Week 2 - Beachbody Focus T-25 Challenge

I made through my first week! Yay! Now I'm hoping my muscles will be my friend after punishing them last week and actually let me nail ALL the T-25 exercises this week!

Read about the Focus T-25 Challenge here.

Week 2

Monday - 1330

Workout

Accidentally did Beta-Dynamic Core instead of the Cardio I was supposed to do but still it was a good workout! Definitely feeling much fitter and energetic this week. Not even missing junk food and alcohol!

Breakfast

Shakeology with banana-300

Snack

10 blueberries

Lunch

Broccoli and Brown Rice Salad 310 - can't say I was a huge fan of this one.

Snack

Celery with cream cheese and raisins - 100

Dinner

Stuffed Eggplant 420 - delicious!

Tuesday - 1380

Workout

Focus T-25 - Total Body Circuit. The fact that I didn't feel like puking this time makes me feel like I've come a long way in a week. I did use Tania (aka the Modifier) too much either...proud of me!

Breakfast

Shakeology with banana-300

Snack

Larabar – 200

Lunch

veggie wrap 280

Snack

Raisins - 90

Soybeans - 100

Dinner

Lemony Asparagus and penne pasta 410

Wednesday -1320

Workout

Focus T-25 - Speed 1.0. Didn't even need Tania today - feeling super fit....one of my favourite workouts. Girls at work had fries and soda today and i didn't even feel tempted!

Breakfast

Shakeology with banana-300

Snack

Larabar – 200

Lunch

Garbanzo Bean Salad – 290 (actually pretty tasty)
Snack

Veg & Hummus - 100

Dinner

Veggie Cheeseburger with Fries - 430 (I swapped fries for a pickle :) )

Thursday - 1330

Workout 

Focus T-25 - Cardio. Still worked me pretty hard but at least not as hard as the first time!

Breakfast

Shakeology with banana-300

Snack

Larabar – 200

Lunch

Layered Black Beans Dip & Chips – 320

Seriously delicious, some of these meals are smaller portions than I'm used to but certainly seem naughtier ;)

Snack

Carrots and hummus - 100

Dinner

Black beans and Rice – 410

Friday - 1360

Workout

Chose my rest day today

Breakfast

Shakeology with strawberries-300

Snack

Larabar – 200

Lunch

White Beans and Pasta – 360 -Loved this

Snack

Strawberries – 100

Dinner

Sesame Teriyaki Tofu Stir Fry - 400 - YUM

Saturday - 1320

Workout

Focus  T-25 - Lower Focus - I didn't mind leg work today after having a break yesterday!

Did my stats today and am down another pound and another inch around my middle! - YAY!

Breakfast

French Toast & Orange Juice – 390

Snack

Veg & Hummus – 100

Lunch

Vegetarian nachos supreme 320

Snack

Berries - 110

Dinner

Vegetarian stuffed peppers 400

Sugaring (Natual Hair Removal Wax)

I have always used Moom brand since going vegan but it's not super cheap and I have to order it online. I looked at the ingredients though and it's pretty much just sugar and water so I thought I'd try my hand at sugaring!

Sugaring (Natual Hair Removal Wax)

From Care 2 Make a Difference

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

¼ cup water

Equipment: Candy thermometer

Method

Combine the ingredients in a heavy saucepan, and heat on low using a candy thermometer. Watch the mixture very carefully so that it doesn’t boil over. Heat the mixture to 250 F on the candy thermometer; this is the hardball candy stage.

Remove from the heat and let cool enough to pour into a jar without breaking or melting the jar. (Note that this jar will be reheated in the future. Make sure it is safe for whatever form of reheating you plan to do—in the microwave, or in a pan of water.

Rip clean cotton fabric in 1-inch strips. Make sure the cotton isn’t too coarsely woven.

This next step is very critical: Let the mixture cool enough so that it won’t burn your skin. 

Test the mixture on the palm of your hand, knowing that is much tougher than the sensitive skin under your arms.

Using a dull knife or Popsicle stick, spread the cooled sugar onto your skin. 

Cover with the cloth strips, let set for a few minutes, and then rip off quickly as you would a bandage.

In the future you can reheat the mixture to a warm and not hot temperature (see above), and reuse. 

Note that reheating will thicken the paste.

Vegan Soap Making Tutorial

Hi all, I've made a soap making tutorial for cold pressed soap taking you step by step through my method of soap making. I hope you find it informative! Free printable soap labels here!

My soaps are available at Etsy - Soleil Handmade Soaps :)

Week 1 - Beachbody Focus T-25 Challenge

So I'm trying to use their meal planner but it's vegetarian and some of the items are hard to veganise so I'm just recording what I eat, and hopefully it will be a similar amount of calories :)

I bought healthy raw nuts, vegetables and fruits to snack on plus made my own hummus :)

Monday Day 1 - 1400 calories

Workout

Being President's Day I wasn't working so I didn't do my workout till 10am when normally I would do it in the afternoon.

I started with the first workout - Alpha Cardio and I have to say before this I thought I was pretty fit. What a joke - this workout was brutal but awesome. There was one girl doing an easier version too which was really helpful for when I wanted a break but it kept me moving.

The fact that the workout is only 25 minutes kept me motivated to finish when I wanted to give up and I hope by next Monday I will nail it!

They have 3 minute cool down afterwards too with stretches which I really liked.

I also liked the fact that you don't need much room to do the workout - I did it in my bedroom where I have around a 2 metre x 4 metre space.

Breakfast

2 pieces of gluten-free toast with 1 avocado and a sprinkle of Red Robin seasoning

1 cup green tea (caffeine free)

Snack

5 Sugar Snap peas with 2 Tbls hummus

Shakeology Vegan Chocolate (I scoop Shakeology, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract + 1 cup water)

Lunch

Tofu Scramble - 1/2 Packet soft tofu, 4 mushrooms, 1 tomato, 1/2 onion, 2 Tbls nutritional yeast.

Snack

2 Tbls hummus and 5 mini carrots

Dinner

Roasted veg - 8 Brussel sprouts, 20 asparagus spears

Tuesday Day 2 - 1320 calories

Workout

I started a new job today and I'm sick so the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was exercise but I have to stop making excuses. So I did it! And actually it wasn't too bad. The Alpha-Speed 1.0 was a combination of cardio and stretching so I really felt like I never needed to rest...sweating though!

Breakfast

Shakeology - 1 scoop Shakeology, 1 cup water, 1 cup coconut water, 1 banana

Snack

Lara Bar

Lunch

Got taken out to lunch at work and had gluten free pasta with a tomato based sauce with peas and spinach - was supposed to have black bean burrito mix!

Snack

2 Tbls hummus, 1 red bell pepper, 4 mini carrots

Dinner

Eggplant Parmesan (this was SO good)

Wednesday Day 3 - 1400 calories

Workout

The Alpha-Total Body Circuit - kind of brutal cardio with squats, lunges and planking. Hurting!

I nearly threw up but managed to keep it at bay ;)

Breakfast

Shakeology - 1 scoop Shakeology, 1.5 cups water, 1 banana, 1/2 tsp mint extract

Snack

Lara Bar

Lunch

Black bean burrito

Snack

1 celery stick + 1 Tbls peanut butter

1 box raisins

Dinner

Potato pancakes with apple sauce (it's part of the diet I swear!)

I had to make three meals tonight (kids, my dinner, my lunch) so it was a bit tiring but worth it!

Thursday Day 4 - 1400 calories

Workout

Ab Intervals-normally hate Ab work but was happy to be on the ground and not using my legs...they are so sore LOL

Breakfast

Shakeology - 1 scoop Shakeology, 1.5 cups water, 1 banana, 1/2 cup frozen berries

Snack

2 celery sticks + 2 Tbls vegan cream cheese + 2 Tbls raisins.

Lunch

Thai Peanut Tofu Noodles (delicious!)

Snack

Lara Bar

Banana

Dinner

Rice Burger

Friday Day 5 - 1340 calories

Workout

Rest Day

Breakfast

Shakeology - 1 scoop Shakeology, 1.5 cups water, 1 banana, 1/2 tsp hazelnut extract

Snack

Larabar

Lunch

Curried vegetable stew-yum, hubby wanted some (this recipe I thought was a bit of a waste of just a 1/4 of each vegetable so I did 4x the amount and then will have it over the weekend)

Snack

1 red bell pepper, 4 baby carrots, 2 Tbs hummus

Dinner

Curried vegetable stew

Saturday Day 6 - 1340 calories

Workout

Lower Focus - this felt really good after a days rest, my legs were ok to do most of the exercises. Felt very strong but still sweated bad lol

Reorded my first lot of stats today, lost 1lb and 1 inch from my waist and hips - not bad for only 5 days work!

Breakfast

Tofu Scramble (1/2 block firm tofu, 1/4 onion, 1 tomato, 1/4 cup peas, 2 green onions, salt & pepper

Snack

Grapes

Lunch

Thai Slaw Salad (from Luck Slice Pizza)

Snack

Shakeology - 1 scoop shake, 1 cup coconut water, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 tsp hazelnut extract, 1 tsp vanilla extract

Dinner

Vegetarian Chilli

Sunday Day 7 - 1140 calories

Wooo Hooo day Day 7, a whole week of workouts and meal plans - done! And feeling really good!

Workout

Stretch - enjoyed the stretch workout, kind of like a yoga session. Feeling very refreshed and motivated for another week of hard work!

Breakfast

Breakfast Quesadilla – 290

Snack

Nada

Lunch

Black Bean Burritos 330

Snack

Orange and grapes - 120

Dinner

Vegetarian Chilli - 400