Yearly Archive for 2009

New Year Weight Loss

Published on December 28, 2009 in Uncategorized. 2 Comments

New Year Weight Loss

If you are like most people the number one goal on your list of new years resolutions is to lose some weight.

Wouldn’t it be fabulous if this was to be the year when you actually lost a few kilos and reached your ideal weight, and what’s more maintained your ideal weight for the entire year and beyond!

You should understand that it is of no use whatsoever to starve yourself on some kind of crash diet which may see you lose weight but also see you putting it all back on (and then some) in a very short space of time. To add insult to injury, your metabolism will also have been damaged and you will find it extremely difficult to lose weight from hereon in.

You need to find a regime that is both realistic and that you are happy with. In my opinion this should always involve some kind of exercise which will not only help you lose weight and look great, but make you far healthier and happier.

It doesn’t have to be anything extreme, just something that causes you to breathe a little faster or break into a sweat. It’s important you add resistance training into the mix though, don’t leave out this really importand aspect of training. This is what will help you shape your body. The best thing about it is that once you start you will find that the exercising itself will become addictive and something that you actually look forward to.

Next, you need to start eating sensibly. There is no need to go on some far fetched diet, if you eat balanced meals with heatlhy snacks in between you will see that this will have a massive effect on your weight loss goals.

When it comes to making new years resolutions to lose weight the main problem is that people set their weight loss goals too high, and when they have only lost a couple of pounds within the first week or so they usually just give up. What they fail to realise is that a couple of pounds of fat loss is great and if they are consistent and patient, then their weight loss goals will soon be met. So don’t make over enthusiastic goals to start off with and you won’t be disappointed. Be realistic.

I find that another problem is that the thought of losing weight is associated with going without and feeling miserable so it’s really important to find foods/meals that are healthy and you enjoy.

The thing is, it doesn’t have to be like that and if planned properly you can find it to be an enjoyable experience and the feeling that you will get when you reach your ideal weight will be priceless. What’s more, when you have achieved this you will feel like you can go on to achieve absolutely anything.

Just random stuff

Published on December 28, 2009 in photos. 1 Comment

Thanks for all the Christmas messages everyone, it’s lovely to hear from you as always.

You know we have had nearly 1 million visitors to our web site?!

Hey, something I have been meaning to ask – has anyone out there ever used one of those house swap websites? Where you swap houses with someone else for holidays? I’ve heard some awesome stories about these arrangements.

I found another Christmas pic of my nephews and me, 5 years ago! Oh how they have grown!

Christmas 2004 Me and the kids

Training is back in full swing. Nadia and I went for our Sunday cardio together – must say I am really enjoying it. We yabber all the way so barely even know we are working out. Except for the sand sprints! We ride down to the sand bar (about 10-15 min ride) then put our markers out and do some short sprints. Then ride back to the stairs (tough going after sand sprinting), do some of these, then ride home.

Today I trained – was supposed to be legs but I changed my mind at the last minute as I felt like deadlifting! So, my aim today was to increase by 5kg, to 85kg – which I did. 5 sets of 5 (well 1 set of 4 actually, I lost my grip). Next week I plan to go up to 90kg and aim for sets of 3 reps. The weight is getting pretty heavy now, so it’s tough going. I can already feel my lower back is going to be very sore in a couple of days. Next time I deadlift I will try to remember to take my camera and try and get someone to video me. I wouldn’t mind seeing my own form actually.

As is normally the case, busting my butt in the gym like that has made me a bit sleepy so it is now time for a nana nap!

Tomorrow I have a scan at the hospital which I am kind of excited about for some weird reason. I’m interested in how my follicles are growing!

Christmas pics

Published on December 25, 2009 in photos. 4 Comments

Xmas 2009

To follow my previous post.

This is my mum, my sis, and my 5 beautiful nephews.

So I’ve eaten what feels like a truckload, and its nearly time for dinner again. All went according to plan and we had a lovely lunch for 14 people. Followed by a nice nap afterwards!

Rene, thank you for the lovely Christmas message, I didn’t think anyone would be reading! Yours sounds very relaxing, enjoy!

The year in quick review

Published on December 25, 2009 in competition. 3 Comments

It’s Christmas morning and I’ve finally got a chance to sit down and blog :) I really should go for a run and try to build up an appetite for the food I’m about to eat. I seem to have lost my appetite lately, which is not such a bad thing. We have the turkey in the oven (had to wake at 6am to get it going!) and will start setting up tables soon. We have pork and chicken too – no ham this year. I bought a Tiramisu cake from the Cheesecake Shop for dessert, and we will have mum’s steamed pudding too. She’s aslo made some gourmet rocky road. I think there is sufficient food there to warrant a week of damage control (lots of cardio, lots of training next week).

I have decided to begin another comp prep. Yes, that’s right folks. Call me mad, but I have itchy feet to get stuck into something challenging again. My body has had a good 9 months break from the last one, and I’m starting a couple of kilo’s (translates to about 6-8 weeks of training!) leaner. Nothing’s happened on the pregnancy front yet so I’m sick of waiting :) I have however started fertility treatment so maybe this will work for us. If not, I’m competing. My ob/gyn has no qualms about me training for a comp. So, my diet is sussed, my training schedule sorted and I’m starting tomorrow and I can’t wait.

As always at this time of year I look back and think about what has been accomplished. Often you think nothing much has, but when you really think about it, you are often amazed at everything you have achieved!

2009 hasn’t been one of the best for a number of reasons but when I look back I see that there certainly have been some great accomplishments.

Business:
Ideal Bodies Online continues to go from strength to strength. I was shortlisted for the Telstra Business Women’s Awards this year, and recently received my Cert 4 in Frontline Management. I didn’t pursue the qual and didn’t have to do anything except show them my website – it was a foregone conclusion. I will also submit RPL for the Diploma in Business Management early next year. There is a reason I’m doing this which I will share at a later date.

We have teamed up with the Australian Almond Board who have appointed Liz Bickerton and I as their “Weight Loss Ambassadors”. This involves some cross promo and you will see Liz and IBO appear in Almond Board advertorials (magazine and health stores) early next year.

I have been offered a spot as part of a new fitness magazine’s “Panel of Experts” which I am pleased about and looking forward to. It will be a fantastic new magazine. First edition out in February. I am still also writing for Oxygen – so it seems I’m branching out into writing a lot these days!

I had a total revamp of my site this year – this was a bit of a painstaking task but it had to be done and now it is, I’m really happy with it. It gives us a lot more scope to work with now our database is growing rapidly. I have some great marketing gurus, both in Australia and in Portugal, working with me.

We had 2 Body Blitz winners this year, Anna Madden and Fiona McConnell.

Personal:
I turned 40 this year. It was my plan to have photos taken on my 40th birthday, which I did indeed do and I also prepared myself for a competition in April. It was my plan to compete when I was 40 – I won my class which made it even better!

I helped Nadia and Kristin to compete in their first figure comps this year too.

We decided to try and conceive this year, and were over the moon when we discovered I was pregnant on our first month of trying (and immediately after my comp prep). However, it wasn’t to be. It certainly wasn’t a pleasant experience and I will not be so naieve in that regard any more!

Relationships:
All good on this front! Don’t like getting into these sorts of things on a public forum.

Next year:
Who knows what 2010 will bring but I have a few personal things I plan to – and will – achieve!

Summing up…
As always, this year I’ve made some lovely friends via my work and I just love this aspect of it. My job is not work for me – hence me sitting here on Christmas morning and finalizing some emails and work that I didn’t manage to get done yesterday. I love jumping (not literally) out of bed each morning to read my email and see what the day has in store for me. I am forever grateful of this, as to enjoy what you do makes such a different to the quality of ones life.

I wish you a wonderful Christmas, eat, drink and be merry, and if you have things you want to achieve for 2010 (and you should), be sure to think them through, write them down and have a plan of attack!

I’d better get busy with Christmas stuff…

Sue
xoxo

Healthy snacks to make with your Christmas leftovers

Published on December 24, 2009 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments

Christmas is almost here! As if you didn’t know :)

Usually it’s the case that by a couple of days after Christmas (mabye even before it arrives!) you are completely sick of the rich food that is eaten over this period and your body is craving for some healthy goodness. As you may have spent quite a lot of money on food for Christmas it is always a good idea to look at healthy snacks that you are able to make out of the Christmas leftovers.

Gather up all of the fruit that has accumulated over Christmas and make a big fruit smoothie which is absolutely bursting with goodness – it makes a lovely, healthy breakfast for the whole family. Of course you should add some vanilla protein powder so you aren’t ingesting a big glass of simple sugars alone. While fruit is good for you, remember it is sugar, and should be eaten with protein to avoid that big sugar spike.

When looking at healthy Christmas leftover snacks you can’t leave out the turkey. Turkey is a very healthy, lean meat, it is only when you add all of the trimmings that the calories start to pile up. Simple cold meat and salad, turkey and cranberry sauce sandwiches (minus the butter), curries, you name it, turkey is a very versatile and beautiful tasting meat.

How about a bowl of homemade soup which can basically comprise of any leftovers that you have accumulated. Make sure that you include lots of vegetables and it doesn’t just have to include turkey, put anything and everything in there and leave it to simmer on the stove, the wonderful smell will have everyone eager to get stuck in and it makes an ideal lunch time dish.

Ham is another versatile meat that can be used in a variety of healthy ways. A lovely crispy salad with some cold ham is a quick and healthy choice. Be daring with your salad, all of the normal stuff such as lettuce, cucumber etc but you can include fruit and nuts as well.

You can cook up a little pasta and mix lots of chopped up turkey or ham into it, grate up a little some parmesan cheese and serve with some of the above salad – eaten with a small slice of warm crusty bread (if you must!). Absolutely delicious and yet another cheap healthy snack which can be made up from the Christmas leftovers that would most probably otherwise go to waste.

There are really no limits to what you can come up with, just use your imagination!

Avoiding the chocolate gifts at Christmas

Published on December 20, 2009 in Articles, food, Nutrition Articles and weight loss. 2 Comments

There are so many Christmas gifts that contain chocolate, that things can turn into a bit of a nightmare if you are trying to cut down on your intake.

As well as the many children’s gifts that contain chocolate such as selection boxes, many of the gifts aimed at adults are also full of it. Chocolates are one of those gifts you give when you can’t think of anything else – after all, who doesn’t like chocolate?

So, how do you avoid it without coming across as some modern day Scrooge who won’t allow any chocolate in their house?

You will quite often find that it is usual at Christmas for your children to receive boxes and boxes of the stuff and they will eat it just for eating’s sake (just like the adults do!). Hence the familiar scenario of young children running around the house like mad things due to the fact that they have overdosed on their fix of sugar on Christmas Day. As far as the kids themselves are concerned, generally they will have so many things to occupy themselves you will be surprised how they won’t even miss the chocolate – so have a quiet word with your friends and family and request alternative gifts to chocolate for your children. Having said that, make sure you buy the kids some chocolate treats yourself every now and then but make sure that you are in charge of when and how much you give them.

And of course it’s not only the kids – there is so much chocolate lying around at this time of year you can’t really help over indulging and end up feeling guilty that you have given in so easily. After all, you don’t want to waste it do you!

So again, a quiet word with your loved ones should do the trick and alternative presents will get rid of this problem. It’s a similar issue at Easter time – I cannot remember the last time I was given eggs at Easter time. My family has been aware for years that I don’t care to have them around – and you know what, I don’t ever miss them! Chocolate isn’t going anywhere, it’s always around if you need it, so why gorge yourself on it at particular times of the year?

I find that the best way for the adults in the family to avoid the chocolate gifts at Christmas is to have an alternative. We have already come to the conclusion that it is a good idea to limit the amount that you have in the house but you should always ensure that you have some kind of healthy alternative which will in effect mean that you won’t really miss the chocolate at all – well not so much anyway.

Try a few bowls of fresh fruit placed around the house and try and get into the habit of picking at those whenever you have a chocolate craving. Or chop up your favourite protein bar into pieces, and have one piece whenever you feel the need. Of course, if you are eating every 3-4 hours as you should be, you should never get hungry enough to want to gorge on chocolate anyway.

If you must have chocolate, get hold of some good quality dark chocolate. It does have a little bit of an acquired taste but once you get used to it, it is absolutely gorgeous and better for you and a little goes a long way.

And of course, Christmas is all about giving, so the best idea by far is to give away your chocolate gifts to someone who will appreciate them. Try the local Salvos or a charity of some description.

Healthy Snacks at Christmas

Published on December 17, 2009 in Articles, food and Nutrition Articles. 2 Comments

Contrary to popular belief it is still possible to have a great time over Christmas with out putting on weight as a result of eating lots of unhealthy meals and snacks.

Here are ten healthy snacks which will ensure that your Christmas celebrations can be enjoyed more than ever without putting on the extra pounds or kilos (depending on what side of the world you are on!).

1. Instead of a turkey sandwich made with thick slices of bread and lashings of butter replace the normal bread with pita bread and leave out the butter. Try replacing the butter with a spread of avocado. You can get small size pitta breads for the children and they taste absolutely delicious. Garnish with a small amount of salad and they will prove to be a popular treat.

2. It is surprising how filling a bowl of salad can be. Most people just associate a salad with boring old lettuce and cucumber but it may surprise you to know that a tasty salad made with chopped up capsicum/peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes and chopped up grapes with some croutons on top make an absolutely delicious salad and completely different to the more traditional salads that most people are used to.

3. Take it easy on the salted nuts. They are very high in calories and a few small bowls of pumpkin seeds in their place will satisfy the same needs but are far less moreish.

4. Fruit. A fruit salad comprising lots of juicy grapes, cherries, berries, apple, banana, kiwi fruit and orange makes a refreshing snack which your body will thank you for.

5. Here is a snack that not many people think of but a fruit or vegeatable smoothie can easily replace a meal and is so very good for you. A smoothie is often just considered to contain fruit but that is not the case. You can extract the juice from carrots and spinach for example and then add in some fruit and you are left with a snack that is absolutely bursting with goodness. Of course you don’t want to overdo the sugar so make it a small serve particularly if using fruit juice. Of course you should try to get some protein with your meals so adding some choc or vanilla protein powder to some low fat milk, some chopped frozen banana and a bit of nutmeg will keep your muscles happy too.

6. Perhaps one of the most delicious snacks I can think of are our protein pancakes. Very simply blend together 1/3 to 1/2 cup of oats, 4 egg whites and 1/4 cup of cottage cheese to form a batter. Add a little sweetener. I like to add some berries then pour the batter into the pan and cook as you would normal pancakes. Serve these delicious pancakes with some sugar free maple syrup and I guarantee that these will be the only kind of pancakes you eat from now on!

7. A baked potato with a filling of low fat cottage cheese is another of my favourites. A mistake many people make is to include a generous helping of butter or sour cream in the potato which really defeats the purpose of a healthy snack, doesn’t it? It is quite often included out of habit and once you get used to your baked potato without the butter you will hardly notice the difference. In place of sour cream try some low fat natural yoghurt.

8. A bowl of low fat natural Greek yoghurt is absolutely sensational, especially when mixed with some berries (yes, I am a big berry fan!) and leaves a fresh taste in your mouth which assures you that you have just eaten something wonderfully healthy.

9. A bowl of muesli (untoasted of course!) or oats does not have to be only eaten at breakfast and it makes a perfect healthy snack which can be eaten at any time during the day (watch the carbs at night if you are dieting though). Feel free to chop up some fresh fruit and add that to give it your own unique twist. Add some cottage cheese for your protein serving, and top with sugar free syrup.

10. Lastly, please remember that it is Christmas and you are entitled to enjoy yourself. A little bit of what you fancy won’t do you any harm!

What’s up?

Published on December 15, 2009 in Uncategorized. 3 Comments

Re the picture on my last blog post – well, you know, she doesn’t want to get too muscly. LOL!!

Things are ticking along here, I have so many projects on the go! I love it when it’s like this, so many opportunities! There is a new fitness mag coming to Oz (it’s already big in the US) and I chatted to the editor today about a number of things. They have asked me to be on their panel of experts! I’m rapt, I think this magazine will become quite popular and will give the others a run for their money. They have already accepted an article from me for the first edition. I have submitted a client for consideration for their ‘weight loss diary’ and, they have accepted a success story for their 2nd issue!

We are getting a new feedback coach, stay tuned for that one :) I think she will be perfect in the role.

We are getting a couple of new protein bar lines too. I won’t announce these until they are up on site. I got a package of samples today, there are even some cookies :) I just had a 1/4 of a choc chip cookie crumbled into my cottage cheese, yoghurt and banana snack. Yummo.

We had a BIG special on our Lean Body Nutrition Plan today – in fact it goes for 4 days so if you want to buy it really really cheap, sign up for our newsletter so you can receive the special offer. And a heads up, once you purchase the nutrition plan, you will also be offered a training program for an absolute steal. It finishes on Friday.

On Sunday Nadia and I went for a bike ride. For a whole bloody hour and 13 minutes! Now, this is BIG for me, I can safely say I have never done that in my life. Let me say my legs, and especially my butt were not impressed. My heart rate was screaming – really weird, I wasn’t huffing and puffing that much by my heart rate was soaring. We finished up with some hills and when I wheeled into my driveway and dismounted, my heart rate was 179bpm!! I don’t even get that high when I sprint! I burned some massive amount of calories. So I was rather happy with myself! Then later that arvo I trained back and tris, and did some 90kg rack pulls, so I had a very productive day of training.

It’s going to be a hot one tomorrow. 41 degrees. Not sure if I will train or if I will have a day off. I’m due for legs. So a day off is sounding rather tempting :)

My sleeping has been so out of whack lately, although last night was great. One morning I woke and was up and working before 2am! Even going back to bed at 5am or a few hours did not help. I was like a dead dog the entire day. I can’t function without my sleep!

I hope everyone’s Christmas preparations are coming along! I haven’t done any shopping yet unfortunately. We have ordered our turkey though! We are having Christmas lunch and dinner at our place this year so will have a bit of work to do!

Will chat soon.

What is wrong with this picture?

Published on December 5, 2009 in inspiration, motivation, photos and Transformation. 5 Comments

Welcome party Sapphire Princess

Not this one, the one below. There is NOTHING wrong with this picture!

It’s been a little while since I wrote, AGAIN! Thanks lovely people for the comments on my off season pics. Maybe I will consider pre comping soon for an early show again – it was around this time last year – well, after Christmas, that I began my last one. After our Mexico trip my state was a little worse for wear than it is currently. So, yes, this time last year Damien and I were onboard the Sapphire Princess, celebrating his birthday (pic attached for reminiscing purposes).

I’m left without a car this weekend, so was dropped at the gym this morning and walked home afterwards – which was pretty tough after a hard deadlifting session. I sumo deadlifted 75gk for sets of 5 which I thought was pretty good. Slowly building up. Deadlifting is king, I wish everyone knew how to deadlift.

I received this in my inbox the other day and just shook my head. Can anyone tell me what is wrong with this picture??

thirddayfitness_02

The Club 100 winners were announced recently, and, very proud to say that the female winner was one of ours. Nicole Yardley lost 15kg in 100 days and totally transformed her body. Lucky Nicole has won a great cash prize, just for losing some extra baggage and getting healthy. Club 100 will will going again I imagine, so keep in touch about that.

Nicole Yardley - before front

Nicole Yardley - after front outdoors

Congratulations Nicole, you look amazing! Congratulations too, to all the others who entered and managed to finish the 100 day challenge – while you may not have won the competition, I’m sure you got some great results.

I’m off to enjoy some sun. Sorry about the lack of resizing of photos, I don’t have time for that :)

Why have I been so slack?

Published on November 29, 2009 in Uncategorized. 4 Comments

I can’t believe I haven’t posted for so long! Where is the time going – it is nearly Christmas again!

I’m happy with how my training is going, I’m slowly building up some strength again. I sumo deadlifted 70kg for 6 sets of 4 supersetted with some ham curls on the ball yesterday – I guess that’s not a huge weight, as I’ve DL’d quite a bit more than that, however, it was enough to make me work hard, and I’m already feeling it today. I was very happy with my form. Just finished an upper body session now.

I took my skin folds not that long ago for a lady (a current client) who is writing an article for Oxygen on Off Season Figure Competitors. I had to take some photos too. Excuse the bed hair, and no make up. So, I was pretty happy with my body fat reading of 14.6% give or take. Considering my cardio is minimal and I am continuing to enjoy plenty of wine!

I am working on a couple of projects at the moment, one is more of an international internet marketing thing which has involved me writing a special report (Drop a Dress Size by Saturday) and rejigging our Lean Body Nutrition Plan for Women. I got all that completed this morning so I can’t wait to get it back in it’s completed form and start hitting the net with it.

We had dinner out on Thursday night at our favourite, Spanish Bar & Grill. A lovely eye fillet, plenty of bread and good wine. And unfortunately, a headache the next day to pay for it.

Have you seen some of the transformations coming in lately? Unbelievable!! Check out the photo gallery and you will see what I mean. Club 100 winners will be announced publicly tomorrow too! (Yes, if you had’ve stuck to your program you would be well and truly finished and in fantastic shape by now, and in the running for some great prizes!)

I am hoping to be jetting off to Melbourne soon to discuss a business opportunity. It is very exciting, but we have a few things to sort out before it’s all go. Top secret until then. I could be extraordinarily busy over Christmas if we get the go ahead. Here’s hoping!

Well I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I’m off now to give this ‘puter a rest.