LMP week 2

Salam Alaikum

I've now reached the end of week 2 of my LMP schedule. It's great to be back to strength training MashaAllah just love it! There hasn't been a day where I haven't been sore all over lol, although its a good soreness :) last night I decided to use more weight and SubhanAllah was shaking for hours after my workout!
As with every workout there are some parts you love and some you hate. My absolute favourite is the combination of clean and press with dead lift :) it takes your heart rate up and you feel strong
Another part which I also enjoy is chest and arms, it's definitely a weak point for me. But as the days go by, not only do I feel I'm getting stronger, but my arms are definitely toning up! Which is much needed after I've shed all that weight, too much loose skin everywhere :/
The the hardcore abs workout is definitely challenging and the first few times I did struggle quite alot, but again I'm getting stronger and InshaAllah I will soon be able to get the full satisfaction from this
Now there are a couple of things I dislike about this workout, it's lunges!! Can't stick them! My leg muscles are and have always been rock hard, especially on the back of my leg, which gives me muscle cramps when going lunges :( that also means I can't get the full workout as I will have to stop quite a few times during the track.
And then there is the flow workout, or actually stretch programme. It's a yoga style stretch programme and I really dislike this one, so I've replaced that with Pilates. I've got 2 Pilates DVDs with Lara Hudson, they've got really good stretch programmes MashaAllah
Today is the last day of week 2 and a rest day. Lol doubt I would be able to do any workout today due to soreness! I'm planning to get some cardio in at some point, but for now I really want to finish these 13 weeks and I can always add on the further into the programme I get

Kia Kaha - stay strong :)

homemade sugar scrub!

Salam Alaikum

Has anyone tried sugar scrubs to exfoliate your skin? they're lush! they make your skin supersoft MashaAllah.
Well I've not been into town for a while, so hadn't been able to get any in stock.. So looked online and saw LOADS of sites who had LOADS of recipes.. Most of them had 1 cup sugar, 1/2 oil and a few drops of essential oil.. I used what I had at home, used 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 coconut oil and lavender oil.
Mix it all together and store in a pot with lid. When you want to use it, scrub it all over your body, leave for a a few mins and rinse with warm water. Your skin will feel so smooth! I always use a good moisturizer after showers and it leaves the skin so so soft, love it!
 will definitely continue to use this and will experience with other combinations aswell. Might look into more products me thinks :) will post here as i try and test some other stuff InshaAllah, but for now, this sugar scrub is a winner and will be done on a regular basis :)

headlice/nits!

Salam Alaikum

If there is anything I hate about school terms it's nits! argh they make my skin crawl! And if you've got kids in school age, you're most likely getting those much hated letters every now and then. I've got 3 girls with long hair and OMG it's a never ending story here. It doesn't matter how i tie their hair, they still get them! I've even cut my eldest 2 hair short, big mistake! it was even worse!

using chemicals every time, it's really not good for their scalp. The schools recommend to use plenty of conditioner with tea tree oil. These can be found in most supermarkets at a very reasonable price. However if you miss 1 of those buggers, the child will soon be covered all over again :/

something I've found very effective is vinegar and olive oil. I use a spray bottle and soak their hair with vinegar. This is suppose to suffocate the nits. then i apply olive oil, which is suppose to losen the eggs from the hair. Then wrap their hair with cling film and then cover it with a shower hat. I leave it to work for 30-45 mins and then comb their hair with a nitty gritty comb. I love these combs as they've got long teeth and make it easier to get through my eldest thick hair MashaAllah

Then i wash their hair with regular shampoo, you need to wash and rinse a couple of times to get all the oil out..

I've also tried tea tree oil. Although effective, it's not as effective as the above method. My opinion anyway.. If you want to use tea tree oil, then make sure to mix it with a base, either olive oil or conditioner. If you add pure tea tree oil directly to the scalp it can irritate the skin and cause allergic reaction.

after getting rid of the nits, it's important to keep checking for a week or two, to make sure they're all gone.
Also you can mix water with approx 10 drops of tea tree oil and spray your child's hair every morning before going to school. this is suppose to keep the nits away, i've not tried that yet, but will be as soon as i get hold of some tea tree oil.

Sugar wax - hair removal

Salam Alaikum

Hair removal is something we all have to deal with and there are soooo many ways of doing it.. I've personally tried quite a few products that are available, but i always fell back on the razors, as the chemicals were just too strong for my sensitive skin.

After having my 4th child, I started getting facial hair, argh! something that I had prayed wouldn't happen.. well I had to find a solution and started looking around for alternatives to chemical products. Sitting with a tweezer would take forever! First I found a product called threadease. It was alright, but time consuming, especially if you're not used to do threading.. then i came across epicare, which works similar to threading. Great to have on the go, but I didn't think it worked as well as normal threading. It often broke of the hair, instead of pulling it from the root and i also found it more painful than threading..


Then one evening, i came across an article about sugar waxing, this lady swore by it being the best method out there... So it made me curious and I looked it up. I came across this page http://howtobeawesomeforfree.blogspot.co.uk/
and that was the end of my search!
I've been using this method for almost a year now and i love it! although it's time consuming to do a whole body sugaring, the results are epic! the hairs grow out much thinner and in some places, they've not grown out as of yet :) Yes it's painful the first couple of times, but you do get used to it

If you try it, let me know how you got on with it

Les Mills pump once again

Salam Alaikum

Over the last year I've managed to lose roughly 25 kgs MashaAllah, which has been the greatest achievement i've had for a very long time. Around this time last year I started changing my lifestyle, step by step. And around April/May I was introduced to Les Mills Pump, by a friend of mine :) MashaAllah of all the  exercises I've done, this one is tailored to me! I absolutely love it! I was a rower in my teens and I've never found a workout that was as satisfying as that, until LMP :)

Unfortunately I was never able to complete the whole 13 weeks programme, I had a few breaks, started over and over again.. Now I'm determind to complete the whole programme and get rid of these last few kgs InshaAllah.

I will try to update on my progress on a regular basis InshaAllah

Today it's Pump Challenge, which is a 20 mins workout with a barbell. I will be doing it when kids are in bed InshaAllah

What i love about this programme is that it starts off slowly and gradually builds up and the trainers are absolutely amazing! love their enthusiasm, encouragement and engery :) see you all tonight LMP trainers :)