Liston Fitness

Ingredients: 

Eggs (as many as you want 1 per person)

Rice (1 portion per serving) 

Soya sauce (to taste) 

1)Put your rice into a large pan with plenty of water and boil for 12-15 minutes.

2)Heat a frying pan, (I prefer to use PAM spray oil or coconut oil) and fry the eggs. 

3) Once the rice has boiled, drain.

4) When the egg has fried, use your fork to separate into small chunks/shreds and add the rice... Mix together well. 

5) Pour the soy sauce into the mix (add to taste). 

6) Serve! 

This is my favourite lunch and dinner recipe and despite the expert Chinese chef standard, anyone can make this simple recipe taste like it's fresh from the takeaway tub.

-Beth

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 140C/300F
2. Wash your kale thoroughly and place onto a paper towel to dry (you can just use some toilet paper, make sure its not been used haha, or a tea towel)
3. Line a shallow baking tray with grease proof paper.
4. Evenly place your kale crisps over the tray make sure you don't layer it otherwise all of the kale will not be cooked to crispy perfection.
5. Sprinkle your paprika and salt (You can use any spices you wish to make different infused flavors) over the kale evenly.
6. Drizzle some coconut oil over your kale.
7. Time to get your hands dirty, get stuck in and mix the kale around so that all of them are covered in your salts, oils and spices.
8. Place into the oven and cook for 5 minutes
9. After 5 minutes remove the tray and flip your kale over to cook the other side
10. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

I'd just like to apologise for the delay in blog posts lately. Everyone in the Uk knows that it's English exam season and all GCSE students have over 10 exams this month and I have 17! So I've been pretty damn busy lately -revising unfortunately. 

But get back to the blog Beth, personally I struggle with my munching and diet. I've been desperately searching for something healthy to snack on, So here's my 17 healthy snacks to keep the belly at bay. 

1) Nuts:

This could be anything like peanuts, cashews, almonds and walnuts. Rich in healthy fats and omega 3's they are a brilliant snack to fit in the essential fats but don't be tempted to eat handfuls at a time! I eat between 20g-40g as a small bite to eat.

2) Frozen Grapes: 

They don't lie when health nuts say this is like a candy treat. They are like little lollipops and an easy treat.

3) Edamame: 

A bowl of these is not only a brilliant decor but also a great thing to pick up and gobble as your scrolling through Instagram. 

4) Dried fruit: 

Plums, dates and cranberries (No additives pure dried fruit) can be a great sugar boost full of fructose (fruit sugars) they keep them candy cravings from creeping up.

5) Celery: 

It's true that you burn more calories chewing these than actually digesting it! Making these an amazing snack for your health.

6) Pumpkin seeds: 

Just like nuts, seeds pack a pinch of fibre, I recommend you only eat between 20g-40g because too much can lead to high calorie counts. 

7) Hard boiled eggs: 

Every Sunday I boil a few hard boiled eggs up and keep them in their shells stored in the fridge so I can easy de-shell and eat to get a excellent protein source.

8) String cheese: 

Not just for kiddies lunch boxes having a few of these in YOUR lunch box is a calcium kick to your diet.

9) Dark Chocolate:

Anything with 75% plus cocoa content is a good source of healthy fats and it's brilliant for suppressing the chocolate cravings with a couple of squares.

10) Kale chips:

Full of fibre, packed with crunch and a brilliant lunch time meal. 

11) Frozen Greek yoghurt:

You can buy these in most stores they are low in fat and High in calcium. Absolutely delish dish.

12) Air popped popcorn:

Investing in a popcorn maker and some popcorn kernels will make you the best healthy popcorn to indulge on whilst flicking through the Netflix channels. 

13) Egg white omelette:

Get yourself to the shops and buy a carton of egg whites. You can easily whip up an easy omelette made with some coconut oil. It's easy and a good breakfast recipe filled with protein and healthy fats. 

14) All Fruit and Veg: 

Obviously get your 5 a day and pick up an apple or an orange. Quickest snack ever.

15) Smoothies (Home-Made): 

The best ones are home made you can fit all your 5 a day of vegetables and fruit into one smoothie and know exactly what your putting in it.

16) Sweet Potato Chips: 

A recipe will be up soon but you can find loads on the Internet they are a great source of carb snacks and easy to pair with a meal. 

17) Rice Cakes: 

Recently I've fallen in love with my kallo rice cakes. Honestly the best snacks I've had in a while.

Some Instagram accounts i follow full of lush snack pics: 

@the_smoothie_agent 

@snackitup

@cookinwithmima

So here's a little story. Recently my boyfriend moved to this beautiful little village in Cyprus called Pissouri, it's got stunning villas and a lovely little square full of restaurants (and a crepe  van i helplessly couldn't ignore... 4 Nutella crepes later). His house by the way is amazing it's really authentic Greek style, just lush. 

ANYWAYS we went to a little quaint taverna and I got myself a tuna sandwich and chips. Obviously being an English girl I was expecting some big fat greasy chips that really aren't healthy at all! But to my amazing these amazing low fat fried chips sprinkled in salt and oregano were placed before me -even thinking about these bad boys is making my mouth water- I literally discovered the nicest healthy chips in my life and they are absolutely delicious! 

So drawing upon this experience I crafted this healthIER (still not good to eat too many) recipe. 

Ingredients:

Potatoes 

Oregano 

Mixed herbs 

Sea salt 

Black pepper 

1) Wash and peel the potatoes.

2) Cut your chips into thin rectangles -the thinner they're cut the faster they are cooked. 

3) Put your chips into an actifry (Any other low fat cooker will work). 

4) Sprinkle oregano, mixed herbs, a pinch of sea salt and pepper onto the potatoes, cover as much as you like (remember more salt is rather unhealthy).

5) Cook for 20 minutes 

6) GOBBLE UP AND ENJOY! 

I hope you love this recipe as much as I did! 

-Beth

Please Instagram these delicious snacks and use the hashtag #listonfitness so i can see all them delicious makes.

But what if I don't have one? Then don't worry you can do this workout without a weight or you can pick something heavy up in your house and lift that! 

So for this ab workout we're going to do a circuit 3 exercises, 6 times! Simple! And the good thing about it is you can attack that core from the comfort of your own home. 

So let's go! 

Start off with exercise one, simple sit-ups 

1) Hold your weight (if you have one with both hands make sure your doing an over hand grip so your Knuckles point upwards and your palms are facing towards you.

2) Lower for body to the floor bracing and tightening those abs whilst you lower your body to about 6 inches off the floor 

3) Then lift your body up again using your core don't make the mistake of using your hips to lift you up.

Do 12 reps of these 

Next were moving on to Russian twists 

1) hold the weight with both hands but this time make sure your holding the weight so the circle is in your face. Hold it like your about to shake it baby. 

2) lower your body so it is about 6 inches off the floor and keep it there. 

3) Now your going to twist your torso side to side as far as you can stretch 

Do 12 reps (6 either side) 

Finally the circuit finishes off with a 30  second plank (you can increase this time if you are more advanced). 

Make sure your resting on your toes and your forearms, keep the bum up high and the back down you want to make your body flat like a table.

Repeat this circuit 6 times or if your feeling the burn keep going till fatigue. 

Remember guys, abs are made in the kitchen, sculpted in the gym and built in the bed. So if you want those abs you've got to eat clean, train mean and sleep dreams. 

-Beth

If you've got big gym gains goals your got to have big gym gear goals too. Heaven forbid you do a workout in last years Nike collection. 

So here's my little list of the top 5 things every gym girl really does "need" to stay with up-to-date with the gym fashion trends 

#1 Classic Calvin Klein Underwear

Yes that's right you've seen the lean girls taking cheeky ab shots in their matching CK undies, and why not add it to your shopping bag! They are booby supporting and also damn right sexy.

#2 Nike Free 3.0 

I absolutely adore these trainers, and you should too! Just look at these bad boys! Not only do they look beautiful, but their dry-fit sock like material allows breathing so you won't get stink toes but also they have incredible hexagon shaped sole support that bends to cushion your every movement.  

http://m.nike.com/gb/en_gb/c/running/free-3?ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.co.uk%2F £125

#3 Fit bit/Microsoft band 

If your a windows phone user then Microsoft is the obvious choice, but if like every body else in the world your an iPhone user then go for the fit bit. Both measure heart rate, sleep patterns, pedometer, amount of calories burned. It's an amazing bit of tech. But if your having trouble deciding then wait till next week when I will be exploring the 2 bits of tech to bring you the answer to which one is really better! 

Check it out on Amazon now!

#4 6 pack bag! 

You want a 6 pack? You don't have one? Well dip into your pockets and by yourself a food bag that does! With 6 food storage compartments for your meal prep and 2 side compartments for drinks or even your trainers! It's the perfect bag for those who eat on the go. Plus it's pink! 

#5 Strong Lift Wear Leggings

A good pair of bright, tight leggings is certainly a gym essential... so why  not splash the colour with these pink and purple leopard leggings. Check out their whole collection at http://www.strongliftwear.com with plenty of styles to chose from.  

If you have any of these consider me officially jealous. This isn't sponsored at all by any of these company's I just love these 5 items and hopefully one day I will own them all. 

-Beth

Credit: strongliftwear.com, Nike.com,  @classyfashiontumblrfleek, @intima.sk, @naty.natyjr, Amazon.com 

So my first phase is over phase 1 of my diet plan eating approximately 50g of protein, 40g of Carbs and 7g of fat each meal. Well it hasn't been easy I'll tell you that. One of the biggest struggles I have is fighting my cravings and eating right. 

This week I completed 4 weight training sessions 1 HIIT session and 2 low intensity cardio bike rides. I've really found my favourite ways to train now and I'm making it my own style. If you don't enjoy your workouts you won't do them because it just feels like a punishment -and let's be honest who wants to punish themselves- so finding something you like doing makes workouts a hell of a lot easier.

Personally when it comes to training I like strength training. I like to go into the gym and lift some heavy stuff and feel the burn (plus you surprise quite a lot of people being a young girl lifting weights). Recently I've been seeing my strength increase I can lift much heavier making progress each time I go. Before I used to deadlift a measly 15kg now I'm starting to do sets of 12 with a 20kg weight, which I know is pretty pathetic but hey! To me that's pretty damn good. I'm lifting up to 35kg on the resistance machines training my hamstrings and quads and it's really making a difference! I'm proud of the progress I'm making in strength training. 

I've also started HIIT -which I will review in a blog post next week hopefully- which has helped me to see noticeable changes in my stomachs apperance already! It's crazy but I've only done 4 HIIT sessions and I'm seeing a change, my stomach appears flatter and I've dropped 2% body fat! It's a great exercise class to lose fat and reduce bloating too. 

As well as my gym and training progress I've made massive changes in my eating habits. I've started trying lots of smoothie combinations... Some went well some tasted a bit like sick haha. But it's made a huge difference to my appetite (which is now more controllable) and also to the general way I feel. Now that I'm eating healthy, I feel healthy. Like I'm glowing! Eating right will always be my struggle but I'm still learning and finding out little tips and tricks that will stop my unhappy snacking. 

All in all my week has been a roller coaster ride making leaps in my health and fitness lifestyle and over coming the stress of up coming exams, which is still putting a bit of a strain on me.

But always be happy and stay true to your goals because when you start to see your results, you'll be addicted to your success! 

-Beth

Nothing like a little bit of steps to get you motivated "reach for the stars, climb every mountain high and reach for the stars" ⭐️🌁⭐️ 

I thought as a little more about me and an insight to what my goals and ambitions not only in fitness but also in average life (yes there is a world outside the gym) I'd give you guys that little piece of me to show you what makes me get up every morning and work my ass off all day. 

When it comes to fitness I'm abit of a newbie. I've always had the ultimate goal set out but up until recently I never knew how to get there. I tried the ridiculous 5:2, Atkins, juicing diets all those crazy ones that promise you'll drop 10lbs in a week or something crazy like that but it never seemed to work for me. The thing with these craze diets you're losing a lot of water in your body and not really burning any fat, you're completely running off your water retention and energy stores. And when I was on these silly diets I had no enthusiasm to get fit, I went on a couple of runs now and again but I HATED IT. Then in October I signed up to the gym I found myself really enjoying the whole community that surrounded fitness at the gym and I started to enjoy working out. 

I set smart goals that I could measure. I had an idea of what I wanted to look like but now I knew how I could get there. 

I began by setting little targets like 

🔹Getting more energy 

🔹Having a frequent workout plan

🔹Stick to a meal plan for a week 

🔹Eat less chocolate 

And as I progressed and got these targets down I began to set higher goals that were measurable! Something I could focus on and see my progress. Something to be proud of. 

🔹Get down to 15% body fat 

🔹Build 40lbs of lean muscle mass 

🔹Lift 20kg Deadlift 

🔹Be able to do a press-up on my toes not my knees. 

Some I have achieved but I'm still working hard and smashing and setting more goals! 

When it comes to real life and my life beyond my new fitness lifestyle goals got long-term. The things I wanted to achieve set about how I lived and what my future plans were. Nearly coming up to the end of my GCSE's with exams looming in the next 3 weeks I'm almost 1 step closer to the biggest ambition in my life... 

Becoming a doctor! 

Now it may not be the most exciting ambition in life, but to me it's the biggest thing I will ever set out to do and will take a lot of mental determination in order for me to one day achieve that goal. 2 years of A-levels and a 5 year university degree is going to be a long haul but it will well and truely change my whole life! 

It's important for you to set goals in your gym life and regular life. Having goals gives you a focus and it will also give you determination to achieve them. Make big goals HUGE if you really want, have a main aim that's up in the stars and "reach for the stars" focus on your life goal and change so that you can get where you want! But also set little goals, little goals will help you realise how far you've come. When you achieve your smaller goals you will have a sense of achievement and you won't be discouraged it will help you realise that you can get to where you want to be. 

Always aim big, because with determination and a few mistakes and successes along the bumpy road you will get where you want to be if you focus. 

-They may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one (John Lennon) 

-Beth 

STOP! Let's not think of the unhealthy pizza and move on to a better alternative! 

Cheese can be the biggest fattening part of a pizza along with the incredible amounts of oil and grease found in the crust so cutting these unhealthy factors down and creating this much healthier but slightly less yummy and bad for you here's my pitta pizza recipe.

Ingredients: 

1 whole meal pitta 

1 tablespoon of olive oil 

3 tablespoons of tomato purée 

2 slices of chorizo/pepperoini/salami

Dash of basil 

30g of cheese 

Method: 

1) First take your pitta and coat it in a good teaspoon of (good fats) olive oil make sure you smooth it out to cover the whole pitta. 

2) Take some kitchen roll and pat the pitta to remove any Slidey excess oil.

3) Place the pitta on a grill (I used a George Foreman) 

4) Once it is lightly toasted take off the grill and spread the tomato purée over the pitta. 

5) Next Grate your cheese and sprinkle it over your pizza (remember less is best) 

6) Heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius (340 Farenheit) and place the pizza in the oven for 8-10 minutes. 

7) Grab your beautiful pizza out the oven dash some basil over the pitta and place your slices of chorizo on top (this recipe will work for any toppings). 

8) Finally put it back in the oven for 5 minutes

9) Now devour that pizza!!!

Plenty more recipes for you guys to come so get cooking! 

-Beth

Please Instagram these delicious snacks and use the hashtag #listonfitness so i can see all them delicious makes.

So what's in my Mean Green Juice? 

1 chopped carrot 

1 gala Apple (any Apple will do)

1 big handful of spinach 

2 kiwi (without the skin) 

1 cup of water

-Beth

Please Instagram these delicious snacks and use the hashtag #listonfitness so i can see all them delicious makes.

Today I'm going to give you guys a recipe on how to make these delicious black bean brownies. They are healthy to eat in moderation and they've even got a vegan option! If you want a guilt free snack then these bad boys are the perfect munchies option. 

Ingredients: 

1 egg (Vegan option: Flax seeds)

5 Tablespoons of water 

1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder 

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

1 can of black beans

100g (1/2 cup) of sugar 

85g (3/4 cup) of cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon of salt 

3 tablespoons of coconut oil

Equipment: 

A blender/food processor 

A bowl 

A muffin/cake tray 

PAM spray oil  

Siv 

Method: 

1. Firstly securely fasten your blender head for safety, and add the eggs and water (for a vegan option simply substitute the egg for 2 tablespoons of flax seeds).

2. Fasten the lid on the blender and Zoom up the eggs and water until the egg is beaten. 

3) In the microwave, melt the coconut oil before pouring it into the blender with the rest of the wet ingredients. Then add in the vanilla extract and mix all that up in the blender.

4) Now onto the dry ingredients, firstly you are going to open up the black beans can and pour it into a Siv and turn on the tap so you can thoroughly wash all of the bean juice off the beans.

5) Add the beans to your bowl, along with the baking powder, salt and cocoa powder

6) Mix all the dry ingredients in the bowl and add it to the blender. 

7) ZOOM all the ingredients in the blender, you may need to stop occasionally and use a spoon to push the contents further down towards the blade of the blender.

8) Once you have created a thick batter mix in the blender it's time to get your stuff sorted. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (350 Fahrenheit). Then take your muffin tray and in each hole use your PAM spray to grease the tray -alternatively you can use lard however the PAM spray is far more healthier-. 

9) Using a spoon, separate your mixture into the tray (at this stage you can top your brownies with nuts to get your mono-saturated fats in if you want) and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

10) Leave to cool before you start to shovel your post workout/guilt free hanger snack into your mouth 

Please leave any comments of follow my blog if you like these quick recipe snacks. I have plenty more to come. Instagram these delicious snacks and use the hashtag #listonfitness so i can see all them delicious makes.

-Beth