Well I Am Challenge

Today officially marks the start of the Well I Am challenge. It will be running for 100 days and my goal is to become a healthier happier me, and hopefully this means that by the end of it I will be fitter, faster, leaner and more toned (it does help that I entered the physique category).

Each day we get to post a photo with a theme in order to win some extra prizes, and with 100 days the chances are pretty good.

So just to recap, I have received my wellness box full of healthy treats and vouchers to use at any time during the challenge. I have also done my Dischem health check - Another one of my goals is to get my cholesterol back down to minimal risk.

Unfortunately I am suffering a bit with illness and fear I may have pulled a muscle in my back from the coughing and as such I am limited to exercise, so my first focus will be to get better and eat as healthy as possible. As soon as I am better I will kick some butt in the gym and on the road, running!

To start off I have not eaten the best today, but it is not as some of my bad days in the past month or 2.
I have had too many cups of coffee, one rooibos tea, one ginger gluten free biscuit, Gluten Free Lentil and Smoked Bacon Soup and Strawberries. As I still live at home with my parents I don't have much say in the dinner that gets made, which is made up of meat, veg and a starch ; I already don't consume any condiments like tomato sauce, salt or pepper; so it is just a matter of portion control in the evening and clean eating in the day to keep my body running smooth.

Todays Photo Challenge is the "Before Photo", which is taken according to set guidelines. Unfortunately with being sick I have already lost some weight around my tummy area....

So just to recap, my plan of action and goals:
1. Bring down my cholesterol
2. Tone up
3. Increase Fitness
4. Monitor what I eat and prep meals before hand (or at least have an idea of what I am eating on a weekly basis).
5. Plan my exercise program weekly, including a rest day, strength, cardio and stretching

Comments

Grain free Date Bread

A few weeks ago one of my dad's clients baked what we think was a date bread. Although I am mostly low carb and didnt know the ingredients of this bread, there was so much of it and I didnt want it to go to waste. Toasted, it was amazing, almost like a caramel taste. In all honesty, I found my running for the few days I ate the bread actually improved - I felt more energetic and had more endurance. I searched for a low carb or gluten free version that I can make myself. Carb wise you looking at about 15g on average per date, making it basically your enemy if you are low carb. Rather opt for cranberries - 13g per cup. As an athlete though, dates are so good for you - in moderation of course as 90% of the carbs in a date is sugar. Medjool Dates are high in Potassium (higher than oranges, bananas and spinach), which is great for heart health and to build muscle and proteins in the body. They are also high in fibre, meaning you stay fuller for longer. You also get an energy

HIIT #1

HIIT otherwise known as High Intensity Interval Training is a great way to get your heartrate up and get a full body workout in a short amount of time. As the name suggests, the exercises used are often intense and the short recovery adds to it. Most HIIT sessions are 20 seconds of workout, 10 seconds of recovery. I like to do 2 exercises per set, for 4 reps with 1 minute recovery and 4 sets in total to make up 20 minutes. If you are feeling up to it, you can increase a rep a week, but remember it is about intensity and not about overall time or seeing how much you can do. Below are the exercises that I did yesterday: The workout I did: Set 1: Hurdles & Cones / Shuttle Runs (4 sets - 20 seconds hurdles, 10 seconds recovery, 20 seconds Shuttle Run, 10 seconds recovery) Set 2: Speed band high knees / Shuttle Runs (4 sets - 20 seconds High Knees, 10 seconds recovery, 20 seconds Shuttle Run, 10 seconds recovery) Set 3: Banded lateral shuffle / Shuttle Runs (4 sets - 20 se

SA Lockdown - Days 1-4

So we have made it 4 days into lockdown... yippeee :) I thought I would recap my first 4 days into lockdown. To start off, I am still working, from home of course, so I still need to be available from about 7am to about 4pm. As such, I try get my workouts in before and after this time except on the weekend and the pre-lunch workouts (which are nice and quick). Day 1 Friday, 27 March My dads birthday - we were planning on going to craft beer library in Linden but of course with the lockdown we were not able to (something to do once we are out of lockdown). I decided to make one of my favorite cakes, an almond cake, but I made it gluten free as I am trying to be 80-90% gluten free following doctors orders. I started nice and early, so that it would be ready for my dads teatime break. The recipe can be found here , but I doubled up because it looked on the thin side: 230g Butter 4 Eggs 2 cup gluten free flour 2 cups castor sugar 4 tsp almond extract Sliced almond

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