Monthly Archives

March 2014

Sunday Summary, Uncategorized

Sunday Summary: Kayla Itsines Week 5

March 30, 2014
Kayla Itsines Week 5

Hey everyone!

What a whirlwind spring break week this has been! I had work from Tuesday-Thursday so it really was not much of a break lol. My lovely friend Shivvy who I have known since high school has come to visit me for just under two weeks, so we have been doing lots of fun and tourist-y things. This is her first visit to America so of course we have been sampling all the food. Surprisingly we actually ate quite well save for tonight when we ordered loads at a Japanese restaurant in Lodi, CA called Haru Sushi.

San Francisco (and California in general, but particularly the bay area) is such a fun place to visit! It is great having a friend visit because it forces me to do tourist-y things that I normally wouldn’t do. On Friday, we went to Haight-Ashbury and spent hours shopping and had some lunch at the Citrus Club. They specialize in Asian food and noodles, and attempt to us less oil  by substituting it with citrus. You MUST go to Haight-Ashbury if you want a good shopping experience – they have a lot of unique boutique shops and thrift shops. I found the black shirt I am wearing in a few photo’s below for only $8!!

We then went to explore Buena Vista park and took some photo’s.

Kayla Itsines Week 5

After that we ventured to Chinatown. I think Chinatown is awesome but OMG the traffic is horrendous, and I swear that the steepest hills in SF are on the way to Chinatown!!! I wish we had just walked from the BART (bay area rapid transit – train basically) but eh, it was worth it in the end. We got some really delicious boba (this is milk tea with tapioca pearls) from Cool Tea Bar. Naaaht healthy haha, but I asked for 50% less sugar so at least you can customize them a little.

Kayla Itsines Week 5

Saturday was gross and rainy so let’s just skip that recap haha. This morning we went to the beach; we oohed and aahed at all the sweet dogs and puppies that were also at the beach, and just had fun walking around in general. Naturally I had to show off my yoga skills hehe. Ick, I really need a tan …

Kayla Itsines Week 5

Kayla Itsines Week 5

Kayla Itsines Week 5

Kayla Itsines Week 5

Kayla Itsines Week 5

I finished week 5 of Kayla Itsine’s bikini body guide, woo hoo! This week set of workouts are definitely more advanced in nature, particularly the arm workouts. I absolutely loved it, although I am not loving the amount of cardio. We have to quite a bit more cardio but oh well .. it is so worth it. I am seeing improvement in my legs and my abs look more toned 🙂 The only thing I wish it would focus more on is the back. I have some really gross fat on my back and although I KNOW YOU CAN’T SPOT REDUCE, it would be nice to have workouts that focused on the back.

I hope you have all had a great week everyone! Please let me know what type of posts you would like to see, or if you have any questions; I would love to hear what they are 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice

Friday Fare, Health

Friday Fare – Sugar free and refined sugar free muffins

March 28, 2014

As promised, here is the recipe for the sugar free muffins I posted about on Sunday Summary two weeks ago!

Sugar free and refined sugar free muffins

sugar-free-muffins-recipe

I am going to share two versions of these muffins with you. The difference between them is that one is purely sugar-free (as it contains sugar-free honey made of xylitol) and the other is refined sugar free (and contains honey). Both are healthy and delicious, but I realize that sugar-free honey is not easy to come by which is why I am offering two versions.

This recipe was taught to me by my boyfriend’s aunt who is on a strict sugar-free diet to help battle her candida. These muffins are surprisingly fluffy and moist, and very very delicious. You can’t stop at just one, but the beauty of these muffins are that they contain a healthy mix of protein and fats with no sugar or no refined sugar! The sugar-free version is great for those with sugar issues, such as diabetics, and provide a sweet treat without blasting up your blood sugar levels. The refined sugar-free version contain sugar from honey (I use raw honey), and while this is still sugar, it does not undergo mass levels of refinement that most commercial sugars go through.

Although sugar is good for you (save a few who have medical issues with it) and IS necessary for the body to function, I try and limit the amount of ADDED sugar I ingest. And sweet treats tend to have a LOT of unnecessary added sugar which will cause you to gain weight in the long run and could lead to longer term health problems. This article is a great read if you want to know more about how excess sugar can negatively affect you.  Like excess ANYTHING though, too much of it will lead to weight gain and you putting on fat.

Therefore, I like to share yummy sweet things which have natural sugar-free alternatives or sugars that have not been refined. I would prefer you to stick to natural sugars if possible as we still do not know the long-term side effects of sweeteners, but liquid stevia is a good sugar-free choice.

Okay, informational talk and slight rant over!

Sugar-free & Refined Sugar-free Muffins

Alice Williams
Incredibly moist sugar-free and refined sugar-free muffins to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

Ingredients for the sugar free muffin are

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 and a half cups of almond flour
  • 1/3 cup ground flax seed you can make this by buying flax seed and throwing it in the food processor for a minute or longer
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 15 drops of liquid stevia
  • 1/4 cup sugar-free honey
  • 6 tablespoons cinnamon or pumpkin spice
  • OPTIONAL: 2 tablespoons olive oil I prefer it without to be honest

Ingredients for the refined sugar free muffin are

  • 4 eggs
  • 1 and a half cups of almond flour
  • 1/3 cup ground flax seed
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup almond milk
  • 1/4 cup honey
  • 6 tablespoons cinnamon or pumpkin spice
  • OPTIONAL: 2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions
 

  • 1. Preheat your oven to 450 degrees farenheit and get a muffin tin or some muffin/cupcake holders ready.
  • 2. Whisk the eggs in a bowl and then add and mix in the rest of your ingredients
  • 3. Pour the mixture into your tin or holders and then put into the oven for 13 minutes.
Sugar free and refined sugar free muffins

Voila! Easy, fluffy and delicious sugar-free or refined sugar-free muffins!! Enjoy with some sugar-free jam on top, honey, some berry compote, with coconut whipped cream or any way you choose. If you make them, tag me in your photo and hashtag it #fridayfare so I can find you 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this post and I look forward to seeing your recreations!

Honestly yours,
Alice

Fitness

Cardio: How do I know what to choose?

March 25, 2014

I have such a hate and love relationship with cardio (cardiovascular exercise). I know I need it, as cardio has a range of health benefits and makes me feel happier and more energized in the long term. Although cardio should not be abused – too MUCH cardio can stress your body out and can actually cause your weight loss to stop – I personally like to do cardio a few times a week (plus I have to do it a certain amount of times a week since I am following the Kayla Itsine’s Bikini Body Guide).

Cardio Types

An important distinction to make with cardio, is what type of cardio you are doing. There are essentially two types of cardio: HIIT (high intensity interval training) and LISS (low intensity steady state).

HIIT Training

HIIT training involves periods of alternating intense exercise (sprints for example) with periods of recovery (a walk or a slow jog for example). HIIT training allows you to exercise at a higher intensity for longer periods of time than steady state exercise would.

LISS Training

LISS training involves long periods of low intensity exercise which can include activities like walking. You stay at this pace throughout the whole workout and maintain the same level of intensity.

What are the differences between HIIT and LISS training?

HIIT and LISS training both offer benefits and is still a widely discussed topic in the world of health and fitness. Which is better? Should we just do HIIT, LISS, or a combination of both?

Well, HIIT and LISS training are two different types of training, so it depends on what you like to do and what your goals are. I personally prefer a mixture – LISS training lets me catch up on social media and watch youtube videos on my phone (lol), whereas HIIT training is done in a fairly short amount of time. Both leave me dripping in sweat and making me feel accomplished.

Although both types of cardio raise your heart rate, at a lower heart rate (during LISS training) your body prefers to use fat for its energy, thus burning fat. At a higher heart rate, your body starts to use sugar instead of fat for energy, thus burning sugar and tapping into your glycogen stores.

So LISS essentially sounds like the perfect form of cardio right? That’s our goal anyway huh, to burn fat! Not quite so simple .. with anything, our bodies adapt to things really quickly, so at some point your body will get used to your LISS training and you won’t get the results you want and crave. Also a study was done by Pacheco which found that rats that did HIIT training lost more fat than the rats who did LISS training (however rats are very different to humans …). HIIT training has also been found to increase endurance, speed, and your metabolic rate (which may be why it helped contribute to the fat loss in the rats?). What is also interesting is that LISS has been touted as a way to lose fat and keep your muscles (HIIT training has been attributed to muscle loss), whereas other articles state that HIIT actually optimizes muscle strength and growth! Layne Norton wrote an interesting article on it and since hehas a PhD, I really value his input.

So see, there is still a lot of debate as to which is better and honestly I say do what makes you feel good and keeps you interested. And mix it up, keep challenging your body! Try a mix of HIIT and LISS and see how they work for you. Kayla Itsine’s Bikini Body Guide personally recommends quite a lot of LISS training (as she finds this the most effective form of cardio for slimming women’s thighs) and adds in HIIT training towards the end of the program.

I hope this article has been interesting and helpful for you! Let me know of any other articles related to this topic; I am always interested and open to knowing and learning more 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice
References

Alfonso. (2012). What is LISS cardio? Retrieved from http://angrytrainerfitness.com/2012/06/ask-alfonso-what-is-l-i-s-s-cardio/
Guiraud, et al. (2012). High-Intensity Interval Training in Cardiac Rehabilitation. Sports Medicine, vol. 42(7), pp.587-605.
Itsines, K. (2014). Bikini Body Guide. E-book.
Obadike, O. (2012). Why does HIIT burn so much fat? Retrieved from: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/ask-the-ripped-dude-hiit.html
Norton, L. (2012). Best form of cardio for bodybuilding? Retrieved from http://www.biolayne.com/contest-prep/best-form-of-cardio-for-bodybuilding/

Image from http://elitedaily.com/life/the-results-from-fasted-cardio/