As One Challenge Ends, Another One Is Set To Begin.

If you follow me on Instagram (@adura_o), your timeline should have been bombarded with daily posts from me in plank position.

The reason is explained in "I'm Challenging Myself..." but if you can't be bothered to click on the link, here's a summary of what I did for 28 days:

1. 2 minutes of plank, daily.
2. 2 strength sessions, weekly.
3. Yoga 1-2 times, weekly.
4. Eating clean - Processed sugar free and low sugar.
- Completely treat free.
5. Cutting down carbs, except on workout days. Examples of carbs allowed: plantain, sweet potatoes and quinoa.
6. I teach 3 spin classes a week, that covered my cardio and HIIT.

I LOVED IT! Cutting out treats was a challenge for the first week, but after that - it was just fine. When I had cravings (e.g. time of the month), I just had bigger portions of carbs and that always helped. One day, I had roasted sweet potatoes and plantains!

RESULTS: Although, the change isn't drastic, I see I've definitely lost some fat and even better, I feel GREAT!

The moral of the story is: Nothing Is Impossible. Stop making excuses, "Ahhh, I can't NOT eat bread or biscuits, etc". You can if you put your mind to it. I always tell people - If I can do it, anybody can.

It's good to challenge yourself often, to keep you motivated and always on your toes. I've found myself relaxing back into bad habits, and this challenge has helped me get back on track.

My treats will be 0-1 weekly now. And I will continue with the daily planks :)

I have another personal challenge, which will start in a couple of days but enough about me!!

Speaking of challenges ending and beginning, Get Trimmer 4 JUST ended on Sunday 2nd June. The next one, GT5,  starts on Monday 17th June and a few spots are already gone! Sign up now to get the early bird offer.

I've had a few questions about alternative payment methods, send me an email and I'll send you details ---> email @ GetTrimmerChallenge.com.

I have a few weeks off work so I will be recording videos and blogging more often :)

Curlvolution 2013!

First of all, WELCOME to anyone who's visiting my blog for the first time (and through Curlvolution!). Sorry if I was talking too fast on stage or if I didn't make much sense, N-E-R-V-E-S! I hope to see you around here more often!

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I was at the Curlvolution: Curlfriends Day Out 2013 event on Saturday. It was held at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Docklands.

I missed their first ever event last year because I was out of the country. I was so happy when Bukky (the organiser) told me the date for this year's event - I wasn't on holiday, whoop!

I did a small segment which was supposed to be about 'Hair & Health' BUT I got on stage, saw a sea of people and FROZE! Lol! Thankfully, the host 'Action Jackson', saved me and I finally got my confidence back. I forgot to talk about hair & health though, LMAO!

I had a great time and I'll definitely be back next year. If you missed it this year, make sure you don't next year!

Follow Curlvolution on Twitter/IG/Facebook ('Curlvolution') to stay updated.

Fish!

Also a source of HDL (High Density Lipo Protein), which boosts heart health and reduces the risk of heart disease.

How many times have you eaten fish this week?
PS The recipe, for the Salmon Stew in the picture, will be up soon (Sorry it's been a busy week!)

Sunday Stretching Pledge: Week 5

I'm not only sticking to this, I'm LOVING it!

Today's session was exactly the same as last Sunday's - I intend to do the same for the next 2-4 weeks(http://www.doyogawithme.com/content/multilevel-morning-flow). It's so encouraging and satisfying to see progress e.g. there was a pose that had a progression I couldn't do last week - I did it today!

I've also dedicated Wednesdays (after teaching an early morning spin class) to deep stretching with Yoga. Last week's was for deep release for the hips, hamstrings and lower back (www.doyogawithme.com/content/deep-release-hips-hamstrings-and-lower-back) <--- I felt AMAZING after, although I was struggling a little, while doing it. Ahh, the joys of stretching.

Stretching is such an important part of a fitness routine, try to add it if you haven't already!

PS I also tried Pilates yesterday, and I found it to be a great core workout. I'll be revisiting it soon.

Twists!

Turkey Burgers - Recipe & Why You Should Make Yours

Next time you buy prepared burgers from the supermarket, take a look at the ingredients. Expect to see some unnecessary, and unhealthy, ingredients e.g. breadcrumbs, oil, preservatives and more.

Here's an example of one such burger from a popular UK supermarket:
Beef (82%), Caramelised Red Onion (12%) (Onion, Muscovado Sugar, Malt Vinegar, Sugar, Water, Cornflour, Rapeseed Oil, Salt, Black Pepper), Breadcrumb (Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Salt), Fresh Chive, Salt, Cracked Black Pepper, White Pepper, Preservative: Sodium Metabisulphite; Black Pepper. Meat Content 82%

My point is - it takes very little time to prepare your own burgers, with much less ingredients... ingredients that you are in control of.

I made some today with turkey, green and yellow peppers, anchovies (weird I know, but I wanted to try something different!) and seasoning. I should have added an onion but I forgot, I'll include it in the recipe below.

There are two other recipes, which are my favourites - I'll make sure I blog about them in the near future. One of them has plantain in it, yep!!

Ingredients
1 kg turkey mince
1 green pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4-5 anchovies
Seasoning (mixed spice, salt and thyme)

1. Rinse and chop up the peppers and onions.
2. Add the mince and anchovies to a bowl, add the vegetables and seasoning.
    Note: Anchovies are very salty so be very careful when adding salt. I added just a teaspoon.
3. Preheat the oven to 220C. Mix all the ingredients and make small burger patties.

4. Put the burgers in the pre-heated oven.
5. After 20 minutes, flip the burgers to evenly cook both sides.
6. After 15 minutes, they're ready! Take them out of the oven and allow to cool down for 5 minutes.
7. Serve :) I served my with steamed vegetables lightly stirred in tomato puree and suya pepper.

Number of Servings: 3 - 5