Deflating the Potbelly - Weight Loss Blog

Spinach spinach spinach....oh! and other concoctions

2012-10-10T22:12:00.005+11:00

Homemade #miso#soup with #spinach. Super easy super yum super #healthy I made the #broth using dried anchovies dice a whole onion and add into broth along with spinach I sift the miso through the boiling water. DONE! Too easy! Another way to get all your veggie intake! Curbs the hunger in between meals, under 100 #calories

"A #healthy#spinach side dish/#salad . 1. Boil a bunch of English spinach 2. Let it cool 3. Tbsp of miso paste, tsp of Chilli powder and a sprinkle of Chilli flakes, 1/2 tsp of sesame oil and then just toss.

"I'm a sucker for #fries#hotchips satisfied my cravings for a #healthy alternative baked sweet potato fries. Turned really crispy!!

"#zucchini sliced and battered in #egg then fried in #olive oil till perfection!

"#healthy pumpkin oatmeal protein muffins. 500g of pumpkin grated, 6 egg whites or 3 whole eggs, 2 cup oats, 1 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 unbleached wholemeal flour, 1/4 tsp of salt or if you like sweet muffins you can add stevia. Then #bake !

#breakfast - oh my LAWD!! This was AWESOME to be honest I was expecting a bitter juice from past bottled experiences but it was so delicious I could gulp a bucket full. This concoction consisted on a handful of #spinach and #kale 3/4 of a small #tomato 1 whole #cucumber 1 finger sized #rhubarb 1/4 #orange #capsicum and the coriander just made it even more amazeballs!! MmmMm

Breakfast ideas! Overnight Oats

2012-10-10T22:11:00.001+11:00

"Attempting to be creative with my #breakfast options My #healthy version of " #bircher#muesli " 1/2 cup of #oats dumped into a leftover tub of #natural PB (about a level Tbsp) chucked in some #raw nuts, berries and pear Topped it off with 1 cup of warm #water or unsweetened almond milk (add stevia if you wish) and let it soak overnight Eat it on its own or a dollop of natural yoghurt!! with #cinnamon YUM!! Can't wait to try it. Hope it turns out to what I expect it to be

3 way sweet potato mash with avocado

2012-10-10T22:06:00.002+11:00

"Doesn't look that appealing but this concoction definitely trio of #sweetpotatoes - white, purple and orange sweet potato smashed with 1 whole #avocado (instead of using butters and milk) the combination of avo and warm sweet potato was just AMAZEBALLS!!!! was loved by all guests!

Paleo inspired recipes

2012-10-10T22:01:00.002+11:00

Burger without the bun?!

"#Healthy Delicious #paleo friendly #kangaroo #burger !!steam #sweetpotato (to spread on the burger) while that is steaming cook up your #meat I used large flat mushrooms instead of burger buns - grill the mushrooms until you start seeing the juices oozing out Assemble - I used pickled #chutney , thought it would be appropriate to really get into the Aussie 🐊 tucker. So quick and simple and #YUM

view full image

"#KANGABANGAS !! My closet option atm to try #kangaroo meat! Probably one of the leanest meats you will find per 100g = P: 16.8g F: 1.7g C: 3.8g Cals: 100 the kangaroo #burger comes in even more #lean !! For those who are trying to find alternatives to #chickenboob kangaroo is really great!! You can look all products up at macromeats.com or #woolworths have them in stock! First time trying this #protein and I definitely could get used to it! YUM nomnom. Will definitely try and find just the meat not a burger or sausage as these do have small amounts of additives. Just wanted to experience the taste. Now my dad is chowing on it, better go pack some for lunch before it's all gone

view full image

"Obsession with #chickenboob haha been having so much fun on my #meal #prep days! Saves me so much time during the week! I've also mastered the ways of not having to eat dry #chicken when reheated!! Got a platter of #portuguese#moroccan#thaiand #mexican (spices) chicken cooked with #coconut oil.

The Functional Food - Coconut Oil

2012-10-10T21:52:00.002+11:00

view full image

"Post inspired by @ninapoo after she freaked out hearing that I would be working on a #cleaneating #recipe using COCONUT milk. Friends do not underestimate the wonders that this #superfood provides!! Many avoid coconut milk, oils, meat etc thinking saturated #fat - must steer clear!! But this is clearly not the case. It has been classified the "functional food" coz of its #health benefits beyond its #nutritional content. The #composition of the #coconut consists of more 90% saturated fats, however all sat fats are not created equal. Sat fats found in some other oils have been artificially manipulated (assists with storing fat) while some occur naturally like coconut oil. 50% of the fat in coconut oil is made up "Lauric acid" which our bodies convert to a component called monolaurin which has anti-viral, bacterial, Protozoa properties (basically helps fight off disease and viruses) Coconut oil is also natures richest source of medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA's). These acids are easily digested and immediately burned by your #liver for #energy (without the #insulin spike) as opposed to long chain fatty acids (LCFA) which are larger in size and difficult for your body to break down, stored as fat (common in vegetable or seed oils) It is also better to cook with c.oil rather than olive oils as the components change in these oils when heat is applied. Other benefits - optimise body weight, increase #metabolism and aid #weightloss, regulate cholesterol levels, increase performance, reduces inflammation, improves insulin secretion and utilization of #blood glucose, immunity, hair and skincare... goodness I could go on! For further info go to www.coconutresearchcentre.org or huffingtonpost.com But remember I always say this...EVERYTHING IN MODERATION!! "

Status update - What works for you?

2012-06-02T09:56:00.001+10:00

I finally feel like I am back in control again.....

Late 2011 to early 2012 when I gained majority of my weight, I went out and sort advice from a couple of personal trainers, began to hysterically read various fitness/health blogs, blogs of fitness models and people who have lost all the weight and succeeded on their journey.

This had both a positive and negative impact on me.

Positives
1. I learnt that your body wont change simply by doing excessive amount of cardio. A balance between a clean/healthy diet, resistance/weight training and cardio is required to get you to whatever goal you need to achieve.

2. I have a better understanding of what a healthy diet/clean eating consists of.

3. I am able to train effectively without spending hours and hours in the gym.

4. I have a solid idea of what my goal is and have broken them down into smaller intervals.

5. Healthy fat loss doesn't happen instantly, it's definitely not a fad diet but a lifestyle.

6. Numbers on the traditional scale do not matter, it's all about lean mass vs fat mass

Negatives
1. I almost found myself obsessing (with a little exaggeration) about other people's progress and found myself comparing myself to them. This made me feel impatient with my progress and constantly bashed myself emotionally as to why I couldn't look like them or achieve what they did.

2. Because I wanted to be at my goal then and there I actually put myself in a state where I didn't want to train or eat healthy (I know this contradicts itself, but I guess I began to eat emotionally and I'm normally not an emotional eater). I gave myself excuses to eat badly at any event, birthday, just going out, holidays etc.

3. Lost a great deal of motivation and my enthusiasm for training was at a very low. It's so easy to fall off track!

4. I was given different food plans by various people that didn't work for me. By all means they are great trainers and hold great knowledge in terms of health and fitness. However, it just wasn't working for me (probably due to my history)

I've stopped all the crazy stalking and comparing. Thank goodness! Why was I deliberately torturing myself? Who the heck knows! I guess I am just human....
By stopping all this madness I have been able to comeback to a healthier mental state.

Changes that I have made
1. Listen to your body - Instead of eating the way other people tell me to eat or making sure I eat every 3 hours to the minute and second(even if I am not hungry) I eat when I feel I need too. By that I don't mean I skip meals (I never skip a meal) or let myself get extremely hungry. As this is when you are vulnerable to eat mindlessly as your sugar levels dip and start to crave(still eliminating bad habits =S). Instead I listen to my body and now I generally understand when it needs to be fed. I always fuel my body with the necessary macro break downs(for my daily needs), making sure every meal I eat is clean and consists of a balance of fats, protein and carbs. I will also slightly alter what I eat pre and post training, depending on what my training consists of. If I find myself craving it only means I haven't fuelled myself correctly and need to reassess.

2. I have slightly altered my workouts as well - I'll always include some sort of cardio/resistance cardio/HIIT daily as this is crucial to fat burning and include a weight session.
Personally with weights I've always written down a workout schedule for the week for eg; legs day 1, chest and back day 2, arms day 3 etc but it's hard to guesstimate how your body will recover from a certain workout. You might say you do chest and back day 1 and then arms day 2 but find the DOMS are killing you from day 1 that you can't do arms so you choose to do legs. So instead of saying I will do this a certain day. I'll plan out the weight sessions I have to do for a week and decide on the day what I can and want to do. This is just personal choice I have made for myself, and it works for me.

3. Mentally - This has taken me a while, and it is the most important of all. I'm not going to achieve my goals by whining, comparing myself to others, telling myself that I can't do it or procrastinating on the matter. That will get you no where.
I am back at a place where I am loving my workouts and the wholesome food I am eating. I guess I can see the hope again and the confidence in myself that I will achieve my goals so long as I really want it... and that's what keeps me motivated to keep training and doing things right!

We all have different goals, different needs and different bodies, hence, not one training or diet program will work for everyone. You need to LISTEN TO YOUR BODY, keep a healthy diet, train like you really want it and record your progress. Figure out WHAT WORKS FOR YOU and it'll only be a matter of time before you reach your goals.

Superfood - SPINACH

2012-05-31T14:33:00.000+10:00

Sometimes I forget or simply don't know all the great minerals,vitamins and nutrients that natural and whole foods provide to nourish our body.

I've been putting spinach in almost every meal I eat so decided to look into to this mighty mean green leaf!

Here is a summary I put together and boy oh boy does this tiny friend pack a sackful of good stuff!

These %'s outline per cooked cup of spinach

All these different minerals/vitamins/flavanoids/antioxidants etc found in spinach hold the ability to prevent cancer, regulate inflammation, combat the onset of osteoporosis, atherosclerosis and high blood pressure, skin condition, promote a healthy nervous system and brain function....................ok I'll stop now!

If you don't already consume this fella...well go on! Eat it raw, steamed, sauteed, boiled or juiced! However you like, you can do just about anything with it!

Clean eats

2012-05-31T14:16:00.000+10:00

Quick update!

Blogging has been pretty slow as of late. Haven't been home for the last month or so and have been on the go go go go......Nevertheless, I've still been able to eat clean and train hard! I've also taken on board my brother as a...... lets just say a guinea pig. He wants to shed some fat.

It's officially been 1.5 weeks since the start of my fat loss phase. I know I wrote a post earlier on saying that it was supposed to start early/mid April. However, due to some set backs (as life has its way of playing out) I wasn't able to. Don't see anything stopping me now...just need to keep my head screwed on tight and focused 1 week at a time!

Pictures of what I've been eating and cooking up for the beastly brother.

Firstly, This is what my fridge consists of clean, clean and more clean..did someone say clean? Protein all portioned out to minimise cooking time.

Grilled Chicken and kale salad

Grilled salmon salad

Grilled Chicken with sauteed greens and spicy salsa

Meal prepping

Sweet potato and cucumber soldiers - filled with prawns, egg, peppers

Sautéed prawns and greens with chilli and cracked pepper

Starts now!

2012-04-15T21:08:00.002+10:00

Alright it is now time to buckle down even harder than before. Bulk phase has officially finished (thank gawd!)

The idea of bulking was excruciating for me. I was constantly eating, eating, eating...chicken here chicken there chicken in my breakfast....I may as well have bought a chicken farm...gahh!!! how on earth was I supposed to lose weight with all this food? Getting my head around eating for muscle growth was mind boggling and did at times cause anxiety not knowing if what I was doing was the "right" thing to be doing (so much "bro science")...despite the array of emotions I do feel as though I put on a decent amount of lean muscle mass.

Forgot to take a before picture =S

As you can see in the picture above, the bulk is there but no definition or leanness in the body - 'Hopefully' this next phase, which is the fat burning phase, also known as body re-composition, will induce the fat storages! Be GONNEEEEE!!!!!! FOREVER!!!!!!!!!......

The next 3 months is going to be tough! Whilst I was on the bulk phase I was constantly nourishing my body I rarely ever had sweet cravings or any sort of cravings. (mind you although I was eating endlessly I always found myself to be hungry?? LOL). I'll have to see how I cope with the reduced intake. Diet wise - I have removed most of the fat (increased fish oil intake to compensate) and reduced the carbs where necessary. I'll be eating plenty of fresh produce and including 1 cheat/week, however, I have now limited my cheat meals by excluding sweet treats!!(possibly the exception of my birthday cake).....oh doom!!! justkeepswimmingjustkeepswimming...! Focus!

Training - I will still be smashing out the weights (to preserve as much lean mass as possible, may even increase) but I have also incorporate more cardio.

So looking at cardio 5-6 days a week weights 4 days a week.....I may need to adjust if I am feeling too fatigued...trial and error .....

Tomorrow marks day 1 of 90.....Lets do this...and smash that stubborn fat away!!!

Bust your butt and work them LEGS!

2012-03-24T16:13:00.001+11:00

I've been noticing the various benefits that my body has been reaping in from a good leg work out. My lower back is feeling stronger than ever (still some aches and pains through the sciatics), my core and stability is more on point, my movements are more swift and quicker, my legs are able to carry me further when I go long distance running (managed a 15km run last night) and my whole body in general is feeling 'iron-like' - hahaha I am unstoppable!!

"'When you work your legs you're essentially working the entire body. When performing a set of a compund lower body exercise.Take the squat, leg press or deadlift exercises for example; just think of how many muscles you're contracting throughout your body, other than your legs. Even if they are only being isometrically contracted (i.e. flexed but not moving), these other muscle groups receive enough mucles fibre stimulation for enhanced size and strength development". - Body Building

I have laid out some simple leg exercises that you can execute at home.

Back Squat

This multi-joint exercise is a great foundation exercise for building overall power and strength.

Compound exercise - it directly works the gluteals, quadriceps and hamstrings. Isometrically contracts all other parts of the body.

No No's:

Do not round your back or lean forward.
Don't allow your head to look down and your knees to turn in.

Barbel Front Squat

Similar to the back squat, however, as the

weight is on the front of your shoulders it

demands a more upright body posture. This

places more emphasis on your quads and

core.

No No's:

Do not allow your heels to lift off the floor
Do not drop your elbows or let them touch

your knees at the bottom of the lift.

Never sacrifice good technique by overloading

with weights.

Bulgarian Dumbbell Split Squat

This exercise is valuable for hip mobility, balance and good shoulder posture as well as strength in your quads and gluts. By holding dumbbells it gives you a lower centre of gravity and improves stability.

Focus and concentrate on your gaze level and do not bend your back.

Overhead Barbell Lunge

Lateral Lunge

This movement works the whole body. It is excellent for developing strength and power.

Be gone!! inner wobbly things of DEATH!!!

When performed correctly you'll be able to feel that bitey/painful sensation when you push up through your heels.

You can start without the weights and progress up to the desired weight

There are so many different leg workouts, but now that you have a general idea get on pumping!!!

Remember to keep that core activated...AT ALL TIMES!!!!

What's all the fuss about?

2012-03-05T21:20:00.001+11:00

Oh gosh!!! what a week of hell it's been!!

This bulk phase has been really screwing with my mind and emotional state.

All this eating, eating, eating and MORE EATING!!! only makes me feel like I'm getting bigger...BALLOONING!! popping out of this universe!!

gahhh someone just yoink my brains out so I don't think, just do!

So this week was a bit of a downer yes the whole version of; the world is against me, I'll never see the light at the end of the tunnel, blah blah bull cr*p.....

I got through all my workouts and all my eating but my motivation and positivity was missing....During my training sessions I wasn't all hyper and high, full of joy as I usually would be. I was just there because I knew I had to do it. So I did.

Every meal I ate, I was assessing and obsessing how many calories was in each bite and if my body would just lose more if I didn't eat this extra meal.....So many times this week I was close to just giving up and reverting back to the old days of not eating - the cowardly escape.

I think what I forgot about this week is patience and faith and trust in myself - my two major problems.....

I train and train and I just want it now! and when it doesn't I convince myself that it will never happen. That's when I lose the faith and believe that it won't happen eventually.

I just have to trust that it will happen so long as I keep putting in that 150% ..FOCUS!!!

On the brighter side all this heavy lifting and food loading has definitely given my muscles a pump! They aren't lean because that isn't the focus of this phase but boy oh boy I feel like I could take out a couple of *I probably shouldn't write what I was about to write* haha...

Anyway so today was my check in day (EXTREMELY APPREHENSIVE, almost cancelled) but thank goodness! I maintained in size despite eating over my maintenance calorie intake.(Hopefully it's all going to my muscles) I'm extremely happy with this!! From eating only 800 calories a day to 1900 I think that's an achievement on it's own. *A pat on the back for me*

This week I'm going to try and disconnect a little with my brain as it tends to screw me up a tad =S Focus on what's in the plan and take it

Recipe of the week - Quinoa Salad

2012-03-04T14:48:00.001+11:00

Just a quickie before I head out for a training session.

Another quick and easy recipe!

Quinoa tuna bean salad with grilled veggies, drzzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Click here to find out the health benefits of 'quinoa'

Pre mix shot

Post mix shot

Ingredients

Quinoa - 1/2 cup (cooked)
Dried Anchovies
Veggies (any of your choice)
Tuna in Springwater (1 x small tin)
Beans (I used kidney)
Balsamic Vinegar
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method;

Step 1.

Create a broth using the dried anchovies - you can use chicken stock, vegetable stock, beef stock, etc I've decided to create an anchovy broth as my protein is seafood.

Step 2.

Cook the quinoa seeds in the broth - 1 part quinoa seeds to 3 part broth.

Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for 15mins with the lid on.

Step 3.

Grill your vegetables on a non stick pan - I've used red and green capsicum, zucchini, mushrooms and carrots.

Step 4. Combine the tuna, beans, grilled vegetables and quinoa. Then drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Step 5.

EAT!

Launch the HULK!

2012-02-26T21:50:00.003+11:00

OH~ how corny was that title..=S

But yes, I've officially begun BULK phase....(oh gosh)

If you've read my previous posts, I briefly explained how I was trying to get up to my maintenance calories

Maintenance calories - CHECKED! "CHEERING"

Now moving on, bulk phase will consist of -

Focus will be shifted from cardio to weight sessions. I will be doing 5 weight sessions with 2 cardio workouts. This will be a massive challenge as I am a cardio freak! Thinking about only doing 2 sessions a week is already burning me.
Build more lean mass (47kgs is still a good amount that I have already but we'll see how much more I can build)
Clean eating with 1 cheat meal/week
Macro-nutrients will be:

P - 170g

C - 150g

F - 50g

SF - 21g (atm the diet I've planned only consists of 10g, but lower the better for this)

Calories - 1700-1900

After speaking with a couple of people and recommendations from the results of my DEXA dietary requirements, I came to a decision that it'd be better for me to continue bulking for the next 4-6 weeks. The reasons behind this is because:

More lean mass = more energy burn
So that my body is able to stabilise a bit longer on a higher calorie intake. If I was to reduce my calories already (only been about 4 weeks since I reached 1200cals and only 1 week since I reached 1600cals). I don't think it'll be much of a shock factor to my body...My measurements haven't gone up since increasing my cals which is a good sign, but I guess I'll have to experiment with this new phase.

All this food is quite overwhelming, no joke! I am eating 24/7(I'm surprised no-one judges me at work LOL)

But i'm going to push through, KICK SOME BUTT and get this block over and done with!!! If this strategy fails and I gain a hideous amount of weight *shrieks* I'm going to go into hiding forever!! I kid I kid....All about trial and error and I guess if it does fail it's a 4 week loss out of whole life span! RIGHT?!?! =S

Anyway, I'm leaving here with a snapshot of a meal I had on saturday, post hill Sprint session (SESSION OF DEATH)

Grilled Snapper and Spinach salad drizzled with balsamic vinegar

Healthy in just 10minutes

2012-02-23T20:36:00.000+11:00

I don't understand when people say they have no time to cook up something healthy? To me it just sounds like - I'm lazy so I'm going to go for a maccas run!!

This meal honestly took me 10 minutes to whip up!

Grilled chilli garlic prawns with sautéed wombok and a side of cucumber and daikon

Ingredients:

150g of Banana Prawns (or any type of fresh prawns uncooked)
Raw wombok, also known as chinese cabbage (as much as you desire)
Half of a small onion
2 x cloves of garlic
Chilli Flakes
1 Tsp of oyster sauce
Cucumber and Daikon
Note: You can use any vegetable you like! Go crazy!!

Enjoy it with a serving of brown rice, sweet potato, any sort of wholesome organic starch and you're good to go!

Macro-nutrients

190 Calories
Carbs: 9.8g (without the starch serving)
Protein: 28.7g
Fat: 1.7g
Sat Fat: 0.4g

Making the right decisions and finding the balance

2012-02-19T23:04:00.004+11:00

I began this week like any other week, positive attitude and the perfect plan of attack. I had my meals prep'd, my training times set and a pre planned cheat meal for Saturday night dinner.

It all seemed to easy.....then it all began....Friday afternoon came along. At work we had a farewell afternoon tea for one of our colleagues, there was chips, dips, crackers, cheese, cabanossi and tomatoes. ALL OF MY FAVS!! So I decided to ditch my pre-planned tuna salad afternoon snack and dive face forward into the crackers and dips. OK, so it wasn't the worst snack I could've eaten, but it's the fact that I didn't have enough control to say no and also knowing that I fell off track. This is just Fail part 1.

Then Saturday came around (cheat meal night) had a nice 7am start but I didn't end up eating breakfast until 12pm. Part of the reason was because I was crazy busy cleaning all day, so hunger wasn't really a priority. Although, to be honest, the main reason was because I was feeling guilty from the previous indulgence of crackers and cheese. =[ It's not like I went over my intake for the day but knowing I made the wrong decision just took the better of me.
I didn't end up eating again till dinner, which was about 7pm. So in the space of 12hrs I had only eaten one meal. Gosh, I'm definitely dreading telling my coach this!!!! =S
After coming home from dinner I felt like I was having heart burn (never have had heart burn before, but all the symptoms were screaming HEART BURN. Painful feeling). I was tossing and turning in bed because of the pain and managed to squeeze in a couple of hours.

Finally Sunday! Woke up with the stomach pains so I couldn't eat breakfast. Instead I ended up playing tennis with a bunch of friends. During this time which was about 2pm my stomach pains subsided and I had brewed up a humongous appetite (I think I could've eaten a horse LOL). Fail part 1000000000000 - eating food on a completely empty stomach = OVEREAT/EAT WITH YOUR EYES/EAT MINDLESSLY). Fortunately, we all decided on a healthy lunch option, sushi (thank goodness) originally was going to be workers club buffet. Then it all went downhill again - After lunch we all decided to head back to our friends house to bake. I knew this would be a challenge for me as I am a sucker for desserts and all things baked, but I took the risk and followed. As much as I told myself to be strong I ended up grazing on some cookies and toasted creme brulee.

As you can see I fell off track hardcore this week and it's so darn easy to. I'm sitting here asking myself, was it really that hard to turn away? Did you really need that or was it just mindless eating out of habit?

I knew that I would be faced with challenges by hanging out with my friends (who are big foodies). I actually almost said no to meeting up with them because of the fact that I knew fail rate probability would be high. But, I didn't want to or am going to avoid situations like these just because I know I'm going to give in to my weaknesses. I need to learn to find the perfect balance of this lifestyle change whilst engaging with my normal social activities. Without finding the balance and making the right food choices I'm basically throwing my hard training and clean eating throughout the week completely down the drain. Plus, I'll never get to where I want to be. This is something I def DEF DEFINITELY need to work on.

So the ugly has been done and there's no point in dwelling. It's time for a new clean and structured week, RIGHT?!?!

Btw, this isn't me LOL

All prep'd, planned and ready to smash this new week, hopefully this time next week I'll be writing about how well I did!!

Calories vs. Macronutrients

2012-02-18T23:17:00.000+11:00

Do you count calories?

Throughout the many years of 'dieting' I developed an obsessive addiction where I would calculate and add up anything that entered my mouth (CalorieKing and I established a strong cyber friendship and became inseparable LOL). It didn't matter what source of food the calorie would come from, a calorie was a calorie. I could've eaten what I thought was healthy such as; muesli bars, types of cereals, packaged 'healthy' frozen meals, meal replacements, or the unhealthy chocolate bar, slice of cake, lollies, chips and etc.. So long as my calorie intake didn't exceed what I thought was the correct consumption amount, I predicted there to be a weight loss.

Did I have it wrong!

It is significant to understand how many calories your body requires to encourage a healthy weight loss (or even just to maintain a healthy lifestyle). However, if you don't distinguish the crucial relationship between macro-nutrients and calories your weight loss progress will not be 100% successful.

The main functions of macro-nutrients are to promote growth and development, regulate body functions and provide energy which are counted as calories. There are three broad classes of macro-nutrients which are: Protein, Carbohydrates and Fats (click the links to find a full description of each macro). Each of these macro's provide calories, however, the amount provided by each varies.
1gram of Carbohydrates = 4 calories
1gram of Protein = 4 calories
1g of Fat = 9 calories.

Now to explain it a little clearer how calories can be chosen, I've compared it with 2 different types of food:

530 calories of milk Chocolate (100g)

Fats: 29.5g
Saturated Fats: 18g
Carbohydrate: 57g Benefits: Diabetes, cardiovascular
Sugar: 55.5 disease, lethargy and fatigue,
Protein: 8g musculoskeletal disorder and other
detrimental health risks.
(General to all unhealthy foods)

530 calories of chicken breast (320g)

Fats: 11.4g Benefits: Vitamin B for energy, B6 for
Saturated Fats: 3.2g Cardiovascular health, Niacin
Carbohydrate: 9.9g which reduces the risk for cancer,
Sugar: 4.4g Protein and amino acids: the structure of
Protein: 15.2g the human body - helps replenish, repair
and re-generate.

Our bodies cannot distinguish whether or not we are fuelling it with a chocolate bar or a piece of lean chicken. It can only receive it as nutrients broken down into fats, carbs, protein and other vitamins and minerals. As you can see above, although we can consume the same amount of calories, the type of food that is eaten to fuel the body will effect how the body will respond. The lean piece of chicken will help refuel our body and nourish any damaged tissue, skin, hair, tendon, ligaments and organs, allowing us to feel energised. On the other hand, the chocolate would only provide us with instant taste satisfaction, but, would not be able to administer the same high quality nutritional values and effects to sustain the human body as the chicken would. What is more, it would actually more than likely store as fat if not burned through vigorous exercise and set our bodies into apathy.

Can you see why it is necessary to realise fuel for the body is more than just counting simple calories?

Going back to the story of my calorie counting days....I can now apprehend and find the reasoning to why I constantly felt tired, stressed, lethargy, muscle atrophy, loss of hair, dry skin, depressed and tired..oh wait I already said that!

Don't get suckered into mindless calorie counting!! IT DOESN'T WORK AND YOU HAVE PROOF THROUGH ME. Assess the macro-nutrients that your body requires to function at its maximum capacity. If you are able to compose a balance, it'll only be a matter of time and hard training before weight loss occurs.

Reboot yourself

2012-02-16T21:25:00.001+11:00

If you find that you're not managing to get your 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of veggies, instead of jamming vitamin supplements into your body try juice made by "Reboot Your Life"

Unlike 99% of juices sold in the market this product is 100% natural ingredients. No concentrates, preservatives or colourings.
Just real, whole fruit and veggies.

Out of the 3 Very Berry Good was my favourite!! (as you can see I've sipped more of it than the others). Lean Mean and Green definitely disagreed with my taste buds.

Slight adjustments

2012-02-15T22:08:00.003+11:00

After a couple of days on this new intense training schedule I feel like my body is ready for more food...oh WAIT!......it's screaming for more fuel!!! I thought my body wouldn't be able to handle 1400-1600cals (portion wise) yet but I definitely underestimated this idea (chucks paper out the window).

Also, I've decided not to take the L-Carnitine and have removed the protein shakes. Couple of reasons why I removed the shake is because -

1. I was only using it temporarily because it was easier for me to drink a shake then down a piece of chicken every 3hrs (I'm getting better at this!! WOOT!!).

2. It also made me feel bloated at times

3. By having real food I'll get my digestive system working i.e. get that metabolism soaring.

The body needs to work harder to digest food rather than a liquid.

So now my diet looks something like this:

1400-1600 cals

Macros:

P - 160g

C - 90-100g (increased the carbs because of the amount of cardio I am doing)

F - 35-40g

Post Workout - 6am

Apple

Natural yoghurt

Breakfast - 745am

Egg omelette (1 white + 1 yolk) + Chicken breast 50g with vegetables and 3/4cup brown rice

Snack - 1045am

Tuna and avocado salad

Lunch - 145pm

Chicken breast and veggies with 1/2cup brown rice

Snack - 445pm

15 raw almonds

Dinner - 745pm

Chicken breast and veggies

Training wise, I'm STRUGGLING to do the HIIT in the mornings so I've simply swapped them around. So I do weights in the mornings and do HIIT at night. SO MUCH BETTER!!! gaahhh do I hate mornings =[ Ah~ just got to get into routine and I'll be fine >.<

Measure me up

2012-02-12T23:11:00.001+11:00

dum Dum DUMM!! Here come the measurements.... So awkward posting it out to the world but hopefully this will aid to keeping me FOCUSED!!

I feel as the progress has been quite slow because most of this was probably post holiday weight (pulling my hair and gasping) and also due to the main factor of trying to figure out the perfect nutritional and training program for my body. So we've been trialling several methods and haven't quite hit the beauty spot. But I can definitely say we are getting there.

I can't wait to see how much ill be able to lose in the next couple of months!
I'll be going back for a DEXA scan late April/early May - with this I'll be able to see how much fat I actually lost and lean muscle mass I gained.

Lets smash it!

Testing it out...

2012-02-12T22:35:00.002+11:00

I find it so strange that I find it extremely challenging to hit my calorie/macronutrient targets as many people who 'diet' struggle to eat within their maintenance calorie limits and find themselves overeating which leads to them being overweight.

For the last 3 years I have been consuming between 400-800 calories a day and one of the reasons for me being overweight is because and I am sure you are familiar with this concept, "starvation mode" YUP! my body is STORING everything and I mean EVERYTHING!!!!!!! arggghhhhh......(punch me now).

With a terrible combination of overexercising and under eating how could my body possibly want release anything! (geez how did I not know this? DUH!!)

I have been recommended to intake 1600 cals a day! HOLY GEEBNUTS!!! is this a TRUCKLOAD of food or what!!!! I found it really hard to transition from 800 cals to 1600 both mentally (this is still a battle for me) and physically to digest the large amounts of food.

After consulting with my PT we decided to take it slowly and increase it every couple of weeks.

We've been increasing it slowly since the beginning of Jan and I am currently sitting on about 1200 a day. Hopefully within a couple of weeks or so I'll be at 1600 to maximisie the extra fuel to build some lean mass and burn the FATTT!! AHOO!

This is an example of my eating and training schedule -
I weigh all my food (I'm freak like that, Judging?) to suit all my macro nutrients.

Diet - About 1200Cals
Macro's
P - 180g
C - 80g
F - 20g

Breakfast - 745am

4 egg white omelette +50g of chicken breast with spinach and broccoli with either 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice or 1 cup of cooked oats
2 x Fish Oil

Snack - 1045am

Whey Protein pancake with natural yoghurt

Small piece of fruit with nuts

Lunch - 145pm

Sweet potato spinach salad with protein(tuna, chicken, prawns etc)
1 x Fish Oil

Snack - 5pm

Whey Protein Shake with small handful of raw almonds
1 x L-Carnitine (Pre Workout)

Dinner - 730-8pm

Protein (chicken, red meat, shellfish etc) and Veggies

Note: At the moment I am incorporating protein powders because it is quick and easy and also because I struggle to eat all the portions. Once I get that all sorted I'll be off the shakes . If you are not a supplement kind of person you could easily substitute it with whole food protein based snacks.

I also only it organic natural foods and I most definitely have 1 cheat meal or 4 small snack cheats throughout the week

Training

Monday
445am - Cardio

530pm - Chest and Back

Tuesday

530pm - Legs (Back Physio)

Wednesday
445am - Cardio

530pm - Shoulders and arms

Thursday

530pm - Legs and back (Back Physio)

Friday

530pm - Chest, Shoulders and Triceps

Saturday

8am - Legs

Afternoon - Cardio

Sunday

I try and use this as a rest day but most of the time I get too restless so I workout, but it's only light.

It's been a week since I added in the morning workouts and I can tell yah now it takes alot of fudgin WILL power to get up!!! I think I snooze at least 5 times! But I'm ready to kick butt right, left, centre, all directions you can think of baby!!

I'll see how I go with this.....eeekkkk

Bored?---> Try out HIIT

2012-02-12T21:26:00.000+11:00

Sick of running on the treadmill/elliptical for hours and hours or you simply need a quickie before you meet up with bunch of friends and you have no time to hit the gym??? TRY THIS OUT! Something I just mashed up. It'll seriously get your HEART RATE screaming for its dear life....

You can use the 'Tabata' method (20sec intense exercise followed by a 10sec rest) but I find that 20sec is just too short. So I set my interval timer on for 30 sec exercise 10 sec rest and then 1 minute rest between each set.
So this is what it looks like.

Do a quick 5-10 minute warm up: jog, jumping jack etc

30sec - Jump Rope (boxing style)
10sec rest
30 sec - Burpees
10sec rest
30 sec - Jump Rope
10 sec rest
30sec - Burpees
10sec rest
30sec - Jump Rope
10sec
30sec - Burpee
1 minute rest.

So basically you're alternating between Jump Rope and whatever exercise you plan to perform(3 sets)

Continuing on...

3 x 30sec - Chair Dips (alternating with the Jump Rope)
3 x 30sec - Jump Knee Tucks (alternating with the Jump Rope)
3 x 30sec - Elevated/Decline Push-ups (alternating with the Jump Rope)
3 x 30sec - Jumping Split Squats (alternating with the jump rope)
3 x 30sec - Dumbbell Lawnmowers (" ")
3 x 30sec - Squat kicks (" ")
3 x 30sec - Dumbbell 2 arm Tricep Kickbacks (" ")
3 x 30sec - Max Speed Turning Kicks (" ")
3 x 30sec - Dumbbell French press (" ")
3 x 30sec - Dumbell walking lunges (" ")
3 x 30sec - Jumping Knee Tucks (" ")
3 x 30sec - Sprint for your LIFE!!

These are some examples of what you could incorporate into your HIIT workout! You will probably need to adjust the workout times and rest times according to your fitness level. Just don't forget to push yourself to the point where you are pulling those horrid facial expressions and for some the big GRUNTS....you need to feel the burn buRN BURN baby!!

Benefits of HIIT

Saves time
Increase in Cardiovascular function
Increase in Strength Power and Speed
Significant reductions in body fat and insulin resistance
Increase VO2 Max (Maximum amount of oxygen you can uptake during exercise)
Prevents injuries
Activation of the fast twitch muscle, resulting in more muscle mass. More muscle mass the higher your RMR

On another note I've mentioned all the benefits of HIIT training, however, endurance exercises are also beneficial for fitness and health. (it just takes longer).

I sure do love my looooooonnnnggg runs. Yes, it takes longer but this sort of exercise helps me recover from all the tough weight and HIIT sessions whilst still burning that stubborn FAT.

I tend to rotate between HIIT 2 times a week, Long distance 2-3times a week and 5-6 weight sessions (detailed schedule to come).

Super Foods

2012-02-11T23:18:00.000+11:00

For all you CLEAN eaters out there!! This is something I can smash down post workout, snack or a even meal.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Protein Pancake with Natural Yoghurt

Note: If having it as a snack I'd remove the oats

This protein packed meal is 347 Calories (with the oats) and the macro's are

Fat: 2g

Sat Fat: 0.5g

Protein : 37g

Carbs: 40.5g

Ingredients

Protein Powder : Dymatize HydroWhey - 1 Scoop

Monster Muesli Brans and Oats Porridge : 1/2 cup (40g)

2 x egg whites

Jalna Fat Free Natural Yoghurt - 100g

Blueberries : 50g

1/2 Tsp of Honey and Cinnamon

But you could definitely adjust the settings to suit your dietary requirements

Don't Judge me but...I had this 3 times in one day because I loved it (I'm a sucker for dessert type foods)

Tip : Benefits of ground cinnamon

Studies suggest -

1. It can regulate blood sugar levels and insulin resistance

2. Reduce cancer cells

3. Reduce Pain from Arthritis
4. Boosts Cognitive function and memory
5. Great source of Manganese, fibre, iron and calcium
6. Digestive ailments such as indigestion, gas and bloating and diarrhea.

Daily Staple : Grilled Prawns and Spinach salad with sweet potato and kidney beans.

The caption says it all - Definitely one of my TOP Lean clean eats!

Go into Defeat, not to be defeated..

2012-02-11T22:35:00.000+11:00

Hello all,

Have you been to my ABOUT page to get the low down of who I am?!

So who's ready to see me kick some butt this year??...(Oh~ I am)

To get things started I got myself checked out at www.measureup.com.au/ for a full body scan.

Here are the results...

I am currently sitting on 25% body fat I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to get down to 15%.....-10% easy....YEAH RIGHT!! =S...

I've set myself a mini goal to reduce it to 20% which is a loss of 4kgs - depending on how much muscle mass I am able to gain.

Gosh it sounds so easy.....only if it was....

So according to Jarrod, I need to be consuming at least 1600 calories a day, that's just to survive without any exercise. However, because I've been eating so little my PT and I are taking things slowly and experimenting with my body. Only because we don't know how my body will react to all the food. So I've been eating 1200cals for the last month or so and there hasn't been a gain (THANK GOOOSSSH) but a minimal loss.

We still need to figure out my calorie intake so that my body doesn't continue to store. I am on the same diet as 2 other girls and they are losing a lot more than I am and I am training triple than what they do.....HUH?! maybe my body is destined to be MAMMOTH like?! hahaha doubt it.....

It's definitely a tough one physically and mentally but I'm going to charge on and fight this B*tCH!!!!

I'll continue to blog about my exercise routines, my diet, progress photos, general thoughts.....so WATCH this space!!

Booyah!