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Sunday Summary

February 9, 2014

Well, this weekend was incredibly slooooow which was in direct contrast to my very busy and hectic week. I really should’ve expected this (I am a grad student after all) but after having that month long holiday it was just a big reality check for me.

To deal with the weekday hectic-ness that is now my life, I have had to start making meal preps at the very start of the week. During the holidays I was kinda lazy and was like, eh I don’t need to meal prep because I have all the time in the world. Hah, that was nice while it lasted … last Monday morning I made a huge pot of beef chili with chickpeas and plenty of fresh veggie which was basically lunch for the entire week which was awesome. This week I am planning on making a huge pot of Thai chicken curry 🙂

My yoga program has been going well and I am so happy to say that I am getting much more flexible. And my arm strength has improved too!!!! I two sets of 6 negative chin ups now, which is a huge accomplishment for me. I incorporated a variety of resistance band and cable machine moves this week to challenge my upper body from the usual weights and machines. I haven’t been able to go to the gym at the same time as any of my friends, so sorry I cannot show you photos of any of the moves I did.

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Okay onto a more serious topic now .. have any of you heard of the 80:10:10 diet? I heard about it a while ago, but I recently came across an article on www.fiterazzi.com that talked about the dangers of it. Fiterazzi is fast becoming a favorite new health and fitness website of mine because unlike other websites that just talk about ‘losing 10 pounds fast’, they talk about issues tend not to get talked about, or which are hard to talk about. I recommend you check them out and the specific article I am talking about. I would love to know your thoughts about the diet, and whether you know anyone who is attempting it.

Hope you all had a great weekend!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Blogs I love

Sunday Summary

February 2, 2014

Another Sunday has arrived, and another week has passed by. Time flies so quickly, I really cannot keep up sometimes! And then sometimes it just doesn’t … like during finals week haha.

The spring 2014 semester at SF State began this week so I have been pretty busy with classes. I am hoping I will still be able to stick with my plan of going to the gym 4x a week, but we will see. Some weeks I probably won’t be able too, so it is good to be realistic about things. So because I am so busy, what did I decide to do? Make myself even busier by starting a 6 week program that will help me move from being an intermediate yogi to an advanced one! I found it online on a website called www.doyogawithme.com and it is such a fantastic resource. All of the video’s are free, although they encourage you to donate since this is their primary method of raising money. They have several programs which you can download which give you specific videos to practice to help you reach your goals. It is just such a breath of fresh air to find a way to do yoga where you do not have to pay a fortune, as I am sure you all know if you have ever gone to a yoga class before. I recommend you all check them out, and I will keep you updated on my progress! I started practicing yoga seriously (as in every day) about a month and a half ago although I have been doing yoga on and off for the past 8 years. My Dad is really into yoga so he introduced me to it at a young age (thanks Dad!).

do yoga with me

Sticking with the progress theme, my goal for 2014 (as you may, or may not know) is to be able to do 10 consecutive pull ups and chin ups. I am still in the negatives stage (where you hold yourself up and then slowly yourself yourself down), but it is still progress. I have definitely noticed that my upper body has gotten stronger so I am excited to see what I can do at the end of February.

I have also been in the works of experimenting with several sugar free treats for you all. In terms of taste, it is going well, but I am definitely having trouble with keeping the texture of the things I am making nice and moist. Are any of you expert bakers (or even just relatively knowledgeable bakers)? If so, please leave me a comment or email me so I can get in touch with you! I am thinking I need to add butter … and guys, butter is good for you every now and again although it is high in calories!

So that’s a summary of my busy week! What have you guys been up too? Have you set any goals for February? I want to know, so leave a comment below or feel free to get in touch with me via the many social network channels I am on (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest).

Honestly yours,
Alice

Blogs I love

Sunday Summary

January 26, 2014

I love and hate Sundays; I am happy because it is still the weekend, but sad because Monday looms ahead (although I love Mondays during the holidays hah). I am currently enjoying a big mason jar of lemon water as lemon water has many wonderful benefits such as improvement of digestion, vitamin C which boosts mineral absorption, and an antioxidant called d-limonene. Drinking it from a mason jar is fun, and practical because when you finish the lemon water, you can just add some more water to it, put the lid on and store it in the fridge for later!

lemon water edit

I tried out a new workout class in San Francisco on Thursday called ‘Elesculpt’ and I am really excited to tell you all about it! I have also stocked up on baking goods (thank you Whole Foods bulk food bin) and have bought an electric hand mixer so now I can finally experiment in making some healthy desserts for you all 🙂

I am continually amazed at the support Honestly Fitness has received, from comments on the blog to support from social media networks. It is so exciting to be engaging with you all and posting about topics that I think are current and relevant. I have a lot in store but as always, I want to know what YOU want to read, so please feel free to leave me a comment, or to contact me privately by going to my ‘Contact’ page and filling out the form.

This week I have been loving the newest ab workout video that Blogilates posted called ‘5 minute ab express.’ I usually try and do some moves targeting my abs at the gym, but I do like to do something different every once in a while so my body doesn’t get used to the same old thing. Even though this was only 5 minutes, jeez, it is a killer!! If you have never heard of Blogilates, I suggest you visit her page ASAP. She is very real and honest, and posts some incredibly difficult but very fun workouts.

I have also been doing a lot of yoga (as per my New Year’s resolution!) and although I have a lot of yoga video’s on my external hard drive, again I like to do something new and not do the same old routine again and again. I absolutely love Tara Stile’s, and her ‘Morning Yoga for Flexibility‘ video has been a long-time favorite of mine. It is under 10 minutes and since you can find the video on Youtube, you can quite literally roll out of bed and do the video. Now that I have made yoga a daily necessity, I do not know what I would do without it. I plan to do a post on yoga in the future because I think there are a lot of misconceptions surrounding yoga and what it can do for you. Quite frankly, I do not believe it should be practiced with the sole intention to ‘get skinny.’

Hope you have all enjoyed Honestly Fitness this week, and hope you all had a wonderful weekend! What did you do for the weekend? And to all of you in Australia, hope you had a great Australia Day!

Honestly yours,
Alice