Joining the Gym Before Christmas

Exercise is not on my list of favourite things to do in my spare time. I would rather watch telly! But since joining Unislim I have been threatening to do more exercise. But I always came up with excuses such as:

• I don't like walking in the dark on my own in my area.
• It's lashing rain I don't have the gear for this weather.
• My favourite programme is on.
• I had a long day at work and I am tooooo exhausted!

Above are the few examples of said excuses. Excuses I have made all my 34 year. Why did I make these excuses? 

Firstly, I am lazy by nature. I am a lazy bones. Lying on the couch watching telly is the easy option!

Secondly, I was afraid. Scared of making a show of myself. Scared of other people looking at me. OMG what will others think of me?

Finally, exercising is as boring as hell!

So Christmas was on it's way and I wanted to indulge in a few treats and not feel guilty for doing so. I thought "What could I do?". Then I took the plunge, entered my local gym and joined up for three months on the 3rd of December. I met a lovely lad called Thomas who showed me how to work the treadmill. I said I wanted to start off slow and when I felt more confident he would do up an exercise plan with me. This made me feel right at ease straight away.

Two weeks in I feel guilty if I do not go. I am less self conscious, And it flies as there are T.Vs on the treadmills! I even find myself wanting not to stop so I can finish seeing what Maura and Daithí are up to next (I watch the repeats in the morning). No more excuses that I will miss my favourite T.V show ;) 

For anyone in Limerick the gym I joined is Club Vitae in the Maldron Hotel. it is big and airy so you are not on top of people when you are working out. They have T.Vs on the exercise equipment. It is a reasonable price and friendly helpful staff. Below are links to their Facebook and websites.

http://www.maldronhotellimerick.com/gym-membership-limerick.html

https://www.facebook.com/Club-Vitae-Limerick-248931215148382/?fref=ts

Why wait until January to join the Gym. Why not do it today and feel less guilty for eating that extra hero on Christmas Day ;)

Herbal teas

"I LOVE COFFEE"

Only problem with loving coffee is the amount of sugar I used in it. I have now substituted the sugar for artificial sweetener. Both not the greatest substances for us to be ingesting. But cutting down on a, for me comforting, coffee habit is really tough. So I am trying to wean myself off it and drinking only one to two coffees a day.

What do I drink when I have a craving though?? I am trying out different herbal teas!. I have my favourites. I also find you can get about three cups with one herbal tea bag. It also helps me get my daily water intake. The following are my favourite herbal teas at the moment.

SLIM MATÉ

This tea is really nice. It is tasty and really refreshing. I normally drink it hot but you can also have it cold. One serving suggestion I discovered is to add two to three bags into a jug of sparkling water, add lemon slices, ice-cubes and serve. At the time of this post it cost less than €2 in Dunnes Stores.

Ingredients

Rooibos 23%, mate 20%, blackberry leaves, orange peel, spearmint, fennel 5%, lemon balm leaves, lemongrass, cinnamon, natural orange flavouring, guarana seed.

Nutritional Information

per 100ml of infusion

Energy 7kJ/2kcal, Protein 0.13g, Carbohydrates 0.26g, Fat <0 .001g.="" div="">

LEMON AND GINGER TEA

I love this first thing in the morning. Warm, spicy and zesty. It really hits the spot. It is also great after a meal or if your stomach is feeling a little ill. Ginger is traditionally used to aid digestion. There are no added sugars and no caffeine in the Twinings Lemon and Ginger tea. 

My love of coffee is nowhere near ending any time soon. However, the above teas are really helping with it so far. Let me know if there are any herbal teas you have tried. I want to expand my tastes buds. 'Til next time... M x

http://www.heathandheather.co.uk/wellbeing-range.jsp

http://www.twinings.co.uk/tea/fruit-herbal/revitalising-lemon-ginger

Unislim Chicken Biryani

Well you may have guessed I love my food. And who doesn't love a good take away? But unfortunately they are not the healthiest option for us due to high fat/sugar content in many take away foods. By making our own take on the classic Indian Biryani we get all the joy of good food, less guilt and healthier waist lines.

The ingredients in the photo below stated 400ml of stock but in the instructions it was never mentioned! So I just boiled the rice in the stock to give it flavour. This is my favourite Unislim fake away. It is so yummy and so easy to make. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do :)

Unislim Recipe -Snacks

So I joined Unislim the start of  September. I am am 3 months in and I am hovering at 8 pounds lost. I suppose it is better than nothing. 

I hate cooking but as they say "fail to prepare, prepare to fail!". So in an attempt to be healthier I am trying out new recipes. This recipe was tried to help with over eating when I go out on a night and the munchies set in. Much healthier than dry roasted peanuts and taytos! 

I followed the instructions above and put them in at 200 degrees Celsius. Some were crunchy and some were soft. I said this to my fabulous Unislim leader and she advised to put them in for longer at a lower temperature. So next time I will put them in at 140 celcius for an hour.This makes them crunchier like nuts.  When I do them again I will keep ye posted. Hope ye have a lovely week.