Life of Sheta

1 day to the competition!

2011-07-08T07:10:00.000+12:00

8 July...1 day to go

I had my final stats done last week, below is how I have changed over the last 6 weeks…

25 May (6 weeks)
Body weight. 59.8
Body fat %. 19.16
Body fat kg. 11.29
LBM. 47.61

16 June (3 weeks)

Body weight. 59.8
Body fat %. 16.95
Body fat kg. 9.98
LBM. 48.92

30 June (9 days to go)

Body weight. 58.6
Body fat %. 16.33
Body fat kg. 9.56
LBM. 49.04

Tuesday Food 100%. Spin 300 cals. Trained Back

Wednesday. No cardio…Miss Lucy was wide awake at 4am so getting up at 5 wasn’t much of an option. Trained Chest & biceps

Thursday Food 100%. Today I have the most horrendous pain in my left abductor. Goodness knows what I’ve done…probably something silly like coming down the steps in the house wrong or doing a funny twist when putting Lucy on the floor. L Hobbly hobbly walking so no cardio. It is a planned rest day from weights but I’ll do some good ab work later this arvo. Today I should be able to finalise my last week of food planning.

Friday. Food 100%. My weird pain has gone so I managed to get a spin session in. Trained Chest/shoulders.

Saturday. Food 100%. Today I did just did a good all over upper body session. Stacy from http://www.twentysevenphotography.com/came along and took some photos of me. This was great as I haven’t even taken progress pics this year! Stacy did a fantastic job so make sure you check her work out!

Sunday. Food 100%. Total rest day today.

From here on in things change a LOT! I have started my carb depletion, so now my food ratios are 12.5% carb, 67.9% protein, 12.3% fat. My water manipulation process has also started. Training is also changing to more explosive work with sets of 10-12 reps.

Monday. Food 100%. Legs day + a 30 minute walk

Tuesday. Food 100%. Trained Back. Had an accident in the gym today while training a client. For some completely ‘brain foggy’ moment I put my hand on a machine in a place where you aren’t supposed to and had my left middle finger tip crushed. Ow ow ow!! My fingernail is totally smashed, the nail bed pretty wounded and I have a lovely cut down the side of my finger. Damn it! Lucky its not a manicure competition I’m in!

Wednesday. Food 100%. Trained Chest & biceps

Thursday. Food 100%. Changed food again! Halved my water intake and now my food ratios are 16.6% protein, 79.2% carbs, 13.4% fat.

Friday. Food will be 100% and today my food ratios are 24.1% protein, 71.3% carb, 1.3% fat. Water is halved again too. Slept terribly last night…could hear the storms coming from ‘forever’ away and at 3am had the thought of changing the bikinis I am planning to wear. I’ll establish that later today…nothing like final decisions!

This last week has been great (apart from my damaged digit). I feel amazing, and think I look pretty good too. I have been asked “who is your competition?” from people at the gym. My answer is always the same: “I am”. To me, as long as I look better than I did last time, I have succeeded. To me, competing is a constant learning process, I learn about my body; what works, what doesn’t and how I react to certain foods and supplements. Then I can take that and knowledge and use nutrition, training, cardio and supplements to get the best I can from my work. I know I can do better…and I intend to! My upper body looks the best it has ever done, but my legs are like pins and need more size which I’m looking forward to working on.

In the meantime, I look forward to tomorrow, bring on the dream tan, the glam lashes, 9 stick-on nails, the bikinis (whatever I decide to wear), the heels, the bling, the posing, the routine and with any luck – a placing!

Thanks to my wonderful hubby Matt for all your support and of course my sponsor LifeStyle Meats!

Supermarket Challenge Summary.

2011-07-08T06:10:00.001+12:00

Well my 4 week challenge has come to an end and I am happy to share my news. I have gone through my credit card bill for the 4 weeks prior to my challenge and added up my spending so I can make a comparison to what I have spent over the last month….…and I managed to spend a whopping $629.40 less!!

This proves that the ‘only spend the cash’ system can work; and I plan on sticking to it.

It does take a little time. Each weekend I sit down, plan the menu (often I’ll jot ideas down mid-week & ask the family what they may like) go through my cookbooks and make my shopping list with only writing down precisely what I need. In the past I would just write ‘veges’ on my list, now its very accurate to the likes of 3 carrots, 2 onions, 4 heads broccoli etc.

We definitely haven’t ‘scrimped’ on meals, and have all eaten very well. My weekly menus are still being printed and put on the kitchen wall each week.

All I can say is ‘thanks Money Man’ for showing me a great system that can save me thousands!

11 days and counting!

2011-06-29T06:58:00.001+12:00

28 June. 11 days to go.

I’ve packed my bag for the show…all important items such as:

Bikinis, shoes, tanning stuff, gloves, resistance band, 2 copies of my routine music, pen, vivid marker, bikini bite, jewellery, make-up, Vaseline, hair-spray, sewing kit, straws, magnesium, and some food supplies that wont go off

The past week has been a bit a bit if a struggle – and I have done some hard days of ‘soul searching’ as the show gets closer; one evening I almost pulled out as I drank some wine …chasing down some blue cheese! I have questioned how I look, and if I have really done enough to look worthy of my sparkly bikini. I guess show day will tell.

My inner Nigella was trying to break free all week….if only I could be happy with over sized hips/thighs/tum/everything, look gorgeous, and be able to indulge in the delicious meals I prepare my family! However, my vanity and desire to have a tight toned body wont allow it... not this year anyway!

Ah well, like one of my gym tops says “if it was easy, everyone would do it”. I have pep talked myself and have had some great ‘inspirational/get your act together/you can do it’ talks with friends also which is just what I needed. Its times like these that you become very thankful for the support that you get!! I am now counting down to carb depletion, then the loading and then have my oompa-loompa-come-nutella tan to look forward to. I am positive that once I’m on stage I’ll remember why I do this crazy sport!

I’ve changed my cardio a tad…instead of 40+ minutes on the bike, I am making sure I get through 300 calories, so the time fluctuates.

Tuesday. Food 100%. No cardio. Trained Back: drops & supersets

Wednesday. Food 100%. Spin 37 mins. Trained chest & biceps: drops & supersets

Thursday. Food 100%. Spin 32 mins. Fully booked so no weights

Friday. Food 100%. Decided to have a sleep in today which saw me sleep to 5.30 (an extra half hour). Had planned on doing legs but ended up having a mare of a morning. Got to the gym, no training schedule for clients, no diary, forgot my uniform, wallet and food (can’t go without eating!). I decided to call it a day and rest. Grrrrrrrr.

Saturday. Food: Hmmmmmm. Spin 30 minutes. No weights today. Visited a girlfriend, got a flat tyre (shit! thanks to my Dad for teaching me how to change one) and had a ½ glass of wine. Followed up with returning home (+ a quick supermarket stop), and stocked up on lovely piece of eye fillet, mushrooms, potatoes (which I thinly sliced, tossed in olive oil, garlic & rosemary then stacked them up high for baking), blue cheese and a bottle of savvy. And some chocolate. Enough said.

Sunday. Food 100%. Felt pretty rough due to half a bottle of wine being consumed and look like a puffed up puffy puffer fish I’m so bloated. Legs session at the gym with lots and lots of supersets. No cardio.

Monday. Food 100%. Spin 27 minutes. Trained Shoulders & triceps.

Tuesday Food 100%. Spin 24 minutes. Trained Back…and feeling a hell of a lot more positive!

2 and a half weeks to go

2011-06-22T19:16:00.000+12:00

22 June. 2.5 weeks and I’m there!

Well, I’ve sent in my entry form, added some more bling to a bikini and am just about set to go. Last week I tweaked my food – and definitely noticed the difference with energy levels lagging a little. I had also taken out creatine & beta-alanine which showed in my workouts and recovery. My hammies were still telling me off 4 days after training them – ow ow ow!

The last week I have really noticed the cold; yes, it’s winter and we have had some chilly days but the lack of body insulation makes me feel it even more! My stats were done on Friday and this is where I’m at….

25 May (6 weeks)
Body weight. 59.8
Body fat %. 19.16
Body fat kg. 11.29
LBM. 47.61

16 June (3 weeks)

Body weight. 59.8
Body fat %. 16.95
Body fat kg. 9.98
LBM. 48.92

I am pretty happy with my stats and will have them done once more next week so I know what volumes of food to eat on my final week.

Tuesday. Food 100%. Spin 30 mins. Trained Chest & biceps

Wednesday. Food 100%. No cardio. Trained Back

Thursday. Food 100%. Spin 30 mins. Trained Shoulders

Friday. Food 100%. Spin 30 mins. No weights today as everything is too sore! Body stats done.

Saturday. Food 100%. No cardio today. Legs. Lots of supersets!

Sunday. Food 70%. Posing practice in Tauranga. This was pretty tough and my back hurt like hell afterwards. It was a good reminder that I need to get practicing more – and in my heels! As I tend to live in trainers or slippers (nanna), I’ll have to get walking around the house in my stage shoes. Had a ‘sanity meal’ roast chicken with roast spuds, pumpkin, carrots, peas and gravy. Dessert of plum & apple crumble with French vanilla icecream.

Monday. Food 100%. No cardio. Trained shoulders & triceps. I’ll be sticking to dropsets, giant sets and supersets from here on in. Basically to keep my mind challenged and to have a cardio aspect to my gym sessions.

Week 3 of my supermarket savings!

2011-06-20T14:08:00.000+12:00

Week 3 report for my shopping challenge.

I’m very pleased to announce yet another successful week with change left of $5.50.

It goes to show that with careful planning it can be done. Once this week is completed I’ll be doing a summary to see how much I have saved/spent in comparison to the 4 weeks prior to starting the challenge. Last week a couple of staff members at Countdown mentioned they hadnt seen me much lately!

Here is how the last week went + a few recipes…

Monday: Chicken Pie. Linc loves pies and I feel pretty happy serving this up to him. This makes a very generous pie so we usually get a couple of extra serves in the freezer.

Chop and fry off 1 leek, add to the pan chopped (cooked) chicken, 2 chopped carrots (I cooked carrots on Sunday so used leftovers – I also had a cup of peas leftover so put them in too), 1 cup chicken stock + 2 teaspoons thyme. Simmer for 15-20 mins. Add 1 tablespoon cornflour that has been mixed with 2 tablespoons water. Cook till thickened. Season & allow to cool. Prepare a pie dish with pastry. I make my own pastry using the ‘Short Pastry’ recipe from the Edmonds (pg 72 in my book). Its simple to make in the blitzer and I get to freeze 1/3 of it to use later for a quiche or smaller pies. Place filling into pie. Cover with pastry lid. Brush with 1 beaten egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake at 200c for approx 30 mins.

I reserved some pie filling and made Lucy up a couple of ramekins with pie filling topped with mash for the freezer.

Tuesday: Thai Pumpkin Soup. Simple recipe…I use a pumpkin soup recipe & add in 2 teaspoons thai green curry paste, 2 T fish sauce and 1 can coconut cream. In place of coconut cream you can use 1 tin light & creamy evaporated milk & 3 teaspoons of coconut essence.

Wednesday: Nachos. Beef casserole. Good old Edmonds recipe again. Pretty much a cook-free day as I chopped everything the night before then threw it all in the crock pot in the morning.

Thursday: Leftover day. Linc thought choosing something from the freezer was cool and picked out chicken pie and chicken fried rice.

Friday: Thai green chicken curry. Made with thai green curry paste, chicken, onion, 1 tin light & creamy evaporated milk & 3 teaspoons of coconut essence. Served on rice

Saturday: Pork chops. I marinated these in maple syrup and garlic. Served with mashed kumara with orange (just add some juice & finely grated orange zest) and green beans

This week’s menu all set. I made the Lemon Cookies last night and have the soup already cooking. My bread making hasn’t gone particularly well but I am persevering with it!

The menu for week 4

Final 4 weeks to show...

2011-06-14T20:13:00.000+12:00

14 June. Final 4 weeks.

This week its time to tweak my food which I’ll be doing by taking out some foods and replacing them with others. Next week I’ll be changing it again also, which will then lead me up to my final weeks prep. I’ll also be doing some switching and dropping some supplements.

I’ve also felt a bit doubtful about my appearance towards the end of last week. I think part of it is from looking at too many other competitors on the internet, part is not having anyone else to monitor how I’m going, and part of it is from not being on stage (in figure) for a couple of years. I should be alright – and Matt tells me I just need to hang in there and keep going!

My dessert is egg whites, protein powder and lashings of cinnamon now – nyum nyum! Its cooked into some weird consistency and extremely tasty!

Tuesday. Food 100%. No weights (fully booked with clients). Spin 40mins

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

Thursday. Food 100%. Allowed myself a sleep in today to allow my legs to fully recover…slept till 6am. Trained Shoulders

Friday. Food 100%. Spin 30 mins. Did a light back train…the gym was extremely cold and I found it hard to get warm. Must remember to pack thermals in my gym bag!

Saturday. Food 100%. No cardio today. Trained chest/bis

Sunday. Food 100%. No weights today. Cardio was LifeSprints on the bike – damn hard!

Monday. Food 100%. No cardio. Light leg workout (tho completely nailed my glutes!) – energy a little low.

This weekend I’m off to Tauranga to join in Kaye’s posing class so I’m looking forward to that. I've been practicing posing after each weights session but still like to get to a class to see if I need any pointers. I still haven’t made a decision on what to wear, but this weekend will shout myself some eyelashes, nails and some new jewellery.

Over shopping….week 2 report

2011-06-11T19:53:00.000+12:00

My shopping challenge is going well and this week I have $17.40 left over!

I didn’t get time to make the Fruit salad muffins I had planned, so they are rolling over onto this weeks planner.

Here is the rundown of our last week:

Sunday: Roast (chicken & veges). Sunday is always roast night. I recently discovered the size 22-24 chickens which cost about $13, and are more like a small turkey. By purchasing a large chook, I can plan to make chicken pie, fried rice or risotto the next night. Linc has a massive appetite which I’m sure any mother with sons understands so I make sure he gets a large serving of veges and my (in his words) “legendary” stuffing.

Monday: Chicken Fried Rice. Linc loves this meal! I used leftover chicken from Sundays roast. Also ‘gladwared’ up 3 roast meals for Lucy and got 2 days worth of sandwiches for the boys out of it.

Here’s my recipe….. Beat 2 eggs, then cook them in a wok like an omellete, remove, cool and slice. Heat up 1T sesame oil, add in 1 chopped onion, cook till clear. Add 2 cloves crushed garlic + 1t crushed ginger + 1 cup peas. Cook for 1-2 mins, add approx 2 cups cold rice & chopped (cooked/leftover) chicken & stir fry till well heated. Add chopped egg to heat through. Serve with soy, sweet chilli or sweet n’ sour sauce.

Tuesday: Bacon & Egg Pie. Used 4 slices of a 1kg pack of bacon, the rest has been divided up and frozen. 2 meals stored for Lucy and the boys got pie in their lunch box the next day. The rest of the bacon can be used for macaroni, pie, quiche or what-have-you. Simply used the recipe from the Edmonds cook book.

Wednesday: Nachos. Made with 500g mince, 1 can tomatoes, 1 can refried beans, onion and tomato paste. Served on nacho chips, with cheese & sour cream. Only used half the mix and froze the rest. I try to do a ‘quick meal’ on Wednesdays as Matt has a wine appreciation course and needs to dine & dash!

Thursday: Steak, mushroom sauce, scalloped potato, broccoli. Found the best price for steak at LifeStyle meats in Dinsdale

Friday: Butter chicken & garlic naan. Had my brother over for dinner. :o)

Saturday: Tangy chicken, mashed pumpkin, beans. Tangy chicken is chicken marinated in 4T tomato sauce, 1 T Worcestershire sauce, 2T white wine vinegar and 2T brown sugar

This week’s menu is printed ready to go…and I’ve just pulled the gingernuts out of the oven halfway through typing this.

Thursday I’m pretty busy: I’m guest lecturing at WinTec, have a business meeting in the afternoon and a haircut booked in the evening, so the boys can pick a meal out of the freezer to reheat so I don’t have to worry about cooking.

Matt’s parents have supplied us with a pumpkin from the garden so that will be used for the Thai pumpkin soup, and then I’ll use the rest of the jar of curry paste on Friday night. I’m planning on using some of the pumpkin next week for Sweet & Spicy Pumpkin Muffins.

The menu for this week

5 weeks to the comp

2011-06-08T06:23:00.000+12:00

7 July

Over the half way point now! My sore throat and lethargic bod was all sorted well and truly in about 48 hours last week. Thank goodness for speedy recoveries!

My early starts are still continuing…with my earliest wake up at 4am on Friday. It seems so weird and I’ve never had it before. I’m not hungry when I wake, and I don’t take any fat burners/thermos so I’m not winding my system up. I just wake up; and am wide awake ready to go – so I go!

I am still sorting out what bikini (or bikinis) to wear. I have it down to a choice of 4. I like to wear a different one at judging and at the night show. My final choices are red lycra, deep red velvet, green or burgundy. It will probably be a last minute decision.

I’ve started working on my routine. The first half is sorted, so over the next week I’ll try to piece the rest of it together. I’m not really too focused on it since they don’t count towards a placing.

Tuesday. Food 100%. No cardio (still on throat recovery). Trained Chest/Bis

Wednesday. Food 100%. Spin 45 mins. Trained Legs

Thursday. Food 100%. Spin 40 mins. Trained Shoudlers/Tris

Friday. Food 100%. Spin 50 mins. Trained Back.

Saturday. Food 100%. Had a sleep in today (6.30am). Rest day from weights and did 30 minutes of interval sprints at the gym after breakfast.

Sunday. Food 100%. No cardio, no weights.

Monday. Food 100%. Spin 60 mins…the last 10minutes were pretty tough! Trained chest & biceps.

I’ve really noticed how I react to low carb and high carb days the last couple of weeks. On Thursday I was looking (and feeling) teeny-tiny-deflated-flat in the gym but come Friday arvo after a feast on carbs I was looking a lot better… so I hope I can nail that on my carb up for competition.

Over Shopping...

2011-06-05T20:28:00.000+12:00

The past fortngiht I have had to come to the admission that I spend far (far far) to much money at the supermarket. We have a budget but I tend to blow it on a weekly basis when I stop in to get a “couple” of items and walk out with 3-4 bags and another 100+ gone on the credit card. Some weeks I would be spending over double what we should be and it needs to stop!

Part of it, is that I stopped meal planning for the week. Nearly every day I’d pop into my friendly Countdown (so

My menu for the week

friendly I know most the staff by name and they know mine & Lucy’s too) on my walk home to grab a bunch of stuff and top it up with more things I think I may need – but don’t really. The other part is my love for baking…my pantry is extremely well stocked so I can bake pretty much anything the recipe book has to offer, and some items are way overstocked!

The last 2 weeks I have gone back to menu planning for the week – and this week have added my 4 things to bake for the week. I have my shopping list set, and now embark on a 4 week challenge to stick to the budget! Lincoln loves my menu as I print it out and stick it to the kitchen wall. He is always wondering what his next dinner will be so it’s stopped him pestering me too!

The Money Man!

To do this I have taken a lesson from the Money Man. Remember him, the sergeant major type guy who would teach people on TV how to spend their dosh – and save more in the process. My lesson… take out the budgeted grocery moola from the bank, and spend only that for the week. And once it’s gone, there is no more money allowed till the following week. It has certainly made me think a lot more and I have reduce my visits to countdown. Last week I had $4.50 left over. I am so proud of myself!

I’ll let you know how I go over the next few weeks and if it works it’ll be a plan I stick to!

Macaroni & Cheese with Bacon

2011-06-02T13:55:00.000+12:00

MACARONI CHEESE WITH BACON.

Lincoln first made this a year or so ago. I turned my nose up at the idea of it as my only recollection of macaroni

Ready to cook (or chill till required)

was when an aunt was baby-sitting me (at around age 6?), and she wouldn’t let me leave the table till I had eaten my (hideous) macaroni. It seemed like it took forever to get through my plate…and I’m sure I recall gagging at it.

I helped Lincoln make this and it came out of the oven smelling exceptionally good. I decided to try a spoon-full and it was incredible! This is a good ‘sometimes’ food as it’s loaded with all things bad: pasta, cheese and bacon.

However, if you have boys who are going through growth-spurts it’s a fantastic filler. I will often make it during a morning (up to the baking point) it if I have a busy afternoon with clients when prepping dinner could become a mission.

It would also be an ideal ‘gift dinner’ if you have a friend who has been really busy and could do with a night off cooking. Lincoln tells me he could eat this “every day” and Lucy goes nuts for it too.

This macaroni has a fantastic crunchy topping.

Ready to serve!

2 ½ cups dry macaroni

50g butter

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

Pepper (I don’t use any salt in this recipe as there is enough in the bacon)

150g grated tasty cheese

4-6 slices chopped cooked bacon

2/3 cup breadcrumbs.

Set oven to 180°C. Chop & cook the bacon and set aside. Melt the butter in a pot, add the flour and stir for a couple of minutes over a medium heat. Whisk in ½ cup milk. Keep whisking until the mix thickens. Whisk in another ½ cup till the sauce thickens and repeat the process until all the milk is mixed in. Bring the sauce to a simmer, then remove it from the heat, season with pepper and stir in 100g of the cheese. Stir in the bacon once the cheese is melted through. If not using immediately, cover and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to the boil and cook macaroni till al-dente (approx 7-9 minutes). Drain, then mix in with the sauce.

Put the mixture in a large oven dish that has been greased with butter or oiled. Sprinkle 1/3 of the breadcrumbs over it. Then sprinkle with 25g cheese. Repeat the crumb/cheese layer then bake for approx 25 minutes.

You can prep this in a morning, then cover and chill it. Bake for approx 40-45 minutes if baking from cold.

6 weeks to go....

2011-05-31T14:26:00.000+12:00

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!

2011-05-28T19:19:00.002+12:00

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

2011-05-24T21:35:00.000+12:00

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

2011-05-23T20:52:00.000+12:00

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.

2011-05-21T20:21:00.001+12:00

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

2011-05-20T15:57:00.001+12:00

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

2011-05-19T19:41:00.000+12:00

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....

2011-05-18T21:21:00.000+12:00

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...

2011-05-17T14:14:00.000+12:00

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

2011-05-10T20:01:00.000+12:00

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

2011-05-03T14:18:00.000+12:00

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!

11 Week report

2011-04-26T06:53:00.001+12:00

Tue 26 April 2011

This past week has seen me battling a cold…it started with lots of coughing then over the Easter weekend got worse. I still managed to get some training in; though after Mondays back session all I felt like doing was throwing up then promptly falling asleep. Lucy has a cold too, and has been waking during the night, so I have felt pretty rough! Over Easter I decided not to do any cardio as I jus didn’t have the energy for it.

My brother has helped cut down and sped up my routine song so I’ll start putting my routine together soon. Its a great track and one that I saw on TV a couple of years ago; when I saw it performed thought it would be great to use.

Weights/cardio last week was as follows:

Monday. Shoulders & Tris. Drove to the gym and felt very very weak…sore throat and an achy back. Nurafen cold and flu tablets sorted it out to get me through

Tuesday. Feeling better. Pre-brekky intervals on the treadmill. Back & Abs. I also add in some calf exercises; just a few sets of bodyweight raises. 2 years ago I pulled both my plantar fascia and I still cant load up on toes…dammit.

Wednesday. Pre-brekky intervals. Chest & Bis

Thursday. Walk to town/home. Legs

Friday. Gym closed for Good Friday

Saturday. Family day, spent the day working around the house

Sunday. Legs

Monday. Back

Body fat was taken care of this week. I’m currently sitting at 20.6%, which means I’m carrying 12.48kg of body fat. When I last won my class I was carrying 10.73kg of body fat so I don’t really have a lot to lose, although I do want to come in a bit leaner (and should look fuller as my lean mass is up a few kilos).

My birthday cake...2 candles look better than nearly 40!

My abs are through already and as exciting as this is, it’s also a warning sign for me not to get too carried away which I did over the weekend. Having the mentally of ‘I’m ahead of my plan’ saw me getting off the diet wagon to enjoy some Easter treats, which I must saw were delicious!

I managed to get back onto my plan on Easter Sunday, and put myself to the test by making myself a birthday cake (and not having any) and also baking Lucys birthday cake (for next weekend) and smothering it with ganache. By not even having a small lick of my fingers or spoon makes me feel much better and proving that I can stick to my diet.

This week and weekend brings: a weekend in Wellington for a wedding and also Lucys first birthday.

The countdown begins

2011-04-19T07:27:00.001+12:00

Tue 19 April 2011

Saturday (9^th April) was the official date of my 12 Weeks to comp day…comp day being the Nabba Waikato Body Building Champs. I had planned on doing the NZIFBB comp in Hamilton the following weekend, however this has now been moved to October. I may add in another comp in May or August, but will see how I feel and look closer to the times.

Over the last week I worked on my food plan that may get me to June 11^th (4 weeks to comp), however this will be monitored and adjusted as necessary according to energy levels, and body composition.

The past month I have been enjoying brown rice with every lunch meal, but now will be ‘carb cycling’…having 2 low carb days followed by 1 higher day. My (approx) calories on day 1-2 are 1374 and on my 3^rd day 1839.

Cardio over the past few months has been my power-walk into town (for training clients) with Lucy tucked up in the stroller each morning. This walk is generally 20-25 mins to town with, with 30-40 minutes home. I tend to work out where I can, so days can be fairly mixed, and sometimes one workout will be cut short and caught up with the next day.

Weights/cardio last week was as follows:

Monday. Legs + walk to town/walk home

Tuesday. Shoulders + walk to town/walk home

Wednesday. Back & Triceps + walk to town/walk home

Thursday. Chest & Biceps. V8 Track closed my walk track so no cardio

Friday. Pre breakfast cardio of interval training on the treadmill. 302 cals gone. Discovered a walk track around the V8s so walked to town & home again. No weights

Saturday. Family day/rest

Sunday. Legs

My programme currently is:

Back & Abs

Back. Chins. 3 sets

Hammer row. 4 sets

V grip pulldowns. 4 sets

1 arm cable pulldowns. 4 sets

Extensions. 2 sets

Abs. Hanging knee ups. 2 sets

Hip lifts. 2 sets

Chest & Biceps

Chest. Bench Press. 3 sets

Incline DB Press. 4 sets

Cable X Over. 4 sets

DB Fly. 3 sets

Biceps. Ezy bar curl. 2 sets

DB Preacher Curl. 4 sets

Rope cable Curl. 4 sets

Shoulders & Triceps

Shoulders. Behind neck press. 3 sets

Hammer Shoulder press. 4 sets

Ezy bar upright row. 3 sets

DB Lat. Raise. 4 sets

Triceps. Pushdowns. 4 sets

Skullys. 2 sets

Kickbacks. 4 sets

Legs

Legs. Leg Press. 4 sets

Deadlift. 4 sets

Seated leg curls. 3 sets

Leg Extensions. 4 sets

Glute press. 4 sets – super-set with abductors

I’ve been at this plan for 4-5 weeks and loving it. My reps range from 8-12, with my weights increasing most weeks.

At the end of this week I’ll be dealing with Easter and my birthday…and avoiding temptation!

Having a talk to myself

2011-03-03T06:56:00.000+13:00

A few weeks ago I had to have a serious chat with myself. My life is pretty much a constant juggle. Dealing with Lincoln (10yrs), Lucy (10mnths), training clients, and having a very busy stream of spray tanning clients + running the household.

Having a lot on my plate resulted in my starting cardio at 4.45am, then being able to prep work and have everything ready for the day by 6.30. Yawn! Its enough to make anyone tired!

On top of that, being busy with my business meant that often I wasn’t getting the right food in the tank. Often I would be grabbing a chicken breast (I try to cook 3 days ahead) and skipping the veges, or downing a shake between clients.

I also noticed that I was leaving the gym feeling like I hadn’t done enough, often saying to myself “is that it”. I wasn’t experiencing any DOMS which I love so had to pretty much put on my Personal Trainer hat, look at what I was doing and re-assess. My weight was dropping too fast and I had to take note of the fact that I wouldn’t have anything to alter come the 12 week mark to competition day…not good!

So, with that, I have changed my programme and am no longer doing early morning cardio.

My programme is 5 weights sessions per week. Focusing on slowing down: lifting for a count of 3, lowering for a count of 2. I am also making sure I am stretching between sets…often stretching used to be skipped (naughty!)

Food: I’m still cooking 3 days ahead but am making sure I’m adding brown rice and veges to my glad-ware containers so I don’t skip it.

Cardio: At this stage it’s only what I do with Lucy…walking to the gym and home again after work.

This can be anywhere from 45 mins to an hour or so depending if we have errands to run. My walk isn’t a meander behind the stroller; I do power walk!

I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks now and have definitely noticed the improvements. My muscles are looking fuller, I have more energy and my stats are looking good.

I have kept my stats from the last class that I won and am doing my best to keep on a par with them. As of 24 Feb (20 weeks from comp). I am 24.84% fat, which means I’m carrying 15.12kg fat. And my lean mass is 45.78kg. At this stage my stats are 2 weeks ahead of where I was at the 20 week mark a couple of years ago.

Next plan…start sorting out a track for my routine!

Goals to acheive...

2011-01-22T19:29:00.000+13:00

The past couple of weeks I have been back into nice heavy training. Unfortunately the gym creche has been closed down so the staff could have a very well deserved break, so this has meant that I have had to get to the gym in the evenings....often not an easy task when I've been up with Lucy since 6.30am (ish). Often once its time to get to the gym at 7pm I'm not really in the mood for exercise and would rather be chillaxing with Matt.

So, I've had to summon up some inner strength at times; especially when the temperature and the humidity are through the roof! Any gym with no air con in summer is not a nice place to be, but hey, when theres a goal to reach, often you have to just suck it up and deal with it. I do have to admit that I have missed a couple of training days, but have tried to make up for them with workouts in my studio at home.

Today was a 'leg' day for the gym. However, a late night left me feeling too tired. I did a great workout in the studio when I was feeling up to it: lots of burpees, squats, lunges, dynamic lunges, jumps and work with the TRX left me pretty buggered!

I have the goal to compete in another 'Figure' class this year. Now that I'm older, I will be able to compete in the 'Over 35's Class'. There is always a NABBA show in Hamilton in July (9th), and now I have also found that there is a NZIFBB show here a week later on the 16th of July. I'm now planning to do both shows, and maybe do 3 classes....but that will all depend on how I look closer to the time. Even though July is quite a way off, its time to eat clean, restrict wine and dark choccy (boohoo) and get on with building muscle and trimming fat. Before I know it, the 12 week pre-comp mark will be here, it will be winter and I'll be rugging up in my super sexy (ha!) polar fleece for runs at 5am. Its a crazy sport, but I love it! For some reason I love the feeling of being lean, painted in layers of tan and showing what I have accomplished on stage.

I consider myself very fortunate to have an amazing sponsor: Lifestyle Meats. Warren makes life a bit easier for me and I truly value what their store does. Now if only I could find someone to supply me with creatine, beta-alanine, BCAAs, glutamine, protein powder, vitamins, loads of greens and egg whites I'd be sorted!

This Monday (24th) the creche reopens so I can get back into my normal routine: walks to the gym, training clients, training myself then walking home again. Lucy (in the stroller) is the perfect excuse for more cardio!

Now I just have to make sure I'm on target with my measurements and all will be good!

Where did the end of 2010 go?

2011-01-10T16:41:00.000+13:00

I know the end of any year usually zips by pretty quick but I feel like it went too damn fast. My last blog was October; the following weeks were spent...

My kitchen brilliance

- Making 5 Christmas cakes (Labour weekend is always booked for this) plus a mulitude of chocolate truffles as part of my 'gifts from the kitchen' theme. I reckon I could just about go into a sideline business for chocolate making! Last year I gave a selection of relishes and sauces. This years gift is already in the think tank.

- Taking in 2 concerts. Matt and I took Lincoln to U2, which was brilliant. I even enjoyed JayZ. It was the 3rd time I had seen U2 and this time was the best by far. The following weekend a couple of girlfriends and I went up to see Bon Jovi (though I seriously beleive Lisa only went to see Jon), which was another great event.

Tux 'n Chucks

- Enjoying warmer weather! I think we were all well and truly over the cool weather and it was great to see the sun shining and being able to get out and

about a lot more.

- Seeing my son have his Year 6 leavers dance and finish primary school. The dance was themed 'Red Carpet, so we dressed Linc up in a 'Tux n Chucks'. The last day of school was an emotional one (for me, not Lincoln!) and I knew I would cry at final assembly. The end of an era and the start of a new one. Next year he will be at Maeroa; the same school I went to, which makes me feel just a tad old.

- Buying our house...WOOP WOOP!! We are now fully equiped with a small (but very effective) personal training studio and spray tanning room. After over 12 months of looking, open homing and newspaper reading we have finally got a place to call 'ours'. Its fantastic and we love it!

Linc & I at U2

Lucy at the lake

Before you know it we were off to Wellington for another Christmas, too much cake, food and wine which leaves one craving exercise and a smaller waist line. We welcomed in 2011 with a lot of celebration,and now its time to get cracking into the next set of goals!

Goal Completed!

2010-10-13T18:53:00.000+12:00

NZIFBB Waikato Oct 9 2010
(5 months post Lucy)

Its been a while since I last wrote - and a couple of Blogs ago I had been ill, and wasnt too keen on getting myself on stage. Well I must have completely changed my mind as I did get on stage .... and I felt extremely proud of myself for doing so. I was in a tough line up of 5, and at judging felt it was obvious that I wouldnt place. I told Matt how I thought the placings would go and I was correct. I wasn't placed, but it didn't (and doesn't) matter. On Saturday I was on cloud 9. 5 months post-baby and rocking the stage, showing what you can achieve if you set your mind to it. I am thrilled to bits with how I look and am probably in better shape than I was before I had Lucy. Lisa Menzies has done a report on the show, with lots of piccies; jsut click GOFIGURE to get there.

Since the show I have been resting, and taking a little bit of a relaxed approach to my eating, and enjoying a wine! This weekend Matt and I are heading out for a much needed 'date night' which involves a bottle of bubbles, dinner out and lots of cardio on the dance floor at 'Our House'. Then next week I'll be back onto a good eating regime which will coincide with my new training plan. I've been reading about 10x10 training so will be getting into that. There is plenty of info on Google if you want to see what I'll be doing.

My muffin mission is still going strong. I've recently made page 15 'Avocado & Bacon Muffins'. Ive had one, well actually two, and they are pretty tasty - probably one of the nicest muffins I've ever had! Next due for the oven will be 'Cheese Red Pepper Muffins'. My boys havent tired of them yet, thank goodness.

Matt, Lucy & Lincoln at The Home Show

Over the past 3 weeks Lucy has also grown a lot! She is gobbling up a LOT of food and is a fan of my pureed pumpkin and pureed kumara. Nyum Nyum. She has 2 lovely shiny white teeth and has also been moved from her baby capsule to a 'big girl' car seat. Daily explorations of my face are very interesting to her; as is placing her fingers in my mouth and laughing when I pretend to eat them. I've started reading

'Baby Sign Language' and have incorporated around 6 'signs' into our day. The research on this is quite remarkable and I'm looking forward to her signing back in a few more months.

Matts hard work for the Waikato Home & Garden Show paid off - with his design work winning Gold in both the Landscape Awards and Best Outdoor Exhibition. He is thrilled with the awards, of course!

Busy Swinerds...

2010-09-16T14:22:00.000+12:00

Phew, what a week it is!

Matt is flat out busy sorting out a landscape design for the upcoming Homeshow. His days are usually very busy, so now he's working longer hours to get everything done in time. These busy times can be hard, so I try to make sure that the kids are taken care of and also try to have Matts lunch made for the next day so that when he gets home he can unwind and get quality time with the family.

Icing the Afgans

Lincoln seems to have a lot of projects to get ready for school. A study of his ancestry, completion of his work for Speech and Drama exams, and he has also made it through to the final of the Donker Cup for poetry so he needs to practise, practise, practise! We are making sure that he gets some down time, as I feel that its pretty important. On Monday he enjoyed making Afgans...he did a wicked job and all I needed to do was help him get the arm down on the cake mixer and measure a cup of flour. The rest was all his work and the boys tell me the bikkies are very tasty (I haven't had one). Thank goodness the school holidays are nearly here as I'm sure he needs a break!

Lucy has been busy too! She has started solids and has enjoyed farex and farex with apple. Nyum nyum! Her day sleeps are incredible but she was a brat this week by waking at 2am on Sunday night (which made me completely zombie-fied for Monday) and decided to have 5am start today - which meant I couldnt hit the treadmill for cardio. Oh well, shes more important anyway! She is now making up for it and has been fast asleep for 4 hours. Bless.

Altherm TVC

Tuesday I filmed my first ever TV commercials for 'Altherm Windows and Doors'. This was a great experience and I feel very fortunate to have been invited to do the presenting. We filmed 3 commercials; 2 of which are to go on the tele from Oct, and the 3rd is a internet commercial for the brand. I worked with a fantastic team of people: Rochelle did an amazing job as my stylist and Christelle made me look camera worthy with her make-up and hair skills. Now that I have some experience, I hope it will lead to some more work.

Asparagus Luncheon Muffins

My muffin mission is going well...I'm only up to page 3, which is 'Asparagus Luncheon Muffins'. I'm pleased that there was no luncheon in them (ew), and according to Linc they are "super tasty" - which is no surprise considering they have cheese, and sour cream in them which are 2 of Lincs favourite foods!

Clear head - finally!

2010-09-12T20:08:00.003+12:00

Over the last 2 weeks I've been quite ill. Tuesday the 31st of August I came down with a nasty fever that stayed with me for 5 days. It was horrible! Cold sweats, the shivers n shakes and burn ups. It was not pleasant and to go along with it my nose was a complete mess leaving me going through many boxes of tissues. I went off most of my food, and of course exercise. This did not go well with my bikini plan and as of today I feel that my respirtory system may handle some form of cardio. With being 'out' for 2 weeks, the thought of getting on stage is not a good one; unless I get up there not looking my best.

My friend Phillipa told me that my getting ill was Gods way of telling me to "slow down" - as she knows how much I pile onto my 'to-do' list maybe shes right!?

I did manage 4 days of weight training over the last week which was great to do - and it was good to be able to get some exercise again. At the moment I'm not really too sure where I'm heading. I am at the point where I love my shape. It has been a long time since I have been able to say that, and it is a fantastic place to be. Yes I am heavier than pre-Lucy (the stats claim I have more muscle which is good), but I love my body, my curves, and am really totally happy with what I see. On the other hand, I would like to get on stage again, which means hard work (not afraid of that), and changing what I've got. Grrrrr, what a decision! I can of course wait until next year and decide then!

Lucy. Sept 2010.

On the bright side, this month I won 'photo of the month' on the NZBB site for my post-baby photo that I had with Lucy when she was 14 weeks old. This won me a 100 voucher from Punch Supplements which is fantastic! Shopping for free has to be a good thing!

Also this week I am filming my first TV commercial which is pretty exciting. My wardrobe has been selected from Cene (one outfit I didnt want to take off, its so lovely) and I am getting my head around the script.

Lucy is now 4 1/2 months and had her first 'solids' this weekend. She gobbled her farex up quite eagerly and in a few more days I'll try adding some apple to it. Nyum Nyum. Her sleeping has been incredible over the last week aswell. 2 catnaps in the morning of about 40-60 minutes each, then a good 3.5 - 4.5 hour sleep in the arvo before going to bed at 6.30 for 12 hours. Matt still gives her her dream-feed around 9/9.30 which we'll be keeping going till shes around 6 months before weaning her off it.

Lincoln. Sept 2010

Lincoln also has his side of brilliance. Recently he has been preparing for his Speech and Drama exams which are coming up.

He is also working on reciting poetry for the Aberdeen School Donker Cup. He is using a poem called the 'My teacher sees right through me' which is pretty cool.

Aside from lego and star wars being his hobbie over the last week he has been getting into cooking: whipping up macaroni cheese for dinner, scrambled eggs for brekkie and today made a banana cake. He has plans to make Afgans tomorrow, and I'll be making muffins (of course!)

Chicken Recipe. Muffin Mission

2010-08-29T19:45:00.000+12:00

Today I bring you another chicken recipe... a very easy one that is so quick and of course tasty!

Tangy Grilled Chicken...

Mix together 4T tomato sauce, 1T worcestershire sauce, 2T white wine vinegar, 2T brown sugar and a bit of ground black pepper in a plastic container.

Put some slices (not all the way through) your chicken breasts and leave to marinade for about 10 - 20 minutes. Place chicken on a sheet of baking paper and grill or bake until cooked.

Simple!

Tangy Grilled Chicken

____________________________________________

Lucy supervising the cook

This week we got Lucy a Bumbo seat which is fantastic! She loves being upright and seeing what is going on so its been a great help when I'm preparing meals or baking. Speaking of which, I am on a Muffin Mission.

I love baking muffins...probably because they are so damn easy and quick. I reckon it only takes me about 25 minutes from selecting a recipe to having them out of the oven and cooling down. Each week I make a batch and pop them in the freezer, so then Matt and Lincoln can have one in their lunch boxes each day. We have a ban on store purchased cakes, biscuits etc so I need to make sure we have a constant supply going - and thats why I post them so often.

Champion Cheese Muffins

My favourite muffin books are 1. 'Marvellous Muffins' and 2. 'More Marvellous Muffins' by Alison Holst. Yesterday I decided that I am going to make every muffin in the first (mentioned) book...from start to finish. Kind of Julie and Julia style (the movie) but I wont be making them every day. Some do sound a little weird when you look at the ingredients, so in that case I may be making a half batch. Hopefully the boys dont get sick of muffins! I'll also be sending fruit loaves and bikkies out of the kitchen and already have a bikkie recipe all set for tomorrow.

I, of course, wont be eating any! I find cooking very therapeutic and so am happy to simply bake away.

Training is all set for tomorrow with my bikini countdown. Today I did a fantastic CrossFit session using the resistance bags, boxes and medicine balls. There were lots of lunges, burpees, ball slams, wall balls, burpees, cleans and squats and even more burpees during the session which was interval based. By the end of it I didnt think my legs were going to make it down the gym stairs. I'm looking forward to putting myself through more of these sessions as well as dishing them out to my clients!

Sharing my Goal

2010-08-26T20:04:00.000+12:00

Over the past couple of weeks I have been playing with the notion of entering the 'bikini class' of the next Bodybuilding competition here in Hamilton on Oct 9th.

I am happy with the progress I have made so far, but feel that I need to be even more specific with my training and eating. My initial thoughts were to stay away from the stage until 2011 but I've been to-ing and fro-ing with the idea and have decided to do it...as long as I am looking sharp enough come the week before the comp.

Pro-Bikini. Photo from www.muscleimaging.com

The bikini class has received a bit of stick on the bodybuilding forums with comments to the likes of girls that step off the beach could enter it, and that its a 'lazy girls' class due to the fact that the judges dont want to see a body thats too lean. However, I know I train hard; both with my weights and cardio!! I saw the pro-girls from overseas compete in NZ earlier this year and they looked amazing. I dont think I'll look much like them, but I know I'll be able to stand on stage knowing I have done my best - 5 1/2 months after Lucys arrival. This show will be about competing against myself - seeing what I can accomplish,and being proud of it!

Sooo, I have a bit of a challenge ahead of me! I have ordered my bikini today and each week I will be stocking up on the essentials: eggs, chicken, steak, salmon and plenty of veges. Weight training will be changing next week from my 5x5 programme to something else a tad more evil and cardio will be morning sprint work + walks to the gym and longer walks home.

Todays muffins...smelt so good!

I'll keep regular updates + my usual bits n bobs about what else is going on; like todays baking of Sweet n Spicy Pumpkin Muffins (not for me!).

Birthday - survival!

2010-08-22T16:35:00.001+12:00

Ahhhh, finally the 10th birthday celebration is behind us! The last week has been a build up of party prep: organising games and collecting costumes, then as soon as Friday hit it was food shopping, baking and blowing up a multitude of balloons for the party. My day started at 5.15 with a good blast of cardio, but I shortened gym workout as I had so much to do. By the time I got to bed Friday night it was 11.30, I was exhausted but well satisfied that the party would be a success...which it proved to be!

8 kids took over the house on Saturday, and they all played well together with Jedi Light Saber training, a treasure hunt, the Chocolate game (hilarious!), and general running amok before chilling out to the DVD Return of the Jedi. I nearly ran out of food as the kids devoured everything I prepared, but some quick thinking had them filled up. Food included Wookie Cookies, Darth Maul Saber Dogs, Yoda Soda, Padawan Pizza + the Star Wars Cake.

I did have some 'party food', I got so busy I didnt have time to prep my normal lunch, which left me with a swollen sore tum and a good reminder that I prefer to eat my 'clean' food. In hindsight I should have just had a protein shake to get me through.

The face says it all!

Lincoln was very lucky to receive some fantastic presents. A light saber, Star Wars Guess Who, Star Wars magazines, RC car, X-Box DJ Hero, boxed set of Star Wars Books and a Lego set that had been top of his list.

Sunday morning we still had a couple of Jedis to get home, then it was a bit of house work before some much needed rest with my feet up. No more parties for a while now, thank goodness.

Rock on Monday - back into training, eating well, and more rest!

My Food, Their Food

2010-08-15T21:03:00.000+12:00

One comment I get quite often from clients is that they dont want to cook separate meals for themselves and their family.

Pork chops, roast spud & steamed vege for Matt.
Steamed vege & grilled chicken for me!

This is one thing I do quite often, and I dont find a problem with it. My 'boys' will eat a bit of what I do, but its no prob for me to add a few extra veges and maybe change the meat portion. I'm happy to make a big batch of mince/tomato/mushroom/herbs which can be frozen into containers then used for nachos, spag bol, or even lasagne. Their Sunday chicken roast spreads out to chicken sammies for lunch the next day and either a rice risotto or chicken fried rice for dinner. Or sometimes I even make a bit extra and freeze a meal so there are a couple of options for them if I dont even feel like cooking.

I tend to be a 'same-same' eater: I'm happy to eat the same thing day in, day out. If I want to drop a bit if weight, I dont expect my family members to eat the same as me, just as I dont want to eat the same as they do. Its all about being a bit more prepared, and seriously, it takes no extra work!

Oaty Lemon Slice...for the boys of course!

Baking this weekend was Oaty Lemon Slice which smells very good...but as usual I havent tried any! Matt gives it the big thumbs up but Lincoln isnt so keen. Linc gets to choose whatever goes this weekend for his birthday and I think my legendary choc chip cookies are on order.

The weekend also had some exercise: sprints on Saturday followed by an extremely evil ab session that has left me barely able to laugh. Today I was a bit tired so stuck to a challenging 15 minute routine, as not to wear me out.

Matt took his new surfboard out on both days to catch a few waves..but only once he got Lucy to pose on it! I sense a 'surfer chick' could be on the cards for the future!

Lucy: future surfer!

Zombie. Birthday disappointment.

2010-08-13T20:46:00.000+12:00

Day 4

No cardio today. Lucy decided to wake at 1am this morning. After being so successful with sleeping through the night this came as a total shock to my system! The thought of rising 4 hours later to run wasn't very appealing, so I decided to sleep in (if you consider 7am a sleep in) The upset sleep left me feeling quite zombied for the rest of the day. My toes are feeling much better though and are probably enjoying the rest!

Not so for the rest of my bod though with another good gym workout. Bent over rows, bench presses, deadlifts and lunges. Right now I dont think there is one muscle that isnt feeling the wrath of the dumbbell!

Lincoln was feeling much better this morning after he ate his breakfast...he had been up in the night and had a bit of a vomit. I gave him the option of staying home but he decided to go to school. He was put in a great mood by winning a radio competition; he won some 'Weebles'; those funny little egg shaped toys that "wobble but they don't fall down". He's a bit old for them so they have gone into storage for Lucy. He also came home with the 'Star of the Week' certificate from his teacher so he was in one hell of a great mood - until I had to share some very disappointing new with him.

His 10th birthday is next weekend and for the last few months we've been planning how to celebrate his 'double digits'. As he is a HUGE fan of Star Wars, he decided to theme it and also take the kids from the party out for a few games of LaserStrike as we thought it suited the theme. We were booked in, however today we were called to be informed that LaserStrike would be closing for 3 weeks for renovations...which meant we couldnt use the facility. BUGGER!!! Lincoln's eyes filled up with tears when I told him as he had his heart set on it. So we are to have the party then round all the kids up again in September for the games. Now I'm on the search for more things for the kids to do at our place...any ideas are welcome!

How Old? Cold Mornings & Sunshine

2010-08-12T20:35:00.002+12:00

DAY 3.

40 mins, 5.52km, 387cals

Last night we had to laugh at ourselves. Matt is a bit of a wino (connoisseur; not the drunken type) and has been trying to source some good 20 year old wine for our 40th birthdays, in a few years. I was telling him how I got a compliment yesterday and the person asked me how old I was, to which I replied "37". Well this sent Matt into a hell of a tail spin... as he realised that he has been searching out the wrong vintage (we are the same age) as he had been looking for wines that were drinkable in 2013, and will have to get back to the wine books to find something for 2012. After about 30 minutes of discussing the issue, he realised that we are in fact 36...so I've been telling people all year that I'm older than I am, woops, sorry! This of course makes me realise how daft we are; I forget something, and Matt just goes along with me.

Cardio this morning had to change. All is well, but I have damaged tootsies. My left pinky toe has a split under it (ow) and my right pinky toe has a blister underneath it. Boo hoo, my poor feet. All this running has made them suffer. Tomorrow I'll have to wrap them up in thicker socks (am eyeing up some of hubby's) to provide more cushioning. My legs were very tight this morning, so I was not able to do my sprints. So instead I did a run/walk with my run at 11 and my walk at 6... and increased the time to 40 minutes instead of a half hour. Lots of calories gone, yay!

Chilly Morning

Then as it was such a lovely day (though rather nippy) I wrapped Miss Lucy up all snuggly buggly for a walk to the gym. By the time we got home after a quick stop at the post office and supermarket the day was gorgeous and warm...perfect for some time outside. I love these cool mornings; its a great reminder that spring is nearly here which is my favourite season.

Warm Afternoon

Poor Linc took a turn for the worst this evening. He is feeling a bit ill so has gone to bed early with a bowl and a bottle of water. I hope he feels better by the morning. He has a good track record of only having 3 sick days off school.

Pain in the Butt & Body Fat

2010-08-11T20:55:00.000+12:00

DAY 2.

Another successful start at 5am this morning - woop woop!! Onto the dreadmill with my cup of strong "mmmmmm" moccona which gets planted on the windowsill for sips on my walks inbetween the sprints. Today I sped up and moved my legs at 13.5km with my walks at 6.

30 minutes, 4.64km, 323 cals according to my York Z16 Machine.

Shower, breakkie of yummy oats, pineapple, protein + a dash of flax then it was mum time. Organise Linc for school, get Lucy ready and off to the gymmy gym we go.

So today was 'cardio' day in my schedule. Usually I'll alternate between cycling and running (10 min/10min) then redo it getting 40 mins in, but today decided to do a 600 rep challenge. First I warmed up doing a light run for 10 mins then found a free spot in the ab area to get cracking. I had 10 exercises and had to complete 60 reps of each. Without giving too much away, included in the plan were pressups, tricep dips, jumping lunges and (the evil) burpees. OMG. Ow ow ow. My legs were nearly buckling beneath me, and my triceps were screaming for me to stop. The breaks I had were just long enough to catch my breath, shake out the pain, maybe say a curse word under my breath before I kept going. The squats I did yesterday made themselves known as I completed deep lunges that have made my glute muscles extremely sore. My walk is now rather amusing, so goodness knows how I'll look tomorrow. Zimmer frame?

Body Fat...yes the calipers measured me up today and I am proud to announce that I have lost 2.18% in 2 weeks which when converted means 1.58kg. Goodbye fat! How did I do it...through eating clean, working hard, and being dedicated to my plan!

Coconut Chocolate Brownie

Not by eating bad food, like brownie: which I baked today for Matt & Lincoln. I had a girlfriend call in just as it had been taken out of the oven who said the house smelt looovely, and asked how I don't eat it. To me its easy. I just 'switch off' the desire to eat the foods that arent on my plan. She reckons she still needs to find that switch; and I reckon we all have one. You just need to want something enough that nothing will stop you. With all the baking I do, when I have my 'switch off' I dont taste the goods, not a lick of a spoon, not a crumb!

Early Rising

2010-08-10T20:49:00.000+12:00

Today was my new 'DAY 1'.

Day 1 of my new food plan and Day 1 of my new cardio. As I'm returning to work next week my usual time when I would be doing cardio will no longer be available, so today I had planned to be up bright 'n early at 5.30am to hit the treadmill. Bright probably isnt the right word considering its still dark with stars sparkling in the sky.

It's not too hard for me to get into the early start as Matt wakes at 5.30 before heading out the door at 6am, so I just need to get up when he does. Also, over the last week Lucy has been sleeping till 7 or 7.30 so I knew I had plenty of time to get my running in before I was on mother duty.

Lucy did have other plans today though as she woke at 5am! Never mind, she consumed 150mls of milk, was put in a clean nappy, rewrapped and tucked back into bed in about 8 minutes flat. I was straight to a strong half cup of coffee as I got into my running gear.

A quick warm up then it was time to speed up to intervals. 1 min fast, 1 min walk. Fast was speed 13, the walk was 6. Tomorrow I need to do 13.5 Its incredible how my fitness has returned. I clearly remember my first run a couple of weeks after Lucys arrival (so about 12 weeks ago now) and 8.5 was a struggle.

By the time Lincoln was downstairs for breakfast at 7am I was showered, had eaten, was ready for the gym, and also ready for Lucy to wake. She decided to sleep in till 8.30 - what a life!

Weight training went exceptionally well. Im on my 3rd week of my programme which increases my weights each week and feel like I should be putting them up more than the programme prescribes now. Seeing my strength improve so quicky gives a great feeling of accomplishment. I was hoping to get my body stats done today but my checker-upper was busy, so hopefully we can do that tomorrow. My weight hasnt changed...hence the diet change, but hopefully my fat has dropped a smidge.

Tomorrow is 'long cardio' day. I still intend on doing intevals first thing, and will be trialing a new cardio based body resistance programme; 10 exercises, 600 reps. Thats gotta be good!

Bikini Sunday

2010-08-08T15:28:00.000+12:00

Lucy at 14 weeks

Lucy is 14 weeks old today: but it feels like she has been with us a lot longer than that. I decided to try on one of my bikinis today and get Matt to take a photo so I can get a good grasp of how I'm looking. I'm pretty happy with my progress so far! Theres still a bit to go, but I am very confident that my food plan and training programme will give me the results I want. The tan we tested last night is pretty bronze...so next week we'll try a lighter shade.

Todays training was cardio for only half an hour.

Cycle: random, level 9 with sprints and hills
Row: 100m fast as possible, 100m slow. Up to 1000m
Cycle: random, level 9 with sprints and hills
Row: 100m fast as possible, 100m slow. Up to 1000m

My glutes are still feeing the lunges which is great: and could feel it more so with my hills on the bike.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to increasing all my weights in my programme and some HITT cardio. Woop!

Golden Girl. More biscuits.

2010-08-07T21:44:00.000+12:00

Wet wet day today. My glutes are feeling yesterdays workout: especially when I'm heading upstairs to the kids rooms. I'm also a golden girl at the moment. We are currently testing a different spray tan each week so as I type my blog my skin is darkening... Matt reckons I look like an indian girl! It'll be interesting to see how I look once the full colour has developed. This one is a 'rapid' developer, which means I can shower it off in 2 hours...much better than the usualy 4-5 hour developing time.

No training today. When I do train, I like to get it over and done with in the morning, but today Matt was out surfing so I was on parent duty. The option of an afternoon train was also out as I was catching up with clients...who I am more than impressed with due to their great progress. Mrs LD has abs starting to appear and Miss JP is also trimming down nicely. I feel so proud of them and look forward to see their results at each check up. The waves arent favourable tomorrow so I'm planning on getting a good session in.

Today I took Linc out for the search for a Star Wars costume for his 10th birthday, which proved to be quite the mission. There isnt a great range available for kids (good idea for a business right there) but we finally found something at the 4th store. On our travels I did find a Princess Leia costume which comes complete with the famous side buns. 2 weeks to go and the party is on!
I'm still to sort out party games and am keen for suggestions!

Lucy & Lily-Rose

Oaty Peanut Choc Chip Cookie

The bikkie tin is low again so another restock was due.

Todays baking 'oaty peanut choc chip cookies'. I ate 2. Naughty!!
While the bikkies were under way I cooked up a devine lasagne (well the boys tell me it was). I was good and stuck to my grilled chicken and steam veges.

Next baking...Choc Peppermint Slice.

Friday, Lunges & Love

2010-08-06T21:11:00.002+12:00

Friday...the last day of weights for the week & another tough session completed!

Bent Over Rows, Incline Bench Presses, Deadlifts, and finally... Lunges. Ahhh, the feeling of your glutes working as you lower down then power through the front foot to propell yourself off the gym floor. I always used to say my butt was like a pancake: round but flat. Lunges therefore, are one of my favourite exercises as I can definitely see the changes they have made as I now have a booty! I just have to keep lunging to make sure it doesn't start to sag. Tomorrow I may have to endure the slow hover down to the toilet seat but it'll be worth it!

Cardio today was walking. Instead of loading Miss Lucy in the car I wrapped her up all snuggly & warm on this chilly foggy morning, popped her in the stroller and marched into town...gym bag placed in the small compartment under the stroller seat and Lucy's cutsy pie Pumpkin Patch backpack slung on my back. Its only a 25 minute walk to town and it was rather nice: something I now plan to do more often as long as we are ready on time and it's not raining. After our workout (well, Lucy's socialising in creche), it was another 25 minute march to Plunket where Lucy had her 12 week check up. She is doing very well and is weighing in at 6.75kg with a height of 60cm. After plunket, we were off home (another 20 min walk) to catch up with a great friend and her son (as we do each friday) who is 8 weeks older than Lucy. These catch ups are great as I get to see what Lucy will be doing soon since shes not far behind.

The afternoon brought great news with Lincoln getting the Hattam Values Award at school for Individuality. He has a freind over tonight so they are keeping each other amused; much to the amusement of Matt and I. They have asked what time their 'curfew' is, and it was a surprise to them to hear that they don't have one as they are already home. We'll negotiate the bedtime later.

Matt & I on our wedding day. April 11 2009
Photo by one2onephotography

Another great end to the week was Matt giving me a beautiful card with some very loving words on being a wonderful wife & mother, along with a gift voucher to one of my favourite stores and a bottle of champagne. It was the sweetest thing....life is great!

Chicken Licken

2010-08-05T16:45:00.001+12:00

Quite often I get asked "don't you ever get sick of chicken?" The answer is quite simply ''no''. There is so much you can do with chicken and today I'm sharing one of my favourite recipes. I have lots of recipes so I'll try to share more on here, or if you contact me and ask me nicely, I'll send you them all in a nice PDF file.

Warren Klein

I am very fortunate to be sponsored by Warren and Deb who own Dinsdale Poultry & Seafood. Their store supplies quite a lot of the Hamilton restaurants and their stock is extremely fresh and also better value than the supermarket.

They are currently expanding to incorporate a butchery in store in about 6 weeks, with a great new name, which I can't share just yet because of branding.

In store there is a great selection of chicken products, today I found Warren preparing Cream Cheese & Apricot stuffed chicken (yum!), and they also stock pig happy (free range) pork & bacon.

Paprika Baked Chicken...

1/4 cup flour 2 tsp paprika 1 tsp curry powder 2 tsp garlic salt.

Mix all together. Place chicken on a baking sheet.

Using a seive, shake the mixture onto chicken. Bake at 180c till cooked. Serve.

I usually make a large batch of the mix and keep it stored in an airtight container. Too easy!

Paprika Baked Chicken

Watch out for the enemy

2010-08-04T16:29:00.001+12:00

Miss Lucy today

It's raining...and I think I'm one of the only people that likes it! The days are warmer because of it, and I have the luxury of not needing to be anywhere so I can stay mooched up at home with Miss Lucy. Lincoln doesnt seem to mind it either; he loves the sound of the rain on the roof when he goes to bed, and as he is sleeping upstairs gets a good dosing of it on the thin roof.

Linc off to school

I do feel a tad sorry for him as he has to bike to school in the rain. He tells me its okay and that I need not worry...such a great kid! So off he goes each morning, on his bike (which he won in a Paddle Pop competition!, dressed in wet weather gear, and the compulsory green fluro bag cover. We say our 'good-byes', wish each other a great day, and I finish with "watch out for the enemy". The enemy is of course, cars. He knows to make sure that they see him before crossing any roads, but it's still scary as hell every morning sending him off. One thing about being home on a wet day is that I can have a nice warm bath ready for Lincoln when he gets home...from soaking wet to soaking in the tub!

Burning calories

Today I blasted my 500 calories that I had pledged to do.

This was done by:

10 min run at speed 11 = 130 cals
10 min bike, random, level 9 with hills & sprints = 95 cals
10 min run at speed 11 = 130 cals
15 min bike, random, level 9 with hills & sprints = 126 cals
10 min run at speed 10 = 120 cals

Which actually adds up to 601...just thought I may as well go for an extra hundy!

The rest of the day was well spent. Contacting clients, prepping work, a snippit of study, marking down clothes for a huge sale coming up soon, and planning dinner. Tonight the boys are having sweet n sour pork and I'll be having grilled chicken & greens...yum!

Flat. Biscuit. Birthday. Surprise

2010-08-03T15:53:00.001+12:00

FLAT Today I started off all good, then felt flat by the time I got to the gym. My gym journey didnt get off to the greatest start. I was in the car, all set to go then realised I had left my protein shake & apple inside. Rush in, collect, back to car. Then I realised I had no towel: Rush in, collect, back to car. Then just as I get to the end of the street, remembered my programme was on the kitchen table. Grrrrr, drive back, rush in, collect - get to the gym!

Being late in starting my programme was annoying, and made me feel a bit flat. I did a good hard training session: wide grip chins, tricep dips, hammy curls, squats, shrugs and weighted crunches. I had 25 minutes left and should have done some cardio to follow it but my flat mood meant I pressed the STOP button after 5 minutes.

Tomorrow I pledge to burn off 500 calories to help make up for it!

BISCUIT

Ginger & Raisin Biscuits

The boys have demolished the Lemon Slice made for them on Sunday so it is time to refill the bikkie tin. Today I made Ginger and Raisin Biscuits. I've never made them before, but they sure smelt good and look appetising enough. Of course I wont have one, not even a wee teeny tiny crumb... and I didn't even taste the dough! Hopefully they pass with a seal of approval which should mean that another batch of home-made goodness will be due about Friday. I usually only make a half batch of a recipe; so there's not too much to eat, and its gone before it starts to deteriorate.
Lincoln gives them a 'YUM!' but I feel he was a tad disappointed to discover what looked like chocolate chips were actually raisins.

BIRTHDAY

Lincolns 10th Birthday

Lincolns' 10th birthday is coming up (21 Aug), so we have a Star Wars party planned for him. My brother Kane has done up the invites which are great with Lincolns face appearing as Luke Skywalker. Linc is a fan of Star Wars Lego and has presented us with a list of about 8 lego sets...damn those things are expensive! I'm planning on making Wookie Cookies, Yoda Soda and Darth Maul Dogs. Fancy dress is also an option so we'll be sorting out costumes soon: Linc wants to dress up as Darth Vader, I may dress up as Princess Amidala and maybe even dress Lucy up as a Ewok!

SURPRISE
A couple of weeks ago I went for a screen test for a TV commercial. Generally when you go for an audition, the rule is if you don't hear back within 3 days you haven't got the job.
So a week had gone by and I had told Matt that they must be seeing other potential people. But then, in the midst of my baking I got a call telling me I got the role! This is very exciting!! We'll be filming in a few weeks once the final locations and my scripts are sorted...so you'll get to see me on the tele! I'm not going to say what it's for, but will share the news once I know when we are going to air!

Body and Brain Workout

2010-08-02T16:53:00.000+12:00

Monday - the first workout of the week and what a hard one it was! All my weights had to go up as per the programme directions...most of which wasnt too bad but the shoulder work was nasty!

Cardio afterwards was my 3rd Treadmill Challenge which was exactly that; an uphill all the way routine. I hadn't done any cardio since Thursday and my body screamed to remind me. My lungs were gasping for oxygen, and the red 'STOP' button was a constant temptation and perspiration was giving me a lovely sheen all over. I did have to adjust my speed (down to 9 from 9.5) in my last 10 minutes but I still did myself proud and burnt through 317cals in 25 minutes.

Brain Food

Home to a nice lunch of chicken, kumara, greens and a splash of flax oil. Then while Lucy slept it was time to give the brain a work out with some study. I'm studying Sports Nutrition at the mo...just another thing to add to my plate!

Just when I feel like dozing off for a snooze, Lucy is up, Lincoln is home from school and its all on again. Such is life - but I wouldn't have it any other way!

July turns to August

2010-08-01T14:44:00.001+12:00

First of August today...this year is flying by fast. My son will be 10 in 20 days!

Yesterday I headed to the NABBA Waikato Bodybuilding Champs. I had been looking forward to going as I hadnt been to a show in some time, and it was a great opportunity to see some familiar faces in the audience, support people that were competing and I was also there representing NZ Body who was a sponsor.

Sue at right in purple

The show was fantastic and showed a huge array of toned, tight, well trained physiques. Novice Figure Tall had 9 in the line up, which would have given the judges a tough job. The Open Figure class was won by Sue Bettridge who I hadnt seen compete before...and whose ultra lean body was very impressive. I loved her bikini too!

More pics of the show are at GoFigure

Linc: front double bicep pose

I had Linc & Luc with me at judging and Linc got into it, by following the posing then having a go himself on stage during intermission. Lucy was quite happy just relaxing in my arms. Linc loves performing (he recently won 4 classes of speech and drama at the Hamilton Competitions) and is very keen to be world famous actor after appearing with 'Harry' in Shortland St and being 'Timothy' in 2 Westpac commercials.

Westpac: carbon footprint. Westpac: Hey Dad

The night wound up late - well past my usual bedtime and Sunday left me pretty buggered so I've given myself the day off the gym so I can spend it with the family and do some food prep for the next few days which includes making a batch of Muesli for Matt and some Lemon Slice for the lunchboxes (not mine of course). Tonight is 'roast chicken' night, which is always the sunday thing. I still havent had my 'cheat meal' for the week (though I did have to opt for a protein bar at the show yesterday - which was horrible and a good reminder as to why I never eat them) and the thought of a yummy roast doesnt even appeal. I think I'll stick to my usual clean dinner!

Lemon Slice

I've been making muesli for Matt all year and I have banned store purchased biscuits/cakes/muffins etc from the house as I prefer to know what goes into my family mouths. This started from Matts love of Christmas Fruit Mince Pies that had a expiry date that could last through a couple of Christmas'. What the hell is in them!? The same goes for the Tim Tams, Choccy Chips and Mint Slices that used to be a regular feature in the pantry. The ban means I have to bake once or twice a week but I love it, and enjoy the fact that my boys are eating more natural ingredients instead of a whole list of numbers that represent preservatives, flavours, enhancers, colours etc.

Home Made Muesli

Week 1 of 5x5

2010-07-30T15:05:00.000+12:00

Over the last week I have been doing 5x5 Training. I'm doing 4 days of weights + adding in three 20 minute high intensity cardio sessions to help drop some body fat. I've completed all the weights for the week and am planning on doing one more cardio session this weekend; most likely on the treadmill at home.

I'm loving the training system and am already looking forward to increasing my weights next week by the mandatory 5lb (2.5kg). My abs are sore, by triceps are screaming and add in a bit of chest and back DOMS means that lifting baby Lucy can be tough!

My food has been perfect all through the week. Lots of chicken (many thanks to my sponsor Dinsdale Poultry and Seafood), which is trimmed of any visible fat, seasoned/marinaded and cooked in between 2 sheets of baking paper on the Georgie. The baking paper reduces the clean up which is perfect as I have enough to do! Lots of veges are also on my plate and this week I've had an addiction to coleslaw. I make a HUGE bowl of this (cabbage/spring onion/capsicum/carrot) and leave it in the fridge, so come meal time its a simple task of weighing how much I need then adding a dressing. My dressing of choice: a combination of Sweet Chilli Sauce, Fish Sauce and Lime Juice which I make by the cup full then store in the fridge. I also add a teaspoon of Flax Oil to the 'slaw before eating. Nyum!

I am allowing myself one 'treat' meal per week + 2 glasses of vino. At this point I'm not too sure if/when I'll have them.

Sheta & Lucy (at 11 weeks)

Body stats this week are...

Weight 68.6kg
Chest: 97cm
Waist: 82cm
Hips: 93.5cm
Navel: 92.5cm
Glute: 98cm
Thigh: 46cm

Body fat percent: 31.04%. Body fat weight: 21.29kg. Fat Free Weight: 47.31kg

Today Lucy had her 12 week jibby jab today. She was in such good spirits till the needle went in. Then came the cry, the tears, needle number 2 and then the screeeeam. Oh my goodness, I had never heard her scream so loud and painfully. I had a bottle ready so she was happy with that and within a couple of minutes was her usual smily self as if nothing had happened.

Winning my class at Waikato 2007

Auckland Personal Trainer Lisa Menzies was nice enough to give me 'Wonder Woman' status on her website, and interviewed me last week. You can check out the story at GoFigure.

Tomorrow....NABBA Waikato is on with 70 Athletes confirmed, so that will be great to see. I'm looking forward to catching up with some people and getting even more inspired to get back on the stage!