Drop a Jeans Size Workout

There are so, so many workouts floating around cyberspace and Pinterest it's actually a little confusing as to where to start.  I decided to just close my eyes and point to a picture on the computer and I ended up with.....

This picture links to fitnessmagazine.com and is called the Drop a Jeans Size Workout.  It has 3 separate interval workouts for you to choose from.  All you need to do is workout 3 times a week using any of the workouts you want to use in any combination you feel like doing.  This is a great choice for me with my new simplifying / flexible motto.  So, without further interruption (of having to pick up wet cat food off of the carpet cause someone who's 4 decided it would be a good idea to throw a bowl of it at her brother), here are the workouts ~ enjoy :)

Workout 1 : 20 min Interval Circuit

Workout 2 : 30 min Running / Walking Interval

Workout 3 : 30 min Cardio Machine (of your choice) Intervals

P.S. There is also a link to a Bonus Burner Cardio Workout!

What type of workouts do you enjoy.......

• Do you ever use workouts you find on the internet?
• What do you think about Interval Workouts?
• Have you got some workouts you have created to share with me?  I would love to give them ago!

The Exploding chicken

Good morning all!  I hope everyone slept well in that hideous 40C (104F) heat.  It was still 39C at 8.30 pm last night, but luckily I put the "hair conditioner machine" aka, air conditioner on so, in the end I needed my quilt - it was wonderful.

*Workout*

This morning on my way to the pool it was 21C (71F) and that was at 5.30 am - not nice.  At least today is only going to be around 34C, I can handle that a lot better.  Considering the heat, the pool was the best place for a workout today.  According to Fat Secret, I burned 720 calories in the hour, I think I would have died burning that many in the heat.  The heat and I do not get along!

I did struggle a little today though, but I think that's because I have started to push myself passed / past (which one?) a comfortable pace.  I can feel my arms burning at my slightly faster pace and when I do some "sprints", I have to either stop or slow right down to catch my breath.  My time isn't any faster, but that's because my pace is all over the place.  I don't mind because I can work on my time and one day I will be faster - I'm not talking Ian Thorpe fast, but maybe cutting 5 - 10 mins. off my time.  I think that will be my ultimate swimming goal :)

*Breakfast*

After the pool, the heat had risen by a few degrees up to 24C (75F) and I just couldn't face anything warm so I pulled out my trusty blender and made something like this -

This isn't the smoothie that I made this morning, but it looked pretty much the same - green.  The smoothie in the picture is the Strawberry Swamp Beast, which is nice, but today's creation is (so far) my all time favourite.  It was delicious, cold, icy and tasted like pineapple.  It was the perfect breakfast for a warm morning.  I was enjoying it so much that I didn't even get a photo.  

Pineapple Delight  
(named by Hayden, he's 12 and liked it)

Into the mix went :

• 250ml Cocobella Pure Coconut Water with Pineapple (74 calories)
• 112g frozen Banana (100 calories)
• 56g frozen Pineapple (27 calories)
• 26g Baby Spinach leaves (about a handful) (6 calories)
• TOTAL calories - 207

I bought the pineapple fresh, cut it all up into cubes and froze it in an airtight container.  The little pieces were like ice cubes and made the smoothie so icy - it was pretty close to a slushy and the pineapple flavour was basically all I could taste.  I will definitely be making this one again.  I really don't think the coconut water with the pineapple contributed much to the flavour, but we will see cause all I have left is plain coconut water.

*The Exploding Chicken*

Last night as I was heating up the left over chicken I could hear some popping sounds.  This is fairly normal when re-heating meat so I wasn't too worried and then the pops got louder and louder.  I opened the microwave to find a BBQ chicken breast in pieces.  It was only 1 breast and I only put it in for a minute, but the damage was rather substantial - my son and I both just burst out laughing.  

I jigsawed the chicken back together and covered it in some extra sauce before serving it up with parmesan potatoes.  It killed me having to put the oven on, but at least it was just long enough to melt the parmesan cheese under the grill.

Last nights dinner was inspired by Pinterest.  I made this.......

Crockpot BBQ Chicken from stick a fork in it

To make the sauce -

• 1 jar (250 - 275 ml) of BBQ sauce
• 1/4 cup Vinegar
• 1/4 cup Brown Sugar
• There are some chilli flakes as well, but I don't use them
• I make this much for 2 chicken breasts

and these.............

Parmesan Potatoes from Iowa Girl Eats

To make the potatoes -

• Pierce each potato with a fork
• Place potatoes on a paper towel in the microwave
• Cook on high till soft - don't forget to turn them
• The time will depend on how many potatoes you have
• Cut them in half
• Sprinkle with parmesan cheese
• Melt and brown the cheese under the grill

I didn't have any chicken, but it got rave reviews from those who did eat it.  The potatoes I have been making for a while now and everyone loves them - even the kids.  I have even started making one to have on the side with a salad.  I am thinking about trying out a sweet potato instead.  Potatoes and diabetes don't mix well.

Both of these are so easy and quick to make, apart from the 6 hours in the crockpot, but making the sauce takes about 2 mins. and the potatoes take about 10 mins.  I can't complain about that - 12 mins. hard kitchen work time and your done :)

A Pack of Wild Animals

Ava, Christian & Holly

My kids have been like wild animals all day today!  I wonder if there is a zoo close by that will take them?  I'll wait till Hayden comes home from school and he can go with them :)

Ever since they woke up this morning, they have been screaming, fighting and attacking each other with kitchen tongs.  The second I turn my back, they are off.  Does anyone else have kids who think it's a fantastic idea to rip apart a toilet roll (or 2) and soak it in the toilet to make huge 'spit balls' which then end up stuck on the walls and windows?  I can't go to the bathroom without something being destroyed!  It must be so much fun to open a box of Jatz and then ride your bike over them and add water to create some sort of biscuit paste!  Maybe I could use it as a pie base??

Anyhoooo, these are the days that I love to be able to get on the treadmill and shuffle my cares away. Today was NOT that day!!!!

*Workout*

My workout (#8) consisted of  speed intervals.  After about 4 mins I just wanted to cry, I didn't want to be there, it was too hard, blah, blah, blah.  All the usual excuses came out so I decided to look at Pinterest for an hour a minute looking for a mantra that would give me the kick I needed. Heading to my motivation board, I found exactly what I was looking for.......

pretty good advice

I felt this mantra was specific to how I was feeling today so I used it.  I scribbled it onto a piece of paper and stuck in on the Treadmill right in front of my face.  It seemed to help and I pushed myself to finish the workout which took me to 30 mins.  I was happy just to make the 30 mins today, but while trudging along in my cool down I checked my HRM and wasn't happy so I decided to keep going until I burned at least 300 calories.

By the time my 300 calories came round, I was close to 5 kms so I kept going.  Once at the 5km mark I thought well, I'm not far off 60 mins and I kept going.  I do have to confess that I hated every single second of the last 7 mins, but I was so close to 1 hour that I wasn't going to give up.  I refused to give up today and I really pushed myself.  It was more of a mental challenge than a physical one, but that didn't stop my legs from burning.

I felt blah about the workout today, but I am glad that I didn't just give up.  It feels really good to push yourself to achieve something and I burned off another 3 donuts!  Gotta be happy with that :)

*HRM Stats* 

• Duration : 1 hour 4.57 mins
• Calories : 572
• Average HR : 150
• Maximum HR : 193
• In Zone : 24.42 mins
• Distance : 6.1 kms

*Diet Coke Mentality*

It's been 126 days since I have had any diet coke or other type of soft drink which is a huge deal for me.  Diet coke played a big part in my previous diet and it has been fairly easy to do without it.  Some days it's not so easy and I just want to grab a 2 litre bottle and drink it in one go and then do a great big burp like Buddy the Elf and considering my husband is never without his coke, this would be pretty easy for me. 

Every time I get one of those urges to just drink it, I remind myself of how long I have gone without and that I don't want to start at day 1 ever, ever again.  I'm not saying that I will never have a glass of soft drink ever again, but at the moment, it's just not part of my lifestyle.  This is the mentality I want to bring to my fitness / workouts.  

After not doing any exercise for so many weeks, I am struggling with the workouts I had written for the treadmill which shows me that when I wrote them, I had been making progress in the fitness department.  This mornings workout was awful, but I think another reason (apart from my mantra), that I forced myself to keep going was because I feel like I am starting at day 1 again.  Each day I give up and do nothing is just another day of my old fatty-boom-bah lifestyle where the scales don't shift, but if I continue to push myself to keep going and don't look back, in time, it will get easier again and the scales will start moving again.

Good-bye to Day 1's forever :)

Carrot and Zucchini Bars with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting xxx :)

photo from Real Mom Kitchen - my frosting looked.....a little different

I found this recipe on Pinterest and was really excited to make it.  I love carrots, I love zucchini, I love cream cheese frosting and I love anything lemon!  So, when I found this recipe I just had to make it.  The recipe is from Real Mom Kitchen which is a wonderful food blog.  There is even a special place just for zucchini recipes (sorry, a little excited here, but zucchini would have to be my all time favourite vegetable).

The best thing about the recipe was that I actually received a compliment from the hubster "this is the best thing you have ever made."  Not a bad compliment if I do say so myself.  Normally I hear "what slop are we eating tonight?" so to hear BEST EVER was very exhilarating for me.  Just so we are clear, this wasn't his main meal, I did serve him some sort of slop that I can't remember before his best ever dessert.

P.S.  Fart Features Hubby thought it was a carrot slice, he had no idea it was also full of zucchini :)

What you will need :

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil - I used olive oil (only oil I had)
• 1/4 cup honey - I used golden syrup (don't like honey)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger - I didn't add ginger (don't like it)
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

• 225g reduced fat cream cheese
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp lemon zest

I think next time I will only do half of the frosting.  I had heaps left over and sadly, had to throw it out.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Not sure what that is in C, but I have a weird oven and just use 150C all the time.

In a large bowl, whisk : eggs, sugar, oil, honey (syrup) and vanilla

Fold in : carrot, zucchini and walnuts

Dirtying another smaller bowl, combine : 

flour, baking powder, ginger and baking soda

**whisk to blend together - no sifter needed**

 Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and stir until just combined

(2 separate shots here, cause I'm all arty-farty and all)

Spread batter into an ungreased baking pan - 13 x 9 x 2 inch (I just used whatever pan I had of similar size) and, wait for it, put it in the oven

another awarding winning photo while in the oven

Bake for about 25 mins or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.  Once cooled, prepare the frosting.

In another bowl mix, beat, thrash, punch, or kneed (whichever method you prefer) the frosting ingredients.  I used an electric mixer and it did the beating for me.

Lastly, spread or pipe the frosting over the cooled bars.  

I told you my frosting looked a little different

The white stuff on top of my frosting isn't some sort of white mould, it's just a little extra icing sugar. It really isn't necessary and it disappeared into the frosting anyway - won't be doing that again.

The recipe says that it makes 36 bars - I cut mine up into 36 pieces and they were tiny bite sized pieces worth 3 Pro Points each or 2 Pro Points each without icing.  I think I will add it up again cause 3 points for a tiny bite seems a little much.

The bars were delicious and they also freeze really well.  I put over half of it into an airtight container and straight into the freezer.  They defrosted nicely and were still really fresh and moist.

"You cannot look after something that you hate"

While exploring Pinterest I came across this......

After pinning this to my motivation board I got to thinking about what it says.  I didn't just gloss over the meaning, I actually read it and re-read it a couple of times.  I finally realised that it does make sense and I think I finally understand something about myself.  

I have often wondered why I am so easily swayed by self-sabotage no matter how hard I try to do everything right.  I have been trying really hard to stay balanced with my food because I know that totally depriving myself of a sweet treat just leads to bingeing, but on the other hand, I also know that my sweet treat can lead to a binge anyway, because sometimes I just can't seem to stop myself.  

After really taking in the meaning of my new motivational picture I discovered the reason that self-sabotage and self-loathing are so easy for me.  It's because....."you cannot look after something that you hate."  It's simple really, especially when it's staring at you from the computer screen.  It's true as well.  I do hate my body.  I hate my husband touching me and although he says he doesn't care, I do, I care.  I don't understand how he can find me attractive when I look and feel so hideous. I don't even have a mirror in my bedroom because I can't stand to look at myself.

"You cannot look after something that you hate."  Is this why I just give up on myself so easily?  I really think that it is the reason, the answer I have been looking for.  Now, I just have to figure out what to do with myself.  I have been stuck in a rut for a while now and it is definitely time to get myself out of it.

I am over the self-loathing and sabotage and it's time to learn how to love myself instead of hating myself.  Hating myself is easy so I am going to challenge myself and go the other way.  Show myself some love and make time to be able to put more effort into my food preparation, because I know that is the key for me. 

A healthy balance is what I need and after reading one of my favourite blogs Happy or Hungry written by the gorgeous Lindsey about how she eats "about an 80/20 split, I’d say.  80 healthy, 20 treats!" This sounds like a great place to start.  I am not going to have treats everyday, but I am going to make up a food plan that includes them and that way I am hoping to avoid any food binges at all.

I have to remember that I do deserve to be happy and I do have to like myself so I want to look after myself and treat myself better.

Home Decorating - While I was Sleeping

"Look at moi, I've got one word to say to you, Pinterest".  It is soooo addictive and such a time waster.  I just love it and I can't believe it took me so long to catch on!  It is great for all types of things, inspiration, home decorating, organising ideas, food, the list just goes on.  

Basically I can find anything I want, pin it to one of my many boards and it's there forever.  Easy access to all the things I love, such as my Home Decorating Ideas.  Unfortunately my husband will never have doesn't have Pinterest, he's just not a pinning type of guy.  He is however, a horse man.  No, he doesn't look like one,  he just loves the animal, maybe I could open a Pinterest account for him and just fill it with horses.  He hates loves how I know the passwords to all his stuff, like his facebook account - I love changing his profile info and picture to something really embarrassing when he's at work - I think it's hilarious and I just can't understand why hubby doesn't think it's funny?????  He can try and change his passwords, but they always have something to do with his football team or horses - so predictable mwuhhahahahahahahah!

Anyhooo, totally digressing, my husband obviously doesn't have access to my home decorating ideas because when I got up this morning, I noticed a couple of changes in our kitchen - "noice, different, unusual"......

Here are some more home decorating ideas by my husband that you may enjoy :)

Calendar near computer

Also near computer

Kitchen Decor - mmmmmm

Gooooo Buddy!!

Doorbell  speaker thing in kitchen

Please, please don't be jealous of my husband's decorating abilities.  I am sure 100% positive it is very easy to replicate and anyone can have this look.  All it takes is a little imagination!