December 22nd 2011 - MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

 MERRY CHRISTMAS !!



Well it's upon us and today I'm going to be short and sweet and give you MY 12 tips of Christmas....

1.   If you "fall off the wagon" just jump straight back on. It's never too late to clean up your act. Don't just throw in the towel and eat your way through the whole day, then not bother with training because it's now a waste of time..... Next meal, clean it up !!! DO your training...

2.   You CHOOSE what you eat over Christmas !! You do not HAVE to eat pies, puddings and pounds of god knows what. You can simply choose (or make and take with you) a healthier option. Ham is great. We know lean ham is the bomb, ham and salad on the plate is not going to have people nagging you about being healthy.... dessert ??? "Oh I'll just have a tiny piece, I'm really full from dinner/lunch".... It's really not that hard.

3.   Try and keep up your habits. If you get up at 5am to train. Still try to do this. Or if you are choosing to have that special sleep in, still do your training when you do get up. Keep up with your normal habits.

4.   Still plan your meals ! If you know Aunty Jo is doing a massive lunch with every trimming under the sun have lighter meals the rest of the day. Easy.

5.   Drink PLENTY of water !!! Do I really need to discuss this further ?? Especially when you are boozing !!

6.   Set yourself goals. Eg "I am going to weigh in on the day after boxing day (and going by that measurement) I'm going to lose XX amount of kg's by XX time. My personal goals are to weigh 58kg before Christmas Day (on track :)), and then re-weigh myself on my return to Bali and get back to 58kg by Jan 16th.

7.   Treat yourself. Yes it is allowed :) I personally have a 4 pack of white choc topped fruit mince pies sitting in the fridge. They are waiting for Christmas Day...... so am I !! Love fruit mince pies and very happy they are not available all year round :)

8.   Set mini challenges and involve other people !!!. These tend to get you off the couch and out of bed. Currently I'm doing a 1000 squat & crunch challenge with the Darwin Crew. It started Monday and by Christmas we have to have 1000 squats and 1000 crunches done...... Sharing challenges with other people keeps you honest !!! I know I wouldn't be making as much of an effort if it wasn't for this little challenge. Maybe while I'm in Bali I'll set a distance challenge and make sure I walk a certain distance while I'm there.... or a certain amount of steps each day.... Will have to think about that one :)

9.   Know what you are drinking.... Some drinks have over 300cal in them.... Hello berry cider !!!!

10.  Remind yourself continually "Do I want to start next year behind where I'm finishing this year?". I know personally next year is creating a better version of this body... not trying to get this body back again :)

11.   DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE USE THE EXCUSE "IT'S CHRISTMAS" !!!! I know I'm doubling up on this one from my last post, but it is a killer !!! It covers everything from booze, not exercising, excessive eating, and it spreads like a disease !!! If I'm being lazy because "it's Christmas" I'll tend to say "oh put that down, you don't need to worry about it right now, here relax with me "it's Christmas"...... remember those words.... "It's Christmas" = EXCUSE !!!

12.   and number twelve on my twelve tips of Christmas is "Fridge Pickers Wear Big Knickers".... The fridge is a dangerous battleground.... I'm guilty of it, swiping a slice of ham, a chocolate, mince pie, nuts, you name it as I go pass. Or grab a bottle of water and a piece of chake miraculously appears in the hand as well... remember.... big knickers.... :)

Well gorgeous people.... that's it for this year. I'm going on holidays to Bali and have the best of intentions to stay as I am now, but the realist in me knows that cocktails will not help the situation. And I am going to employ as many tips as I can over there, but at the end of the day I am having as many darn watermelon/vodka cocktails as I want :)

So you won't hear from me until after the New Year :)

Stay safe, stay happy, stay fit, lean, strong and healthy - You deserve it !!!!

 Mwah to you and your families

XXX

May you all be as Merry and Happy as my little Jacob this season :) - Merry Christmas Everyone !! XX

Wednesday 14th December 2011

WELL !!!!!

So Round 3 has now officially finished and the finale is all over..... hmmmm.... on reflection I definitely could have done better. I set poor goals and didn't really be the best role model I could be. BUT, I am still happy that I maintained my physique which was my actual goal. I guess it depends on my mood whether I'm happy that I retained my bod or sad that I didn't really push my limits. In saying that I did push hard in my workouts but I could have done far far far better with food.... I wasn't serious enough, and after being inspired by other amazing people that also did Lean & Strong I have my drive back.... It's like a switch has flicked and as soon as I got back to Darwin it was all "game on" again for me.... well I do have some fixer upping to do from behaving like a teenager in Sydney.... Oh boy did I eat my way through Sydney.... I just wanted to taste test everything !!!! so I did !!! Definitely feeling it though... I was bloated for days and days and today after being back for 2 days I'm just starting to feel myself again.... and the tummy is flattening out again.... but I did enjoy my over indulgence.... I'm enjoying eating like an adult again much more though :).

Well there isn't much more to say about Round 3 for me.... except I feel like a hypocrite.... Mish recently asked the question about people talking the talk, but not walking the walk..... Well I trained like a demon, but I was always posting I ate this, or drank that etc etc.... I'm a little disappointed in myself to be honest, that is just not who I am at all. I am such a firm believer of action not talk..... I'm not sure what happened but now I can see what I did was just a poor version of me I've stopped the talk and started to be the over achieving healthy eating, training like a demon person I naturally am..... I'm back to being the role model I was when I finished Round 2 and tell you what !! It feels good...... SO watch out for me in Round 1 2012..... I'm going to whoop some booty !!!! LOL.....

Oh and I commit that I will be a better blogger :) I've been slack at blogging this Round just as much as I've not been the best role model in the nutrition department.....

So you'll hear from me at least once a week !! Lucky you !!! :)

This week lets talk Christmas..... yes yes yes !!! Now do you just throw your arms up and say the saying that I hear all the time "Oh I'll just have it, after all it is Christmas"...... Why does Christmas become an excuse to eat like a kid and not train.... Just 2 little words seem to stand in the way of healthy choices "It's Christmas"..... Very interesting.... Don't you think?.... Do you plan to stay healthy this Christmas ??? Well I'll share some tips with you.....

1. Keep "Christmas food to Christmas". Yep put down the fruit mince pies, cake, candy canes, chocolates, pudding, custard and anything else you know damn well you don't eat normally. Save it for Christmas and have a special day with treats.

2. If you can't train, add in incidental exercise - play with the kids, maybe every toilet break you lunge to the toilet :) or do squats while brushing your teeth. It all adds up and even though these may seem insignificant you're still lapping anyone else sitting on the couch.

3. Don't extend Christmas.... It's easy to lose the habits of a healthy lifestyle, don't forget how far you've come !!! It's just too easy to have just Boxing Day off... oh the gyms closed.... Oh just one more day.... I can imagine some excuses now, I've had a busy year and deserve a break, it's family time etc etc... Try not to get in the trap...

Well peeps, that is all for today. I'll update my stat spreadsheets and get something together for next week :)

XX