Day 3: Finding my six pack!

Alarm set for 6.45 am

Had 7.5 hours sleep.

This morning I was stiff, extremely stiff. 

My 10 km run yesterday took a lot out if me as I hadn't ran that distance in a long time. 

I decided today to focus on my abs as I was starting to feel a little leaner and wasn't experiencing much bloating. 

15 reps V abs

15 reps Russian twists 

15 reps flutter kicks

15 reps upper body twists

15 reps side crunches

3 rounds with 60 seconds rest between each set.

I finished with some work on my foam rollers and some restorative yoga to help realign and relax. 

Breakfast:

Omelette;

1 egg and 1 egg white

1 mushroom and 1/4 of a yellow pepper

Snack:

Celery sticks and cottage cheese

Lunch:

Basa fish and cauliflower and broccoli 

Snack:

Protein shake

Dinner:

Minced beef with peppers and mushroom.

Cup of green tea. 

Day 2: Start as you mean to go on..

Alarm was set for 6.30 am.

Had 8 hours sleep.

Feeling well rested.

Today's workout was intense, 10 km run.

This is the most I have ran in over six months. 

I really enjoyed it, but my legs were shaking when I finished. 

I did 20 mins of stretching afterwards and I am hoping I will still be able to walk in the am!! 

Breakfast: 

Protein shake with wheat grass and aloe Vera juice. 

Omelette; 1 egg with 1 egg white, smoked salmon. 

Cup of green tea. 

Snack: 

Slice of beef, 2 lettuce leaves, 4 slices cucumber. 

Lunch:

Smoked cod, asparagus, broccoli and some mushrooms. 

Cup of green tea.

Snack: 

Celery sticks and cottage cheese

Dinner:

White fish, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus and a poached egg. 

Cup of green tea. 

As you can see, I eat a lot of the same food, I try mix it up as much as I can but when you are shopping and cooking for one there is usually a lot of waste so, instead of throwing food out I just eat it until it is used up. 

Not the most exciting meals but when you are working out and eating less bad carbs you are hungry, so every meal is a welcome meal!!!

Day 1: Easing into it!

My Alarm was set for 6.45 am.

I had 8 hours sleep last night.

To ease myself into my new routine I started with body weight leg exercises. 

15 squats

15 lunges

15 plié squats

15 backwards lunges

15 prisoner squats

15 side split lunges 

3 rounds, with 30 secs rest between each set. 

Breakfast:

Omelette; 1 egg, 1 egg white and smoked salmon. 

Cup of green tea.

Snack:
Celery sticks and cottage cheese

Lunch:

White fish, broccoli and asparagus. 

Cup of green tea.

Snack: 
Lettuce leaf, 4 slices cucumber, half slice of beef.

Dinner: 

Cauliflower, broccoli, smoked salmon and a poached egg. 

Cup of green tea.

Feels great to have the first day over, even though it has only been one day, I am delighted I have made a start.
Hard workout planned for the morning so hoping to get to bed early tonight.

A guilt free 10 days!

My diet has been all over the place since my injury, too many binges and too many incidents where I broke away from my gluten and dairy free lifestyle!!

It has made me feel really anxious and guilty and I am already not happy with the fact that I've been loosing weight through muscle loss.

You shouldn't feel guilty for having a treat every now and then but overindulging is not good and I really feel like I have lost sight of my goals.

I have decided to write a ten day food and exercise diary with pictures to keep myself on track. 

I know if I can do 10 days of a regular routine, I'll be back on track!!

My plan:

1. Limit my bad carb intake

2. All meals to be gluten and dairy free

3. To perform some form of exercise everyday 

4. To do at least 6 intense workouts in the ten days

5. To see my abs again!!!!!!!

My posts will include my exercise for that day, a detailed food diary with pictures and some pics from my workouts.

Day one starts tomorrow so early to bed tonight as I want to be well rested!

A Spring Clean On My Life

It's one of the greatest ironies of life: 

We're too busy to deal with the stuff that makes us feel busy.

Tackling them always feels like a project, the kind you'll get around to when you have the time. 

Yeah Right...

"The key to a calmer existence is finding small, everyday solutions for stressors and releasing clutter." 

"When you start to let go, your life lightens up because you have less to think about and less to maintain,"

There has never been a truer word said, in my case anyway.

Last year I was in a very stressful position in my job and my entire schedule revolved around work. It eventually took it's toll on my health. 
Deciding to step down from the roll I held was one of the best decisions I have ever made.

I found my health improved, my state of mind was clearer, my anxiety was reduced and I just had a better outlook on life in general.

I immediately found a replacement position I was extremely happy with and my work day became an enjoyable experience as opposed to a dreaded weight I carried around for 10 hours a day.

I also met my boyfriend on the same weekend.

Things seemed to be falling nicely into place.

It is really important for our sanity that we take a step back every now and then and see where we are in our lives and if things are progressing as we would like.

This month with my injury I had some spare time, (some) as I wasn't spending as much time working out. 
I decided to start de-cluttering and making changes to;
My wardrobe
My digestive system
My hair
My mind
My Time
My Skin

A random list it might seem, but these were all areas I felt I was a little anxious about and perhaps needed to focus a bit more on.

So..

What Did I Do:

Have A Plan. 
Most people's to-do lists actually create fatigue, because they don't clarify how, exactly, they are going to handle things, so tasks feel bigger than they are. 
Take a second to jot down how you'll tackle something.
Then, Just Do It. 

If something can be done in two minutes, go ahead and get it done. It will take you longer to look at it again than it would take to finish it the first time you think of it.

My List:

MY TIME:

My days seemed to be melting into one another and I was finding I had no time to relax after a busy day in work.

Take note of how you are spending the majority of your day. 
See where you are wasting time and try to figure out how you can utilise your down time to the best of your ability.

While on the bus make a list of things you need to do, research on your smart phone while standing in q's or while waiting at appointments.
Pay bills online and shop online where possible to save you travelling to different locations.

MY MIND:

Get rid of people that are bad for you!
Such a difficult thing to do but a vital one if you want to get peace of mind.

I have a habit of keeping in contact with the wrong people, and I hate to fall out with people so I try to always keep the peace, ex boyfriends included. This is all well and good if you can distance yourself, if not it can start to affect you in lots of different ways and can stop you progressing with your life in the here and now. 
I learned this the hard way.
This year I made a conscious decision to cut ties with people I knew were having a negative affect on my life. 

MY HAIR:

I have had the same blonde highlights for years and decided I would like a change. Having tried the chop and a fringe I decided this time I would play around with my colour.
I opted for Blonde Ombre and some balyage.
I am delighted with the results, not too drastic but a welcome change none the less. 

MY DIGESTIVE SYSTEM:

Two words; Colonic Irrigation.
 I am obsessed.
Also known as "colon hydrotherapy", colonic irrigation is a safe and effective method for cleansing the colon of waste and impacted material by repeated flushing with water.
Those that know me well will know about my passion for colonics. 

A cleanse from the inside out, with the added bonus of complete hydration.

I try to have a colonic every couple of months and I find my skin, my hair and my nails all benefit from a good colonic. 

MY WARDROBE:

I love a good wardrobe clear out.

My younger cousin does too as she usually gets to rummage through whatever items I have decided to get rid of, some of which still have the tags on. I am an impulse buyer and often get carried away. Days later realising I may not even like the items all that much.

MY SKIN:
I love doing skin treatments and will do a skin peel or a microdermabrasion or skin needling at least every 4-6 weeks.
I decided to use the Dermadart, a form of skin needling as I felt I needed a little collagen boost.
Here is a post I've written on skin needling and it's benefits:
http://loveprotectreflecttheskinyourein.blogspot.ie/2013/04/skin-needling.html

This was my skin directly afterwards.


This was my skin four weeks later!!

LOVE this treatment.

I am about to embark on my New Fitness Regime which I will be releasing daily posts on.
It is more or less taking my workouts back to basics and re-focusing on my diet. 
 All the details will be up on the blog on Sunday!!

Stay Tuned :)

Homemade Clean Museli

I love Museli and I usually make my own.

It can be expensive to make so I usually make it once a month or so as a treat.

Museli has many nutritional benefits but homemade museli is much better than pre-packaged supermarket museli,

Benefits:

It has less sugar and calories that most breakfast cereals

It's high in fiber and whole grains, which regulate the digestive system, are filling and can aid in weight control.

Muesli is a potent source of antioxidants.

The addition of nuts provides a great source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids (especially walnuts).

Milk or dairy alternatives that usually accompany muesli is a source of dairy and protein. 

Superfood Muesli

Ingredients:

1 cup oats (to make this gluten free, increase the almonds and coconut to 1 cup each)

1/2 cup of raw almonds (chop in a food processor)

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/3 cup sunflower seeds?

1/3 cup pumpkin seeds

1/3 cup chia seeds

1/3 cup wheatgerm

1/2 cup almonds, roughly chopped

4 tbsp linseeds

2 tsp cinnamon

Directions: 

Mix all ingredients in a bowl then add into a large glass jar to store.

OR, for something a little different:

Paleo Crunch (gluten/grain free)

Dry ingredients:

2 cups of raw almonds

1/2 cup of raw, unsalted sunflower seeds (shelled)

1/2 cup of raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup of hazelnuts (or any other flavorful nut)

1/2 cup of chia seeds 

1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup of almond flour (if you’re patient, all it takes is almonds and a food processor… or you could buy a package in the gluten-free baking section of most markets)

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

Wet ingredients:

1/4 cup of coconut oil

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1/2 a cup of honey or agave nectar

Directions:

Using a food processor or knife, chop almonds and hazelnuts to desired size.

Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.

Add coconut oil, honey and vanilla extract and stir until all ingredients are incorporated.

Spread the mixture on a large pan and bake at 210 for 10 minutes.

Remove pan from the oven and stir ingredients carefully.

Return pan to the oven and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until ingredients begin to brown.

Let your paleo crunch cool before eating. 
As it sits, the crunch will get crunchier. 
Store in an airtight container.

Picture Diary For The Week

Had a hectic weekend last weekend. 

Sat night was spent in Limerick visiting a friend, with a trip to Kerry on the Sunday morning for my boyfriend's, God child's birthday party. 

As a treat, I baked some gluten and dairy free Fairy cakes for the party. 

All of this travelling left no time for exercise so Monday morning we woke early and went to Torc Waterfall in Killarney and walked in around Muckross house. It was a gorgeous day and we walked for hours.

I then had to head back home for physio.

I received dry needling on my deltoid and shoulder again, and after some manual physio work I received more shock wave therapy.

My physio gave me some exercises to continue with and asked me not to do any other form of exercise, except walking!

This made me feel uneasy as I am already doing so little exercise with my injury but on a brighter note she hopes after next weeks session I can start back my yoga and perhaps even some light weights. 

        I have actually lost weight since becoming injured, a direct result of 
     loosing muscle mass. Really feel like I am loosing lots of definition,         working so hard and achieving great results is very rewarding but seeing your muscles disappear before your eyes is heartbreaking. 

I know once I am fully recovered I will get back on track so I just need to keep motivated and be patient. 

This bank holiday weekend will be very tame.

Lots of Relaxing, eating well and WALKING!