Fitness, Kayla Itsines, Products I love

Kayla Itsines Discount and an Update

February 7, 2015

First things first: the Kayla Itsines discount. [DISCOUNT EXPIRED FEBRUARY 28th, 2015] <— UPDATE

For any newcomers you do not know who Kayla Itsines is, click here to read an interview I did with her. She is the mastermind behind a fantastic program called the ‘Bikini Body Guide’ (click here for my review) which I am currently following.

Kayla has been kind enough to give me a 10% discount to any of her guides which I want to share with you all! To get the discount code, all you have to do is subscribe to Honestly Fitness and you will receive the exclusive code in an email the following day. Remember to check for a confirmation email and check your junk mailbox in case it ends up there. You will NOT receive the email with the code otherwise.

If you do not receive the email within 24 hours, email me at honestlyfitness@live.com and I will send you the 10% discount code myself. This is a great deal as Kayla does not give these out often, and gives you the chance to see for yourself why I and so many others swear by Kayla’s workout and nutrition guides. The graphic below will take you to her website where you can buy her guides (they are EBOOKS).

An Update

I am so sorry for the lack of posts! This is my final semester and it has been killing me, plus I have some other personal issues to deal with (like taxes haha). I have so many ideas in my head, but it may take me a while to translate them into a blog post. I am proud of myself for sharing my perfect four ingredient pancake recipe with you all before life got too crazy. You should try them!!!

Perfect Four Ingredient Pancakes by Honestly Fitness

I am continuing to do Kayla Itsines bikini body guide and restarted with millions of girls around the world for The Kayla Movement. It has been quite exhilarating to redo the program (my third time!) with so many others and it has helped kept me motivated. I think I plateaued during the first four weeks so I consulted with some of my dear BBG friends and decided to be a little more strict with my food intake and to use heavier weights during the workouts. Fingers crossed this will help me yield the results I am after!

kayla itsines foam roller

I also took the plunge and bought Kayla’s foam roller (which you can find on her website) because I have received questions regarding whether it is worth buying or not. I will be able to tell you all what I think in a few weeks once I have received it and tested it out.

How are all of you? How have your exercise routines been going and how are things like nutrition wise for you?

Honestly yours,
Alice

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

Although this post contains affiliate links, it is because I personally believe in Kayla’s guides and believe you will benefit from them šŸ™‚

Health, Healthy on the cheap

Yalla Mediterranean

February 1, 2015

Last weekend I was invited to try out a new Mediterranean restaurant called Yalla Mediterranea. I was supposed to go with my friend Lauren (from LaurenLivesHealthy.com) but unfortunately she was ill and could not make it šŸ™ Despite the fact that I would be trying it out alone, I could not turn down an offer to try out a new restaurant (especially with Mediterranean type food, mmm). Let me just preface this whole post right now by saying that it was SO worth it.

review of Yalla Mediterranean

Yalla Mediterranean describes itself as a fast-casual restaurant that offers fresh, healthy and flavorful Mediterranean fare. Walking into Yalla Mediterranean is like walking into someone’s garden … quite literally as there are small lemon trees in the center of the restaurant and a herb garden on the wall! I loved the atmosphere; you could tell this was a place that served wholesome and healthy food that cared about using quality ingredients. The menu is set up so that you first select a type of meal (pita wrap, salad or ‘Yalla’ plate), then a protein (which is grilled right in front of you) and finally (but not least) three delicious sides.

review of Yalla Mediterranean

review of Yalla Mediterranean

review of Yalla Mediterranean

What Did I Eat?

Look at how cool that grill is! Basically, the meat is placed upon the grill and it cooks as it rotates down the grill. It takes all of 2-5 minutes. I was so impressed that Yalla offered wild Alaskan salmon as a protein choice, and for under $10. This place is so affordable and seriously so delicious. I chose the Yalla plate (which consists of you choosing rice with either lentils or grilled vegetables) with kefta (a lamb and beef meatball) with arugala and beet salad, Greek potato salad and Greek eggplant salad.

Honestly Fitness Verdict?

 What did I think? DELICIOUS. I have never had a beet salad before which tasted this good, and the kefta was grilled to perfection. Everything was so fresh and flavorful!

review of Yalla Mediterranean

review of Yalla Mediterranean

 Can’t Forget About Dessert!

And guess what I had for dessert? I had Greek frozen yogurt with honey and baklava AND a chocolate pita cookie!!! My God, my tastebuds were in heaven. The cookie was gluten-free as it was made out of almond flour and had a great chewy texture to it. The frozen yogurt was out of this world; truly a genius combination of foods.

Come to San Francisco Already!

Right now, they only have a location in Pleasant Hill but will be opening up new stores around the Bay. I have been told that a Yalla location will be opening up in Daly City (right next to ME) in April or May. I cannot wait and will be there all the time … like no joke. It is healthy AND affordable. Just typical that I will be moving out to Salt Lake City in June. I hope Yalla open up a location there soon!!

I hope this post gives you a nudge into trying out Yalla Mediterranean. And if you do, let me know what you think! The cool thing about Yalla is that they are open to new ideas and are forward thinking (they have a 1 bin policy and have made it so that everything in the store is compostable).

Honestly yours,
Alice

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

Health

6 Questions To Ask Your Doctor/Pharmacist

January 28, 2015
6 Questions To Ask Your Doctor/Pharmacist

This week is National Drug Facts Week (January 26th-February 1st) and the American Recall Center (a website that provides drug and medical device recall information) helped inspire me to ‘shatter the myths about pharmaceuticals’. As you all know, this perfectly fits my mission of ‘helping to reveal the facts’.

Let me preface this with saying that I am in no way against pharmaceuticals, when used properly and in the right dosage. However, the danger comes when pharmaceuticals are used incorrectly, and a major cause of this is because many people are not given the correct facts or have not discussed their medication with their doctor or pharmacist.

Why Communication is Vital

I took a fascinating class last summer (as per the requirements to get my master’s degree) called Health Communication. It really opened my eyes to the importance of communication between a patient and their caregiver. You would be surprised at the amount of people who do not speak up or ask questions despite being confused or not understanding what their doctor has said. Furthermore, many patients may choose not to ask questions or feel like they have a choice regarding the treatment that has been prescribed to them. This is in spite of the fact that doctors cannot treat patients without their consent nor are patients required to follow their advice if they feel at all uneasy or worried.

Take the example of the drug Xarelto, which is a blood thinner that can have some severe side effects. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has actually challenged Johnson & Johnson over their claims and advertising of Xarelto as they found that they did not provide sufficient warning to consumers regarding the drug’s side effects.

Don’t Be Scared to ASK

This is such a relevant point. Your doctor, pharmacist and any health professional are there to help you and you should never feel scared or nervous to ask them to clarify or explain anything you do not understand, or want more information about. You could do a lot of harm to yourself from failing to ask questions or to make your voice heard. Just take a look at these interesting statistics.

6 Questions To Ask Your Doctor/Pharmacist

6 Questions To Ask Your Doctor/Pharmacist

Some pretty crazy statistics, huh?

6 Questions To Ask Your Doctor/Pharmacist

Education is paramount to keeping yourself safe and to reaping the benefits from your visit to your doctor or pharmacist. Educate yourself on what drugs and medical devices have been recalled, and make sure to always ask your doctor or pharmacist anything you are unclear on. Here are 6 questions to ask your doctor/pharmacist:

  • How will this product help me and relieve my symptoms?
  • Are there any adverse side effects of this product that could affect me?
  • When was this product released?
  • Has this product received a positive reception or have you heard anything negative regarding it?
  • How many (pills, capsules, etc) do I take, and how many time a day do I take this product?
  • What do I do if I forget to take the recommended dosage?

I highly recommend checking out the American Recall Center’s website (www.recallcenter.com) as they have so much useful information regarding pharmaceuticals (not sponsored, I just admire their values and mission).

Honestly yours,
Alice

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

Featured image from http://www.centerforprevention.org