STEVIA

SweetLeaf Flavoured Liquid Stevia is all natural, with ZERO calories, ZERO carbs, ZERO GI and infinitely flavourful. At only cents per drop, you can easily dress up the taste of water, coffee, tea, yogurt, cocktails, whipped cream, smoothies, ice cubes, and nearly anything else. The uses are endless.

Instantly add a hint of vanilla creme to your coffee, spice up your yogurt with a little chocolate, effortlessly whip up some hazelnut whipped cream without adding any calories, jazz up ice cubes with all-natural lemon flavouring, or add a little vanilla creme drop to your martini. Your kids will also love it as flavoured milk. Experiment! The uses are only bound by your imagination so add some flavour to your life

http://www.naturallysweet.com.au/our-products/stevia/flavoured-stevia/

Look what I found Peeps!! Guilt free marinates, salad dressings and chocolate spreads!! YUMMMMM

Walden Farms- http://www.waldenfarms.com.au/



My Trainer

Areti Anagnostellis

Its 8 weeks until Comps and its starting to get serious! I thought I would use this blog to introduce my new trainer - Areti Anagnostellis... I trained with Areti for the first time last week and absolutely loved it! Areti is a 3 times WFF Miss Universe winner and has been a trainer at MBS for Michael Tabban for many years.

Areti is an amazing trainer, she is passionate and devoted and can really motivate and inspire people. I have found that it is very important to feel comfortable with your trainer, you need to be able to talk to them and be honest with them regarding everything that may affect your nutrition or training. I love the fact that Areti started off exactly like me before her first comp, she knows exactly what I’m going through with the changes in my body and how the disciplined diet can affect me mentally.  She has been there to guide me on the tough days (weekends sitting at home wanting to eat a whole packet of biscuits) and to laugh with me on the good days... It’s so great to have a good support group including the trainers, other competitors, friends and family... you definitely need people around you that encourage you, inspire and motivate you, understand you and support you in your goals, together we can make changes and acheive anything.  

http://www.aretianagnostellis.com.au/

Low calorie snacks

Dark chocolate dipped strawberries – melt 2 tablespoons of dark chocolate and dip strawberries approx 150 cals

Apples with peanut butter - Apples are full of fiber and peanut butter is rich with protein and good monosaturated fats. 1tbsp of peanut butter and 1 medium apple. 150 cals

Vegies and dip - 1 cup of low-fat plain yogurt. Try dipping pepper strips, celery or broccoli for a tasty healthy treat.

Plain popcorn – no butter, but salt can be added

Half a pita bread wrap with 3 tbsp of hummus - 150 cals

Weight loss tips

Prepare your own meals

Learn what a serving size is - serving of meat or fish should be about the size of a deck of cards. A serving of almost everything else ought to fit in the palm of your hand. And most importantly, if you feel full, do not make yourself eat up everything you have left on your plate. Listen to your body and you will know when it’s the right time to stop.

Increase fibre - Fiber is essential for your healthy weight loss, your digestive system will run smoothly, your body will be able to naturally detox, your metabolism will go up and you will feel healthier overall.

Eat lots of protein- Not only protein helps you feel fuller, it also repairs the muscles after your workouts and contributes to the beauty of your skin, nails and hair.

Go easy on bread - It’s best to avoid bread altogether, but if you necessarily must have some, opt for whole grain bread, rather than processed white bread.

Ditch the dressing and salad toppings - substitute the dressing with some vinegar, olive oil or lemon juice.

Do not starve yourself - The thing is, starving ourselves puts our bodies in a “starvation mode” which basically means the body is trying to reserve the very same fat that we are trying to burn off.

Eat 5 small meals - The more often you eat, the less hungry you feel before each meal, which inevitably leads you to consuming less when you eat more often. Just make sure the 2 snacks you have in-between the meals are actually healthy

Do not skip breakfast - This is the meal that feeds your body through its most busy… and studies have shown that eating a healthful breakfast helps you lose weight faster.

Keep healthy snacks on you at all times - A small container of salad, grapes, an apple, even some flavored low-cal rice cakes would do. If a snack-attack strikes, you’ll be prepared

Drink water - If you feel hungry, you may actually be thirsty, as at first, thirst is translated as hunger in our brains. So try drinking a little water and in a few minutes see if you are still hungry before you indulge in a snack

Drink coffee after a meal - The only thing you need to remember is to not drink sugary coffee or coffee with milk in-between meals, but rather – afterwards. If the coffee you take comes with sugar or any kind of sweetener or if it contains milk, it will act in your body the same way desserts do.

Eating clean doesnt have to be boring! chicken, salmon, veg and lamb!

Being Social and being fit

Since being on my competition diet and training plan I have realised how much I use food to socialise! Whenever I catch up with my friends it’s either for dinner, lunch, coffee and cake, or a catch up for a drink or two... when you take food away it really challenges you to think of other things to do with your friends and family.

I love the way I have inspired most of my close friends to join a gym or try giving up sugar and bad foods. Every time I try to organise a catch up with my friends now they know it’s going to involve either a gym or cardio session.  I take my own food with me if we go anywhere and it’s great to see how it encourages my friends to eat healthy as well, (I think they are scared of the lecture I will give them ha-ha). I love working out with my friends on weekends, it keeps me busy and out of the house (away from the pantry), and I can kill two birds with one stone by exercising and catching up at the same time.

So what to do though? There are so many great things to do and try in Melbourne here are a few ideas I’ve come up with or have done.

·         Group exercise classes such as Pilates or yoga - http://www.bikramyogamelbourne.com.au/

·         Ice skating - http://www.icehouse.com.au/

·         Roller blading (you can hire them down at st Kilda for a day and roller blade alongside the beach) - http://www.baysideblades.com.au/

·         Indoor rock climbing – Hard rock http://www.hardrock.com.au/

·         1000 steps /kokoda memorial trail - http://www.dandenongrangesattractions.com.au/attractions/1000-steps/

·         Bike tour/ rentals - http://www.attractionsmelbourne.com/listing.php/bonza-bike-tours-and-bike-rental/906

·         Indoor paintball - http://www.attractionsmelbourne.com/listing.php/campbellfield-indoor-paintball/1789

·         Walking and jogging tracks - http://www.thatsmelbourne.com.au/Documents/maps/walkjog.pdf

·         Swimming - http://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/melbournecitybaths/Pages/MCB.aspx

·         fun runs for charity - http://www.coolrunning.com.au/calendar/vic.php?TargetCal=VIC&Months=12

·         tree top adventures - http://www.otwayfly.com/

·         learn to surf - http://www.sasurfschools.com.au/vic-surf-schools.php

·         learn to ski and snowboard - http://www.mtbuller.com.au/Winter/

·         boot camp weekends - http://bootcampweekend.com.au/index.php?p=1_13

·         If you do prefer to sit down to a meal or drink with friends try to use your imagination for e.g.- go to a juice bar or find and try vegetarian restaurants or go to funky organic cafes on Brunswick St etc.

My Training

Without giving away to much of my trainers secrets to stage success I thought I would briefly run through the training I’ve been doing for the past couple of weeks

Cardio- 1 hr Power walk daily- NO RUNNING!  Fitness competitors tend to lean towards the “no running rule” Running is known to eat away at the muscles you’ve worked so hard to gain. Running takes allot of energy for no real gains, except for cardiovascular gains which you can still get with power walking.

Step ups / stair climber- Those of you who know me, know I carry allot of junk in the trunk ha-ha... I’ve been called j-lo, ghetto booty, Kim Kardashian etc!!  So extra step ups daily or 15 mins on the stair climber definitely help target my slowly shrinking be-hind!!!

Abz and Bar bell twists- Bar bell twists are awesome for the obliques and help to shrink the waist line. I try to do over 400 twists daily.

Weight training- I do resistance training 4 days a week. I do a split style program using both isolated and compound exercises to target each muscle group.

Day 1 – Chest and bis

Day 2 – shoulders and hamstrings

Day 3 – back

Day 4 – Quads and tris

Yoga / body balance- I do at least one class a week to stretch my over worked body and to wind down after a hard week of training. Keep away from bikram yoga though, too much dehydration for the muscles!!

Sweet potato fries

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 medium sweet potatoes
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 250C. In a small bowl, combine rosemary and olive oil; set aside.
2. Scrub potatoes and remove any blemishes. Cut each potato lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices. Stacking 2 slices together, cut each into 1/2-inch strips.
3. In a large bowl, toss potato strips with rosemary mixture until evenly coated. Spread potatoes on a large parchment-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping potatoes over halfway through baking time, until lightly browned. Remove from oven, sprinkle with salt and serve warm

Nutrients per serving (about 10 fries): Calories: 116, Total Fat: 3.5 g, Sat. Fat: 0.5 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5 g, Carbs: 20 g, Fiber: 3 g, Sugars: 4 g, Protein: 2 g, Sodium: 174 mg, Cholesterol: 0 mg 

Blueberry-Banana Oatmeal Sundaes

INGREDIENTS:

• 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 2/3 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
• 2/3 cup plain unsweetened almond milk
• 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 banana, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2/3 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk oats, coconut and flaxseeds. Add yogurt, milk, maple syrup and cinnamon and stir to combine. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight (8 to 16 hours).
2. Meanwhile, in a small container, combine banana and blueberries. Cover and freeze overnight (8 hours minimum). If using frozen blueberries, add to banana mixture in step 3.
3. In a food processor or blender, blend banana-blueberry mixture, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl, until smooth and creamy. In small bowls or clear glasses, layer oatmeal mixture and banana-blueberry mixture, dividing evenly.

Minus banana for less calories

Nutrients per sundae: Calories: 265, Total Fats: 9 g, Sat. Fat: 4.5 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g, Carbs: 38 g, Fiber: 6 g, Protein 10 g, Sugars: 15 g, Sodium: 67 mg, Cholesterol: 0 mg

After dinner for dessert I usually have either a chocolate or strawberry protein shake but last night I tried one of these protein pudding dessert mix... OMG!!! get onto it peeps!! these are fantastic to cut those sweet tooth cravings at night time!!!..

Every morning I eat eggs and plain oats for breaky... If you’re like me and think plain oats are fowl then you need to try hot weet bix!! YUMMMM... it’s my new fave! I simply use boiling water over 2 weet biscuits and sprinkle a sachet of stevia... It has a similar texture as oats but so much more flavour :)

Microwave scrambled eggs

I eat Eggs every morning for breakfast and getting the frypan out every morning and dealing with mess and dishes can be timely and annoying.

Thank the lord for inventing the microwave! It’s quick and easy!

Step one- crack eggs into microwave safe container or bowl and whisk – (I use one whole egg and 2 eggs whites)

Step two- add salt, pepper or chives to taste

Step three- microwave for 1 minute on high (no lid on)

Step four – mash up eggs with fork and heat for further 30 seconds until all egg mixture has cooked then scramble up with fork.

TO EASY!!!