Back to basics.

Well the man in the red suit has been and certainly spoilt the little people (and the big people) in our house.  I hope he was generous to you all :)
I'm enjoying my last couple of weeks at home as a mummy before my return to work on the 9th January and the chaos of working split shifts, sleepless nights and organising 3 children (2 littlies and the hubby) hits!  Definitely feeling mixed emotions about it all as I've really enjoyed my time at home, but I do miss my clients and having some regular "adult" time.
So I've decided for the last couple of weeks of "mummy" time I'm forgetting about schedules, scales and all things technical (heart rate monitor etc) when it comes to training.  I highly recommend EVERYONE forget about the scales for the next week or so until you feel like your training and eating is back on track.  Once you're back on track give yourself a week and then weigh and measure to start off the new year. 

I'm still teaching a couple of classes throughout the week but other than that, I'm training for fun.  Bella and I made the most of our Chrissy pressie the other day and had a great dance around to the Wii Just Dance and Just Dance Kids games.  It is seriously such a good workout, but so fun that you don't even realise how hard you are working.  Brandon was loving it too as he sat in his bouncer and laughed at mummy dancing lol. 
So even though I'm not doing alot of structured exercise I'm increasing my incidental exercise where I can.  Yesterday I caught up with a good friend who I don't get to see very often, and instead of meeting for coffee we went for a walk.  Mind you it was more a leisurely stroll and a gossip but it was still the better alternative. 
However, most of you are hopefully using this time of year, with the extra public holidays and days off, to train harder so I want to leave you all with a couple of short training sessions. 

Workout 1:
     10 rounds of: 100m sprints and 10 pushups

Workout 2:
     As many rounds as possible in 10 minutes of: 
     10 box jumps and 5 pullups (alternative - burpees)

The last thing I want to leave you with for 2011, is forget about setting New Years resolutions.  New Years resolutions are destined to fail.  Instead find a spare 10minutes and sit down and seriously think about your GOALS for 2012.  Set a few long term goals (to aim for over the year) and then break them down to set some short term goals (anywhere from 4-12 weeks).  Goals need to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable and Realistic.  And always give yourself a set Time to achieve them by.  Think S.M.A.R.T when setting your goals. 
My next blog (the first in 2012) I will share with you my achievements (and downfalls) from 2011, and my goals for 2012.  Bur for now have a fantastic New Years Eve, stay safe and healthy and I look forward to sharing more of my "Be Hot After Baby" adventures with you in the new year :)

Survive the Silly Season.

Well only 3 more sleeps until the man in the red suit arrives and I am so not organised!  I've bought all the pressies but haven't wrapped any yet.  My poor nursery has a pile to rival the size of Mt Archer in the corner of the room and I've got a heap of baking I want to do but haven't started.  Hopefully you are all more organised than me :)
I just wanted to give you a few tips to getting through the Silly Season without needing to go up a dress size by the end of it. 
1.  Try to keep moving.  Try to stick to your regular training sessions when you can.  And the days where you can't, move more.  Increase your incidental exercise by parking further away at the shops, running around with your children at home, walk around the house when talking on the phone.  Make a game of it and even include the children ie. when you wash the dishes do 5 squats for every plate you wash, or every time you walk through a doorway do a burpee.  Sure you might look strange but no one else will see you, except possibly the children and they'll love to join in. 

Christmas Bodypump class 2009

2.  Christmas day dinners are a recipe for calorie overload.  Keep these tips in mind so you don't overindulge to beat the bulge - use a smaller size dinner plate as you will fit less food on it, and don't go back for seconds, thirds, fourths etc.  Also fill your plate with lots of fresh green, leafy salads or vegies (try to make half of your plate salads or veg, a quarter protein and a quarter breads or pastas) 
3.  If you are asked to take a plate to a social occasion make it a healthy one.  Opt for a fresh fruit platter, fresh cheese and grape platter or bake something yourself so you have control of using healthier ingredients.  You could even go for little egg muffins or mini crust less quiches, zucchini slice or some mini berry muffins. 
4.  Never skip breakfast.  If you know you're going to be hitting the festive parties that night don't save up your calories by skipping meals earlier in the day.  You'll end up starving and as soon as you walk through the door you'll be elbowing everybody to get to the buffet table and over indulging.  Stick with your regular healthy breakfast and lunch options with a good mix of carbs and proteins.  And even before you go to the party have a light snack if you're feeling hungry to prevent the hunger gorge.
5.  You can still enjoy your festive fizzies (ie alcohol) but remember moderation is key.  For every glass of alcohol you have, follow it with a glass of water.  Don't let people refill your glass until your glass is empty and don't just have a liquid dinner.  Try to stick with low carb beers or low alcoholic wines/champagnes.  And avoid the creamy cocktails.  Ensure you fill up on a good meal of protein and carbs.  Keep in mind a big night on the Christmas cheer can potentially have you blowing out your calories that night (late night kebab anyone?), blowing out your calories the next day (my hubby's hangover cure is KFC nuggets - yuck lol) and can leave you feeling sluggish and tired for a day or 2 after so your training suffers. 

6.  Don't feel guilty for saying "NO".  I know sometimes you don't want to offend Nan by saying no to her second serving of plum pudding but your waistline will be grateful.  It is a sad reality that people (usually our nearest and dearest) will try to sabotage our healthy choices and usually they don't do it intentionally.  I constantly get told to "take it easy and rest" and "one little piece of cake won't hurt" from one family member.  I just let it slide and know that I'm doing things for my own benefit of a healthy body and mind. 

7.  And lastly enjoy this time and don't beat yourself up for having a bad day.  Accept that it's the time of year that your healthy eating may slide but don't use it as an excuse to eat a years worth of bad crap in one day.  It's all about moderation and making healthy choices.

I want to wish all of the Be Hot After Baby followers a very Merry Christmas and Wonderful New Year.  I thank you all for following over the last few months and your wonderful words of support.  I look forward to sharing more time with you in 2012. 

Stay safe, stay active and stay healthy xx

'tis the Season.

Well the crazy Christmas rush has hit and I can't believe that this time next week I'll be one big meal down, and one more to go ;)  I had a great little getaway down the beach last weekend but it just didn't last quite long enough. 
I managed to get in a couple of training sessions although it was a bit harder than I thought as hubby didn't have time off work so it was just me and the 2 kiddies most of the time, and I usually train before they wake but of course they both decided that 5:30am was a great wake-up time on holidays - little treasures. 
I was very grateful though that my mum offered to watch Brandon on the morning Bella went to daycare so I got an hour of "me" time.  And I can't believe how fantastic it felt!!  I went for a lap and a half at the Bluff at Kemp Beach.  And halfway through the walk I realised this was the first time in a very, very long time that I've had time like this to myself.  Sure I get time to train but usually it's at the gym with other people, or walking the dog which is the same scenery every time, or at home where I'm constantly reminded of the housework to be done, or being interrupted by the kidlets.  This was a full hour of peace and solitude.  I cranked the music in my car on the way there and enjoyed the scenery and tranquillity as I walked instead of thinking of how much washing I needed to do, or going through bodypump chorey in my head.  I highly recommend it for every mummy, even if it's just one hour a month.  Get a babysitter, get outside and go for a walk somewhere different and just enjoy your own company and thoughts.

My idea of "Heaven"

I also managed to do my i365 workouts each day and a couple of leg/ab workouts.  Cardio was harder as I had planned on doing some dvd's but the upstairs of the house we were at had wooden floors and I don't think the downstairs guests would appreciate me jumping around at 6am :)

So with one week until Christmas and only 3 weeks until I officially return to work after having 6 months off, I'm taking the pressure off!  I'm not weighing, I'm not planning and I'm not stressing about training.  BUT I'm also not forgetting about it.  I'm going to try to include some sort of physical exercise MOST days of the week.  I'm going to enjoy my last 3 weeks as a full time mummy and treasure this extra time with my babies. 

I will get in one more blog this week with some tips on surviving the festive season.  But until then just move when you can and don't use Christmas as an excuse to ditch the clean eating, after all Christmas is only one day, not a week or more ;)

Off on a mini break...from my scales and life xx

Well I've rebelled this week and not weighed in.  I've had my scales in my gym bag for the week and it's probably been the best thing for me as I was starting to weigh myself a little bit too often.  And I'm off today on a mini beach break and won't be weighing until I come back next week. 
I'm really excited to get away for a few days.  It will be great to spend some quality time with my kiddies without having to worry about checking emails, work planning or stressing about the housework getting done.  The only downside is my biggest kid (aka hubby) won't be with us the whole time :(  But we will get some time altogether as a family.
I'm also excited to have a break from my usual training regime.  As much as I love my Bodypump and Bodycombat classes, they are pretty much all I've been doing lately.  I'm struggling to shift my last few kilos and have the dreaded "jelly belly" which I loathe with a passion.  So I'm looking forward to getting outdoors, away from the norm and hitting up some hardcore workouts.  I'm going to aim for some HIIT cardio and some intense resistance training (think Tabata).  I've got my workout clothes, joggers and some training gear packed and ready to use.

I've thrown in a couple of dvd's and a Health and Fitness Home training magazine.  I've also got a fantastic little iPhone app. called 365 Workouts.  I'm setting myself the challenge in the 2 weeks lead up to Christmas to do the daily workout off this app, starting from tomorrow. 

For example today's workout is:

Five rounds of - 20 squat thrusts (burpee with no pushup) and 8 one arm pushups.

hhmm kinda glad that I'm starting tomorrow and not today lol.  It's a fun little app and I highly recommend it.  I will do my normal training session and then just finish off each session with the daily workout. 

http://workout-of-the-day.com/2009/01/17/i365-workout-of-the-day-iphone-app/

Well I'm off to finish packing.  It's a good thing I'm taking a few days away from my laptop as I'm turning into an obsessed, on line shopper.  I think I see my parcel man nearly every day :S  But yesterday's parcel was a bargain pair of toning joggers that I had purchased. 

I'm not one to fall for the advertising gimmick of these styles of shoes.  Basically I bought them because they were cheap, they look good and I go through heaps of shoes in my line of work.  But after wearing them yesterday I've fallen in love even more!!  Super cute and super comfy.  Now I just need to remember where I bought them from and see if they have any more in stock....

Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Salad

As promised here is the recipe for one of my favourite dinners!!  I can't take the credit for this one, I'm not creative unfortunately.  I remember seeing this advertised on TV a few years ago for Donna Hay magazine and googled the recipe.  You can modify the salad, I don't like tomatoe and Brett doesn't like cucumber so we just put our own salad straight onto plates. 

Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Salad

4 x chicken breasts, trimmed and sliced
2 cups finely grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup (2.5 fl oz) olive oil
3 egg whites beaten lightly
2 TBS lemon juice
200g (7oz) baby spinach leaves
1 lebanese cucumber, sliced thinly
1/4 cup freshly chopped basil leaves
240g punnet yellow tear drop (cherry?) tomatoes cut in half
2 green onions, sliced thinly (scallions)
Sea salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 200C.
Dip chicken in eggwhites then parmesan. Bake on baking trays under a pre-heated hot grill for 15-20 minutes until golden and crunchy.
Toss spinach, cucumber, tomatoes and green onions to combine, set aside.  Or place spinach on plate and top with the other salads. 
In another bowl whisk the basil, lemon juice, oil and seasonings, set aside.
Serve salad on individual plates with chicken on top and then drizzled with oil.

This is seriously one of the easiest dishes to make and is high in protein, low in carbs.  I enjoy mine with either a nice glass of red or a low carb beer - cause life is all about moderation ;)

http://www.girl.com.au/donna-hay-magazine-spring-edition-35.htm

 

Cheers to Carbs

Breakfast Berry Smoothie

I lasted a week but now I've Kicked no-Karbs to the Kerb (feeling very Kardashian like saying that lol).  After one week on my low carb eating plan I sneaked a peek on the scales (well truth be told I had been sneaking a peek every day tsk tsk) and nearly cried when I had PUT ON 200g!!!  So that was it - I whipped out my blender and started my day with the one thing I had been craving for breakfast all week, a protein, energy filled smoothie.  It is seriously the best Summer breaky - quick, balanced, refreshing and filling.  I just throw a cup of Rice or Oat milk in the blender with some frozen mixed berries, a serve of vanilla protein powder, a tablespoon each of LSA and Chia seeds and a handful of ice.  Blended in less than a minute and ready to drink, it's near perfect at 350cals, 30g carbs, 34g protein and 9.5g fat.  Time is no excuse to skip breaky with these smoothies. 

Anyway so when I did my official weigh in this morning I had dropped the 200g, so weighed in the same as last Monday.  I've never been a fan of fad diets and I know I should have stuck with my gut instinct on this one, but thought I'd give it a shot.  I've hit a plateau over the last few weeks and can't seem to shift off my current weight.  But I know I've got to give myself a break and take the pressure off a little bit, my little man is not even 5 months old yet and I have lost 8kg from when I came out of hospital after having him.  I constantly keep reminding myself it takes 9 months to put it on, it may take 9 months to take it off.

Having said that I know over the last few weeks I have let my cardio training slip as I have been thoroughly enjoying some extra weight sessions, so this week I have a goal of 3 sessions on the treadmill (see below).  Plus I am covering a couple of extra classes this week, one being Bodycombat, so I have a big week of training.  Here's my plan:

Monday - am - Bodypump (teach)  pm - Bodycombat (team teach)

Tuesday - Treadmill 1.6km run - 3min recovery, 1.2km run - 2min recovery, 800m run - 1min recover, 400m run

Wednesday - Bodycombat (home)

Thursday - am - Bodycombat (teach)  pm - Bodypump (teach)

Friday - Bodypump (teach) Treadmill - 30mins Intervals (1min run, 1min walk)

Saturday - Treadmill - Incline Intervals 30mins

Sunday - Rest Day

My meal planning for this week is:

Monday - Leftover Roast Turkey with salad

Tuesday - Parmesan Chicken with Spinach Salad (my fav dinner - will blog a pic and recipe of this one)

Wednesday - Pork Cutlets and Salad

Thursday - Dinner with the in-laws

Friday - Zucchini Slice and salad

Saturday - Turkey Breast burgers

Sunday - Chicken and Pumpkin cous cous salad

So my goal this week is extra cardio - I put the challenge to you to join me with this one.  Try to include 3 cardio sessions this week (only has to be 30mins, but make it High Intensity Interval Training ie HIIT).  If you already train enough cardio, mix it up with a different form of cardio and try something new - a class, use a different machine, train outside, different intervals - the options are endless.  Have a great training week!

No carbs...no comment

Well I've finally gotten around to update with this weeks weigh in - 900g loss which of course I'm happy with as it's a loss.  I had my dear Miss 3's birthday party on Sunday so I've spent the last couple of days recuperating and recovering lol. 
I paid a visit to a Naturopath last week as I am fascinated by Iridology.  For those who don't know what Iridology is:
Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosis^[1] or iridiagnosis^[2] is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents claim that patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris can be examined to determine information about a patient's systemic health. Practitioners match their observations to iris charts, which divide the iris into zones that correspond to specific parts of the human body. Iridologists see the eyes as "windows" into the body's state of health.
Iridologists use the charts to distinguish between healthy systems and organs in the body and those that are overactive, inflamed, or distressed. Iridologists believe this information demonstrates a patient's susceptibility towards certain illnesses, reflects past medical problems, or predicts later health problems.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridology
So I took myself and my little eyeballs off to see her, under a recommendation from a friend.  Once there I filled in a form asking the usual questions of health history, reason for visit and a basic daily food intake.  Once I went in and we had a little chat and she took photos of my eyes she picked up on some stuff that was 100% accurate.  She asked if I experienced heart burn, which was always my biggest pregnancy complaint.  And she told me I was lacking energy and just pushing myself to get things done, as they had to be done.  And when she asked me if I was a bit foggy brained I nearly fell off my chair in agreement.  I had noticed in the last couple of months I had become quite "off my tree" for want of a better quote.  I was putting it down to lack of sleep and possibly taking time off work and not stimulating my brain as much.  And I knew before I went back to work in the New Year that I had to get my head together or work would be a struggle.  So here's hoping the super pills she gave me will make me smart again??  So I was super impressed with the Iridology part of our appointment (although anybody could probably guess that as mum of a 4 month old and a 3 year old I would be lacking energy and a bit space headed lol).
Then she handed me a couple of sheets of paper and said she wanted me to cut out carbs (or limit to 20g a day, which ain't a lot!).  As soon as she said that one word popped into my head...ATKINS!  But then she said don't worry about keeping track of fat content as everything you can eat is healthy fats, so 2 words popped into my head....HEALTHY ATKINS??  So basically that means I can't eat bread, pasta, rice, fruit, anything with flour (which is ALOT of things), grains and alcohol *sob sob*.  However the silver lining is I am allowed 1 low carb beer per day.  So when I checked out my list of unlimited foods I wasn't expecting to see cheeses (nearly all sorts) and bacon.  It was just like the infamous Atkins diet which I am not really a believer of, and to make it worse, she wanted me to do it for a month!!  So I've struggled with the decision to follow it or not, as it's not something I would put my clients on.  I am a big believer of everything in moderation and Atkins can be very successful if followed smartly, but it can become quite unhealthy with some poor food choices (oily bacon and eggs for breaky everyday anybody?) and generally people struggle to stick with it long enough to see the results.  BUT I've decided to have a crack at it and I started last Thursday and went surprisingly well Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Although I did have to teach a Bodycombat class Saturday morning and after 2 days of no carbs that was probably one of my hardest classes ever.  Then Sunday was Miss 3's party day and I'm sorry but I had a devine birthday cake made, I was going to eat it.  But I did behave myself alot better than I would have if I wasn't following the plan.  So back on it Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday has hit and I am struggling today!  No energy, tired and all I want to eat is carbs when I feel like this :(  But I'm giving myself until Sunday to see how I go and as I'm expecting BIG results for such deprivation, if I don't see a big drop on the scales I won't continue on with it.  The good thing about it though is it is based on lots of clean eating (lots of vegies and salads, although some are restricted).  You just have to be mindful of your choices when it comes to your meats, cheeses and eggs as it can become a very high fat diet. 

On the plus side I ordered a few low/no carb items from the net, including cookies, cookie mix and savoury wafers (so I can have Camembert and crackers with my low-carb beer - ok this diet is starting to sound better and better!).  They arrived today so I'm hoping they will make the next few days a bit more easier.

I will keep

So that's my ramble for the week and I will keep you all updated on how I go.  I'll leave you with my attempt at a no-carb meal plan for the week:

Monday - Beef Stirfry (no rice for me)

Tuesday - Dining out - so proud I ordered an Eye Fillet steak for the first time ever, and I didn't eat my chips (ok I had about 5) and I refused chocolate cake and cheesecake while everyone else ate in front of me :(

Wednesday - Chicken Caesar salad (no croutons)

Thursday - Zucchini Slice and salad

Friday - Parmesan Chicken and salad

Saturday - No Crust quiche

Sunday - Either leftovers or Low-carb lasagne (still researching recipes)

Birthday week!!!

Sorry for the late entry this week but it's Birthday week!  My gorgeous girl turned the big 3 yesterday and I have a party planned for the weekend (I think I've planned it waaay out of my depth, silly mummy lol) so this week is just hectic. 

Weigh in on Monday - not good :(  Put on bloody 500g grrr.  But I am having feeding issues with bub and I know my food wasn't as good as the previous week.  For the next few weeks I am going to take the focus off training (just a touch cause I do love my training sessions) and focus more on food.  I am struggling to get 4 hours sleep a night at the moment as bub has started waking for extra feeds and I've started back work 4 early mornings a week.  So instead of stressing about getting up at 5am on my mornings off I need to realise it's ok to have a sleep in and just eat cleaner throughout the day. 
Having said that I hit the gym this afternoon to do my own weights session on the gym floor and it felt fantastic!!  I've been so caught up in my Bodypump classes lately that I had forgotten how much I missed doing free weights.  If I only had time to do 2 or 3 training sessions a week, I would make them all resistance/weight training sessions.  The benefits of weights are huge, but unfortunately alot of ladies are scared to train weights for numerous reasons - fear of bulking up, cardio makes you lose weight faster, intimidated by training with the big boys, unsure of technique - just to name a few.   Ladies don't be scared of picking up a dumbbell and showing the boys on the floor how it's done.  Speak to the trainers at your gym if you are unsure of technique, or even book in for a few personal training sessions to learn more. 
And if you don't have a gym membership, using your body weight is one of the fastest ways to get in shape - pushups, squats, lunges, burpees, situps etc.  I've told you all before and I'm sure I'll tell you all again :)
Since it's my favourite girls birthday this week I though I would share with you one of my favourite workouts.  I have used this one before on my clients and have also done it myself a few times.  It is inspired on the Crossfit training principles.  It's a high intensity workout designed to leave you unable to get off the floor at the end of the last round (and if you didn't need to lie on the floor for at least 5mins after doing it, you didn't work hard enough):
6 Rounds for time of:
600m Run
6 Squats
6 Pushups
6 Situps
6 Deadlifts
6 Burpees
6 Push Press
As it's only low reps, you've gotta go heavy with the weights (but be sure you're technique is spot on first).

I was going to share a photo with you from Bella's birthday yesterday but my silly laptop has been playing up for weeks and doesn't seem to want to download one properly for me.  And yes for those of you that know me personally, my husband DOES work in the IT industry and I've been complaining about it to him for months.  It's hard to get good help around here :P
Have a great training week - stay cool (if possible) and hydrated when training! 

My Inspiration and Motivation

Weigh in for week 1 of my 6 week Challenge saw an 800g loss.  I'm pretty happy with that but was hoping for a 1kg loss to stay on target of losing 6kg in 6 weeks.  I know I can still clean up my food a little bit more though.  Making a "practise" chocolate cake for my daughters 3rd birthday didn't help matters. 
I had a great training week which involved 6hrs and 15mins of training time, which was on track with my 60minute sessions, 6 days a week.  This week however I am really struggling with lack of sleep, and it's only Tuesday already lol.  My little man is having feeding and sleep issues since we moved him into his own room in the big cot.  So I know it is going to take a tonne of willpower and motivation to ensure I still train, even though I'm walking around like a zombie at the moment.  And the other hurdle I have is when I'm tired all I want to eat is sugar, sugar, sugar!!!  But hopefully things will be better tonight, cause I've moved Brandon's cot to the shed - haha just joking (another week of nights like the last week though and he may just end up in the shed lol).
My training schedule for this week is:
Monday - 6am BodyPump and 4:30pm BodyCombat
Tuesday - 30mins Interval running and 30mins Upper body
Wednesday - 30mins Incline walking and 30mins Legs/Abs
Thursday - 30mins Aerobics DVD and 5 rounds of 30 pushups, 30 lunges, 30 crunches, 30 bench dips, 30 squats and 30sec hover
Friday - BodyPump (teaching)
Saturday - 1hr walk the dog
Sunday - The always glorious REST DAY :)

Meal planning this week is good and bad - it's good because it's a week of very little cooking (love leftovers week) but bad because we are eating out twice this week for dinner with my in-laws.  The dangers of eating out are extra fats, sugars and salts added to the food and in food preparation to make things taste more appealing, and watching portion control. 
Monday - Dining out (I did have the salmon and salad, and a few chips shhh)
Tuesday - Chicken Curry leftovers
Wednesday - Zucchini Slice (leftovers) and salad
Thursday - Dining out
Friday - Coconut Chicken Curry (leftovers)
Saturday - Lasagne (leftovers) and salad
Sunday - Fish and salad

I also just wanted to share a couple of my little secrets to keep me on track, especially important when I know I'm going to have a tough week like this week. 
The first motivation tool I have is my "goal outfit".  When I was pregnant I purchased a Lululemon skort that I had no chance of pulling up over my thighs, they now fit (just) but I'm still not at the stage where I would wear them in public.  So I've hung them up so every morning as soon as I walk out of my bedroom they are the first thing I see.  It's a bit like 'The Biggest Loser'.  They always have their goal outfit and it can be a great inspiration to keep you on track for your goal and also a great tool to measure that you've achieved your goal.

My "goal" skirt

The other is my inspiration board.  This is something that anyone can set up to visualise their dream/goal and again maintain the motivation to keep working towards it.  It doesn't just have to be a weight loss/fitness goal, you can do these for holidays, houses, jobs, the list is endless.  Mine is obviously set up for my weight loss and fitness goals at the moment.  These boards can be fairly personal so mine is hidden in my bedroom so visitors don't see it and I will just give you a sneak peek at it:

My Inspiration board

Mine is basically set up with some inspirational pics of strong, toned women, my goal weight and the date I would like to achieve this by, some of my fav inspirational training quotes and also some photos of me at my pre-pregnancy weight. 
I highly recommend using at least one of the above as a motivational tool to help you achieve your goals.

Well that's my week wrap up.  If you can all think sleepy thoughts for me (and my baby lol) I would really appreciate it :)



Week 1 Training Schedule and Meal Plan

Just thought I'd do a quick write up for my week 1 (of 6 weeks) training schedule and meal plan.  Just before I had my second bub I started doing a weekly meal plan up.  I began this for a number of reasons - to save money and stop impulse buying, to reduce the temptation of takeaways and to be better organised for meals at night as once I return to work I'll be working evenings again with 2 littlies and a husband to organise eeeek!  I will admit that in the 5 or so months I've been meal planning, I don't think there has been one single week where we have managed to stick to it.  But that's generally because we always end up with so many leftovers or if I've had a bad day with the kids (guaranteed at least one a week lol) I may need to find a quicker, easier meal to cook.  I highly recommend meal planning for new mums, if you're time poor or wanting to eat healthier.

So my meal plan for this week is:
Monday - Homemade lasagna and salad
Tuesday - Chicken and Cashew Coconut Curry
Wednesday - Zucchini Slice and salad
Thursday - Lamb cutlets and Quinoa Salad (will be the first time making this salad)
Friday - Homemade Pizza and salad
Saturday - Easy No Crust Quiche and salad
Sunday - Fish and salad (I buy the microwave steamed fish)

Fish and salad

The biggest factor with our meals are they need to be suitable for not only me, but also my husband and 3 year old.  I could live on meat and salad every single night but Brett needs something more substantial and Bella needs variety so she doesn't become a fussy eater.  I try to cook normal, family friendly meals and I just have to keep my portion size down and add salad to make them more filling.  I also own a Thermomix which I use probably for 90% of our night meals so everything is made from scratch and as it chops everything quite small, and within a matter of seconds, I can hide vegies in lots of things we eat ie lasagna.

My Training schedule this week:

Monday - 6am BodyPump and 4:30pm BodyCombat

Tuesday - 30mins Inclines Intervals on Treadmill and 30mins Legs/Abs

Wednesday - 30mins Cardio (hoping to get to 6am BodyCombat) and 30mins Full Body

Thursday - 30mins Interval running and 30mins Upper body and Core

Friday - 6am BodyPump (teaching) and 30mins Cardio

Saturday - 30mins Cardio (outside intervals) and 30mins Full Body

Sunday - REST DAY AND SLEEP IN YAY!!

I've had some really bad nights over the last week with the baby, the toddler and the puppy all waking up numerous times through the night.  It has been a struggle to do some training sessions, especially the early morning ones, but I just remind myself how much better it will make me feel. 

I'll leave you with the Incline Intervals on did on the tready this arvo.  I love interval work for 2 reasons - the main reason is you can burn more calories which means faster results.  And the other is I find it makes the time go quicker lol.

Warmpup - easy pace 3mins

Incline walk or jog - 30secs

Recovery (drop incline and pace if needed) - 30secs

Incline - 60secs

Recovery - 60secs

Incline - 90secs

Recovery - 90secs

Incline - 2mins

Recovery - 2mins

Incline - 2 and 1/2mins

Recovery - 2 and 1/2mins

Incline - 2mins

Recovery - 2mins

Incline - 90secs

Recovery - 90secs

Incline - 60secs

Recovery - 60secs

Incline - 30secs

Recovery - 30secs

Cooldown - easy pace 3mins

6 kilos in 6 weeks....eeeekk!!!!

Well it's time to be honest.  I've had a shocking couple of weeks with regards to eating :(  I've fallen victim to the dreaded "mummy munchies" - eating my 2 year olds leftovers, having a biccie when she has a biccie and getting those dreaded afternoon munchies when I'm at home in the afternoons!!  And to make things even worse I'm having a birthday party for her in a few weeks so we've been trialling cupcakes and biccies for the party - arghhhh. 
So it's resulted in a plateau on the scales for the last couple of weeks and I just feel horrible - tired, cranky (yes I even feel a little bit sorry for Brett at the moment) unmotivated and just plain blah in general.  My training is bang on track, couldn't be happier with it.  But as they say "you can't out train a bad diet" and I'm proving that saying right at the moment lol. 
So on Monday myself and a few of my fav clients are starting a 6 week challenge and I'm so excited (and I just can't hide it....woohoo).  We've got 6 weeks, training 6 days a week (for 60mins/day) and aiming for 6 calorie/portion controlled meals/day.  The magic numbers - 666 - and starting on halloween, quite appropriate ;)  So I'm setting myself the goal to try and lose 6kg.  Why?  Because it just sounds good with all the other 6'ers lol.  No seriously because it will get me to just below my pre-2nd pregnancy weight and my goal before Christmas.  I know it's gonna be extremely tough and I'm freaking out just a little bit looking at the number.  But I also know that with determination, positive thinking and support I can will do it. 
I'll be changing my weigh ins back to Monday and will begin this Monday with weigh in and measurements and I'll also be doing some fitness tests to help set a few more goals to aim for throughout the 6 weeks. 
So I'd love for any of you to follow along and set yourself some goals and make the commitment to yourself for the next 6 weeks.  It's really not that long of a time frame and the results will be well worth it in the end. 
Wish me luck and stay tuned for updates.

Achieved nothing but everything

Well not too much to report for last week.  A great week of "holidays" saw a 200g loss from me and a new fence built from hubby.  As it was our holiday week I had banned the gym and counting calories so I'm pleasantly surprised with a loss, considering I only trained twice and we ate out 3 nights for dinner :S  I have still been nesting like crazy which is bizarre as I think I nested for about 1 day with my first pregnancy.  So I did sacrifice exercise a few times for spring cleaning.  Even though it wasn't a great week of training I do feel a sense of accomplishment in getting some much needed organising done around the house, mind you though I still have a long way to go, but I also look at it as I've also got alot of extra calorie burning to do too ;)
The biggest effect of only training 2 days this week is I've been one cranky mummy!  I don't just exercise because I'm wanting to lose my baby weight, I exercise because it gives me more energy and makes me feel soooo much better.  And once again by having a slack training week I've proved that to myself.  I woke up yesterday morning in a bad mood for the second day in a row so within the first 2 hours of being awake I had already done my meal plan and training schedule for this week.  I came across a great quote on a facebook page this week (and I can't for the life of me remember which page but I'll try to find it and share):

This quote just reminded me of why I get up early, even when I've had the worst night sleep, and why I put my LJ gear and joggers on, even when I feel like I have no energy.  The feeling after a great workout is one I wish I could bottle up and sell because I know I would be a guaranteed millionaire :)
So I've scheduled lots of early morning workouts this week, which is going to be a struggle because I haven't been training early mornings in the last couple of weeks.  But I have 2 motivations for getting up - the first is I know it makes me feel so much better all day after I train early, and the second is I am preparing to go back to work for a few hours a week very soon and they will be early shifts so I may as well start getting used to it now :)  I'm sure my clients and class participants don't want a tired, grumpy trainer/instructor yelling at them lol.  My other goal this week is to drink more water.  With the weather turning cooler this week I know I've hardly been drinking any water and my skin is showing the effects. 
I'll leave you with my training schedule for the week.  I would love to know what you have planned, let me know :)

Monday - 6am BodyPump, 4:30pm BodyCombat
Tuesday - 30mins Treadmill Intervals (will have to do this workout during the day with the kidlets)
Wednesday - 6am BodyCombat (Timmie you have permission to text me at 5:30 to make sure I've got my butt out of bed lol)
Thursday - 6am Walk dog, 4:30pm BodyPump
Friday - 6am BodyPump
Saturday - 6am - Walk dog and 3 rounds of 50 squats/pushups/lunges/crunches/50secs hover
Sunday - Rest day

Holiday hints....

Weigh in on Sunday showed no change - no loss, but no gain.  I will admit I have been off the wagon the last couple of weeks and any reasons I have for it are just excuses.  Sick daughter, new puppy, social engagements are all just things that happen in life (ok my husband is kinda wishing the new puppy didn't happen in our life haha) and I can give them all as reasons as to why my eating has been a bit off the rails and why I missed a few extra training sessions last week but I know it's all bulls$%t and I take full accountability for it and it shows on the scales.  However on the plus I am excited that I am starting to fit into some more pre-pregnancy clothes *happy dance*.
So this week my husband arranged for a week off work and I had been researching accommodation on the Sunny Coast for about 2 months and then I bought a puppy.  So no holiday money and a new addition to the family means we are now staying home for the week :(  BUT I'm still trying to treat it as family time and if this weather clears up we are going to play holidays at home by visiting some local tourist attractions.  So the biggest effect that will have this week is I'm not hitting the gym.  My aim is to train a few times this week early in the morning before everyone wakes, or I will try fit in some high intensity, short workouts at home during the day.  I'm also not going to be super strict with food as I will enjoy this week (all within moderation of course, holidays aren't a reason to eat every possible unhealthy thing in site) and will be back on schedule next week.
So since I'm pretending I'm on "Vay-cay" I thought I would share some holiday hints with you all.  Just remember that just because you're on holidays it doesn't mean you should drop all your training plans and healthy eating habits.  You can enjoy your holiday while still staying active and eating well.

1.  If you are travelling pack healthy snacks.  We have done many a drive to Brissy/Sunny Coast spending 7 or 8 hours in the car and I know how hard it can be to find healthy options at the local servos.  Instead of packing lollies, chocolates, soft drinks for the car trip pack a little esky or cooler bag with water bottles, fruit, nuts and cereal bars (just check sugar content in cereal bars as same can be as bad as lollies/chocolates).
2.  Pack your joggers.  Get out and explore by foot your holiday surroundings.  If for safety reasons you don't feel comfortable venturing out do a workout in your apartment/motel room.  Squats, pushups, crunches, planks/hovers, burpees, jogging on the spot are all things that require no equipment and no gear. 
3.  During my years as a trainer I have heard numerous times ladies say to me after their return from holidays that they did no exercise but they shopped lots.  Yes shopping is great incidental exercise BUT my biggest worry when you think like that is because you think you have walked around the shops all day you can now eat even more crap at dinner.  Reality is you've probably "strolled" around the shops more so than walked and if you are fairly active and mobile in your normal day to day life chances are that you've probably burnt about the same amount of energy anyway.  So justifying your holiday dinner of entree, fat laden (there's a reason they taste sooo good) main meal and of course the obligatory holiday cocktail or champers by saying "it's ok cause I shopped all day" is crap. 
4.  When eating out at night always only order 2 components of dinner ie entree and main, or main and dessert.  Or better still just order main and share an entree or dessert.  And look for options to order your main in an entree size.  And for every drink you have follow it with a water.
5.  And lastly if you have been training hard and eating relatively well prior to your mini break, don't be too hard on yourself for enjoying your holiday.  It's ok to miss a few days of training every now and then.  And it's ok to eat your side of fries when you don't do it all the time.  But don't go overboard!! The last thing you want is for all those weeks of hard work to be wasted in one short week.  Remember moderations is key.
Well since I'm in un-holiday mode I just have to post one more holiday pic to get me in the mood.  I'm signing off for the week to go sit in my spa, overlooking the sunset with a midori in my hand (well really I'm going to bath my children and wash the dishes - what a glamorous life us mum's lead).  See you all when I get home ;)

Never having a week off cardio training again!

Well I'm a bit late with my weigh in blog this week but I still did weigh in on my regular day - Sunday.  Weigh in was up 300g which I'm actually ok with, as I had such a bad week training wise and food wise.  Just quietly I was very worried it may have been more than that.  Although I did hit a milestone last week by fitting into a pair of pants that I hadn't been able to since being pregnant which was exciting (yes I'm excited by the little things lately lol). 
So last week with the rather unpleasant disruption of a sick 2 year old I didn't really get alot of training time.  Mind you that is a bit of an excuse because I could have managed to do more if I really wanted to.  But having said that it doesn't hurt to drop the intensity back occasionally in training for a recovery for your body and sometimes your mind.  So if you have been training hard and have an off week PLEASE don't beat yourself up for it.  It could actually make your results better in the long run.  So I only managed 3 Bodypump classes and absolutely no cardio sessions at all.  And didn't I pay for that on Monday when I did Bodycombat!!  I team taught the class and luckily I was only teaching 4 of the 10 tracks.  By track 7 (that nasty, nasty Muay Thai track) I was absolutely shattered.  But the best thing about being in a class is no matter how much it hurts, you never want to stop ;)

BodyCombat 49 Launch (3 weeks ago) - Timmie and myself



This week has been a great week so far - 2 BodyPumps, 2 BodyCombats and a walk.  But I'm obviously a sucker for punishment cause my baby boy has just started sleeping through and I went and got myself a new baby yesterday, a super cute Maltese x Shih tzu puppy.  So I had a very restless night with the puppy, not the baby.  But I figure now was a good time to get a puppy since I'm used to having no sleep lol.  So the training may go out the window over the next couple of days while we try and settle the new addition. 

Bella and 'Barbie'

I'll leave you all with a mini workout for the week.  This week I've chosen a cardio workout that can be done on a treadmill or outdoors:

1.6km run (or walk) - 3 mins recovery

1.2km run (or walk)- 2 mins recovery

800m run (or walk) - 1 min recovery

400m sprint (or jog)

Try to increase the speed as the distance gets shorter.  Love this workout, without even realising it you've run 4km.  Enjoy the rest of the week :)

Lunch Time!!

I haven't had my best week this week unfortunately.  My little miss 2 came down with the delightful vomiting bug Tuesday night (which I was unlucky enough to experience all down my top 5mins before I had to teach a Bodypump class - the glamorous life of a mother).  I spent Tuesday night with her on the lounge room floor and me on the couch, and we were watching Barbie DVD's at 2am - I must say I much prefer the shopping channels ;)  Needless to say on Wednesday I was shattered!!  I was extremely tired and had a very whiny little girl so the exercise and clean eating went straight out the door.  I will admit I am a victim of the 'emotional eating' and I find I suffer really bad from it when I'm tired.  And it's a vicious cycle cause when you're tired and then eat crap, you're going to be even tireder.....is that even a word?  So I did fall off the wagon a bit this week and the meal I found has suffered the most was my lunches.  Even though I didn't have huge calorie blowouts, I only had cheese and crackers for lunch for the last 4 days which has very little nutritional value and left me looking for anything sugary I could get my hands on (yep I've even been eating the poor girls toilet training lollipops lol).  So it's a perfect time for not only you guys, but myself, to give you some healthy, easy and satisfying lunch ideas.

Some of my favourite and regular lunch's are:
*  Turkey and cranberry Mountain bread wraps - spread cranberry jam on one end of a wrap, place 40-50g of turkey on it and then top with spinach and sprouts.  I also added a slice of swiss cheese for the first time the other day and it was divine!  As I only use 1 wrap for this one I find it may not be filling enough (comes in at about 150 cals without the cheese) so I will also have a yoghurt or fruit etc.

*  Tuna Salad (pic below).  Small tin tuna in springwater with whatever salads you like and a serve of fetta cheese.

*  Egg sandwich (I only have these if I have bought fresh bread as I'm a bit fussy lol)  I use 1 egg with a bit of mayo and top with spinach.

*  Meat and salad Mountain bread wrap (pic below).  I will either use a small tin tuna in springwater or my new discovery is the Moira Mac's diced chicken breast (find in the same section with the hams, Bacon etc).  I use 2 wraps as I top the meat with heaps of salads - cucumber, carrot, grated cheese, beetroot, spinach and beans - and it just stops the wrap from breaking up. 

Probably 80% of my lunches are one of the above meals.  I love the convenience of tuna and I always seem to have heaps of tins in my pantry.  Plus it is low calorie (in springwater, watch out for some of the oily and/or flavoured ones) and high protein.  I also love, love, love the convenience of the Mountain bread wraps.  When you purchase them they usually have at least a months expiry on them (unopened) and they are also low calorie. So both the tuna and wraps are great pantry items.  And I always purchase fresh salad, vegies and fruit each week so I've always got things to put on the wraps.  But for all the busy new mummies I find the turkey wrap is so quick and easy to make.  It's always my lunch on days when I'm busy, eating late or just feeling lazy lol.  I hope this gives you some ideas anyway.
Well my little man is beside me demanding some love and attention so I must go and entertain him.  I have to admit I'm not looking forward to my weigh in tomorrow after such a big loss last week and a shocking week this week.  But I'm prepared to take the good with the bad :)

The highs after the lows.

Weigh in on Sunday was my best yet - 1.8kg down thank you very much.  I admit I did do a bit of a happy dance.  I know my weight fluctuates heaps when breastfeeding so will see how weigh in goes this week, especially as I did a huge double workout on Saturday which nearly killed me(Bodycombat and Bodypump).  I did have a fantastic training week though as I was covering some Bodypump classes so I did 4 pumps and we launched the new Bodycombat at gym so did 2 classes of that, and 1 walk.  I love Bodypump!!  If you push yourself in the workout it really can change your shape and I love the feeling of working towards a strong, lean physique.  But if you don't have a gym membership it's just a matter of doing some body weight exercises at home.  Don't forget the tabata workout is a fantastic one to help lose weight, increase strength and tone up http://pregnancyweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/2011/09/tabata-training.html
Ok so I promised I would post the recipe for my banana bread.  I own a thermomix (seriously the best purchase of my live EVER) and it takes me about, oh, 2 mins to whip this up in it.  I'll post the Thermy recipe and then a conversion as well.  I'm only guessing how to do the conversion as I've never made it any other way so if you find a better way than what I've posted, please let me know so I can change it :)

Ingredients:
100g Self Raising flour
50g butter
75g brown sugar
50g sultanas (or dates)
15g walnuts (I used an additional 15g on top also)
1 egg
225g Banana flesh

Thermomix Method:
Chop the sultanas/dates and walnuts on speed 7 for 15secs.  Put aside for later.
Add flour and butter to bowl and crumb on speed 5 for 5secs.  Add the sugar, walnut and sultana mixture, egg and bananas.  Mix on speed 7 for 10secs.  If the mix looks too runny add an extra tbs of SR flour.
Pour into a loaf tin and place a few walnuts on top and bake in a preheated oven on 180 for 35mins. 

The Longer Method (on the plus side you will burn more calories making this):
Chop your sultanans/dates and walnuts as finally as possible. 
Add flour and butter to bowl and using fingertips crumb together.  Add the sugar, walnut and sultana mixture, egg and mashed bananas.  Mix together using a wooden spoon until everything is combined well (this will take you longer than 10secs lol).  I'm guessing you could mix this in the blender too if you wanted.  If the mix looks too runny add an extra tabs of SR flour. 
Pour into a loaf tin and place a few walnuts on top and bake in a preheated oven on 180 for 35mins. 

I cut mine into 10 slices.  This is the nutritional breakdown on each slice:
Calories - 145
Carbs - 22g
Fat - 5.8g
Protein - 2.3g

The worst thing about this banana bread is having the willpower to just have 1 piece!  So I'll leave you with a workout today, that you may need to do after having your banana bread (especially if you have that second slice)
Four rounds of:
25 squats
20 lunges
15 crunches
10 pushups

The most important meal of the day!

What a hectic weekend!  Had a huge weekend of catching up with lots of family which has led to a very tired, cranky and demanding 2 year old, hence the lateness for this weeks post.  Not a good weigh in on Sunday - up 500g :(  I had a week off counting calories and was getting into the housewifey role a little bit too much and enjoyed some baking and socialising.  So I wasn't at all surprised to see I had put on weight.  It's kind of ironic I was more disappointed with my 500g weight loss last week than I was to see I had put on this week. 
I'm back using my calorie tracker this week and so far have had a great couple of days of training with Bodypump, Bodycombat, outside walk and treadmill intervals already.  My big focus this week is eating clean and trying to get a little bit more protein as I will be teaching Bodypump 3 days in a row later in the week :S  And I'm still trying to fight off a cold so I've got my fridge stocked with lots of fruit.  Loving the price of strawberries at the moment!!
Over the next few weeks I want to share with you some of my favourite meals and snacks, starting with the most important meal of the day - Breakfast.  We all know we shouldn't skip breakfast and I think it's extremely important as a new mother to start the day off with a healthy, nutritious meal.  I try to aim for a good mix of carbs and proteins to give me energy and keep me feeling full (so I can't hear the biccy tin calling to me).  I also think it's important to lead by example for my children and get them used to eating healthy, regular meals. 

Some of my all time favourite breakfasts are:
*  Omelette - I always use 1 full egg, 2 egg whites, a bit of low fat soy milk, a sprinkling of low fat cheddar cheese and then whatever vegies I have available (capsicum, onion, corn kernals, spinach etc)
*  Scrambled eggs with 1 slice Soy and Linseed bread
*  Oats with a tablespoon of LSA mix (linseed, sunflower seeds and almond) and a Protein drink
*  Protein drink and 1 slice of Soy and Linseed bread with either almond and cashew spread or cottage cheese
*  Weight watchers bacon, egg and 1 slice Soy and Linseed bread

I always start my day with a cup of green tea also and enjoy it even more if I can drag myself out of bed before everyone else and spend 10 minutes each morning with my green tea and online shopping checking my emails. 

So if you don't have breakfast every day set yourself the challenge to have it every day for the next 2 weeks.  I know as a new mum it can be hard to find the time (especially if you have other children, school, work etc) but as the sun is starting to rise earlier it makes it a bit easier to get up 10mins earlier to include a simple meal, such as toast. 

If breakfast is already the most important meal of your day I would love to hear what is your favourite breaky :)

Tabata Training

I'm a bit late with my blog this week, we have a household of coughing and runny noses :(  I was very slack on Sunday and didn't do any of the planning for the week.  I did weigh in though and I've lost 500g which is what I'm aiming for each week to reach my goal by Chrissy time. 
I spent 5 minutes this morning at breakfast planning our meals for the week and my training plan so I'm back on track.  Although I am fighting off a cold so I'll be taking it a bit easier this week.  We've been loading up on strawberries.  At around $2 a punnet, 70 calories and more vitamin C than oranges, they are a definate winner!

One of the training sessions I did last week is called 'Tabata Training'.  This is something I have used with my clients ALOT.  It's a high intensity workout with minimal recovery time.  Basically you work for 20secs and recover for 10secs and continue this for 4 mins.  I will either choose one exercise ie squats and do for 8 rounds (4 mins) or choose 2 exercises ie dips and leg extensions and alternate each round.  I met up with a few of my clients for a mini training session on the riverbank on Saturday morning and we did a bodyweight Tabata session, no equipment required.  The workout we did was:

Set 1 - Squats

Set 2 - Burpees

Set 3 - Crunches

Set 4 - Lunges

Set 5 - Pushups

Set 6 - Dips and Leg Extensions (Abs)

Set 7 - Mountain Climbers and Hovers

Each set was 4 mins and we had a minute recovery between sets.  The training with Tabata is endless.  Any exercise you can think of, you can train this way.  Including cardio machines, weight machines and free weights.  The above workout is great if you don't have a gym membership as it can all be done in your lounge room.  And if you have little kiddies, get them involved.  My 2 year old LOVES exercising with me.  She does squats, burpees, pushups, crunches - pretty much whatever I am doing she'll attempt it too.  I have a Tabata time application on my iPhone which sets off an alarm for the start and end of each 20 second round so you don't have to watch the clock.  If you search 'Tabata Timer' there will be a huge list and the free ones are just as good as the paid applications. 

Give this workout a go this week and let me know if you include Tabata in your regular training schedule.  Have a great week everyone and train hard ;)

Back on the stage.

Well it's mid week wrap up time.  Had a great start to the week with the highlight so far taking part in the Bodypump launch Tuesday night at the gym I work at. 

I stopped teaching pump before I fell pregnant as I wanted to spend more time on my personal training business but I continued to attend pump classes and it was always a top priority once I fell pregnant to try and do one class a week.  During my pregnancy I loved doing weight/resistance workouts as I felt like I was getting a really good workout without raising my heartrate too high.  And now I'm not pregnant and trying to lose this stubborn baby weight I am trying to do at least 2 pump classes a week.  When I first started teaching Bodypump I couldn't believe how much it changed my shape!!  The numbers on the scales didn't change but people were asking if I had lost weight.  I really, really, really do believe it is one of THE best workouts to help get you in shape, obviously along with clean eating. 
But if you don't have a gym membership, or your gym doesn't have Bodypump classes you can still achieve some great results by doing your own resistance workouts.  I think it's important to include 2 resistance sessions to your weekly workouts and the best thing about it is you don't need expensive equipment and gym memberships to do them.  Your body is the best piece of training equipment you can learn to use - squats, pushups, lunges, hovers, dips, crunches - just to name a few of the many exercises you can do in the comfort of your own home.  There are many different ways you can train ie working for a set time, set number of reps and sets and one of my favourites is Tabata training.  I will go into more detail on this next week ;)
Unfortunately yesterday and today I am fighting off the cold that my 2 year old is kindly sharing throughout our household :(  I only did a low intensity session yesterday and today I had an unplanned rest day.  I did struggle with my decision to not train this afternoon (Bodypump class was on the plan) but as I am breastfeeding I can't take any medications and limited vitamins to help me fight off a cold and I really don't want to get any worse if I can help it.  So a day off training was the best choice and I'm going to get stuck into lots of water and fruit over the next few days. 
My other big achievement this week was finishing off my spring clean of my workout clothes ie Lorna Jane, and everything is sorted and organised again now. 

But I must admit I really didn't get rid of that much gear.  A girl can never have too much LJ right?  Although my husband might not agree with that.
Have a great rest of the week everyone and before the week is out see if you can get in 1 resistance training session :)

And we have a loss (phew)

Well weigh in this morning and pleased to see a 600g loss.  Was on track for a better loss but I did have a hens night last night which involved dinner out and some drinks.  I knew well in advance that I was going to be heading out Saturday night so that was my 'cheat' meal for the week.  And when we hit the dance floor I stayed on for some of those dodgy pub songs to burn just a few extra calories (who am I kidding, I stayed cause I haven't been out dancing with the girls in forever!).
My goals for September are:
* lose 2kg bodyfat
* Bodypump twice/week
* Train 5 days/week
* Increase Pump weights in Squats, Back and Triceps
* Run 3km
I have been keeping my training plan for the week and managed to train 5 days, 2 of those days were Bodypump classes.  I have also been doing the Couch to 5km iPhone application and have just currently completed week 4.  I also increased my squat weight this week and definately felt it the next day.  So I have had a great week in regards to working towards each goal. 
I can't stress how useful I find having a training schedule.  On a Sunday night I take 5mins to sit down and work out what I will be doing for the week.  As I go the gym a couple of times a week for classes I always put those workouts in first and then work the rest of the week around that.  On Saturday I slept in and wasn't really feeling like training but when I looked at my schedule and saw I already had my workout planned I just thought "suck it up and do it" and of course I felt a million times better afterwards.
So all up I'm fairly happy with the week.  Had a few hurdles to overcome with the hens night, Brett going away for work for the day and Bella getting sick (resulting in 4 of us sleeping in the bed at one stage).  My actual training for last week was:
Monday - Bodypump (gym)
Tuesday - AM Bodycombat (home)
                PM Treadmill C25K
Wednesday - Rest Day
Thursday - Bodypump (gym)
Friday - Combat challenge and weights
             Treadmill C25K
Saturday - Treadmill C25K and 2 rounds of 75 squats and 30 pushups
My aim this week is to start walking my dog a few mornings a week and making the most of this perfect weather.  Please share with me how your week was (weigh in and training). 
I'll leave you all with a photo of my main 'chore' this week.  As I said in my last entry I was off to spring clean the workout gear aka Lorna Jane clothes, and have only got halfway through the tops at this stage (and I think I've only managed to throw out 2).  This is the before shot and hopefully by the time I do my next post I will have a well organised after shot:

So far, so good!

Well things are looking heaps better this week so far.  Ok I admit I have given in and sneakily jumped on the scales and was glad to see a loss (I'm not telling how much, you'll have to wait a few more days for that).  Just have to keep on track until Sunday but hoping for a good week.  I've managed to keep my calories pretty much in line every day so far.  Was over by about 80cals yesterday but I did wake up starving and with a headache so by listening to my body I knew I needed to up them just a little bit. 
I don't recommend counting calories all the time as it can become very time consuming but I think it is great to do it for a week or two to get back on track and just remind yourself of how quickly those little calories add up.  I have often used http://www.calorieking.com.au/ to track calories as I find being an Australian site it is always accurate and quite easy to search for foods.  However I don't get to my laptop as much as I used to and when I feed Brandon I am usually using that time on my iPhone to check the all important things, like facebook and emails (note to self - MUST hide the credit card bill from Brett, online shopping emails are bad!! Good, but bad!!).  I have found it much easier and convenient to track my calories on my iPhone.  I have trialed a few calorie couting apps before and found them to be not as convenient as they are usually American but I downloaded a few new ones I hadn't seen before to try and am loving 'Calorie Counter by Fatsecret'.  It has all the Aussie foods (including alot of Coles and Woolworths brands) and you can even scan/key in barcodes to save time searching for the right product. 
I had a great day of training Monday and Tuesday.  Even managed to get 2 workouts in on Tuesday (one in the morning and one in the afternoon).  Loving the treadmill we purchased just before Brandon was born as it makes it really easy to get on there when I can keep the kids distracted.  I managed 30mins of intervals by pulling out the play dough for Bella to play with and putting Brandon in his bouncer beside me while he was sleeping.  Luckily from day 1 that boy has been able to sleep through any noise as I need to run with the music pumping!  I had an unplanned rest day yesterday as Brett flew to Brissy for the day so I had no alone time from 6am-9pm and I was out all day also.  Unfortunately on some days I know that the children do have to be a priority and training may just get missed - occasionally. 
Each week I am aiming to do 1 new workout, 1 mini workout (usually before or after doing treadmill intervals) and also cook 1 new meal.  I will share these with you so feel free to include them in your workouts and meal plans.  My new meal was Chicken and Corn pie (didn't think to take a photo, still getting used to this blogging business) and was quite yummy and filling at around 300cals/slice.  My mini workout this week which I have planned to do on the weekend is 75 squats and 30 pushups - 2 rounds. 
Well I'm off now to spring clean through my Lorna Jane clothes.  Hhmmm I wonder if I will throw anything out....

Prepped, pumped and ready to go!

What a week!  So I know I said Monday was going to be weigh in day but I was a bit sneaky this morning and jumped on the scales and EEEKKK exactly the same, no loss, nil, nada, zip :(  Let me just say there were a few choice words said and I think I sulked for about a good hour (Brett may say it was a few more hours).  Then I snapped out of it, had a reality check and pulled out my trusty little notebook and laptop. 
When it comes to training I always like to have plans in place and have purchased numerous notebooks throughout the last 15 years or so to help me do this.  And since becoming a personal trainer I have found planning to be even more important in helping clients to achieve their goals.  I had planned my workouts for last week and let me tell you I had a FANTASTIC training week!  6 hours of exercise in total, 2 days of burning 800+ calories and I trained 5 days for the week.  So if it wasn't my training that let me down it was only one other thing - NUTRITION.  I had been tracking my calories for MOST of the week and sticking to around 2000 calories/day (I'm allowing myself an extra 500 calories as I'm breastfeeding).  I will admit I did stop tracking come Friday and Saturday and of course that's when I started to slip.  So there's nothing I can do about it now and there's no point in dwelling on the negatives.  So once I finished sulking I pulled out the tape measure, the scales (again) and the camera.  Weight, bodyfat, BMI, measurements and photos are done, my training schedule has been planned, goals have been set and I'm in the process of completing my 'Inspiration Board'. 

My morning of prep work

My goals - Long term and short term

My Training Schedule for this week



I have decided to change my weigh in day to Sunday for numerous reasons.  The first is it's easier for me to find the time Sunday to update my blog with my latest weigh and entry as Monday is daycare day for my 2 year old so I'm usually busy shopping for shoes groceries and spending quality time with my friends son.  The other is for years and years during my "try every possible fad diet" stage the diet would always start on a Monday (and yes my male flatmate would roll around on the floor laughing hysterically when my best friend and I would be consuming copious amounts of chocolate and ice cream on a Sunday night saying "the diet starts tomorrow", EVERY SUNDAY).  Just for the record this was years before I became a personal trainer and realised that DIET is a dirty word.  So Monday is always such a cliche day to weigh in and put so much emphasis on staying on track.  Weekends tend to be the time when I can slip up too so by weighing in right in the middle of the weekend I know I'll stay on track.  I live by the mantra of not dieting, but eating clean and try to follow the 80/20 rule of being good 80% of the time.  I will admit sometimes it may be 70/30. 

So needless to say the calories have been religiously tracked today (this week aiming for 1750/day) and at 8pm I'm sitting on 1540 calories and am about to have a protein shake on water to finish the day.  I do have to be mindful of not dropping too low as it will affect my milk supply so it's going to take me a week or 2 to find out my magic number of how many calories I can consume to maintain a weekly weightloss of 500g.  So week 1 not the exact result I was hoping for but better than a gain.  I did find after having Bella I struggled to lose the weight at the start.  I hate the saying that breastfeeding helps you lose weight.  Yes you're body does burn more calories with the effort made to supply milk but it puts the thought in my head of being able to eat whatever and whenever I want.  But I know some mum's say the weight just dropped off them while breastfeeding.  I would love to hear how some of you have found the breastfeeding/losing weight situation.