Baked sweet potato[/caption]
[title maintitle="Stop fearing carbs and start loving them : Why your booty will thank you" subtitle=""] Bulking is a difficult topic, it's very much a love / hate relationship, especially for us ladies who are so temperamental with our goals. We all love being able to eat more food but yet at the same time it's totally disheartening waving goodbye to all traces of abs and summer bodies. We all admire those sexy curvy booties that have clearly been built in the gym but at the same time envy and find ourselves confused about how to attain them for ourselves without all of the extra calories pouring into our stomachs. [title maintitle="" subtitle="Eating to build...
Vegan Bodybuilding: Deni Kirkova's Speech at Vegfest [caption id="attachment_1249" align="alignnone" width="625"] Deni speaking at Vegfest (Picture: Deni Kirkova)[/caption] Speaking up about my biggest passions at Vegfest London 2016 was one of the most important moments of my life so far. I spoke about Vegan Fitness and the speech was titled How to Craft Your Dream Body and Achieve Optimum Health on a Vegan Diet. This is something I am an expert in. People were spilling out of the room to hear what I had to say, which was a true honour and meant so much. In fact, it means more to me than most things in this life to promote veganism, and plant-based health and fitness. What greatly frustrates me is the notion that we need to torture and kill animals in order for our brains, muscles, and other parts of our physiology to work their best. [caption id="attachment_1250" align="alignnone" width="619"] Deni two days after winning her MGU trophy (Picture:: Deni Kirkova / Bikini Girls Diary)[/caption] We seem to think we're 'supposed' to mess around with other creatures, use and abuse them, ignore their free will and inflict unknown pain and suffering upon them because we may benefit from ingesting parts of their bodies or excretions. Of course, no-one is going to stand up and admit they believe in animal abuse. People work hard, mentally, to create emotional dissonance around this. It is unthinkable. And so we distance ourselves from the true and blatant fact. Drink milk? I'd say you contribute to child murder, the breaking of a new mother's heart and abuse of the miracle of bearing children. Rearing cattle for dairy is the most unfeminist practice I can imagine. There are simply no two ways about it. And I'm not sitting her hating on all non-vegans pointing the finger. I just see it as a fact - and I was one of...
[title maintitle="" subtitle="5 Ways to make every workout a good one"] When it comes to exercising its not always the smoothest journey - we all have good intentions. Hence the busiest time of the year for gym goers is January in the 'new year, new me' phase that slowly wilts away as Spring arrives. So, how can we ensure that we are getting the most out of our workouts and are there any top secrets that can be revealed? Well, I don't know about secrets but over my time as a personal trainer and avid gym bunny I've definitely learnt a few tricks of the trade I swear by...
Macros, activating, sproutingâŠever wonder what health bloggers and Instagrammers are on about? Vicky breaks down 15 health buzzwords and shows you how to sound like you know what they mean The wellbeing revolution is taking the UK by storm with new healthy restaurants opening every other day and more of us working fitness into our busy lives. So itâs no surprise that the vocabulary to describe the components of a healthy lifestyle has expanded too. If you already know your probiotics from your prebiotics and your kombucha from your sauerkraut then skip this bit (but how about activating? That was even new to us). For everyone else, hereâs how to pronounce them, use them in a sentence and work them into your life. 1. MACROS Short for? Macro-nutrients Pronounced? âMac-row-new-tree-antsâ What are they? Macro-nutrients are nutrients required to give us energy to keep our bodies functioning. The three macro-nutrients are fats, carbohydrates and proteins and by consuming the correct amount of macro-nutrients for your desired results, whether that is muscle gain, fat loss or toning up, you are more likely to achieve your bodily goals. Macro-counting is a fairly simple method to allow you to calculate how to balance your diet. This is worked out via a ratio format, the basic ratio is 40 percent carbohydrates, 30 percent fat and 30 percent protein. However, when we work out our individual percentage to fit our bodily goals the ratios will change as we have to take our height, weight and desired goal into perspective. How to use it? âIâve eaten all of my macros todayâ 2. PROBIOTIC Pronounced? âPRO-BY-OT-ICKâ What are they? Probiotics are live bacteria and yeasts that are good for your health, especially your digestive system. Our bodies are full of bacteria which is both good and bad. However, probiotics are often called âgoodâ or âhelpfulâ bacteria because they help keep your gut healthy. Probiotics are already...
I went to see therapist Clare Peters at the Joshi Clinic in Marylebone and she has changed my skin. By Vicky Hadley...
[title maintitle="" subtitle="SCHOOL OF STRUT"] To strut /strÊt/ - verb: to parade, prance, flounce or sashay to proudly show off oneâs best features or talents Well, this is definitely how I would describe School of Strut. I attended the 'strutology' event launched by founder, and curvaceous goddess, Zoe Mcnulty, a body activist whose motto is that although we all want to be fitter, healthier, sexier and more confident. It doesnât have to involve body shaming, hours in the gym or fad diets. Unsure what to expect I head into the dance hall for the Strutology event and am immediately greeted by a swarm of happy, healthy and extremely confident ladies singing their hearts out and dancing their socks off to a loud, bubbly 'oh-so' sassy gentleman leading a parade of moves to extremely loud pop music. I was in heaven! Two songs in and I'm waving my arms in the air and flicking my hair like I just don't care - and that was only the warm up! Zoe is introduced as the 'Headmistress' of the School and rightly so. As she takes her well deserved place centre stage and stirs up the crowd, the women cheer and wolf whistle in anticipation and I find myself eager to see what is going to happen next. First we start with a 'SexyStreet' class in which Zoe leads her prepared mix of flirty, cheeky and sassy  choreography with looks of flirtation and confidence that has me developing a slight girl crush! The whole class is delivered to popular chart songs remixed into one another without knowing which could be coming next. with loud music this class reminded me of my street dance teenage years and made me instantly want to rejoin. [title maintitle="" subtitle="STRUTOLOGY"] Nobody seemed nervous or judged it was such a warm, friendly and overall extremely empowering atmosphere The second part of...
Yes, I'm up there with you in the 'yes, but not since I was younger' department...Often leaving us thinking that now we have stopped we have completely ruined those dreams of becoming a prima ballerina - so instead of trying again we invest in either a gym membership or failing that a VERY big dinner...
Being a self-confessed, health nut I will publicly admit it's not that easy for me to get my protein in. I am allergic to dairy so therefore can't have any whey based proteins and lets face it - that's the majority of the market out there. So, when I have the option to try a new vegan protein powder I get VERY excited. Last week I trialled a brand new range called 'Missfits' - a vegan protein brand. A unique blend of pea protein, crammed with all of the essential nutrients we need for our body to function properly. As most of you know I have been under-going a personal training course so with those long hours spent in the gym I've needed an extra protein burst and this Missfits Sachets have been the perfect option. Filled with added vitamins and minerals you have a great combination of micronutrients needed to stay healthy. My favourite flavour was the chocolate sachet which I mix into my morning porridge oats and the unique coffee flavour - as a coffee addict it gave me the energy to get into the gym and push through a hard workout without so much of a sip of pre-workout! The BEST bit: There's no added sugar so you aren't whacking on the calories or drinking any nasty ingredients - it's completely natural! If you fancy trying Missfits you can order them here,...
