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Fitness, Health

Redoing Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide

September 21, 2014

As many of you may already know, a few months ago I completed Kayla Itsine’s bikini body guide (<— affiliate link which helps me pay for Honestly Fitness). I felt good! I felt more confident about myself, had toned up, and was so much fitter than I had ever been. I was busting out push ups and burpees like nobodies business!

Summer has taken its toll however and although I lost a little bit of weight when I went to visit my boyfriend in Salt Lake City, I gained some weight when I came back to San Francisco and drastically cut down on the amount of exercise I was doing.

Redoing Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide

The other week I thought, enough is enough! I want to be able to do tons of push ups again and to look like a total (fit) bad ass in the gym again. I decided that I was going to do Kayla’s bikini body guide again and then continue on and do her bikini body guide 2.0. This time around I want to pair her workouts with her H.E.L.P. nutrition guide so I can give you all a better review of whether it is worth it to combine her workouts with her nutrition plan.

Redoing Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guide

I am nervous guys! I did her legs and arms workout this week from Kayla’s free week of workouts and they exhausted me. The leg workout literally crippled me (I did it on Wednesday and couldn’t walk for a couple days) and I did the arm workout this morning. I can tell that I am not as strong as I was … but that’s okay, because I know that I can work back up to it 🙂 

I am excited for this journey and I hope I can stick to the nutrition guide. I will be keeping you all updated with my progress over the next few weeks and letting you know how everything is going. Is anyone else starting the bikini body guide and/or following the H.E.L.P. guide?

Wish me luck 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice

Friday Fare, Health

Blueberry Honey Chia Jam

September 6, 2014

Sounds cool right? I have been eating this blueberry honey chia jam for a few weeks now and I absolutely love it! I adapted My Whole Food Life’s recipe and used honey instead of maple syrup, although at first I did test it out with sugar-free maple syrup (from Nature’s Hollow). I personally did not find it as sweet as I would like it to be so I used honey the next time round and it came out perfectly to my taste 🙂

Blueberry Honey chia jam

So what makes this blueberry honey chia jam special? Most commercial varieties, such as Smuckers, tend to use sugar sources such as high fructose corn syrup or just plain old white sugar. I love using honey as a sweetener because not only does it have a fantastic and thick texture, it also contains a variety of minerals and chemicals.

This jam also contains chia seeds (my loves) which are a rich source of fiber, protein, healthy fats (omega-3s), vitamins and minerals. Because of their high fiber and protein content, I have found that chia seeds help keep me fuller for longer. Another bonus (like we need more) is that they are low in calories; 1 tablespoon is roughly around 60 calories!

Blueberry Honey Chia Jam

Anyway, point being is that I loooove this jam! It is yummy, filling and super healthy. Plus, it is a fantastic way to use up any fruit which you think may go off soon. I had a BUNCH of blueberries and was panicking about how I was going to finish them, and so the discovery of chia jam was a blessing.

Blueberry Honey Chia Jam Recipe

Alice Williams

Blueberry Honey Chia Jam

A delicious and healthy way to make jam that is full of fiber!
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Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups bluberries
  • 2-3 tbsp honey
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds

Method
 

  1. Blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor
  2. Transfer to a jam jar or equivalent container and then leave in the fridge overnight to thicken and set

Notes

Adapted from My Whole Food Life

Feel free to substitute in different fruits, and if you do let me know how they turn out!

 Hope you enjoyed this week’s edition of Friday Fare! Please remember to subscribe to Honestly Fitness if you enjoy my blog posts and please share the posts and recipes with your friends and families. This chia jam is sure to be a winner with everyone!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Fitness, Health

Go Vibrant

September 4, 2014

Today I wanted to introduce you to a non-profit organization called Go Vibrant. Go Vibrant’s mission is to make an active, energetic lifestyle irresistible, which is a fantastic mission in my opinion! I actually read an article on Al Jazeera today which stated that obesity rates have reached historic highs in the US (click here to read the article) 🙁

Go Vibrant

I think it is such a shame that obesity levels continue to rise, and I think it is great that we have organizations such as Go Vibrant to help combat the rising levels of obesity. I think that getting children to engage in an active and healthy lifestyle is vital to curbing obesity levels, and that it is imperative for parents to be on board too. 

Go Vibrant have created this awesome map that can help you find fun and active things to do. It helps you find activities in a  variety of cities including San Francisco (yay!), Los Angeles, Chicago, New York City and much more.  I encourage you to use it if you are bored and stuck at home, or just looking for something fun and active to do.  They also have some great articles (one of which I have been asked to share with you all in a future blog post) and walking path maps! Hopefully you find this map and Go Vibrant’s website useful. Let’s all start or continue leading healthy and active lifestyles, and more importantly, encouraging others to lead more active and energetic lifestyles 🙂

Go VIbrant

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Go Vibrant through their partnership with Studio One. Select. While I was compensated to share Go Vibrant’s ‘Get Outside’ Map, all opinions are my own.