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Kayla Itsines Round 2 – Week 12!

December 21, 2014

It’s only the beginning …

I have finished the 12 week bikini body guide from Kayla Itsines! To any new readers who have only just discovered Honestly Fitness, please click here to read about what the bikini body guide is, and my review of it when I did it my first time round. Yes, this was my second time round, and I feel as if I made much more progress this time round. 

Kayla Itsines Round 2 – Week 12

To give you a quick summary, week 12 was hard. I feel as if I was a little stronger than when I did the workout in week 10 (I used 12 pound weights instead of 10 pounds, woo hoo!). I definitely felt stronger during my arms and ab workouts but I feel as my legs ares is still my weak spot, as I only managed to do one round of each circuit in this week’s leg workout. Anyway, I will be doing my second bikini body guide review sometime in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for that.

SoulCycle

The rest of my week was great and it seemed to absolutely fly by. I was invited to attend a SoulCycle class on Saturday morning by my friend Amira, and it was so much fun. SoulCycle is a workout chain that specializes in hardcore spinning (i.e. cycling) workouts. I had heard a lot about them because they have a pretty stellar following of various celebrities and a reputation for providing an intense workout. Needless to say I was pretty intimidated!

The studio itself was beautiful and very clean. You sign up at the front desk and they hand you a pair of special spinning shoes and show you where the lockers are so you can drop off your stuff. I recommend that you tell a member of staff if you are new to SoulCycle so they can help you adjust the bicycle and help you actually put your spinning shoes onto the straps (they lock into the bicycle strap)! The workout was fantastic; they dimmed the lights right down and made you do a combination of high resistance climbs and low resistance sprints coupled with some arm work with light dumbbells towards the end. I highly recommend SoulCycle if you are feeling demotivated as the music and vibe of SoulCycle is awesome.

In Food News

In food news, I made my delicious baked zucchini fritters for breakfast on Friday (or was it Thursday??) with smashed avocado on sourdough toast. So delicious and EASY!

honestly fitness easy and healthy baled zucchini fritter recipe

I also had an indulgent Saturday night as my good friend was holding her annual ‘White Elephant’ Christmas party and of course she had made a ton of delicious savory and sweet food. I am definitely paying the price for it today, as my tummy definitely feels unsettled. Fun night regardless though. My white elephant gift was actually really good as it was a small gift set from Bath and Body Works. Someone got lottery tickets which I thought was hilarious!!!  

review of bbg 1.0 week 12

I bought two of James Duigan’s books (the man behind the ‘Clean and Lean‘ diet) so I am testing out a few recipes over the next few days and will be applying that in the New Year. I am excited to share with you all what I think about his philosophy!

Clean & Lean Cookboo - James Duigan

Right now I am currently making some toffee as a homemade gift for a friend. Yeah, spoiled the surprise but she already knew so it’s okay!

What have you been up to this weekend? What are your Christmas plans?

Be sure to keep an eye out for my review of Kayla Itsines Round 2 and for a few special posts I have planned for next week 😉

Honestly yours,
Alice
Thank you for always supporting me! For more Honestly Fitness, check out my Instagram, Facebook, Twitter & Pinterest.

P.S. Kayla has given me a special 5% discount code off her eBooks for my readers. Check it out on my sidebar.

Blogs I love, Health

Meditation and why it is so Important

December 17, 2014

The mind-body connection is often overlooked, but is something that I think is extremely important. Think about it this way; do you ever feel like you are eating for no reason or that you can never seem to find the motivation to workout when you are in a bad mood? It’s because our mental state is closely connected to how we feel physically!

I have wanted to try out meditation for a while because I had read about the benefits of even just a few minutes of daily meditation from so many sources. It wasn’t until I read Annie Lawless’ (of Blawnde.com) blog post about meditation that I really sat down and literally just … meditated. 

[Tweet “Why you (and everyone else) should start meditating today #honestlyfitness #meditate”]

As you may have heard me say before, being a graduate student with a part-time job and a blog (who is trying to live a healthy and active lifestyle) is not a stress-free gig. I have these phases where I tend to get extremely stressed out which causes everything else to go down the toilet; goodbye sleep, goodbye feeling motivated before workouts, goodbye self-control when approached with high-sugar goodies!!! 

Meditation and why it is so Important

I have only been meditating daily for two weeks, but I feel as if I am already reaping the benefits. I feel much more calm and mindful, and I have been sleeping much better. I have been using a fantastic app called Headspace, which gives you 10 days worth of free guided meditation. I highly recommend it for anyone who is like “Um, what the heck am I supposed to be doing?”.

Just take a look at some of the benefits of meditation and how it can help you 🙂

Benefits of Meditation

As always, I try and find out facts backed up by science so I have done my best to find out meditation benefits using academic journal searches. As with all research, it is constantly being updated 🙂

Why meditation is so important and something ANYONE can do #meditation #honestlyfitness

Stress Relief

Meditation has been shown to help both ill and healthy people alike manage their stress levels, which can help avoid burnout and can be used to help avoid headaches (since stress can lead to headaches and migraines).

Weight-Loss

Research has suggested that meditation can aid in weight-loss and reduce binge eating by making you more mindful of your feelings and emotions so you are not eating mindlessly or for emotional reasons. 

Disease

Meditation has been shown to help a range of illness including cancer (by improving mental health as more research is needed to see physical effects) and chronic pain disorders such as arthritis. It has also been said to help reduce blood pressure and improve mental health. 

Happiness

Meditation has been said to help improve the quality of one’s life because it can help improve your sense of self-control and by decreasing depression symptoms. It can also improve happiness by encouraging open expression of emotions and an increased sense of compassion through mindfulness.

 There is no harm in trying, right? It may seem all mystical and zen-like but in reality, all you are doing is sitting in a quiet place and focusing on your breath for however long you are comfortable. If you are feeling stressed out, depressed or are just in need of some ‘me’ time, then I highly recommend you give meditation a go, and I also highly recommend the Headspace app.

What are your thoughts on meditation and this post? Will you give it a go?

Honestly yours,
Alice

Beauty, Fitness, Gift Guide, Health, Kayla Itsines, Products I love

Health & Wellness Gift Guide

December 15, 2014

It doesn’t matter how well you know the person, buying gifts can be a really stressful experience! Unless that person has been hinting something to you for months and months, chances are that you are looking for gift ideas for this holiday season. And sure, you may have come across loads of gift guides in the process buuut I can assure you that this health and wellness gift guide has an interesting mix of products you probably haven’t seen on other gift guides (and if you have then let me know lol).

Health & Wellness Gift Guide

I wanted to make a complete gift guide for ladies who appreciate all things health and wellness, which can be used by women and men alike! Guys, I know how hard it can be to buy a good gift for your girlfriend, mom or sister. And ladies, I know how nerve wracking it can be to get your bestie, mom, or sister a gift that screams ‘OMG, this is so perfect for you, and I know you so well!’ 

[Tweet “Health & Wellness Gift Guides 2014 #giftguide #honestlyfitness”]

Okay, so I overemphasize how important gifts are but still. There is nothing better than giving your loved ones a gift that makes their eyes light up and which you know they will use. I LOVE when I see a loved one making use of a gift I gave them, it makes me so so happy and makes me feel as if my gift was actually worthwhile. I remember my dad giving me the cutest mug with pictures of dogs on it and despite it being such a simple gift, I used it for years and years. I’m so sick of giving gifts where I know the receiver won’t even use it. Don’t want to clutter up their living space lol!

So, without further ado, here is my complete set of gifts for people who appreciate all things health and wellness!

Find the perfect health and wellness gift this holiday season #giftguide1. Tiffany Blue Stand Mixer: For all the baking lovers out there.

2. Pilates Ring: Adds extra burn to your workout. Free workout with pilates ring here.

3. Mister Tea Infuser: Cutest little guy and perfect for loose leaf tea.

4. Victoria Secret’s Sport Bra: Hands down best sports bra everrrrr.

5. Frends Headphones: Definitely an indulgent purchase, but will make any chic lady happy.

6. Cococut: I want this!! Will help you open coconuts easily and safely.

7. Miracle Carb Diet: I hesitate to even call this a diet; more like sound advice and great recipes.

8. Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide 2.0: For those of you looking for a hardcore workout.

9. Rosehip Oil: Best way to moisturize your face and remove makeup.

10. Fitbit Flex: Tracks steps, distance, calories burned and more!

What do you think of my health & wellness gift guide for this holiday season? I hope it helps you out and I guarantee that anything from this gift guide will be used … a lot 🙂

Which gift on this gift guide would you love to receive? 

Honestly yours,
Alice