Cherries and Berries

Well I think I may have spoken too soon when I said I thought I was on the mend yesterday. I went out for my run this morning and bearly got down the road before the pain in my knee started! I am not a happy chappy! Before I went out for my run I had a breakfast of toasted rye bread with almond butter and strawberry jam.

I think I managed to run for about 1.5 miles - I decided to just come home and then try and have a really good run next weekend instead. I don't think I realised just how much I've started to enjoy and rely on my runs to make me feel like I'm getting a really effective workout. Instead I decided to walk to the gym and do some steady state cardio on the cross trainer, step machine and bike, all of which don't cause any problems with my knee (thank goodness, if I couldn't work out at all I'd go crazy!) I ended up doing about 1hr 30 mins of cardio between my short run and the gym, I wanted to make sure I was still getting a good calorie burn, as well as keeping my endurance up.

I headed home and made myself a post workout smoothie using a scoop of chocolate whey, a frozen banana and some skimmed milk.

I love how creamy these get!

I then did some catching up on blogs and some research on runners knee treatment strategies. I'm not going to do any running until Saturday, I'm going to continue to ice it, take anti inflamatories and strap it up when possible. I've also ordered a knee support from Amazon that got some good reviews so I can try that. Fingers crossed it works! While chilling with my computer I had a glass of grape, pomegranate and raspberry juice.

I made myself a lovely late lunch of lemon baked chicken breast with hummus and a big salad of spinach, tomato, cucumber and grated carrot with a little balsamic vinigrette.

I followed it with a bowl of cherries. These were half price and I just had to get them, I love fresh cherries and these were wonderfully sweet.

I made a start on my summer confidence challenge by having a long shower, deep conditioning my hair, exfoliating my body, having a mini facial and using my various creams. My skin feels softer already!

Dinner was one of my favourite foods that I haven't had in ages - halloumi cheese! I griddled it in my new pan with some courgette, red pepper and red onion.

So simple, so delicious!

For desert I made a fantastic Tofu Berry Pudding which I had thought up after being inspired by various different recipes I've seen lately.

Tofu Berry Pudding

Frozen blueberries, half a cup
Frozen cherries, half a cup
Frozen mixed berries, half a cup
3 tablespoons of Goji berries soaked in grape, pomegranate and raspberry juice
1 block of mori nu silken tofu
2 tablespoons of agave syrup

Add all ingredients to a blender, including the goji berries and the juice they've been soaking in and blend till smooth.

This is gorge! I love the taste of silken tofu, its creamy but in a different way from milk, just yummy!

Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea

Can't believe the bank holiday weekend is nearly over, its gone so fast! Hope you have all had fun whatever you've been up to.

I have a pretty busy week ahead, I have two late nights at work. At least its a short week! I'm just hoping that my knee will be better by next weekend, I'm itching to get out on a long run! Hope you all have a good evening, catch you tomorrow x

Laura's Summer Confidence Challenge

This summer will be my first summer since I've lost weight. In the past I used to hate the summer, I wished that I could wear little tops and shorts like other women and not feel hot and sweaty and uncomfortable in my own skin.

Cyprus 2004 - size 16 around 13st, and not feeling my best :-(

I want this summer to be my best yet! I have a couple of holidays coming up - I'm off to Majorca with my family in three weeks and I'm planning a trip down to Brighton to stay with my Aunt and Uncle at some point too. I also have a couple of weddings and engagement parties to attend as well.

This summer I want to feel confident, healthy and happy. I'm going to set myself a little three week challenge to make sure that I'm in the best possible shape for my holiday and the rest of the summer.

This is not particually about losing any weight, although I wouldn't mind dropping a few pounds so give myself a 'cushion' for any holiday weight gain. I see this challenge as more about feeling and looking my best!

Here's what I plan to do -

Diet

I do most of these things anyway, but I just want to remind myself of some key things I need to do and a few things I need to avoid!

• Drink loads of water - to hydrate and give glowing skin
• Start the day with a warm water and lemon - to detox and support the liver
• No regular tea or coffee - caffeine can dehydrate and contribute to cellulite
• No Alcohol - its only for three weeks and I'm not a big drinker anyway!
• Eat at least 5 portions of fruit and veg - helps to base meals on fruit and veggies, provides antioxidants, fibre, fills you up and gives you loads of vitamins!
• Eat only 'good' carbs to fuel workouts - quinoa, sweet potatoes, wholemeal  / brown rice noodles and spelt pasta
• Eat healthy fats, but not too much - nuts, seeds and nut butters and oils, but no more than two portions a day. Essential for healthy hair, skin and nails.
• Plenty of lean protein - whey powder, greek yoghurt, cottage cheese, tofu, quorn, chicken, turkey, fish, helps skin and muscles repair, keeps you fuller for longer.
• Beware of sugars - reduce sugar consumption as much as possible, including intake of sugary fruits. Too much sugar can disrupt blood sugar balance and lead to cravings and wanting to eat more.
• No (unplanned) snacking! - try to keep to planned meals and snacks when possible to avoid excess calories. I may replace some of my snacks with a protein shake to help keep me full and control sugar cravings, but I will only do this for a couple of weeks.  

Exercise

Continue with training plan for June which consists of 3 cardio workouts - running and high intensity interval training (HIITs), abs and core exercises, plus two DVD's that incorporate strength training and one cardio and strength mix workout focusing on upper body. I'm focusing on my upper body for two reasons, firstly to save my legs for running and secondly - I think I could actually make some difference on my arms, shoulders, abs and back in time for my hols. Nice defined muscles will definitely give me a confidence boost!

Beauty

This is where I feel I need to make some improvements in my usual routine. Although I love my pamper sessions I haven't had one in weeks and my skin, hair and nails could really do with some TLC! I have loads of great ideas from all the tips you guys left as part of my giveaway post earlier this month which I will be putting to good use! I have a few particular things that I will be trying to improve with this routine - I have rough bumpy skin on my upper arms, I have some old stretch marks and sagging skin due to weight loss and I have dry, damaged hair that needs some care. My complexition isn't too bad (its probably the best its ever been) but during my TOTM its gets oily and I get breakouts.

• Deep condition hair - twice a week
• Use specialist creams on arms and problem skin areas (I have bio oil and Eurerin cream) - once a day
• Use gradual fake tan product - every other day (or until I'm happy with the colour thats developed then I'll reduce this down)
• Use a skin firming moisturiser - every other day
• Exfoliate skin on body and face - twice a week
• Home facial (mask - clay based during TOTM, facial massage and antioxidant cream) - once a week

In week before holiday -

• Home colour hair
• Get hair cut
• home manicure and pedicure

So thats my plan for getting summer confident! I'll post pics when I get my hair done too! What do you think? What do you do to feel confident in the summer?

On the mend

My knee seems to be a lot better today, yey! I can still feel it but I can walk down the stairs without wincing so I'm happy about that. I've strapped it up for the day and I'm going to see how it feels tomorrow before deciding to run or not. I might go out on my usual route which has plenty of easy short cuts home within it so if it gets bad I can just get home quick.

I had an amazing breakfast this morning!

Slow Cooked Fruity Strawberry Oats with Peanut Butter Sauce

1/4 cup of quick cook oats
1/4 cup of jumbo oats
white grape, pomegrante and raspberry juice
water
Strawberries
2 teaspoons of smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons of rice milk

Cook the oats in the water and juice on the stove on a medium heat until creamy. While cooking make the peanut butter sauce by microwaving the peanut butter and rice milk and blending until creamy. When the oats are creamy add plenty of chopped strawberries and stir in. Top with more sliced strawberries and pour over the peanut butter sauce. De-lish!

This was so tasty and filling, cooking the oats with some juice works so well!

After breakie, sunday morning pottering and grocery shopping (I just love it when my fridge is full of amazing fresh veggies and fruit)I snacked on an apple then...

... I made a quick lunch - wholegrain slightly salted rice cakes with savory cottage cheese (cottage cheese mixed with a heaped teaspoon of nutritional yeast) and some carrot and cucumber sticks.

I then made a super smoothie! I was inspired by Ilana's Epic Antioxidant Blast Smoothie. I used a handful of spinach, frozen mango, frozen cherries, some of my white grape, pomegrante and raspberry juice, 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

I decided to indulge my smoothie in a bowl addiction. This was amazing! So rich and chocolately, and even better, its so good for you!

I spent the afternoon flicking between the England football match and the Turkish Grand Prix while I did my training plan post. I don't mind a bit of sport on TV while I'm pottering about on my computer.

As I'm off to the cinema tonight I had my dinner early. I decided to try out a recipe inspired by one I'd found on one of my new favourite blogs (never)homemaker -

Tofu and Vegetable Thai Red Curry

1 tin of light coconut milk
Thai red curry paste
1 small head of brocolli
1 orange pepper
1 white onion
Stir fry or vegetable oil
1 block of firm tofu - drained and with as much moisture removed (I wrapped mine in kitchen paper and popped some heavy cook books on top for about 30 minutes to squeeze out some of the water. You can get proper tofu presses which do this too)

Chop the tofu and veggies into chunky bite sized pieces. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a wok on a medium high heat then fry the tofu until browned on all sides. Remove tofu from the pan and set to one side. Add more oil then stir fry the brocolli for a few minutes then add the pepper and onion. When the veggies are slightly tender add the curry paste then the tofu and stir fry for a few seconds before adding the coconut milk. Simmer for 10 minutes then serve with rice or noodles.

I served mine with a few brown rice noodles and some steamed chinese cabbage, carrot and red cabbage left over from my stir fry yesterday. I'm going to bag up the left overs and pop in the freezer for quick and easy dinner options.

Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea

Well I am now off to meet up with my friends for SATC 2, I have a bag of Maltesers to enjoy, can not wait! Catch you tomorrow! x

June Training plan and May Training Plan Review

Heres what I have achieved this month while doing my May Training Plan -

• Increased my longest distance run from 9 miles to 11 miles
• Increased my fastest mile time from 9.03 to 8.30
• Lost 3lbs
• Lost an inch from my waist and maintained measurements on my bust and hips
• Increased my top speeds on the treadmill from 7.2 to 7.5
• Increased my 'hard' intervals from 1.00 to 1.30

I've really enjoyed this months training and feel that I've made some good improvements, especially in my running. Having a Sunday as my rest day has certainly worked out well and I love doing my mixed cardio and strength workouts on a Friday morning. I haven't done loads of yoga, but I have done it when I feel my body has needed it and this has worked out better for me.

As I'm on holiday for a week this month I'm not too concerned about trying to increase my distance on my runs too much. I may try and go for a 12 miler but I'm going to see how my knee holds up over the next few days. To make sure that I don't burn out my legs I'll be focusing on upper body and abs strength training in my gym session but I will be looking at appropriate exercises that will strengthen my legs and knees as well.

So heres my plans for June:

Monday

Gym Cardio Workout 45 – 60 minutes (depending on morning / evening workout) - treadmill, cross trainer, step machine, bike. High intensity intervals - 30 seconds easy, 30 seconds medium, 30 hard, 30 seconds medium, repeat. I'll be using the same resistance / speed levels as last month for the easy and medium intervals but increasing for the hard interval. Continue to increase top speed on treadmill

abs sets - full sit ups 20 reps, crunches 20 reps, side reaches 20 reps, bicycle kicks 20 reps, toe touches 20 reps, plank, (as long as I can hold) x 2 / 3 sets

Tuesday

Strength Training DVD - Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred - 2 of the levels back to back to make a 40 minute workout

Wednesday

Mid distance run (around 5/6 miles) - alternating between a run at my target pace / speed work and a run with lots of hills

abs sets - full sit ups 20 reps, crunches 20 reps, side reaches 20 reps, bicycle kicks 20 reps, toe touches 20 reps, plank, (as long as I can hold) x 2 / 3 sets

Thursday

Strength Training DVD - Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred - 2 of the levels back to back to make a 40 minute workout

Friday

Gym workout - 15 mins cross trainer intervals, 15 mins step machine intervals

30 mins strength: 

Upper body and Abs Supersets (will use weights that really challenge me in the last 4 - 5 reps of an exercise)  -

 

x 3 sets:

bicep curl with a squat - 10 - 12 reps

tricep dips - 15 reps (BW)

sit ups on stablility ball - 20 reps

 

x 3 sets:

Tricep kickbacks - 10 - 12 reps

Chest press on stablility ball - 10 - 12 reps

Leg raises - 15 reps

 

x 3 sets

Shoulder press on stablility ball - 10 - 12 reps

Three point dumbbell row - 10 - 12 reps

Wood chop and reverse wood chop with medicine ball - 10  reps on each side

 

Saturday

 

Long distance run - this month sticking at my 11 miles, perhaps going up to 12 depending upon how I feel.

 

Sunday

 

Rest Day!

 

Anytime 

 

Yoga  

 

Depending on what things I have on with work etc, I might swap round my Monday and Wednesday sessions as well as my rest days when needed.

 

Holiday week

 

I've been thinking about what I may do while I'm on my holidays as I think I'll enjoy myself much more if I do a little bit of exercise while I'm out there so I'm not worrying about putting loads of weight on. I think I will try to get lots of swimming and walking in, as well as doing a few abs exercises and some exercises with body weight to keep me feeling fit!

 

Current stats - 

 

Bust - 37 1/2 inches

Waist - 28 1/2

Hips - 35 1/2

Weight - 9st 11lbs

 

So there we have it! I seem to be doing ok, and really find having a plan and workout schedule helpful, I don't like missing something I've planned so it keeps me on track! Wish me luck x 

Sore Knee but Good Eats

Last night I had a total emotional eating moment. I was feeling a bit low so I raided the cupboards and ate the last of my home mix muesli with some vanilla rice milk and then I had a big chunk of dark chocolate. I knew I was emotionally eating but I still couldn't help myself. I know the muesli and chocolate won't kill me but I need to try and stop this kind of 'mindless' eating before it can get out of control and become a habit again.

Seeing as I have Monday off with the bank holiday I checked the weather forecast and decided that my long distance run would be better done on Monday than today (weather should be nicer, plus I can try a new route out by running to my Parents and then get a lift home afterwards!) So this morning I got up, had a mug of warm water with lemon and a Berry Cheeky Bar to fuel up.

I then decided to do a 6 mile run incorporating a few hills. It was a great run but I started having problems with my right leg. The whole leg started aching and just didn't feel right. I stopped half way to stretch for a bit but it didn't help that much. It doesn't feel like a pulled muscle or anything, it feels more like a trapped nerve. As the days gone on its become more of a pain in the knee area and gets particuarly bad when going down stairs. I've looked in my running book and it sounds like 'runners knee' or patellofemoral pain syndrome. I'm going to spend some time later icying it and I think I'll try using a compression bandage as well as taking a couple of anti inflamatory tablets. I hope it gets sorted as I really want to run on Monday! Anyway, today I did 6.4 miles in exactly 60 minutes. Heres my spilts:

After the run I did some stretching followed by three sets of my usual abs moves. I'm now at the end of my May training plan so I'll be reviewing my progress and setting out a new one for June at some point over the weekend.

Breakfast was lush!. I mixed some natural yoghurt with vanilla whey and served it with warm mixed berries and a crumbled slice of Date, Carrot and Walnut loaf cake. I also had a mug of English Breakfast tea that really hit the spot!

I got myself sorted and then had a quick trip to the shops. I had a look around Marks and Spencers Food (my god I could eat everything in here!) to treat myself to a few yummy bits and pieces for the weekend and Boots to pick up some beauty products I'll be using over the next few weeks to get myself in shape for my holidays (more on that to come!)

Lunch was a home made egg white spelt wrap with caramelised onion hummus, turkey and spinach served with carrot and another dollop of hummus and followed with an orange.

While I was out visiting my friends and family I snacked on an apple.

I also had a couple of savory rice cakes when I got home to hold me over until dinner.

I wanted something a bit special for dinner tonight as the hubby had this mates coming over so I would be able to just cook for myself. After a bit of a think I came up with this:

Lime, Ginger and Honey Salmon Rainbow Stir Fry

• 1 Salmon fillet with the skin removed
• 1 lime
• 2 teaspoons of fresh minced ginger
• 2 teaspoons of honey
• Stir fry oil (or vegetable oil would do)
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 pack of mixed stir fry veggies or you own mix. I picked up this pack in Marks and Spencers which included tenderstem brocolli, carrot, baby corn, pak choy, chinese cabbage, red cabbage, red salad onions and sugar snap peas. 

Slice the salmon into bite size pieces and place in a bowl or container. Add 1 teaspoon of minced ginger, the juice of half the lime and a teaspoon of the honey, mix together and leave in the fridge for a few hours to marinade the salmon. When ready to cook heat a wok to a medium high heat and add a little stir fry oil. Add the marinaded salmon and stir fry until cooked through and browned on all sides. You may get some blackening of the salmon due to the honey caramelising. When the salmon has cooked remove from the pan along with any black bits and set to one side. Then turn the heat up to high, add a little more oil and stir fry the veggies. While the veggies are cooking prepare the sauce by mixing the juice of the other half of the lime, the remaining ginger and honey and the soy sauce together. When the veggies are nearly done return the salmon to the pan, and toss everything together. Pop on to your plate and then cover with the sauce.

Holy Yum! This tasted wonderful, all the flavours worked really well together, the sharpness of the lime againist the sweetness of the honey and heat from the ginger, just spot on!

Desert was some strawberry banana softserve made with some of this juice I also decided to treat myself to from Marks and Spencer!

Strawberry and Banana Softserve with antioxidant juice

• 2 frozen bananas
• 200g of fresh strawberries
• splash of vanilla rice milk
• big glug of an antioxidant mix style juice 

Pop all ingredients in a blender and blend together. Pour into bowl and either serve imediately or leave to harden a bit in the freezer.

Just look at the creaminess!

Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea

I really hope that my knee gets better, I enjoy my runs so much now I would be gutted if I have to take a break from it. Send me healing vibes!

Hope your all enjoying your weekends, I guess both us in the UK and the US have long weekends ahead which is great. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, I've booked tickets for me and my two best friends to see SATC tomorrow night, I can't wait! Well I'm off to have some quality chill time, and finish that bowl of amazing softserve! x

Geek Fest and Asian Food Fest

I was up first thing this morning to get my gym workout in before we started our busy day. I did 10 minutes of 1 minute intervals on the cross trainer and 10 minutes of 1 minute intervals on the step machine followed by my weights routine as described in my training plan. I ended the workout with a quick plank and side planks and some stretching.

I also had my weigh in this morning, I've lost 2 pounds since last week and I'm now down to 9st 11! (137 pounds) I think this is mostly down to my mid week illness and after todays eats I've probably put that 2 pounds back on plus some more!

I had a quick and tasty breakfast of a chocolate cherry green monster in a bowl (spinach, chocolate whey, frozen cherries, ground flax and vanilla rice milk) with a few grape nuts for crunch.

Then we headed off to the Dr Who Exhibition! For anyone reading who isn't familiar with Dr Who (I'm sure everyone in the UK must be by now!) its a sci fi show from the BBC about a dude that time travels in an old fashioned Police Box and has lots of adventures on his way (thats the best way I can think of describing it!) On the way we grabbed a coffee from Costas, I had my usual skinny caramel latte.

It was great to see so many of the genuine props, costumes and models that have been used in the show as well as coming face to face with loads of the well known characters:

Cyber Men

K-9

Darleks

The T.A.R.D.I.S (with the hubby)

Big scary alien (and goofy me!)

Total geek fest!

After we had enjoyed the exhibition we wondered through town to a new Asian buffet style restaurant called LAUS 202. It had loads of choice, as well as the usual buffet it had a 'Chefs Island' serving freshly made Sushi, various grills and skewers, dim sum and even freshly made waffles. There was almost too much choice! I know these buffet style chinese restaurants can sometimes not be the best quality, but everything seemed really nice and the restaurant was beauifully decorated.

I started with a small bowl of creamy vegetable soup (phone pics as didn't want to keep whipping my camera out)

Then some boiled mixed veggies, thai green curry, tofu in sweet and spicy sauce and some crispy fried greens.

I shared a small plate of sushi with the hubby, I had the one with the bite out of it, which was tuna.

I then had some cantonese chicken, beef in black bean sauce, a few wide noodles, two vegetable filled spring rolls (which were wonderful) and more boiled veggies

I couldn't resist one last plate of the sweet and spicy tofu with more veggies and crispy greens

I finished my feast with some fresh fruit - melon, grapes and apple.

It looks like I ate a mountain of food here (and really I did!) but the plates weren't that huge and I didn't finish the last two plates even though I didn't feel as stuffed as I usually do, like after eating pasta or pizza.

We had a look round the shops and then headed home to catch up on some TV. I bit later on I started to feel peckish so I made a green monster with spinach, frozen banana, skimmed milk and maca powder topped with grape nuts. I turned out a lighter green than usual due to using the skimmed milk rather than my usual rice milk.

I also snacked on an apple

I didn't want anything like a normal dinner after all that lovely Asian food so I just had a bowl of natural yoghurt with two chopped peaches and some Tropical Bear Granola Nibbles.

Drinks - water, green tea, decaf tea, coffee

Today has been a good day!

I am now going to spend the rest of the weekend trying to sort out this bloody laptop, its going to take me ages to reload and organise all of my music and photos back on to it. I will be making very sure I back up from now on! So what does everyone have planned for the weekend? I've got a couple of runs planned, seeing friends and family and possibly going to see SATC 2 but I'll have to see how things plan out with that. I also need to spend some time thinking about my holiday and planning what things I still need to sort out, including myself! I'm thinking of setting myself a little summer confidence challenge to make sure I'm feeling and looking great for my hols, more info to follow me thinks!

Hope you have a great weekend and if your here in the UK, a good bank holiday Monday too!