The Naked Warrior

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Chocolate Protein Balls

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NUTRITIONAL INFO per serve (makes 20) Carbs: 7.0g  Protein: 7.5g Fat: 5.1g

INGREDIENTS:

  • 100g Coles Crunchy Peanut Butter
  • 50g Raw Almonds (with shell on)
  • 30g Honey
  • 120g Steel cut oats
  • 120g Vanilla Protein Powder
  • 20ml Water
  • 20g Desiccated Coconut (for rolling)

TO MAKE:

  1. In a bowl, mix protein powder, water and oats with your hands.
  2. Warm up Peanut butter and honey in microwave until its soft and runny.
  3. Add peanut butter/honey to oats/protein powder and combine evenly.
  4. Blitz almonds in a food processor and then add to mixture.
  5. Roll balls into medium size and then into the coconut. Place balls onto baking paper and store in fridge for 12 hours.
  6. Store in air-tight container

Delicious Protein Pancakes

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NUTRITIONAL INFO per serve (makes 2) Carbs: 20.9g Protein: 18.7g Fat: 3.5g

INGREDIENTS

  • 60g rolled oats
  • 125g low fat cottage cheese
  • 4 egg whites
  • 2.5ml vanilla essence
  • 1g cinnamon
  • Pinch of nutmeg

HOW TO MAKE

  1. Mix ingredients together into a bowl
  2. Heat a large frying pan and add mixture to pan in a small dollop, allowing to become into a flat pancake shape as it cooks
  3. Repeat using rest of mixture
  4. Serve with your choice of berries

The 15-min workout: Who says they’re too busy to move!

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Yes today we live in a busy world where the clock tick tocks far too quickly and before you know, there is no time to exercise!

Whilst it can be argued that you burn a higher percentage of fat during low intensity exercise performed over an extended time frame, such as going for long walks or doing fasted cardio, the benefit of exercising only for a short period of time cannot be underestimated.  Seriously if you want more bang for your buck and don’t want to spend all day exercising, you can achieve great results by exercising in short, hard sessions.

Don’t get me wrong, a simply for a walk for 15 minutes you will still burn more energy than if you sat on the couch!

When you exercise at a high intensity, where you become breathless and fatigued, you will burn carbohydrates stored in your body. Whilst it is not fat burning, it does have great benefits for you, especially if you have eaten too many carbohydrates which could potentially put you at risk of converting excess carbohydrates into fat.

The real benefit of a 15 minute intense cardio session such as sprinting, hill runs or plyometric training comes after the workout has finished.  Your body will still burn a lot of energy as you are recovering from the session. Depending on how hard you train, it could take several hours for your body to return to a resting level.

Short hard workouts improve your fitness level so you will be able to progressively exercise for longer periods of time and at a higher intensity in future workouts. The longer and harder you can train, the more energy you burn. And coincidentally, the fitter you are, the more fat you will naturally burn during exercise.  Now there’s an incentive!

It is a lot easier to fit blocks of 15 minutes into the day for some rather than committing to an hour of exercise at one go so for those with busy lifestyles, a short intense workout is ideal for them.  Don’t forget that the more you can move on a daily basis the more calories you burn and if you look at the bigger weight loss picture this will most definitely assist in someone meeting their calorie expenditure needs.  Every little helps!

Are You Prepared to do What it Takes?

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Do you currently have a goal in mind that you are working towards?  Are you prepared to do what it takes to achieve it and do you know what it is actually going to take to get there?  These are essential questions to ask yourself when you set yourself a goal and begin the journey to success.  It is a good idea to put pen to paper, confirming your goal so it is there before you, crystal clear.  It can be anything, a fitness goal, a lifestyle change, a career move or a dream holiday destination, whatever it is just get it down along with when you want it by. 

Now the journey starts.  Take a look at what you have written and be honest with yourself, how much do you really want this, is there anything that would prevent you from achieving this and what sacrifices are you prepared to make to get it?  Is what you are doing right now enough and have you given it your best today?

In today’s society where everyone has a busy lifestyle, it can be easy to make excuses and use these to prevent you from getting to where you want to go because it is easier and comfortable to stay in the familiar routine

Planning ahead is essential to stay on track, ask yourself, what food do I have at home, do I need to go shopping, where will I be tomorrow and how will I fit in my exercise?  If you take time to address and prepare properly you can be confident of hitting your goals, you simply need to trust the process.  It’s like the old saying goes, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

The other key to success is getting support of the people around you.  Those closest to you that understand fully what you are working towards and more importantly they understand how much it means to you.  Without the help your journey could be harder so reach out to those you know can help.

Above all, just go for it and don’t quit!

Face Your Fears

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What is it that you are most afraid of and do you ever let it stop you living life to its fullest?  I can remember where I went through a period of time when I developed an uncomfortableness around turbulence when flying – I refused to say I’m scared or fearful as it was completely irrational and I had no control over it!  If like me and most of the general population, there is probably one thing in your life that does create feelings of discomfort, nervousness and anxiety.  I have even heard of people being afraid of buttons, the dark, busy places, spiders and heights.  Whatever your fear is; now is the time to take control of it so it does not control you.

The key to overcoming any fear, first of all is accepting that actually it is ok to be a little nervous or unsure of some things – it is when this develops into deeper anxiety that prevents you doing what you want to, that it has become a problem.  Try not to let doubt stop you, if you think positive and believe in yourself this will give you the confidence to try anything at least once.

If there is an activity you have been longing to do yet those around you are putting negative thoughts in your mind then try to seek out people you know who have already done it so they can provide support and valuable advice for you.  This will assist to boost confidence as well as ignite the excitement within to try something new.

Remember also that why sometimes there may be a little risk involved, the chances of anything extreme happening is minimal – adopt the mentality of what’s the worst that could happen?  Seriously you may even enjoy overcoming your fear!

Take pride in knowing that the process of conquering your fear will leave you stronger both mentally and physically – you will grow and no doubt open yourself up to more opportunities.

  • To make change and move forward in any area of your life you need to get uncomfortable and by challenging yourself to new experiences life will be exciting, not boring, repetitive or stale! 
  • Reward yourself when you face your fear, congratulate the inner you and be grateful that you had the power from within to help
  • Find inspiration that will help you overcome fear and surround yourself with support that will help you
  • As with any goal, allocate a time to do what you need to do.  If it helps do some research as the more knowledge you have the greater your confidence can be as the unknown has been reduced.

Choose to experience life as the adventure it is – sometimes it can be a wild ride and when you hit the speed bumps just make sure you hold on tight!

Top Tips to Fight the Winter Woolies!

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During the winter months it can be very easy to slip into the “World of Comfort” and “Land of Excuseville”.  You may find yourself battling with the blankets in the morning or succumbing to the lure of the TV and sofa in the evening to avoid being out in the cold.  Why is it at this time of year that we allow ourselves to have more treats and indulge?  It is easy to comfort eat and go for the calorie laden food to “feel cosier” and “warm up”.  At the same time as letting our nutrition slide it is easy let ourselves slip into our big baggy comfy warm clothes and before we know it, we are carrying a few extra hidden kilos.  But, the hard work and effort to get you where you are today need not go to waste over winter.  All that’s required to stay on track and avoid being one of the many who rush to get their beach body ready is a little dedication and commitment so that as we come out of hibernation and head into the warmer seasons you can be confident that you will look and feel great.

 Here are our top tips to help you to stay on track:-

  • Start planning your Summer Holiday, where do you want to go and when will it be? Why not book it now and put a picture on your desk or in your car so you can see it everyday what it is that you’re working towards.
  • Go shopping and buy those shorts or that bikini that you want to wear all summer and leave them hanging somewhere in your bedroom so you can see them every day.
  • Put your training clothes by the side of your bed so you roll straight out of bed and into your workout gear.
  • Revisit “Fat Loss Take Control” for healthy options when you eat out to avoid going for the indulgent options.
  • Throw out the baggy comfy tracksuit that can easily be slipped into and unconsciously filled out.  If you can buy yourself a new item of clothing now, then do so and use this to measure any potential weight gain over the winter.  If it starts to feel tight, you know something isn’t right!
  • Make sure you regularly weigh yourself and check in with your measurements and if you find these have gone up then get back on track sooner rather than later so it is easier to manage and there are no scary, unwanted surprises.
  • Commit to someone, help them stay on track with their goal and be their training partner.  Why not commit to doing an event together to assist this?