I really dont know how people can eat junk food all the time!  I have been pretty slack lately, well ok, really bad lately and boy how i'm paying for it now.  Headaches, tired, listless, thirsty, unmotivated, sore stiff muscles, bloated stomach, yuk.  Hubby is away for a week for work so I cant go to the gym.  My plan?  Home workouts - pumped up the swiss ball that will act as my bench and incline bench so i can do any exercises for dumbbells.  I am roughly following Jamie Eason's 12 week challenge (jumping in at phase 2) so I will adapt her weights to dumbbell exercises.  The only thing I cant do is cardio (with my back/pelvis problems I can only do tready or xtrainer) so I will plonk myself in front of the telly (in between car pooling for kids sports etc) and do lots of weights.
Food will be a bit different.  I basically did Jamie's diet previously and it got so monotonous I got bored and craved something tastier (aka junk). I just did meat/chicken and steamed veg - I dont know how you comp girls do it - a big hats off to you all !!! So im trying some recipes out of Aussie oxygen mag and its basically within the parameters of her diet.  For example, orange quinoa salad - cold cooked quinoa with onion, celery, tomatoes and any other veg and the dressing of orange zest, juice, flaxseed oil, pepper - basically its complex carb and veg.  Also chicken florentine - fillets baked in a tin of crushed tomatoes, italian herbs, garlic, a few olives, baby spinach, topped with a little parmesan cheese (optional).  Add that to the orange quinoa salad and its protein, complex carb and veg!  It just doesnt seem like it! I'll post the good recipes.  I also stumbled upon the blog The Bikini Baker so i'll try some of her recipes. So, lots of prep, inspiration and motivation needed to get on track.  I didnt lose the plot totally! I still fit into my jeans, they're just a bit snug !!!! Here's some inspiration ......



 One day .........

Have a fit and fab week everyone !

Time is flying past and i feel like i'm being left behind!! I now work full time - well sort of.  I work school hours 5 days a week and with driving Brooke to dancing 3 nights a week, Daniel and Kurt at the orthodontist every fortnight, kids hair cuts this week, Kurt now having to go to the hand specialist/blood tests/x-rays, birthday parties - i'm feeling a bit out of control.  I havent been to the gym for nearly 2 weeks (suffered headaches last week), we went away on Friday arvo when the kids got home from school for the weekend to our place down the south coast (organised food, clothes, tried to leave the house tidy before we left) and then came home sunday morning for a footy luncheon and felt very rushed.  The washing still has to be done, school clothes organised, dinners to be cooked and food in the pantry for lunches and recesses.  I wish we could pop a pill for dinners and wear disposable clothes!!!
This week the parents are invited to watch Brooke's dance classes so no gym tonight.  So tomorrow night i'll go to the gym early and go and watch dancing, then off to have nails done at 9.15pm!!!
Anyway, enough rambling, "back to it" is this week's mantra!!!
Have a good productive week everyone!

Just plodding along! Doing lots of heavy weights to failure *yay*. Havent done cardio for 2 weeks coz i hurt my lower back then had a flemmy chest that just made me cough when i went on the cross trainer - i sounded like a 50 a day smoker!!
Back into cardio today. Did 4 x 10 (failure) each of chest, back and abs then 5 mins of cardio, then repeat the whole thing 4 times (different exercises each round). Did mountain climber (hate that machine) then crosstrainer - 5 mins including 4 x 30 seconds of hiit each time.
Eating really good except weekend treat - i know, i know - i gotta get over this weekend thing! Have been reading jamie eason's 12 week challenge on bodybuilding.com. she's giving me inspiration - its basically what i'm doing now anyway. i've just got to be more consistant on the weekends.
A lady in the shops yeterday told me there's 16 weeks til christmas - eeks !!!! Is that a 16 week challenge i hear in the background!!!!!
Have a great week everyone :)

The ball is rolling

I've been in a bit of a plateau lately. Now all of a sudden i'm losing weight. I tried on a pair of white 3/4 crop pants that now fit me (never worn before). How did i do it you ask? well, the answer is ..... I don't know!!!!! maybe taking jack3d before my workouts and training harder? (not that i feel i'm working harder). maybe splitting my 20min hiit cardio into 4 x 5 minute bursts spaced out in my weights workout? i just dont know!! but hey - thats great news for me. Diet is still good but suffers a bit on the weekend but i guess thats just my lifestyle taking over my willpower at the moment.
This weight loss has inspired and motivated me to go harder and be more disciplined and its such a good feeling. I think its time to do progress pics and stats next week. have a supercharged week everyone!

workouts

I did such a huge legs and butt workout last thursday it's taken me this long to recover !!!!! sacro joint is in AGONY (due to my lower back problems). hopefully tomorrow i can do lower again. In the meantime i'm doing huge upper w/outs and am actually getting some great shape and curves in my shoulders, bis and tris (without flexing!) This is amazing for me coz i'm mostly eating in a calorie deficit and i thought you couldn't build in that state? not complaining - just saying!!!! maybe i'm not eating in a calorie deficit and i think i am - hahahahahaha. i'm doing my maths and i'm coming in around 1200 a day and i have a physical job and doing 1 hour of weights and 20 mins hiit cardio 4 - 5 days a week so i'm confident i'm in deficit. all's good !!!

Girls, I need some advice ....

I've started researching cla and supplements and need some advice. Who is using them atm? what do you look for in a brand? what is a good brand? what else is a good supp? I've started using Jack3d to give me more energy for my workouts - pretty good - helps me lift heavier i think or is it mind over matter hehehe !! It does help me with hiit cardio at the end of a 1 hour weights workout. I do feel i need a helping hand esp. with the fat loss - i'm on a bit of a plateau. would love to hear opinions .... please !!!!

a slight deviation

Diet going pretty good - probably around 90%. Exercise going really good - happy with my performance. Sunday - a big no-no dietwise. My girlfriend and I took our girls to see the musical Hairspray. We booked it 3 months ago and were looking forward to it - a great day out in the city.
My girlfriend is on a diet as well, although not as hard-core as me at the moment. However, lunch was yum cha at Chinatown (omg barbeque pork rolls to die for) I should have taken photos! It was really good chinese food, really enjoyed it. Then off to Star City for the show. Just had to have a champers to take into the show!! Intermission - a magnum icecream and malteasers - YUM. The show was FANTASTIC!!!!! Afterwards we wandered around the city, the girls bought some clothes and we all had a Gloria Jeans. A great day but not so good for the diet. But it was a treat and i'm going to enjoy it.
Back to it on Monday. I bought some Jack3d coz i'm so tired before i even hit the gym. I was blogging to Lisa so i thought i'd give it try. does anybody else use this? i crashed and burned terribly afterwards (thank goodness i go to the gym at night so i can go to bed afterwards). Is this something I can use every day? I would love your comments.

I was at the shopping centre (shopping mall for american readers!!!) with my eldest (he turned 14 last week) for more school clothes. I didnt have lunch before we went so i was desperate for a coffee (Gloria Jeans capaccino, skim soy extra hot). Did all the shops for school clothes (in all 4 corners of the centre - we walked for miles) and came up with nothing! Anyway, we stopped for something to eat. Kurt chose McDonalds (doesnt have it often) and after much mental torment going on in my brain i chose a rice paper roll with salmon and salad in it. We sat in the food court to eat it (gosh you see some sights in those places!) and i really thought i was going to buckle and get something else. Then, I spotted a couple who sat down near us. I was trying so hard not to stare. The woman was probably early to mid 50's, average looking. Why was I staring????? She had an amazing figure and was wearing trendy, fashionable clothes without looking like "mutton dressed up as lamb". She looked awesome - nothing expensive - black tights, knee high black boots, white top and a black aviator style leather jacket (just like I have). Wow she looked fantastic. It stopped me from crumbling and buying something bad to eat. I just wanted to look like her now and she would have been 5 years older than me. I have her image burned into my brain - everytime I start to weaken I will think of this unknown lady in the shopping centre. I would have liked to tell her she was an inspiration but I thought that would have been a bit creepy!!!!! It makes me realise I just have to keep on plodding on with clean eating and the gym and one day I might be that lady in the shopping centre that someone looks at and gets inspiration from.
What was she eating? sushi and a gloria jeans coffee (skim milk I bet !!)

40 - 25 - 35

.... my macro ratio - 40% protein, 25% carb and 35% fat. I know some people think the carb is too low and the fat probably too high but it's kinda been working lately. My body responds to low carb - its been proven. The fat ??? not sure. This is normally higher than what i'm used to but research proves you need the good fats. My skin is really dry this winter and i'm struggling a bit with it so I'm sure this will help. The fats are mainly from nuts, olive oil and fish oil supps - all good. So this is typically how my diet will be this week:-
M1 - Allbran and skim milk, 3 fish oil caps
M2 - 5 egg white and tomato omlette cooked in 5ml olive oil
M3 - 13g almonds, 1/2 tub fat free yoghurt or fat free cottage cheese
M4 - tuna salad and dressing - 10ml olive oil, balsamic vinegar
M5 - protein powder pudding (mix with a little water and newk) and 1 tab fat free yougurt
M6 - 100g protein, steamed veg
Workout
M7 - protein pudding and 1tab fat free yoghurt
add a few cups of tea, skin hair and nail tonic and maybe a coffee
Total cals 1200 - 120g protein, 75g carb, 46g fat
I didn't go to the gym tonight coz my back and pelvis are aching too much so i dropped a protein pudding - i'm not at all hungry.
Cant wait to see the results of the diet !!! (fingers crossed!)

Wow - a reality check

I havent done a food diary in weeks. got cockey - thought i knew my stuff - thought i could visualise. Well, i was WRONG !!!!!! i didnt eat much last Friday - too busy trying to squeeze in work, organising kids for movies, pick ups, etc and some shopping. So i got to the afternoon and thought i havent eaten much, not sure what to have and really - how many cals have i eaten??? so i sat on the computer and pulled up my food log document did a quick calculation and amazed myself that i only had 200 cals left to eat dinner and a post workout meal. eeeeekkkk!
Back to basics girl. It was good food though - i added 1/2 banana to bran cereal for breakkie, had 2 serves of nuts instead of one, had other 1/2 banana with tub yoghurt, extra tin of tuna and an egg yolk with my egg white omlette. But calories add up. So a bit more research on the net, decided to do macros 40, 40, 20 for weight loss and plan out and document daily food.
I just need to lean down enough to be able to start eating more and building muscle - that's when the fun starts!. im really working out hard with heavy weights to failure (well hard and heavy in a calorie deficit) so i've refocussed, reassessed and got back to basics.
BTW I didnt wear the skinnies i had planned for my dinner I had but was very happy with the measurements i got down to. (will post piccies when my girlfriends send them to me - my camera battery died)
New Goal - 2.5cm or 1 inch off widest part of bum in 14 days !!!!

just thought i'd share with anyone that is interested .............
I LOST ANOTHER CENTIMETRE FROM MY BUM !!!!
wooohoooo !! 4cm. Doing lots of weighted floor exercises and romanian deadlifts. Now, if my diet was 100% instead of 85-90% who knows what could happen. My kids are on school term holidays and there's just more snacking food floating around. Temptation = loss of willpower .... bring on school term!!

Its amazing reading all the blogs i follow how many girls are in prep and its coming up or it is peak week for them. I dont know how these girls do it - 12 weeks of strict diet and workouts - i cant even do 12 days straight let alone 12 weeks. AND some of these girls have jobs and families to look after - they really are suuperwomen. Its kinda peak week for me atm - i had a reprieve with my mini challenge - it was supposed to end 4th July but the barby got moved a couple of weeks so it will end this weekend. Diet has been good except for yesterday but i knew it would happen. It was my eldest's 14th birthday and we had the fam over for nibbles and cake (and champers - oh how i love my champers!!). Its all good - I'm not beating myself up, i'll treat it as a cheat meal. Back on it today. I measured the widest part of my bum last night - you know, the bit under the cheeks that have the saddlebags at the sides!!!!! well I lost 3cm !!!! whether it was the weighted floor exercises or just a coincidence in timing - who knows? I'm not even going to get on the scales - its not important how much I weigh just the measurements. I'm just going to plod along, heavy workouts and cardio hiit, 1200 clean cals with low carbs and CONSISTENCY!! Might change the diet after around 4 weeks coz i might end up in a plateau, have to research that one.
Have a good week everyone :)

Its the same ol', same ol' going on around here. Weekdays on track 100% diet and gym, struggling on the weekends. I'm not posting daily diet coz most days are the same, just different protein and different veg - low carb veg! I'm lifting a bit heavier this week - db chest press 4 x 8 x 10kg instead of 9kg each hand, shoulder press db each arm up 1kg to 8kg, still cant really get past 5kg single lat raises without losing form after a few reps. Anyone suggest some good exercises for saddlebgags? squats, deadlifts, lunges hit my glutes and quads but miss the side bits. I do ad/abductor machine but you can only do so much on that, do cable with ankle cuff. Who believes in floor exercises with ankle weights?
Kinda gone off cardio a bit this week. Read somewhere that you get more bang for your buck lifting heavy weights than cardio (I already know this but it prompted me to do it) and i'm a bit time deficient this week and can spend no more than an hour in the gym per night. Dont have time to do both so i'm opting for weights only (my favourite) - am i taking the easy way out? thoughts anyone? (goal is still leaning down whilst keeping muscle - in caloric deficiency atm).
Anyway, love to hear some opinions!!
cheers, Amanda

I kow this is not fitness related but i've been having facial treatments for anti-aging. ive had IPL 2 weeks ago, backing up with CIT needling next week, then 2 weeks after that another IPL treatment and then a multi vitamin infusion 2 weeks after that. I've always looked after my skin coz its quite problematic !!! and i feel i'm struggling lately. nearing 50 my skin is changing, doesnt respond as quickly or effectively as say 5 years ago. The mind is early 30's, however the body is alway telling me otherwise!!!!! I have before photos so when ive finished in 4 weeks i'll take more and post them. Does anyone else spend alot of time and money on their skin??? I'd love to hear some tips on anti-aging. I know diet and exercise are number one and two on the list. Supplements??? any thoughts appreciated.

Its amazing how quick your body responds to clean eating. When I started this 3 week mini challenge I had gone off the rails a bit and my jeans where feelin a bit tight. My skinnies are such a good guide for me, i dont believe in scales anymore - i only weigh myself out of curiosity - and the tape measure only measures key areas and not the bits in between. Skinnies, however, tell me what's going on from my muffin top all the way down to my calves. I have no fat on my calves so if my jeans get tight there it can only mean muscle - yay (although this is the only place on my body that is naturally muscley and I rarely do specific calve exercises).
After 4 days of clean eating and gym workouts I've lost all bloating and my butt is already starting to firm up.
Now if I can only stay on this path and get over that hump from good results to spectacular results i will be a happy chappy !!!!

Tuesday

Warning: the following post may cause drowsiness ...
Meals:
M1: Allbran cereal and skim milk (only coz i have to), protein pudding
M2: 13 almonds, 100g chicken, veges
M3: skim soy capaccino, protein bar
M4: 100g rump steak, veges
M5: 1/2 small tub fat free yoghurt

Dont think i ate enough today - must do the sums ...
Couldnt go to the gym due to brooke's dancing commitments but i managed to do a light w/o at home for chest and tris - better than nothing i suppose.
Sorry about the boring post everyone. will try and make it a bit more interesting soon - maybe some photos !!

Monday

Meals as follows
M1: AllBran cereal and skim milk
M2: 13 almonds, skim soy capaccino
M3: protein bar and tea
M4: pre workout meal : 1 egg and 2 whites scramble in 1 tab olive oil and 1 cup veg
M5: post workout meal : 100g chicken and 1/2 cup sauted mushrooms
M6: protein pudding

Gym
50 mins hiit cardio (made up of xtrainer, rower, mountain climber and tready
shoulders, glutes and bis

sorry, boring post - just entering data !!!!

Mini Challenge

I have a day out soon that i want look hot, hot, hot !!! I'm meeting up with some friends I havent seen for a while so i want to rock my skinny jeans that have got a bit tight over the last few weeks. So i'm setting myself up for a mini challenge - 3 weeks to be exact. I'm geting my son to take a close up photo of my bum before and after - not sure if i'll post the before now or with the after !!!!
I know you can't spot reduce but this is the area i need to work on for the skinnies - between the waist and thighs.
Plan of attack? eat 100% clean, 9 hours sleep a night and 110% effort in the gym 4-5 days a week. 2-3 litres of water a day - that's getting a bit hard coz its winter over here, and to take my supplements - something i don't do coz i hate swallowing capsules. Just for 3 weeks to start with - TOTALLY ACHEIVABLE !!! My friend Charlotte is going to do it with me (thanks Charlotte! always good to do it with someone). I'm going to diarise food and exercise on my blog daily so i hope it doesnt get too boring! So, today is day 1, Sunday 12th June - finish date Saturday 2nd July. Ready, set, GO !!!

MIA but I'm back

I havent been blogging for a few weeks - well d'oh !! My life has been crazy - lots of ups, downs, in-betweens, worries, anxieties, frustrations, disappointments and unfortunately lots of sadness. And none of those feeling are in relation to my fitness journey.
As a result I have had nearly a week off the gym and 5 days off my diet. I'm feeling tired and flat. I'm not forcing myself to do anything at the moment. But, enough is enough. Tomorrow (Thursday) I'm back into the swing of it. Drag myself out of this dark funk and Nike (just do it !!!).
On a fun note i went away for a 3 day weekend with my husband and 2 other close couples without our kids !!!! After such a horrible couple of weeks it was a welcomed break. We went to our nation's capital - Canberra (very cold at the moment). We did some sites, drank, ate in lovely restaurants and laughed and laughed the whole weekend - just what the doctor ordered !!!


So I will be blogging my dailies and watching my calories. I'm going in hard this time. I was excited to fit into my skinny jeans and they weren't tight. They are an Aussie size 10 which is prob 6-8 USA size? (don't forget i'm 5ft 11in) You cant really see in the photos coz we had our jackets on and the photo of me in the group shot shows my belt sticking out under my jumper looking like a fat belly !!!!
Anyway, this gal is digging deep and rockin' on :)

Mothers Day

Had a lovely day with lovely prezzies - an animal print faux fur throw electric blanket and jackie collins new book. We went out to the golf club for a few champers and dinner with the kids and friends and had a great laugh and a great time. Broke the diet a bit but hey, its mothers day! Hope all you lovely mums out there had a lovely day :)
cheers!