Another Great Year - You Did It!

Thank you to all my wonderful clients for making it through another great year of training.

You have worked hard in your sessions and learned a lot about what you are capable of achieving.

You have made significant changes to your lifestyle, making daily exercise part of your life and enjoying the relaxation and stress-busting qualities it provides.

You have learned to appreciate the value of getting enough sleep and know that making time to relax is also an important part of your training.

You are more aware of being in your body and how it feels to move around in the world with more strength & confidence than ever before.

You are becoming ever more conscious of what foods you chose to nourish your body, how much water you need to drink each day, and how these choices really affect your energy levels.

Once you've experienced feeling great & having more energy, it is harder to revert to past habits that leave you feeling sluggish and low. Perhaps the most amazing change you have made this year is how you think about yourself.

When you started training you were unsure that you could do it, afraid you would get hurt or just plain didn't want to, but you have learned that you are strong, determined and can do more than you think you can.

You now take responsibility for your training and your life, and have given up the excuses and blaming others for your choices.

You have learned that no-one can do the work for you, and no-one is going to decide for you what to eat, what to drink or how & when to exercise.

You did all of this, not me.

I look forward to sharing more great fun & training with you in 2011.

Lighten Up

Summer is almost here and the lighter evenings & warmer weather makes this a good time for you to jump start your fitness for 2011.

Make some time for yourself to lighten up in December.

MIND: turn off the chatter in your head by focusing on breathing deeply into your belly Feel what's happening inside your body and notice how as you focus on a particular area of your body, you are able to release any tension with your breath.

BODY: go for a brisk walk in the park, down the street, at the beach, anywhere in nature where you can feel the sun on your skin.

SPIRIT: visit with friends, share laughter &good times with people you care about.
Decide to bring a lighter spirit to your next encounter with a 'difficult person', not for them but for yourself.

Most of all, love & care for yourself as if you were your best friend.

It's Good To Have Goals

Do you sometimes feel you don't accomplish what you set out to do?

You start with great intentions and somehow they fall by the wayside after a day or two?

Can you imagine yourself having achieved your goal and feel the great feelings that accompany that achievement?

If getting off track with your goal has been a problem for you in the past, I recommend following a step by step approach with a plan you can measure.
Mini-goals leading you to your main goal will keep you enthusiastic about the process, rather than feeling overwhelmed by slow progress or trying to do too much as once.

Your goal needs to be about action: wanting to lose 10kg is not an action, but the meal planning and exercise schedule you will follow to get there, certainly is.

An effective goal will be both attainable and challenging: you CAN do it but you're not doing it right now, so small changes will reap big rewards as they become habits in your everyday life.

Your goal needs to be framed in a positive way: our brains respond far better to doing things rather than avoiding or restricting things, so work with your brain and feel good about what you're doing.

Having a time-limited and measurable goal is the only way to stay on track: having a time-limit helps you bring a sense of urgency to your goal, rather than an "oh that, yes, I'll get around to it soon" kind of attitude and measuring your progress regularly shows you just how well your efforts are paying off.

Finally, and this is the most important step WRITE IT DOWN!

The difference between a goal and an idea is an ACTION PLAN.
Rather than just talking about it or thinking about it, writing down your goal forces you to be very specific about the action you are taking and gives you a plan to follow along the way.

Refer to your goal regularly and revise if necessary so you are in charge of each step of your progress and proud of your results.

Stay positive and remind yourself of why you set this goal in the first place. Life's too short to spend it wishing your life was different - get out there and make it real!

Have Fun - That's An Order!

Spending time with a good friend recently, we found ourselves laughing so hard that we couldn't speak, could barely breathe and had tears streaming down our faces - it was wonderful!

I realised I haven't laughed like this for such a long time and that I don't really think very much about scheduling "fun" into each day - this has to change.

Being busy taking care of other people can sometimes leave us with little time or energy to allow ourselves to have fun, but it is important that we remember what brings us pleasure and make time for it.

If you have small people in your life, learn from them; they remember what you've forgotten.

Kids know how to jam as much fun as they can into each day and really can make anything into a game, let them show you how you can laugh a little more and stress a little less.

Whether it's being around your favourite people, taking time out with a great book, wearing something sparkly to do the supermarket shopping, or spending time in nature, think about what it is for you and include more of it in your life each week.

So what's your fun-plan for this week?

Wasting Food

A couple of clients have talked with me about growing up having to eat everything on their plate when they were children and how this has stayed with them as adults.

They feel incredibly guilty leaving food on their plate when they're full and feel even more uncomfortable about throwing food in the bin because it is "wasteful".

I understand how strong our childhood connections with food can be and how as adults, we don't always consciously question our habits or look at how they developed, but the good news is you are not a child any more.

You are a grown adult, fully in charge of how, when, what & how much you choose to eat.

If it feels too hard to examine your relationship to food on your own, there are plenty of people who can help; ask your GP for a referral to a dietitian or counselor.

One way of avoiding the feeling of wasting food is to cook less for your meal or save the leftovers for the next days lunch. If you find you're not finishing your meals more than once or twice a week, it a sure sign you're still cooking too much.

Portion Distortion

If your health goal is to lose body fat and reduce your overall body weight, the only way to do this is to put less energy into your body than you use each day.

There is no magic pill or product that will make it effortless; you need to eat less than you currently do while making sure all that you do eat is fresh, unprocessed, healthy food.

People who are obese or morbidly obese are likely used to eating portion sizes that are larger than average and more than their body actually needs. Portion sizes have increased, while our daily activity levels have dropped, making it more difficult to accurately judge a normal sized portion and easier to gain unnecessary weight.

From cookbooks reducing the amount of servings per person to "quick-service restaurants" Super-Sizing their "meals" for an extra $1, the amount of food that now constitutes a "serving" has increased. Look through your mother's or grandmother's cookbooks and you will also find the portion size of meals was less than today.

The only place this may change is in the serving size on the nutritional panel: eg. 1 serve of corn chips equals about 5 chips... this is still approximately 200 calories, and I ask you, when have you ever stopped at 5?

In this context, the large proportion of our population that are obese, have heart disease, type II diabetes and other "lifestyle diseases", is no great mystery.

This link to the US Department of Health & Human Services shows how portion sized in America have increased in the past 20 years. Take the quiz & see how accurately you can judge the energy in each portion and how much activity is required to match that energy intake.

I encourage you to think critically about the portion size and composition of the food you eat and make appropriate changes to reduce your food intake, do more physical activity and watch your health & body change... for the better!

Turkey Burgers with Sweet Potato Salad

WARNING!! Actual dinner is even more delicious than it appears!!

I made this last night with homemade turkey burgers and Husband asked where I got the burgers from :)

Roast veggies are delicious cold in a salad and the carrots & sweet potato work well with the crunch and flavours of the green salad

As always, substitute your fresh vegetable preferences so that it is delicious for YOU!


Ingredients:

1 roasted sweet potato
2 roasted carrots
4 generous handfuls of mixed salad leaves
4 mushrooms, pre-cooked
6 slow roasted tomato slices*
1 lebanese cucumber, sliced
1/2 an avocado
sprinkling of sunflower & pumpkin seeds

300g turkey mince
2 small leeks & 2 small carrots, chopped finely in a food processor
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons cumin

Method:

Mix mince, finely chopped carrot & leek, Worcestershire and cumin, by hand and season lightly
Form into patties and fry in a non stick pan

Use the salad leaves as a base and add layers of vegetables, finishing with a sprinkling of seeds.

Top with turkey burgers and enjoy each and every bite!



Serves 2

Tasty Tomatoes & Gorgeous Garlic

These two recipes can be cooked together in the same oven, slowly roasting over an hour, leaving you free to do something fun and have roasted tomatoes & sweet garlic that store in the fridge for a week.




Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Pre heat your oven to about 120C and put some baking paper on a tray for the tomatoes.

Ingredients:
1kg of tomatoes (I use the cheapest I can find, as the end result is still delicious)

4 - 5 cloves of fresh garlic, finely chopped

fresh basil leaves

1 tablespoon of olive oil

a pinch of salt


Method:

Slice tomatoes in half, remove the flesh and place on the baking tray, skin down

In each tomato half, sprinkle some garlic, and a basil leaf

Drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle salt over the entire tray


Slow Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:

2 - 3 garlic bulbs (yes, the entire bulb)
Olive oil

Method:

Place each garlic bulb into a square of cooking foil & drizzle with olive oil

Seal the foil into a ball and place into oven pre-heated as for tomatoes.

Remove both tomatoes and garlic from the oven after an hour, leave to cool and chop tomatoes and store in an air-tight container.

Squeeze garlic out of cloves into an air-tight container and they will both keep well for a week, saving time while adding flavour to your dishes all week long.

Perfect Potato Salad

Ingredients:

4 large desiree potatoes
2 spring onions, finely chopped

2 large handfuls of green beans, par cooked & chopped

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped

1 small tub of natural yoghurt

1 tablespoon of horseradish paste or wasabi (optional)

Method:

Wash & dry the potatoes and chop into chunks.

Leave the skin on as it contains most of the nutritional goodness of the potato.

Boil in a saucepan of water for about 10 minutes or until you can easily put a fork into the potato. For convenience, you could par-cook the green beans in the same pot, but remove the beans after 5 minutes.

Drain and put into a bowl to cool in the fridge.

Add onions, celery & beans to the potatoes and spoon in the yoghurt (and horseradish or wasabi) a tablespoon at a time until all ingredients are nicely coated.

Serves 4.

Sensational Salads

This gorgeous spring weather has inspired me to get out and about with my family, riding bikes, swimming and running around in our local park.

Top Tip: if you have kids and want a cardio boost, start a game of chasey, you'll have fun & get a quick burst of exercise as well.

I'm also looking forward to summer for the great range of fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season, most of which can be included in a salad.

Salad does not have to be boring, tasteless or as a side to your main meal; a salad can be a meal in itself, especially if losing body fat and keeping blood glucose levels stable are among your health goals.

You can include as many vegetables as you like and be sure to top with a handful of lean protein as well like beans, lean meat, canned tuna or salmon, or tofu to ensure nutritional balance in your meal.

Start with salad leaves or spinach as a base, chop up some crunchy veggies like cucumber, capsicum, celery, snow peas, green beans or spring onions and sprinkle them generously over the leaves.

Tomatoes of all shapes & sizes add juicy flavor, especially if you use this recipe.

Grated carrot is gives a lovely sweet flavour and added to shredded cabbage, with some natural yoghurt mixed through, makes a wonderful coleslaw. Supermarkets usually have a pre-made coleslaw bag and pre-washed leaves in the salad section, saving you time.

Lightly cook some veggies like carrots, green beans to soften them slightly and keep them in the fridge to use later, but a good general principle is to go for as much color as you can for maximum taste and nutritional value.

Spring and Summer are the perfect seasons to lighten your load at dinner time and get adventurous with your salad selections.

Staying On Track - What's Been Stopping Me?

This post is more of a confessional.

I have been eating more rubbish this past month than usual and my energy levels & waistline are proof.

Sure, I can put it down to the 'special occasions' in life where we celebrate with family & friends and (usually) food, but with such busy lives, this month has been far more than "occasionally".

Part of the problem has also been that I haven't been shopping as well as I usually do; having healthy food in the cupboard is vital to eating well.

I'm only human and despite being a trainer with a conscious desire to eat healthy, I have taken a long hard look at my own habits over the past month.

Since the start of September I've been to:

• 4 Kinder/kid-related events (not renowned for healthy fare)
  
  
• 1 wedding, (delicious & fair enough too)
  
  
• 9 nights out to dinner/takeaway (don't get me started on the added sugar, salt & fat that you wouldn't add at home, but hey, restaurants need their food to taste amazing, and that's how)
  
  
• 2 weeks of school holidays (and the subsequent "treats" that have been in the house, damn you multi-packs of potato crisps!!!)
  
  
• 1 Royal Melbourne Show (and the crap I eat there once a year, never again!)

All of this has resulted in my favourite jeans feeling tight in places they shouldn't, excessive 'muffin top' and a general feeling of not enough energy, which in turn has led me to more poor food choices.

Workouts help, but as I say to my clients, you can't out-train a poor diet.

So, rather than ignore the reality of my situation, or continue along the same path with a sense of resignation & unhappiness, I'm sharing this with you in the hope it helps.

I'm also getting back on track with good healthy eating, making a meal plan for each week, shopping accordingly and really thinking about what I'm doing and what my options are.

If I'm starving, I'm far more likely to make a cheese toasty (or four!) than a salmon salad with 5 different veggies & healthy protein.

Like you, I am a splendidly imperfect human being who doesn't always do what I know I should.
Thinking about what I know and why I don't make better choices give me space to be deliberate, to choose what nourishes me and to feel good every day.

If it's to be, it's up to me.

The Good News

There are all kinds of products, fads & gimmicks that will try to convince you that by purchasing them, you will automatically have the body, waistline, or life you've always dreamed of.

If you've ever been seduced by the late-night infomercials into believing the "Ab-Master-Pro-6000" will make you look like the person on the commercial "with only 3 minutes a day!", this article may not be such good news.

You may believe that eating, or not eating certain foods, at certain times is the magic solution you've been looking for.

You may believe you have a "slow metabolism" and that losing weight is harder for you than for other people.

The truth is, YOU are responsible for what you do with your health, and this IS good news, because you are also the only person able to make the changes you've been wanting to make, but are maybe waiting around to "feel like it" or for them to "happen to you".

First of all, stop all the self-criticism & negative self-talk that you tell yourself; with that kind of thinking is it any wonder you don't take better care of yourself?

Why would you feel you deserve better food, better energy levels, better relationships, if you're always down on yourself for all of the reasons you come up with?

Now, imagine someone was talking about your best friend, or your partner, the way you think about yourself when you're being negative; you wouldn't tolerate it, you'd argue back, stand up for your loved one and point out all of their great qualities.

Do this for yourself, as the saying goes, "be your own best friend".

There is no magical solution to your weight-loss goal, you do not have a "slow metabolism"* you CAN achieve your goals, but YOU need to be actively working towards it.

I didn't expect to have gained 40kgs during pregnancy, (although with all the crap I ate, it should not have been a surprise to me), nor did I realise the amount of thought, planning, consistency & effort involved in losing that weight over the next 2 - 3 years.

I know it's not easy, but it is simple; if you are consistent in making nutritious food choices & find at least 30 minutes a day to move at a pace that puffs you out, over time you will see the results that YOU are responsible for achieving.

You CAN do it and I'm here to help.

* if you are seriously concerned about this, see your GP and possibly get a referral to an endocrinologist

Chicken Stir Fry

Quick, easy, healthy & packed full of nutrients.

What more could you ask of dinner?

Except maybe that someone else is doing the cooking :)

I've included this recipe idea before, but this is so simple, even the non-cook of the household can make it work.

Ingredients:

500g lean chicken breast or thigh, cut into bite sized pieces
(use Tofu/mock chicken alternative if you're vegetarian)

1/2 onion, diced
1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 zucchini, diced
1 handful of snow peas, cut into bite sized pieces
1 handful green beans, cut into bite sized pieces
1 corn cob, slice the kernels off
4 large mushrooms, sliced
1/2 capsicum, cut into bite sized pieces

1 tbspn hoi sin sauce
1 tbspn soy sauce

Method:

Heat a non-stick pan and add chicken/tofu & when cooked, add the sauces & mix to coat.

Remove meat from pan and set aside.

Add onion, broccoli, beans, peas & capsicum and cook for a few minutes.
Add zucchini, corn & mushrooms and stir well for 5 minutes, add the chicken back in and it's done!

Serve on it's own or with half a handful of rice or noodles (that would be half of YOUR hand, people!)

Look at YOU eating 8 vegetables for dinner!

Serves 4.

Mindful Eating

In our busy lives, we often shovel down food without thinking about it, our minds busy with the next thing we need to do, or say, or even eat.

Mindful eating draws substantially on the use of mindfulness meditation.

If you've never tried meditation, try 5 minutes sitting still, eyes closed, just observing the thoughts that pass through your mind.

Don't worry if you feel like your not doing it "right", just persist for 5 whole minutes and notice what you notice.

Mindful eating involves many components such as:

• learning to make choices in beginning or ending a meal based on awareness of hunger and satiety cues.
• learning to identify personal triggers for mindless eating, such as emotions, social pressures or certain foods.
• valuing quality over quantity of what you're eating.
• appreciating the sensual, as well as the nourishing, capacity of food
• feeling deep gratitude that may come from appreciating and experiencing food

Mindfulness helps focus our attention and awareness in the present moment, which in turn helps us disengage from habitual, unsatisfying and unskillful habits and behaviours.

Engaging in mindful eating meditation practices on a regular basis can help us discover a far more satisfying relationship with food and eating than we ever imagined before.

A different kind of nourishment often emerges, the kind that offers satisfaction on a very deep emotional level.

I encourage you to make your next meal a mindful meal, whether you're alone or with your family. Consciously think about what you are eating, rest your fork or spoon between mouthfuls, and check in with yourself to see if you are still hungry before taking any more food.

Notice how you feel while you do this and how it feels different to your usual way of eating; I think you'll be surprised at your results.

Nourish Yourself

What is your criteria for deciding what you will eat?

Is it convenience? cost? taste? health? energy requirements? or do you just reach for the first thing you can find?

Choosing foods that are nourishing, rather than merely filling, are just as easy, inexpensive and quick as a "fast-food" option, giving myriad macro nutrients (carbohydrate, protein, fats) and micro nutrients (vitamins and minerals), for your body to rebuild and repair itself.

As mentioned previously on this blog, fresh food is best for your body and your mind.

Eating an orange, banana or other fruit, rather than reaching for a processed, sugary snack, gives you a great tasting snack and important vitamins and fibre, as well as water, protein, carbohydrate, sugar, calcium, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, folate, vitamin A, vitamin C and B group vitamins.

How do you feel when you eat?

Emotional eating is “the tendency to eat in response to negative emotions”. (1)
Studies have indicated that anxiety leads to decreased food consumption in people with normal weight and increased food consumption in the obese.

Many laboratory studies showed that overweight individuals are more emotionally reactive and are more likely to overeat when distressed than people of normal weight.

Also, it was consistently found that obese individuals experience negative emotions more frequently and more intensively than do normal weight persons. (2)

One study compared the emotional reactivity and emotional eating of normal and overweight female college students. The study confirmed the tendency of obese individuals to overeat, but these findings applied only to snacks, not to meals. That means that obese individuals did not tend to eat more while having meals – rather, the amount of snacks they ate between meals was greater.

One possible explanation is that obese individuals often eat their meals with others and do not eat more than average due to the reduction of distress because of the presence of other people. Another possible explanation would be that obese individuals do not eat more than the others while having meals due to social desirability. Conversely, snacks are usually eaten alone. (2)

Eat when you are calm, think about how this food will nourish you and really let yourself enjoy the experience of eating healthy food.

1 Eldredge, K. L., & Agras, W. S. (1994). Weight and Shape Overconcern and Emotional Eating in Binge Eating Disorder. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 19 (1), 73-82.
2 Lowe, M. R., & Fisher, E. B. Jr. (1983). Emotional Reactivity, Emotional Eating, and Obesity: A Naturalistic Study. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 6 (2), 135-149.

20 Minute Total Body Workout

You're at home, feeling like you could do a 20 minute workout but you're not sure what to do?

No more excuses.

Warm up for at least 5 minutes (a kitchen timer will help you gauge this) with high knees, jogging around the house, dancing, skipping or a brisk walk around the block.

These exercises are all ones you've done in your training sessions; if you don't currently train with me or are unsure of any of the movements, please email me for specific information.


Choose one of each from the following exercises and do 3 sets of 20 repetitions.

Work as quickly as you can with no rest in between sets.
*Use some kind of weight for this, dumbbells if you have them or look in your cupboards, cans are good and 1 litre = approx 1kg

Glutes & Legs: squats, step lunges, side lunges, glute bridge 1 minute hold or 5 second hold & alternate legs, calf raises,

Shoulders: shoulder press*, shoulders* 5 alternating & 5 together

Back: kneeling supermans, regular supermans, pull ups, bent over row*, wall push ups, incline push ups (eg on your dining table), regular push ups

Arms: bicep curls*, tricep dips, side-arm raises*

Abs: crunches, cross crunches, hundreds (3 sets of 100 for these), plank, side plank


Stretch all of the muscle groups you've used in the workout, holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds.

If you have more time or want a stronger workout, add more exercises or more sets, or both!

I guarantee you will feel better afterwards.

Happy training!

Regrets .... I've Had A Few

As the old song goes, "but then again, too few to mention".

It may be difficult to live a life free from all regret, but from my experience, regrets are usually about what we haven't done, rather than what we have done.

You are living the only life you are going to get - make it great!

Waiting 'until' to make your life great, to live the way you truly want, will never get you where you want to be.

Dreaming of the future is not living your life, and you may be ignoring some really wonderful people, activities and moments while you spend your mental & physical energy wishing life away.

Notice how you spend your time, where you contribute your energy; does this satisfy & nourish you? If your answer is no, you certainly need to carve out some time for yourself.

How does this relate to your health & training? I'm so glad you asked :)

Do you find yourself:

• waiting until you weigh a certain number to be happy and love being in your body

• waiting until you look a certain way to be more active

• waiting until you have enough will power to nourish yourself with fresh, healthy food
  

• waiting until you "feel like it" to exercise to make your body stronger

• waiting until someone else says something or does something to change what you do

This is bullshit.

You deserve a wonderful life and YOU are the only one who has the power to make it happen, not next week, not in a year, not when you turn 50 (or any other magical age), but today and every day of your amazing life.

And you do have an amazing life, look around and find 5 amazing things going on in your life right now; I bet you can.

Use the hours, days and years you have or waste them, the only time is now.

If It's To Be, It's Up To Me

Deciding to make a change in an area of your life that you are unhappy with, takes courage, determination and action.

It can also take time to make the necessary actions a regular part of your life.

Focus on one thing at a time, and have a plan.

Example 1 - fitting 20 - 30 minutes of cardio exercise into 3 days a week (not including your training days) may look something like this:

Training Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday
Rest Sunday
Walk, jog, swim, ride, dance to the point it's difficult to carry on a conversation, for 30 minutes (or 3 x 10 minutes) on Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

10 minutes in the morning, a walk at lunchtime and 10 minutes in the evening will get this done.

You do have time, we all have the same 24 hours in our day and we all make choices about how we use our time. Using our bodies affects our minds too, what better way to de-stress from an exhausting day, than to really feel how strong your body is.

Example 2 - Eating healthy food with mindfulness & pleasure:
Use your Health Diary, (if you're not currently doing this you'll likely notice you're results are stalled along with your weight loss)

Plan your weekly meals, including a shopping list (if it's not on the list, it's not in the trolley - no exceptions) and cook batches of your favourite meals to freeze for convenience in the week.

If you only have fresh, healthy food in your cupboard, and no processed or junk food, guess what you'll be eating?

No one else can do it for you and if you're waiting for the world to make it easier for you, it's not going to happen.
You get one life, make it great!

If it's to be, it's up to me to do what I need to do to have what I want to have in this life.

And it's up to you too.
Get it done. You can do it!

Food Is Not The Enemy

Our relationship with food is primal and complex.

We need to eat to live, but modern convenience combined with sedentary jobs means we often eat more than we need or food which does not nourish us.

As children, our mothers and others often "loved" us with food, or we learned ways to satisfy emotional needs with food and if those habits continued into adulthood, we find ourselves eating not for hunger, but for other reasons.

If you have been 'dieting' for many years, you may be surprised at how quickly you regain weight after the 'diet' has ended and how you manage to gain a little more each time.

You have effectively been teaching your metabolism to become more efficient at fat storage.

For long-term, sustainable fat-loss that you can maintain once you reach a healthy weight range is most effective when you examine your relationship with food and make some changes about the way you think of food in your life and in your body.

You may be used to the following kind of thoughts:

• food is a temptation
  
• food means being out of control
• food means gaining weight
  
• food means wanting things I can't have
• food gives me comfort
  
• food me guilty
• food is the enemy.

Well stop right there!

Shifting your thinking around food will shift your experience of food.

Try these thoughts for a week and notice the difference you experience:

• food means energy
• food means strength
• food means having enough vitality to work
• food means not getting tired before the end
• food means I have what I need
• food means brainpower
• food means muscle
• food is my best friend

Working with a food diary, without making any changes to what you usually eat, gives you a more accurate map of what you're currently doing. Don't judge, just record.

When you really know where you are, you know what to do to get to where you want to be.

The Perfect Omlette

This omlette recipe is so versatile you can fill it with any veggies you like and eat it for breakfast, lunch or dinner (but not all in one day! ;)

Ingredients:
2 - 3 eggs, one yolk
1 - 2 cups in total of vegetables, chopped/diced to same size pieces
small sprinkling of grated cheese (optional)

Choose from mushrooms, celery, bok/pak choy, tomato, capsicum, coleslaw mix (yes it's great cooked!) spinach, zucchini, onion, or any other vegetable you can chop up and put in it.

Some tips and tricks for the perfect omlette, every time:

• Whisk or beat your egg mixture until there are bubbles sitting on top
• Make sure your pan, preferably non-stick with a spray of olive oil, is hot.
• Pre-cook the veggies as they won't cook through in the omlette.

Set vegetable aside, wipe the pan and re-spray with olive oil

Reduce the heat to medium and add the egg mixture to the pan.

Use your spatula to gently scrape the middle of the omlette, allowing the mixture to fill in the spaces.

Give the egg a couple of minutes to cook then add the veggie mix to one half of the omlette, sprinkle the cheese and flip the other side over to cover the veggies.

Turn off the heat, give it another couple of minutes and serve.

As Julia Childs, played by Meryl Streep, would say... "Bon appetite!"

Fresh Is Best

This article by Pauls Goodyer reviews The End Of Overeating by David Kessler, a former commissioner with the US Food and Drug Administration.

Kessler argues that there’s something going on in food manufacturing that’s conditioning us to overeat. He calls it hyper-palatability and, put simply, it’s the creation of moreish flavours in food that so stimulate the appetite that they override the body’s normal controls to stop eating.

Kessler, a Harvard trained doctor and lawyer - and former overeater - wanted to understand why he and so many other people had such trouble resisting foods high in fat, sugar and salt. His search for answers resulted in The End of Overeating, a book that looks at emerging research into food addiction and concludes that, for many of us, highly flavoured foods oversupplied with fat sugar and salt, are too easy to overeat.

If you find it difficult to resist the temptation of eating too much when you indulge in take-away or restaurant food, you may be surprised to learn how much more goes into these "foods" than the same thing prepared by you at home.

Fresh food really is the best for you, you know what's in it, you have control of what you add to it and learning to enjoy the natural flavours of food can be a delightful new taste sensation.

Eat well, live well, love well.

Stories To Inspire You

Keep up your amazing work, live your life well & love what you do!


Dr Oz has some tips for maintaining weight loss

Read about this woman's road to health & fitness

This mum educated herself about nutrition and reaped the benefits

You CAN reach your goals!

Training - Your Low-Cost Health Care Solution

There are a lot of viruses getting around right now and your best defence against a lengthy illness is to keep doing what you need to do to stay fit & healthy - eat real food, get enough sleep & train your body to be strong.

This article from Terri Walsh, owner of TW Training NYC and 25 year veteran of the fitness industry, talks about how much we can do to keep ourselves healthy.

"GETTING SICK IS EXPENSIVE.

Yes, look at it in big bold letters. Everyone is the USA is focused on health care. On how expensive it is. Here’s the thing that drives me NUTS. It’s much cheaper over the long run, to exercise, and reduce your RISKS! I HATE how much I pay for my insurance, and I’m a freelance person, so it’s even harder….but staying healthy has reduced my overall costs over the cost of my lifetime up to this point.

Of course you can’t control everything, and sometimes you can still get sick. BUT you CAN control your activity level, the food you eat, and the quality of those things. And you can also do them reasonably on ANY budget. Tough times, need tough people. Exercising regularly keeps you ready to handle life's ups and downs. This goes way beyond how we look. It’s about who we ARE.

Please do not let rough times wear down your health!"

Stay Strong & Get It Done!

Health Checks

If you would like any of the following information about your general health, please ask at your next training session.

Blood pressure: a blood pressure monitor gives you an accurate reading, as well as your resting heart rate, both of which give you useful information about your cardiovascular health.

Blood Glucose Levels: best done before the first meal of the day to test 'fasting' sugar levels. Higher than usual blood glucose levels may indicate a pre-diabetic condition, which when managed with adjustments to diet & exercise, reduces your chances of diabetes by up to 70%.

If any of your readings are outside the 'normal' range, I urge you to make an appointment with your GP.

Having a general health check once a year, especially if you're over 40, helps you stay healthy and allows early intervention if there are any issues.

Finally, look at these disturbing graphs from the Centres for Disease Control in the United States, showing the increase in obesity over time.
(use the 'previous' button to go back to 1994, when data was collected for all states.)

Given Australia's propensity for following US trends, this should concern us all.

Alternative Medicine

The cold season is in full swing and it's not even Winter yet!

Our family was laid low back in March and took the entire month to recover, what with runny nose, coughing, stuffed head and aches & pains, and as it was viral, no effective medicines were available from the doctors.

I know anything that doesn't require a prescription is viewed sceptically by some as "alternative medicine", and less effective than a pill, but since when did good food, adequate sleep & restorative exercise become "alternative"?

If you're currently down with a cold or flu, do pay special attention to your health and general well-being.

Eat plenty of fresh foods, especially leafy greens and try a couple of whole oranges each day (no, the juice is not enough, you're just drinking sugar).

Get enough rest & sleep; don't just try to push through if you're really sick, no one at your workplace wants the germs and you're way less productive trying to think and work through a head-cold fog.

Unless you're achy throughout your body, try to maintain a reduced exercise program; even walking every other day will maintain the fitness gains you've made this year.

There is a time for everything and when you're sick, it's taking care of Self time.
This too shall pass and you'll be right back into loving the busy-ness of your life, with a greater appreciation of how truly important good health is.

You have made an amazing difference in this past year, for your health and the rest of your life.

You have made a commitment to your Self that is bringing benefits you may never have imagined, as well as the one's you notice every day.

You are stronger, fitter, healthier, better than you were a year ago.

YOU are the person in charge of making this happen!

Keep Getting It Done!!

As Simple As ABC...

The ABC website has a great Health & Wellbeing page packed with interesting information and tips on a range of health issues.

There's always an interesting Quiz plus information on a wide variety of health and fitness topics.

Keep Yourself On Track

If you're keeping a Food Diary you'll already know how useful this process is for keeping you on track with your goals.

Like any project, Project YOU needs to be documented so you know where you're at; there's no judgment, blame, or praise involved, just information that you can use to get yourself closer to where you want to be.

For example, you may not realise how little water you drink throughout the day or that you go far too long without food during your busy day, only to come home ravenous and (surprise, surprise!) make poor food choices because of the urgency to eat RIGHT NOW!!!

A Food Diary allows you to look at your habits and choices in a more considered way and to plan strategies for changing what needs to be changed.

Tips:

- make sure you're having some protein in every meal

- keep a bottle of water with you and refill it at least once a day

- include a variety of vegetables each day & in each meal

- keep track of how much sleep you get; note down bed-time & waking times and notice how this may be affecting your food choices

Keep going!

You're a smart cookie, and once you know where there's room for improvement, think about what YOU can do to change.

You are Getting It Done!!

Be The Star In Your Own Life

Are you the star of your life?

Or do you find yourself doing, giving, caring to other people first and neglecting your own needs?

As adults we often feel bad for behavior we term "selfish" and while this may have been true when we were children, I don't know many people with adult responsibilities (children, bills, work and family commitments) who really are selfish with their time & energy.

I do know a lot of adults who feel bad, guilty, anxious, ashamed to take any time just purely for themselves, and are constantly busy "taking care of" other people, things and chores, as though if they stop for a moment, their whole world will collapse.

This is clearly not true.

Putting yourself first does not mean ignoring your responsibilities, nor neglecting the needs of people in your life; it does mean making sure you are operating at your best to take on all that life brings.

Think of the instructions you are given by air hostesses when you fly: fit your own oxygen mask before assisting children or others. If you pass out from lack of oxygen, who will be able to help the others?

Your health is the same, if you don't eat fresh food that nourishes you, don't get enough sleep, neglect your physical body, and experience the poor health results that follow, who will be around to care for the people you love?

Living well isn't a chore a burden or a luxury, it is a gift you can give yourself every single day.

You DO deserve it!

Every Little Bit Counts

If one of your main training goals is fat/weight loss, you may have found the Easter break and its accompanying chocolate gifting quite a challenge; I know I did, I gained almost 2kgs in 2 weeks! Yikes!!

If you don't know, I put on almost 40kgs when pregnant with my son, most of it in a six month period!
It took me three years to lose it.

I'm back on track post-Easter, with healthy eating and regular workouts, as I hope you are, and should knock those extra kilos off within a few weeks.

If you're in the same situation, don't despair & don't give up; those "little bits" of "occasional" chocolate do add up to a consequence, just as those "little bits" of "regular exercise" will contribute to our health & well-being in the long-term.

In the meantime, I came across some great info from a fellow Melbourne trainer Craig Harper, that I felt was worth sharing with you.

Below are excerpts from a Renovating Your Body workshop he ran recently in Queensland, and they certainly resonated with me as I hope they do with you...

"Knowing isn’t doing. Smart people do stupid things. Often. Especially when it comes to their body. Ever met a doctor who smokes? Me too. Transformation ain’t about the information, it’s about the application. Far too many informed, educated and intelligent people simply don’t apply what they know. Or if they do, it’s often short-lived.

Change works from the inside out. And it’s not always quick, easy, convenient or painless. And that’s okay.

Producing exceptional results is more about decisions, behaviours and resilience than it is potential, talent or genetics. Which has always been good news for me!

What’s written on the front of food packaging is called marketing, not nutritional information. Don’t get me started on those sneaky food marketing people.

Hard or easy is about the person, not the task. It’s true that many people have a PhD. in difficult. They can turn the most straight forward process into a major theatrical production complete with pouting, foot-stamping, complaining and attention seeking.

People don’t accidentally get fat. No, it takes work. We choose what goes in our mouth don’t we? Last time I checked nobody accidentally eats junk food or excessive calories every day. No, it’s a choice. And I’m pretty sure people don’t accidentally avoid exercise either. No, I think that’s a decision too.

Motivation is handy but discipline is essential. Discipline is what keeps us doing what we need to when the (feeling of) motivation ain’t there. "

Keep up your program, make healthy food choices and watch the changes happen.

Happy training!

Effects of Exercise on the Cardiovascular System

cardio - the heart, as in cardiac arrest & cardiologist

vascular - the blood vessels that transport blood around the body

The function of the cardiovascular system is to:
- transport oxygen to tissues and remove waste
- transport nutrients to tissues
- regulate body temperature

You may have read some articles lately that seem to suggest cardio exercise, the kind where you get all huffy-puffy, unable to carry on a regular conversation, is of little or no benefit.
I'm not sure what scientific research "studies" journalists are Google-ing because they certainly aren't reading them properly.

It is true that cardio exercise burns calories while you are doing it, versus weigh-training which increases your metabolic rate (the amount of energy your body uses at rest) well after the weight session ends, however cardio has it's place in a fat-loss program and myriad other benefits to your health & well-being.

Blood

Blood performs incredibly important functions in our bodies, it carries nutrients, oxygen & hormones to the cells, it carries metabolic waste to the kidneys and lungs to be excreted and it transports specialised cells that defend peripheral tissues from infection & disease.

- Red blood cells contain not only vital oxygen, but also iron

- Plasma contains nutrients, electrolytes, organic waste, proteins and hormones

- White blood cells are the mobile units of the body's defence system and function primarily outside the blood, in the organs and tissues.

- Platelets work together with plasma to stop bleeding and assist in tissue repair.

The Heart

Your heart improves in strength and efficiency with cardio exercise.

It's a muscle you know, and like any muscle if you don't use it, challenge it and build it, your heart will not be in great shape; unlike other muscles, if this one is weak or not functioning well, your overall health is affected.

Well all know our body requires oxygen to survive, and adaptation to exercise, allows your body to use oxygen more efficiently.

More blood, and by definition, all the goodness contained in it, is able to be pumped out from your heart per beat.

This is why your resting heart rate decreases with improved fitness.

Blood Pressure

The amount of blood pumped, the force at which it is pumped and the diameter of the blood vessels all affect blood pressure.

The numbers that the doctor gives you are (usually) higher number over lower number.

The first number is your systolic pressure, the pressure generated during a contraction (when your heart is squeezed to pump the blood).

The second number is your diastolic pressure, the pressure of the heart during relaxation.

So your blood pressure tells you how hard your heart is working on contraction and at relaxation and in general, the healthier the heart and associated vessels, the lower a person's blood pressure will be.

Doctors generally agree that 120 - 140 over 70 - 90 are normal.

If you don't know your blood pressure or are unsure, talk to me next time you train and I can give you this valuable information.

So improving the functioning of your cardiovascular system, increasing the efficiency of your heart pumping blood around your body, carrying more oxygen & nutrients to your tissues, including your bones, lowering your blood pressure and reducing your body temperature, all of these benefits are already occurring for you.

Oh, and if you're wondering why it seems like the lungs somehow make up the cardiovascular system, they provide the oxygen that keeps our entire being alive.
Huffy-puffing does a body good!

Keep your heart healthy and it will serve you well.
Happy training!

Take The Long View

Most of us don't give much thought to sleeping, eating and exercise each day.
Life is busy and we can easily focus only on what needs to be done, helping other people and meeting deadlines, without a second thought for our own well being.

Our bodies & minds cannot go on indefinitely without care & nourishment, in the form of enough sleep, nutritious food, relaxation and "down time", and if this is lacking for long enough, eventually our system will fail.

If you're going through your days on auto-pilot or only focused on external tasks, schedule some time into your diary each day to take care of YOU!

Not a morning person? - Go to bed an hour earlier

Can't seem to find the time for healthy, nutritious food during the week? - Spend and hour on the weekend making portion controlled meals to freeze for lunch and dinner

Not hungry first thing in the morning and find you skip breakfast? - Get some good quality protein powder for a morning shake to start each day well.

Can't seem to get yourself off the couch to do the exercise you know needs to be done? - Get up and START, tell yourself you can stop after 5 minutes, you'll likely keep going and feel better for it.

Take the long view with your health & fitness, a little each day builds into a week, month, year of new habits that aren't all that new anymore - it's just what you do.

Time passes, we either get healthier & fitter or go backwards, there is no standing still, it's what you do with your time that makes the difference.

GET IT DONE!

:)