Yummy, healthy yuk sung

Looks good, doesn't it?

I absolutely love yuk sung from my local chinese in all its sticky, greasy glory. Blame the boyfriend, he started it. Unfortunately MSG laden chinese is off the menu if I ever want to see my abs again so I threw together this sneaky treat for one of my meals today. It definitely killed the craving, whilst bringing protein, veggies and super-healthy fats to the table. These are basically the chinese equivalent of a wrap, perfect for lunch or a snack. You could even serve them with rice if you're feeling the need for something stodgy.

 I switched up cooking oil for a helping of avocado but you could just fry the chicken in a little coconut oil for the same effect. The bit I'm perversely proud of is the celery. Never fear, it doesn't really taste like celery, it just gives a crunchy texture without the cals, so you don't miss the delicious crispy fried noodles or water chestnuts in a normal chinese... or not much anyway....

Nutritional info to follow once myfitness has stopped messing me about...

Serves one as a light meal 

1 chicken breast
1 celery stick
4 or 5 big lettuce leaves (I used roundhead lettuce) for wrapping
1 garlic clove, chopped up nice and small
1/4 sachet of Blue Dragon hoi sin stir fry sauce (or a dash of oyster sauce)
A splash of soy sauce
A sprinkling of dried chilli (optional)
1/4 or 'thumb sized' chunk of avocado (optional)

First chop your chicken finely into little cubes, then the celery. Cube and reserve avocado if using.
Heat your pan on a medium-hot setting with a couple of tbsp of water in it (or your oil if using)
Add chicken, celery, garlic and soy sauce for four or so mins, until chicken is cooked through
Add hoi sin, stir through until hot.

Now pop your mixture into a bowl, mix through your avocado and the cooking bit's done. Dollop your mixture onto a lettuce leaf, roll wrap-style and chow down.

Nutritional info:
170kcal
19g protein

Day 1 Part 2 - Pilates

So this may be the part that destroyed me... after a great GRIT session, I stuck around to check out the 60 minute Pilates class.

I've done Pilates once before - my mum is super keen on it and she's a bit of a MILF so there must be something in it - and was interested to see how this would be different. 

Beginning with a warm up, we went through a series of slow, controlled moves that teach you to engage your core muscles, suck in the abs and correct your posture. After an hour of jumping about my legs were doing a dance of their own so some of my stretches were a bit wobbly to say the least, but I can see how Pilates could make you more aware of your own body, strengthening the back and core muscles. It's perfect if you want to reduce the risk of injury from other exercise or sport. 

Don't expect it to be easy at first - moving one leg in a giat circle whilst keeping your core engaged, pelvis tilted and hips aligned feels a bit like a multi-task too far at this point. Especially if, like me, you're more of a natural flailer than a controlled, swan-like sort. Still, practice makes perfect and since the instructor claimed somewhat darkly that 'the added pelvic floor control will help you all later in life' I will definitely be returning. 

Verdict: even if you don't aspire to the splits, go for the continence. Peeing when you laugh is not a good look.

Day 1 Part 1- Les Mills' GRIT Plyo review

It is now 5pm and after last night's GRIT / pilates adventure my body still feels like this

I was so nervous before going but really needn't have worried, the workout itself was an awesome 30 minutes of hard work, sweating and occassional wanting to be sick on myself in a class full of equally worried but friendly faces. As with most things, you'll get out what you put in here. It's all about pushing through when your legs decide they don't want to do any more.

The class started with a brief warm up by our incredibly enthusiastic instructor. Unlike traditional classes, she went demonstrates the moves during a break between music tracks. The track counts you in an you're off, with the instructor moving around the room to help with technique and provide (non-cheesy I promise) encouragement. The format is based on high intensity interval training - short bursts of intense exercise followed by a little (20 seconds to a minute) break to get your breath back, then off you go again. With sets of three complimentary exercises that change each track, the class is easy to follow without being boring. The small class size makes it feel almost like personal training. 

All in all a great way to get fit, trim and very achey in just 30 minutes per session. Les Mills recommend 2 to 3 sessions per week alongside your normal exercise programme and I can't wait to try GRIT strength and GRIT cardio later this week!

GRIT 21 Day Challenge (and also, hi!)

Welcome to Fit as Fork, the account of one girl's attempt to get fitter, trimmer and all over badass-er-er (Shakespeare made up words and I have an English degree. Don't question it.) Let's get the boring bit out of the way first - the starting point. First up, I'm not a complete beginner.

I actually didn't exercise at all until the last two years but have been training off and on since then, gaining muscle here, losing it again there(and by there I mean recently. And a lot. With a side order of wine-insulation).  I'm 5'5'', around 58kg and run a 10.5 minute mile and a half which I'm dying to get back down to my 9.55 PB. So my fitness right now is good to average. But average isn't exactly inspirational, is it?

I appreciate there are much curvier ladies battling the bulge and doing awesomely and am under no illusions that those in the sizes 6 to 12 brackethave been dealt an awkward hand, but my whole thing is about striving for... well...

This.

 That's a serious body.

Not only to look at- that's a body that screams hard work. So here's the plan to kick off a new, healthier 2014.*


Stage 1 - join the gym (achieved! It's amazing what five minutes on the net with your visa will do)

Stage 2 - make a plan (Achieving! Check me out!)

Stage 3 - Complete the Les Mills 'Grit' 21 Day Challenge.


The challenge involves a 21 day diet plan plus completing at least 7 'Grit' sessions over the three week period as well as whatever additional exercise you and your body feel comfortable with.

I'm in the market for some serious results - and having gone through some pretty tough training about a year ago I know what my body can take - so I'm working on a 'the more the merrier' principle, with five to six workout days a week BUT these are a mixture of strength training, cardio and less strenuous activities like yoga and pilates to ease those aching muscles and allow for the fact I'm seriously out of shape. As much as possible I'll work different muscle groups on consecutive days.

You can find the official GRIT diet plan here. It's pretty low-carb with one protein shake and four small meals per day, consisting of a palm sized amount of protein, a thumb-sized fat portion and some veggies. The aim is to rev that metabolism and help strip away excess wobble. Life is too short to be puritanical so I will still be enjoying the odd red wine, fruit juice or Graze low cal popcorn snack - those are just non-negotiable when giving up jelly tots! Obviously this is not a long term solution and it's best to slowly reintroduce some low GI carbs after your 21 days is up - think sweet potato!

So. The below is what the first week of my 21 days looks like. I'm trying lots of different classes to see what works for me (and give me lots of lovely review-fodder) but overall aiming for around 9 hrs of exercise with at least 4 cardio workouts per week, 3 strength sessions using weights and a couple of nice stretchy flexibility workouts...


Monday -      AM Grit Plyo (plyometrics)   PM Pilates (flexibility, tone)

Tuesday -      AM/PM Rest day

Wednesday - AM Body Pump (strength)    PM  Grit Cardio (cardio)

Thursday -     AM Express Spin (cardio)  

Friday -         AM Grit Strength (strength)    PM Zumba (cardio?)

Saturday -     AM Spin (cardio, legs)          

Sunday -       AM Yoga (tone, flexibility)      PM 3 mile run, abs/push ups at home


So let's get started. Horribly pasty before pictures coming your way after a 'last weekend' of unparallelled excess, and by excess I mean gin, cake and an enormous Sunday lunch with my favourite ladies.


Sparrow x




*yes, 2014. February is the new January, without the poverty and depressing lack of social life.