wellbeing

FitMUM of the Month Transformation

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I love a transformation story and this is a great one……

For those that don’t receive our FitM.U.M & IronDAD monthly newsletter (which you can sign up for here), I am featuring a FitM.U.M of the month in each edition. I would love to introduce you to this months FitM.U.M Emma. Please read her story as I believe it will resonate with others and hopefully inspire you. It has taken a lot for Emma to put herself out there, this is a big part of her journey and I am so proud of how far she has come!! Please show her the respect, encouragement and FitMummy love that she absolutely deserves! Let’s hear from Emma about her health and fitness journey so far….

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“My name is Emma and I have been training with Kelly for about 3 months now. As a mum to two young girls (3yo and 1yo) I found myself to be in a bit of a rut while on my last lot of maternity leave. I was lacking energy and in turn lacking motivation to do any exercise and was eating pretty poorly. I was also struggling to accept my post pregnancy body which resulted in a degree of social anxiety and isolation. After realising I needed to do something for myself I treated myself to a bit of a shopping spree and commenced training with Kelly. I started with two PT sessions a week, where I was put through my paces, constantly challenged by Kelly and supported by my 1yo daughter! After two months I returned to work (as a school teacher) and have cut back to 1 PT session a week, with the aim to also get to 1 group class a week. Kelly also encouraged me to join the FitM.U.M 12 Week Challenge, which I did and it has helped keep me accountable.

Reflecting upon the last 3 months, I’m amazed and very proud of the changes I have seen in myself. Obviously with the amount of training I have been doing the physical benefits have been many. I have lost some weight, feel stronger and more importantly have much more energy to get through each day (which is vital at times when running on limited sleep). Kelly has also helped me assess and modify my eating habits. I’m now more aware of what I am and should be eating and can honestly say I feel much better for it. However for me the most important changes I have experienced are the psychological ones. I am much more pleasant to be around, have a lot more confidence in myself and am far more patient with my loved ones. Kelly has taught me the importance of looking after myself and not feeling guilty about it, making small achievable changes so as to not set myself up for failure and to enjoy the challenge of training (which I do…..most of the time)”

 

I love nothing more than seeing my FitMummies become happier, healthier and prioritising their health and fitness! It is the most rewarding part of what I do and I will never get tired of it. I hope you loved reading Emma’s story and maybe it resonated with you or gave you a little spark of motivation and inspiration to start your journey or to keep going…. you are most definitely worth it!

Kel xx

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Healthy Banana Oat Muesli Bars

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This is our go-to, easy and delicious muesli bar recipe, which is great for healthy snacks, lunch boxes and even for a yummy evening treat with a cup of tea.

They are perfect for using up any bananas that are a bit too ripe. You can add anything you like really. We like ours packed with fruit, nuts and seeds so that’s how we came up with this recipe, but you can adjust quantities to your taste.

healthy muesli bar 1

Ingredients

3-4 ripe bananas

2 1/2  cups of traditional rolled oats

1/4 cup shredded coconut

1/4 cup finely chopped dried dates

1/4 cup diced dried apricots

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup almonds, finely chopped

2-3 TBS pepitas

2 TBS chia seeds

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

3 TBS Rice Malt Syrup (optional) or you could use natural honey or maple syrup

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 160-180 degrees. Grease a square slice tin and line with baking paper.
  2. Mash bananas until smooth. Add all other ingredients (ensure your almonds, dates, apricots are finely chopped). Stir well and mix until well combined. Spoon into prepared slice pan and use back of spoon to press down firmly in pan (this ensure it slices well once cooked).
  3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden. Allow slice to cool before cutting into small bars (sometimes we can’t wait that long and slice it anyway as we like our first piece still warm hehe). Serve.
  4. Store in airtight container in the fridge.

healthy muesli bar

Enjoy xx

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?

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Enjoy xx

The difference between a positive and negative mindset… and how to change it

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Whether you like it or not, you either fall into the positive or negative mindset category. It might not even be something you are that aware of. Your mindset not only determines your entire outlook on life and how you handle situations, but it also impacts heavily on your health and the type of people you attract in your life.

positive life

I work hard on being a positive person but it is easy to get caught up in the “woe is me” negative thought train. Get out of that funk. Your whole life will improve drastically and you will naturally become a much happier person and the knock on effects will be huge.

What helps me to remain positive is to find something to smile about, even in the not-so-great situations. Those that know me, know that I am usually smiling! I stopped letting little things get me down and I take time every single day to be grateful for people and things in my life. The big one I am continuously working on is to stop comparing myself to others. We are all on our own journey and there is absolutely no point in comparing your journey with anyone else’s. It serves no purpose. I think as women this is something wired into us and it is a very unfortunate trait but one that I am working hard to overcome.

Here’s an observation for you…. when I am out running I take notice of the people out and about exercising along the way (it helps keep my mind off the discomfort of running) and it is a true fact that women check each other out as much as men check out women. Is it in judgement, jealousy or comparison OR is it as inspiration and recognition of another strong woman out there working on her herself and her health and fitness. The positive thinker in me would like to believe the latter! I also find that women are far less likely to smile and say Hi to each other when out exercising as men do. Why is that? Do we feel threatened or inadequate? Are we so uncomfortable in our own skin that we can’t smile and show some silent support for one another? I always smile, nod or say Hi to anyone that comes into my path when I’m out exercising… you can call me annoying (I like to think of it as friendly)!

I find when I have a positive attitude and outlook I am not only much happier but I also attract positive energy, positive people and positive outcomes. I have had people say to me in the past “oh you always land on your feet!”, well no I don’t believe that is the case. I always know what I want, I set my mind to something, I truly believe in whatever it is and I am positive of the outcome…. so to me I deserve it and I certainly don’t see it as luck.

Quote - Mahatma Gandhi

Quote – Mahatma Gandhi

I love this quote because it reminds us if we think and live positively, we are likely to enjoy positive results. In other words; what we expect can often come true (positive or negative) and I know which one I’d rather!

The difference between positive & negative mindset

Positive

  • Say “it may be difficult but it is possible”
  • See the gain
  • See possibilities
  • Make it happen
  • Make the most of all situations

Negative

  • Say “it may be possible but it’s too difficult”
  • See the pain
  • See problems
  • Let it happen
  • Let situations get them down

Of the above, which one are you? You can change your mindset. It will take time and lots of conscious effort but it is definitely worth doing. Here are some simple ideas that I implemented to get you started:

  1. Become aware of it, acknowledge it and analyse your thoughts
  2. Avoid negative self talk
  3. Use positive self talk or mirror mantra’s
  4. Surround yourself with positive people
  5. Even in the worst situations take the time to find a positive. Sometimes it will be very hard but even the smallest positive is better than nothing
  6. Keep working on it. It takes time to develop positive attitudes and change behaviours
Quote - Mahatma Gandhi

Quote – Mahatma Gandhi

During our busy days and hectic lives, it can become easy to let negative thoughts sneak into our minds. Be super aware of this happening and focus on turning them into positive thoughts and always look for something to smile about. I try really hard not to spend time dwelling on things because I was finding it was usually things I had no control over anyway and it was consuming me.

Shrug it off, let it go and move on. Don’t let a bad yesterday dictate a bad tomorrow!

I would love to hear anyone else’s story about how they have turned a negative mindset into a positive one or some things you do to stay positive! Please feel free to share over on FitM.U.M’s facebook page

I also post lots of positive, motivational and inspirational things so be sure to follow FitM.U.M on Instagram

Stay Positive FitMummy’s! xx