BodyCon by Raph

This is your reminder that each person moves at their own pace and that includes YOU. So, make moves to achieve your goals, but appreciate your journey along the way. Don’t make time for people who are bringing you down intentionally. Shift your focus to your goals and make 👏🏽 it 👏🏽 happen 👏🏽

Let 2022 be the year where you become stronger, happier, healthier. Let it be the year you grow more and more confident. Let it be the year you nourish your body with good food and movement.

Let’s step up our self care. Not in a whimsical way, but where we really learn how to take care of our mental and physical health.

And that’s my aim for this year: to help you all along the way and to smash my own goals 🎗


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All about the good fuel 😋

Nutrition plays such a huge role in health and fitness and it is so important to create a positive and balanced relationship with food.

Find foods and flavours you love that are good for you and explore what you can do with them 🤩

This killer pasta salad included:
💚 Poached chicken
💚 Spiral pasta
💚 Sundries tomatoes
💚 Cherry tomatoes
💚 Red onion
💚 Spinach
💚 Chickpeas
💚 Dressing made up from oil, garlic, dijon mustard and seasoning

Make 2022 a year of improving your relationship with your food, exercise and body. Let’s quit the shame and guilt and create a balance that’s sustainable and feels good 🌟

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Christmas is literally right around the corner 🎉
So, let’s talk FOOD GUILT. And more importantly how to avoid it.
First and foremost, let’s remember we quite literally need food, so please do not deny yourself basic human rights. But also, this time of the year is full of celebrations, seeing loved ones, Christmas parties, breakfasts, brunches, lunches, dinner etc. If you’re feeling triggered by any of it, please know that you can seek help.

But also, some tips for you this Christmas season:
🎄Be prepared - whether that means mentally preparing yourself for a night out or balancing your nutrition that day
🎄 Check out the menu - if you feel unsure of what you’ll be eating, check out the menu. I do this all the time, just because I like to be ready for when the waiter asks 😂
🎄 Surround yourself with positive people - don’t let people affect your comfort levels, especially when you’re going out. Surround yourself with positive people and if you can’t, then shut down negativity when necessary
🎄 Avoid diet conversations - step out of conversations centred around phrases like ‘I feel fat’, ‘this food makes me feel like a pig’, ‘I’m going to be so fat tomorrow’, etc. Eating should be enjoyable, it should not be centred around your weight. If conversations like this arise, don’t partake, there’s no need to absorb this attitude
🎄If feelings of guilt surrounding food linger, seek help and support. There is no shame in it.

Enjoy your time out. You are more than just a body and you exist for more in life than to lose weight or make gains.

And enjoy my food snaps. Cute lil extra of Zoe enjoying her homemade mini pancakes at the end 🤪
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Thank you to the amazing team at .hairstudio who helped me chop my hair for an amazing cause.

It’s a bit of a change 😅 but definitely happy that half a metre of hair is on the way to to make wigs for those who have conditions affecting their hair. This isn’t a brag post, this is a post to remind you how grateful we should all be for our blessings and an encouragement to help those who you can.

Help doesn’t have to be monetary, there are so many ways to reach out. It can be as simple as a random act of kindness. Please don’t underestimate your impact.

Grateful to be able to be in a position where I can help others in need. And blessed to have such amazing and supportive people who encourage me to be the best version of myself possible.


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A lil 101 on the Menstrual Cycle and the changes in our body.

Part of training is learning your body and you can’t pass the fundamentals. Understanding what our base is is integral to creating the change we want.

Any questions? You know where to find me!

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FATTEH • save for later • this is a traditional Mediterranean/Arabic dish. You’ll find the ingredients might change purely based on ingredients from the region, so it’s not uncommon to have this dish with different meats such as lamb or chicken.

This dish is so simple and so nutritious and tasty. My sister calls it the Lebanese nachos which I find quite fitting. It can usually be made with what’s in the pantry and is super quick to whip up! 👇🏽

• RECIPE: •
250g Greek yogurt
1/4 cup tahini
2 garlic cloves crushed with a pinch of salt
1-2 x canned chickpeas (depends how many you’d like to feed. I’d say one can is good for two serves)
About 2 Tbs Pine nuts
About 2 tbs Slivered almonds
Small k**b of butter and olive oil OR about 1/2 tablespoon of ghee

Mix the yoghurt and tahini in a bowl until combined.

Add crushed garlic and fold until evenly mixed through. At this point, you can add some water to loosen up the mix. Try 1/4 cup at a time. You don’t want it too runny, but you want it almost saucy (this will also depend on the consistency of the yogurt you use).

Cut up some Lebanese bread (however much you like. One serve is about one quarter of a double sided wrap, but let’s be real, there’s always room for more) into small squares. Toast this in your oven grill or airfryer - whatever works best for you!! It won’t take long so make sure to check on it consistently.

Warm the canned chickpeas up in a small pot on the stove. Make sure to add the brine it comes in. Warm it up then strain.

In a small frypan, melt the butter and olive oil mix - or the ghee - until nice and runny. Add the pine nuts and slivered almonds and toss through until they’re golden.

Now that everything is cooked, let’s plate it up!

Pop some of the tahini mix on the bottom of the plate, add some strained chickpeas and add some tahini mix on the top, then more chickpeas. This will make sure you’ve got some layers!

Top the chickpea and tahini layers with the toasted nuts. Go ahead and drizzle some of the butter on!

Pop on the crisp Leb bread and Sahtaan!

This is best served with some fresh vegges on the side - Lebanese cucumbers and tomatoes or capsicums are great!

All about dem angles bc we gotta remember social media is NOT real life. These photos literally taken within the minute; just turning around for different lighting, re angling my body and moving the camera around.

STOP 👏🏽 COMPARING 👏🏽 YOUR 👏🏽 BODY

Social media is fake. But body dissatisfaction is so freaking real!

NORMALISE 👏🏽 NORMAL 👏🏽 BODIES

Rant over.

For now 🥰

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Hi friends 👋🏽

This post is sponsored by but not really. I just love their coffee.

Just wanted to pop up and firstly, say thank you for all the kind words of support from my story today. This community truly is beautiful and I am very grateful 🤍

Here are some reminders for when things are a bit overwhelming and crazy in the world:

🧁 It is okay to not be productive. This isn’t a competition of how much you can achieve in this time. Don’t put yourself down if the best thing you can do today is get out of bed, go for a little walk, have also me food and shower. Some days be like that.

🧁 Stop comparing yourself through social media. Some people’s coping mechanism at the moment is to highlight and talk heaps about their positives (which is great). This isn’t a bad thing, but sometimes it can start a thought chain of comparison and thinking you’re doing so badly comparatively. Don’t do that. Snap out of that mindset. People rarely highlight and advertise their downfalls.

🧁 It’s okay to gain weight and to lose weight (and gains). We’re in a moment of time where nothing feels great at the moment. Your body reacts to your emotions and your hormones okay differently. Try and achieve balance, but know that things will be different to what they were before lockdown.

🧁 It’s okay to enjoy small portions of lockdown like having a slower pace. That’s not a selfish thing to do. Take pleasure in the things you can!

🧁It’s okay to take a step back and take care of yourself. It’s actually better than okay tbh, it’s great! Do it! Peace and happiness and satisfaction - everything really - begins from us and begins from within.

🧁 It’s okay to feel like the world is really overwhelming and to cry or feel angry or to not be okay. It’s fu***ng terrifying. I’ve randomly burst out crying seeing s**t online. I’m so easily triggered, that I feel like a walking water balloon about to burst. But, reach out for support. Talk to your mates, they’re probably feeling the same or similar way. You are NOT in this alone.

All in all, it may not seem it, but this is temporary. What ISN’T temporary is your health. So, look after it and put your health first 💬

S C O N E S 👩🏽‍🍳

Save for later ⚠️

Because there’s nothing better than baking some goodies! Here’s a little recipe for you all to give a shot, if you’d like!

If you give it a go, let me know how they turn out 👯‍♀️
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LET’S TALK PROTEIN!

A bit of info to follow up on last weeks Cons with Raph. Swipe through for more info!

Don’t forget, this info is based on the average, healthy adult. For personalised info, consult with a professional. And I mean professional, not someone who’s only qualification is their insta following.
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Three things:

1. I highly UNrecommend (I know it’s not a word) biking if you’ve lifted heavy the day before - the DOMS are bloody real today.

2. I’m in dire need of a tan, my legs are pretty much reflective at this point.

3. Another daily reminder to get outside and get moving. The weather is quite nice especially in the mornings, so clear your mind and move your body.

Lockdown is s**t, but for the most part, we’re all usually too busy to enjoy the small things. So, this is the time to make the best of them!
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