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