Food is life

Okay, so I don't know about everyone else here, but I am absolutely obsessed with food. Not just "oh this place will be good let's eat here" but to the point where basically everything I do is revolving around what I am going to eat that day (lol). Tbh I would love to know how many other people out there do this, so I don't feel so alone haha. 

I basically eat everything. There are very few things I won't eat (I don't even pretend that I'm allergic to cucumber anymore, I eat it now!). There are some things of course that I would prefer not to eat, but given the opportunity, I will still probably eat them.

So for those of you who have read some of my previous blog posts, you would know that I have made the choice to move towards a healthier lifestyle. Of course I still eat junk food, but I have been trying to get that out of my system. 

One of my favourite healthy foods are acai bowls. They are super tasty and you can basically just top them with any fruit, chai seeds, muesli, just basically anything you want. They were super quick and easy to make (and they make for a good Instagram photo haha). Here's a few of the best acai bowls I've had lately (and a quick recipe for my home made one!!). There's a wonderful place near me that makes the best acai bowls ever (and that's what these two pics are from). XS Espresso for anyone who lives in Sydney!

Simple acai recipe:

Acai smoothie pack

Raspberries/bluberries/strawberries (to blend in the puree)

Splash of almond milk

To top:

Fresh fruit (my favourites include: strawberries, passionfruit, banana, kiwi-fruit)

Any other toppings (I personally enjoy muesli and chai seeds)

And as for the method you just blend the first three things together and then pour it in a bowl. It should be a thick consistency. Then chop up all the fruit and make it look pretty on top of the acai mix :-)

Simple, easy and one of my favourites. 

 Apart from my acai love, yes I do love other things. Recently my boyfriend took me on a date to a wonderful gourmet burger place (I've been here once before, but this time was better). I had an amazing chicken snitzel burger and he had a kangaroo burger and we 'shared' chips. Not the best photo, but it was a good night! Moo Gourmet Burgers for anyone who lives in Sydney, look it up :)

 Another one of the most amazing meals I have had recently was just a random bestfriend lunch date. We went to this amazing place called Grano. They have a coffee shop version with just drinks and desserts and a restaurant next door. We were starving so naturally we went for the restaurant. (pictured above) we had a prosciutto pizza with rocket (and it was amazing) and some kind of chicken salad with their special dressing. We shared both of the foods and I am seriously still dying to go back there!

Last but not least, considering I am obsessed with food, I think you all can guess what else I may be obsessed with (yes it is grocery shopping). Doing the groceries calms me, and I find it relaxing to plan out and buy the foods I plan on eating for the next week. It is genuinely fun for me, even though I know most people hate it. 

I am always on the hunt for nice places to eat (mostly cool/cute cafes around the beaches) and I plan to make a list and visit all of these places and order something of the menu. I might make this a plan with my boyfriend considering we both love eating.

Kristelle xx

Instagram: @krristelley

Home

Last week, I got to go home. Not the home with my bed and all my stuff, but my favourite place in the world. Even better, I got to go there with a beautiful friend of mine, who is amazing company.

It was a random decision, first brought up by her, to go there before our last day of Uni. I'm so glad we did because it was one of the best days I have had in a long time. 

Jess (the previously mentioned beautiful friend) stayed at my house after we both finished work and we were up until literally 2:30 in the morning finishing off assignments due the next day (typical). We got up nice and early the next morning though and headed off to the beach for brunch and to just chill out. 

It was a gorgeous day (thank goodness). Sun was shining, barely any breeze and it was quiet. Peaceful. My favourite. 

Sun + salt + sand = winning combination

Beautiful view of the waves breaking as we sat on the beach talking for hours

When we first arrived, we headed over to one of the local cafes for brunch because we were hungry (like I always am lol). I had a lovely Panini and a latte, Jess had avocado and tomato on rye and we also shared an acai bowl. Pretty good brunch if you ask me. This cafe is the cutest and the people are lovely. Just an awesome place to be, great vibes.

The brunch that I had half eaten before the photo was taken because I'm impatient and I was too hungry haha

After we ate, we went for a wonder down to the beach where we sat for a very long time. We spoke to some locals, then sat on the sand. Jess kept up with her vlogging (check out her YouTube channel here, she's a babe). We took photos and laughed and smiled and sat at peace with the world. I've always found that watching the waves crash is so relaxing and it just let's me keep me my mind blank and free. 

Beach pics with the lovely Jess

There isn't really much else to say about how perfect the day was. Sitting and talking with a good friend, eating good food and relaxing in my favourite place was all that was needed to make this a good day. 

Not to mention there were way too many things that went bad/wrong with the day, but it doesn't even matter because for once I was focused on the good, not the bad. (We left my house late, stayed up until 2:30am doing an assignment, I left said assignment at home and we had to go back for it, traffic, uni lecture and doing badly on a quiz, lol). 

This day ended with me going to dinner and then bowling with my bestfriend (Amber) and it  was definitely a lot of fun. I suck at bowling btw. Our first game (no bumpers) I got just over 60 and she didn't even reach 50... Anyway! It was fun and that's all that matters.

Thanks for reading, until my next post
Kristelle xxx

The Colour Run

Hey everyone! You all have absolutely no idea how excited I have been to (first of all) do the Colour Run) and then write this post!

I have always wanted to do a Colour Run because I had seen photos on Facebook and Instagram and it honestly just looked like it would be a lot of fun. The website describes it as "The Happiest 5K on the planet" and I think I would have to agree. Basically, for those of you who don't know, the Colour Run is a 5km walk/run (whatever you want to do) that money goes towards charity, and you get dressed up and then volunteers at stations throughout the course throw coloured paint at you and you get really really messy. It's a lot of fun. You also get your own paint to throw at each other at the end (and that's a lot of fun too). 

In the Glowtastic 2DayFM Photo Booth with Kieran feat. our minion headlamps

I got to do the colour run with Kieran this year. I bought tickets for the event months ago and I was so excited to finally get to do the event over the weekend. We got covered from head to toe in the coloured paint and felt like minions with our headlamps. 

Straight after the event, nice and messy- Kieran has a 'Happy' glow tattoo on the side of his neck haha

After the event- you can't see it but my hair was full of yellow and orange (yucky)

We ran about 1km, off and on and then walked the rest of the way because there were way too many people there to try and run the whole thing without stopping (plus we are too lazy for that anyway). The views of the harbour were beautiful and there were many people watching the event wondering what was actually going on (it was pretty funny watching their faces as we all threw paint at each other). 

Quick pic as we walked past the water looking onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House

I am very glad I chose to participate in the colour run this time, even better it was the first Night Colour Run in Australia. I definitely think they will have another one, it looked like such a huge success. After the event, Kieran and I were absolutely starving so we picked up some pizza on the way home. I had to get it and get out of the car and yes.... I was covered in paint still (not as bad because they have a 'cleaning station' at the event, but it was still all over my face). The pizza guy thought it was pretty funny and so did the other customers in the pizza store.

All up, it was so much fun and if there is ever a Colour Run event hosted near you, I definitely recommend that you take part in one because they are so much fun and for a good cause!

Thanks so much for reading 

Stelle xxx

What if...

So today for some reason I am just feeling down. I have so much motivation in my mind to do everything I need to do- workout, cook meals, study & do my uni work and go to work, but there's just a dark grey cloud hanging over my head questioning everything today.

I know I need to do all of these things, plus more (aka clean my room lol) but today is just one of those days where I question everything.

Why should I workout? Because I want to be fit, healthy and have an amazing body.

Why should I cook meals? Well I need to eat.

Why should I do my uni work and study? Because I want to get good marks, so I can finish my degree, graduate and get a good job.

Why should I go to work? To earn money to save for the future and so I can have the things I want now and live my life the way I want to without having to depend on anyone for anything I need or want. 

It all seems to be very straightforward and obvious. There is a clear answer as to why I need to do all of these things. It just isn't an option (for me) to stay in bed all day and not do my uni work or not have a job. Some people may be content with that (lol) but not me. 

I just don't know what goes through my head sometimes. I want to do everything. I want to concur the world. 

I just have something in my mind that stops me and says what's the point? 

What if you're not good enough?

What if you're wrong with what you think life will be?

What if you ruin your chance to get something you want because you lacked initiative?

What if you can't achieve what you want in life? 

What if all the goals you have set for yourself just fall apart and you never reach them? 

What happens if you can't do anything?

What happens if you try so hard for something and you still fail?

...

what if...? 

Life is full of what's if's, but I know I need to focus on the bigger picture. Even if I am stressed out, tired and don't really know how to make sense of what is going on in my mind right now, I know things are going to be okay. I believe everything happens for a reason, so I am going to focus on that to get me through each day. 

Week 1 Update

Hey everyone! So as I promised in my last post about health and fitness (which for all of those who don't know what I am talking about, it can be read here) I am going to be writing weekly blog updates about how I am going with the BBG (Bikini Body Guides).

Week 1, like anything, is when I feel you have the most motivation. You've started something new, so you want to stick to it. I don't think I know of many people who swear by something and then give up in the first week. I may be wrong, but then again I am not one of those people. I usually like to give something a bit more of a chance before I quit (not this though, I swear I will stick it out). 

Sunday

My start day. It might be weird to a lot of people because they think their weeks start on Monday. But this is the day that I made my fitness post and I already spoke about this day so I will briefly recap.

I did 45 minutes of LISS (I walked a moderate rate) and I did not eat one piece of junk food. I had a roast dinner with lots of veggies so I felt really good about myself.

Monday

I woke up early today. Today I decided I would give the legs and cardio Week 1 workout a hit again. I completed it. Sweaty, muscles aching, sore. I know it was worth it. 

I ate relatively well all day also. Oats and fruit for breakfast. Yoghurt, muesli and fruit while I was at  uni. A toasted sandwich with cheese ham and tomato when I got home. I drink so much water during the day so I suppose that's always a good thing. Also for dinner I had an amazing salad, couscous and a piece of salmon. 

Tuesday

Woke up not feeling to well today. I had a chicken snitzel and sweet potato roll for lunch and tacos for dinner. I spent the day doing groceries, cooking and cleaning the house. I got in about 40 minutes of LISS today which is what I wanted. It wasn't a good day, I spent most of it feeling pretty crappy. I also ate a banana and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream for dessert. 

Wednesday

Woke up today feeling even crappier. I haven't been able to sleep very well the last week which is annoying because I know it impacts on how well my body functions and how efficient my exercising is.

I ate tomato, eggs, salad of greens and a piece of Lebanese bread for lunch. For dinner I ate steak and veggies. I also had some corn chips after dinner because for some reason I was still hungry. 

I didn't get to my arms & abs workout today, but I swear I will try tomorrow. Instead today I spent about 2 and a half hours mowing the yard. Due to all the rain recently and then the sunny days, the grass grows uncontrollably fast. Plus, when the ground is wet you can't mow. So I think mowing my backyard and front yard totally counts as a workout for the day because my arms and legs were so sore the next day.

Thursday

Another uni day. I almost didn't even get out of bed this morning. I didn't have much of an appetite this day either. I completed about 30 minutes of LISS when I got home from uni (I would've kept going but it was dark and I don't feel very comfortable being outside at night in my area haha). 

I ate a salad roll for lunch, some fruit for a snack and mango chicken and rice for dinner. 

Friday

Almost the end of the week. Today was pretty average. I got in my arms and abs workout during the day. I can't even remember anything about what I ate during the day, but oh well.

I worked from 4pm-12am today so that was my night gone. I ate butter chicken for dinner and pineapple as a snack later. I feel like I get a lot of exercise in during my shifts at work because all I do is continuously walk around the very large store.

Saturday

I had to wake up early today because once again I had work. Work means more exercise walking around for 7 hours. I ate a 'healthy' burger for lunch. I didn't get any real workout in today which was sad and I ended up eating a cheeseburger meal for dinner. Oops.

So this pretty much quickly sums up my first week back at the Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Guides. It was a pretty good week for me. Obviously I am not going to be 100% perfect with my workouts and with my eating habits but I believe in the end I will get there. Each week I want to improve. But at the same time I also want to still live my life how I would before. I don't want to sacrifice too many things I love, I just want to incorporate the healthy lifestyle into what I currently know.

To date I have lost 5kg and I don't have any plans to lose anymore weight. All I want to improve on is what I see in the mirror.

Thanks for reading,
Kristelle xxx

Fitness and Health

Hey everyone! I think I will start this post by saying I love Kayla Itsines! She is amazing, her plans are amazing and her followers are amazing. The BBG community is something I just love and I am proud to be a part of the #k2movement. Something with so much power and support for each other is truly inspiring. You can check out my journey on my Instagram at @ krristelley  

I purchased the Bikini Body Guide quite a while ago now and I have given it two attempts. The first time, I was mentally not prepared and it lasted only two weeks. I barely even bothered. My head just wasn't in it and I wasn't excited enough to workout and get fit. So I stopped and I left the guides waiting for my motivation to come to me because I knew it eventually would. I continued to follow and admire girls who are really into their fitness and the bikini body guides. 

The turning point came for me on Valentines Day. I went out with my boyfriend and we found some amazing views at the beach over a cliff. We had the GoPro with us so naturally we snapped up a couple of what we thought would be amazing looking photos. I was in my bikini top and shorts for a few of the photos and looking at the way my body looked, I felt so uncomfortable and uneasy. I loved the photo but looking at my body, I couldn't handle how awful I felt I looked. 

Check out my journey on my Instagram, @krristelley

I started the following Monday on the bikini body guides. I did the four weeks of pre-training to try and build up a bit of fitness before hitting the real thing. I got up to week 5 of the real thing. I was eating well at the start, stopped eating take-away foods and cut out the junk food completely. I ate healthier and I felt better. I could see the progress in the mirror. I had photos with a few weeks in between and the difference was amazing. 

Then I got sick. Life got full on and I got lazy. I was extremely busy with working, which resulted in my eating habits sliding off towards the end. I had stopped working out and it honestly had been 3 weeks. I gave up.

But this morning as I scrolled through my Instagram feed, I made the choice to stop making excuses. A one hour workout is only 4% of my day. I can spare that much. If I need to get up an hour earlier to start my day with a workout I can do it. Meal prep when I know I am going to be at uni and work so I won't be tempted to eat chips or sneak a few chocolates. I am motivated. I went and did my 45 mins of low intensity steady state (LISS) workout after I posted my confession/photo on Instagram and afterwards I was sweaty and out of breath and it rained on m multiple times, but I felt so much better. It makes me happy, so why wouldn't I give something that makes me happy my all?

I am going to make weekly posts now about my BBG progress to keep me up to date with it. How my exercises are going and roughly what I've eaten. I would love to be able to post up progress photos and be incredibly happy with how I look and feel. 

Here's a progress shot of me. Top photo is before I started the BBG and the bottom photo is the progress shot at the end of week 4. 

In the above photo (the bottom one) I was semi-happy with how my stomach was starting to come along. But I would love to be super confident all the time in how I look in photos and not have to question whether it is just a 'bad angle' making me look bigger than I am. 

I don't take measurements and I don't really believe in weighing myself either. Although I can say I have always fluctuated between about 55-57kg and before I started the BBG I was up towards 60-62kg. That made me extremely upset that I had let myself gain weight like that. I am now back down to 56kg on most days and I'm not overly fussed with that. If I can see differences in the photos and mirror, that's what will make me happy, not the scales. 

Anyway, thank you all for reading and until next post.
Kristelle xx

It's a Crazy Life

Hey everyone! So for some reason I seem to still have time to make a quick post even though I am crazy busy with everything right now (hence the title of the post).

I've noticed I have had a lot of new readers recently so I would like to quickly share a little bit about who I am and what I do for those of you out there to get to know me a bit better (my last post is so outdated and I'm not even sure I am the same person anymore!) So alas, here are some quick facts about me!

- My name is Kristelle and I am 19 years old, turning 20 in just over 6 months

- I have the sweetest boyfriend named Kieran and we have been dating for 4 and a half years (we are high school sweethearts)

- I am a uni student at Macquarie University and am studying a Bachelor of Commerce with a double major in Marketing & Human Resources (I enjoy both and want to keep my options open)

- I usually work about 3-4 shifts a week at work

- I love the people I work with because they are all so friendly (when I actually get to work with people and I'm not rostered on by myself lol)

- I spend approximately 5 hours on a Tuesday cooking for my boyfriend (I am his personal meal prep chef and I actually enjoy it because I love cooking so much)

- I am 100% a BBG girl! I love Kayla Itsines and I believe she has changed my lifestyle for good. I used to be really into drinking all the time, eating nasty take away several times a week (Maccas was literally my life) and I didn't really do much exercise (other then when I would play netball). Now I haven't eaten McDonalds in over 2 months, I exercise regularly and have a healthy diet. I do eat some 'unhealthy' foods but I limit my intake and choose the 'healthier option'. E.g. nights at Wenty I will still eat my chicken snitzel and chips, but I'll get the smaller meal and add a side salad. It's what works for me

- The beach will always be my go to place when I want something to do 

- I have one tattoo (hoping to make that two soon) and double piercings in each ear + my bellybutton pierced

- I love to go on adventures and I have 3 big adventures set up for this year (you'll find out the first two soon and the third is the biggest because it is overseas!)

- I love to read and write & my all time favourite book series will always be Harry Potter, all time favourite book is Looking For Alaska and my current favourite books are the Paradise series by Simone Elkeles 

That is all I can think of from the top of my head!

Here is an old photo from September 2012 of Kieran and I at my Year 12 formal (we weren't allowed +1's that's why he is only in a T-Shirt).

I just want to say that I have been kind of struggling lately trying to balance everything in my life. I know it comes super easy to some people but it is hard for others. It's hard for me to balance going to uni, studying + homework + assignments, working, exercising, spending time with my boyfriend, going out with my friends, spending time with my family, having alone time. I don't want to miss out anything and I am not happy to ever have to sacrifice one thing for the other. I can't even tell you which of these is my number 1 priority because I feel like they all are. I have a planner and I write everything down I need to do, sometimes it makes things easier! If you have any tips on balancing life, please let me know!

Thanks for reading,

Stelle xx

BBG Lifestyle

For a long time I have struggled with my body weight and self-image. When I was younger (13 years old and below), I was extremely skinny. I was in to all kinds of sports and I loved netball and athletics above everything else. I was fit and I was a young girl. I had muscular, yet skinny legs and I even had abs (looking at photos I still can't believe it lol).

10 year old me loved little athletics

 I kept with the sports through high school, but as I got older I became more and more self conscious about how I looked. I didn't really know how to handle it at times either.

During Year 11/12 2012

There were times when I got extremely skinny and I was underweight for a period of time (I won't post these photos). My first year out of high school was difficult for me. I went through a lot and I ended the year about 5-7kg heavier than I started. Out of shape. Unfit. Untoned. 

Then I decided it was time to purchase Kayla Itsines Bikini Body Training Guides. I purchased the Training Guide and the HELP Nutrition Guide. I am motivated to try and get back into shape. The workouts are amazing and I haven't been seeing much progress yet (then again, we are all our own biggest critics) but I can feel it in my body and I just feel more energetic and happier after I have worked out. 

I try and maintain a healthy balanced diet. It is hard at times and I try not to give myself a hard time when I eat something I shouldn't. I don't necessarily go out of my way to eat bad food (i.e. I have stopped eating McDonalds). Having a balanced diet is hard. But it's a lifestyle change for me so it is going to take time. 

I love looking at all of the transformation photos of other people, it gives me so much hope and makes me happy. I really am starting to feel better about myself and I can't wait until the day I can write my blog post and post my transformation photos. I am happy to say that I am enjoying the BBG Lifestyle.

Thanks for reading, 

Any tips + recipes + advice anyone has I would love! Feel free to email me at kristellemaytee@homail.com if you want to talk about your fitness journey with me !

Stelle xx