Happy Monday! 

I woke up feeling excited because it's my birthday this week and I get a tattoo done on Thursday! The first week of December is usually a good one.

I made sure to be up before 7am so that I would have time to make breakfast, then jump on Twitter for the #fitbunnieschat. We talked about healthy eating and it was great to hear so many others enjoying meal prep too. 

Time to edit some photos. I was good and did a bulk photography session yesterday, so that the start of Blogmas is a little easier. I'll pretty much be posting everyday until the end of December. It's going to be a busy, but fun month!

I'm feeling a little cramped in my room, so I thought I would come outside and do a little workout. I'm starting with some jump rope to get warmed up. Double Unders still escape me though.

Now onto some deadlifts. I'm doing a lighter weight of 30kgs for three rounds of 15 reps. I like to mix up my weights for toning as well as strength.

Bent over rows 30kgs 3x12

Hang Cleans 30kgs 3x5

Deadlifts 50kg 3x12

Bench Press 30kg 3x5

Glute Bridges 3x20

Russian Twists 3x30

 I can't go too hard on anything, because I have a Crossfit class coming up at 12.30pm. But I am starving now, so I'm going to dig into my meal prep. This week I made a tempeh (a soy-bean meat-substitute that's better than tofu!) with brocolli, cauliflower, and courgettes in a spicy sauce. 

I'm going to enjoy my lunch while watching the latest video from the Blossom Twins, which is all about Lucy sharing what she eats in a day for her cut. I'm loving this series and it's giving me so much food inspiration. Make sure you check it out! 

Time for Crossfit!

We changed it up today and did the strength section of the workout first, instead of the METCON (metabolic conditioning.) We worked on front squats and I was really proud of how I did today. My form felt better and I worked my way up to five reps of 50kgs! That's 20kgs more than I was doing at the gym a month ago. My coach thinks I'll get to 70kg soon, which makes me really excited. It sounds so bad-ass.

Then we went onto our intense round of 21 front squats and 21 push press (25kg barbell) then 15, then 9 of each. It was a tough one but I managed it in 8.51min, so I was happy. That's a lot of squats!

That was a pretty tough session, but that's exactly the point of Crossfit. My collarbone is so red from those front squats! I need a quick snack before I get in the shower and then get to writing.

Someone needs to stop me from drinking so much coffee in a day, feels like I'm in Gilmore Girls (yes, I binged it over the weekend. And yes, I also need more of grown-up Jess in my life.)

Time for some much-needed food because I am starving. I went for my usual protein hit of an English muffin, vegetarian sausage, and an egg. All of which I cannot eat without a lathering of barbecue sauce.

Home from work, which went really quickly tonight. For dinner I am having a cauliflower pizza that I made last night. It has mushrooms, peppers, red onion, olives and courgettes on top, with a few roasted veges to go with it. I know it's not the same as real pizza, but this is pretty damn good.

I found the Nannie Diaries on Netflix the other day and just had to watch it. It played on the movie channel years ago and it's one of those films I can watch over and over. It stars a young Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans before they became superheroes and saved the world. Chris plays "Harvard Hottie" and oh man is he adorable. He's definitely my choice for Man Crush Monday. Just look at that face!

Now for one of my all-time favorite desserts, fruit crumble! We had quite a few apples and pears that needed to be eaten, so yesterday I thought it would be easy enough to make it into dessert. There's no butter or sugar in this, just spices, oats, coconut etc.

When you're too lazy to clean your face properly...I know wipes are bad, but some nights they are a life-saver.



What a great start to the week! Killing a tough workout, delicious food, and enjoying a Chris Evans movie on Netflix. It's always the little things, right?

Who else watched the Gilmore Girls revival? Let me know what you thought in the comments!
Steph x.

Daily Blog: Early Morning Workout & Netflix Obsession!

Good morning, everyone!

I got up before 6am (I know, I'm shocked too) so that I could make it to the 6.30am crossfit class. The brilliant part about the gym is that you have to book in for a class on an app, and they will know if you cancel. Plus I don't have to put together any workouts, they're all done for me. It's great motivation to get your butt moving that day!

Workout done and dusted. Not gonna lie, it was a tough one today. We always do some kind of game as a warmup, then move onto our intense rounds which always combine strength and cardio, then a slower strength session. It usually takes about an hour, a little more if you include stretching which I needed today.

I was really happy because the coach taught me how to do power cleans (weight-lifting move.) I was the newbie of the group and everyone else had been doing crossfit for a while, but I tried to just use that as inspiration to work hard and get my form right. Being intimidated and hard on myself won't get me anywhere. I found the perfect quote on Pinterest to sum this up:

"I will not be discouraged by how far I have to go. Instead, I will be excited about where I'm headed!"

Home to the love of my life: FOOD. I'm pretty sore and tired now, so I need to get some protein into me. Just having oats, banana, golden kiwi and blueberries. Classic.

Just spending some time commenting on blogs and editing posts, both of which require my comfiest hoodie!





Since I'm completely changing around my workout schedule, I thought it would be helpful to write out a plan on my whiteboard. It just means that I'll be spending a little less time at the gym and will be doing double workouts on some days. I just need to find a plan that suites me best at the moment. I know I seem crazy for scheduling so much in a week, but I am in training for a race next year and it keeps my brain sharp. Plus it means I get to eat more!

Look what arrived! It's my birthday dress that I ordered last week. I'm so excited to try it on, but I can't show you guys just yet. I'm planning on doing a 25th birthday blog post (it's still a month away) so you'll have to wait until then. 

It's about 10am now and I'm getting kinda hungry again, so I'm making a pre-run snack of scrambled eggs (2 + soy milk) on mulitigrain bread and chili flakes on top. I couldn't resist making myself another coffee either!

Time for a run! The sun is shining and I'm looking forward to getting some fresh air.

Home for a protein smoothie and a foam roll on my tight shoulders. They need some pummeling after the jumping pull-ups I did today and yesterday in class. I love having chocolate protein for my smoothies!

Speaking of, I have my first crossfit battle scar! I think it was from the 30kg ball I had to pick up and throw over my shoulders. They claimed it the "dead ball" which is as fun as the name. I think the coach is going to be proud of me!

All showered and clean again. I just did some eye makeup today, I'm still avoiding foundations and all my BB creams are too light for me now. It will be good for my skin to breathe for the day anyway. It's been clearing up nicely since ditching dairy and not wearing heavy makeup. Just in time for summer.

When your bed is too inviting and comfy that you can't help but eat lunch and blog from there.

Time to shoot some new blog pics! All I need is natural light and a piece of white cardboard.

I had a big craving for a grilled cheese sandwich, so I made one using an English muffin. I added some Vegemite as well and it really hit the spot. Off to work now.

Home for dinner! No, it's not just another plate of vegetables, there's about 1/2 a cup of quinoa under there somewhere. It's just the bowl I need with black beans and sweet potato for protein and healthy carbs.

These past couple of days, I have been absolutely obsessed with Jane the Virgin on Netflix. I always had a feeling that it would be a series that I would love and I was right! It's funny, full of great characters, and so many OMG moments. It's so much more than I thought. Thank goodness for Netflix so I can just keep watching it until it's way past the time I should be asleep. So worth it!


I hope you guys are excited for the next phase in my fitness journey, I'll be sure to bring you along.
Any recommendations for what I should be watching on Netflix next?


Steph x.

Daily Blog: #Flexfriday, Hair Treatment, & An Exciting Package!

Happy Friday! 

Look guys, I'm having something different for breakfast! I didn't feel like porridge this morning, so I opted for these Sultana Bran bites with banana and strawberry. It's nice to change things up a bit. Delicious too!

While doing some blog commenting/Twitter chatting, I had a realization that I didn't having anything special to wear for my 25th birthday coming up. Since the shops in New Zealand never have a great selection, I went straight to ASOS to get browsing. Not gonna lie, the red dress is calling to me. Might be perfect for showing off my gym work! 

I've been a little lost at the gym lately, so I thought it would be a good idea to write down a workout plan for today. I really need to make it a habit, as opposed to me just aimlessly wandering around the weight section. It's so much better when you have something to focus on!

I bought this hair treatment yesterday while we were out. My hair is in the damaged/dry stage so I need to keep conditioning it the best I can. Let's see how it goes!

I'm changing up my routine today and going to the gym after I meet Mum for a run (instead of before.) Since I won't be eating lunch until later, I'm having something now. I'm getting a protein hit of two eggs and soy milk scrambled with a generous sprinkle of chili flakes. I'm having it with an English muffin and avocado. Yum!

The weather was amazing today so we had a really great run. It was good to stretch out my legs after yesterdays workout. Time for a coffee and some healthy treats! I swear I could live off of the peanut butter protein balls they make here! We also tried one of their hemp cookies and it was so good.

Time for an arm session! I've got my workout plan that I wrote out earlier and my Spotify playlist. I'm good to go!

I started with a 500m sprint on the rowing machine to warm up.

Pull ups x10
Ball throws 4kg x10
3 sets of each

Bench Press 10kg x8-10reps
4 sets

Bicep Curls x 20reps 7kg dumbbells
3 sets

Lateral Dumbbell Raises 4kg
x10-12 reps, 3 sets

Frontal Dumbbell Raises 5kg
x12-15 reps, 3 sets

Pushups x20

Over-head Pulls 23kg
x20reps, 4 sets

PowerBag Lifts 20kg
x8-10reps, 3 sets

Deadlifts 35kg
x8-10reps, 5 sets

Russian Twists 10kg Dumbbell
x30reps
Knee to Elbow
x 30reps
3 sets of each

That was such a great arm session, I feel really good now. I made sure to roll out my shoulders and stretch my arms. There were so many people killing it at the gym today. It's such a contagious environment!

Gotta have my aminos & protein shake so I don't lose any gains! 

Happy #FlexFriday! When I first got into fitness it was all about getting fit and losing weight. Overtime that's changed into being addicted to getting stronger and pushing my body's limits. Lifting makes me feel like a superhero and I love it.

Had the quickest shower, chucked on some semi-comfy clothes and put on a natural look before I head off to work. I'm still in love with this bomber jacket!

Was in such a rush to get ready that I had to eat my lunch in the car! Thank goodness for meal prep.

Guess what arrived while I was away at work?! No it's not a box of Pro Bars (although that would be amazing!) It's something super-exciting that I can't share with you yet, but will be turned into a blog post soon. Lucy you are the best!!

Having an easy dinner of an egg muffin with salmon, avocado and sweet chili sauce inside. Mum also grilled up these veges with ginger and other good stuff. I'm also excited because it's Spooky Week on Dan & Phil Games! They're playing the new Five Nights At Freddy's game, which are my favorite to watch. The jump-scares are hilarious!

Dessert time! I was naughty this week and bought some mint chocolate ice cream (my fav.) I also sprinkled a Tim Tam biscuit on top, just because it's Friday.

Its pouring rain outside, but I'm all snuggled up in bed watching The Big Bang Theory. It's the best way to end the week!

I hope everyone had a great week! Who else is excited for the weekend?
Steph x.