I recently went to my very first yoga class. Like, the first one of my entire life. I arrived feeling nervous and pretty much like the fat kid at the pool party. Everyone seemed to know each other and be cool vegan bi-sexuals. It was awkward. So to avoid eye contact with the cool vegans, I lay on my mat and closed my eyes. I stretched my arms above my head and tried to look as cool (and thin) as a person can look lying flat on their back with their eyes closed in a room full of strangers. Continue reading →

I’m having a couple of girls over for dinner tonight and I will be cooking something tasty. We are all relatively healthy and we prefer to eat meals that are made up of veggies and lean protein rather than starch and cream as much as possible, so I’m going to be cooking my new favourite meal to prepare: Grilled Lemon & Thyme Chicken Breasts with Raw Courgette Salad. This meal is light and super easy and everyone likes it. I’ve cooked it twice now so I’m positive that it’s a hit.

Unfortunately, I haven’t actually taken any pictures of it, so I had to find a picture of chicken breasts on the internet which is not actually as easy as it sounds. Not all chickens have a photographic set of breasts. For the sake of aesthetics I like to include at least one image in a post, so I stole the above one from this site. Sorry about that. Continue reading →

Last night I snapped my latex cap over my hair, adjusted my goggles as I took a deep breath and pushed of the wall, my arms stretched over my head. From the first stroke, I could tell that I wasn’t comfortable in the water. Every pull felt off, my arms flailed about wildly as I tried to find a rhythm to my stroke. My chest felt too small for the oxygen I tried to gasp at with every breath. One, two, three, breathe. Kick, kick, kick. One, two, three, kick, kick, kick, breathe.
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On the subject of motivation, let’s not allow the frantic end of year scramble to distract us from our goal: Feeling great on the beach this summer! At this time of year you might find yourself hiding from your workload under a pile of donuts. Maybe you are eating your emotions. Perhaps you’re gorging yourself on your stress.

Your calendar is probably rapidly filling up with events like “pre-Xmas dinner with the girls” and “Festive feast with the BF’s family” and of course “End of year office party”.  I’ve honestly been finding it all fantastic. My bum disagrees. At this crucial pre-beach point its important not to allow yourself to slide into the category of “I’m giving up on being beach confident”. The main thing is to keep your eye on the end goal….











Eighteen glorious, sunny, hot, beach-filled days in Thailand. I’m putting the chicken pie down right now.

Stay motivated. The more you work out, the less you want to eat unhealthy stuff. Don’t give up. We are almost there.

Source: Tails Of A Mermaid

We all need a little motivation sometimes. On those days when we would rather drink 5 litres of chocolate milk and wear a grey baggy t-shirt over a pair of an old boyfriend’s rugby shorts than negotiate a healthy salad and 60 minutes of exercise into our schedule…for example.

I’m talking about those days when there cannot be enough dishes that contain cheese to satisfy your cravings.  Those days when you ask your co-workers “Is running out of ideas considered actual exercise hahaha?” Days like today.

Below are some pictures of girls who clearly never have those days. Butter is not a food group they have ever delved into and a day of skipping a workout for a drink is a day lost. Feast your eyes ladies. And then dry your tears, lace up your running shoes and step away from the Nik Naks. We’re just 4 weeks away from our summer holidays.

Get healthy. Be happy.

Source: tails of a mermaid

Last weekend I bravely took part in my first Open Water swim in about 6 years. I’ve been training with Cape Seals at Virgin Active for about 3 months now and even though I think of myself of a non-competitive person, I decided it was time to enter a race of some sort. You know, just to see how hard I could push myself. And to have an excuse to eat carbs.
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I’ve been getting quite a few requests recently for healthy recipes and my diet plan. The truth is, I really don’t have any kind of set diet “plan”. I’m really just experimenting. Finding out what keeps me full, what works, what doesn’t…and I find new things to try on Pinterest every day! So here are a few pictures and recipes of what I’ve been eating. Let me know if you have any recipes that I should try!