The year 2013 ~ REFLECT * RECHARGE * MOVE FORWARD

I love this time of year! I am not sure about all of you but this is the time for me to sit back and reflect on the events of the year before the new year begins… WOW and what an amazing year it has been! 

For me the experiences of 2013 can only be described as the most outrageous roller coaster ride you could ever imagine yourself going on. The kind that takes your breath away at times and the kind that brings you to tears at some of the turns and then when it is over you left smiling the biggest smile ever thinking - "WHAT A RIDE!"

So much has happened in my 2013. I lost my beloved Great Grandfather Ken. I had the honour of being bridesmaid at my beautiful friend Catherine's wedding. I properly settled into my new job. I placed 2nd in a 12 week transformation challenge and entered my second Bikini Fitness Comp.  I dealt with major heartache more times in one year that I care to mention. I made some really hard decisions and at times I had to learn the hard way.  I said ‘hello’.  I said ‘goodbye’. I 'let go'. I met 'the man of any girls dreams'. I laughed and I cried. I was accepted to study a Marketing Degree. The list goes on...I suppose like most, my year has been full of highs and some really low, lows.

Through it all, I can’t help but sit back and feel confident that 2013 will forever be remembered as my “Aha” year ,the year that things began to finally make sense and Tarrin Hagan started to become who Tarrin Hagan should be.(About time most of you would say)

So as 2013 comes to a close, I have never been more excited to bring in a new year and some of you may know why. I can’t wait to find out what 2014 has in store for me. Whatever it is, my excitement comes from knowing that 'The Best is yet to come'....and 'What must be will be'.

This past year taught me who I am. It definitely has highlighted my strengths and identified my weaknesses but I sure am a better person because of it all and I wouldn't change my 2013 for anything. I regret nothing!

This year, on New Years Eve as I raise my glass, my toast will be simple. "Here’s to the end of a good year and here’s to the beginning of an even better year, with so much in store for me and here’s to always moving forward in life."

Life is far too short, it is meant to be lived forward ;)

HAPPY NEW YEARS TO EVERYONE

Love Miss Hagan

A weekend should never be your excuse

Hey it's FRIDAY!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend but before I head off and enjoy every minute of mine, I thought I would post a weekend fitness routine that some of you couch potatoes, series watchers, night club crawlers can do without giving me one of your random excuses as to why you cant exercise..it's the weekend...bla bla bla

 

Easy stuff, you can do this as you wake up in the comfort of your own home...no excuses...get your blood flowing :)

Get your Glutes to salute!

Smooches

xx

Shut up and Squat

I am not a big fan of doing squats but I have come to terms with the fact that some things we need to learn to love to benefit ourselves at the end of the day.

Squats are actually great for a total lower body work out as they work most of the major muscle groups of the butt, hips and thighs and you can do squats anywhere with or without weights.

Here are some of the benefits of doing squats:

• They tone your legs
• Lift your butt
• Strengthen your core muscles
• Increase flexibility

Oh look you have an opinion, that I forgot to care about.

They say opinions are like assholes, everyone has one...but at the end of the day your asshole doesn't matter to me...

Chatting to my Bikiniboots family this morning on our chat group, we were all discussing the topic of opinions. Obviously being the fit family that we are, our discussions were based purely on the people(by people I mean some men and maybe some females) who have an opinion about how you look.For example a female shouldn't have muscles or lift weights, you know the usual retared mentality of people who live in a vacuum and believe woman are still meant to be barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchen.

NEWS FLASH...it is 2013, it is time for you to step out of your bubble and catch a wake up dude...in some cases dudette.

Personally I feel the only time you can have an opinion on a topic is if you have expert knowledge on the topic you have an opinion about and who made you God.

Truth is whether you like it or not people are always going to have opinions. What you do with those opinions are entirely up to you.

I dont have an opinion about you being drunk every weekend and eating your Wimpy at 3am. Everyone has a choice in life about how they choose to live it, so what gives me the right to have an opinion about you and what gives you the right to have an opinion about me because I have muscles or a 6 pack and all you have is a bakers dozen under that baggy t-shirt you wearing?

Think about it, this world would be a far better place if people kept their opinions to themselves and allowed people to be happy doing what they do and looking how they look.

If you prefer the "Miss Italia" look to our "Fitness" look that is fine with us but we don't need to hear it, keep your opinion to yourself.

Thanking you Kindly,

We don't give a shit about your opinion.

Failure is NOT FINAL...unless you give up!

I’ve been feeling a little frustrated with myself since my competition in June and going on a rather fast paced downward spiral and being the only person attending my self-pity party. Being so out of control at times,not caring about what I eat or not being bothered if I skipped a day or two at the gym. I reached the point where I just wanted to give up, what’s the point I would tell myself.

So this motivation is to remind you that even if you have a set-back that does not mean you’ve failed. A setback can only catapult you into your comeback!

Failure is not final unless you give up!

There will always be set backs, obstacles and challenges in life. When it comes to fitness or being healthy, you will not always eat perfectly and work hard enough at the gym, hell you may even skip a few gym sessions to lay in your bed and watch series, but that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. You might gain a few kilograms and maybe lose a gram of muscle or two. You’ll have a binge night or weekend where you drink alcohol and eat enough junk to amount to your entire years’ worth of calorie quota, ok I am exaggerating a little but you get my drift!

 

But if you can still get up the next day or next week and say to yourself, “okay let’s try this again” then you have not failed. Like I said above, this can be applied to any aspect in your life. Maybe you didn’t get the job you were hoping for or maybe that relationship you were hoping would work out, didn’t…don’t give up. Keep working hard and eventually it will pay off. Failure only comes once you refuse to get back up, wipe the dirt off your knees and try again!

It ain’t over until the fat lady sings!

 

 

Happy Hump Day

Happy Hump Day!

Start your day the right way...eat your breakfast! I chose to start my day with some power oats

• 30g Rolled oats
• Sweetener
• 1 Scoop of Vanilla Whey Protein
• 1 Tbspn of Almond Nut Butter
• 3 Strawberries

Delish!

Breakfast is a must-do meal, it curbs cravings and gives me the energy I need to tackle my day. If you are the kind of person who does not eat breakfast, make the lifestyle change. I used to be one of those people and trust me I will never look back and skip a breakfast again.

I find that most breakfast boycotters are under the impression, "If I skip breakfast, I will lose weight"..Errmmm nope. If you skip a meal it could lead to overeating later on in the day. I find often when you become hungry from skipping a meal you tend to make incorrect choices(well I know I do) and you just grab anything to satisfy your hunger at that moment and this often results in you eating more calories than you would have if you had chosen to eat an appropriate healthy breakfast.

There is no such excuse as I do not have time to eat breakfast, there are plenty food items you could eat on the go, in your car on the way to work etc.

Whatever your breakfast choice is, just eat something!


Have a FAB day!

xx

T.G.I.M

Monday's are amazing aren't they?

Well I guess how you choose to look at your Monday is what determines what your Monday is to you...a MOURNING or a MORNING.

Monday's to me mean a chance for a fresh new start, a chance to get it right!

Forget about the mistakes you made over the weekend.

Do not fret over that piece of cake that you ate, that perhaps you should not have eaten as it was not part of your calorie intake of the day. Reality is, that piece of cake is in the past and guess what?! You can't change it, so do not beat yourself up about it any longer...simply set your weekly goals and push yourself a little harder this coming week to achieve them.

Monday is always a chance to do it right! Make the change, be proud of yourself and make this a BOSS week!


NEVER let a Monday dull your sparkle....use it to your advantage!

 

 

 

Quinoa Banana Bread

Quinoa Banana Bread (Makes one loaf)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 eggs, plus
• 1 egg yolk
• 21/4 cups mashed bananas
• 2/3 cup of xylitol sugar substitute or similar
• 2/3 cup of cooked and cooled quinoa
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• cinnamon and nutmeg to taste
• 1/2 cup of pecan nuts of walnuts (your choice)

Method

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius
2. Prepare a loaf pan using spray and cook
3. Cream the butter, sugar. Add the eggs and yolk and blend well. Add the banana, blend well. Mix the Quinoa with the banana mixture. Mix the dry ingredients together. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and stir until it is all incorporated. Add nuts. Pour into prepared pan.
4. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out dry.

 

Nutritioal Facts (Per Serving - 68g)

Calories: 214

Protein: 6g

Carbohydrates: 22g

Fat: 3g

 

 

So beautiful

LOVE

One of the things we all have in common is the need and desire for love, yet while we all want it, it is often the very thing that we fear because with matters of the heart, control is only an illusion and in a life where we have crafted methodical survival mechanisms to keep us safe, with love those strategies build walls instead of bridges blocking us from our greatest human desire.
 
When you open your heart you will find yourself in your most vulnerable state and to risk such vulnerability takes courage and with that courage bears the potential to unearth that very force that makes life beautiful.
 

Love, love unconditional, inconvenient, inspiring, powerful love. Love, that feeling of content when you wake up in the morning, that feeling of calm even in the most turbulent of storms. Love, passionate, raw, carnal can’t live without you love and when will you be ready for something so powerful, the answer is ,you never really will be, the Universe decides when to give you an opportunity at love and it is then where you decide if you are willing to take a risk, a risk to remove all that armour, unlearn those defence strategies and open your heart up with all of you.

Don’t doubt that you may get bruised along the way, you will cry, you will hurt you will mourn but remember those are bruises not scars and they only prepare you for the person you are meant to become. Love is what drives us, love is what shapes up – don’t dull that possibility because of fear, don’t settle for less and if life presents you an opportunity for love embrace it, jump in with two feet and give it everything that you have got and when you find love instead of being afraid to lose it relish in every single second of it whether that moment is fleeting or a lifetime it is what makes life worth living.

 

Stop thinking . Stop Asking . Start doing .

You know I am all about helping people who want help and show an actual interest in wanting to better themselves...but what each and everyone one of you need to remember is anyone can give you the advice or tools you need to reach your goal of that dream body, but if YOU, yes YOU are not going to get off your ass and put in the effort well then I am sorry to say this but you are wasting my time, your nutritionists time and your OWN time!

I started out on my journey quite like this above, I too wanted the quickest way to lose weight with having to put in the least amount of effort but you are going to FAIL miserably if you keep this mindset up!

I used to sit and look at pictures of fitness models or fellow bikini competitors and dream of looking like that but thinking to myself wow I can never give up Simba Chips, Pizza or Alcohol, I will die - NO YOU WONT, news flash...I haven't given up those things I just have them in moderation since I made the choice to better myself and change my lifestyle...you got to give up the things that "weigh" you down in order to fly!

Ask yourself these questions:

What do I want to accomplish here?
What do I want to look like at the end of this journey?
What am I prepared to do to reach this goal?

This is all about YOU, not anyone else...listen my coach Bernadine from Bikiniboots has given me all the tools to work with to achieve my goal, she is amazing and has been my rock the last 12 weeks but if I didnt put in the hours in the gym and eat the correct foods, I wouldn't be competing next week at "Battle of the Titans".

People can only guide you they cannot do the work for you, please remember this the next time you try and pass blame and say, I left that nutritionist because I was not seeing results...think about why you weren't seeing those results before you start pointing fingers - were you actually putting in the effort from your side? Stop passing the buck and take responsibility - for every action has a consequence.

So many times I hear girls say, I want to look like her...and someone close to my heart said to me the other day - no you don't want to compare yourself to anyone, no you dont want to look like anyone, you should want to look like the BEST version of yourself! So with that said, if you reading this - go on and get your ass into gear and make yourself the BEST VERSION of yourself you have ever been!

xoxoxo

6 weeks out...

6 Weeks out...

The last 6 weeks have been seriously tough, I am not going to lie but consistency and commitment are key factors to achieving your goal!

This is pretty much what I eat 80% of the day...

If you have a plan - stick to it and if you dont and you want to change your life for the better

~ get a plan, set a goal!

Being part of such an awesome team, Bikiniboots and having a coach such as Bernadine has really helped, alongside the motivation of all the girls in the team!

I am also fortunate enough to have amazing guys at SN Cape Quarter who I get my supplements from and they deliver - how is that for service!

Forgiveness..

Forgiveness is not a feeling that you must passively wait to wash over you. Forgiveness is a choice, a choice that you can make to free yourself from the emotional prison of anger, hatred and bitterness. The choice to forgive is not an easy one, but a necessary one....

12 Week Challenge

I am NOT going to lie doing a 12 week challenge has freaked me out, you swear I have never competed before in my life the way I am feeling right now, but if something doesnt scare you then it probably isnt worth doing and doubting myself before I have even started is NOT a good way to start!

Pulling myself towards myself as I type this!

12 Week Challenge starting date: 01 April 2013
RE: To prep for Clash of the Titans (hope to be ready in time but that will be determined by my nutritionist)

Let's start prepping!

I can do this, I will do this...GYM is about to become my new boyfriend.(again)

Even the strongest people go through weak moments...never forget your worth.

The last few months have been tough and me, the girl who always has it together, the strong individual, the one that nothing could affect...fell apart, lost a bit of herself for a while and is slowly trying to get it back.

Having friends who remind you of the type of person you are is the best thing in the world. When there is darkness surround yourself with people who love you, smile and laugh often it is the best medicine.

Stop letting people control so much of your mind, feelings and emotions and start working on forgetting what is gone, appreciate what still remains and start looking forward to what is going to come next in your life.

Hurt and pain go away, memories remain. Keep the good memories do away with the rest because hate in your heart consumes you and is a waste of time that you could be happy.

My friend said something to me the other day via e-mail that really hit home, it reminded me that life is too short to be anything but happy and love should come from both parties and love should never be mediocre. Everyone deserves a partner in life that appreciates them as much as they are appreciated.

She said...

I’m so sorry he has hurt you now again because you can’t find it in you to walk away from him and the damage he causes you!

I’m so sorry you allow him to play mind games with you and that he still lies to you!

I’m so sorry that you believe his lies because you love him!

I’m so sorry that other people always have to tell you the truth about him because you cant see it yourself!

I’m so sorry he always puts his feelings above yours!

I’m so sorry he always messes with your head!

I’m so sorry he always says that he needs time to sort himself out and you have to take a back seat until he is ready again!

I’m so sorry that he has come between you and some of your friends!

I’m sorry he has taken your passion and motivation away from you for gym!

I’m so sorry that he feels months later that he is too young for commitment and isn’t ready now! 

I’m so sorry that he doesn’t know if you’re the one, you would think he would know by now, after begging for you back the last time! 

I’m so sorry he always makes you out to be desperate/needy to other girls! 

I’m sorry he isn’t the one for you!  I’m sorry that you had to learn the hard way that he never will be!

I’m so sorry that you get embarrassed for having to say he did the same thing to you again!

I’m so sorry that you don’t just get angry and mad with yourself for believing he can change, when he can’t! 

I’m sorry that he has taken whatever trust you had in men away from the next person! 

I’m sorry he makes you feel like you aren’t worthy enough of a special Birthday with family and good friends! 

I’m so sorry you don’t know your own worth! 

I’m so sorry that you think this is the best partner that you can get in life!

But most of all, I’m so sorry I can’t be there to hold you and tell you everything is going to be ok…you just need to breathe and take one day at a time!

To all the ladies out there that might read this - remember what you are worth, being alone is ok - dont be with someone because you are too afraid to be alone and dontbe with someone who is not able to treat you right ~ Life is far too short.

We all make mistakes and learn from life, even the girl who thinks she had it all together ;)

 

Get up every morning and remember to NEVER...

• Let anyone but you yourself determine your self worth.
• Give with expecting to receive
• Make a promise you cannot keep
• Worry about something that is out of your control, give your problems to God.
• Allow ANYONE to dull your sparkle
• Complicate something that you can simplify
• Lie, one lie leads to another and it'll hurt you in the end as well as others
• Forget to treat others as you would expect to be treated
• Speak without listening
• Settle for less than what you truly deserve in life, life is far to short
• Sit and wait for something to happen, chances are it won't - go out and make it happen!
• Give up
• Give in, be relentless

And lastly NEVER

• forget to....

Psalm 116

Whatever your struggle is, that is tying you down from feeling fully free God will break those chains. You need to let him do whatever he wants to your heart, give him your heart completely...keep going, keep rowing, keep knowing and keep growing...

Psalm 116

¹ I love the Lord, for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry for mercy.
² Because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

³ The cords of death entangled me,
the anguish of the grave came over me;
I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
⁴ Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Lord, save me!”

⁵ The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.
⁶ The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low, he saved me.

⁷ Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.

⁸ For you, Lord, have delivered me from death,
my eyes from tears,
my feet from stumbling,
⁹ that I may walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.

¹⁰ I trusted in the Lord when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted”;
¹¹ in my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”

¹² What shall I return to the Lord
for all his goodness to me?

¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful servants.
¹⁶ Truly I am your servant, Lord;
I serve you just as my mother did;
you have freed me from my chains.

¹⁷ I will sacrifice a thank offering to you
and call on the name of the Lord.
¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to the Lord
in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord—
in your midst, Jerusalem.

 

Praise the Lord

Thirty facts I have learnt throughout my life...

In light of my 30th birthday closing in on me...Eeeeekkk!

There are a lot more than 30 things I have learnt in life but I thought everyone gets taught certain lessons in life and sometimes it takes for that same lesson to be taught over and over before it really sinks into your skull and other times it takes one powerful experience to 'burn' you for you to get that point driven home forever and fast!

So here are the 30 (what I feel are important) things I have discovered about life in my short time on this earth (yes because I am 30 years young ;) soon)

1. No-one has life all figured out!
2. If you see happy pictures on facebook, it isn't always the truth being portrayed.
3. Debt devours your soul...cash is king.
4. If something you are doing needs to be a secret or you are hiding it from the people closest to you as you are too ashamed of what they may think, chances are you shouldn't be doing it.
5. Weak people revenge, strong people forgive.
6. Most people cause suffering when they are suffering within themselves.
7. You can take a horse to water but you cannot make it drink!
8. TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS...99% of the time your "gut-feeling" is right.
9. When you get up, dress up and show up, you feel great instantly and people can pick it up.
10. People (including me) overthink way too much.
11. On instant messenger, messages can be misunderstood.
12. If he truly loves you, he will move heaven and earth to be with you and seeing you smile will be top on his list, if not...he is just not that into you.
13. Words are powerful, so think before you speak, words spoken cannot be taken back, they sometimes leave scars for life.
14. Sometimes you have to remove certain people from your life no matter how important they are to you, if they no longer server a purpose you only hurt yourself by allowing them to stay.
15. Life is too short, if you are not enjoying what you are doing, STOP and go do what you really want to do!
16. A change is as good as a holiday.
17. Killing time is ridiculous, it never grows back...it is priceless.
18. That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
19. Actions speak louder than words.
20. Everything you do in life has consequences so think before you do and remember you are responsible no matter how you feel.
21. You need not speak to your best friends for ages but when you do its as if you spoke yesterday.
22. YOU are responsible for who you become not your parents.
23. You can look at a situation and see it totally different to how someone else sees it.
24. You cannot make someone love you
25. It takes years to build my trust but seconds for you to break it
26. Tell the people you love that you love them they can be taken from you in an instant. RIP Gramps
27. It is hard to sometimes hard to figure out when enough is enough
28. Never harbour bitterness it will rob you of your happiness
29. I have learnt that a smile can change someone's day in a flash
30. I still have loads to learn about life...

Life is pretty simple, we just choose to complicate it

I have kinda been going through life the last few months feeling as though I have an Eeyore sitting on my shoulders and yes when you feel as though you have a weight on your shoulders, do Squats they say...trust me I have tried that, it still didn’t seem to change matters, it just give me a tighter tush, hey bonus so I aint complaining BUT let's be serious here. We as humans tend to be our own worst enemies!

Life is pretty simple, we just choose to complicate it - SO UNCOMPLICATE IT!

If you are anything like me, let things be less than perfect, you do not live in a perfect world so stop trying to make it that way, life is not perfect, people are not perfect and well I am not sure if you have realised this yet - you are not perfect but guess what? THAT'S OK because the real world does not reward perfection so learn to see imperfect things or people perfectly.

A really good friend of mine Kerrie always tells me - Stop focusing on what you don't want in your life and start focusing on what you do. So wake up every morning with the thought that something wonderful is going to happen in your life and I am willing to bet that you will be right. All positive thoughts have a success story attached to them.

Past mistakes, failures, relationships should all teach you something. It should give you the ability to create a better future because you now know what it is you don’t want to do or be or have in life so don’t be afraid of your past because of the hurt you may have felt. Do not allow it to dictate your now, learn from it and leave the past in the past, you cannot finish a book if you keep re-reading the same chapter #fact.

Focus on what is important to you not what is important to others, you are responsible for your own happiness so eliminate the things that do not feature on your list of important things to you. No wasted time = no regrets.

Give what you want to receive, this is a BIG one for me and we have been taught this throughout life. Everyone is human and we deserve kindness. We don't need to add to our burdens in life that we already carry by hurting others, it doesn’t make things better, so if you don’t want people being unkind to you don’t be unkind but still keep in mind someone is always going to hurt you but it is how you react to that, that matters. Remember what goes around comes around so treat people with respect and you will get respect in return

Stop trying to be everything to everyone, stop trying to please everyone, don’t try to be friends with everyone. Cultivate closer relationships with fewer people. Start focusing on being everything to someone. Helping or pleasing everyone is impossible. But making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus and most of all be yourself – at the end of the day true friends and loved one’s love you for who you truly are not some fabricated version of yourself – BE YOU, BE OPEN, BE HONEST, BE TRUSTWORTHY.

Integrity is the essence of everything successful – do good and life will turn out good. Do what you know in your heart is right, Stop doing immoral things simply because you can. Start being honest with yourself and everyone else. Don’t cheat. Be faithful. Be kind. Do the right thing! It is a less complicated way to live…less lies to have to keep up with. When you break the rules of integrity you invite serious complications into your life. Keep life simple and stress free by doing what you know in your heart is right.

Start caring about your own happiness, it is important to make other people happy, but you have to start with yourself. Never sell your soul to please someone else, we sometimes get lost trying to live our lives for someone else. You matter, your needs matter, relationships come and go but you live with yourself forever, this doesn’t mean love yourself so much you forget how to care about those around you just find a balance.

Start caring about how you treat yourself. The way you treat yourself sets the standard for how other people can treat you. You need to love the person you are otherwise no one else will either.

In closing remember that everything you do in life has a consequence…so think before you do.