6 weeks to go....

Tue 31 May 2011

This past week the calipers were out to check up on my progress.  I had my stats done 2 weeks prior and wasn’t happy with the result – which gave me a good motivation to get cracking!

Here are my last few readings  (done on a 4 site measure using Durnin/Womersley)

19 April (12 weeks)

Body weight.     60.2

Body fat %.       21.27

Body fat kg.      12.89

LBM.                47.71

11 May (8 weeks)

Body weight.    60.4

Body fat %.      21.27

Body fat kg.     12.85

LBM.               47.55

25 May (6 weeks)

Body weight.     59.8

Body fat %.      19.16

Body fat kg.     11.29

LBM.               47.61

Weights/cardio last week was as follows:

Tuesday.  Food 100%.  Morning Spin 45 mins. Trained Chest/Bis             

Wednesday. Food 100%.  Morning Spin 40 mins. Trained Legs

Thursday.  Food 100%.  No cardio today as my legs are telling me they need rest. Trained Shoulders/triceps

Friday.  Food 100%.  Morning Spin 40 mins. Trained Back. REALLY hungry tonight. I’l monitor this over the next week; could be due to churning through extra calories on the bike or the monthly cycle.  Must order more supps as have been out of Exec B this week.

Saturday.   Food 80%.  No cardio, no weights.  Off to Auckland for the NZIFBB show. Had #73 for lunch at Wagamuma… too much rice, too little chicken but damn tasty!

Sunday.  Food 100%.  Spin 40 mins. Trained Shoulders/tris. Have a sore throat in the afternoon.

Monday.  Food 100%.  My sore throat got worse last night and my body felt really lethargic, so no cardio today and I managed to sleep a solid 10 hours last night.   Did a light back train.   Off to the Herbal Shop for some magic juice to fix me up.

I’m a bit disappointed that I’ve got a bit of a cold…arrgggghh.  I’ve got a medicinal formula from The Herbal Shop to sip on throughout the day which seems to be working exceptionally fast.  My rule is no cardio till I’m better and I think I’ll be up to it by Wednesday or Thursday at the latest. 

Today I finalised my bikini – I needed to make a few alterations to it, and they certainly aren’t the easiest things to work with. Now it just needs some shiny bling and it’s done.

Over the next week; start tweaking my food plan for the final 4 weeks. Start work on a routine.

Ginger & Raisin Cookies as requested!

Ginger & Raisin Cookies.  (These cookies have a soft texture.)

Ginger & Raisin Cookies



Figure competitor Tara Wright requested this recipe from me and says (and I can relate to this) "I dont eat the goodies just love to bake them, apparently its a normal habit for dieting [competing] ladies". She has baked my afghan recipe twice and they were a huge hit.

This mixture makes about 50 cookies, so halve it if you need to.

200g soft butter
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons golden syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon van essence
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins (more if you like)

I like to make the dough in the electic mixer... it saves a lot of time!
Heat oven to 160'C. 
Cream butter and sugar (in mixer), till well mixed.  Add the syrup (keep mixer going), then the eggs one at time.  Add the vanilla, followed by the flour, ginger and soda.  Once its all mixed together, add in the raisins. It may be best to mix them in with a wooden spoon.
Roll into balls and lightly squish with your hands.  Place on a prepared tray, allowing them room to spread.
Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden.  Leave to cool for a few mins before placing on a cooling rack.

This is what else Tara has to tell us...


Tara: figure competitor & baker!



 "I have worked this year on getting more stage time and confidence and increasing the intensity of my training.  I have found training with my partner Dave has really given me the push I needed to go past my plateaus. 

I recently competed in the WFF/Nabba South Islands and got 1st in the Miss Figure 40+ and then two weeks later at the Nabba Christchurch Classic and got 2nd in the Senior Figure Class. 

I am training hard currently towards the Nabba South Islands in Dunedin on September 3rd and my lovely man will also be getting back on the stage in September.  Its looking to be a big show, so I am really focusing on improving my condition and stage presence."

 Fantastic work Tara - hope to catch up with you at Nationals!

7 Weeks to go

Tue 24 May 2011

My past week has been fantastic with an abundance of energy to burn.  I’ve been up early for cardio; the alarm is set for 5 but I seem to be in a habit of waking at around 4.45 and getting right into it.  Morning spin sessions start with a warm up, a strong coffee and a dance CD…the last week I’ve spun my way through some HedKandi which is very ‘housy’ but perfect for getting stuck into the bike work. I dish out some tough hills to myself, speed work and high resistance to keep things interesting and using the beat of the music to keep up to.

As I mentioned last week, I have changed my cardio on the treadmill to 1 min run, then a rest to the side of the track for 30 seconds before carefully getting back on. I’ve also been concentrating on my stride; opting for long strides and powering up my legs than shorter stepping. I can handle a speed of 15k but don’t think I’ll push it any further (well for now) as my calves definitely feel the effects of it and I don’t want to injure myself.

No flat pancake!

With my bike and treadmill work I try to use as much of my glutes as I can.  I used to have the most flattest bum (like a flat round pancake) so over the years I've worked my tooshie into a nice round curve which I hope to keep as long as I can!

Weights/cardio last week was as follows:

Tuesday.  Food 100%.  Morning Spin 45 mins. Trained Shoulders/Tris                   

Wednesday. Food 100%.  Morning Spin LifeSprints. Trained Back

Thursday.  Food 100%.  Morning intervals. Speed 14.7. 1 min on, 30secs off x 20. Trained chest/bis

Friday.  Food 100%.  Morning intervals.  Speed 15. 1 min on, 30secs off x 15 – must remember to stretch well as calves were damn tight after this and for another couple of days. Trained legs

Saturday.   Food 100%.  Trained Shoulders/Tris. No cardio today as was up late with Lincoln watching a movie (11pm is late for me!)

Sunday.  Food 100%.  Morning Spin 50 mins. No gym today

Monday.  Food 100%.  No cardio today. Trained Back.

All in all a very good week I reckon. My abs are well through, Matt has endured me posing in the living room as I try to figure out what bikini to wear!

Porridge for toddlers

I loooove porridge!  I have memories of my dad putting oats in a pot with water before going to bed so it could 

Lucys Fruity Porridge

get  a good soaking overnight before cooking.  Then somehow he would end up big globs of it through his beard…telling me with a hearty laugh it was for his morning tea!  I also remember in my teen years making porridge and smothering it with brown sugar...I wouldn't dream of that now. 

Todays recipe is easy to make and is a regular on cold morning for Lucy.  She loves this fruity mix and I reckon  it’s a perfect starter for any busy toddlers day!  I have some other ideas for oats which I’ll test on her over the next couple of weeks…and keep you posted on how they go.

Put into a pot…

2 ‘good’ tablespoons rolled oats (quick cook type, approx 15g)

2-3 chopped peach slices

1 tablespoon or so of tinned baby apple (or home-made stewed apple if you have it)

¼ cup milk

¼ cup water

Mix together then heat gently to a simmer, stirring frequently, and allow to cook for a minute or 2.  Cool to tot friendly temperature and serve.

I also give the meal a light dusting of cinnamon too for some extra flavour.



Lucy loves this and I’m sure you could double it up for a larger kiddies.

Enjoy!

PS.

I choose tinned fruit in juice, not syrup, and chop half a can in advance. As I try to be super organised, I chop up half a tin of peaches to store in the fridge for use throughout the week, and Lincoln has the rest with his cereal.

Baby apple is only good for a day once opened, so I freeze the rest and defrost as I need it.



Marinated Salmon.

Marinated Salmon: delish!

Serves 1

Matt isn’t a fan of salmon, and Lincoln isn’t far behind him. I have ‘trained’ them into liking it through this very tasty marinade.

I cook my salmon on a George Foreman grill that I line with a folded piece of baking paper (cut edges to the bottom so the fat still drains) which makes clean up minimal.

150g skinless salmon (or more/less to your liking)

1Tablespoon soy sauce

1 Tablespoon honey

3 Tablespoons chopped red onion OR 3 chopped spring onion

2 Tablespoons chopped pickled ginger: found in the Asian section at super market.

Mix ingredients and allow fish to marinate for at least 15 minutes. Heat grill and cook for 4-5 minutes (or to your liking).

Serve.

You’ll see in the picture I have served this with brussel sprouts. Richard Till has been on the Countdown commercials pushing these lately.  I blanched 100g of them, then stir-fried them in a very small dash of sesame oil and some of the marinade and a splash of oyster sauce.  It was pretty tasty! I would usually serve this with a mix of bok choy, broccoli and fresh beans.

Banana Bran Muffins

Banana Bran Muffins

These muffins are light and airy…giving a great texture.  They are easy to make, and are a perfect muffin for taking to a friends for coffee.  I whipped up a double batch of these, with most of them to give away. Some to the fantastic staff who work in the Les Mills crèche (who were very thankful I had buttered them), and lots were sent to school with Lincoln. He is at Maeroa and they have a breakfast/lunch room available for those kiddies who don’t get breakfast at home, or sent to school without a lunch. 

These freeze exceptionally well; just wrap them individually in glad wrap then pop them all in a zip lock bag in the freezer.  Then they can be simply added to a lunch box in the morning and defrosted in time for morning tea.

Makes 6 standard muffins + 12 mini muffins.

1 cup flour

1 cup baking bran

1 banana (mashed)

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon mixed spice

½ teaspoon baking soda

50g butter

¾ cup milk

3 tablespoons golden syrup

1 egg, beaten

Heat oven to 200°C.  Spray muffin pans lightly with oil.

Sift flour and baking powder together. Stir in spice, bran and sugar.

Melt butter and syrup together.

Warm milk and stir in baking soda.

Make a well in the flour and stir in butter/syrup, milk/soda, egg and the mashed banana – don’t over mix it.

Spoon into muffin pans and bake for 10-12 minutes or till they spring back when lightly pressed.

Enjoy!




Yummmmm!







Banana Bran Muffins



Citrus Slice

CITRUS SLICE.  Has 1 hour 10 minutes chilling time

Matt comments on how delicious this is with every slice, and apparently 1 piece is never enough.  It goes well with tea/coffee or a treat for after dinner.  The one pictured is Lime Slice (made with fresh limes from Lincolns drama tutors tree), this is the first time I made it with limes as I usually make it with lemon.  This is very easy to make – no baking is required; just melting.

Base

250g packet wine biscuits                       1 cup desiccated coconut

120g butter                                            ½ cup condensed milk

Zest of 2 medium lemons or limes. I use a normal zester then finely chop the zest.

Icing

2 cups icing sugar                                  40g butter

Juice of the lemons or limes

Citrus Slice (with Lime)

How to make it

Grease then line a slice pan with baking paper.

Blitz or crush the biscuits until they are fine crumbs. Stir in the coconut and the zest.  Melt the butter and condensed milk together – stirring it over a low heat.  Mix the liquid into the crumb mix, then press it into the tin.

Chill for 1 hour.

Make the icing:  Sift the sugar.  Melt the butter then mix it with the juice into the sugar. Mix until well combined then press it onto the base.  A rubber spatula or dampened fingers helps to get it on. Refrigerate till set. 

Cut into slices once set and enjoy!

One of my favourite places is the kitchen....

If you really know me, you know I love to bake and cook.  My earliest memory of cooking/baking was when I was



Age 6 at my Nannas house

visiting my Nanna in Hamilton (I was living in New Plymouth at the time) and she made me a yummy roast dinner with the most amazing kumara I had ever tasted, and the most delectable, scrumptious lemon meringue pie in the world.  I was given a piece to take home the next day to enjoy on my bus ride home (an interesting fact that at age 6 I would bus to and fro between Hamilton & New Plymouth – you wouldn’t do that these days).  The next day I was on my journey and had the realisation that my Dad had forgotten to pack my lunch bag.  I was so sad (and hungry), and I never got around the getting the recipe before she passed away.

My own baking started ‘seriously’ 2 or so years ago.  It came about from my husbands (Matt) love of Christmas fruit mince pies. I would buy packet after packet then one year, probably around February, I looked at the packaging and discovered an expiry date a good 12-18 months down the track.  This showed me they were filled with far too much crap to help them keep a long shelf life (how does the stomach cope with that?)  and I never purchased another packet.  This extended to any biscuits, cakes or slices.  I do however, purchase packets of wine biscuits to use as a base for some slices. 

Matt, and our son Lincoln love their biscuits, so I took to making fresh goodies throughout the week.  Each day I send them off to work/school with fresh baking: be it muffins, slice,  what-have-you.  Often I will only bake a half batch, so that nothing is wasted. Muffins are frozen as soon as they are cold; each wrapped in glad-wrap before popping into a zip-lock bag…making packing a lunch super easy. 

My passion for baking means I’m always planning the next ‘bake’, and I now get to teach my daughter skills and I hope she enjoys it as much as I do. At present she excells in banging bowls, waving whisks and clanging cutlery.  We are both Taurean's (who are renowned for being foodies) so I have a bit of confidence in our future cooking together.

As well as sharing with my family, I will now share my kitchen goodies with readers…enjoy!

AFGHANS (makes 12)

I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t like an Afghan.  A fellow baker taught me a great way to change the original recipe – and I’ve never looked back!  They dont have the dry, crumbly texture you can usually get with an Afghan.  These have a softer feel and I prefer to make shapes with them instead of 'blobbing' mixture on baking paper.  These don’t last long in my house…the chocoholics gobble them up.

100g soft butter                          2 Tablespoons cocoa

¼ cup sugar                              2 Weet-bix

¾ cup flour

Heat oven to 180°C.  Line oven tray with baking paper.



Put the butter & sugar in a mixer and beat (or cream) till the mixture is light and fluffy.  Sift in the flour and the cocoa, and mix thoroughly.  Crush the weet-bix and stir into the mixture with a wooden spoon.  Roll 12 even sized balls and squish lightly with your hands.  Bake for approx 12-13 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack.  When cold, ice with chocolate icing & a walnut (optional). Store in an air-tight container.



8 Weeks to go...



Supplements!



Tue 17 May 2011

8 weeks left.

Food food, glorious food.  The question I get asked a lot is ‘what do you eat?’.   Please note that I eat these foods due to taste, ease of cooking, and how they make my body feel, and is not the type of food plan I would put a client on.  It may not be a ‘typical diet’ but it works well for me.  I’ll be on this plan up till 4 weeks from show day.

Here is a run down of what I eat on my low calorie days…

16 egg whites

100g cottage cheese

200g veges (beans/broccoli/cauli)

250g kumara

400g chicken – I am very fortunate to be supported by Lifestyle Meats in Hamilton.

2 protein shakes

My high calorie day I get through…

16 egg whites

100g cottage cheese

300g veges (beans/broccoli/cauli)

400g kumara

200g chicken

150g salmon

2 protein shakes

Supplements I take are a multivitamin, iron, calcium, chromium, creatine, glutamine, BCAAs, beta-alanine, and flax seed oil. 

I don’t eat any food ‘plain’ and tend to flavour things up with lots of herbs and spices. I can get pretty inventive in the kitchen… one of my favourite salmon dishes is to marinate a fillet in pickled ginger, spring onion, soy and a drizzle of honey before baking it. 

Weights/cardio last week was as follows:

My running speed has still been increasing by .2 on each run. Admittedly 14.5 is getting tough so I may rethink what I’m doing. Instead of running 1min on, then walking for 1 min, I may start running for 1 min then resting to the sides of the treadmill track for 30 seconds. This is partly due to the fact that my treadmill takes approx 22 seconds for full speed adjustment so my walk is really only 30 seconds with my run at around 1.30 at the mo. 

Tuesday.  Food 100%.  Pre-brekky spin work for 40 minutes.  Trained chest/bis                 

Wednesday. Food 100%.  Pre-brekky intervals at 14.1/6. Trained legs

Thursday.  Food 100%.  Pre-brekky intervals at 14.3/6. Trained shoulders/tris

Friday.  Food 100%.  Pre-brekky intervals at 14.5/6. Trained back

Saturday.   Food 100%.  Rest from cardio today. Trained chest/bis

Sunday.  I thought I had my alarm set but discovered it was only set for mon-fri so I slept in, resulting in a full day rest.

Monday. Another cardio session putted aside due to having Lucy awake at 2am (Grrrr) so I opted for an hour of sleep in place of cardio.  Trained legs

This is my current training programme. I lift at a slow tempo, keeping weights heavy so ideally lifting/pushing/pressing somewhere between 6-9 reps. 

I have 4 training days which I rotate around...typically having a day off somewhere in the week, so a workout or two will be repeated in any given week after providing adequate recovery.  I’ve got another 2-3 weeks left on this plan.

DAY 1.  SHOULDERS + TRICEPS

DB Shoulder press.  4 sets

DB Fly.  4 sets

Cable Bent Over Raise. 4 sets

BB Front Raise - Upright Row - Overhead Press…

Do 1 rep of each till cant do any more front raise then continue with UR & OP to failure.  1 set

1 arm pull down. 4 sets

Incline BB Extension. 3 sets.

Rope pushdowns s/set dips. 4 sets



Pedalling up my imaginary hill



DAY 2.  BACK & CALVES & ABS

Wide Grip Pulldowns. 4 sets

1 Arm DB Row. 4 sets

V-grip row. 3 sets

Straight arm push down.4 sets

Hyper extensions. 2 sets

Calves: body weight. 2 sets of 15

Cable Crunch. 2 sets

DB Russian Twist. 2 sets

DAY 3.  CHEST & BICEPS

Incline BB Press. 3 sets

Incline DB Fly. 4 sets

DB Press: 1 arm Alt. 3 sets

Cable X-over s/set dips. 3 sets

Ezy Bar Curl. 4 sets.

Preacher Curl. 3 sets

DB Hammer Curl. 3 sets

Standing Cable Curl(high set cable). 4 sets

DAY 4.  QUADS & HAMS

Leg extension. 3 sets

DB Lunges, alternating. 4 sets

Lying Leg Curls. 4 sets

Leg Extension: single leg. Has been 2 sets, increasing to 3 or 4 next sessions

Abductor. 4 sets

Hanging Knee Raises. 4 sets



9 weeks to go

Lucys cake...nyum nyum!

 Tue 11 May 2011



Making 3 flavours of bite size pizza



9 weeks to go…single digits



The onset of Lucy’s second first birthday this week has seen me in an ultimate bake-fest as I prepare for a house full of guests to help us celebrate. 1 large choccy cake with 400g of 72% chocolate melted through it before being coated in lashings and lashings of dark ganache. I had about 1 Tablespoon of ganache….Damn!  Other than that, a good week (minus the weekend). My shoulder workout was probably one of the best I’ve ever done.  I think I can add more to my new leg workout though as I didn’t feel I did enough.

Next week my father in law is moving into our guest house for 4 months due to a job transfer, which means I wont be able to run while he is here as the guest house is right next to my studio and its not fair to wake him with my running. He will be flying back to Welly on the weekends so I can at least run some days.  To compensate, I have ordered a spin bike to keep my cardio up.

Weights/cardio last week was as follows:

Tuesday.  Food 100%.  Pre-brekky intervals at 13.3/6.  Trained back.                     



Strawberry Swirl Buttercakes & Passionfruit cookies



Wednesday. Food 100%.  Pre-brekky intervals at 13.5/6. Chest & Biceps.  Ordered a spin bike today!

Thursday.  Food 99%  (ganache).  Walk to town and home again.  Legs day. My bike arrived – that was fast...thanks Elite Fitness!

Friday.  Food 100%. Pre-brekky intervals at 13.7/6.  Shoulders/Tris; excellent workout!

Saturday.  Food 50%. Pre-brekky intervals at 13.9/6. Its Lucys Party day today! Had a good breakfast and dinner, the rest was a mess as I picked at pikelets, bite size pizzas, a small cup cake (or was it 2?) and a piece of cake.

Sunday.  Mothers day allowed me a sleep and a rest day.  Food 60%.  The leftovers got to me.  Soooo Naughty! 

Monday. No cardio today. Trained back and abs and pushed (and pulled) some good weight.



The birthday girl



We have no social occasions for the next few months thank goodness!  Now I have promised myself I WILL STICK TO MY NUTRITION PLAN!   

This week…start putting my routine together, and practice posing over and over again. 





10 weeks to go

Tue 3 May 2011

10 weeks to go

This past week Ive been feeling a hell of a lot better but Lucy’s cold got real bad –  a quick trip to the Herbal Shop seems to have fixed her up.  She wasn’t allowed to go to crèche one day, so that was one training day gone, and our trip to Welly also put a hold on gym training. Yes I know there are gyms in Welly, however, we stay on a lifestyle block and its easier for me just to plan a  body weight session at the house.

Weights/cardio last week was as follows:

Monday.  Food 100%.  Back

Tuesday.  Food 100%.  Pre-brekky intervals. Chest & Bis  Today I’ve decided to start increasing my running speed by .2 each day. Todays run is at 12.5 for 1 min, 6 for one minute.                  

Wednesday. Food 100%.  Pre-brekky intervals at 12.7:6. No gym; Lucy too ill

Matt & I ready to attend Jess & Dans wedding

Thursday.  Food 100%.  Pre-brekky intervals at 12.9:6.  Legs

Friday.  Food 90%.  No cardio or weights…rushed around like a mad woman getting organised to get away. Flew to welly, party prepped and wrote up my new gym plan.  Late night watching the royal wedding.

Saturday.  Food 40%.  Wellington. Got up at 6 for a fantastic body weight session.  10 exercises, 60 reps on each with as little rest as possible.  Started with burpees, then push ups, jumping lunges, crunches, and more.  Went to Jess & Dans wedding which was incredibly beautiful. Had 1 glass of bubbles, 2 glasses of savvy then far too many calories to count.  In bed around 2 which is very late for me!

Sunday.  Food 40%.  Wellington. Very tired today, and have Lucy’s first 1^st birthday party for family.  Had a decent breakfast, early lunch then some extremely delicious chocolate cake (has 72% melted through it for its chocolatey goodness/badness), and more evil calories.  Back to the Tron…made strawberry swirl mini cupcakes for Lucy to take to creche.



The first 1st birthday cake I made for Lucy



Monday.  Food 100%.  Slept in. I had the alarm set for 5.15 but couldn’t drag myself out of bed.  Did my new shoulder/tricep workout which I totally loved.  It’s Lucy’s ‘actual’ birthday today. I made the boys a scrummy roast dinner with apple crumble/French vanilla ice-cream for pudding.  I also whipped up a batch of ginger and raisin bikkies which made the kitchen smell incredible. 





This weekend…Lucy’s first birthday with friends at home, better start party planning again!