MISS HOLLY P
A BIT OF ME . A BIT OF FOOD . A BIT OF WINE
blog

Nibble Protein Bites Review

I have been trying out a new brand which I came across on instagram, when I discovered their profile they just stood out from the rest and seemed really interesting to me! Nibble Protein Bites The lovely folks sent me over all their flavours to try out! The thing that stuck out to me that this brand was going to be very different to any of the other ‘health snacks’ and protein and energy products on the market which are gluten free, vegan etc etc was that product contains 1/2 – 2/3 less sugar than the majority of the markets competitors. That’s pretty impressive stats! But how are they doing it? Well for starters these little bites are date free, almost ever other product I have trialled of a similar concept has contained dates, yes most of us love natures gooey, yummy caramel but dates are notoriously high in sugar! Nibble protein bites are sweetened with anti-oxidant dried plum puree and low GI coconut blossom nectar! Fancy eh? So a different type of natural sustained energy release than you may have tried before! Nibble are so proud of their product spec that I even got a fantastic comparison chart included with competitor info! Nibble’s contain just 15% sugar per 100g when the nearest competition is Bounce Bites at 26% and the highest Nakd Cocoa Mint bar at a huge 45%! With 24g of protein per 100g too and the calories at about average of most brands wouldn’t you agree it’s all sounding pretty good, but the question is….do they stand up to the taste test?

These are the 7 different flavours that I was sent and they have just launched gingerbread as an 8th, so there’s something to suit most palettes and I have to say some more unusual combinations which is good to see. My top 3 picks were – in reverse order – Choc Walnut Brownie- I adore walnuts and I loved the little chunks of nut in each bite, Lemon with coconut- gorgeous, light, citrusy and refreshing and then the winner *drum roll please* was Choc Orange Brownie! How these do not have more sugar in is beyond me! They are delicious like a real treat or dessert!

 

If watching sugar is something you are trying to monitor, you need a quick pick me up on the go, you like to have a pre of post gym protein fix or you just love trying healthy snacks this brand is for you. If you fancy getting you hands on some here ‘s a list of stockists! 

Vegan

Gluten Free

Date Free

High Protein 

Fibre Rich

Low Gi 

Have you tried these guys? Why not hit up their instagram and check out what they’re up to… @nibbleprotein or click here 

 

Thanks reading!

H x

exercise

Les Mills Body Balance

So you’re thinking of doing a Body Balance class and have come across this post looking for some insights on what to expect and what’s its all about! I’m new to Body Balance myself having been more of an avid attendee for more high intensity classes to ensure maximum calorie burn but starting at the turn of 2019 I decided to introduce more exercise that is promotes flexibility, core strength, relaxation and stretching.

Primarily Body Balance combines a range of moves and techniques inspired by yoga, pilates and tai-chi. The class is done to music and is broken into ‘tracks’ like all other Les Mills classes. The class is done bare foot or in yoga socks and you have a mat for the floor work part of the class. I’m not sure if its the case every time but each class I have done starts with the strength work and the second section is relaxation based and finishes with meditation. When I say strength BTW these are all body weight and core exercises no actual weights are used. If you are brand new to any of these types of movements I would suggest that you position yourself somewhere that you can see the instructor so that you can really understand the technique that you should be performing and gage the posture.

As someone who likes to have that energy burn I love this class with the mixture of strength and relaxation as sometimes on days just doing a yoga class I feel the need to work out too but this class does allow you to feel the exertion of a workout and you leave feeling relaxed as yoga!

It’s a great class, don’t be scared or intimidated. It’s appealing for a number of reasons and to suit all needs and attracts a totally mixed clientele so I would highly recommend it! Go along, have a go and enjoy!

Thanks for reading, H x

anxiety

Gym-timidaton- Some top tips on beating the fitness fear!

Gym success! Top tips to squash intimidation, help you not quit and have a quick reality check!

I thought I just made this word up but clearly not, Urban Dictionary sums it up quite well!

“gymtimidation
The fear of working out at a gym because everything from the crazy contraptions to the seriously ripped bodies is extraordinarily intimidating.
Jack got gymtimidation from all the muscleheads at the gym”

So you may have come across this post because you’re thinking of joining a gym for the first time and feel edgy AF about it or you’ve already joined a gym and get the fear every time you’re there so I’ve put together some little tips to help and some little truths to help you through the period until you feel like part of the furniture!

  • First and foremost! Do not worry about what other people are doing, they aren’t worrying what you’re doing, trust me!
  • And on that point also, no one is looking at you and for those who really have it bad no one is laughing at you either!
  • If you’re offered a gym induction take it! It’ll teach you the ropes, help you settle into a new space and some gyms may offer to write to a programme included which will help you be in the know!
  • Struggling to stay motivated? Maybe join a class where the shame of leaving half way through is greater than the pain of the exercise or if you can afford it get a PT to push you.
  • Don’t know what to do? Get some fitspo and do some research, use Instagram, Pinterest, you tube, books there’s loads of moves and ideas on there or actual workouts just to follow! Structure really helps!
  • Buddy up! Take a friend cause hey misery loves company *jokes* but seriously stats have shown that individuals that work out with a partner have a higher probability of reaching their goals
  • Have a plan of what you want to achieve but set realistic goals so you aren’t disappointed and want to quit because you aren’t Kayla Itsines after the first week. Results take time and effort but don’t be disheartened it’ll be worth it!
  • Try not to weigh yourself too much, max once a week! Weight loss/gain can depend on many things so don’t be too hard on yourself and remember the number on the scale isn’t everything!
  • Don’t have all the gear no idea but I do recommend feeling equipped, comfortable and confident in your clothes! So you can strut like a boss to your next exercise!
  • If you think you don’t really know what you’re doing, don’t worry, half of the rest of those people are just pretending they know what’s going on too!
health

Exercise for PMA

Hey friends,

It’s Friday night and I’ve just got home from a jog, not a long one but enough to take my breath away. The route and scenery on my travels were severely mediocre but none the less I’ve got home feeling so invigorated and re-energised. I was so exhausted when I finished work today that I sacked off the gym and I felt lethargic and grouchy…until my run! Now I feel that same sense on mental clarity that is consistent after every time I do any kind of exercise that challenges me.

All my life I always thought I would be someone who despised exercise and fitness forever, but a few years ago when I found myself broken from a crappy breakup from an even crappier relationship alongside being overweight, down on myself and pretty all around depressed I decided it was time to do something about it and I hired myself a private PT. To cut a long story short this was the turning point in a long journey which I am still on (much of which I will delve into deeper at a later date) where I discovered the power of positive mental attitude which I never could have even considered was an option until I started regular exercise.

Not only does it make you feel so positive that you are moving in the right direction with whatever goal motivates you to do it but you feel so much lighter, more cleansed somehow. My thoughts are cleared, possibilities seem endless, ambitions seem reachable. It just makes the cup half full. It opened my eyes to something that anyone can do that physically- and more vitally for me mentally- makes you feel so much better. I’m not super fit by any means- sometimes I wouldn’t even say I’m fit, I can’t run for more than about 1.5km without stopping and I still have only managed 80% of a body attack class but there is something to be said for trying your absolute hardest and gradually getting better.

If you have a pair of trainers and some road to run I highly recommend it if you’ve had a bad day. Nothing like it to clear the cobwebs.

Has any one else got any stories like these?

H x

health

My Fitness Pal- A life saver for weight loss

Hey lovelies!

 

I know this is a really well known app but it surprises me still how many people have never heard of it when I’m raving about it so I thought I would share the features and benefits. If you are considering trying to lose weight, start a healthy eating regime, go on a new diet, change your existing diet by going vegan or veggie or just like to keep track of what you eat my fitness pal is amazing, it will track, educate, inspire and help you on your journey! Its available in the Apple app store and or Android too for FREE!

My fitness pal for me personally- more than anything- just opened up my eyes to how many calories you can sometimes intake without even realizing it! One great thing is that it has a scanner facility so you can physically scan the packet of what you’re going to eat and it inputs all of the information for you, you just need to alter how much you ate of what you scanned, there is of course a manual feature too! You input how much exercise you have done, how much water you have drank and handily it also has a built in pedometer so it will tell you how many steps you have done and what that is in calories burnt. The range of foods stored into MFP is just so vast and amazing, including many popular restaurant chains too so you can still stay strict and focused even when eating out! For the more advanced trackers you can add tour foods by the single gram too if you don’t want to approximate.

When you first sign up it will take all of your details such as- your height, weight, goals and activity levels and then based on the information you have supplied it will work out how many calories you need to eat to achieve your goals, this doesn’t always have to be weight loss, it can be to help you gain weight too or just maintain. You can also put progress pictures on there too so you can really visually see the development of your goals. As you update your weight progress there is a graph too which measures your loss/gain or shows the maintenance.

A feature that I find really interesting too is the nutrients and macros. Nutrients shows you where you are sitting VS the RDA or a custom goal you have set yourself. This is so good because you could possibly be really lacking in a certain nutrient or having too much of something- commonly for a lot of people this will be sugar from overeating even good things like fruit and too high cholesterol from eating too many eggs or other high cholesterol foods.

The macros feature is like a pie chart of the balance of your macros- macros are your carbs, protein and fats and again is a good way to track if you are having a well balanced diet.

 

So what do you have to lose? It’s free, if nothing more it is a fantastic digital food diary, it certainly could teach anyone a thing or 2 about their own diet and what they are eating and it congratulates you when you do well!

Thanks for reading! Has anyone else found this or any other app really handy? I couldn’t live without this now!

Hx