Zumba bat tat tat ta ta da Zumba

Yay! I finished my first week of school, AND I managed to arrive to most of my classes on time. That was quite a challenge but I'm feeling slightly better about being able to navigate around. I just have to make sure I actually catch the bus on time or take the tube instead. My commute is only 30 minutes door to door so I feel pretty lucky.

Today was my Numeracy for Biological Sciences where we covered simple math topics like Order of Operations, and Directed Numbers. Does everyone remember the acronym Bodmas for Brackets, Of, Division, Multiplication, Addition, and Subtraction? lol.. Needless to say, I breezed through this week's Math lab and left an hour early to go home and make lunch!

leftover soup and salad

yummy! it's even better the second time around :-)

beetroot salad with light ranch dressing

open faced mayo, siracha, havarti cheese, turkey sandwich

Today was  my last day teaching Zumba on Friday's since the venue was cancelled due to increase in venue hire. In honor of the end: Enjoy!
www.guardian.co.uk/trebor-sweet-success/video/alex-worrall-taste-of-sweet-success-zumba-video
www.guardian.co.uk/trebor-sweet-success

lean like a cholula

Eating gluten free has been pretty easy so far. The only downside is that I have to check labels just to make sure there isn't any hidden gluten..it's so much easier when things are clearly labeled such as the Naked Cashew Cookie I ate after subbing Zumba this afternoon.

I ate it on my walk back home or else I would have taken a picture of the actual bar. It was surprisingly pretty good for not containing any of the three ingredients. The texture sort of felt like eating a really chewy granola bar. I could definitely taste both the dates and cashews. Yum!

My class was amazing this afternoon!! Perks:

• big smiles
• huge gym
• no problems with locked doors or showing up early and having to wait outside
• being able to rehearse for 30 minutes prior to start
• small, intimate class
• speakers that allow for loud music

love love love!!!!

Back to yesterday's GF meals..

Lunch was very strange but somehow it worked for me. I had leftover chicken breast with brown rice, refried beans and asparagus wrapped in thinly sliced prosciutto.

I don't know what possessed me to do this...but it was tasty!

some yummy GF chips to snack on prior to teaching Zumba

I love veggie chips and salsa! I couldn't even tell the chips were GF, thats how good they were!

Dinner last night

beef with salad, spinach, brown rice, beets, and lots of siracha

I swear if I didn't already crave lots of hot sauce I would think something very suspicious was going on! But trust, its just my love for siracha!! :-P

I came home to this lovely pizza for lunch. I was lazy and SUPER tired from all that moving and shuffling going on this week. Rehearsing Zumba routines AND maintaining my own workout is hard work dude!

back to pizza..

As you can tell, I like my pizza slightly overdone. I took off the pepperoni slices because the fat grams (5.9g saturated fat per 1/2 pizza!!) on this me no likey!

tried to balance the unhealthy with some slices of raw peppers ;)

I took a few bites prior to dousing it in Cholula hot sauce and it was super tasty.. I mean for a GF pizza and the crust actually tasting like a normal pizza, I was extremely pleased! The hot sauce definitely gave it that kick it was missing though since I had taken the salty pepperoni off.

For more sources of GF products, check out this website!
http://www.coeliac.org.uk/gluten-free-diet-lifestyle/products-and-services

We're going out to eat later tonight and I'm a bit nervous about trying to keeping GF.. I mean its easy enough doing it when you're out with your significant other but when other people are involved, its a whole other ballgame! We shall see!!

Can't.stop.eating

sweet chicken chili and coriander sandwich for lunch from Pret

My workout yesterday: Back/Chest, 8-10 reps, 3 sets

• barbell row
• incline dumbbell press
• dumbbell pullover
• machine chest press
• back extension 
• straight arm pulldown
• cable crossover

Snack attack yesterday afternoon. I seriously couldn't stop eating!! I had some sweet popcorn w. chips

wheat bread w. spaghetti sauce and goat cheese=perfect snack!

Then some unpictured chocolates...

I was super frustrated yesterday because I showed up to my Zumba class only to find out it was cancelled due to the crazy rioting that's been going in the UK. It's so sad that these punks are disrupting the lives of so many innocent people. Grr!!!

T took me out to eat after I got back home fuming. We went to Thai Aubergine for some delicious Thai food.

http://thaiaubergine.co.uk/

Finger lickin' good chicken wings

spare ribs- the sauce on these ribs= SO GOOD!

shrimp curry-the sauce is a bit watery but the flavor is still pretty tasty

egg fried rice- I hate blurry Iphone pics!!

beef pad thai

more fitness reading materials- I might have gone a bit overboard on my magazine subscriptions, hehe..

eggs, toast, hummus

Agenda: PUNCH class, tea w. a buddy, study, ??

Targeting your glutes and hamstrings

more soup and crackers w. hummus prior to teaching zumba

Tonight's class was definitely better than yesterday's. I just have to remember that I can't please everyone-- must please myself first! It sounds selfish but if I look at it the other way around, I'll always end up miserable knowing I didn't do something different for SOMEONE else. Sigh..inner peace is all I seek..
Speaking of inner peace: here's an affirmation for today from TDL.
http://www.thedailylove.com/

TODAY'sAFFIRMATIONS

I approve of me.

 

I live my own authentic life from the inside out.

 

Did I mention, I approve of me.

I was planning on cooking up something already "ready made" but T made a great suggestion of kabobs

sometimes this no carb thing isn't such a bad thing! Okay.. so maybe a platter full of meat is a bad thing but last night it just tasted SO GOOD!!

the spicy red sauce and a lil bit of garlic yogurt sauce to counterbalance all that heat!

T'was mighty tasty!

I made some french toast for breakfast to break out of the routine of eggs n hummus.

• 1 egg
• splash of vanilla
• pinch of cinnamon
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tablespoon 1 tsp flour
• 1/3 cup milk

Mix well, dunk bread, place on hot skillet, set of fire alarm before 8 a.m., and ENJOY :)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/fluffy-french-toast/detail.aspx

I think I needs me some Sports Direct anonymous.. gone are the days of needing to buy black work pants and in are lots and lots gym gear. It's for my job--- I swear ;)

In the bag:

• 2 nike sports bra
• 2 nike shirts
• 2 nike dri fit pants

I would also like to find a job at Nike just so I can score discounted swag.

My package yesterday also included more Zumba clothing.

You can't teach unless you look the part! Well that's not true really but I swear it makes doing it more fun!

Thank god I got the large because these tanks run small!!

I also ordered my first pair of Zumba pants and they fit wonderfully!! I love the elastic waist band that doesn't cinch at my love handles. Hate it when pants do that!! I also don't know why I ordered the mesh top because its completely see through. Either I'm going to have to wear a tank top underneath or just go sports bra commando!

after Sports Direct, I stopped by Pret to pick up lunch that I ate at approximately 11a.m. ha! I musta been hungry!!

the usual tuna and cucumber sandwich w. a side of popcorn. It definitely hit the spot!

Fitness bit of the day: From The Men's Health Big Book of Exercises

Glutes and Hamstrings

The bonus benefits of working your G&H are: 

• Great calorie burn: Since the glutes are your biggest muscle group, they're also one of your top calorie burners

• Better posture: Weak glutes can cause your hips to tilt forward. This puts more stress on your spine. It also pushes your lower abdomen outward, making your belly stick out.

• Healthier knees- Your ACLS rely on your hamstrings to help them stabilize your knees. Having a strong set of hamstrings can help your ACLs do their job and lower your risk of injury. 

Some exercises I like doing that targets the glutes and hamstrings are:

• Hip raise with feet on swiss ball
• Single leg hip raise
• Swiss ball hip raise and leg curl
• Barbell deadlift
• Back extension
• Dumbbell straight leg deadlift

Did you know that changing the direction of where your toes are pointing while doing exercises such as the swiss ball hip raise and leg curl can target your hamstrings in different areas? Pointing your toes outward emphasizes the hamstring muscles on the outside of your leg and pointing your toes inward targets the hamstring muscles on the inside portion of your leg.

Song of the day: Alicia Keys "What it feels like to fly"

Amor Amor Amor

more dates and almond butter= perfect fuel prior to subbing another zumba class. I'm still trying to find a balance of teaching zumba, practicing for it, AND working out on my own. Right now I feel like I might be pushing myself too hard but I can't seem to shake this incessant need to learn more choreography. My body won't stop moving even if I tried to tell it to stop!! :) Tis a hard knock life, hehehe...

Lunch: Bigham's chicken and mushroom pie with a side of soy sauced bok choy.

 

the lazy streak continues w. another ready made meal!! Hey at least I didn't stop by Pret this time...

chocolate cake for dessert w. a glass of milk. I polished off the milk but only had a few bites of the cake--it looks amazing but it didn't really taste that great. I felt like they failed at an attempt to make an oreo themed cake.

sigh.. and it had so much potential!

dinner was spinach cannelloni for deux..I like Bigham's addition of seeds for some more yummy texture

and a Margherita pizza express pizza for ME! I swear I'm not eating for two.. I just think I burned enough calories last night to deserve more FOOD!!

T made breakfast this morning as I was still trying to wake up. Yawwwwnnn............

spiced eggs for breakfast w. whole wheat toast

Gym: Back and Chest

• seated low pulley row
• machine chest press
• straight arm pulldown
• incline dumbbell press
• Rest 1 minute and repeat 2 more times
• Lat Pulldown
• incline dumbbell fly
• barbell upright row
• dumbbell front raise
• Rest 1 minute and repeat 2 more times
• STRETCH!!

after the gym, I had some roasted cauliflower and broccoli with another ready made pizza express pizza. This time it was a ham, olive, and mushroom one. I took off most of the ham but left a few salty pieces.

I almost burned both the pizza and the veggies. BAH! I guess I still haven't figured out our oven temperature settings...

Song of the day: Kema- No me dejas solo (damn I wish I understood more Spanish!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QIioRGPBvY