Life is too short to worry about what other people might think.

Does anyone else like light, snackable meals during the day?

Sometimes my stomach doesn't want food until 'lunch' time, and then it just wants something simple.

Even my kids make up their own 'snack plates' now - fruit, raw vege, whatever cold meat may be in the fridge, nuts etc anything goes.

I've given up trying to 'fit in' with others regarding what and how much I eat. It's much simpler just doing my own thing, no matter how weird or crazy I may look to others.

I have a good feel for what makes me happy and feel good now, so I'm just gonna run with that.

Life is too short to worry about what other people might think. Eyes on my own plate, and they should keep their eyes on their own.

Easing back into routine.

We got home on Monday and I made time to wander into the gym yesterday morning.

Not to 'work off' my Christmas indulgences though. But to gently ease myself back into routine and do something I truly enjoy.

It's a part of my life now, movement makes me happy, it sets up my day and just makes everything better.

Another gentle session tomorrow with some yoga & stretching thrown in (I've put a yoga mat upstairs in front of the gorgeous sunlit balcony) and I'll be all ready to start back my training program on Monday.

And back to work too 😊

Last deadlifts before holidays.

Found myself channeling Michele Burmaster from Disrupt Your Diet during deadlifts this morning lol
Michele is an awesome lady, everyone should follow her - she also does great training and technique videos 😊

Last deadlifts before I go on holidays. 2x12reps at 1.2x bodyweight. I still can't get over how much my strength has increased over the last year. I just poke along and get the job done. 

Nothing hardcore here lol

Morning yoga

There are some interesting photos on my phone from my morning yoga taken by my 8yo 😂

This is a habit I've been trying to make - some gentle stretches and yoga before breakfast on non-gym days. It definitely helps to wake me up gently, so I might just stick to it a few times a week 😊

Coeliac Disease sucks.

When you get woken up to the sound of your 8yo crying and moaning in pain because his stomach hurts so bad.

And later you roll over and realise your husband is downstairs sick because he didn't want to disturb you.

That is Coeliac Disease. And the next person who tells me that they're avoiding 'bad' gluten but that cake/beer/chocolate/whatever looked so good so they decided to 'cheat'? They can go jump.

We were having a discussion the other day in my badass lady lifters group 💜💪 about why we lift weights.

We are all at different stages of our journeys and lives, so it was fascinating to know a little more about what makes each of us tick.

For me, what started as simply a weight loss/look better journey has definitely changed into something else the more I learned and grew over the last 3+ years.

Why do I lift?

1. So I don't fall apart later in life. Seriously. With my family and personal medical history, I'm determined to look after my body and mind. I'm gonna be like that little old lady from Madagascar that kicks everyone's butt 😉😂😎

2. Being strong makes me feel capable. I can lift, carry and move stuff around. It makes me feel useful to have my husband ask if he can borrow my muscles 💪❤

3. I really, really enjoy it. It's my 'thing'. And that's the core of it. Very few people would willingly get up at 5am regularly to move heavy things around and get drenched in sweat unless they actually enjoy it. I have been known to grin mid-lift because it makes me so.darn.happy.

I am learning to appreciate what my body has been through so far in my life and what it can do, even with some limitations.

And lifting heavy stuff lets me do more things that I love and spend time with those that I love, which really, is probably the whole point for me.

Family fun at the park, and some pull-ups

We had such a fun time at the park yesterday. The kids carried their tennis rackets and we walked there and spent about 1.5hrs just mucking about together (making Daddy run after the tennis balls was apparently a highlight ;) ).

I got the husband to lift me up to the lowest bar (seriously, my feet are about a metre off the ground here at full hanging point ;)) and rapped out a couple of pull-ups.

I've been working hard on these lately and doing lots of upper body work. I could've done more, but figured I'd already shown off enough ;) Besides, I wanted to play tennis too :)

I don't get to physically see my muscles in action much, so I do have to say, me likey very much :)

 

Broken bones won't slow him down

Small boy child has fractured his hand.

He's not allowed to play, but nobody said anything about mucking about with his team beforehand ;)

 

Movement for life

It isn't always about going hard in the gym. Sometimes just getting in and getting something done is an achievement in itself.


This is a lifelong thing for me. Life has its ups and downs and you need to move with it. Lifting is my meditation, my calmness, and sometimes deloading and just focusing on the movement is good for the soul as well as the body.

Slow cooker beef stew

Slow cooker beef stew ready to roll.

Nothing fancy to see here.
And I'm unashamedly a cheapskate.

$5 casserole steak diced plus whatever veggies were floating around in the pantry & fridge (potato, sweet potato, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, carrots, celery, peas & corn and onion).
A litre or so of a veggie stock (I'm fussy because I like the taste of this one, and no, I didn't make it myself - couldn't be bothered), some garlic, a generous helping of lentils and lots of black pepper.
I do put quinoa in because it thickens everything so nicely and the flavour is gorgeous in a stew. 





Disclaimer. I've been using quinoa since before it was 'cool' and a 'superfood'. It's a staple in our house because it's a great gluten-free alternative that my kids and husband love.
Dealing with Coeliac Disease when the boy was a little munchkin meant I got creative quickly.
When a friend introduced me to quinoa while looking for an oats alternative, I haven't looked back.

And dinner is served... :) 

 

Deadlift PR

Feeling the love for my legs and those iron plates today.

Some days I head in to the garage with nothing in mind other than that day's workout and the fact that I really, freaking need to chill out.

Deadlift day today. Going through a strength building phase. And today I lifted 58kg/127lb. For a midget like myself, that's 1.45x body weight for 5 reps.

I'm kinda chuffed about that ;)

Maybe today isn't completely screwed after all :)

I didn't quit sugar

I have no issues adding a measly 1/4 cup of white sugar to what will be 32 passionfruit mini muffins to be eaten at various outings over the next few days. 

Normally it would be brown sugar for colour, but I've run out 😉

Make movement fun

Doing fun stuff is the aim of the game.

For me, exercise is about combining all the stuff I love and seeing where I end up.


My main workout is my lifting. At the moment I'm in the final stages of NROL Supercharged, which is Strength & Power. Low rep heavy weight for two lifts (squats and pull-ups for me today), followed by high reps (single leg, push, lunge, pull today).


I add to this some mobility stuff as well as some calisthenics, basic yoga and some HIIT.

For no other reason than I like it.


And I like standing on my head. Even if I'm not very graceful while doing it. 

Clothing cull

Yesterday I bit the bullet and finally cleared out my wardrobe. Anything that was too big, didn't fit properly anymore (hello muscles), or was just not my style is gone. Well, almost gone. Some of it is being given away tonight to a friend. The rest is headed to charity.

I need to find and buy a couple of staples that fit - I own one single simple long sleeve shirt - but otherwise, hello minimalist wardrobe and stuff that actually fits.

Why I take gym selfies

Dodgy gym selfie.

I take selfies for a reason.

Not so long ago I would hide behind the camera. There are very few photos of me and my munchkins when they were little. At group gatherings I would avoid anyone with a camera like the plague. I hated looking at myself in photos. I know I'm not conventionally pretty and all I could see were millions of flaws glaring at me while surrounded by beautiful people.

So I take selfies to try and get myself reacquainted with who I am. I still struggle hugely with my self-perception, but at least I know there are photos of me floating around for my kids to see.

So, this is me, flaws and all. Dodgy selfie skills included. Hot, sweaty and stuffed after a gym session. But happy :)

Checking form via iPhone

Checking form via iPhone.

Because I lift at home, generally by myself, I do quick vids on my phone every now and then to check form. Particularly if I'm lifting heavy that day.

 Depending on how it goes, I'll either tweak some things and keep going at that weight or de-load a bit and do a little more focused work.

The aim is to work out safely. I'm in no hurry to get anywhere, I just want to lift stuff. It's my mental release, so any injury would be very sad indeed!

I spend a good amount of time warming up, listen to my body throughout the session (adjusting accordingly if needed) and then do yoga-type cool down stretches. Eventually, I'd like a power rack, but until then, I'm careful with my squat rack and it does the job. Regardless of your reason or how you workout, safety should always be number one.

Coeliac Disease is not a 'bandwagon'. It's not a choice.

We were at a play date in a park yesterday with a heap of other parents and kids from school. We all brought plates of food etc.

As I put my gf muffins and rice crackers on the table another mum mentioned that they were looking into jumping on the 'gluten and grain free bandwagon' too.

I couldn't actually think of anything to say. I think the confused and dumbfounded look on my face spelled it out though lol

My son, husband and mother-in-law have Coeliac Disease. I don't have a choice. Trust me, if I could feed them the usual flour-filled goodies without fear of them getting really sick, I would. My daughter and I still eat some gluten containing things, we don't need to avoid it. But I cook & bake using only gluten-free ingredients so that I don't have to stress about cross-contamination and so that everyone can eat the goodies.

Coeliac Disease is not a choice. Going gluten free is a necessity. It's not fun. It's not 'trendy', it just is what it is. And sometimes it sucks. Try being an 8yo boy watching his friends tuck into really awesome looking cupcakes or pizza and knowing you can't even have a taste because otherwise you'll be sitting on the toilet for hours after (and that's a mild reaction).

If you want to go gluten free because you believe it will help you lose weight or will make you healthy, seriously, go for it. But that's your choice. It's not a necessity, it's not needed (no matter how many self-styled health 'gurus' or celebrity bloggers tell you otherwise). But don't minimize the seriousness of an actual auto-immune disease and lump it together with what is essentially your lifestyle choice.

Still smiling

Still smiling :)

My girl is almost through her first stage of nrol supercharged. Just the basics, and she's loving it. She upped her goblet squats and rows today and was quite chuffed with herself ❤

I'm just so glad we've found something we both enjoy and I love spending one-on-one time with her in the gym 😊

Small steps are still progress.

Want to learn to lift? Start where you are and work your way up.

Read a lot. Talk to smart people. Watch and learn.

And don't be afraid to start small.

I still have those teeny little dumbbells. That was all I had. I was working out at home and I was scared. I didn't think a little person like me would be able to get under a barbell and squat for real.

The kids use those dumbbells now. Actually, I also use the smaller ones to stop my big plates from rolling away

Don't be in a rush to 'lift big'. Slow it down and take the time to learn about you. About your body, about what it can do, and yes, even what it can't. There's no real hurry. There's no 'quick fix' to get stronger. It takes time and effort. The more you learn, the more you can do.

And don't compare yourself to others. They aren't you. Take time to think about what you can do compared to where you were last year, or last month, or whenever. Gauge your progress from that. And even small steps are still progress.

Exercise is not punishment.

 Exercise shouldn’t be punishment because you ‘ate something “bad”.

Besides the fact food is just food, and there should be no moralistic values given to it, punishing yourself through exercise or restriction leaves you open to a whole host of issues down the track.

Moving your body is an awesome thing, no matter how or what you do.

Don’t like weights? Don’t lift.
Don’t like running? Don’t run.

Like playing a sport? Get involved.
Like Zumba? Shake that booty.

Your body is brilliant. Just think of all the things it does on a daily basis. Exercise and movement helps it to do those things better.

Love your body with movement you enjoy. It will thank you in so many ways.

21 positive days. We are all unique.

When it comes to ourselves, there is no comparison. We are all unique. Don’t downplay that uniqueness by comparing yourself to others.

I started with a deadlift and I’ll finish with a deadlift. And a PB at that.

This is my 4×4 at 45.5kg (a touch over 100lb). Doesn’t seem all that impressive, does it? But I am roughly about the same length as that teeny 8kg bar and weigh a massive 40-ish kg (89lb).

Numbers are pretty cool, but they need to come with perspective.

I am very proud of myself today. I workout at home so I am very careful with my weights and progress deliberately slowly. I go up, I go down, but I’m always inching ever slightly forwards. It’s taken me about a year and a half to get here, and the future is looking pretty awesome.


 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Self care.

I just checked my calendar and this is day 20.
Tomorrow is my last day for this little mental detox. It crept up quickly!

Today I woke up feeling decidedly under the weather.
Everything just feels a little ‘off’ and I’m pretty tired.

So a little time out for some self care is in order.
A nice cup of tea and just sitting outside in the peace and quiet with my book.
Hopefully enough to recharge a little before getting back to the usual duties of bathing children and cooking dinner.
And then I’m crashing into be.

It’s okay to feel off-colour every now and then. It’s normal.
Sometimes we just have to take a step back and chill out a bit.
By resting today I should be fine to get back to the normal routine tomorrow.
Always listening to my body and taking notice of how I feel.


 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Acroyoga.

What can I say? The kid discovered me looking up acroyoga online and had to have a go – we have a little bit of practice to do I think! ;)

Me being more active these days means the kids are more willing to do stuff and try new things. We still struggle with the whole electronic devices thing, but when they are moving, it’s full steam ahead and just try to keep up!

 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Little muscles.

Just a little muscle

I like my muscles, I like getting stronger. And I like trying out new moves.

It’s all fun to me! These little muscles mean I can do things – more than just workout. I can shift timber around the yard, lift kayaks and jet skis, carry tired children, and just generally DO stuff. There’s no stiffness, no soreness, no out-of-breath. Nothing aches anymore (unless it’s DOMS after a particularly hard session, but that is not pain and it passes quickly) and there’s no niggling pain or danger of injury.

In order to build and repair these little muscles I also need to eat the food. Not ALL the food lol but enough to fuel my movement. I seem to be recomping just fine and getting stronger each week. It’s a slow process, but I like slow ;)

It all joins together to make a happy and healthy body. I eat to fuel my awesome and I lift to make my body work better. And it does.


 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Flex those muscles.

Time to flex those muscles a little bit tonight.

I’m slowly getting stronger. Not in any hurry though, I intend to just keep on plodding along at my usual pace.

Still, it does feel nice to see actual muscle :)


 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Stand on your head.

When all else fails, stand on your head ;)



(originally posted on my old website) 

21 positive days. Calisthenics.

Oh look! I can still do it! Not for very long and not awesome form, but I still did a back bridge.

I was flicking through my Insta feed and saw @committed_jay (cool page btw, you should follow him!) doing one so I thought I’d see if I could. Years ago I could hold this for ages and bend in lots of weird ways lol

Not too shabby for a mother of 2 who will be turning 36 in a couple of weeks ;)

I might work on some of these calisthenics movements a little more often. It’s a nice confidence boost


(originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Back in the gym.

Back in the gym today!

And yep, when I’m trying to get a photo on my phone’s timer thing it’s pretty much guaranteed to chop my head off and be slightly lopsided ;)

I’ve changed a few things up – moved from front to back squats – and just took it easy-ish today.

I love lifting, I love the feeling of accomplishment and I even don’t mind the completely stuffed feeling at the end. Today’s session wasn’t overly calm (I like absolute quiet but obviously the munchkins are at home, so there were a few squabbles to sort out), but I’m glad to have got it done.

It was also very dark in the garage, so I moved a desk lamp in for extra light. I think the garage is next on the reno agenda, so maybe I’ll have a light then lol

 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Taking time out.

Taking time out to chill in the child’s pose. Or ignore the world. Either one works perfectly fine.

One last stretch before bed while waiting for the boy child’s computer to shut down (it takes aaaaggges). Surrounded by the kid’s stuff. But at least the floor rug is clean and tidy ;)

This is my favourite pose. It’s just comforting and calm. And that’s always a good thing.

 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Keep on trying.

Just keeping on trying.

Years ago I could do back and front flips and all manner of things on a trampoline. These days I’m kinda afraid of heights...

But I’m determined to start small and work my way slowly up. The kids are quite happy to give me some pointers ;)

Some of it comes back naturally, like landing properly. I think the whole tumbling in mid-air thing might take a little longer.

I’ll keep on trying.

(originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Experience new things.

Today was yet another day to experience new things. A boat ride across to Green Island was definitely an interesting experience. The kids had a bit of a rough ride over, but on the way back they were doing just fine ;)

It’s good to do new things and get out and experience all the world has to offer sometimes. We get so caught up in the humdrum of everyday life and routine. Shaking it up occasionally is probably a little necessary, even if it’s hard to do.

Home tomorrow, and while we will be glad to get home to normalcy, this has been a really wonderful holiday. Spending time together and doing stuff that we normally wouldn’t get to do. I think the kids will have a fair few photos and stories to tell when the get back to school.


(originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. A new dress.

Today I bought a new dress.

Something that wasn’t on sale, wasn’t from a department store and I bought it because my daughter said it looked pretty and my husband said it would look nice on me.

It’s not completely in my comfort zone, but I do like it. It feels so soft and I like stretchy material. It fits pretty much perfectly.

Now I just have to find the courage to wear it out somewhere….

(originally posted on my old website) 

21 positive days. My legs are tired...

A big day today, we’re all exhausted. Yes, lots of pictures of my not-so-camera-shy youngest :)

Today we walked far, a lot of the time in the rain. Up and down, on paths and bridges, on steps and rocks. And it was a lot of fun.

My legs are tired, but happy. Not once were we out of breath even with the boy setting a cracking pace (seriously the kid never stops).

My legs can carry me all day and keep up with this insanely active kid. I think that's pretty cool.

 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Active lifestyle.

Absolutely living and loving the active lifestyle and the chance to hang out in an awesome place. I think we were on the go pretty much all day today. We did the hike down to the esplanade twice, spending at least 2 hours there exploring both times.

We also did the required 4 laps in the 50m pool, swam in the other pools, went shopping and just did ‘stuff’ lol

It must be said that I did the 200m swim as well – I figured it wasn’t fair to make them do it and my sit on my backside and watch

I didn’t die – I did all 200m with just a couple of breathers. Not bad for a basic swimmer lol 

I even piggybacked the boy child part of the way home this afternoon. An awkward feat as he is getting so long and lanky as opposed to my short limbs ;)

I am completely stuffed and falling into bed very soon. But I’m sure tomorrow will bring more activity – rainforests are on the agenda! I’m not sure we’ll be wanting to leave…


(originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. A role model.

‘Let’s do push-ups Mum!’

Becoming a role model for my kids in terms of fitness and being active is a weird thing to get used to. But it’s pretty cool when I think about it.

Our overall family lifestyle has done a complete turn around over the last few years. We are more active, the kids play a lot of sports and we’re always on the go. I’ve noticed it helps the kids to be calm and they are always happier and sleep better after a day full of physical activity. So I am always on the lookout for different things that keep both their minds and bodies engaged in a positive way.

We’ve spent the last few days on the go – at the zoo, at a crocodile farm, at the beach. Tomorrow they are looking forward to exploring our surroundings yet again. And more time in the pool. And I’ll be there every step of the way encouraging them to keep moving (until I need a rest, and then it’s totally siesta time!).

 (originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. My little family.

My little family is pretty awesome. Even this crazy kid.

I’m loving spending time with them this week, seeing new things and watching them experience it all first hand.

They may drive me up the wall sometimes, but I wouldn’t trade them for anything.

Currently this munchkin wants to be a chemical engineer. He’s 7, it’s likely to change lol

My girl wants to be a dietician or nutritionist and a swimming coach.

Love them to the moon and back:)

(originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Happiness.

We have traveled to far North Queensland. Over two hours on a plane, and finding out way around unknown places.

Today ended up being a very good day. There are four pools here where we are staying, and we tried out all of them – laughing and being silly the whole time.

Time for me to go to bed, but relishing the peacefulness before I do. A nice little moment of happiness.

(originally posted on my old website)

21 Positive days. Strong.

I am strong and slowly getting stronger.

Progress doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and patience, listening to your body.

I’m learning when to push harder and when to rest. Almost at 10 chin-ups in a row (3×8 at the moment), and pull-ups are coming along nicely too :)

(originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Crazy hair.

Today is all about crazy hair.

I love my crazy hair, even if it drives me bonkers occasionally.

Some days it does it’s curly thing, some days it goes flat and other days it basically says ‘screw it, this is the best you’re gonna get’.

It’s getting cut tomorrow so it’s neat and tidy for our trip.

But today is all about the crazy. And this was before my workout… it got a little more curly and fuzzy after that ;)

I keep meaning to buy a decent headband but haven’t found one I like yet. Anyone know any good ones for working out that don’t cost a pretty penny? 

(originally posted on my old website)

21 positive days. Beautiful in my own way.

Today I have to acknowledge that it’s okay to do things for myself and I am beautiful in my own way.
I decided to dress up a little and went into town to have lunch with the husband. And then I went shopping. Well, I tried to go shopping… mostly I just walked and walked and looked ;) Shopping really isn’t my thing. Every time I give myself permission to spend money, I can never find anything to buy!

I think I look good in dark purple and black. Stretch skirts and tights are so comfy and I love my boots.

I rarely wear makeup but today I did wear BB cream (which I only discovered last year thanks to a friend – lets just say I’m a bit uneducated about such things lol).

I’m still on the lookout for a new dress though.

(originally posted on my old website) 

21 positive days. Love your body.

A shape. My shape.

I’m working hard to like it. But it’s strong and it can work hard.

This body has carried two babies to term, endured two c-sections and I’ve gotten my diastasis down from 5 fingers to 3 as of last check.

I will never have a flat & ripped stomach but I can still do stuff I love. I can hike with my kids, kayak around lakes and am slowly adding more weight to that bar.

Over the next 21 days I’m going to do my own little detox. A mental detox. I’m going to post something positive about myself each and everyday. To try and see this body differently. To learn to love my shape. A little reminder to myself that it’s okay to love your body. Just the way it is.

(originally posted on my old website)

Maintaining my weight loss

I’ve had a few questions lately about what I do, how much I eat, what I weigh etc. So here is a quick rundown on what I did and how I go about maintaining my weight loss and enjoy living my life (hint, it’s not all about eat super healthy or low calories).

Disclaimer: Please keep in mind I am insanely short. I also have a strange build with very short legs and narrow-ish hips. If you are a of average height and/or build and can’t get your head around my numbers, just ignore them… or multiply them by 1.5 ;) I have found that a lot of people who are even a just little bit taller don’t quite understand the smaller numbers. But it’s all good – my doctor is happy, I’m happy, and that’s all that matters.

At 4’9, I have a maintenance range between 39-40kg (85-89lbs), which is about a 19 bmi.
I got the wake-up call when I was creeping into the overweight range for my height (I was too embarrassed to weigh properly, so I guess-timated) and I lost a little over 10kg (22lb), which was about 20% of my starting body weight.

When you get told you’re almost pre-diabetic, your PCOS is going ballistic, can’t walk up stairs without being out of breath halfway, your ankles are always swollen and you need to wear a size of clothes that makes you look like you’re wearing a tent…. yeah, that’s a wakeup call. Regardless of that number on the scale being “so small” to an average person.

When I found MyFitnessPal (MFP), a calorie counting site, I started with the usual 1200 calories (0.5kg/week goal) that short people get, and didn’t enjoy that very much lol

I upped it to 1300 and then discovered intermittent fasting, and did a variety of 5:2 & 16:8, which allowed me to ‘eat more’ which was important for me psychologically (when following 5:2, you must eat your full TDEE on the non-fast days – for me that was about 1500-1600 at the time).

Intermittent fasting taught me how to recognize true hunger signals and realigned my thinking of serving sizes to a more realistic view. Calorie counting was also very beneficial with this too. Having to eat to maintenance on ‘off’ days, also taught me what a normal amount of food actually was.

Note, this was beneficial to me personally. Everyone is different.This just happened to slot in well with my mindset and fitted my lifestyle really well. Therefore, it ‘worked’ for me when I needed it to. I strongly encourage everyone to try different things until they find something that works for them, and just because something doesn’t/couldn’t fit your lifestyle, doesn’t mean it won’t for someone else. Everyone has to find their own path.

In terms of exercising, I started off just walking and then jogging with friends. I still walk a couple of times a week with those same friends.

Then I bought some Jillian Michaels DVD’s (30 Day Shred & Ripped in 30) and did those to get my base level of fitness up. They were a really good re-introduction to working out and helped me to gradually learn how to fit exercising back into my daily life. Any DVD or YouTube workout that you enjoy doing will do that – you just need to find one you like. My current favourite cardio videos are from Fitness Blender which are available free on YouTube.

And then I started lifting weights (New Rules of Lifting for Women) just before I reached my goal weight (which was actually 45kg/99lb, but I unintentionally kept losing while trying to figure out the maintenance thing), and I’ve been lifting ever since. I started very basic with little tiny dumbbells and bodyweight moves (Nerd Fitness is a really great resource for beginners) in my lounge room and added more as my confidence grew.

Looking back, I’ve actually weighed less in my adult life, but I’ve never been this small or fit. I can’t say enough about the benefits of some form of resistance training. When used in conjunction with a realistic calorie deficit, it literally shrinks everything and tightens it all up! Once again, it doesn’t have to be free weights. Find what works for you and what you enjoy and go for it.

Nowadays I have a weights set up in my garage and I lift 3x a week (following the New Rules of Lifting Supercharged program). I add in fun cardio at least 3x a week as well (at the moment swimming or doing stuff with the kids). All up, I probably do about 6-ish hours of ‘scheduled’ exercise spread out over the week. But I also make time to move throughout the day and am conscious of not sitting too long.

I don’t count calories any more, as that was part of my plan – I don’t want to have to do that for the rest of my life. For me, it was too all-consuming. I have a perfectionist personality when it comes to numbers and I can take it a little too far.

I also don’t follow a strict intermittent fasting lifestyle any more, but I have found that some days it seems to sneak up on me. I don’t freak out if something occurs and I don’t have time to eat breakfast/lunch/dinner/whatever – I just acknowledge that life happens and deal with it. My metabolism is just fine, thanks. Oh, and I’ve never been stronger in my life, so I must be doing something right by myself.

I have taken all that I have learned over the last few years and apply it every day. It’s still a work in progress, but it’s worth it My TDEE based on my average exercise amount is a little under 1800 (being so short sucks), but I know that appetite is not linear, just as weight loss is not. On any given day I may not be all that hungry, but on another I may be ravenous. It all evens out in the end. I eat foods that make me feel good, some days that means chicken and vegetables, other days it may mean a small slice of cake and icecream.

And I make the.best.muffins.ever.

The best thing I have ever learned in the last few years is this –

Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.

I also add, And move.

And that’s what I stick to.

Keep calm and lift heavy things.

Oh goodness, ignore the intently concentrating face. LOL

This week I am chilling out and sleeping more and getting my weight lifting done when I feel like it.
Funnily enough that had lead to some very calm gym sessions about mid morning after a couple of hours work.

And I PR’d my front squat on Monday. Not too shabby ;)

Maybe that sleep thing isn’t all that overrated after all. It helps me lift heavy things better

Healthy afternoon snacks

Channeling my inner ‘perfect mother’ as I get afternoon tea ready for my kids (and their friends, there are always extras lol) at cricket.

Meh, who am I kidding? They’ll eat this lot. And they’ll also eat the packet of crisps I have in the cupboard for the next after school activity when I couldn’t be bothered packing a cooler bag.

My kids are active. They eat fruit & vege. They also eat crisps, chocolate (dairy free, gluten-free and cocoa free… no I am not kidding *sigh* white is still sorta classified as chocolate?) and pretty much whatever they can get their hands on.

The girl did several kms in the pool in the morning and will play cricket in the afternoon, after having playing sport at school. The boy did school swimming and cricket this afternoon and may convince me to go for a run afterwards. That’s if they don’t jump in our backyard pool when we get home.

They never, ever stop. So I think they’re doing ok

Going for a run with my boy.

I dragged the small boy child out of the house on Sunday afternoon to go for a run. Mostly to get him out of the house and to give his sister some time and space to work on her assignments.

I wasn’t expecting too much. And I may have assumed that he would give up within 10-15 minutes lol But I dutifully turned on my Endomondo tracker and we set off.

Well, apparently he likes the whole map thing, and being able to check how far you’ve gone and where on the map you are. Whenever we got to a spot where we could choose one way or the other, he would ask which was the longest way, and then choose that! 50 minutes and 3.97km later (okay, that included stopping to look at the insane number of bats roosting in some trees, waiting at traffic lights and getting a drink from the service station ;) ), we arrived back home and he was pretty buzzed. He wants to go out again on Wednesday afternoon after school. We’ll have to take big sister with us, and she’s not exactly known for her running stamina, but we’ll play it by ear and see how we go

But I’m very pleased to have a little running buddy. I’d forgotten how much fun it was. And it was fun – he was in charge of when we walked/ran/sprinted etc, and we both had a really good time.

Swimming is over, time for football.

It’s that time of year again. Friday night saw the last of the Swim Club nights for the season. And Thursday was the boy child’s first AFL training session. First games start in May.

We’ll be busy on Saturday’s for a little while after that ;)

My day off

Today I decided to have the day off.

Mostly because a friend had the day off and asked me to go shopping. I couldn’t exactly say no, now could I? lol

I haven’t had a real shopping trip (without kids or husband) for ages, so it was lovely.

Always start with a coffee

Of course, I went specifically to buy new clothes (something I rarely do), and pretty much came home with one pair of jeans and a pair of shorts – never anything suitable or in my size when I have money to spend ;)

We managed lunch before I got a call to pick the boy child up from school. High temps means tv and airconditioning for him for the rest of the day.

I did enjoy my ‘day off’ though – looking forward to the next one, even if I have no idea when that will be lol

Give me sushi and a coffee and I'll be forever happy.