Humpday

What a busy week! The days are flying by! Bring on the weekend. This humpday will be over before we know it!

 

pics: weheartit & instagram

Fitspo Friday

Last night me and my bf booked our flights to Paris (and the return flights from Barcelona), I am officially ridiculously excited!!!!
We're leaving on July 31st, so when we get there all the way over from little ol' Australia, it will be the 1st of August and it will be summer! (summer is from start of June to end of August, in case you didn't know)
We are travelling from Paris, down to Bordeaux, across the border to San Sebastian and lastly to Barcelona (and maybe another place of two depending on how it all pans out). We have got three weeks to explore these wonderful and most wondrous places.
We chose this time of year deliberately because we want to relax on the beaches of south west France and Spain - and HOPEFULLY we will have built our house by then too! 
However..... so Bec might be extremely consistent in her health and fitness routines (read about her health dedication here, here, here and here), I, alas, am not *sad face* (that chocolate seems like a great idea at the time and generally I prefer sleep to sweat). 
Now these Europeans get around in nothing but a skimpy bikini bottom and I can't even confidently strut around in a full-covering bikini! So I've got some work to do.
Hence, I have frantically searched the web for some seriously inspirational bodies! I need to get my butt in shape.

I do take some comfort knowing I have a solid 3 months (well 3 and a half months) to tightly tone myself into a cellulite and flab-free goddess. Okay maybe not a goddess, but I need some improvement! 

Anyone else in this situation?
 
This is the beginning of my journey to a fit fab and fantastic figure.

Is these super amazing bodies can't inspire me, then I have no chance at all...

Oh, and if anyone has any ideas about France or Spain, please pretty please let me know. We've never travelled in Europe before and any advice, suggestions would be much appreciated.

♥ Holly xx

All images from tumblr

12 week challenge. WOW #2

First of all... this week has been horrible. Our family cat "Cuddles" got run over a few days ago.. and it's all very sad. It's funny how attached you get to your pets... they are very much a part of your family... so when they're gone it's awful. We're all missing her quite a lot. But I like to think that she was asleep in the sun and then she was gone. She wasn't in pain. It was fast. : (


RIP Cuddles.

So I've been keeping myself busy with working out...

Last week I mentioned I had started the 12 week challenge! (You can catch up by clicking here if you missed it.)
I have been doing really well this week and have been quite strict with following the Metabolic Precision Diet. Go me!
As I mentioned last week, I do a WOW workout every week. Last week was hard... but this week was even harder! You do this workout on top of what you usually do in a week! Hell I tell you... I have to say I do enjoy it though... a lot! My Personal Trainer is fantastic and she really pushes me when my mind tells me to stop.

THIS WEEKS WOW:
Video of two trainers from Goodlife doing this weeks WOW
Each circuit consists of:

Box Jumps is using a large box not a lower one.
The 10 Pull-Ups are set to 25kg for women and men don't use the assisted machine.
The 30 Jump Lunges use no weight.
The 20 Dumbbell Burpees is lifting two 8kg dumbbells (HARD)
The 20 Plated Sit ups is using a 5kg weight plate.

If you don't do the rep properly then it isn't counted and you have to do that rep again for it to count.

THE AIM OF THE GAME:
To do as many reps as you can in 20 MINUTES!!!
Each rep is worth 1 point.
So each round is worth 100.

I got 266. Meaning I did two complete rounds and then got up to the burpees. OMG. I was stuffed afterwards... and my body is pretty sore today!
But today is not rest day, about to head out on a 10km run... my 15km fun run is only 2 weeks away!

Looking forward to Sunday... REST DAY!

See what you can do!! I'd love to see how you go! You can do it :)

DIY SUPER-ORB Recipe

It's true... you can have your chocolate and be healthy too!

Recently I've been finding it hard to grab a quick snack that kills the cravings!

No need to search further as we've found SUPER ORBS.

They are so quick and convenient and you can twist the ingredients to suit your taste buds.

YOU WILL NEED:

Dark Chocolate Powder (***NOT sweetened)

I like this organic powder, it is pretty expensive (AU$15), but you can rest assured that there are no hidden nasties.

Two types of seeds/nuts. I used sunflower/pumpkin/sesame seeds and some extra pepita's (the green ones)

1 cup dates (or any fruit)

1 cup apricots

(I substituted dates and apricots for Gogi berries, unsweetened organic desiccated coconut and a teaspoon of ground chili, which was delicious with the dark chocolate.)

A Food Processor is a must for finely ground ingredients.

2 Scoops of Protein Powder.

I use this Evolve one in vanilla flavour. It is whey based, and is great for people wanting to decrease their body fat but maintain their lean muscle. Plus... it's pretty delicious.

I didn't use the peanut butter in the balls, but you can add it in if you like.

The coconut oil butter is a great alternative for butters/oils... (coconut oil is fantastic for your hair/skin/nails plus it's cane sugar, gluten and dairy free.)

Spices! These three staples are perfect.

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

Maple syrup. In the pure form and not the maple flavoured syrup.. be careful!

THE STEPS

1. CHOP THOSE DATES and APRICOTS. Don't stress too much about getting them nice and small... the food processor will take care of the finer details.

2. ADD about 2/3 cup of each of your seeds.

You can add as much of as little as you like.. however, if you choose not to use oats, these will be the majority of your balls and you might like to add a little more.

3. ADD 2/3 cup maple syrup.

4. ADD 2 scoops protein powder (the scooper comes with your protein powder.)

5. ADD a heaped dessert spoon of your coconut oil/butter. 

6. Give it a quick stir.

7. Transfer to blender. Whiz it until your ingredients are as fine as possible.

8. Take them out of the blender ADD 1/4 cup of dark chocolate/Maca powder.

9.ADD Spices.

1 tsp cloves.

1 tsp nutmeg.

about 2 tsp ground cinnamon.

10. MIX with hands and ROLL them into small balls.

You can add your chocolate powder gradually so you get the right amount of chocolate for your liking.

It is your choice of sizing.. I like to make mine quite small so I can have 2.. you feel like you're having more... but you're not.

11. Sometimes I like to roll my orbs in some almond meal.

TIP: If your orbs are too dry... add a little maple syrup (be careful not to add too much though) 

12. Put in the fridge to firm up.

They don't need to be perfect... but they are DELICIOUS!

RECAP: For those who don't like to follow a picture recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup of maple syrup.
2/3 cup of two sorts of nuts/seeds.
1 cup dates.
1 cup apricots.
2 scoops of a whey dominant protein powder.
1/4 cup dark chocolate powder. Make sure it is unsweetened and preferably organic.
1 tsp cloves, 1tsp nutmeg and about 2 tsp ground cinnamon.
A dessert spoon of coconut oil butter.

METHOD:

1. CHOP THOSE DATES and APRICOTS.

Don't stress too much about getting them nice and small... the food processor will take care of the finer details.

2. ADD about 2/3 cup of each of your seeds.

You can add as much of as little as you like.. however, if you choose not to use oats, these will be the majority of your balls and you might like to add a little more.

3. ADD 2/3 cup maple syrup.

4. ADD 2 scoops protein powder (the scooper comes with your protein powder.)

5. ADD a heaped dessert spoon of your coconut butter.

6. Give it a quick stir.  

7. Transfer to blender. Whiz it until your ingredients are as fine as possible.

8. Take them out of the blender then

ADD 1/4 cup of dark chocolate/Maca powder.

9. ADD Spices.

1 tsp cloves.

1 tsp nutmeg.

about 2 tsp ground cinnamon.

10. MIX with hands and ROLL them into small balls.

11. PLACE in the fridge to firm up.

12. ENJOY.

This recipe makes about 24 balls. Depending on what size you make them :)

 

**MAKE SURE YOU TRY THE SUBSTITUTED VERSION OF THIS RECIPE*

Substitute apricots and dates for Gogi Berries and Unsweetened, Desiccated Coconut.

Also for good taste and an extra kick for the metabolism add in 1/2 a teaspoon- 1 teaspoon of ground chili.

I got my recipe inspiration from a fellow blogger The Yummy Vegan

I didn't add salt... because I don't think there is any need for extra salt in our lives. There is way too much hidden sodium in everything we eat anyway!

I didn't add oats... I wanted my orb balls to be something I could eat at any time in the day and not only after exercise.

I ended up not adding the Peanut Butter for the same reason.

I only eat High Energy carbs (breads, pasta, rice, oats and potatoes) within 3 hours after I exercise.