference in such a short time, but my body adapts so well and in short time frames.

Since my weight stayed constant all week I get to up my carbs again by 15g on normal days... So that's me now sitting at 215g carbs 6 days a week and I am not seeing any spill over yet.  

I have 7 weeks left on the programme and the day after i finish its op time.  Which is great small achieveable goals...

First Group Yoga Session

Carrying on from my last post regarding improving my flexibility and core strength during my off season I decided to attend a group yoga beginners class.

I have done many yoga DVDs in the past, done my own practice and also 1-2-1 sessions, however this evening was the best yoga experience I have ever had.

Although yoga is a very mind, body, spirit movement, as a beginner I feel it's imperative that you connect with your instructor when starting out.  I defiantly clicked with Jenny this evening.  Jenny was calm, inspiring  and patient qualities all Yoga Instructors possess However Jenny was by far the best Yoga Instructor who I had that explained everything clearly and well!!!

I could never transition between the poses correctly and focused too much on my breathing or keeping up with the instructor.  However Jenny explained to focus on the movement first and breathing second while practicing the pose and then one you understand the pose move in and out of the pose in line with your breathing - if this means your going in and out of the poses faster than those around you so be it.

By the end of the class I felt really relaxed and Jenny said that I transitioned really well and she could tell I was very in tune with my body, breathing and positioning. 

To be honest prior to going to the class I was considering not going because I always get told how unflexible, no rythem or how un co ordinated I am! - other people's opinions questing my own ability!

I am so glad I went as I proved myself wrong!!! I can transition between the poses connecting to the breath and this is down to me being in tune with my own body!

The great thing about Yoga is flexibility comes in time and through regular practice.  Although I get more enjoyment from pilates in a challenge perspective and it will improve my core stability, i do feel yoga will aid me to relax and unwind on my rest days.