Have you wanted to know how fit you are or maybe have a goal to work to being fit? Maybe a good idea would be to start by doing a fitness test. There are many ways that you can do it, one being to make a time with a Personal Trainer and do a full on test, including body composition, health assessment. Personal Trainers will include blood pressure,BMI, Flexibility, Aerobic capacity, waist to hip ratio and strength. From these results you can then have goals set to help you reach your goals in your fitness.
Another way you can do a fitness test is at home, however it may not be as intense as the one with a Personal Trainer but it will give you a good start as to where you are at and then show you areas where you can improve.
A fitness test at home can include a cardio test, a test for your upper body, a lower body test, and abdominal test, and a flexibility test.
Over the next few posts I will add each test up and how you can do it at home. The best thing is if you decide to do these tests you will need to do them and keep a record then work out a program as to how you can increase your fitness then you will need to re test to see how your progression is going. Stay tuned!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
No Sugar Please!
I don't know about most people but I am a sugar freak!!!! Yes I am addicted to sweets and often find myself thinking more about the desert rather than the main when it comes to eating dinner!!! So I decided to do a little experiment to help my sugar addiction!!!!! I went off sugar for 2 months!!!! Yes you heard that correct I decided to not have anything to eat or drink that had added sugar for two months!!! No more sweets no more chocolate no more life, or that's what it felt like at the beginning of those 2 months. I made a massive effort to not have anything in the house that would make me trip up and I managed to survive!!!
So the benefits of not having sugar are bloated tummy went down!!! And I managed to loose some weight. Overall I have more energy and feel ten times better that I no longer have the sugar high and then the sugar low. I have tasted chocolate since my ban however I have found it to taste far too sweet and makes me very thirsty! So would I do it again, well I think that I can easily do it again as the results I have felt and seen make me feel way better, however I may have some sweet things every now and again just not every second day that was slipping into my life!
So I offer a challenge to you reading this can you give it a go? Have you got what it takes to beat the sugar hit? Leave me a comment and let me know if your going to take the challenge and how you get on. Just a little thought for you 1 teaspoon of sugar equals 20 calories, so add up how many teaspoons of sugar you eat per day in empty food and then work out how many empty calories you are getting, as sugar will not keep your body full and going.
So the benefits of not having sugar are bloated tummy went down!!! And I managed to loose some weight. Overall I have more energy and feel ten times better that I no longer have the sugar high and then the sugar low. I have tasted chocolate since my ban however I have found it to taste far too sweet and makes me very thirsty! So would I do it again, well I think that I can easily do it again as the results I have felt and seen make me feel way better, however I may have some sweet things every now and again just not every second day that was slipping into my life!
So I offer a challenge to you reading this can you give it a go? Have you got what it takes to beat the sugar hit? Leave me a comment and let me know if your going to take the challenge and how you get on. Just a little thought for you 1 teaspoon of sugar equals 20 calories, so add up how many teaspoons of sugar you eat per day in empty food and then work out how many empty calories you are getting, as sugar will not keep your body full and going.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Making the most of Fruit
Well of late I have been on a detox of certain foods, especially after the Christmas period where all we seemed to eat was sugar, dairy and wheat! As a result of being off all of these items our new eating regime consists of fruit and nuts all day and then one meal at night consisiting of salad, vegies and a meat either chicken or steak. So as a result I was looking at something I could do with the fruit to help fill me up and I came up with my version of a Boost juice!
I use nectarines, mango, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, peaches, apricots and grapes. I cut all of these items up and place into a ziplock bag and freeze overnight.
Once frozen I put the frozen fruit into a blender that has ice creushing blades along with a bananna and freshly squeezed orange juice, using the ice crushing setting first I let the machine do it's thing and then I put it onto the smoothie setting. The result is pure YUM! I have also added a scoop of my protein powder in before I put it on the smoothie setting to add a little more substance to the smoothie!
These have been really good and I have found that they have enough in them to last me a few hours and they are really refreshing after a workout!
I use nectarines, mango, blueberries, grapes, strawberries, peaches, apricots and grapes. I cut all of these items up and place into a ziplock bag and freeze overnight.
Once frozen I put the frozen fruit into a blender that has ice creushing blades along with a bananna and freshly squeezed orange juice, using the ice crushing setting first I let the machine do it's thing and then I put it onto the smoothie setting. The result is pure YUM! I have also added a scoop of my protein powder in before I put it on the smoothie setting to add a little more substance to the smoothie!
These have been really good and I have found that they have enough in them to last me a few hours and they are really refreshing after a workout!
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Indian Chicken Burger
These are the best, or at least one of the best burgers I have eaten in a while! They have a great taste and are very filling, if you wanted to you can add a few home made chips on the side and enjoy a healthy burger and fries meal!
Ingredients
Spread the bread roll with mango chutney and place the cucumber, grated carrot and baby spinach on top.
Heat a non-stick frying pan to a medium heat. Cook the marinated chicken for 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked through. Place the chicken on the roll and top with yoghurt and coriander.
Ingredients
- Tandoori curry paste, 4 teaspoon(s)
- Natural yoghurt, low fat, 8 tablespoon(s)
- Chicken breast, lean, raw, 600 g
- Mixed grain bread roll, 4 roll(s), cut in half
- Mango chutney, 8 teaspoon(s)
- Cucumber, 1 cup chopped
- Carrot, 1 cup grated
- Baby spinach, 1 cup
- Coriander, 1 cup
What to do
Mix the tandoori paste with 1 tablespoon of yoghurt. Coat the chicken breast with the marinade and set aside.
Spread the bread roll with mango chutney and place the cucumber, grated carrot and baby spinach on top.
Heat a non-stick frying pan to a medium heat. Cook the marinated chicken for 2-3 minutes each side or until cooked through. Place the chicken on the roll and top with yoghurt and coriander.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Baked Fish
So of late I have been trying some new recipes and really enjoyed this simple and easy one the other night for dinner:
Baked fish for 2
300g white fish fillet (I used shark)
1 teaspoon Lemongrass
1teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce
2 cups lettuce
2 carrots, cut chunky
1 cup cut pumpkin
1 onion
1/2 capsicum
1 corn on the cob, corn kernels removed
Cooking Directions
Mix together the lemongrass, fish sauce, honey, sweet chili together in a bowl as this will make a marinade that can be brushed over the fish both sides.
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
Cut the carrot into chunks and lightly spray the carrots and pumpkin with some olive oil and sprinkle salt over and put in the oven to bake. Brush the marinade over both sides of the fish and add to the oven and bake for 30 minutes turning 1/2 way through.
Meanwhile spray a non stick pan and heat on the stove, add the onion and soften then add the capsicum cut into small pieces and the corn kernels and cook, approx. 10 minutes.
To serve put the lettuce on the plate and then add the roasted carrot and pumpkin over then the fish and then the baked fish.
Approx 410 calories per serve
If you want you can add a little more sweet chili sauce over the top to add a little more zing that will be an extra 6 calories for each teaspoon.
Baked fish for 2
300g white fish fillet (I used shark)
1 teaspoon Lemongrass
1teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce
2 cups lettuce
2 carrots, cut chunky
1 cup cut pumpkin
1 onion
1/2 capsicum
1 corn on the cob, corn kernels removed
Cooking Directions
Mix together the lemongrass, fish sauce, honey, sweet chili together in a bowl as this will make a marinade that can be brushed over the fish both sides.
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
Cut the carrot into chunks and lightly spray the carrots and pumpkin with some olive oil and sprinkle salt over and put in the oven to bake. Brush the marinade over both sides of the fish and add to the oven and bake for 30 minutes turning 1/2 way through.
Meanwhile spray a non stick pan and heat on the stove, add the onion and soften then add the capsicum cut into small pieces and the corn kernels and cook, approx. 10 minutes.
To serve put the lettuce on the plate and then add the roasted carrot and pumpkin over then the fish and then the baked fish.
Approx 410 calories per serve
If you want you can add a little more sweet chili sauce over the top to add a little more zing that will be an extra 6 calories for each teaspoon.
A Quote
So I heard a great quote a few weeks ago and I think that it something that can help when you come to think of food, the quote is:
When I heard this quote I thought how clever it was as sometimes we eat, myself included, just because the food tastes great and we want to entertain our taste buds and we then may choose the foods that are not the best option for our bodies. We need to view our bodies like a car that need fuel to run on and the fuel is the food. Once we can change this mind set it can become easier to eat food and view food in a different light. Now I am not saying not to have a treat every once in a while BUT keep it to only once in a while and this way we can keep our bodies healthy and running on the right things not the junk things!
So next time you plan to smoother your bread in a stack of butter or your tempted to eat something deep fried or full of sugar stop and ask yourself the question how if at all can this food be fuel for my body!
"FOOD IS FUEL"
When I heard this quote I thought how clever it was as sometimes we eat, myself included, just because the food tastes great and we want to entertain our taste buds and we then may choose the foods that are not the best option for our bodies. We need to view our bodies like a car that need fuel to run on and the fuel is the food. Once we can change this mind set it can become easier to eat food and view food in a different light. Now I am not saying not to have a treat every once in a while BUT keep it to only once in a while and this way we can keep our bodies healthy and running on the right things not the junk things!
So next time you plan to smoother your bread in a stack of butter or your tempted to eat something deep fried or full of sugar stop and ask yourself the question how if at all can this food be fuel for my body!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Goal Setting
Ok so how many times do you have a goal in your mind and it stays in there without coming out?
To maximise your goal you need to write it down and leave it somewhere visible that you can see everyday as a reminder.
How often do you set a goal write it down YET don't have a time frame to go with it?
Many times we never accomplish a goal as we never are really focused on it as we have no deadline to meet. For example if you want to run a 5km fun run at your personal best then you should look for the date of one in your area and train and focus your goal around the date the race is run.
If your goal is to lose 10kg have you written this down and then put a date as to when you want to reach it? The other thing to consider is that the goal date is realistic. So don't set yourself a goal to lose 10kg in 2 weeks, unless you are either on the Biggest Looser OR you want to set yourself up for failure.
Another important thing to help goal setting is to be positive about it, don't allow for self doubt to creep in as it will put your goals back a little.
Sometimes it is a good idea to have something as a reward once you get to a goal, for example when I lost 40 kg in weight I originally freaked out as I thought how will I ever do this (which is that self doubt coming in). To help overcome and to make it a positive I broke the 40kg down to smaller stages. So I would make my goal to lose 5 kg in a month. Sometimes I reached my target and then some months I didn't BUT when I didn't I looked at what I had done and even though I hadn't lost my goal I had lost and I talked that as a positive. As a extra reward each time I would lose 5kg I would treat myself with something (non food). So it may be a body cream or nail polish just something small, so this was my short term reward. I even set myself middle range reward which were to have a cut/colour which is something I don't do often (being a hairdresser I do my own colours usually). Then I had the long term goal which was to take a holiday trip to Melbourne and shop with my Mum and Sister (however this changed to joining a gym).
The main thing is to realise that goal setting is so important as without goals we just float through lives and look back and think of the things we wanted to do but haven't done yet. Having a visual makes them real and more than a thought.
So now go and draw, print a picture or write down you plan and work out the time frame in which you want to achieve it by, then place it somewhere you can see it each day!
To maximise your goal you need to write it down and leave it somewhere visible that you can see everyday as a reminder.
How often do you set a goal write it down YET don't have a time frame to go with it?
Many times we never accomplish a goal as we never are really focused on it as we have no deadline to meet. For example if you want to run a 5km fun run at your personal best then you should look for the date of one in your area and train and focus your goal around the date the race is run.
If your goal is to lose 10kg have you written this down and then put a date as to when you want to reach it? The other thing to consider is that the goal date is realistic. So don't set yourself a goal to lose 10kg in 2 weeks, unless you are either on the Biggest Looser OR you want to set yourself up for failure.
Another important thing to help goal setting is to be positive about it, don't allow for self doubt to creep in as it will put your goals back a little.
Sometimes it is a good idea to have something as a reward once you get to a goal, for example when I lost 40 kg in weight I originally freaked out as I thought how will I ever do this (which is that self doubt coming in). To help overcome and to make it a positive I broke the 40kg down to smaller stages. So I would make my goal to lose 5 kg in a month. Sometimes I reached my target and then some months I didn't BUT when I didn't I looked at what I had done and even though I hadn't lost my goal I had lost and I talked that as a positive. As a extra reward each time I would lose 5kg I would treat myself with something (non food). So it may be a body cream or nail polish just something small, so this was my short term reward. I even set myself middle range reward which were to have a cut/colour which is something I don't do often (being a hairdresser I do my own colours usually). Then I had the long term goal which was to take a holiday trip to Melbourne and shop with my Mum and Sister (however this changed to joining a gym).
The main thing is to realise that goal setting is so important as without goals we just float through lives and look back and think of the things we wanted to do but haven't done yet. Having a visual makes them real and more than a thought.
So now go and draw, print a picture or write down you plan and work out the time frame in which you want to achieve it by, then place it somewhere you can see it each day!
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