New Year

Such a shame that only after 18 days I was able to write something on the blog first time this year. Crazy times! Moving in and lots of work resulted in my absence. And lack of internet! We have been waiting for weeks to have one in the house and we still have to be patient. Till that I am using only my phone, which makes things difficult. 

hi world, I am still alive ;)

I feel like I've started a brand new chapter of my live in England. With my own place to live, with my own kitchen where I can cook and my own space where I can write and work... Things are going to be much easier right now. I hope so and strongly believe in it!

new green tea to my collection in lemon honey flavour, perfect for a sick girl

Unfortunately, my body didn't take all that stress good. Recent weeks were crazy busy at home and club and I totally over-trained and overworked myself which resulted in 2 weeks cold. After doctors appointment I decided to take some time off to recover. Only 2 additional days, but it is still something and I hope it will work.

luxurious home made food - mash potatoes, sourekaut and pork lion in mushrooms with cooked beetroot

Good food, lots of hot drinks, blanket and newest season of How I Met Your Mother is my best remedy. Together with love. Lots of love. It always helps :)

Christmas shopping

new cool pants :)

This year's first Christmas shopping I started with buying something... for me ;)

 I saw that Wr.Up Freddie's pants were very popular in Norway.I am one leg there and one leg here, in UK. Yes, still. After months after moving out from land of fiords ;)

Freddy's flagship shop in Covent Garden, London

Luckily, we do have flagship Freddie's shop in London, so I could check it myself what is this Wr.Up about. 

I have to admit that I found booty-flattering and the most comfortable pants! Perfect for each fitness girl :)

If you need some gift inspiration for your partner, think about that awesome piece of clothes :)

booty shaping effect

Weekend

I rarely drink alcohol these days, but if I drink, I go for champagne ;)

This weekend I spent like never before! First of all, with new job I rarely have Saturday and Sundays off. Second of all, I travel to city centre not so often, even thought it is not so far away from place where I live.

with my lovely Mom

My mother's visit was the best excuse to change that! We celebrate her birthday (happy birthday Mom! :*), went on a musical, drank champagne during our shopping and eat lots of good food. 

Thriller musical at Lyric Theatre

wonderfully decorated Carnaby Street

After such intensive two days I am so happy and pleased. That was a really great break from (sometimes harsh) reality..

another glass of amazing champagne

our brunch at Grind Coffee Shop (Westfield Stratford) and healthy pouched egg sandwich

Day 2 and LA Fitness West India Quey

entrance to LA Fitness West India Quey - my today's place of training

Second training from 'Shortcut to shred' was dedicated to legs, shoulders and calves.

grumpy mood? lifting some weights should help! ;)

Today I check another gym in my neighbourhood - LA Fitness West India Quey. I love the neighbourhood of a gym - Canary Wharf reminds me equlibrium buildings, lots of banks and well suited people around :)
 

pic from www.lafitness.co.uk

The gym itself is quite big (two floors) and has a swimming pool. Which for ones will be a huge advantage, but for me... not necessarily. I felt chlor everywhere and there were many kids in the changing room, since swimming pool is open for them as well.

cardio part with treadmills and other cardio equipement

By using summer offer I've got 5 days free trail (great idea!) at LA Fitness. So for next days I will visit that place and do my 'Shortcut to shred' workouts. 

The part with free weights was kind of messy for me - dumbbells and barbells around all the place which made my training quite hard. Beside that there as only 1 smith machine and 1 squat rack - too little! I had to wait in a que to make my exercises and hat to moderate 2 others for other equipment because I was already well warmed up and didn't want to lose it. (05.08 - I visited West India Quey out from peak hours and I have to say that weights room situation was way more better than with the first visit :) )
The other thing I didn't enjoy was a lack of natural light and lots of random people around. I mean, it is totally fine that they are coming to train (good for them!) but I would rather train in more professional atmosphere.
Of course there was still possible to train in there, and I will definately do that for few upcoming days :)

little messy changing room

I am very critique in relation to gyms because with my 6-times-in-a-week training routine I will be spending mch of my free time at the gym, that is why I want to feel there comfortable and have  essential equipment to use. The other thing is I already have worked in a gym and I know what to look for in order to find the perfect place for training :)

gym part with machines (and free weights in the back of the room)

On today's training list there was:
for shoulders: dumbbell shoulder press, one arm dumbbell upright row, barbell presses
for legs: barbell squat, barbell deadlifts
for calves: standing calf raises, leg press calf raises

cardio space from another perspective

I was still a little sore from yesterday's workout, but I made my best today.
I have pretty good energy because of lots of food I am consuming. I am not used to eating so much, but I decided to commit for 100% and do whatever Stoppani suggests (in oderd to training, nutrition and supplements), so for this week I eat way more carbs that I used to. And carbs makes me happy ;)

delicious breakfast today: 40g oatmeal made on water with Sukrin Gold, egg scramble frm 2 eggs and 100g of egg whites and 1/2 grapefruit

Exploring London - Fitness First Black Label

pic from fitnessfirst.co.uk

As you know, I am new to London. I use this summer time for checking out different fitness clubs and try to find the one proper for me. 

pic from fitnessfirst.co.uk

Last week I had a chance to visit the best Fitness First's club in London - the one on Baker Street (thank you for invitation, Eva!). 
It is a special one because it is the most expensive one and even though you buy a multiclub membership at Fitness First you don't have access to that particular one. You have to member of their club first in order to have a chance to experience all of Black Label's facilities. 
Sounds posh and expensive? Well yes, for sure, but on the other hand the club is amazingly new and fresh!

I like their gym and swimming pool. Club has also great space for circuit training with lots of kettlebells, sand bags as so on.  Aerobic room was for little in my opinion and air conditioning there could be better. However, we had a very nice and creative Zumba class and it reminded me how much I like to teach classes! :) Instructor was very energetic and even though Zumba is not on the top of most intensive sport activities, I sweat out almost 500 kcal! Not bad! ;)

If you are a swimmer who like to train in modern club, this one might be perfect for you. Location is also great, near Hyde Park so you can always have a lunch outside after your training, as we did :)

Cinnamon cake

cinnamon cake topped with apples

Previous weekend was rich in desserts! ;) Beside french fruit cake, I made cinnamon one, perfect treat for coffee.

For 8 portions of cake I used:
* half cup of almound flour
* half cup of whole grain flour
* half a cup of Sukrin/sugar
* 3 eggs
* cup of milk
* 2 spoons of baking powder
* 1 dl of liquid butter/margarine
* gingerbread spices, cinnamon and vanilla 
* apple and Sukrin Melis for decoration

Preparation:
* Preheat oven to 220 degrees. Mix dry ingredients all together.  Add eggs, butter and milk. Use kitchen robot to have a smooth dough. 
* Spread liquid butter/margarine in a baking pan. 
* Put dough into pan and put it into oven for 10 minutes. In a meantime chop apple. You can put it on the top of the cake after 10 minutes of pre-baking it (then you're sure that apple won't fall into dough). 
*Bake cake for next 20 minutes.
* After that time, let the cake cool down in room temperature. 
* Spread a little Sukrin Melis/ sugar powder on top.

Post workout tuna wrap

My today's recipe was inspired by video above which my friends recommend me (thanks Ania&Dan!!). On video you can find Rob Riches, English bodybuilder and fitness model. He has really good meal ideas, so take a time and check this guy out if you're interested in healthy cooking :)

For my version of tuna wrap I used (6 wraps):
* 6 spelt soft tortillas (Norwegian spelt lomper)
* 2 cans of tuna in water
* 2 spoons of light mayo
* salt, pepper, other spices of choice
* canned pineapple 
* optional cheese (I won't use it in my wrap, only in my men's wrap)

main source of protein in this meal - canned tuna (in water)

Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 220 degrees (or use grill, like in the video - unless you have one)
Prepare tuna: take it from can, spice and add 2 spoons of mayo. Mix it to get a paste consistency.
Put tuna paste on tortillas, add few particles of pineapple. 
Roll tortillas and put them into oven for 10 minutes.

if you have bigger calories consumption per day than me, you can add cheese as well

Why it is best for post workout? 
Because this recipe is both rich in carbs and protein. Carbs are from two sources - pineapple (quick carbs) and from spelt lompers (low digested carbs from spelt). Perfect combination for your muscles after hard workout. You get also lean source of protein from tuna.
Other thing is that it is very easy to prepare. So you won't use much time once you're after workout and want to grab something to eat.

Nutrition fact for 2 wraps:
Calories: 219 kcal
Protein: 17,4g
Carbohydrates: 27g
Fat: 3,6g


It seems not much like for post workout meal, but I had my protein shake and 2 rice cakes right after gym too :)

Hardangervidda/Flåm/Jotunheimen trip

As I promised, I am coming back with little update about my recent weekend trip.

As 17th of May is Norwegian national day and it is free, as well as 20th of May, we had all 4 days for ourselves! :)

the beginning of Hardangervidda - national tourist road

We started our trip from passing Hardangervidda - mountain plateau, which - on this time of the year - is still covered in snow and ice. 

Hardangervidda in the mid of may ;)

 Hardangervidda is an extraordinary place, which will be ever more special for me now <3

Stalheim hotel and mountains around it. Photo from visitnorway.com

Stalheim hotel was another destination on our trip. The view from hotels terrace is amazing, as well as the route down (Stelheimskleiva) - the steepest route in Europe!

view from Stalheim's hotel

grill on our way to next trip destination

 

marinated chicken was on the menu ;)

grilled chicken sandwich

Next 2 days we spend in wonderful small city Flåm, which is a Norway in a nutshell for me. 

 

Flåm in the evening

It has fiord, beautiful and high mountains around, little wooden houses and many mountain pathways for hiking, cycling and skiing. 

Up in the mountains with the view on Nærfiord

 We managed to take a proper mountain trip which took us few hours and was approximately 10km long. And found local brewery very welcoming the same evening :) 
We felt so good in Flåm and the weather was so amazing that we had to force ourselves to leave this hospitable place... :)

beautiful view from Stegastein

 Aurland's viewpoint (Stegastein) was the next on our tour. The weather was perfect for climbing up in the hills (with car this time) and admire Nærfiord from above.

grilled salmon - yummy!

grilled salmon menu :)

mighty Jotunheimen Mountains

Last, but not least, we crossed Jotunheimen - the highest mountain range in Norway. This was spectacular! But, I have to admit, very scary at the same time! We were there almost alone and the scope of mountains was even overwhelming! On passing mountain shelters, we met professional Alpinists who were discovering Jotunheimen Mountains by foot (and skies).

waterfall in Jotunheimen mountains

Despite it were only 4 days, I totally relaxed, charged my batteries and had a wonderful, and very emotional :), time. It was all about relax, chill, love, celebration and splurging! Like a proper vacations should be :)

first ice creams this year ;)

"Nordic's kitchen" ;)