Overcoming Post-Holiday Blues

Victoria Falls- Zimbabwe

I absolutely love going on holiday, taking time away from reality and indulging in decadent treats and having absolutely nothing you HAVE to do. I mean, who doesn’t? Holidays are GREAT! It is really important to take time for yourself, to de-stress and be with the people you love without any distractions. However, holidays do have the ability to set you back in your health and fitness journey.

When I go on a vacation, I try to keep my eating habits similar to my norm and attempt to do a short, high intensity workout once a day. But of course, its a HOLIDAY! I do end up eating foods I generally avoid, and indulging in those delicious cocktails… sometimes my workout is completely forgotten, but that’s OK! Most ‘normal’ people (I am apparently not very normal according to my boyfriend) completely scrap their usual eating and exercise habits and take their holiday as an excuse to consume anything they want, binge drink and avoid all forms of exercise. Now, this too is also OK, because, while one week of unhealthy living can set you back a bit, it’s not the end of the world. The problem comes when the holiday is over and it is time to get back into the swing of things.

It is said that it takes 2 weeks to turn something into a habit or even break a habit. This applies to exercise. Once that habit of waking up every morning to hit the gym is broken… well, a great amount of effort and dedication is needed to return to that habit. This is why it is so hard for most people to actually get into the routine of working out or eating healthy, because it takes so much commitment. The same goes for after a holiday. I live in a predominantly student town, therefore it is very seasonal, and I see this so often after the mid-term/semester holidays. People want to get back into their routine, yet they really struggle to make it happen. So how do you avoid that post-holiday struggle?

1. The most obvious way is to never stray from your routine completely in the first place. When you go away for vacation, have a game plan! You don’t have to be obsessive about it and you can still indulge a bit. Just try to keep to whole, natural, sugar-free foods 80% of the time and plan a workout every second day. Even if it is a 20 minute workout, it still keeps you in that zone (the healthy one)
2. Make a deal with yourself. If you do plan on completely ditching your routine, make a deal with yourself that the first morning you’re back you start fresh. This will allow you to do what you need to do on holiday, but know that as soon as it’s done, it’s back to reality.
3. Take it slow. A lot of people think that after a week or two off they can pick up right where they left off… WRONG! your body will weaken a bit and your fitness levels will drop, so be kind to your body and take it easy for the first week. This will help you avoid extreme DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) and help your body adjust back into it.
4. Cut the crap. Yup, I’m sure you have been eating a lot of it on that super awesome holiday, but that needs to stop. give it a week of clean eating before the cravings for sugar and simple carbohydrates start to fade. Eat plenty fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein and complex carbohydrates, and ensure you eat every 3-4 hours to avoid a decrease in insulin levels.

At the end of the day, the best way (and, I’m sorry to say, the only way) to completely avoid post-holiday blues is to treat your health and fitness as a lifestyle rather then a boring routine. It should go with you wherever you go, because at the end of the day, no matter where you are or what you are doing, your body is going to be the most important thing you have, so treat it with respect. Love it. Be kind to it.

The 6 week plan

Photo by: Sophie Foster

Here is what Mitch and I will be eating for the next six weeks, with ONE cheat meal every weekend. Bear in mind we are super active and are trying to lean down and build muscle. If you are keen to try the transformation with us, then please don’t hesitate. If you feel like this is a bit too hectic for you to follow, I will post a plan that is more lenient but will achieve similar results (may take a bit longer, 8-10 weeks). Mitch and I have different plans, obviously because I am a girl and much smaller then him but also because he like different food to me. So here it is:

Mitch

Breakfast:

2 eggs, 3 egg white scramble

2 slices brown toast

4 rashes bacon

1 banana

OR

1 cup oats

1 banana

1 tsp honey

Snack 1:

1 apple + 2tbsp Peanut Butter

1 protein shake

1 boiled egg

OR

1 mince patty and ½ sweet potato

Lunch:

2 Chicken breasts

1 cup green veggies

1 cup brown rice/ sweet potato

Snack 2:

1 protein shake

½ can tuna/ 1 chicken breast + ½ cup brown rice

OR:

4 tuna and sweet potato cakes

1 Protein shake

OR

1 Mince patty and ½ cup brown rice

Dinner:

2 chicken breasts/ steak

1 cup green veggies

½ cup brown rice/ ½ sweet potato

Snack:

1 Protein shake and cocoa

 

Emma

Breakfast:

½ cup oats, 1 egg, 1 banana, 1tsp honey

Snack:

1 apple and 1 tbsp peanut butter

1 boiled egg

Lunch:

1 can tuna/ 1 chicken breast

1 sweet potato

1 cup green veggies

Snack:

½ can tuna

½ sweet potato

1 boiled egg

OR:

3 tuna and sweet potato cakes

OR

3 Mince/chicken meatballs

Dinner:

1 chicken breast/ steak

1 cup green veggies

½ gem squash

 General:

Coffee: 3 cups a day, no sugar or milk

Green Tea: as many cups as you want

Water: 2+ litres per day

Supplements: Multi vit, BCAAs, Protein shake (optional)

The Last Supper…

Given the fact that Mitch and I are starting this transformation diet tomorrow, we may have indulged a little too much this weekend. Friday night we had the most delicious Mexican food and I have have pretty much been eating Futurelife and oat pancakes at every opportunity… breakfast, snack, lunch, dessert… I am now hoping I am very sick of them. Mitch has been gorging himself on two-minute noodles and chocolate.

Spotted this Aero near mitch… a smudge of chocolate on his face…

Mitch’s last two-minute noodle lunch

But, it is now Sunday, we have done our mass grocery shopping and have meal prepped as much as possible. Our grocery list consisted of:

• chicken
• tuna
• mince
• eggs (LOTS OF THEM!)
• spinach
• broccoli
• green beans
• gem squash
• oats
• brown rice
• sweet potato
• lemon juice
• Cocoa (to try satisfy Mitch’s sweet tooth)

Boiling some Gem Squash

deliciously plain grilled chicken

I cannot wait to start this eating plan, personally I do not like eating junk food because I can feel the effect on my body immediately, currently I am feeling very bloated and tired. So I am really looking forward to eating clean food, feeling great and seeing amazing results (hopefully).

“I have eaten so much junk food the last two days to try make up for whats about to happen… and now I certainly don’t want to eat any more. Bring on chicken and rice!” – Mitch

ITS CHICKEN AND EGGS TIME!

Head over Heels

I will admit, I have been extremely slack with blogging and I wont make any excuses. But I will catch you up on what I have been up to, exercise wise. I mentioned before that I started doing Crossfit. Well, let me tell you, I am completely hooked! I think I venture into a real gym 1-2 times a week to train the smaller muscle groups, but damn, I don’t like it. Crossfit has taken me in, swallowed me whole and won’t let me out. I am absolutely loving what it is doing to my body, I am so much stronger, more toned, developing muscles I didn’t even know I had, AND I’m still feminine (not like all those crossfitters you see on the internet).

Casual knees to elbows

My boy doing some great snatch work

This new style of high intensity training paired with Olympic weight lifting and gymnastics has not only strengthened my body, but my mind too. When you walk into that box (Crossfit gym) and check out the WOD (Workout of the day), you immediately have to get your mind around what your body is about to endure. Some days I go in there dreading the workout to follow, but I just have to suck it up and figure out how on earth I am going to complete it. And you know what? Those are the days when I am at my best because right before the workout I tell myself that I CAN do it. This has giving me so much more mental strength that is not only applicable in my workouts, but also in everyday life.

The one thing that I will critique about Crossfit is the RX weight (recommended weight) for the WODs. Often the workouts have high number of reps (e.g. 21-15-9) and those workouts often include Olympic lifting or various weighted squats. The area I think becomes a problem is when the recommended weight is very heavy (cleans: 45kg for women, 60kg for men). These lifts require an extreme amount of precision to avoid injury, and once you start doing high reps, muscles start fatiguing, form goes out the window and you just want to complete the workout as fast as possible. For me, this is not very sustainable. The human body was not designed for strength, but range of motion and speed. I am all for lifting heavy weights, but slowly, controlled and fewer reps. Give me a 25kg barbell and I will dominate those high rep workouts, but once the weight increases, I can feel the strain on my body, especially my back.

Other then that, I absolutely have fallen head over heels in love with Crossfit. It becomes so exciting to begin a WOD. The competition to get the fastest time or the most reps makes it an adrenaline rush like no other.

So, I challenge you to try a crossfit workout. Here is an example of something i have done, and of course loved! But you can also find and create your own WOD according to what you feel like doing at www.woddrive.com

Healthy Pancake Roll up

Everyone loves those sugary pancakes right? Well, I decided i would make healthy, protein packed pancakes that would satisfy my craving and sweet tooth. The pancakes are thin and delicious just like its unhealthy, carby cousin.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg, 1 egg white
• Sprinkle of cinnamon
• tsp water
• sprinkle of dessicated coconut
• 1 apple
• handfull of seeds
• tsp honey
• 1 tbsp cottage cheese

Method:

• whisk the eggs, water, cinnamon and coconut together
• place a pan on medium heat
• pour mixture into the pan ensuring that the mixture coats the pan evenly.
• While the mixture cooks, cut the apple into small cubes and place into the microwave for 2 1/2 minutes.
• Once the pancake has cooked evenly, flip it over for 1 minute and then take it out of the pan.
• spread cottage cheese down the middle, add the cooked apples and seeds and drizzle with honey.
• Roll it up and enjoy!

Sun, Fun and those unwanted extra pounds

Here in the Southern hemisphere we are blessed with beautiful weather during the December holidays. For me, that means heading to the beach, tanning by the pool, enjoying family time and of course those holiday parties that seem to automatically come with cocktails, cider and that dreaded hangover. When embarking on a holiday, most people assume that they are going to pick up an extra couple of Kg’s due to those holiday treats.

However, this certainly does not have to be the case. I am definitely NOT going to tell you that you can’t enjoy yourself while on holiday in order to avoid a little weight gain… but there are may things YOU can do to keep your body in its pre-holiday form. Every year I go into holiday season with a game plan… DO NOT PICK UP WEIGHT. Here are some things you can do to avoid that horrid holiday weight gain and enter 2015 feeling better then ever:

1. Stick to a routine: of course you don’t have to be anal about it and plan every minute of your day, but if you continue eating at regular times and exercising the way you would normally out of the holiday season, your body will continue to function at optimal levels.

2. Portion Size: If you do end up eating out a couple of times during the holidays, remember to keep your portion sizes small, especially if you are eating food that you wouldn’t generally eat.

3. Watch them drinks: with vacation, comes drinking. I know this. I do this too. I wont lie, I love having a couple of drinks when I go out with friends or family, but unfortunately alcohol can pack on the calories and has a detrimental affect to weight loss. If you are going to drink, I would suggest staying clear of beer, cider, cocktails and soft drinks as those are laden with sugar and loads of calories. Wine does have some beneficial elements to it, but is also quite high in calories. If you are going to do wine, opt for red. If you are serious about keeping that bod in shape, I would suggest sticking with vodka or whiskey. My favorite drink is vodka lime and water. It is delicious and refreshing but still gives you that little buzz.

4. Get active: Most people wont want to go anywhere near the gym while on holiday, but there are plenty other things you can do to get those muscles pumped and the blood flowing. You could go for a long walk on the beach, take up a water sport or play some garden cricket. Anything that gets you moving will help burn some extra calories that seem to accumulate rapidly. If i go to a place where there is no gym, I make a plan and do garden workouts. My new favorite thing to do is the TRX. It is SO versatile and you can hang it up anywhere and do the best full body workouts.

5. Have fun: no matter what you do, on any vacation it is important that you have fun and relax. Don’t stress too much about your weight, as long as you are still taking care of yourself, whatever happens over the holiday season can be repaired and you will be back to normal in no time at all.

Boyfriend after a garden crossfit workout…

Abs ARE made in the kitchen!

You have heard it time and time again, that no matter how much exercise you do, if you don’t have a clean diet then you will never see that beloved six pack. Unfortunately that statement is true. No matter how many sit ups you do or how far you run, if your diet is not in tip top shape, getting a sculpted torso is going to be more difficult than you think.

These are the 5 Golden rules to getting 6 pack abs according to Men’s Health:

Five golden rules

Rule 1 Eat like a king in the morning, a prince in the afternoon and a pauper in the evening.

Rule 2 Consume six small meals to keep your blood-sugar levels steady, and 3-4 litres of water a day.

Rule 3 Pack in at least 150g of protein each day from lean red meat, fish, chicken, turkey, eggs, milk, tofu or pulses. Your body uses 20% to 30% more energy to digest protein than it needs for carbohydrates.

Rule 4 Do not go without food for more than three hours otherwise the body will suppress its

Here are some of my favourite foods for cutting down belly fat and revealing that wash board:

• Oatmeal
• Lean Protein: chicken breast, fish, ostrich steak
• eggs
• Green tea
• Apples
• Greens: broccoli, spinach, cabbage
• Nuts and Seeds (not too many)
• Low fat cottage cheese
• canned tuna
• grapefruit and oranges
• cayenne pepper
• pineapple

Stay  FAAAAAR away from:

• Carbs at night
• sauces (use olive oil or balsamic)
• Alcohol
• Sweets, chocolate and chips
• Fast food or anything deep fried
• pasta, bread, baked goods

So once you get your diet right, what kind of exercise will torch that extra fat? In my experience high intensity interval training (HIIT) burns fat the fastest. This kind of training involves circuit work with heart pumping exercises mixed with strengthening exercise. Basically moderate exercises in between high intensity exercises.  The great thing about HIIT is that you can do it anywhere and on anything.

Here are some examples of great HIIT workouts:

 

Don’t be fooled, doing millions of crunches is NOT going to give you the definition you’re looking for. In fact, if you do more functional exercises (body weight) you engage your core and this builds muscle

TIP: when performing any standing arm exercises, bend your knees slightly so that your core is more engaged.

Throw out all that junk in your kitchen and get shopping for the essential ingredients in creating abs!

Its the weekend Baby!

After a long hard, and hopefully healthy week, we have finally reached that much anticipated Friday. The weekend is the time to de-stress, relax, spend time with your family and friends and have a little breather. The problem is that people tend to use the weekend as an excuse to veer off their healthy living habits. Of course there is nothing wrong with indulging in your favourite naughty food every now and then and having a rest day, but don’t go overboard.

I live according to the balance principle: everything in moderation. Don’t use the weekend as an excuse to ditch all attempts to stay healthy and eat junk food for the entire two days. Rather give yourself one meal a weekend where you can indulge. This way once Monday hits you don’t feel that pang of guilt.

In my opinion, if you truly are living a healthy lifestyle, you won’t change your habits once the weekend hits. Your schedule may be different and you’re probably treating yourself to a sundowner, but there shouldn’t be any dramatic change in the way you eat and live your life.

When it comes to myself, I still eat the same on the weekends as I do during the week and I still exercise, weather it be recreational or heading to the gym, I like to have an active weekend. I do indulge in some social drinks, but I try to keep my weekends on par with my weekdays.

So, if you are planning on ordering takeaways for the next two nights and resorting to sandwiches and burgers, just stop and think about weather or not it is worth it. If you still feel the need to uplift your progress and lifestyle, then by all means, over indulge 🙂

What it really comes down to is binge eating. Weather you want to admit it or not, stuffing yourself on the weekend IS binge eating, and it is just not healthy.

Love your body and say YES to a healthy, active weekend.

All Pain, No Gain!

Most people, some time or another, get to that point where they make absolutely no progress, no matter what they do. I am all too familiar with that feeling after dedicating hours to the gym and cranking up your self control to just say no to that chocolate and takeaway’s. The truth of the matter is, you are probably doing something wrong. It comes down to basic science; the more exercise you do and the less you eat, the more weight you will lose. The same goes with what you actually put inside your body. If you eat more junk food, you are more likely to have cellulite, love handles, a jiggly bum or unwanted fat. Whereas if you consume a diet of 90% healthy foods you’re body composition will be toned, lean, slender and free of unnecessary fat.

If you aren’t seeing the results you think you should have, then you are probably making one of these mistakes:

1. Avoiding the weight section: Many women are afraid to go near the weight area of the gym because a) they think lifting weights will make them ‘bulky’, b) they don’t want to look like fools or c) they believe that spending the entire time at the gym on the treadmill will get them their desired body. Not, don’t get me wrong, cardio is an important aspect in weightless and maintenance, but you DON’T have to spend hours doing it to get results. In fact, if you do it properly, you can get more out of a 30 minute session of cardio then a 60 minute one. But I’ll explain that another time. The thing is, lifting weights to increase muscle mass actually HELPS you burn fat! It increases your metabolism because it requires more energy to maintain, unlike fat which doesn’t require much. Also, cardio only burns fat while you are performing it, studies have shown that weightlifting continues to burn fat for up to 38 hours post exercise! Now, if you are worried about looking silly because you’re not sure how to do the exercises or you don’t have a plan, you can do one of 3 things: 1) hire a personal trainer: they will give you a plan and show you how the exercises are performed. 2) google it: seriously, google is amazing. you will find anything you want. 3)E-mail me: I will design you a personal strength training routine to suit your goals and I will tell you and show you exactly how to perform the exercises.
2. You’re not HITTing it: High Intensity Interval Training (HITT) combines the benefits of cardiovascular training and strength training into one extreme, fat burning, heart pumping, muscle building workout! HITT is a type of workout that involves bursts of high intensity exercise with low intensity exercises in-between in a circuit formation. I mainly do HITT workouts and they are super fast and leave you feeling energized and very sweaty (a good thing). Some benefits of HITT training are: 1) you burn more fat. Just like weight lifting, you burn fat post workout, but because you add in cardiovascular exercise, you burn a lot of fat during the workout too. 2) You don’t need any equipment. There are no excuses for this one, a HITT workout can be done anywhere. See my next post for a versatile workout. 3) you lose weight, not muscle. When it comes to cardio, too much can eat away your muscle mass. HITT avoids this and builds healthy, lean muscle. 4) It is challenging and exciting. HITT is fast paced and quite difficult if you make it so you don’t get bored easily.
3. Your portion sizes are too big: This comes in with the basic science of fat loss… too much food=too much weight. If you keep your portion sizes healthy and avoid going back for seconds… and thirds, then you will be well on your way to a healthy weight.
4. You’re not eating ENOUGH: this sounds contradictory to the science behind fat loss, but here’s the thing, its not about eating more, its about eating more often. you should be eating 5-6 SMALL meals a day to keep your body’s metabolism at optimal performance and to give it the proper nutrition it needs throughout the day. So, instead of having 3 BIG meals a day, break it up into 5-6 small, healthy meals.
5. You’re not drinking enough water: We have heard it time and time again, drink water, and LOADS of it! Well my friends, this advice is true. We are 75% water and being dehydrated leads to a slower metabolism, lethargy, low energy and even the feeling of hunger. Yes, when you’re dehydrated your body mistakes this for hunger. So before you eat, glug down a glass of water and if you are still hungry, then its for real. You need to drink about 2 litres (6-8 glasses) a day to stay hudrated.
6. You’re lacking motivation: Being motivated to stay healthy and exercise is the key to success. If you don’t have a support system, or motivation within yourself, it is nearly impossible to achieve your goals. So, get your family and friends on board with what you want to achieve.
7. You’re avoiding fat: There are good fats (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats) and bad fats (trans and saturated fats). You need to avoid the bad fats because they increase risk of disease and cholesterol. these foods include: baked goods, packaged snacks (chips, popcorn, crackers), stick margarine, fried foods, ice cream, cheese, fatty meat and whole-fat dairy products. Good fats are good for your heart, cholesterol and overall health, AND they help you metabolise stored body fat. These foods include: olive, canola, sesame, peanut and sunflower oils; avocados, nuts, natural peanut butter, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, flaxseed and fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, tuna, herring and trout).
8. You’re stressed: Stress leads to an increase in the hormone, cortisol which stores fat around the midsection. De-stress by taking a yoga class or doing some meditation. Deep breathing also eases stress. Try to balance out your work and social life in order to relieve stress.
9. Change it up: if you have been doing the same workout for over 6 weeks, it is possible that you have hit a weight loss plateau. Your body adapts to the exercises you do, and eventually if you don’t change it up, it will stop responding. To overcome this you can either increase your weights, increase your reps or sets, or you can get a completely new workout.

There are many other reasons why you could be on a plateau with your weight loss goals, so if you think none of these relate to you, then send me a message and I will help you figure it out.

Live the Life you Love

I had an epiphany at the gym today while working on chest and triceps. It suddenly came to me that it really doesn’t matter what people think of me. I am here, at university, for the next three years for ME! No one else but me. So why should I succumb to the peer pressure to be like everyone else? To go out and drink every second night and not give a damn about my health and wellbeing. I am here to do exactly the opposite. I came to university to follow my dream of being in the health and fitness industry, to add more skills and learn more about myself.

The reason I started thinking about this was because at 10pm last night two friends came to visit after they had a couple of drinks. Now, I’m an early to bed early to rise kind of girl, so I was in my PJ’s and ready to head off to dream land. But they insisted on coming in for a bit so I politely let them in. In the time that they were there I was called ‘lame’ yet again for being in bed so early. EARLY? 10pm for me on a weeknight is LATE! To make matters worse, I was feeling slightly flue-ish and missing my boyfriend, so ultimately quite grumpy.

Nonetheless, we socialised for about an hour until I kicked them out so I could hit the sack. My point is that people are so eager to jump to conclusions and make judgements about other people’s lifestyles, and we as human beings, react to those judgements by interrogating out own morals, values and lifestyles. Instead of just saying “well this is the way I am, take it or leave it”. We are so quick to try and fix what is apparently ‘wrong’ with us in the eyes of others that we don’t stop to think about the reasons we are the way we are and who we are actually living this life for.

Now of course, I am human, and just like any human being I questioned my actions. “Am I too boring? Should I be out drinking with the rest of them? Should I not be getting a healthy 8 hours of sleep? Is eating a healthy diet a silly thing to do at my age?” These are completely ridiculous questions to ask ones self, but for some unknown reason we do it anyway.

I have now consciously decided to disregard any negative comments about my lifestyle and the way I choose to live my life. I will no longer bow down to the norms of society and I will do what makes me happy.

I suggest you do the same 🙂