The Beltsander brownie!

I have seen posts about this brownie coming up all over and I finally gave it a shot and I am inlove! It is delicious! I have tried various mug cakes and protein-cake-like-things before and they were all pretty yucky. But this brownie is a definite winner! And super easy!

*What you will need:

-1 scoop of Whey protein (I used double rich chocolate flavour from Optimum Nutrition.
-1 Table spoon of cocoa powder
- 1/2 a teaspoon of baking powder
-6 Table spoons of milk ( I used unsweetened Almond milk)

*Mix all the dry ingredients and then add the milk.

* Pour it into a mug.

* Put it in the microwave for 30 seconds ( I like it moisty) , but if you want it dryer go for 45 seconds

* And then ENJOY! 

New goals!

When I first started this journey last year I had a goal in mind and I was super motivated. I wanted to lose weight and reach 75kg. Abit more than a year later I am weighing in at around 60kg! So I decided I need a new set of goals. The last few weeks my trainings have been rubbish and my diet has not been on point. I think this has to do with not having something to work towards, so putting a few things to paper will hopefully get my mind in the right place again.

Last year I was very focused on losing weight, but at the moment my weight does not really matter. I am now more busy with the fine details of shaping my body. So I have a different set of goals other than hitting a specific goal weight. I thought about more specific training goals and also weak areas of my body that I want to work on. So set goals, and set a time limit, and then go and do it.

It is now September and I thought a good deadline would be 31 December. This would be a great way to end this year with and offcourse I can come up with some new resolutions on 1 January together with the rest of the world. This gives me 15 weeks. So in 15 weeks I would like to be able to have the following things ticked off my list:

*100kg Squat
*135kg Deadlift
*50kg Benchpress
*6 pull-ups with no resistance band!

Along with these 4 goals I would also like to try to get a bigger and rounder bum (can you say bootyyyyyyy) and I would like to change my current blubber-blubber triceps into tight and muscular tri's of power. And lastly.....................

Some ABS! I would love a 6-pack but I will settle for a 2-pack or just having a super tight tummy with some definition.


Also I have been told I look angry alot of the time (resting bitchface?), so i will try to smile more often. While I am busy I might aswell throw that one in there aswell. :-)

So 31 December, I am coming for you!

Taking rest

Lately I have been feeling like an old lady. This is how I am learning to listen to people when they tell me to take rest instead of just rolling my eyes at them:

Just before I left for holiday I threw my back out. I have been having issues with it ever since. I feel uncomfortable while doing squats and deadlifts. I am seeing a physiotherapist and a chiropractor and both have told me to take it 'easy'. Whenever someone says those words i usually just nod politely while cursing them inside my head- like they know how difficult it is to take things easy? I find it extremely difficult holding back and i most definitely can not take things easy.

Well my Duracell-bunny-battery has come to the end of its durable life it seems! So we have my bad old lady back I thought I was doing ok. I adapted my workouts so I would not have to put strain on my back and I upped my cardio. And then in comes a snotty nose and a sore throat - I put this down to just a cold and as I see myself as a tough trooper no cold will ever get me down or hold me back. This tiny cold started last week Friday and Saturday I had plans to do the Colorrun in Utrecht. All snotty and with a headache and my mean 'cant hold me back' attitude I went to Utrecht and ran and got covered in colour. Take that cold! I am a mean machine and can not be held back you see! The run went fine and I thought I was fine untill Saturday evening I woke up during the night shivering and with my whole body aching. Turns out my tiny cold turned into a full blown flu straight from the underworld of death. So 3 days of pains and countless amounts of bodily fluids later we arrive to Tuesday evening and I am finally feeling abit better.

I plan to return back to work tomorrow  and I have been thinking to even go back to the gym. Even though I still feel weak and yucky I feel the need to go , and as I thought about this I realize that it is not really me that WANTS to go to the gym but more I feel I need to go to keep up appearances. I don't want people to think that I have lost all this weight and now I have become lazy and don't see the need to work out anymore. Or I don't want people to see me as weak or as making excuses. Why I feel this? No idea! Should I care about what other people think? Offourse not! But still I do and this needs to change. This is my journey and I am responsible to me (and my old lady body)and no one else.

So instead of just rushing back into my normal Duracell-bunny way of life I am now taking all the advice once given to me where I rolled my eyes and I am taking it easy for the next few days. My body is clearly screaming out for some rest and this time I will listen and give it the proper time to heal and repair. This is also giving more time to think about new goals (and also more time to bake cake but more on this later :-)) . So to my fragile old-lady body: take this time of rest and heal and get better because in a few days we will be back to 'nothing can hold us down', so prepare! And this I say to only myself and my old lady body and no one else.

Staying fit while on holiday

I have been on holiday for 2 weeks and I have been back home for a few days now.

This was my first holiday as a newly "fit" person. Last year if I said I went to the gym while on holiday I would have laughed in your face!

Our first week of holiday was spent at the Dutch coast. I didn't have any gym here so I did alot of cardio which was mostly running and swimming. I loosely stuck to my diet. I didn't track anything on Myfitnesspal but I tried to pay attention to my carb intake. Offcourse there were some cookies and an occasional beer! The weather was , as it usually is in Holland, rainy and overcast. We went to the beach a few times and I even took a dip in the North Sea! I was the only crazy person doing this!

The next week I went to Turkey with a friend to an all-inclusive hotel in Marmaris and the best part was that my kids were all-not-inclusive and had a week at home with daddy! For the first time ever I could actually get a tan as I didn't have to run after a child or  sit in the kiddiespool all day. The hotel had a gym, a very basic one , but I managed to get a few work-outs in. I also went for runs on the boulevard. And I ate and enjoyed!

I enjoyed my 2 weeks "off" but I am also happy to be back in my normal way of life. I have gained about 3kgs and I am perfectly ok with this. I had fun and I had a good balance I think.

I am ready to set new goals for myself for the remainder of the year and I am already looking forward to my next holiday (this time I hope I will be able to be a show-off with rock hard abs!)