How fit
was my week on a scale of 1-10? 1 being salt and vinegar doughnuts , 10 being an ultra marathon.
8.5, I didn't add in the extra stretching that I said I would.
What exercise have I done?
Saturday - rest day
Sunday- 4 mile run
Monday - Body pump class
Tuesday - Kettlebells class
Wednesday - Step class
Thursday- Spin, pump, abs class
Friday- Run planned for later
What has my eating been like?
I'm all about the protein brah. Protein shakes, protein pancakes... ON IT. Also I found out there's such a thing as salt and vinegar doughnuts in Tesco AND turned them down. Pretty impressive. Also, walked away from Belgian waffles this week. STRENGTH. Discovered a love for protein pancakes, may never look back. They are slightly eggy but as protein supplements go, a winner.
How have I felt?
Nervous that all this work wasn't going to pay off because it's been a whole week and I'm not even a size 8 yet. But irrational Laura was silenced on Wednesday when I saw the results of my efforts at weigh in. Now 85% empowered smug determined Laura.
Have I lost any weight?
I am 2lbs lighter! NOICE. Those circles over there are the pounds I am going to lose. This was taken before weigh in so obviously now two are coloured in. I find it encouraging to know where I'm at.
What would I like to work on next week?
Trusting the process. I knew all this week that I was on form but in my head I was still convinced that I'd gain weight. PMA is the watchword this week. That's positive mental attitude for those of you that don't go in for those sorts of things.
I loooove protein! I've been trying to up my intake recently as I've increased my exercise and I get very sore very easily! You can get protein from lots of different foods: meat, fish, eggs, beans, nuts and seeds. So, I get to eat more chicken? Cool! My protein obsession of the month is hard boiled eggs. I make a batch at the beginning of the week and they make great snacks throughout the day or after a workout. Also extremely tasty with a salad or a few slices of toast. Yay for eggs!
I would also get nowhere without my protein powder! Although I love chicken, I don't actually eat a lot of meat so this acts as a great substitute and has so many different uses. At the moment, I have Holland and Barrett's banana flavoured whey protein. It has 83 calories per scoop and 16.6g of protein. I think it's great because it tastes really good and Holland and Barrett always have offers on. Perfect if you're on a budget like me!
There are so many great ways to incorporate protein powder into your diet. My favourite so far is protein 'pancakes'. I've always had a very unhealthy obsession with pancakes and although these aren't quite the same as the classic pancake, they are a great substitute and are very filling! The recipe I use is here (thanks for the referral Cassius!) I usually have the rest of the banana, some blueberries and maple syrup over the top. I'd be interested to try them with different flavoured protein powders, like chocolate or cookies and cream!
Another great protein fix is, of course, the smoothie!! I cannot get enough of smoothies. They are so delicious and there are so many flavour options! My favourite would have to be banana and peanut butter, even better when you add some protein powder. You can pretty much mix anything in a blender with milk and it tastes delicious! Great for breakfast or pre/post workout too.
Another protein recipe that I recently discovered is mixing the powder with fat free greek yogurt, bananas and berries. You've probably noticed that I have a slight penchant for bananas... I'm trying to keep it to no more than one a day! With the greek yogurt, I add a bit of honey or maple syrup just to make it slightly sweeter and I find the ingredients gel together better. You can buy greek yogurt with honey already added too. I wouldn't use a whole scoop of powder unless you're using A LOT of greek yogurt because it starts to go really powdery and not very nice if you do. I love having this for breakfast because it's low calorie but it fills me up all morning.
I'm always on the look out for new recipes to make use of my powder and my next step is to buy more flavour options to mix things up a little. If you haven't tried it yet, I would highly recommend buying some!
