Brasilfit

I was lucky enough to be the face of Brasilfit’s latest campaign and I am happy to announce they are having a HUGE sale this weekend.

Brasilfit is stylish and sexy with glamorous designs that are perfect for the person who is fit and wants to stand out in a crowd. All their garments are made from the best fabrics which are so comfortable, it even adds the extra bonus of lifting and holding you in all the right places so you look amazing even before exercising.

For more info on the sale this weekend click here

If you’re not from Sydney, you can still benefit from this sale and shop online at http://www.brasilfit.com/

The healthy way to detox

When we change our diet, eating behaviors and patterns, often our body and mind have something to say about it.

I am extremely passionate about educating people on healthy clean eating. I’ve been on a mission to find a detox that allowed me to consume food whilst naturally detoxing my body. I am not a huge fan of juice detoxes, it’s not that I don’t think they work (I think one juice detox a year can be beneficial) but personally I just love my food way too much and cannot imagine cutting it out even for one day.

After a lot of research, I came across a detox that suited me perfectly. One where amazing fresh food was allowed to be consumed five times a day. Eating five times a day is critical to avoiding energy slumps, tiredness, food cravings and eating ‘unhealthy’ food.

The company that is behind this amazing detox is Eatfitfood.

Being on their detox’s is more like having a personalized chef deliver healthy, delicious, organic meals and snacks for you every day.

My food was delivered to my doorstep early in the morning on my first day of the program. Every second day I receive two eski bags full with my three meals for the day and two snacks.

My welcome pack informs me that I have a week of amazing food coming my way with a variety of seasonal fruit and vegetables, locally-sourced fish and organic chicken. Red meat, dairy, wheat, gluten and preservatives are not included in the menu.

Here is a sample menu of one of my days

Pre Breakfast – REJUVENATE with apple, carrot, celery, beetroot and ginger juice and/or a warm water with a squeeze of lemon.

Note: A pre-breakfast cup of warm WATER with a dash of apple-cider vinegar or lemon juice helps to hydrate after an overnight drought. It also helps to ignite the digestive system & aid the fiber in our breakfast to works its digestive magic.

Breakfast – Detox muesli with rice milk and poached berries.

Note: There is enough evidence out there now to prove that WITHOUT breakfast, our BRAIN & ENERGY levels go to mush.

Breakfast assists in providing fuel for our day, it helps to set-up the energy balance sheet for the day & heavily influences our mood/ emotions.

Breakfast helps to optimise our metabolism, the speed at which we utilize the energy we consume.

A healthy metabolism = easy & healthy body weight maintenance.

Snack 1 – Eat fit food cleanse bar, which I eat before or shortly after breakfast and I ensure to drink 2 liters of water a day for proper absorption.

Note: Eating healthy mid-morning, mid-afternoon & perhaps even supper snacks help to maintain energy levels & prevent over eating.

Lunch – Roast pumpkin and caramelized onion frittata with side salad

Note: A portion-perfect balanced LUNCH with adequate nutrition & calories nourishes productivity & effectiveness with little threat of failing energy levels or post-meal sluggishness.

Snack 2 – Fruit

Dinner – Chilli, ginger and lemongrass barramundi with broccoli, green beans, brown rice, squash and lemon

Note: EATFITFOOD dinners are filled with sufficient lower GI carbohydrate to ride the overnight fast, lean nutritious protein & plenty of nutrition-rich vegetables.

I was so happy and satisfied after my week detoxing with Eatfitfood, the meals were in generous portions and I didn’t feel deprived. I definitely would not call this a hard detox. It also felt quite indulgent to be eating organic, local produce every day.

I think starting an eat fit food program is a great way of teaching you how to eat healthy, helps you control your portion sizes and generally sets you up for healthy eating.

* Eat fit food caters to vegetarians. You can also request gluten free (although the program is mostly gluten-free). They also do other type of meal programs like healthy eating and weight loss to name some. Click on this link to find more info on those programs. Eatfitfood.

Below are some sample pictures of the meals provided by eatfitfood

 

 



LISTEN: and trust your body; if you only need ½ the meal portion to satisfy your appetite, then so be it.

EAT CONSCIOUSLY: take the time to sit, chew and enjoy every mouthful of your EFF meal. Conscious eating helps you to know when you are getting full.

HYDRATE: Stay hydrated, aim to drink 2L of water each day. Hydration is critical to elimination/ detoxification.

MOVE: Learn to enjoy some form of physical activity most days of the week e.g. jogging, yoga or walking etc. Exercise is important for eliminating wastes from the body and the mind.

SLEEP: Try to get a solid 6-8hours of sleep every night of the week.

AVOID: Caffeine containing drinks; coffee, soft drinks, cigarettes and alcohol.

How to be healthier without much effort

Sometimes it can be hard keeping up with all the ‘right’ things we're meant to be doing to stay fit and healthy. I’ve put together a list of some easy ways to be healthier without even trying.

Tip 1 # At the start of your day, drink warm water with a squeeze of lemon. Have this before you have your breakfast, it is an amazing way to kick start your metabolism. For the hard core healthy nuts out there try also adding apple cider vinegar with the lemon.

Tip 2 # Have a substantial breakfast. This really is the most important meal of the day. I usually have a big bowl of porridge to start me off which gives me heaps of energy, and also keeps me fuller for longer. If you don’t eat breakfast you're more likely to eat something unhealthy to for fill your hunger.

Tip 3 # Make sure you chew your food well and eat slowly. This is definitely my downfall, when I have a yummy plate of food in front of me, it is usually gone within minutes. My trick is to put my knife and fork down between mouthfuls.

Tip 4 # Control your portion sizes.

Tip 5 # Do not eat when you are not hungry. Most people will eat out of boredom and when they aren’t actually hungry. Try swapping the food for a glass of water or a herbal tea.

Tip 6 # Eat everything in moderation. I think this is extremely important. I do not, and will not ever diet. I believe in eating healthy food, but I do not deny myself completely if there is something I am craving. If you start denying yourself you are just setting yourself up for a binge fest.

Tip 7 # Stop drinking soft drinks. Try having a healthy juice everyday. This will help you consume your recommended daily intake of veggies and fruits. Other alternatives to soft drinks are herbal teas, coconut water, and of course water.

Spring is just around the corner so try and incorporate these simple little changes which will help you achieve your health and fitness goals.

          xx

What are the benefits of weight lifting for woman?

I come across so many woman who do not truly understand the positive impact weight lifting can have when introduced into your training.

By adding weight lifting into your exercise routine, you’ll be able to feel and see the benefits quickly, by losing weight, gaining muscle, and toning and sculpting until you get the body you’ve always wanted.

Most people  shy away from weight lifting because they are afraid they will bulk up and appear too masculine. This is simply not the case, although I do understand some females out there do build muscle very quickly and are afraid of weight training for that reason, it all comes down to what type of weight lifting you are doing. *If you are one of those people that builds muscle quickly ask your trainer directly how you can transform that amazing muscle into lean and toned muscle.

Adding weight lifting into your exercise routine can help dramatically increase your metabolism, tone and sculpt your body and strengthen your bones. It can also help you lose weight faster, this is because the more muscle you build the more calories you lose throughout the day even when you are resting.  To put it bluntly woman who lift weights burn more calories than woman who don’t. What more motivation do you need!

I’ve put together a list of all the benefits to encourage you to get started!

1. You will lose body fat – Weight lifting helps with weight loss because the more lean muscle a woman has, the more calories she burns.  Strength training increases your metabolic rate by increasing the calories you burn on a daily basis. The more calories you burn, the more chance you have to drop body fat.

2. You will be physically stronger – Being stronger can benefit in many ways, day to day activities will become easier. Lifting your kids, doing the groceries or lifting heavy objects will become easier and you will be far less likely to injure yourself. Through weight training you can expect substantial increase in your strength. Quality of life is better because you can perform activities with more ease and less pain.

3. Your mood will be improved, and it can fight depression – Weight training can make you feel more confident and capable. It can also significantly improve a person’s mood.

4. Injury prevention – Strength training strengthens our muscles and tendons. The stronger we are the less chance we have of an injury. This is especially important as we grow older.  Strengthening the muscles around our joints is one of the best ways to prevent and recover from injury. For example: The best way to recover from a knee injury is to strengthen the quads and calves. I have also seen lots of study proving that weight training can ease the pain of osteoarthritis and weight training can also increase spinal bone mineral density. This coupled with an adequate amount of dietary calcium can be a woman’s best defense against osteoporosis.

5. You will reduce your risk of diabetes – Weight training can improve the way the body processes sugar which reduces the risk of diabetes.

I hope I have encouraged some of you ladies out there to push past your insecurities of weight training and decide to try it out and reap the benefits J

Please remember that before you start your weight lifting routine make sure you are taught on proper lifting techniques. Ask a professional at the gym to show you the proper technique so you’re lifting the right way. If your using free weights, make sure you’re using weights that are appropriate for you.

                                                                 

xx

Clean eating



Do you find yourself eating healthy all week and then something happens (you’re stressed, you’re bored, you’re having that time of the month, you’re out with your friends) and all your healthy clean eating flies out the window! You end up eating your week’s worth of calories in one night, and instantly feel regret.

How can we prevent things like this happening? We need to focus our attention on controlling exactly what goes into our mouths. Creating healthier alternatives for ourselves by substituting bad ingredients with good ingredients.

One of the biggest obstacles when it comes to nutrition is training your taste buds to clean eating. Many people hesitate to start cleaning up their diets because they think it’s going to be boring and bland.  But in reality, it doesn’t have to be like that at all. You just need to be more creative and put some thought into your food intake process. You can cook the same recipes that you love and make it “clean” by substituting the bad stuff with good.

This is a list of healthy substitutes to start you off –

Don’t sacrifice the taste, substitute the ingredient!

Instead of milk chocolate try carob or dark chocolate

Instead of white bread switch to whole wheat, multi, rye bread, sourdough

Instead of salad dressing try vinegar, lemon or olive oil

Instead of soda drink sparkling water or H2coco coconut water

Instead of chips have air popped pop corn

Instead of refined pasta try whole wheat or quinoa pasta

Instead of calorie filled cookies TRY my healthy cookie recipe below

Try and grill and bake instead of fry

To eat clean we really just need to start paying attention to our food. Start reading your labels. Eat organic as much as possible. It may take some time to change your habits and train your taste buds, but soon enough it will become your second nature.

If you are one of those people that stocks your pantry full of chips and chocolate, you will need to find healthier alternatives. Try setting aside one day in the week where you hit your kitchen and cook up some healthy alternatives. Bake a batch of my cookies below, air pop some pop corn. Put these in your pantry and replace the bad stuff. When you next have your ‘moment’ of needing something bad, you will have something that is still tasty but will not be filled with unnecessary calories that will leave you feeling guilty.

Also look in your healthy aisle at your local supermarket and I’m sure you can find a ‘healthier’ alternatives to buy than what you’re currently eating.

My guilt free chocolate chip cookie receipe

I’ve substituted some ingredients and created this recipe for a healthy alternative to eating those calorie filled cookies. Now you can enjoy your cookie without feeling the guilt after.

What you need

1/3 cup cooked oats

3 tbsp. agave nectar or honey

1 egg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/8 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (no high fructose! no hydrogenated oils!)

What to do

1. Mix everything (except the chocolate chips)

2. Slowly mix in chocolate chips (the warm oats will melt your chips if you mix too much)

3. Place spoonful on baking paper lined

4. Bake at 180 for 15-20mins (depends how soft you like your cookies)

Remember, these cookies are healthy so the texture will be a little different with the oatmeal as the base. This receipie is for a small batch so feel free to increase measurements. Enjoy :)