fitness

FitM.U.M – A day on my plate (limiting processed carbohydrates)

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After feeling very average for a few weeks (due to increased ‘winter’ carb consumption) and experiencing bloating, cramping, feeling sick and decreased energy levels, I decided to try and go without processed carbohydrates, mainly bread, pasta, crackers, porridge and things I was eating too much. I found myself in a downhill carb spiral and the more I was eating the more I would crave it. These foods weren’t filling me for long either so I was eating a lot more in a day and because I am busy I started opting for quick, easy options like toast, crackers, even crumpets!!! I knew I needed a break to detox my body and hopefully loose the bloated feeling and the cravings. I also knew this was probably going to be hard! Today was day 4 and I have actually surprised myself at how well I am doing and more so how good I am feeling. What a difference. I am beginning to plan my snacks and meals better again and ensure that I have healthy options on hand so I’m not tempted by quick fixes. For me, it is all about being organised and prepared. If I don’t feel like it is an effort, I am much more likely to succeed once I’ve put my mind to something. Here is how my day on a plate looked today.

For breakfast I had eggs, with avocado and cherry tomatoes. I have had this twice this week (once with the addition of mushrooms too) and it fills me for longer than high carb breakfasts which I like as I am busy in the mornings and hate feeling hungry straight after I eat. I had one cup of Green Tea with lemon with this. I always start my day with Green Tea. eggs breakfast Friday’s are one of my busiest days for Personal Training and business so I ate my morning snack in between clients. It was a mix of raw almonds, cashews and cranberries. I knew I would be out a lot so I made sure I packed my container with me to snack on. I also drank 1L of water before 11am.

Lunch today was a bit out of the ordinary for me as I needed to fit in my long run (14km) so I had a smoothie. I usually have smoothies as a snack or breakfast rather than lunch but it worked well today and filled me up as well as being a great post run drink. smoothie lunch Dinner tonight was my delicious dairy free low carb Vegetable Frittata. I had a productive day yesterday and made this yummy Frittata, the eggs make it high in protein. fritatta dinner I had quite a bit of interest yesterday’s post on my FitM.U.M Facebook Page about the Frittata so I promised to share the recipe. Now, I actually didn’t follow a recipe, I just knew what vegetables I wanted in it and that I need dairy free so I made it myself and it worked very well and tasted delicious, if I do say so myself. Obviously, you can choose your preferred vegetables and you can also add cheese etc to it to make it to your liking.

FitM.U.M’s Dairy Free Vegetable Frittata

Ingredients

1 medium sweet potato (cubed)

1 red onion (diced)

1 medium zucchini (diced)

8 cherry tomatoes (cut in halves)

100g baby spinach

100g premium lean leg ham, chopped (alternatively you could use bacon or omit all together for vegetarian option)

6 mushrooms (thinly sliced)

8 eggs

1/4 cup oat milk (use any milk you like)

1 TBSP minced garlic

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 185 degrees.

2. Whisk eggs and oat milk with a pinch of sea salt

3. Heat Pan or skillet and add garlic, sweet potato, mushrooms, onion and zucchini with a pinch of paprika and ground pepper. Cook for 5 minutes until vegetables soften. fritatta prep 4. Add whisked eggs and stir through

5. Add baby spinach, ham and cherry tomatoes and a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for only a minute until spinach wilts slightly.
6. Pour into baking dish and bake in oven for approx. 30-40 minutes or until eggs are set and it is brown on top. fritatta raw 7. Remove from oven once it is cooked and let cool in baking dish and slice when cool fritatta slicefritatta cookedI have drank 2.5L of water today which helps curb cravings. I also made a little ‘clean’ sweet treat to enjoy tonight as I have been very good this week and not indulged, so I thought being a Friday night, why not!!! It is just banana and strawberries with my mix of peanut butter/cacao chocolate. Extremely Yummy and I am literally enjoying them now with a cup of Peppermint tea. treat treat 1 I hope this has provided a little insight into my low processed carb detox that I have been doing this week. I can honestly say I am not bloated or sick after I eat and I felt great on my 14km run today! This is not a long term elimination, I am planning to slowly introduce carbohydrates (such as rye bread, mountain bread, porridge) I will just limit them and only eat them in small quantities.

For those who are interested, I will keep you updated how I go! Follow me on Facebook and Instagram to see my workouts, food and recipes and our busy but active life as a family of 4 in Adelaide!

Enjoy xx

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FitM.U.M Product Review – Polar Loop Activity Tracker

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I was lucky enough to be contacted a few weeks ago by the Marketing Coordinator of RunStopShop, a fantastic online fitness store (http://www.runstopshop.com.au/) to be a brand advocate for them and try a few of the awesome products that they stock.

runstopshop logo

This blog post is one of two posts to review the first two products I received. As well as ooohhing and ahhhing over the many, many fitness products, I also spent some time finding out more about the company and I love that their purpose is simple: to provide the products which enable you to get the most out of your active lifestyle, and enable you to reach your goals faster. This is something I’m all for…. as a busy mum of 2, who is not only on my own fitness journey, but who also motivates and trains many mums who are all embarking on regaining their health, fitness and active lifestyle! The timing could not have been more perfect, I was literally in the market for a fitness activity tracker and was researching different brands so when I saw the Polar Loop 24/7 Activity Tracker I knew I had to have it. It looks great, is extremely easy to set up and is very comfy to wear.

Polar Loop from RunStopShop

Polar Loop from RunStopShop

It’s features include:

  • Heart rate (when you are wearing the Polar H7)
  • Calorie expenditure
  • Total steps
  • Time of day
  • Activity Benefit gives feedback about your day, week, month
  • Waterproof

I love that it is simple to use and displays all the important information at the touch of a button but also has a smartphone app and website syncing which provides an accurate insight into your everyday activity and movement & sleep habits. I am definitely someone who is driven by having goals and targets to reach so, in the week that I have been wearing it, I have been so motivated to reach my daily fitness activity goal of 14,000 steps. Another feature I really like is that it tells you how much more activity you need to do to reach your goal (eg. jog for 30 mins or walk for 1hr 15). So far, I have achieved my goal each day.

As a mum of a 10 month old baby, who isn’t the best sleeper, I am up A LOT during the night to breastfeed her, so even though I am aware I am getting a very interrupted nights sleep, it has been good to see how much restful sleep I am getting at night. It accurately shows the times I get up and I find it quite amusing to see the tracking of me walking to her room (blue activity lines) and then sitting in the chair feeding her (grey activity lines) and then walking back to my room again and going back to sleep….. hey, at least I’m getting extra steps in my day. There are 24 usable hours in every day…. it’s no wonder I’m reaching my target.

Polar Loop App - Activity Breakdown

Polar Loop App – Activity Breakdown

So, although I have only been wearing my Polar Loop Activity Tracker for 1 week, I am hooked! I only take it off to charge it and I am much more aware of my movement and activity patterns and I am making sure I am staying active throughout the day. If you are looking for extra motivation to help you on your fitness journey and want to track your daily fitness, activity and sleep then I highly recommend using an activity tracker and, personally, I am loving my Polar Loop. I think it is on sale at the moment and you can shop this awesome product here.

Enjoy xx

Your reason or your excuse… which is greater?

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It happens to all of us, sometimes we just don’t want to exercise. Whatever the reason, it doesn’t matter, there will be a day where you just do not want to get out there and get it done, plain and simple! But it’s funny (almost ironical) because those are usually the days that if you can overcome that feeling and switch to ‘mechanical’ you mode and do it anyway, you will probably enjoy it more, get good results and feel a whole lot better afterwards.

This is something I have been working hard on in the last 6 months. Yesterday I went for my run, it was my seventh day in a row and my legs were heavy, I had quite a bit going on, living on about 5 hours of sleep and quite honestly, it would have been very easy for me not to go. But I knew that wasn’t really what I wanted and that I would actually be disappointed if I didn’t do it. I set myself a realistic goal and off I went. I went through the paces and surprisingly I felt good and actually went 4 km’s further than I set out to go! The distance wasn’t huge and it wasn’t my fastest run but the whole way I felt proud of myself. It’s these workouts that actually make you a stronger person. I kept repeating things to myself like “I’m one run stronger than I was yesterday”, “I’m closer to my half marathon goal”, “my legs are strong and my breathing feels good so keep pushing!”, “make your family proud but more importantly make yourself proud”, “do it because you can, and for the people that physically can’t”….. there are lots more mantras I use to get me through. I use my running time as my thinking time, my planning time, my reflection time, my alone time. I always surprise myself at what I am capable of and what I can achieve. It’s my mental strength that has surprised me the most above and beyond my physical strength and capabilities! If you can overcome the mental barriers and negative talk etc you are well on your way to achieving whatever you put your mind to!

The reason I put my shoes on and went outside yesterday and did it was because my ‘want’ to get it done was far greater than my ‘excuses’ not to! This is not a post about #noexcuses…. do you know why, because at times we all have real reasons why we can’t train and that is totally OK. We are mums, and we have sh!t going on, I’m no different, but we deserve to do something for ourselves and we deserve to spend time on our own health, fitness and sanity! For me that’s keeping fit, healthy and active and sticking to my training plan for my half marathon this year!

stronger than your excuses

I know I am much happier when I do fit my exercise in and I find it also means I tend to eat better too. If I skip a day or a session, for some reason it carries over into the rest of my day/lifestyle and I seem to not eat as well and I am grumpy (hence the reason my family are so supportive of my training ha!).

I’ve said it before in my posts and anyone who knows me will tell you, I am no elite sportsperson. I am a mum who has decided that this is my year to be the best I can be! I am constantly striving to be a better me, stronger me, fitter me, healthier me, happier me….These are my reasons for getting it done every single day! .This is my motivation.Every run or workout I do brings me a little bit closer to all of that, especially the ones where I bloody well didn’t want to do it!! What are your reasons and motivation? It’s so much easier when you have a clear and defined purpose for doing what you do (and that’s in all areas of life, not just exercise!).

The saying is “Motivation is what gets you started, habit is what keeps you going” but I actually think motivation is what gets you started and your purpose and reason is what keeps you going… no matter what. If I give up on my reason, I am giving up on myself and I am not going to let that happen. I’m sure we can all come up with at least 10 legitimate excuses why we just can’t be bothered exercising today, but how much will we let them get in the way and actually stop us from doing it anyway and getting closer to reaching our goals?

This post was in my head while running yesterday and it didn’t quite come out as well written down as it sounded in my head (I really need to start recording myself while running as things seems much clearer when I’m not at a computer) but I am sure it will resonate with someone else and hopefully it will motivate even just one person to not give up on your own goal just because you might have an excuse or two. You are not alone, I was there yesterday!! It’s all part of the journey.

FitM.U.M xxx

FitM.U.M January 2015 Fitness Challenge…. Make this your healthiest year yet!

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You did it, you clicked the link for my FitM.U.M January Fitness Challenge…. Good on you. I am so proud! Now the next step is up to you to take the challenge and see it through to the end! 31 days to improve your health, fitness and wellbeing, to look and feel great and start 2015 with a bang and make it your best year yet.

Below is the link to the challenge. Alternatively, you can email me at fitmumsa@gmail.com and I will happily email you the PDF version to print out at home.

FIT MUM CHALLENGE

Come and join us over here on the FitM.U.M Facebook page to stay motivated, and get extra tips, workout information, recipes and encouragement. You can also ask any questions you may have, post your progress and take photos of yourself doing the daily challenges and post them so we can all offer support and motivation along the way. Here is FitM.U.M Instagram page where we can also post our photos and use the  hashtag #fitmumchallenge or tag me @fit_m.u.m so I can see all your hard work!

I can’t wait for you to join me in this challenge and share the journey together! 2015 is going to be an awesome year and what better way to start it off. Will you take the challenge?

ab brace 2

Enjoy xx

Fit, Fast & Furious Training Session with Guin from Guin’s Everyday Style

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Guin and Kel

WOW! What a session.We were both super excited about starting our first Personal Training Session. Guin wanted to be pushed and push her I did. I put Guin through a 45 minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Session which was predominantly body weight exercises. We did use a set of dumbbells for some of the exercises but most can be done without.

Guin already does a variety of exercise so she wanted to compliment her other workouts with a full body High Intensity Session. These sessions are awesome as they full of short burst intervals with minimal rest and they burn mega calories and get the heart rate up high. My trusty stop watch was getting a workout that’s for sure as I wanted everything we did to be between 20 – 50 seconds of hard work (max. Effort) and 15-30 seconds of rest. HIIT Training is no good without a stop watch so we can keep an eye on the time and really make the most out of the workout.

HIIT Trainers Secret Weapon

HIIT Trainers Secret Weapon

We also did a hard set of Plyometrics. For those who are unfamiliar with Plyometric Training, it is explosive, fast paced moves which work several muscles at once. It is a great way of training to increase fitness, speed and agility and also burns mega calories as your heart rate stays elevated the entire time, allowing you to continue burning calories after your session is finished.

The Plyo set I put Guin through was Squat Jumps (reaching up nice and high on the jump), alternating lunge jumps and mountain climbers. It’s fair to say her heart rate was up and her legs were burning! But she was still smiling at the end of it so I continued to push her with an upperbody strength session with shoulder press, burpees, pushups and punches followed by abs and lots of stair sprints!

It was a fantastic first session, Guin pushed through everything I threw at her and never once stopped. She is a machine and I am looking forward to our weekly workouts and seeing Guin’s results. She is also working on her nutrition at home and paying particular attention to snacking and ensuring she has healthy snacks handy at all times. The key to good nutrition is planning and preparation, see my previous blog post all about this topic!

So, session one has been conquered and we are both looking forward to session two next week. Stay tuned via FitM.U.M’s Facebook page and blog and Guin’s Everyday Style Facebook page and for updates, tips, progress, photos and workouts and feel free to comment with any questions or words of support for Guin, who has been fantastic to share her health and fitness journey with us all!

Peace xx

A FitMUM’s busy week… if you can’t find the time, make the time!

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It’s no secret that there is a lot to fit into a week, especially for mummies. I am lucky enough to currently be on maternity leave (bubs is now 4 months old) but some weeks I still struggle to fit everything in to a week. It’s crazy! This week was quite a busy one for us so I thought I would use it as an example and elaborate on how I make time (even if it’s only a small amount of time) for myself and to make sure I fit some form of exercise in every day.

findaway

Like a lot of you, it was back to school for my eldest daughter this week after a busy and fun filled holidays and it was immunisations for my youngest. Irondad is in training for a short course duathlon on Sunday which he has set a pretty high expectations and goals for himself (EDITED post race to say that he smashed it by the way but that’s a different story!). We’ve had plenty of appointments, visits and of course all the household jobs that don’t do themselves as much as we’d like them too. So at the beginning of the week I knew I would have to work hard to fit in my exercise and not use any of that as an excuse to let it slide. It is easy to say “stuff it, I’ll just skip it today” but that can lead to the next day and the next day and before you know it you’ve changed your habits again. That is self-sabotage, try hard not to head down that path. Keep your motivation high and remind yourself of your goals. I am constantly reassessing my short term and long term goals to help me stay focussed and always have something to work towards. I do this in life and in fitness and I find that it really helps me stay motivated, accountable and achieve things.

My week from Sunday to Sunday included 7 runs (1 treadmill interval training run and 6 road runs) ranging from 4km – 7.5km, 3 x HIIT sessions, 1 Gym session and stretching and foam rolling (my old muscles can get a bit sore after running and foam rolling is perfect for easing those knots in your muscles).

Even on the days where I think it is going to be hard to fit it in, I find opportunity when I can and try my best to make it happen. Two good examples of this which I had to do this week were:

* Thursday my little one had her immunistations late in the afternoon and I hadn’t had a chance to do anything beforehand. That night we were having dinner at my parent’s house (they have a treadmill) and I didn’t want to be too far away from bubs, so going out for a run was out of the question as was the gym. I planned to get to my Parent’s house a bit early, got baby to sleep and did a 40 min interval session on their treadmill. It was actually a great sessions because it broke up my running week and provided intervals and heart rate training that I wouldn’t otherwise get on a road run. I was sweating hard, burnt mega calories and it gave my dodgy knee a bit of a rest from the road * all boxes ticked*.

* Friday I had a full on day so once Irondad got home we decided to do our weekly food shopping as we knew we had a busy weekend and wouldn’t get it done. Never one to miss an opportunity, once we had loaded everything into the car, including the children, off they went home with Dad and I ran home from the Supermarket. It is only 4.5km to our house but at least I fit it in, otherwise it just wasn’t going to happen. Do you know, the bonus of this is that by the time I got home all the shopping was put away too. I also did a quick 10 minute HIIT session out the back when I got home to finish the session off. I am usually dressed in my workout gear, you never know when you can improvise and squeeze in a quick run when you are out and about.

As you can see it is not rocket science and if I can fit these little exercise sessions in, hopefully you can too. Sometimes you just need to think outside the box and use 20 minutes when you can grab it. The shorter the timeframe, the harder you should push yourself! It all counts. I am just an average mum like everyone else, who’s time is in demand but all I do is make sure I plan and prioritise so that I don’t miss out! I am so thankful I have such a supportive family too.

If you have to go somewhere as a family on the weekend make sure you wear your workout gear (or at least have it with you in the car along with a hat and suncream and earphones if you like to run with music – be prepared and you can’t go wrong) and get dropped off on the way home and run there. Make sure you pick a distance you know you can comfortably run and increase it each time. I’ve actually lost count of the number of times I have done this. Sometimes the family even pace me in the car and drive along side me for part of the run. My 7 year old loves yelling out the window to encourage me.

4 percent of your day

If you can’t find the time, make the time!

I have done previous posts about the importance of planning and having a goal, read here https://fitmumblog.com/2014/09/29/good-choices-planning-a-goal-results/ it’s the only way to get things done. So, even a busy week can be just as productive, it’s what you do with your time that counts. The choice is YOURS.

30km run week

I found ‘My.Ultimate.Motivation’… what’s yours?

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Hi! Thanks for joining me. My name is Kelly, I am new to blogging but I am not new to Health & Fitness so I have finally decided to follow a dream I have had for quite some time now and start FitM.U.M(My.Ultimate.Motivation).

What is My Ultimate Motivation?? For me it is to be a healthy, happy and positive role model and inspiration to my 2 girls and be the best version of myself I can be. Fitness is not an individual thing for me anymore. I want my daughters to grow up knowing that being healthy, fit and active is the way we live our lives so that it is instilled in them and is easy for them to continue…I owe them that much! What is your purpose, your reason, your ‘why’? I strongly urge you to find your Ultimate Motivation. It makes life a lot easier when you do.

This is why I'm doing it! You?

This is why I’m doing it! You?

Why now? Why not? I am currently on Maternity Leave after having my second baby in June 2014. I have been in the Health and Fitness Industry for over 12 years so whilst I am taking a break from my role as Health & Wellness Manager of a very large health club facility in Adelaide, South Australia, I needed somewhere to keep my passion of health and fitness alive and to record my own personal fitness journey post baby and to share how anyone can do it! I have many mummy friends and I obviously come across women of all ages and stages of fitness through my work so if I can inspire or motivate just one other person who is on their own healthy lifestyle journey then that is fantastic. Mission accomplished.

A healthy lifestyle is not a destination, it is a way of life. It is not something that you stop once you have reached a goal, you just reassess your goals, set a new one and keep striving! You can always improve and be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday. All you have to do is start…. after all today is a new day, don’t wait for another one.

Apart from my absolute love of Social Media and having extra time on my hands, for me the decision to blog and make my re-entry back into fitness a public journey was to:

* Keep me accountable and remind me of My.Ultimate.Motivation

* Have somewhere to look back on and be proud of my achievement along the way, and most importantly;

* Step outside my comfort zone and hopefully inspire and help other people along the way!

I would love you to follow me on this crazy ride. I will be posting an honest recap about my own personal adventure (ups and downs included) and I will also include a lot of great information, tips, motivation, ideas on achieving a fit and healthy lifestyle and healthy recipes for YOU to enjoy! In return, I would love you to share your own journey with me and hopefully we can build a supportive and inspiring community together! I’m a dreamer…. and that’s my crazy dream!

Peace!

First post baby run!

First post baby run!

Disclaimer:

I have plenty of experience with healthy eating and exercise, I am not a medical doctor or registered dietitian. I am a Health Club Manager and Qualified Personal Trainer. This is my personal blog. These are my personal opinions only. Articles and information are researched by myself before they are written and I aim to provide the best information possible. Always consult your physician before starting any exercise program.