Browsing Tag

yoga

Blogs I love, Fitness, Health, Sunday Summary

Sunday Summary: Kayla Itsines Week 2

March 9, 2014

Hello lovely readers!

I am feeling much more positive after my last week of being low and negative. I have now completed week 2 of Kayla Itsine’s bikini body guide AND I am so happy to say that I have completed the 6 week intermediate to advanced yoga program from Do Yoga With Me!

So what can I say about this? Well first off, I am not a master advanced yogi at all, but I noticed a significant amount of progress during the past 6 weeks. And for those of you who do yoga regularly (or even those who don’t) you will know that 6 weeks is not a long time at all. Most master yogis have been practicing for years … yeeeeears!! I have been on and off practicing yoga for about 8 years but this is the only time I have ever been regular and consistent with it. And it shows! For those of you who follow me on Instagram will know that very occasionally I will post photo’s of me in certain yoga poses, and the most recent photo I posted has shown how I have become much more flexible in comparison to the one I took a few weeks ago.

Kayla Itsines Week 2 BBG

Kayla Itsines Week 2

In terms of the bikini body guide I am embarassed to say that I have already screwed up a little .. I did the workout you were supposed to do for weeks 1 and 3, but for week 1 & 2 … oops! Oh well, hehe, I suppose I will just have to do the workouts for weeks 2 & 4, on weeks 3 & 4. It is still too early on to notice anything, although I feel as if my abs have become stronger because I am not flailing about quite as much as I was last week when I would do the sit ups!!

Apart from that, not much else is new to be quite honest! I have been swamped with work, but I have still been doing some cooking and baking to come up with new things I can feature on Friday Fare. I recently made a delicious and slightly tweaked version of Kitchen Treaty’s Vanilla Lime Green Smoothie, and it was absolutely delicious. I subbed the vanilla yogurt for vanilla protein powder and added in some of my homemade toffee sauce instead of honey. I recommend you have a look at Kitchen Treaty, as I am sure it will give you some inspiration for meals, desserts, and more.

green smoothie that fits into Kayla Itsines HELP Guide

green smoothie that fits into Kayla Itsines HELP Guide

That’s all from me for now! I think I am gonna go and make my healthy ice cream recipe now … mmmm

easy 3 ingredient healthy ice cream with toffee sauce

How have your weeks been? Let me know in the comments below 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice

Blogs I love, Fitness, Health

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.

Untitled

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