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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 InstagramFacebookTwitter & Pinterest.

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

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

Fitness, Kayla Itsines

Kayla Itsines Round 2 – Week 10

December 7, 2014
Kayla Itsines Round 2 - Week 10

Hey everyone! I hope you all had a lovely weekend and that your first week of December was a good one. This week has been a busy one as I am nearing the end of the semester (i.e. lots of assignments are now due). Let’s start off with my usual talk about my week’s workouts and nutrition before I end the post with a short recap of my week.

Kayla Itsines Round 2 – Week 10

You know, for some reason I had gotten the impression that week 10 of Kayla Itsines (read more about her bikini body guide by clicking here) wasn’t that bad. Why I got that impression, I do not know as it was so much harder than I imagined!!! I could only just about make it through one round of each circuit (for all 3 workouts this week; legs, arms, and abs). I had honestly though that I had gotten better at snap jumps but when I saw I had to do 50 of them for the abs workout, it almost killed me. I think I find it so hard because every part of your body is being used; arms, abs and legs. I am definitely miles stronger at doing commandos however, as those really did not scare me quite as much as they used to. How do you guys find snap jumps and commandos?

Oh gosh, I just started thinking about tomorrow and the legs workout I have to do. I wish I had a workout buddy who was also doing the Kayla Itsines bikini body guide!

Nutrition

The cold weather is really making me crave warm soups and SWEETS! I had an awful beef stew from campus during the week that I highly regretted and about a million mocha lattes although I did order just an espresso today to try and stop that trend. I have been making my baked zucchini fritters a lot as they are delicious, healthy and filling, and tried my hand at making a roasted cauliflower soup with cumin which was absolutely delicious. In terms of sweeties, I’ve been nibbling a lot on cookies that I had baked for one of my classes and macarons … you will find out how I got these macarons in my weekly recap 🙂   I think that perhaps I should revisit my article on how to kick sweet tooth and take my own advice!

Kayla Itsines Round 2 - Week 10

I also went to try Kin Khao, a Thai restaurant, with my friends and that was great. The portions were a lot smaller than I thought they’d be so for once I left a restaurant without feeling completely stuffed! For anyone in San Francisco who is looking for a more upscale and unique Thai restaurant then I would highly recommend Kin Khao. And do me a favor, order the rabbit green curry! Oh and get this – the drink in the photo is blue limeade. The drink is served to you blue and turns pink when the lime juice is added.

Macarons!

The most exciting part of my week was definitely when I attended a FRENCH MACARON BAKING CLASS this morning!!! I am planning on writing a recap post so for now I will leave you with this photo …

Kayla Itsines Round 2 - Week 10

Apart from attending Kin Khao, seeing the beautiful Christmas tree in Union Square, and the macaron baking class, my week was very busy and full of studying and work. I think that my goals for this next week will be to reduce the sugar I have been having and to make more soups, since my body is definitely starting to crave something other than my cold (albeit delicious) wraps and salads.

Kayla Itsines Round 2 - Week 10

How were your weekends? What workouts are you currently doing?

Honestly yours
Alice

P.S. Featured cover image is courtesy of @befitsmoothies on Instagram.