Sometimes You Have To Make Yourself Eat

Hi friends!

Today's post is a little on the serious side as it is something I know a lot of girls around the world, whoever, wherever and whatever is going on in their lives suffers with. The amazing World Wide Web enables us all to interconnect on a much grander scale than ever before and one of the things I have taken from this is and introduction to just how many people suffer as the result of poor/ inadequate nutrition.

However that's probably too big of a topic for one blog post and so today instead I want to scrap it all down to just one little section of this issue; under-eating. And it most cases; not even realising your doing it!

I've spoken on this before with my own experience, where unhealthy thoughts have entered my mind when I'm making myself a meal, saying ridiculous things like; 'If you don't add lentils to this dish that's a whole pack of food your not consuming... and do you really need to add them anyway? Will they make the dish any better?'

Lentils.

I guess on a more realistic and relatable and regular occurrence level, it would be the unhealthy voices in my mind saying;'No, you don't need to eat, it's only 2pm! You still have 2 hours until your next snack!' When I'm standing in the kitchen ravenously hungry.

But again, this issue I want to talk about is even more specific than that. It is pure and simply, not eating enough. And why sometimes you need to make yourself eat more!

It would probably shock the life out of most teenage girls to tell them to eat more and they will feel 10000x better when all they've been told from a very young age by society is how to lose weight, be skinny and therefore be happy. And thus begins the downsizing of meals, the infrequency of meals, the small, small amount of fuel being given to the body.

Do you know how hard it is to come to school, comfortably full and energised from a big bowl of warm, gooey banana porridge with nut butter and all the other good stuff, to be subjected to watching a friend eat her breakfast of- a slice of plain toast. Or perhaps, an apple. Or an orange. Or a juice. Or a coffee. Or maybe even just a bottle of water. (Whilst morning hydration is essential; so is following it up with a big, hearty, nutritious breakfast!)

Can you understand how painful it is to start digging into a home-prepared, well-sized portion of roasted veggies, spinach, beans, lentils, peas, corn etc. and look over to see a fellow girl-power nibbling on a rice cracker. Slowly crunching through some raw veggie sticks. Or better yet, a salad... made of lettuce.

Is it even legal to then go home and prepare a delicious feast of veggie pizza on a wholegrain pumpkin crust piled high with veggies and homes and nutritional yeast, only to message a friend and find out they've got another salad, or perhaps a boiled egg, or some more toast or maybe even that they're not eating dinner because they're not really hungry at all after a stressful/ bad day at school.

This is the kind of thing I'm faced with on the daily and whilst I'm not sharing this to gain sympathy (which would be rather odd because it would be like asking you to feel bad for me because I'm eating loads of food??) I'm asking you to consider the kinds of messages that are being sent out into the world and the 'normalcy' surrounding meals and eating that has been taken on by many, many girls, young women and women in general... in fact I wouldn't even limit it to women any more, the internet has also provided me with multiple examples of boys, young men and men who restrict their intakes to for an unrealistic image.

If I brought this issue up with a fellow friend who just doesn't seem to eat. At all. The response could well in fact be; 'Well, I'm just not much of an eater. I'm never hungry.' And whilst this seems legitimate, there's also a reason for this lack of hunger and I hate to tell them this, but it's not natural to not feel hunger. Ever. The reason why these girls can wake up and fill their stomachs with a whopping meal of water and then some crackers and lunch, followed by two pieces of buttered toast at dinner (and that's it) is because their body has adapted to the limited supply of energy, nutrients and just plain FOOD in general, that metabolism has slowed to the bare minimum and in all honesty the body is not burning anything anymore- storing what little food it is given is the only way to survive.

Hence the absence of hunger signals.

I was never one to restrict any of my meals or anything as a girl but even looking back at my 6-7-8-9 year old self who would wake up and have a bowl of cereal, then a cookie at recess, a vegemite sandwich on white bread at lunch and some rice and meat (pre-vego) for dinner, if I ate that now-a-days? I would be a screaming, hanger monster. That wouldn't even make up half the kilojoules I consume now! And what's even better? My body burns that energy I feed it now and I've never been stronger, fitter, more toned (similar lean-ness, I've never really been 'big' before) than ever. With probably 3x the amount of fuel!

So what would be my advice to these girls? Firstly, start slowly. Add in extra foods and kilojoules slowly and regularly to each meal. Not a big breakfast eater? Start with a home-made granola bar, or a small smoothie, or some fruit with nut butter. Then after a bit, add in a small bowl of oats, a piece of wholegrain toast with a delicious topping, add more fibre and protein to the smoothie. Slowly and slowly the hunger will creep in. You'll start to wake up with an appetite. Until eventually you're like me and a hungry monster after a night of fasting! The same goes for lunches and dinner. Slowly but surely (and regularly) add in another nutritious food, whether it be some avocado, pumpkin seeds, quinoa, sweet potato, chia seeds, homes, greek yoghurt, tahini- you name it!

You know when I mentioned my smoothies are always suuuuper huge and there's a good amount left in the blender after filling my smoothie jar?
Well, here's the remainder: Eaten with a spoon straight from the blender! :) NOM!

To kick-start a healthy metabolism and regular hunger signals, you need to gain your body's trust again, and whilst it may be uncomfortable or scaring or just plain unwanted (t's not that fun not being remotely hungry and forcing yourself to eat something) in the long-run your body will be an efficient, fuel burning, powerhouse that runs so well and doesn't store 100% of the food you eat because it knows there will be more (and a good amount) soon!

I won't lie, I've struggled with non-hunger before (see here, here and here) but in my case, this has never stopped me eating a meal, or dramatically downsizing portions etc. Instead it's made me aware that I still need to fuel my body even when it's not particularly hungry (especially if it's been over 4 hours!) because not only am I a growing teenage girl, with increased iron needs and calcium and protein etc. I'm also a runner, lover of HIIT, fitness addict, who loves to work up a sweat. So if I've worked up a sweat that day, I know I need to work up a good amount of food!

Pre-hill-sprint sesh leg shot:

Post hill-sprint sesh leg-shot:

Followed by the refuelling nature of post-fasted-workout breakfast:
This is a great example of a not-so-hungry Steph meal, that tasted delicious I might add, which was my breakfast of choc protein oats with nut butter and banana:

I'd just done a sprint session and needed to refuel, so I whipped up my regular (huge) amount of oats

and dug in:

When i got to about here, I could have comfortably stopped 9though I'm sure I would've been ravenous an hour later)

So this was one of those times when I had to tell myself my body requires more fuel than a few bites of oatmeal in the morning and continued to enjoy my creamy, rich, chocolate oats:

And enjoy them I did!

One last note on this; I really struggle with proper feeling on rest days and my short answer to myself and anyone else suffering with this mentality? This is when the changes happen, when your muscles rest and relax- so why deprive them of the fuel they need?? (I will do a more in depth post on this topic because I feel it is quite important!)

Your turn:
Do you struggle with feeling your body properly?
Ever have to make yourself eat because you know your body needs the fuel?
Favourite oatmeal combo at the moment? Kind of hooked on chocolate at the minute to be quite honest!!

I hope you take what I've said today and really consider the foods you are eating and if it is enough to sustain your day-to-day life. Enjoy your day, do something you love and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS! Bye for now friends!! :D

A Fantastic Friday :D (RECIPE!!)

Hide ho there friendly friends and happy, happy FRIDAY!!

Always love a good Friday and everyone just seems to be that little bit more chipper and optimistic (stark contrast to Mondays!!) So, yes, I do love my Fridays and do you know what makes this particular Friday even better?? It's the first day of my mid-year holidays!

It feels like an eternity since I've been on holidays and the past term at school feels like it was two separate terms with the exam break in the middle. I will be honest here, I definitely burnt myself out over this last term and these holidays couldn't have come fast enough to help rejuvenate my mind, body and emotions!!

So, yes, this Friday I woke up to the sound of not-an-alarm-at-5:45am, instead waking up at a luxurious 6:11am, before making my way downstairs to grab my iPad, back to my cosy bed, blog scrolling and then up and at-em' for a quick tempo run followed by some quick Blogilates workouts (obliques and arms and back and butt). Following this... I did have to go back into school because I forgot to grab half of my school books for revision over the holidays... but after that? Well, I was in for a treat! And now you are too:

 That, my friends, was this morning's first-day-of-holidays breakfast celebration! And let me tell you, it was better than as good-as-it-looks!

Warm, home-made, crunchy, golden, cinnamon nut butter granola over the top of some creamy, plain greek yoghurt, sweet, perfectly ripe banana slices scattered throughout and a pour of ice-cold almond milk to finish it all off.... food heaven:

 This is one of those moments where the foodie in me comes out and appreciates all the different textures (smooth, creamy, crunchy, chewy) flavours (rich, refreshing, sweet, nutty) and gives myself a little pat on the back for gifting my tastebuds and stomach with such yumminess.

 Now, if you're still following, or maybe even perhaps drooling? (I only ask because I know I am... and I only ate this around an hour ago :P) I'm sure you're are itching for the recipe because you should most definitely make yourself a bowl of this yum! (if you follow me on Instagram; @steph2chef, you would have been the lucky receiver of the recipe practically as I was eating it!)

 Now, onto the recipe!

Nutty Cinnamon Granola Yoghurt and Fruit Bowl

Ingredients:
1/2 cup natural muesli
2 heaped tablespoons rolled oats
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I probably added way more :P)
1 handful wholegrain cheerios
1 HEAPED tablespoon- 2 regular tablespoons of nut butter (I used an LSA peanut butter mix- so good!)
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
greek yoghurt (as much as you want in your yoghurt bowl- I probably used around a cup)
1 banana, sliced
Extra almond milk to drizzle over when serving!

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and line a small tray with baking paper
2. Place the muesli, oats, cinnamon and cheerios in a bowl and stir to combine
3. Place the nut butter and almond milk in a small bowl and microwave/ heat on stove until warmed through (I don't mix together generally because they will get mixed into muesli)
4. Add heated nut butter and almond milk to dry muesli mix and stir to combine (should be quite sticky)
5. Spread out evenly on baking tray and bake in the oven for around 15-20 mins until golden and crunchy on top (I like the extra crispy bits so I leave it in for the longer time!)
6. Leave to cool for 5 mins, then start layering your bowl; greek yoghurt, banana slices, granola, banana slices, granola, banana slices, granola, banana slices- drizzle over almond milk- EAT!!

Nom.

This breakfast is so delicious, comforting and extremely filling (thank you healthy fats from the nut butter and protein from the nuts and greek yoghurt) so you definitely won't hit a sugar slump from the regular bowl of sugary cereal! No way this bowl of 'cereal' is packed full of nutrients and will do your body so many favours!

Now go make it!

Your turn:
What did you have for breakfast today?
Favourite granola flavour/ add-ins? (I love adding in wholegrain cheerios- I did it once and have never looked back! Cinnamon also seems to be a must for me!)
Best breakfast you've eaten recently?

With that I hope you all have a truly fabulous Friday, relax for the weekend, unwind, relax and do something you love. And, as always, EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS! (But that's for any day of the week really :). Bye for now friends! :D

Choc Protein Granola Bowl!!

Hi there friendly friends! Are you happy today? Are you feeling super pumped and excited and ready to tackle whatever the day throws at you??

Yes? Brilliant!

And if you answered no, worry not! For I have the solution to put you in the best possible mood to tackle your day and feel strong, powerful and extremely happy throughout the entire day! And yes, of course it involves food!

So this brekky idea came to me as per usual; whilst I was just drifting off to sleep and my mind was thinking about all the randomness of the world and then BOOM. This amazing breakfast idea. Looks at time... great, only like 10 hours until I get to create and then EAT this amazing breakfast! (anyone else have these feels when they're really excited about breakfast but it's all the way on the other side of sleep!?!) I quickly willed myself to drift off so the time machine to breakfast could do it's thang and do its thang it did!

This particular day was a full rest day after a completely exhausting, (both mentally and physically) week of 5 exams a row, with a workout on every single one of those days and just no time to breathe. So to say I was in the happiest of states when I woke up this Monday morning (no exam!!), simply sauntered down to the kitchen, got me a glass of water, grabbed my iPad, plodded back up the stairs to my cosy bed, read some blog posts whilst sipping water and waking up for the day and then fully awake; jumping down the stairs to make my dreamed-up creation!!

And create I did!
That my friends is a ginormous high protein bowl of greek yoghurt, home-made, warm choc granola made with natural muesli, nut butter and protein powder, cooked in the oven until crisp on the outside and golden, with sliced banana scattered throughout for creamy, sweetness to break up the rich flavours of the granola and the tart-ness of the greek yoghurt... it really was the perfect mix of flavours and textures and kept me full FOR HOURRRRSS! So if you're one to struggle with mid-morning snacking because you are utterly ravenous- this is your answer; I wasn't even all that hungry for lunch 5 hours later!!

Ok, enough chit chat- onto the recipe!!

Choc Protein Granola Bowl:

Ingredients:
Granola:
2 tablespoons crunchy peanut butter (or any nut butter you desire!)
1/2 cup natural, untoasted muesli
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 scoop choc protein powder (I use the Sunwarrior brand- which is vegan)
1 handful wholegrain sugar-free cheerios (so obsessed with cheerios!!)
3/4 cup almond milk
Other ingredients:
1/2-3/4 cup greek yoghurt (as much as you want with your granola)
1 banana, sliced
1/4 cup extra ice cold almond milk- drizzle over at end :)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius, line a baking tray with baking paper
2. Place oats, muesli, cheerios, protein powder and cinnamon in a bowl and stir to combine
3. Place nut butter and almond milk in a small bowl and heat in the microwave until warmed through (alternatively heat on stove in small saucepan- no need to stir; just heat through)
4. Add to dry mix and stir until combined (add water if too dry/ crumbly)
5. Scatter over baking tray, pop in oven and bake for 15-20 mins until crisp on outside, smelling amazing and lightly golden, leave to cool out of tray
6. Place greek yoghurt in a bowl, top with some banana slices, add a sprinkling of granola, more banana slices, granola, banana, granola, etc. until all used up!
7. Pour over some extra almond milk and then dig in!!

I just love the richness of the chocolate granola and paired with the creaminess of the greek yoghurt and sweetness of banana; gah- I want this NOW!!

I also love how the dried fruit in the muesli becomes slightly caramelised and gets this incredible flavour and extra chewiness- just adding to the perfection:

And honestly, it may not look like much; granola and yoghurt with some fruit, but this high protein, filled with good-fats, screaming deliciousness bowl literally kept me full for so long- and that's saying something for me; I'm a pretty ravenous creature majority of the time. Come lunch time I was like; 'Well, I could eat but I'd be perfectly fine not to..'

My stomach was probably too busy happily daydreaming about the breakfast to be thinking about next meal :P

So, yes, make this, eat this, savour this and I promise your body will thank you for it!

I see this in my future. Many, many times.

Stir around a little to coat some of that crunchy granola, mix up those flavours and you get a very tasty granola yoghurt bowl. Why would you ever go out and buy one of these again when you can make one this good at home with simple ingredients??

OK, I need to stop looking at all these pictures of this breakfast; getting hungry and longing for this bowl. Must stop. Don't want to. Need help :P

Ha ha, just kidding. But seriously. This breakfast is addicting!

Your turn:
What has been the best breakfast you've eaten of recent?
Favourite granola bowl flavours?
Breakfast you could eat everyday and never get sick of? That one's a hard one for me because I go through phases; you know, oatmeal, granola, toast etc. Right now I'm on an epic smoothie ride!!

Alrighty that's it from me today folks; I hope you have a fabulous day, do one thing you absolutely love, give someone you love a hug and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friends! :D

:)

To Listen To Your Body (And Actually Listen!)

It's something we all would consider a known phenomenon and yet, it's also something that the majority of us struggle with..

That being listening to our body and doing what it tells us it wants.

To be fair, we have lived in a society that has pretty much single-handedly wrecked our capacity to achieve this desired intention and so it is no wonder that many of us are struggling with body issues, health troubles, fatigue, insomnia, ammenhorea, unwanted weight gain, unwanted weight loss, irritability, confusion... the list goes on and on.

And I am not excluding myself from this group- I am a known offender of pushing my body past it's limits (well past them if you remember back to the time when I would get up at 4am and run 20km every other day... on the weekends and on the weekdays before school) and I've suffered the consequences as a result.

In a society that tells us to eat less, exercise more, be harder on ourselves, treat ourselves with a 'naughty' dessert after a tough workout, to look fit- not necessarily be fit and to simply go above and beyond for praise and recognition... it's no wonder our bodies quiet pleading yelps are shut out by the blaring, blasting noise of day-to-day life.

If you look at a situation in the simplest of terms, for example; Steph is hungry. Than it is all to easy to come up with the perfect solution; Steph should eat something. And it was something our child-like minds were amazing at.

I remember as a child eating a banana and feeling my body glowing with happiness, I then went on to eat 3 more and felt great and looking back I was probably lacking in something only bananas could give me at the time. I also used to walk around the house munching on carrots, eating pancakes when I was low on energy, not having much dinner when I wasn't hungry at all but pouring an extra big bowl of breakfast the next day because I woke up ravenous.

 Post them exam lunch; when you're too lazy to cut your carrot up.. yep that's just a big ol' carrot hanging out next to my steamed greens and tofu and raw capsicum sticks :)

These days? If I ate a banana and wanted more the first thought through my head would be; no Steph, that's enough for today, eat something else. If it wasn't lunch time, my carrot stick would still be sitting in the fridge waiting for the 'correct' time. If I didn't have much energy pancakes may have crossed my mind but would they offer me enough nutrition, would they just be a waste of energy? If it was a rest day and I woke up ravenous I would question whether I needed a big breakfast after all.

And yet, my body was giving me all the obvious signs as to what it wanted! And just like I do every time I sit an exam and get stuck on a tricky multiple choice question, I overcomplicate things through over-thinking and end up choosing the wrong option (always go with your gut in multiple choice!!).

Problem: Hungry
Solution: Eat
Reality: it's not time to eat, you only just ate an hour a go, save it for after you work out, you haven't worked out much this week maybe don't eat, dinner will be in an hour.....

And on and on it goes. Our internal thoughts overanalysing everything and the simple solution sitting plain in front of us.

But it's not that easy. And you and I know it.

Society offers praise and encouragement when dessert is foregone in favour of a workout. Congratulations are given out for rapid weightless. Likes are offered for Instagram snaps of low-cal, veggie-filled meals. Thinner= better, happier, loved. Healthy is eating veggies, working out and looking good. So how does eating a plate of pancakes when your body's deprived of much needed carbs fit into these societal expectations?

It doesn't. So we don't.

Fortunately this unhealthy, mentally-taxing way of living is becoming a lot more prominent in the healthy living realm and more and more people are recognising the greater harm of this way of thinking/ living. More people are in favour of the 'if you need the doughnut, eat the doughnut' which goes hand in hand with; 'If you need the carrot stick, eat the carrot stick!'

I'm not one to preach, but if I had to say one thing it's that our bodies are pretty smart (trust me, I take human bio at school :P). They know what's up. they know what's best and if we can just give them a chance to share their quiet apprehensive voice, soon enough they'll be yelling and screaming to the world how amazingly awesome you are and you will be yelling and screaming to the world how amazingly awesome you feel!

It's time to eat that 3rd banana, grab that carrot stick and sit down with a plate of pancakes instead of going for a 20km run (yes, that was me throwing every anecdotal piece of evidence from this post into one sentence) because that is what our body calls for in that moment, not because that is what @superfitandhealthygirl23857362514 says to do.

I'm ready to honour my body because it sure as heck deserves honouring after some of the torture I've put it through and all of you should do the same!

Your turn:
How have you honoured your body this past week?
Are you/ have you ever been in a rut where you can just feel this is not what your body desires?
Ever over-trained/ over-runned(new word :P)? Nothing compares to that kind of fatigue!!


I hope you enjoyed this post, it's something I feel quite passionately about and could write about for hours and hours on end but alas I do not have that kind of time #studylife and you probably don't have that inclination to read it all!! And I don't blame you! So, instead, have yourself a wonderful day/ night/ morning/ evening/ afternoon and I will see you next time!

P.S. EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!

Maybe some chic protein granola bowl? Recipe coming soon!! :D

Bye for now friendly friends! :D

Undereating- uh oh!

Hi there everyone!!

In today's post I wanted to touch on something I think I take very seriously in my life and work to influence many other teenage girls my age through day-to-day interactions and this blog too. It's the topic of under-eating and it's something my body has struggled through in my past which is why I find it so worrying to watch other girls go through the similar struggles I experienced.

There was a time when I lost so much weight. When I was cold every second of every day. When my natural cycles were stuffed up and I suffered from insomnia- what I felt to be the most debilitating result of not eating enough. When I would come home from school and collapse onto the couch ready for a nap. When I couldn't even go on a walk with my mum and the dog.

And that was a time I never, ever, EVER want to go back to. So when I see the girls around my school, tossing their sandwiches in the bin, or shivering under two jackets on a sunny day, or falling in and out of concentration... I'm sick to my stomach.

But this post isn't about those girls. This post isn't a commanding, preaching post telling you all to eat enough fro your bodies, ensuring you are getting enough kilojoules/ calories to fuel your day-to-day life, because I've already done that. I have quite a collection of posts now regarding eating to fuel your body. So no, that's not why I'm here today. Today I want to talk about my concern that I might be slipping back into bad habits.

You see, it's so easy to let your mind float into disordered unhealthy thoughts when a thought like; 'If I don't add in a chickpea patty I will eat a heck of a lot less.' pops into your head and you simply prep yourself a salad simply made of veggies (no protein or fats). And this happened to me the other day when I chopped up some raw veg to bring to school and then added in a few lentils and called it lunch. I was starving by the time I got home.

This was also the day I had early-morning cross-country training which involved re-running the course and then doing continuous sprint and recovery drills (boy it was tough!). This was also the day when my body needed more fuel and i gave it less? Why did I feel that small sense of accomplishment? It's moments like this that I can 100% relate to those going through an eating disorder or those who regularly suffer from disordered thoughts. As soon as you let one little unhealthy thought take hold of your mind, it's so easy to slip entirely off the rails.

^^This is one of my favourite posts on this topic by The Cookie ChRUNicles (part 1 and part 2)

And then on the other hand, the busyness of my schedule, combined with the stress of school and amount of homework I had ahead of me for the weekend left me with approximately 0% energy or creativity to come up with anything for dinner, so after my merger salad at lunch, this is what my dinner turned out to be:

I'm sure many people would eat this amount of food for dinner, but for me this is definitely not enough to fuel my body. I need to eat probably double this and yet all i made myself for dinner was 2 wholemeal crumpets topped with vegemite, avocado and poached eggs with a side of baked beans.

In short? Friday I was under-eating and the take-away message for me from this day was that i can do it both consciously and unconsciously. I both choose to undercut and I also end up underrating as a result of not being bothered to come up with anything else.

It was after this dinner when I noticed for the first time that day (when I actually took a minute out of my day to simply be present) that I felt the hunger my body was crying out to signal to be fed. So I took action. I knew I needed to up my protein so poured myself a big glass of cold soy milk and enjoyed a few squares of dark chocolate. I still had not eaten nearly enough to fuel that active day for me but it was important for me to recognise this and take action, something I didn't do a few years back and was so quickly and easily taken over by unhealthy under-eating.

This Instagram probably helped me with the wake-up call :)

This morning I woke up just feeling empty. I took an easy morning (your body needs rest too!!) and enjoyed this delicious HUGE Steph-sized brekky:

A big not-so-green-purple green smoothie with a side of freshly baked, warm, straight-from-the-oven granola!

 I'm telling you, a spoon would have probably been a better apparatus to use for this smoothie than the start but alas... I was hungry and it was delicious!!!
 I also felt a heck of a lot better with a substantial and nutritious and filling and awesome amount of food in my belly! :D

This is a wake-up call for me (and maybe one for you too) Steph- do not fall back into unhealthy, disordered thoughts and remember to eat. EAT. Eat enough because your body needs a lot of fuel to prosper!

What about you?
Have you ever under-eaten? Conciously/ unconsciously?
Favourite quick throw-together dinner?
Favourite meal to up the fuel into your body?!

I hope you all have an awesome, awesome day, smile lots and EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! TRULY! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

Why I love HIIT

Hi friendly friends and happiest of Mondays to you all!

I hope you all had a wonderful breakfast to make Monday that much more sweeter (I know I'm about to; hello creamy mango smoothie and home made peanut butter granola straight from the oven that I'm about to pause this post for in approximately 2 minutes when my internal spidey-senses cooking-senses tingle. :) and are ready to conquer this week like the ultimate awesome-sauce fighter you are!

Now, on the topic of being an awesome-sauce ultimate fighter... I wanted to talk about something that makes me feel so bad-ass and strong and amazing and no, for once it is not running (even though running fills me with so much happiness and motivation). It is actually HIIT (high intensity interval training)

You've probably all heard of it before, or at least heard the word before but I reckon not many people actually know why it is so effective (me included!) so I did a little internet browsing and was pleasantly enlightened with the many benefits of doing a high intensity interval training workout!

To be considered doing a high intensity workout, you'd be simply alternating between intense bursts of activity and periods of less-intense activity/ complete rest (see source) And yes, whilst the approximately 30 minute long workout is super convenient (especially during school mornings to get an effective workout in) it is actually the way it makes me feel that keeps me coming back for more.

Before I get into that, however, let's look at the science that backs up this method of exercise!
As well as increasing aerobic capacity a heck of a lot quicker and more effectively than long periods of endurance training, but your body's repair cycle is kicked up immensely meaning your body is still burning fat and energy the full day following a HIIT workout (which explains the post-HIIT workout hunger I've been feeling!!

'Every square inch of my body is sweating. I’ve been working out for only 15 minutes, and I’m not sure my legs can take any more. They are shaking uncontrollably. Later, I sit down to dinner, and my arms are so exhausted I can’t seem to pick up my spoon.'

This is just a little caption from a post about HIIT training by Bethany Brookshire, that I think perfectly describes what a HIIT workout feels like.

Now, you may be thinking; that sounds awful, truly awful! Why would anyone want to feel like that- but I'm telling you people, post intense exercise exhaustion is one of the best 'pains'/ exhaustion I know I- and many other people- have experienced.

I now it sounds, looks and probably will fell crazy for your first time- but I assure you, that exhaustion soon becomes a longing- a craving- that satisfaction that you've just done something ridiculously hard and the results are beginning to show on your body.

I can liken it to running in that crazy way us runners love to put ourselves through miles and miles of running and exhausting our legs and yet it feels so good!

An increase in oxygen consumption, a reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes (preventing accumulation/ worsening of insulin resistance), increase in muscle endurance and many benefits to cardiovascular health are just some of the scientifically proven benefits of HIIT and I've gotta say, that doesn't sound half bad to me!

So if I can do a workout that takes merely 30 minutes or less, leaves me with the same euphoric exhaustion and 'pain' of a 20km run and gives my body all those amazing benefits whilst doing something I actually find quite fun... why wouldn't I jump on board the HIIT train??

And where do I find my HIIT workouts? Mainly on Blogilates YouTube channel!! She's done a few regular HIIT workouts and she also has a playlist of her own PIIT28 (Pilates Intense Interval Training- goes for 28 minutes) That will leave the sweat dripping down your face and you crying out for more!

There are so many other HIIT workouts online and on YouTube that you can try out yourself- that's just what I do. Today I did the PIIT28 full body video and was read-faced, sweaty and happy! And as I was doing the training, I noticed the toned appearance of my arms, the strength in my core and the fatigue that didn't set in until the very last round revealing the strength and endurance I have accumulated over the past few weeks of doing HIIT training. Happy days! :)

So yes, I am definitely an advocate for HIIT training and think everyone should give it a go- of course that kind of intensity should not be done on the daily (max three times a week) and don't be disheartened if you're sweating and can't breathe after the first move of the first round- it's meant to be extremely intense- just do what you can and you will get stronger!!

Your turn:
Are you a fan of HIIT?
Any PIIT28 fans out there? Fav video?
What did you have for breakfast? My smoothie and granola was DELICIOUS!! (great post intense workout fuel!)

I hope you all have a magical day ((yep, magical. Just go with it;P) do something you love, listen to your body and as always; EAT SOMETHING DELICIOUS!! Bye for now friends! :D