Hi everyone, hope you are having a great Monday! I’ve had a wonderful bank holiday Monday that started with the most awesome home workout. As my gym doesn’t open until 10am on holidays, and as I prefer working out first thing combined with the dodgy knee, I decided to workout at home today. Usually I never feel like home workouts give me the same ‘burn’ as using the machines at the gym, however after reading blogs Pure2Raw, Fit Villain and looking at sites like Body Rock TV, I thought I could come up with something that would give me a great workout, and better yet, in a short period of time.

Laura’s 30 Minute ‘Good as the Gym’ Home Workout

*Disclaimer* I am not a trained fitness expert or personal trainer, this is just a workout I did for myself! If you want to try it out, I take no responsibility for any mishaps!

Equipment needed:

• Dumbbells – I used my two sets of 4.5kg and 2.3kg dumbbells. If you don’t have dumbbells you could use bottles of water, tins of beans etc.
• ‘Sand bag’ – I filled a rucksack with heavy books (the Next catalogues do a good job!) and one of my 4.5kg dumbbells. A small hold all bag would also work well.
• Interval timer – I downloaded the wonderful Gym Boss interval timer app free for my iPhone. If you can’t get the app you can still do this with any stop watch or clock.
• Exercise Mat

Set your interval timer to do 10 x 1 minute intervals – or just use your stop watch or clock. Repeat each move continuously for the whole minute before moving on to the next exercise without rest. Rest for about one minute between rounds. I’ve tried to link to some videos of some of the moves:

Round 1 - 10 x 1 min intervals

1. Jumping jacks
2. Shoulder press with large weights
3. High knees
4. Burpee with push up
5. Jumping jacks
6. Dead lift and row with sandbag (this move and this move one after each other)
7. High knees
8. Tricep dips (I did mine on the edge of a chair)
9. Jumping jacks
10. Clean and press with sand bag

Round 2 10 x 1 min intervals

1. ‘Shadow’ Skipping (basically just jumping up and down as if you were skipping)
2. Sand bag dragon lunge and row – shown in this video
3. Side lunges and jump
4. Right weighted low squat – shown as part of this video
5. ‘Shadow’ Skipping
6. Left weighted low squat – shown as part of this video
7. Side lunges and jump
8. Lunge back and kick right leg
9. ‘Shadow’ Skipping
10. Lunge back and kick left leg

Round 3 10 x 1 minute intervals

1. Full sit ups
2. Plank rows and tricep kick back
3. Bicycle crunches
4. Plank with leg lifts and shoulder touches – moves 1 & 2 from this workout
5. Full sit ups
6. Wood chop with large weight right side
7. Bicycle crunches
8. Wood chop with large weight left side
9. Full sit ups
10. Plank hold

I found this to be a super workout, I was very hot and sweaty after completing it! Let me know if any of you try it out :-) I followed this up with a 40 minute MTV Yoga DVD and foam rolling to stretch out.

I’ve had some tasty eats today too, after my workout I enjoyed a gorgeous smoothie in a bowl for breakfast:

Beet greens, cos lettuce, frozen cherries, small raw beet, chocolate sun warrior, maca powder, msm, barley grass powder, stevia, water, ice, xanthan and guar gums for thickness topped with a sauce made from roasted peanut butter with flax and some freeze dried berries.

Lunch was a brilliant hummus topped salad:

I love my giant hummus topper salads and haven’t had one in ages, this included cos lettuce, carrot, yellow pepper, sugar snaps, beetroot and a large serving of my roasted pepper hummus, delish!

Dinner was leftover millet pilaf from last night served with steamed kale and some lovely roasted chickpeas:

For dessert I had some organic dark chocolate covered mulberries:

Got to have my chocolate fix!

I’m very excited right now, as tomorrow I’ll be heading down to Manchester to meet several lovely lady bloggers! I love blogger meet ups and I’m sure we are all going to have an awesome time!

Do you work out at home? Do you feel like you get the same ‘burn’ working out at home as you do at the gym? What kind of equipment do have at home? Any favourite workout DVD’s?

Anyone else so happy it’s Friday?

Rocking my army jacket, Laura wardrobe staple stripy top and gorgeous necklace from H&M

Don’t get me wrong, I love my job but knowing that we have the extra long bank holiday weekend coming up is awesome, plus its pay day for me which means epic grocery shop! As we are forecast some rain I’m looking forward to a weekend spent at home cooking in my kitchen, drinking coffee and getting caught up!

This week has actually been pretty great, I've been studying away on my IIN health coaching course and getting lots of tasks done at work. I have strangely been starting to feel quite autumnal! Although the days have still been warm and (mostly) sunny, I have started to notice the mornings getting darker and chillier. Definitely feeling that late summer / early autumn vibe and I love it!

Some of my eats this week have reflected that summer / autumn mix:

Breakfasts: home made raw carrot raisin bread with raw almond butter, apple and vanilla spinach green smoothie, sweet potato smoothie with muesli, persimmon, peach and coconut butter for dipping plus a green smoothie on the side, cherry and banana almond milk shake (eaten with un pictured eggs and avocado)

Dinners: chickpeas, peppers and aubergine in a harissa spiced tomato sauce with brown rice and broccoli, sautéed veggies with scrambled organic eggs and avocado

Snacks: watermelon slushie, apple with cashew butter for dipping, bowl of peanut flour and coconut flour paste with apple for dipping, peach vanilla bean smoothie in a bowl with coconut

This weeks workouts:

• Saturday – REST
• Sunday – 20 min HIIT, Kettlecise class
• Monday – 5 min warm up on cross trainer, workout 1, 10 min HIIT on bike
• Tuesday – 20 minutes cardio on machines in gym, Body Pump class
• Wednesday – 60 minute level 2 Yogaglo Vinyasa Flow
• Thursday – Active REST – walking to town and back
• Friday – 5 min warm up on cross trainer, workout 2, 10 min HIIT on bike

As I was saying I decided to come up with a fresh strength training programme. I’m certainly no expert and this is just what I came up with for me, but I think its fairly balanced and I’ve been enjoying doing it!

I’ve been using a 50lb / 40lb barbell for the squats / deadlifts / lunges and then dumbbells between 6 – 8kg for some of the other stuff. Feeling really good about the balance in my work out week at the moment :-)

On the Love List this week…

My new yoga mat and bag!

I got this as a treat with some birthday money as my old mat was literally falling apart. This was a bit pricey but as I’m committed to keeping up my yoga I decided it would be a worthy investment. I got the Manduka Prolite (as recommended by Phil) and the large yoga bag, both from Yoga Matters. Also…

My first Skype date with fellow IIN student Nathalie // carrying out my first health counsellor consultations (exciting!) // wearing layers // fresh figs // planning for the future // listening to Band of Horses // getting excited about September holiday to Brighton

In case you missed it:

• Exercising at home and my dream home gym
• Sports injuries and how to avoid them
• Autumn / winter fashion – The Next Army style jacket

What’s on your Love List this week? If you are in the UK how are you planning on spending the bank holiday? Are you feeling the ‘season in between’?

_________________________________________________________________________

Myvitamin GIVEAWAY winner

Congratulations Hayley! Send me an email with your address and I will arrange to get your prize posted out!

Happy Friday! How we all doing? Hope you have had a good week. My week has been pretty good – much less stress than last week which I think has been helped by having a more realistic to do list!

While I was doing the shopping I spotted an old favourite ingredient:

Two Chicks liquid egg whites come from free range eggs and are so much more economical than wasting precious yolks. I used this a lot before I became vegan, particularly for making my famous egg white and spelt wraps. Of course I just had to try them out again, and oh my word it was delish and even better than I remembered!

Laura’s high protein egg white and spelt wrap (makes 1 wrap)

• 7 tbsp of liquid egg whites (or 3 large egg whites)
• 1 slightly heaping tbsp of wholegrain spelt flour

Just whisk the ingredients together with a little seasoning if desired – could also add some herbs and spices or even mixed seeds are nice too. Heat a large frying pan to a medium high heat and add a little oil / spray oil. Fry the mixture like a big pancake, flipping when the underside is cooked and slightly golden.

Filled with hummus, spinach, red pepper and olives

These are similar to the socca wraps I also like but just that bit softer and obviously higher in protein. Usually I’m a whole egg person but I do think the liquid egg whites will come in handy from time to time for that protein boost, especially as I now feel like I do better with a little more protein in my diet. Just like the socca, these are great for me as if I bought a pack of regular tortillas they would end up getting wasted as neither myself or James eat that much bread.

Other tastiness…

• Wild Alaskan Salmon with roasted broccoli and cauliflower and a sweet potato with coconut oil
• Creamy custard oats (made with an egg added) with roast figs and plums and topped with a cube of frozen full fat coconut milk
• Black bean and sweet potato chilli with spinach and half an avocado
• Pumpkin seeds and raisins for a snack
• Perfect breakfast – a slice of my raw millionaires shortbread with a pumpkin spice smoothie
• Harissa Spiced Chickpeas and Courgettes with lemon tahini sauce and steamed broccoli
• 2 scrambled eggs and egg whites with avocado and sea salt and an orange on the side
• Salad with tinned wild salmon, yellow pepper, red onion, black olives and balsamic
• Protein pumpkin pudding (2/3 of a tin of pumpkin blended with 1 pack of mori nu silken tofu, a scoop of vanilla sun warrior protein powder, cinnamon and ginger and a little water for 2 servings)

Plenty of yumminess right there!

Work outs this week:

• Saturday – REST
• Sunday – 30 minutes cardio on cross trainer, step machine, bike, Kettlecise class
• Monday – 5 min warm up on cross trainer, new strength training workout 1, 10 min HIIT on bike
• Tuesday – 30 minutes cardio on cross trainer, step machine, bike, Body Pump class
• Wednesday – REST
• Thursday – Jillian Michaels Yoga Meltdown Level 1 via You Tube
• Friday – 10 min warm up on cross trainer, new strength training workout 2 10 min HIIT on bike

I think I ought to finally share the new strength routine I’ve been doing these last few weeks! Pretty much like usual, I tend to go for a 3 x 3 x 3 format. I.e three sets of three exercises repeated three times. I have generally tried to make sure I’m working my whole body, and of course as well as this I am also getting in some great full body workouts in Body Pump, Kettlecise and Yoga.

*Please bear in mind I am not a qualified PT and this is just what I have made up for myself!

I start off using a weight – either dumbbells or bar - that challenges me and then gradually increase the reps and then increase the weight again. I have been doing this for three weeks now and have increased the reps to 12. The 3 x 3 x 3 seems to be a good format as if you wanted to you could do lower body, upper body, core for each set as a way of balancing it out.

 On the Love List this week …

Wrapping up warm in my fake fur scarf!

I just love fashion at this time of year more than any other. I have got all my hats and scarves out ready for wrapping up cosy and warm! Also…

my work colleague giving me some wild Salmon her partner caught // this gorgeous Berlin apartment // chocolate and peanut butter smoothies // hot water bottles // making a start on organising my redecorating project // dreaming about interior design // increasing my weights in Body Pump – and feeling strong // potentially finding a new yoga class in Durham // texts from my best friend making me laugh // photo messages of my best friends baby making me smile // remembering that life is pretty bloody awesome sometimes :-)

In case you missed it

• Baby I was born this way (another wordy post) – thank you again for all your awesome comments! 
• Squash and Chard Frittata Recipe

Sooo looking forward to this weekend, going to have a trip into town and there is a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte with my name on it!

What’s on your Love List this week? Do you make up your own workout routines? I really do find the 3 x 3 x 3 formula works for keeping it simple with strength. What is your favourite strength exercise? I love squats and deadlifts! Hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Friday everyone! I’m still feeling a bit out of sync due to the extended weekend. My routine has been all over the place but as they say ‘a change is as good as a rest’ and the shake up has made me feel quite refreshed!

My usual workout routine has been quite different this week:

• Saturday – 8.5 mile run 
• Sunday – REST
• Monday – Back garden workout
• Tuesday – Back garden workout
• Wednesday – PM Hot Yoga class 
• Thursday – AM 4 mile run, PM yoga class
• Friday – this workout:

I just made that workout up this morning, it was the perfect level for me, I felt like I worked hard but could probably have increased my weights so I didn’t feel too burned out. Now that I’m finished Female Body Breakthrough and I’m trying to get better prepared for the Great North Run in September, I’m going to just wing it as far as my non running workouts are concerned. Hot yoga was fantastic yet again, I can’t wait to go back!

After the bank holiday festivities I’ve continued to eat pretty ‘clean’ and have been giving the processed sugar and caffeine (apart from green tea) a miss. At the weekend I bought a huge box of organic apricots for £1.50 so I’ve been using them in everything including my salads:

Romaine, cucumber, carrot, chickpeas, olives, fresh apricots

Romaine, cucumber, carrot, red onion, quinoa, olives, fresh apricots

I’ve also been snacking on them:

fresh apricots and dried figs

I really love apricots but they are usually too expensive to buy fresh, these were great for a treat and added a lovely sweetness to the salads.

I’ve still been on a huge smoothie kick:

Spinach, frozen peaches, strawberry hemp protein powder, ground flax, maca, ice, water topped with pumpkin seeds and goji berries

Frozen cherries, vanilla sun warrior protein powder, water, ice and sea salt with a slice of my raw caramel pecan cake and a caffeine free almond amaretto teeccino for breakfast

Mixed frozen berries, ice, water and chocolate sun warrior protein powder topped with raw cacao nibs

Kale, frozen banana, chocolate hemp powder, maca, ground flax, ice, water topped with hemp seeds and raisins

I’ve also had a couple of delicious but pretty easy to make dinners. Pre hot yoga I just wanted something fairly light but filling:

Socca with fresh basil in the batter spread with almond butter and stuffed with half a large avocado sprinkled with sea salt and bee pollen, eaten with a big pile of un pictured sauerkraut on the side

Budhha bowl with quinoa, edamame beans, broccoli and kale drizzled with tahini miso sauce

That random socca combo was amazing!

Despite feeling not completely with it this week I managed to put together a couple of nice outfits:

I got my maxi skirt out again (denim jacket: New Look, jewelled headband worn as necklace: River Island, grey basic tee: New Look, pink belt: taken off a Warehouse dress, black maxi skirt: Primark, trainers: Converse) I also decided to do a bit of liberating my wardrobe and wear a dress that I’ve had unworn in for far too long. I layered it up to make it a bit more weather and work appropriate (yellow cardigan: H&M, blue polka dot dress: Warehouse, basic grey tee: New Look, black tights M&S, brown brogues: Topshop)

On the Love List this week…

source

This week I took a big step towards making my little business ideas a reality. On Wednesday I took some time out while I was at work to distribute my market research questionnaires. I have one for my community healthy eating workshops which I’ve sent to my local contacts through work and I have another which is to investigate my ideas around providing health coaching. I didn’t originally think about sharing this on a wider basis or through the blog but then I thought well why not? I would really love people’s honest views. If you can spare a couple of minutes to take a look, I’d be forever grateful! Here it is :-) Also…

Buying a kabocha squash the size of my head! // this post from Gena at Choosing Raw about turning 30 // Look Book Cook Book – fashion and vegan, gluten free, soy free recipes? Hell yes! // making ice pops // 3 day week!

I also wanted to just quickly talk about the sponsored posts I’ve been doing. I know there has been a lot recently, I have to admit I’ve been on a huge learning curve with these and I’m not entirely happy with how I’ve managed it all. Big thanks to everyone that has supported me and commented on those posts as well as sharing valuable constructive feedback. I do hope that you can bear with me on this, normal service is being resumed!

In case you missed it – My Jubilee Party pics!

Do you have a regular routine? How do you feel when your routine is changed? Do you find it refreshing or difficult to deal with?

Hope you all have a great weekend ahead, enjoy the rest of your Friday!

Well what a week it has been! I feel like I’ve made some big decisions and had some major changes of perspective this week.

source I like this quote, to me it translates that you have to invest something to get something back :-)

I have honestly not felt happier, like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders and that the future is full of so many exciting things. On Monday I officially signed up with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition to study to become a holistic health coach. It’s scary putting my hopes and dreams on the line, but incredibly exciting too!

This weeks workouts:

• Saturday – 3.5 mile run
• Sunday – REST
• Monday – Gym – this strength and HIIT workout but I increased all the upper body weights by 1kg same as last week and went a bit easier on the HIIT
• Tuesday – Body Pump class
• Wednesday – Hot Yoga class
• Thursday – Yoga class
• Friday – Gym – 10 min treadmill, 10 min bike, 10 min cross trainer, body weight circuit: incline push ups, tricep dips, squats, full sit ups x 20 reps each x 3 sets

This week I have been starting to relax my workouts. I have to say, not feeling like I ‘have to’ run is so freeing. Hot yoga was just brilliant again as this week I was joined by the lovely Nicky! We both did really well and managed head stands, which although we assisted each other in them, I think is a big achievement, especially for Nicky with it being her first ever class! I’ve actually had a fear of being in any position where my head is under my body since I was little – I think something might have happened when I was doing a forward roll? Anyway, even just trying it was a big deal for me, then last night in yoga I also almost managed plough pose, I’m on a roll! This mornings work out was nice and easy and fun, I just wanted to move my body so the cardio was very relaxed and the strength moves performed with body weight.

I’ve had some tasty meals this week too. Last Sunday I made a lush salad inspired by the Triple Berry Kale salad from How Sweet It Is:

I hadn’t had a raw kale salad in forever and this was divine! I made up more of the dressing from my cherry and brown rice salad and massaged the kale with it then left it to soften. Then I added freshly cooked chickpeas, beetroot, cherries and roast salted almonds. I used more of the dressing in a lentil salad for a nice simple work lunch:

For a nice quick dinner I nuked a sweet potato and served with spinach, hummus and half a large avocado:

Hummus and avocado is definitely on my favourites list at the moment, I’ve also been having it as a salad.

For breakfasts I’ve been enjoying the same green smoothie combo: spinach, 2 fresh peaches, 1/4 cup peanut flour, ice, water and stevia – it has a fantastic peanutty flavour. I’ve had it with strawberries, persimmon, soy yoghurt and granola…

…and alongside a slice of sticky sweet courgette pecan date bread:

I’ll be sharing that recipe soon, it is fabulous! Snacks wise I’ve enjoyed lots of fruit with nuts such as sliced persimmon and some of my raw ‘roasted’ almonds:

To make those almonds I just soak them for 4 hours, rinse and drain then mix them with some shoyu sauce and dehydrate until dried and crunchy. Love them! I’ve also been loving the roasted vanilla sunflower seed and cashew butter with sea salt I made at the weekend, here on top of a couple of squares of Lindt 90%:

It doesn’t get much better than that!

On the Love List this week…

The most comfortable pair of gym pants ever!

Last week I was sent a couple of pieces from Lovestretch to review, including these amazing Wellicous 3/4 exercise pants. I am in love! I will be doing a full review soon but I couldn’t wait to share how amazing these feel when they are on, I think they are almost too good for the gym! Oh and please excuse my stomach in that pic, I was just wanting to show the waist band detail. I almost cropped it out but you know what, I have no reason to, I’m proud of my body! I may not have visible abs but I’m happy with what I’ve got :-) Also…

Laura Bailey’s Topshop Edit – love pretty much everything in this collection! // being off work today to just chill // having a fridge full of fresh fruit and veg ready for the weekend // this brilliant way of making a to do list // watching Wimbledon // listening to the fundamental lectures with IIN and feeling inspired // the incredible support of my amazing blog readers :-)

In case you missed it:

• I posted a very honest blog about some of my health troubles and changes to my lifestyle
• I talked about June, my July goals and posted my June faves vlog
• I showed you how I make my perfect tofu

I also posted on the My Dairy Free Team blog – check out my post on making dairy free frappes and iced coffee!

What’s on your love list this week? Any exciting plans for the weekend?

Coming back to work after the long Jubilee weekend is tough! I can’t believe it is Wednesday, I think I’m going to spend most of this week unsure of what day it is! At least I have a 3 day week, the weekend will come round much quicker!

These are my eats from yesterday. As I wanted to be able to enjoy a few drinks on Monday at our Jubilee party we decided it would be easier to just stay over at my parents house. It was really nice to be somewhere different for a change, especially their huge house rather than our tiny flat! I was quite surprised and pleased to wake up hang over free. I had the usual mug of warm water and lemon juice (yep I’m the person that takes lemons with me wherever I go) before getting in a cheeky workout.

I had thought about waiting to hit the gym later on but the weather was good and I prefer working out first thing when I can. I decided to make up a little circuit style workout just enough to work up a bit of a sweat and set me up for the day. I had wanted to use some of my Dad’s big weights in the garage but my god they were very heavy, I couldn’t even lift them up! I didn’t want to faff on with them so just added a couple of loose discs to a spare bar and made do. I set up a little station in the back yard:

Laura’s back garden workout:

• Run: 2 loops around the street (about 1/4 mile distance)
• 20 tricep dips on the patio chair with feet raised on the step
• 20 squats holding the weight
• 15 shoulder presses with weight
• 10 forward lunges with a twist holding weight
• 10 back ward lunges holding weight
• 20 plank jacks

Repeat x 3 then finished with another 2 loops of the street run and a 1 minute plank (which I did in the kitchen, not on the gravel!)

The pint glass of water is totally needed the morning after a few drinks, hang over or not! This took me just under 30 minutes. I did get a couple of odd looks from the neighbours as I ran round the street several times but hey ho ;-)

After that I got showered and had breakfast. I’d been organised enough to bring some stuff for overnight oats – 1/2 cup of oats, 1 tbsp of chia seeds and a scoop of vanilla sun warrior just mixed up dry in a jar so you can add water to them and leave in the fridge. I had that with some pineapple and strawberries I’d saved from the party and a mug of green tea:

We tidied up and came home, by which time I was starting to feel rather tired and dehydrated so I made a cherry vanilla and sea salt coconut water slushie:

I blended some ice, frozen cherries, a small container of plain coconut water, vanilla stevia and a pinch of sea salt. That hit the spot and made me feel so much better. I also made a big pot of loose leaf green tea:

For lunch I had a salad with romaine, spinach, cucumber, red and yellow pepper, half a large avocado and balsamic vinegar along with some baked tofu leftover from the weekend:

That tofu is just the best ever! Its so easy to make and really does taste fab, I must blog how to make it some time soon.

After my salad I had a mug of ginger tea with a little stevia:

I’d been drinking a lot of sugary ginger beer at the party so this gave me a much healthier sweet ginger hit for my craving.

Mid afternoon I got my juice on:

This was sorely needed and contained celery, cucumber, ginger and lemon. I added a little bit of ice to make it more refreshing.

I was still feeling a bit hungry after that so I whipped up a quick chocolate mint protein shake with chocolate sun warrior protein powder, water, ice, stevia and mint extract:

For dinner I had a few veggies to use up so I decided to make a simple stir fry:

This included broccoli, courgette, carrot and red and yellow pepper with soya beans and a sauce made with peanut flour, lime juice and soy sauce. I love a good stir fry for something quick and healthy!

For dessert I made a bowl of chocolate almond raspberry soft serve:

To make this I blended frozen raspberries, ice, water, 1 tbsp of cocoa powder, a pinch of xanthan gum, stevia and some almond extract then topped it with flaked almonds, so delicious!

I was pretty happy with that day of eats, in the past after a day of indulgence I would really restrict. I now realise that all that did was make me want more food and usually end up overeating to compensate. Yesterday I did eat ‘cleaner’ because that’s what I felt that my body needed, but I made sure that I ate plenty when I was hungry – just plenty of the right things. No processed sugar or overly processed food in general and lots of fruit and vegetables :-)

On the new WIAW snacking theme – I think that’s something I do pretty well anyway! I’m a huge snacker and usually eat 3 main meals and at least 3 snacks a day to hold me over. I do think its a good theme as in the past I did struggle with thinking up healthy snack ideas that I could take to work so I’m looking forward to getting ideas from everyone else’s WIAW posts!

How do you approach eating after a lot of indulgence?