Fitness and Food: August 2014

The beginning of the month is always a good time to make goals, and a new plan for the month ahead.

Fitness

This month I am going to make a 3-day plan. I usually have a 4-day plan but lately have been finding it hard to fit it all in. So this month I am going to try 3 days, and if I fit in an extra day or two, it's just a bonus.

A. Chest/Back
1. Dumbbell Chest Press
2. Barbell Rows
3. Dumbbell Incline Flyes
4. Lat Pulldown
5. Floor Chest Press, one arm at a time
6. Deadlifts

B. Legs
1. Leg Press
2. Hamstring Curls
3. Dumbbell Lunges
4. Calf Press
5. Goblet Squats
6. Leg Extenstion

C. Full Body (Circuit Style)
1. Dumbbell Shoulder Press
2. Russian Twists
3. Jumping Lunges
4. Push Ups

1. Kettle Bell Swings
2. Reverse Crunches
3. Bicep Curls
4. Jumping Squats

Incline Treadmill Walking

I also plan to walk to work when I can, now the weather is slightly better and there is only one more month until Spring!

Food
I have quite a few social things on this month, but I still need to try and eat well and be healthy. I find it pretty easy to get back into bad habits, so I really need to make some healthy habits.

One of my biggest things I need to focus on, is not buying snacks from the supermarket. Pick n mix lollies and corn chips are my biggest downfalls. So my plan to stop that, is if I want a treat, I need to go out somewhere and have a single serving. I.e cake at a cafe, frozen yoghurt at soyo, etc.

I have a couple of dinners planned with friends, my anniversary with my boyfriend, and an awards night with work. Cheat meals are always acceptable in my plans, so I will be able to work them in no problem. A balance of life, and healthy living is so important. My biggest focus will be on snacks.

Now it's getting closer to warmer weather, I'm hoping I will have more motivation and stick to my goals!

Gratitude & Goals: August 2014

August already! This year is going so fast, but at the same time I feel like a lot has happened.

So far this year I have:

• Bought my first car
• Moved out of home
• Got a new job
• Moved in with my boyfriend
• Got approval to buy our first house
• Traveled to the Gold Coast
• Traveled to Bali
• Bought a new bed, washing machine, lounge suite and other house-related things

I'm pretty goal orientated, so it's important for me to always have goals. Just as important, is being grateful.

Gratitude

• A full-time, busy job that I enjoy
• A great relationship with my boyfriend
• Renting a house in a good location, next door to mum, while we save for our own place
• Savings, and leftover money to spend on things I need/want (like cracking my Galaxy S3 a couple of days ago, and upgrading to an S5)
• A reliable car
• My friends and family (and cat!)
• My health and wellness
• Plans for our future

Goals

Short term goals for August:

• Find out the asking price for the house next door, and make an offer
• Gym at least 3x per week
• Walk as much as I can, since the weather is getting better
• 2x cheat meals per week, with one cheat treat out (no pick n mix or corn chip snacks!)
• Pay off my S5 on my credit card
• Save more than I have budgeted
• Feel healthier and focus on fitness and nutrition

Have a great month everyone! I'll be reviewing these in 2 weeks, and again at the end of the month. 

iHerb order 06/07/2014

Another iHerb order arrived for me this week. Just a little one this time.

Purchases in this order:

Dang Coconut Chips - a must have every order.

Now Acai Powder - I ran out of my last Acai, and the one I bought last time was sold out, so I decided to try a new brand.

Slender Sticks - A zero calorie flavor to add to water, new product for me

Miracle Rice - I've heard a lot about this, so decided to try this zero calorie rice. Let's just say, the small globdules of rice in the thick watery package doesn't excactly appeal to me. Will be interesting to see what it's like...!

That's it or this order, I'll be back to review the slender sticks and miracle rice.

Remember to use my code LDJ484 to get a discount at iherb.

Vision Board: July 2014

For the past few years I have always been into positive visualisation and the law of attraction.

Over the past year or so I haven't been doing a lot of it, so I thought my blog would be a good place to put it all together.

Samoyed

I am mostly a cat person, but how can you resist a Samoyed? So fluffy, and one of the happiest looking dogs ever.

My boyfriend and I can't wait to get one of these when we own our own house.

First House

We have just started looking at the idea of buying our first house. We have a bit of saving to do, but are getting an idea of what is out there. 

Requirements are modern kitchen and bathroom (not too hard in Christchurch, since they are mostly being done up due to Earthquake damage at the moment), a garage and of course a yard for the samoyed! 

Car

While not a real priority for the forseeable future, if I was to get a new car I would like a Holden Cruze in black. A good size for me, and my favourite shape.

The house and samoyed are higher on the want-list than the car though.

Decor

In line with the house, I can't wait to own my own home, and be able to decorate it with my own style, and most importantly - art.

I have a couple of things already, but I don't really like putting it up in a home we rent - it just doesn't feel like it belongs.

I'll definitely be getting some inspirational quotes, and photos to print out to put in photo frames.

A happy, healthy life

And of course, to continue a happy, healthy life in all areas - work, love, home, friends, health, and wealth.

Travel: Bali, Indonesia

A little different from my usual posts. I recently spent 6 days in Bali, and here are a few snapshots of my holiday.

Lots of restaurants to eat at. While a fairly cheap price, meals were pretty small compared to home.

Our hotel pool was awesome. And because it was 30 degrees every day it was much appreciated.

There was a nice big buffet breakfast included on our stay too which was great. And a free private shuttle back to the airport.

 

Sunset on Kuta beach was really nice. We stayed at the Kuta Paradiso Hotel. And although I don't intend on going back to Bali again, if I did I would definitely stay there. It was a great location and a really nice hotel for it's price.

More dining out, in between day trips and walking around.

On one of our day trips we went to a coffee plantation and got to try out a lot of different coffees...including Luwak coffee. Where the only way they can get the bean is to get a possum-like animal to eat it and poo it out. The coffee is ridiculously expensive considering it comes from animal poo.

Turtle releasing on Kuta Beach. We didn't do it, but we watched people do it. The turtles are so tiny, going out into the big ocean.

Lots of 2 for 1 cocktail deals. Frozen Strawberry Daquiris for me.

A lot of temple visiting, it was a shame it was quite cloudy on the day we visited this temple. 

Fresh coconut juice, is of course a must have.

We went to the monkey park which was cool. I didn't feed them, but mum did.

A ginger, lemon, carrot, and celery juice on our last night in Bali.

We had a full day before going home, since our flights were at 10pm. So we spent the day at Bali Safari and Marine Park which was really awesome. To pat a lion cub and get a picture only cost me $12 NZD.





I love to travel, and I'm glad I've been. But I would prefer to go back to Malaysia than Indonesia. It was a nice holiday, but 5 days was enough time to spend there.

Review: Artisana Coconut Butter

In my most recent iherb order (which is quite a while ago...I am in need for another!) I decided to try coconut butter. I never really liked coconut oil, so thought I might like this better. I love coconut.

To be honest, it's not a whole lot different to coconut oil. It does have more of a coconut taste, but the texture is only slightly softer.

It is often used as an oil replacement when cooking, and supposedly this butter version is better for spread. It can also be added to smoothies, energy bars and more.

My favourite way is to spread it onto crackers or toast and sprinkle cinnamon over top.

This raw, organic food is made only from whole coconut flesh. 

A serving size is 2 Tbsp (32g):

Nutrition: 186 calories, 18g fat (16g saturated), 7g carbs, 5g fibre, 1.9g sugar, 2g protein, 10mg sodium.

Obviously high in fat, it is low sugar and has a good amount of fibre.

Taste: A mild coconut taste. You can taste it a lot more than coconut oil, so I prefer it.

Texture: I wouldn't really describe it as "butter" it's more of a softer version of the oil. You can always warm it up to make it smoother. It melts in your mouth, which is nice.

Value: Pretty expensive, but it is raw and organic. I bought it for $11.05 USD on iherb for 454g (16 oz)

Overall: 6/10

It's just okay. For those looking for an alternative to butter and oil, it will be great for those who love coconut and want that subtle taste added to their food. It's good to have in the cupboard, and I prefer this over coconut oil. But I don't think I will be using it too often.

Want to try it out for yourself? You can get your own here, and use my code LDJ484 to get 5-10% off your first iHerb order.

Review: Bean Supreme - Vegetarian Sausages:

After deciding recently to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my diet I bought vegetarian sausages. The Bean Supreme brand (NZ) has three different flavours of vege sausages. I tried out Sundried Tomato and Kalamata Olive.

These (as the company name suggests) are made out of beans - soy beans. The ingredients list for this product isn't too long, and most of the ingredients are ones you would have in your pantry.

A serving size is two sausages, there are 6 in a pack.


Nutrition: 194 calories, 8.5g fat (4.8g saturated), 13.1g carbs, 4.3g sugar, 16.3g protein, 688mg sodium.

Pretty good calories with high protein, and better fat than regular sausages. The sodium is quite high but that's expected.

Taste: These look like real sausages. I just put them in the oven until browned. I first tried them chopped up into a bowl with rice and veggies. I like the taste of the sausages, but for me, this flavour is far too overpowering. A plain flavour would have been much better.

Texture: Like I said above, the texture of these is really good. This flavour has chopped sundried tomato throughout.

Value: These are about $7.00 NZD on special at the supermarket. Probably what you expect for a product like this, and with 2 to a serving you get three meals out of it, which isn't so bad.

Overall: 6/10

I really like the texture of these, but I just didn't enjoy this flavour. It was far too strong and overpowering and ruined it for me. I like sundried tomatoes and olives, but it was just too much. I have since tried the Rosemary and Sage ones and they are better. I'll definitely be buying the other flavours.