Fall in Love with Fitness

When people initially hear that I workout twice a day their reaction is usually “you’re crazy” but the question that often follows is “how do you find the time?”

It’s all about priorities. I recently explained it to a friend as the feeling of having a new crush.

Think of exercise like dating. Potential dates usually fall into two categories.

There is that person you like and you know they’d be a good match but somehow whenever they want to meet for dinner or drinks you’re too tired or something else comes up. We’ve all been here. You see a text message and intend to reply later but then completely forget? Even if you do like them, sometimes life is too busy and other things take priority. 

But there is always that person whose messages put a big smile on your face. No matter what you’re doing you drop everything to reply. Free for a drink? Of course! Even if it means juggling 3 work reports, a catch up with the girls and a dentist appointment, you still manage to squeeze them in.

You have to think of exercise as person number 2. We are all busy. Whether it’s work or study or being a mum. Everybody feels like they need a few more hours in the day so they can go on that date.

But no matter how busy we are, we always have time for our crush.  

Make exercise your crush.  

 Get up a bit earlier to catch up before work, have lunch dates, and convince the girls to come give their approval. Before you know it you guys might even start seeing each other regularly!

So when you think about exercise, take action immediately, just like replying to a text from that special someone. Pre book a yoga class, put your runners on for a lap of the block or squeeze in a few push ups. The ‘Too tired for exercise’ excuse doesn’t fly either. If your crush calls while you’re watching TV, you’re up off that couch pretty quickly right? I thought so… 

Happy, Healthy Easter

Beat the Buns this Easter. There is definitely an Easter pun there about buns adding to your buns... But it's almost too easy!

Terrible puns aside... I'm really looking forward to Easter. I can’t wait to be curled up by a warm fireplace in the country, with a cup of tea and toasted hot cross buns. To me this is the ultimate comfort! Of course there will be a few sneaky chocolate eggs as well!

However, as with all indulgences it’s important to still keep your diet goals in mind. If you are wise about what you put into your body over the weekend you will feel much better next week! 

Here are a few healthier alternatives to help minimize the Easter damage on your body!

Spelt Hot Cross Buns

These are a yummy and slightly healthier variety of bun for Easter. Spelt is a whole grain, non wheat flour that has fewer calories than wheat flour and more protein. It has a broad spectrum of nutrients including complex carbohydrates, fiber, sodium, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, amino acids and more. The combination of high fiber and low, fragile gluten content in spelt make it much easier to digest than modern, common wheat so it's a better choice than your normal buns. 

I also use Nuttelex Lite instead of butter. It has 38% less fat than butter or margarine and is free from dairy, nut and oils, gluten, soy and artificial additives.

Delicious and guilt free!

Dark Chocolate

We’ve been hearing about the benefits of dark chocolate for a while now and it does make a more nutritious alternative to milk chocolate. Here is a quick over view on why it's such a buzz food.

Although the amount of calories are pretty similar to milk chocolate, dark chocolate has significantly less carbohydrates and contains chemical compounds that have a positive effect on your mood and cognitive health including a chemical called phenylethylamine which is what your brain creates when you're falling in love. And that's the BEST feeling!

Dark chocolate is also stocked with vitamins and minerals such as potassium, copper, magnesium and iron that support your health. It’s loaded with antioxidants which help rid your body of free radicals and has a low glycemic index so it won't cause huge spikes in blood sugar levels.

There are lots of raw dark chocolate products available now which are the best option when you need that loving cacao fix!

My favourites are Pana chocolate and Loving Earth raw chocolate, which both come in lots of delicious and interesting flavours!

http://www.panachocolate.com/

https://lovingearth.net/

Another alternative if you’re wanting a sweet snack over Easter is to get some nuts or dried fruit that are coated in dark chocolate.  

I’ve got a particular sweet spot for chocolate covered goji berries and macadamias! It’s still a pretty naughty treat but has more goodness than Cadbury eggs! 

So enjoy and indulge over Easter, but remember to try and be mindful about what you putting in your body; having some healthier choices available means there is at least a 50/50 chance you will pick them. Or maybe 70/30.. It IS Easter after all ;) haha

Love JH xxx

Fit Trips for the Long Weekend!

I had such a fun day being part of the Mazda cheer squad for Run for the Kids today! It was inspiring to see so many people giving the run a go. It got me thinking about all the fun fitness things that you can do with family and friends! We have a couple of long weekends coming up and it's a great excuse to get away from city life and go on an adventure!

Being on holidays doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice your fitness routine. You can switch it up by trying new activities and mixing up your work outs.


I'm lucky enough to be heading to the High Country on a horse riding trip. Even though I'll be riding horses every day I'll also be taking my runners so I can check out the breathtaking high country on foot at every opportunity! No matter what you're doing for the long weekend, my main tip is to keep your workout gear close by- so that you're prepared when the opportunity for a spontaneous workout comes up.



If you do feel like taking a break there are lots of active ideas that you can incorporate into a weekend getaway!

Bells Beach
Rip Curl Pro

For some active inspiration, the surfing at Bells Beach is sure to hit the spot. The comp runs from April 16- 27th and showcases the worlds leading surfing talent. Watching those guys is sure to inspire you to pick up a board and give it a try! (And it's great for perving too!)

http://www.aspworldtour.com/events/mct/655/rip-curl-pro-bells-beach


Halls Gap

Rock climbing/ abseiling

The Grampians are absolutely stunning and there are so many things to do!  It's the perfect place to connect with nature and explore your adventurous side! There are lots of hiking and walking tracks (although some may be closed due to the fires earlier this year) and you can try the rock climbing and abseiling for a bit more of a challenge! I can recommend Marwood as a beautiful place to stay.

http://www.grampiansadventure.com.au/#!/pageHome

http://www.marwood.net.au/

Yoga retreats

Why not take the extra time away from the office to reconnect with yourself? There are some fantastic workshops and getaways in Victoria that offer meditation and yoga. So you can go back to work feeling like you've had a really relaxing holiday.

http://www.yogavic.com/

http://www.zenergie.com.au/

Golf

Ok, I know this one may sound a bit silly… But we occasionally go for a hit and it's a great way to spend quality time with friends and have a good catch up while wandering around the course. There are lots of beautiful courses all over Victoria, so if you're going on a trip and want to give your body a rest from heavy activity, a days golfing is the perfect option! And there is sure to be a course nearby to where ever you are! If you're down the Mornington Peninsula my favourite is Eagle Ridge!

http://www.eagleridge.com.au/

Enjoy your time off and remember that exercise doesn't have to be slogging away at the gym or pounding the pavement. Fitness is a lifestyle, so it's important to be adaptable to achieve your goals and maintain your motivation!

Morning Motivation... Foolproof ways to keep your 6am Gym date!

Ok, so getting out of bed at 6am this morning to work out when it was dark and raining was tough. Really tough.

In fact I’m really proud that I managed to get up at all! So I thought I’d share with you guys how I managed to do it. Because our beds are only going to get even cozier as these cold mornings get worse!

Step 1: Set an alarm. Well that’s pretty obvious. However it’s easy to switch off an alarm, so I like to label the alarms to inspire me, knowing that I’ll be looking for an excuse to stay in bed.  So this morning I was awoken by   “No Excuses!” Haha. Nice try.  5 minutes later “Just get up Jade!” This one almost worked… and it wasn’t until “You had TWO muffins last night!” interrupted my second snooze that I finally rolled out of bed.  Because my alarm was right. I did have two muffins last night. And they were delicious.

Step 2: Be organised. Instead of the usual moaning and procrastinating, opening every draw and cupboard, until I decide it’s all too hard and that I need extra sleep, I got up to find my workout gear waiting for me; all ready to go with my keys and water bottle next to them. Genius. So I didn’t have running late as an excuse either. Dammit.

Step 3: Cold Water.  As if the rain outside isn’t going to be cold enough, a good way to shake off the last of your sleepiness is to wash your face with cold water. It does the trick nicely, kind of like a slap in the face.  It’s just great, really.  I also drink a glass of cold water first thing in the morning. It’s great for kick starting your metabolism and giving you a boost. 

Step 4: Gym Buddies. I’d organised to meet a girlfriend at the gym which meant I had a distraction so I didn’t nap and fall off the cross trainer. We started to warm up and catch up on the gossip and before you knew it we were actually enjoying our workout! After our cardio warm up we worked to motivate each other and did some paired crunches and a rowing challenge. There is nothing like a few rounds of hi fives with a bestie to start the day feeling great!

Step 5: Challenge Yourself.  Setting goals really helps to motivate you. Make them achievable and fun. This month I am doing a 31 day squat challenge with a friend. We started at 30 and increase our reps by 5 each day. When we're done we send each other a little text as a reminder to the other if they haven’t done them yet! This is great because we can do it anywhere, anytime (I did 75 at my desk yesterday) or incorporate it into our other routines and neither of us want to be the one who gives up. It’s much easier to let yourself down than someone else!

Step 6: Breakfast. The thought of food can usually get you through anything. Nothing beats sitting down to a delicious breakfast and hot tea or coffee feeling like you have really earned it. You can relax guilt free for the rest of the day and use all those exercise endorphins to have an amazing positive morning!!


Yes, I know it's cold. I know it's raining... But you made a promise to yourself to keep fit. So before you hit the snooze button for the 3rd time... Give these tips a try! Good luck! I'd love to hear of other ways you inspire yourselves on cold mornings so feel free to comment or send me a tweet!

Superfood Stirfry

As most of my friends know I do love cooking but hate following recipes so I usually experiment with whatever I've got in the fridge at the time. Sometimes it works... other times not so much! Haha.

I always forget to write down the recipes of my favourites so thought I'd share tonight's meal while it's still fresh in my mind. It's super quick, easy, healthy and pretty delicious too!

Apologies that the measurments aren't exact... but you can't really stuff this one up!


1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
2 cups chopped kale
half a punnet cherry tomatoes, halved
4 hard boiled eggs
1/2 cup quinoa
3 tablespoons flaxseeds
coconut oil
lemon juice
pepper
1 teaspoon honey


The first thing I did was to get the eggs boiling and the quinoa cooking in boiling water (should take about 15mins each)

Then pan fry the sweet potato in a few teaspoons of coconut oil and add honey to sweeten. Once it is soft add the kale and cherry tomato to the pan and season with lemon juice and pepper to taste.

Drain the quinoa and once they have cooled peel and slice the eggs. Add both to the fry pan along with the flaxseeds and mix well.

I happen to love coconut so I added a bit more coconut oil and some extra lemon juice as well, but adjust it to suit your taste.

To make the kale a little crispier I put it into a casserole dish and popped it in a pre heated oven (about 200C) for another 10 minutes. (If you wanted to add some cheese to the dish just mix through some grated light mozzarella or a few pieces of feta and keep in the oven for an extra 5 minutes.)

Serve with some toasted pita bread or just on it's own.

I'm vegetarian but you can really add anything you like, such as chicken or prawns- it's super easy and has a great fresh taste with lots of texture!

I enjoyed it with a cup of my favourite lemongrass and ginger tea :)

Perfect for a lazy night after Bikram yoga...

Enjoy guys

xxxx

Game Changers....

What a beautiful life we are living...

 It is said that the more grateful you are, the luckier you feel. Lately I've been doing a lot of thinking about all the things in my life that I'm grateful for. Lucky for me that I had a long, healthy list of everything that makes my life beautiful.

I'd like to take this opportunity to say how grateful I am to everyone who reads and supports my blog. I am constantly surprised by the warm, positive feedback that I get about my little wonderings. People have the kindest things to say and it's always a pleasant surprise to realise how many people take the time to read my posts. So thank you to those that check in every now and then and take an interest in the things I enjoy and love and especially for all the beautiful feedback. It means so much to me and looking back to my early posts, I can still remember how nervous I was to put myself out there and the excitement of seeing the reader stats grow every month.

Looking back I can also see how my life has begun to evolve and change, and I may be doing that thing called growing up. I knew it had to happen someday and as my lifestyle changes it's been reflected in my writing.

I haven't visited my old friend the Barkly for months, my new aerial yoga class took priority over the H&M Australia launch and my last night out at a pub I was ordering plain soda water with lime so it looked like I was having alcohol (I didn't need the headache or the calories)

Although I still have an interest in fashion and events I must admit that being healthy and getting the most out of life has become more of a priority than which social event to attend and I spend more time in gym shoes drinking green juices than I do in stilettos sipping cocktails. Although lasts night's event managed to combine both, we checked out the Viper sportswear launch which was held at Eve. It was certainly an interesting presentation and an even more interesting crowd!

Jade's Life has begun to evolve and rather than start a new blog that focuses on these healthy habits I've decided to keep with my original intention of this page which is to write about what I am passionate about and hopefully give others some ideas to try things too. Initially it was about which nightclubs and events to check out and now my head is full of ways to keep motivated and healthy recipes to try. I'll try to not go too annoying 'social media fitness chick' (because our instagram and facebook pages are already full of those) and I promise there won't be any selfie ab shots but I will be letting you know some stuff that has been working for me, and reviewing and researching some products and fitness ideas. Rather than Baroq and Eve, hiking trails and chia seeds will be getting a few more mentions!

So I hope everybody enjoys the changes and continues to read, I'd love to hear what you think!

xxx