A few words on Fad Diets ...

A week ago one of my clients was talking to me about her daughter and how she was trying to lose a little bit of weight for her formal at the end of the year.
She was complaining that her daughter didn't seem to want to commit to coming to the gym or making the effort to train at least 5 days a week so she could burn enough calories.
Speaking of calories, I enquired into her daughter's diet.

Apparently, mum had become concerned as her daughter had recently commenced a protein only diet as advised by a friend of a friend ( well, isn't this the best way to get diet and nutrition advice? ).  This would ensure that she lost weight fast ( not to mention, lose energy fast .. but that's another story ).

The new diet required a small variety of protein each day .. a small tin of tuna, a little bit of ham or chicken and maybe a boiled egg or two.  Pretty simple, hey, nothing else to worry about! 

I nearly passed out on the spot. 

This is not the only crazy diet that I've heard people are using at the moment.  There seems to be quite a few to choose from.  Not that this is anything new .. fad diets have been around forever.
Weird and wonderful diets like these do actually work .. ( do you really think I'm going to condone this ) these diets work by creating a massive deficiency in essential nutrients and energy that your body requires to function on a daily basis.  Well, that's if you making through the first day without your body starting to shut down!  I mean, who doesn't want to feel tired, cranky, confused, sick, lethargic ...

Come on people!  If you want to lose weight, do it by following a healthy, balanced diet that provides all the nutrients and energy your body needs to function at its optimum .. just the way you want it to!

Combine this with a balanced exercise program and you will be bouncing off the walls and look fabulous as well!

Ok, rant over, feel free to carry on normal programming ...

Seriously though, if you are considering a diet and exercise program, please consult with the professionals ( ie nutritionist, dietitian, GP, exercise professional ) before starting out.  You need to get ALL the information that you need that is going to be the best for YOU.


Fit Mum x   

Monday Motivation ...

This has to be one of my favourite quotes.  I have it stuck on the wall where I can see it all the time ...

It reminds me to keep working at being consistent in everything I do ...



Try to use this during the week to remind you to keep at it!


Fit Mum x   

More muffins ... Banana and Rolled Oat

I know .. another muffin recipe!

They are something that my kids will actually eat. 
I'm always on the search for a recipe that is bordering on the healthy side. 

This one is not too bad, well, except that I added white choc chips instead of oats just to give them a treat.  I've been a bit of a ranting mum at the moment with regards to what they are eating for school and after school snacks.

Banana and Rolled Oat Muffins

What you need ...

2 cups ( 260g ) self raising flour                          
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp bi carb soda
1 cup ( 100g ) rolled oats*
1/2 cup ( 100g ) brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup ( 185g ) plain low fat yoghurt
1/4 cup ( 60ml ) canola oil
2 bananas ( 250g ), mashed

What you do ...

Preheat oven to 200C.  Line muffin pan with paper cases.  I use small ones, not the super size ones cos if I want one I only want to consume a few calories, not heaps!

Sift flour, cinnamon and soda into a bowl.  Empty the flour husks from the sifter back into the bowl along with the oats and brown sugar and stir to combine.

Whisk eggs, yoghurt and oil together.  Add banana and stir to combine.  Pour into dry ingredients and mix together using a wooden spoon until just combined.  Mixture may be lumpy and does not have to be evenly mixed.

Spoon mixture into paper cases.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.
Cool for 5 minutes before transferring to wire rack to cool completely.

Best enjoyed warm! With coffee .. or milk!

* I used white choc chips last time I made them so didn't add the rolled oats.


Fit Mum x   
  

This morning's adventure ...

There's been quite a bit of rain here at the moment in Qld.   If you live in Qld you may have noticed this .. If you haven't noticed well might I suggest you take a look outside!

Last night the rain was so heavy that it woke me up ( this is quite the effort I can assure you ).  When I woke up this morning I really didn't expect to be able to head out for the scheduled run. 

The sun was trying to poke through the clouds this morning so we decided that we might just head out and see what happened.

There was a lot of water on the track that we had to detour around. The creek was certainly up high and flowing fast.
When we got into the bush the trail looked pretty good with only a few puddles here and there .. Until we made it further along ...



Little streams were running down the trails .. Lovely really.

Then there was the creek crossing ...



I must say this only slowed my running partner and I down, Baxter wondered what all the fuss was about as he wandered through stopping for a quick drink on the way!
Then the rain started .. There was the fearful thought that it would be as heavy as it was last night but it was just a sprinkle ( breathe sigh of relief ).


The rest of the run home was rather uneventful until we came to the bridge across the creek. I had to be home in 5 minutes for Mr FitMum to get Miss 10 to swim squad training. We were running out of time and were stranded.

This is the bridge we had to cross ...




And this is the second fastest way home ...



A quick call to the support crew ( Mr FitMum ) to advise current situation then shoes and socks off for the crossing ( the water was ankle deep ).  I'm no princess, but I'm not going to ruin my shoes for this little bit of water!  No point in putting them back on as there was more ankle deep water over the track just a few steps away.

Baxter was loving it ...



We had such a great run this morning .. Quite the adventure! Even Baxter had a great time, he needs a bath and a brush now though ...

Fit Mum x

Friday Fotos .. February Photo a Day Update ...

Again I find that it's arrived at Friday and I haven't sat down this week to write anything for this blog.  It's not that I haven't wanted to.  It appears as though I'm not managing my time well.
I'm going to start trying to rectify this ...

This aside, I have kept up with my photo a day for February ( if a little late at times ).  Check out this week's efforts ...


Day 18 .. Drink

Day 19 .. Something you hate doing ...

Day 20 .. Handwriting

Day 21 .. A favourite photo


Day 22 .. Where you work


Day 23 .. Shoes 

Day 24 .. Inside your bathroom cupboard




 That's my week in photos!

Looking forward to the last few days of February ... and then to March's challenges!

Fit Mum x   

Friday Fotos ... February Photo a Day

I'm trying to be a bit more organised this week and actually get my Friday post up on a Friday!  Novel idea isn't it?

This is what my creative genius I snapped pictures of this week ...

Day 11 .. Makes me happy .. Hugs from my little man

                                         
Day 12 .. Inside my closet ...       

 Day 13 .. Blue .. My yoga mat ..

                                   Day 14 .. Heart

Day 15 .. Phone ..

Day 16 .. Something new .. LOVE these shoes!











Day 17 .. Time .. When my weekend started!!


Fit Mum x   

Monday Motivation ... Are you making time to exercise?

Are you busy? Do you sometimes feel as though you just don't have enough time to fit everything in each day? I know I do...

Does the thought of having to make some extra time for exercise stress you out just that little bit more? 


OR .. Do you miss your first exercise session, then miss the next one? And then decide that it's all a bit hard and you will start again next week, or next month ...


Instead of putting it off, why not make the effort to fit some exercise into your day?


You know all the benefits of including exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle.  Here's a reminder of some of them .... 


Exercise makes you feel good
Exercise can help you to look good
It may even help you to lose weight
It will definitely help you to maintain weight
And, it will definitely help you feel like you have more energy

I know, you're busy and you would love to fit something in but it all just seems a bit hard.


Sometimes you might need get creative when working out the scheduling of when you exercise.

Here are some obvious basics for fitting in some exercise into your day ...

Ø  Get up earlier .. before the kids .. unless of course they wake up at an ungodly hour .. in which case you may need to enlist the help of partner, hubby ... significant other ... 
Ø  Join a gym with a fabulous creche where you feel comfortable leaving the kids ...
Ø  Take the kids for a walk around the block to the park .. fresh air, exercise, a great bribe, puts them to sleep in the pram ... 

Here's a few extra ...



Ø  Take the kids to the local oval.  They play in the middle, you do laps ...
Ø  Hire / buy a DVD ... there are so many out there now there is an amazing choice
Ø  Add a quick 10 minute routine to your day ... but add it 3 times!  Wow, 30 minutes done!
Ø  After school activities sometimes have you sitting around waiting forever ... Go for a walk / run ...
Ø  Instead of coffee with the girls, head to the park for a walk ... 

Most importantly, schedule your daily exercise as an appointment with yourself.  You wouldn't dream of missing an appointment with the hairdresser, beautician etc, why miss an appointment with yourself?


On the other hand ... Do you then feel guilty for NOT fitting in your workout?  Do you berate yourself for being slack?

This has got to stop too!  It's just not possible to spread yourself around everywhere ... sometimes something just might have to give.  You just can't take on as much as you would like.  
It's not going to make you any less of a person, girlfriend, wife, mother etc ... what it is going to do is make you feel better about yourself for knowing how to balance your life out.

Whilst it is important for your health and fitness to be consistent with your training routine, it is just as important to maintain a balance between family, work, exercise and life.

What are you going to do this week to ensure that you include some exercise into your day?
Will this balance out nicely with all the other fun stuff that life has in store for you this week?

Keep it up, stay strong and focused. You know you can do it!
Fit Mum x   

 

This week in review ....

I'm going to start by saying that this week was a bit ho-hum.


I must also say that I have not quite got the hang of the new routine. Yes, there was the night when dinner didn't get to the table until 8.30pm.  Note that when young children go to bed at 9pm on a school night it does not make for happy children later in the week ... Naughty mummy moment that I must rectify next week!


But, I know that my parenting anomalies are no different to others ( well, I hope I'm not too far gone! ) so enough of that!

Health and Fitness is a priority for this post so here is what I got up to this week ...


Monday     I'm glad that I woke up early and went for a run this morning because as it happened, the way my day turned out, there was no running for me unless you count between the courts at Miss 10's netball gradings trying to sort out 40 odd girls into teams!

Tuesday    My yoga morning. Mr FitMum went for a run and I managed 40 minutes of yoga. Either I was working really hard or it was really hot because I was dripping with sweat by the end of it! Apparently hot yoga is the new thing ..I'm not sure if that was what they meant!

Boxing class on Tuesday nights too .. I worked hard instructing! Almost as hard as I got the girls to work! No really, almost!!!

Wednesday   Am loving my running mornings at the moment!  And loving having a running partner!  I am keeping the intensity down a little bit to change it up but still working! 

Thursday     PT today.  I'm still a bit sore in the upper body from yoga ( I know! Who would have thought? ) so my PT thought she would be a bit more gentle .. yeah right!  Then we did legs and I got through that .. until the next day ... nothing like a great glute workout ...

Friday        I'm feeling a bit sore and tired this week.  Next week might be a bit less intense.  Gave up the Friday morning run to Mr Fit Mum.  A bit of stretch was required of above glute .. ouch!

Saturday    Normally a day off, but today it is another run to make up for having Friday off.  Still a bit stiff but I love the early morning run!  Until I run onto a rock on the trail ... I thought at the time that it would probably hurt later, but then completely forgot about it until I had to walk this morning.  We love a bruised heel ...

And yes, in case you were wondering, I am thinking about using this as an excuse not to run on Monday morning. 

OK, so I'm pulling the princess card ... we'll see how it feels, I may opt for an intense bush walk instead.

Sunday      The usual rest day finishing off the housework and recovering from brother in law's 40th birthday party with an early morning swimming lesson. 
Oh and the afternoon spent writing catching up on blog posts / reading and sipping on a Mai Tai ( please don't remind me of the extra calories I am now consuming, I'll worry about them next week .. )

Hope everyone had a fabulous, productive and active weekend!

Fit Mum x   

Friday Fotos .. February Photo a Day Update ...

I know my Friday Fotos are a few days late, that just seems to be the way this last week has been.  I am behind schedule with most things!  Oh well ...

This week presented us with some interesting topics and some that have required a little bit of thinking!


These have been my contributions this last week ....


Day 4 .. A stranger ...


Day 5 .. 10am


Day 6 .. Dinner


Day 7 .. Button


Day 8 .. Sun


Day 9 .. Front door


Day 10 .. Self Portrait
Am quite looking forward to the subjects for next week!

Fit Mum x   

Monday Motivation ..

I know, I'm a day late .. and I'm not going to bore you with excuses ( I really was crazy busy! ) ..

This week's motivation actually follows on from my non excuse for not posting ....


Just to set the record straight though ... I did fit in my workout yesterday!

Try to remember this when you find yourself thinking up excuses this week ...

Fit Mum x   

This week's wrap up ...

What happened to the week?! I don't know about you but this week seemed to disappear into a mesh of work, school, training and well, you know .. the usual stuff.


But I think everybody is in the same boat at the moment. Trying to get yourself and the kids back into a routine that's going to work in your house for the next few months. Or until the next hiccup comes along ...


One thing that I made sure I had time for was my training this week. Here's what I got up to ...


Monday ... Mr Fit Mum was getting a bit antsy ( and no, it's not what you think, I'm a nice girl ... ). Anyway, I surrendered my early morning run so that Mr Fit Mum could stretch his legs. He got rained on. I on the other hand, motivated myself to do my run on the treadmill after work. Not my favourite as you know but some things just have to be done.

Tuesday ... This morning I tried out the new yoga DVD. 35 minutes and Ouch! This one is going to take some practice.

Wednesday ... Back to early morning run. A bit over 4km and nice and leisurely. I stopped for pics for the February Photo a Day Challenge!  A nice breather at the top of Spider Hill.

Thursday ... What to say? First PT back in exactly two months. It would be fair to say that my fitness level is somewhat less than it was. Same workout, reduced weights makes Fit Mum struggle a little bit OK a fair bit with DOMS. Oh God, I was sucking in the big ones I that session! The only way is up ...

Friday ... Back to the usual 40minute run. No the rain had not gone away. A rather messy run through the bush and I arrived home drenched! Did I mention that I felt every muscle in my body with every footstep I took ... Again, the only way is up!



Saturday ... This morning should be a rather relaxing workout .. Breakfast with girlfriends .. Oh yes I imagine there will be coffee and lots of gossip interesting conversation!

On that note, I had best get moving!

What training did you do this week? Did you stick to your program or did you have to change it up to suit your week?


Fit Mum x

Friday Fotos ... February Photo a Day Challenge

One of my "things to do" for this year is to take more photos and become a bit more photography savvy.  So when I saw the "January Photo a Day" challenge I must say I felt a bit envious of everyone who was taking part.


I was rather curious when I stumbled on a post by Nikki from Styling You about the things she learned from taking a photo a day. Then I read that FatMumSlim was running another challenge .. "February Photo a Day" ( #febphotoaday ) .. Yay, I'm in!!


I'm going to take a photo a day for the entire month of February and post them to Instagram.




I will also add them to my Friday Foto post each Friday (duh!) so you can see my creative masterpieces attempts at photography ...

Today is day three, so here are my current inclusions ...


Day 1 .. Your view today ...








   



Day 2 .. Words ...

Day 3 .. Hands ...















I would love to hear your thoughts!

It's not too late to join either .. Just sign up on Instagram and start snapping and sharing!

Fit Mum x   



There is no comparison ...

How many times have you been in the gym and you sneak a peek at the person beside you on the treadmill carving it up .. or that person on the gym floor ... and said to yourself "I wish I could run like that / look like that."

Immediately following this thought you proceed to berate yourself .. "I could never be like that .. No matter what I do I can't be like that .. They've clearly got better genes than me".


Are you kidding me!!  Surely you have more respect for yourself than that!

Comparing yourself to others is a sure fire way to create a negative self image of yourself.  Then it escalates.  One negative thought leads to another and so on.  Before you know it you are constantly comparing yourself to others and belittling yourself.


You do not run in that other person's runners .. nor do they run in yours.  Everyone is individual and unique with different abilities.

When you start any exercise and nutrition program it is essential that you plan the program for YOU right now. The fastest way for you to fail in your new endeavours is to copy someone else and compare yourself to others.

By all means admire other people, even use them as inspiration but DO NOT compare yourself to them.


Next time you think these thoughts ask yourself "Do I believe in what I am doing and why I am doing it?". If you answer yes give yourself a quick slap across the face for thinking these ridiculous thoughts and then get on your training. 
If you do not believe in yourself and what you are doing I suggest that you reassess what it is that you are doing and wanting to achieve. If you are unsure, I strongly recommend speaking with a personal trainer or dietitian / nutritionist to formulate a plan especially for you.  It's great to have someone else's support to keep you on track.


Don't compare yourself to others, it will beat you every time.
Believe in yourself and your own abilities and work consistently to get the results that you want.

Fit Mum x