Lorna Jane Active Living :: Move | Nourish | Believe

Since I'm in Australia, and am right here in Brisbane, it's gotta be checking out Lorna Jane. I'm not clueless to the controversies surrounding the founder and the brand about not stocking apparel in plus sizes, and fat-shaming employees, and apparently ripping off some of them, and also treading the thin line in ad slogans.

The brand has been around since 1990. Social norms and attitudes have shifted, and consumers are getting more vocal. The brand is trying; it has to understand what consumers now want. Since last year, it has also been reaching out to the Year 9s and 10s at the schools in Queensland to conduct 'Active Living Workshops' in a bid to promote an active and healthy lifestyle that will carry through each student's adult life.

Anyway, I went for two classes at a Lorna Jane in the central business district, where the retail shop is branded as an 'Active Living Room' because there's an adjoining studio to hold fitness classes at those convenient lunch hours. They even have a rack of dumbbells to help with the classes. Did mat pilates and what the instructors term as a 'Meltdown', which is really HIIT/Tabata. 😶

There's this whole movement of 'active living' branded as 'Move | Nourish | Believe'. They offer information, recipes (available online) and meal plans to eat clean, eat well and not compromising on taste. So peanut butter and jelly banana bread is totally a good thing, along with frozen choc banana pops and double chocolate fudge bliss balls.

Besides those books you could buy for reference to formulate your own meal plans, Lorna Jane has got this three-day 'The Kickstart Cleanse' going around. Grinned when I scanned through the suggestions of neatening up the diet. It's not a 'cleanse' for me. It's more or less what I eat every day! Kekekeke. I've got no problems taking a leaf from it in Brisbane or in Singapore, but I won't adhere strictly to it. I absolutely refuse to let thoughts of weight gain or fats dominate each meal. It's very tiring. If I'm burning up calories at cardio classes, then I'm totally eating that plate of pasta in an appetizer portion. No guilt. Different people require different amounts of food. Eating less doesn't mean it's healthier.

If you want to take a look at the PDF copy of Lorna Jane's 'The Kickstart Cleanse' for some ideas, just drop me an email at faerieimp[at]gmail[dot]com and I'll pop it over. Beautifully-styled cookbooks and hip meal plans are now the natural extension of fitness brands from apparel and registered workouts. No, I'm not paid to do this. Haha! Not a celebrity and not a social media influencer of any sort. I simply need lots of active wear to rotate around my exercise regime. Gotta spread the love among a few brands. Can't just stick to one brand!

Suggested foods in Lorna Jane's 'The Kickstart Cleanse'.

The good thing, Singapore has sufficient menu options at the eateries if you can't be bothered to prep meals at home or need to replace any ingredient that induces an allergic reaction. If this 'cleanse' is just three days, then there's less of a mental hurdle to conquer if the types of suggested food items aren't to your preferred tastes. It's just a start. The point is to slowly shift your diet to something less heavy on the fried foods, refined sugars, candy, cakes, full-on carbs and oil.

I managed to find plenty of substitutes, and added chilli and way more spices into my food. I cannot deal with the lack of spices. No, just dukkah, mild curry powder, ginger and mild big red chilli are insufficient. Didn't bother keeping it totally vegetarian or carb-free. I added seafood too. Like I said, it's not a 'cleanse' I'm embarking on. This IS my usual diet that works on a long-term basis, and the components are enjoyable (to me). Clearly I'm not going to scientifically count them calories for calories, or have a nutritionist vet my meals. This is not a competition. AND I'M NOT GIVING UP CAFFEINE.

What I actually ate over the first three days in Brisbane.
Skipped the meats, but accepted smoked salmon, crayfish and langoustines.
Coffee, bananas and smoothies are currently my favorite snacks.