So I have just about survived the first full week back to work! Getting up these past few mornings has been quite tough after the lie ins of the Christmas and New Year break, but this morning I did have a little bit of added help, more on that to come next week!
As I mentioned on Wednesday its been great to get back to some sort of routine. I’ve enjoyed working out in the morning before work three times this week. Fuelling up with blended coffee has definitely helped:
This one from this morning had cacao butter in it. So creamy!
This weeks workouts:
- Sat & Sun – REST
- Monday – Gym – 5 minutes warm up, plank, LiveFit amended workout – chest, triceps, back, biceps, 10 minutes bike (50 minutes total)
- Tuesday – plank, MTV Yoga DVD
- Wednesday – Gym – 5 minutes warm up, plank, LiveFit amended workout – Legs, calves, shoulders, abs, 10 minutes bike (50 minutes total)
- Thursday – MTV Power Yoga DVD (forgot plank, but plenty of bloody planks in the DVD anyway!)
- Friday – Gym – 5 minutes warm up, random strength workout (squats, deadlifts, lunges, chest press, shoulder press, rows etc), plank, 10 minutes bike (50 minutes total)
I have been enjoying doing the workouts from LiveFit, in my own way of course. I am not following the nutrition plan, but it is just good to have some structure to follow with strength training, even if I do change it to suit me! I have also been trying to remember to do a plank with each workout (the plank a day idea died a death last weekend!) and so far not too bad!
I took this at 7.30 am this morning so excuse the gormless expression and sweat, but I am taking the odd selfie to remind myself that Christmas indulgences have not turned me into a giant blob! In fact just a week and a half back to normal – yet still including two parties – and I’m feeling good :-)
This week I have tried to plan my meals to keep me organised. I did pretty well and it certainly took some of the pressure off having to think about what to cook each evening:
Thai red chicken and butternut squash curry with cauliflower rice and steamed broccoli
Veggie loaf (from the freezer) with cauliflower mash and steamed broccoli
I attempted a cauliflower pizza crust but it failed completely (due to me just winging it with measurements and ingredients and cooking in a pan rather than the oven) so I just crumbled it up, scrambled with some egg whites, peppers and courgette then popped on top of some spinach and added olives and cheese on top!
I guess you could call this a pizza scramble, sometimes you can turn a fail into a win!
Breakfasts post gym have been green smoothies, but then I’ve also had some tasty oats:
Oats with egg whites, blush pear, tahini and maple syrup. I’ve also had more eggs scrambled in a little ghee:
With satsumas on the side!
Lunches have been either lentil soup or a salad with chickpeas and snacks have been fruit and nuts. I did enjoy some treats at my best friends little girls birthday party on Wednesday evening – plenty of cookies and cake!
On the Love List this week…
This tea is amazing! Also…
Coaching my amazing clients with Uniquely Healthy – I feel like I’ve found my calling in life and I can’t express just how happy it makes me helping others through things that I’ve been through myself! // yoga – I’ve missed it over Christmas! // James still loving my more curvy body, and reminding me of that // cuddles with my best friends girls // my nephew’s 2nd birthday // making an effort and wearing new sales clothes for work // watching Girls
In case you missed it:
Lots of Giveaways!
- No 1 – Get Fit, Feel Epic! Chance to win a Fit Bit Activity Tracker and a set of scales that measure BMI and Body Fat %
- No 2 –Innocent Smoothies – chance to win 2 month supply of smoothies
- No 3 –Popchips – chance to win 12 share bags of Popchips
I posted about detoxing without trying over on Uniquely Healthy
I also posted over at the fantastic The High Tea Cast on Making Healthy Resolutions Stick. You can read all my posts for The High Tea Cast here, check them out!
How has the first full week of 2013 been for you? What’s on your Love List this week?
{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }
That coffee looks delicious Laura, I hadn’t heard of putting fats in coffee before. I know what you mean about the Christmas ‘blob’ mentality, I know I’ve put on a few pounds but I haven’t transformed into the space hopper that I think I have!! Dandelion and burdock tea sounds fab and a great de-bloating drink :-) Love the sweets haha!
Claire @ Flake and Cake recently posted..Turning it Around
I know we are so silly aren’t we and we often think we look worse that we actually do!
I bought that tea before Christmas and loved it! all gone now though :( I think I’m just loving feeling properly fueled through eating well this week, getting back into the gym, and going for my first run in forever yesterday!
Ffion @ Chocolate and Raspberries recently posted..Looking back at 2012
Totally random but I just randomly found blush pears yesterday for the first time. I have a huge one waiting for me to try later today! :) Looking particularly toned in your pic btw, building the guns! Power to you!
Shel@PeachyPalate recently posted..Protein powered brownies
They are lovely aren’t they, I’m loving pears right now!
Really interested to hear how you find LiveFit, I found it brilliant. That tea sounds lovely. I’ve had a really good 2012 so far, getting back into work, new workouts and juicing lots and lots!
Lauren (@poweredbypb) recently posted..WIAW- Juice, Juice and more Juice
Glad that you enjoyed LiveFit I’m hoping that it will at least keep me going for a while with more structure. Glad you’ve been enjoying your juicing!
Hello Laura,
I have been following your blog for more than a year now. I do not really comment but as it is a New Year, why not to start:) Just wanted to say thanks for your blog, i look forward to every new post and have tried many of your recipes and incorporated smoothies in my diet:) I drink them at work and my favourite one is with bananas and spinach, I am sure u can imagine what looks I get when i drink those green monsters at work :) They don’t know what they are missing:)
I was looking for the Healthy magazine as I wanted to see your makeover pictures but they did not include any in the magazine, are you going to share some with us?
Good luck Lucie
Hi Lucie,
Thank you for such a lovely comment! Yey for the green smoothies – I was drinking one in the car on the way to work the other day in traffic and I’m sure some drivers looked a bit confused ;-) I think my pictures are in the Feb / March issue of Healthy – the 100th Edition so it should be out soon!
I love that tea – that and peppermint are pretty much the only herbal type teas I actually enjoy… You look so badass in the picture too! ;)
You look gorgeous missus! :) You are definitely not a blob and you look really strong and healthy! And it’s so lovely to hear how much you’re enjoying Uniquely Healthy and helping other people…you were just born to do this sort of thing! xxx
Nicky @kabochafashionista recently posted..Raw Food is Good Mood Food
Thanks Nicky! That’s how I’m feeling about it all at the moment, I just hope it keeps going so well!
Ah, totally oblivious to the tea crazes as always ;)
I think with your January eating everything always resets anyway – you always balance out December (or more than balance it out!) so I wouldn’t worry :) Oh dear, taking selfies always has the opposite effect on me :/ Someone likened my view to looking in a Funhouse mirror but I think my perception is correct. Oh well…perhaps I should just avoid mirrors!
Ha, you look positively ladylike compared to me! One of the many reasons I wear black to the gym is because I’d turn every top darker anyway with sweat – you really suit that colour green in combination with your tattoos by the way.
xxx
Oh I don’t think your perception is right at all, you look so much better than you seem to think. Glad you like the green, its not usually a ‘workout colour’ for me but its a nice change to the pink and purple I usually go for!
The first full week of 2013 has been, in a word, long! I’d forgotten how tiring it can be to work 9-5 haha. I’m looking forward to a nice Friday evening bath/book session to fully relax in preparation for a quiet weekend :)
You look fab in your gym selfie photo by the way, you couldn’t look less blob-like if you tried! I’ll repeat what I said on Instagram a few days ago, you have such an enviable figure at the moment… it’s just what I aspire to. I know you’ve been trying to cut down cardio exercise and eat a more balanced diet etc and it’s clearly doing you wonders! Keep it up chick xx
Hope you enjoyed a nice relaxing Friday evening! You are so lovely to say that – its taken a lot of getting used to but I really love my figure like this, plus the more I’ve been reading on things cutting down intense cardio is pretty good all round!
Chicken and butternut squash curry sound yummy – I think that’ll be my weekend dinner :) After all the bad meals at Christmas it’ll be good to get back to good, wholesome grub :)
Jamie
Jamie Gibbs recently posted..Reasons to get fit – Tummy Talk
Oh tell me about it, I think its good when you can eat tasty food that is still healthy. I definitely don’t feel quite so deprived!
I’ve had a great week, I’m loving my new job!!
Tamzin recently posted..My Thursday
Your workouts rock and have made me kick myself up the bum and get moving! The early mornings have been getting me down and when I get home I just want to flop. Not On! I found a gym near me for 10.99 a month which is great but it doesn’t open til feb, haha, what an excuse to laze, right!?
You look fab and strong btw :)
Catherine recently posted..Daxon’s blogging network
That sounds like a great deal for a gym! I think a lot of cheaper options are starting to open, hope you enjoy it when it opens in Feb!
Awwr Laura! It makes me so happy to hear that you’ve been loving your health coaching job! You’re honestly such an inspiration to me because you took a chance to follow your dreams and worked so hard to develop them and now it’s paying off :) Can’t wait to see what this year has in store for you!
Amanda @ .running with spoons. recently posted... eating more, but snacking less .
Thanks Amanda :-) I have my fingers crossed its all going to keep on going well!
That tea sounds amazing. Such an usual flavour for tea- I bet it’s delicious!
Jemma @ Celery and Cupcakes recently posted..Healthy snacking with Urban Fruit + GIVEAWAY!
Ooh veggie loaf sounds yummy. I’ve seen some great meatloaf recipes flying about the blogging world so definitely craving that sort of thing now!
Anna @AnnaTheApple recently posted..Full steam ahead! WIAW
So I want to know!
How has James taken to your change in cooking? Does he LOVE the gorgeous concoctions that you present to him? What have been his responses?
I now have a boyfriend, so I wanna know! ;)
xo
Oooh congrats on the boyfriend I must have missed this on FB and your blog! James is a lot happier now that I’m not vegan as we can eat more of the same foods – he wasn’t that adventurous when I was vegan so I would adapt meals for us both. Hope your new guy is up for trying your beautiful food designs!
Eugh, early mornings are so hard after a break. I keep either waking up before my alarm thinking that I have overslept, or ‘sleeping’ through 2 alarms (luckily I have 3!)
Well done for being organised with your meals this week, they look delicious, colourful and nutritious. I need to take inspiration from this because I have been horribly disorganised with food this week, and I feel pretty crappy for it. Oh well, next week is a new week…
You most definitely do not look like a blob, you look lovely.
Georgia Xx
Georgia recently posted..A Thoroughly Lazy Saturday
Thanks Georgia :-) Hope you are feeling more organised for the coming week!