Insanity Month 2: It's Not A Diet, It's a Lifestyle!

Hey beautiful people,

So I thought maybe it's time for another update on Insanity and how it's all going. Well I'd start by saying month 2 is whooping my ass! My goodness, in the first week my body was so sore, I could barely move! My calf muscles ached, my thighs were burning, everything you can imagine aching, was aching... So awful! But now I'm in the third week and even though the workout is still as intense it's not so bad anymore. Two of the workouts are about an hour long so waking up early enough to do them before lectures has been a task, I start at 9am most days so that would mean waking up at 6.45 to start working out so I can be in the shower by 7.45/8.00. Anyone that knows me knows that getting out of bed before 8 is such a problem, so I do them mostly when I get home just before bed instead.

Before I started month 2 I was complaining to my friend that I wasn't seeing any differences in my body and blah blah but finally that is changing slowly but surely, I feel so much better and more confident, clothes are fitting better and I even lost 3-4 kg as well! So yeah, Insanity is doing me justice finally! Also my fit test results have really been improving (except the suicide jumps/burpees I can't do them to save my life). Basically the fit test is where you do each of the moves below in one minute and see how many you can get while maintaining good form! I have only 1 more left, hopefully there will be even more improvement!

Move	Fit Test 1	Fit Test 2	Fit Test 3	Fit Test 4
1. Switch Kicks	52	94	100	102
2. Power Jacks	31	38	46	53
3. Power Knees	45	78	87	108
4. Power Jumps	7	17	28	43
5. Globe Jumps	5	6	7	8
6. Suicide Jumps	9	9	9	10
7. Push-Up Jacks	8	14	19	27
8. Low Plank Oblique	29	24	35	45

I've learnt so much about correct form with exercise and I've been modifying some moves so there's less impact on my knees. Anyways, enough with the bragging and trumpet blowing (but if I don't do it then who will?!) here's some stuff that I've found has helped me so far in my journey to a healthier body.

• Eating breakfast; usually people don't eat because they aren't hungry or there isn't enough time but the longer you take to eat after you wake up, the more likely it is that your body will go into starvation mode and start holding on to fat, obviously a big no-no. So I've been trying to get out of bed 10 minutes earlier so I have enough time to make a Quick Smoothie or have some cereal before uni.

• Eating 3-4 times a day; same sort of theory as before, it's better to keep your metabolism running through the day than have long periods of no/junk food then one massive meal to compensate. When I was being really good, which has been so much more difficult of late, I'd have a smoothie around 9, 'light lunch' at 12.30, lunch again at 3/4 and then dinner at 7, 8 at the very latest and try not to eat anything really carb heavy like rice/pasta after 4.

• Setting weekly/monthly goals; for me this is such a great motivator, just trying to reach the goals always motivates me to continue, and finding people; friends or otherwise, to hold you accountable when you slip up is always a good way to ensure you at least try and stay on track. I have a really good buddy system going on right now with two friends, we hold each other accountable for working out and also clean eating without being judgemental.

• Having a cheat day or two; nothing much to say on this one except we are human beings with weaknesses and sometimes we just want that little bit extra love to come from our food!

Just look at these bad boys from Home Sweet Home! "Sweet Carolina" burger with fully loaded fries on top and the massive Chilli Dog with sweet potato fries below! Amazing!

It's not a diet or a phase, it's a lifestyle! Trying to change your lifestyle and incorporate some form of clean eating/regular exercise into it now means not having to do it at 40! For some more tips look up the Anti Diet by the Londoner, she has some really good advice on there and even though I just found it I'm already addicted! It's charm is in the simplicity. Here's to conquering the last week and a half of Insanity! How are you guys doing with working out and eating good? Any other helpful tips for me? Let me know in the comments box. 

Fit February: Smoothie Challenge Update

Wow, there’s so much on my mind to blog about but I have no idea where to start! The next few days might be “post heavy” but hopefully it would make up for my slightly sporadic posts. Anyways I thought I’d come and brag about how well my smoothie challenge is going. So far I’ve only missed 2 days and that was out of pure laziness to go and restock on fruit and stuff. Also I tried the green smoothies, they are actually soo delicious! It’s kinda weird how great they taste! Although I can’t say that I’m fully over the colour… It still looks and feels weird to me!

Omg, I was so excited! I actually got people to join me on the challenge as well, it’s been really fun swapping recipes and comparing notes all this while. I’d share some recipes and photos at the end but before that, the one question I get asked the most is how I keep the fruit from going bad. Bad fruit is such a downer in smoothie land, it just kills the taste and everything else. Have you ever seen expired avocado? Gross! So anyways what I do is, I ‘prep’ my fruit. I freeze all the stuff that goes off the quickest which for me is my berries, so I chop up the strawberries and freeze them before putting them in a bag, I do the same to the blueberries and raspberries too, without the chopping. Oh yeah, you have to freeze them on a tray of some sort first so they don’t end up sticking together in clumps during the freezing process.

         

Smoothie Prep :) Strawberries, blueberries and raspberries 

After Freezing

I don't pre-prep the actual recipes I want to make because I love the flexibility of just throwing some things in the blender and watching the magic happen but the process would be the same if you wanted to but in the bags instead of having just one fruit, you'd have your mixes ready to throw in, this is also more efective in terms of time! I know it looks long but fruit freezes pretty quickly. I don’t usually freeze my bananas and other fruit, partly because I can’t be bothered most times and also because the more frozen things you use, the thicker your smoothie would be and I don’t like them too thick. Before I put up the pictures of my smoothies I think I should add a little disclaimer here: “I’m really not the most creative person out there, don’t judge my photos!” Haha. Also half the time I take these I’m about to be late for class. Lecturers that start teaching at 9 on the dot are just awful. Everyone knows about the 5-minute contingency rule! Geez! So anyways here are a couple of recipes for any interested parties. Interestingly enough, I realised I don’t really know how much of each fruit I put in the smoothies but I would try and do a rough guide. Most times I just feel it, adding more of the stuff I know I like.

Recipes:
1. Berries and Bananas:

This was the only smoothie I had tried before I started the challenge, made it for my bf and he really liked it! Added a bit of cranberry juice to his for sweetness though.

1 banana, 5-6 strawberries, handful of raspberries, water/cranberry juice.

2. "Brown" Green Smoothie:

First ever green smoothie, I decided to use my then favourite recipe of bananas and berries and just add the spinach and hope for the best! The blueberries and the spinach ended up fighting for colour and so it looked a bit more brown :s. It tasted quite nice though! Also bananas are excellent for covering up the taste of spinach. Trust me when I say you cannot taste it AT ALL. I promise!

1 banana, handful of frozen blueberries, 4-5 strawberries, handful of spinach, water

3. Tropical Smoothie:

So I saw this recipe on Instagram and decided to go crazy with it! So many different types of fruit! It tasted nice but I prefer having less fruit in my smoothies so I can actually taste them (the more fruit you add, the less of the individual tastes there are). Also I read, if you blend the greens first, it eliminates the chances of getting random leafy bits in your drink. (I used the wrong cup image here but can't find the right one! Your drink might turn out less green!).

Water, 1 banana, handful of blueberries, handful of raspberries, 4 strawberries, 1/2 a mango, some pineapple, handful of spinach.

4. Pear and Banana:

This smoothie turned out so bright I almost didn't drink it! But it's been my favourite so far and the only recipe I've actually repeated! Note: Peel the skin of the pears first! I tried one with the apples and left the skin on and it had the most disgusting texture to it, bits of unblended apple skin floating everywhere in the glass. Yuck!

1 pear, 1 banana, 2 handfuls of spinach, apple juice/water.

5. Kiwi Delight:

I don't particularly like this one. I thought kiwis would do great in smoothies but the seeds make them really annoying to drink and they're also a bit too sharp! I can't deal.

1 kiwi, 1/2 a banana, handful of blueberries, 2 tbsps greek yoghurt, 1 tbsp honey.

So there you have it! Hope some of you join me for the rest of the challenge, or at least try one of the recipes! Leave a comment below if you decide to :)

Ttfn,

Reni x

Body like Beyonce: Fit February Smoothie Challenge.

So last weekend Beyonce really kicked up a storm in the media! From her mind blowingly epic performance at the Super Bowl half-time show to the announcement of her world tour! She’s really caused a ruckus! If I was to begin writing about all the reasons why she is epic I don’t think I’d ever stop! She’s like, the epitome of ‘woman’ or something! Second only to my mother in my eyes! Lol. But seriously though, Beyonce is just one of those people that you either love to love or love to hate, but either way you still love her! And to all those Kelly and Michelle fans I just have a few things to say to you. 1. I love Kelly too but seriously, you cannot deny the force that is KING BEY! 2. May you never be a Michelle to anybody in this life! (Check out this awful but somehow hilarious website!).

Anyways, one thing I’ve always wanted from Beyonce is her gaddem body!

EPIC performance! <3 <3 <3

I don’t know how she does it! And while she may not be the best role model for healthy eating and all, her body is always in perfect form when she needs it to be! As I mentioned in my last post I fell off the Insanity and clean eating bandwagon but I’m picking myself right back up and continuing from where I left off! Even though the week has already started I’m going to try and come up with some meal prep ideas and the like to keep me from over eating and eating the wrong thing! One thing I’ve learnt so far is that it’s not only about the calories; it’s about where they come from. So eating 2000 calories of lean meat, complex carbs and ‘good’ fats is going to do a lot more for your body than just 1000 calories from sugary and salty snacks. To motivate myself further I’ve decided to start a challenge for the remainder of February. Welcome to my Fit February Smoothie challenge!

At least one smoothie a day, everyday for the rest of February. Smoothie are a great source of nutrients and contain a lot, if not all of our recommended 5-a-day while also being delicious! If anyone is anything like me you probably hate greens! I’m not sure if it has more to do with the colour or the taste but foods like spinach and kale just make me think “Ew, ew, ew, NAS-TAY!” but that’s why I’ve had to modify the challenge a little bit, at least 2 of the smoothies every week MUST contain some leafy greens for their added benefits of iron and other nutrients. Ugh, I’m regretting adding this clause already, lol.

My very first smoothie of the month is one of my favourites, Strawberry and Banana! I got the recipe as a workout reward ages ago when I used to use the Nike Training Club app. The recipe is below and although I didn’t have any pineapple at the time it still tasted yummy!

4 or 5 strawberries

Handful of raspberries

1 banana

3-4 fresh pineapple slices

4 oz orange juice

Ice cubes.

And the instruction is to throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth.

Couple of the ingredients I included today, forgot to take a picture before I actually made the smoothie!

Mmmmmm, nice cup of strawberry and banana smoothie after a cold and wet day!

P.S: If you don’t have a very powerful blender I would suggest crushing the ice first! (I use some freezer bags, a hammer and a couple of dishcloths lol.) Also if you don't like bananas another "thick" fruit like mangos can be used instead, just try out with different things.

Does anyone have any fun recipes I could try out? This might be the longest shortest month of the year ever!

Reni x