My New Diet!

SO, I'm about to start my new diet (I say start because I was supposed to start today and already ruined it). I don't really have a name for it as yet, but here's a quick description. It's plain and simple...

DO:
Eat healthy

DON'T:
Eat junk

Haha, so I was joking when I said it would be simple. No diet as extreme as this is easy. The reason I call it extreme is not because it's actually extreme (really, we should only be eating healthy anyway), but because I am almost going from one extreme to the next. Me, who indulges in sweets whenever I feel like it, is going to have to not just cut down the sweets, but ultimately cut them out altogether. NOW, this does not include the sugar I put in my tea or on my Weet-Bix in the morning. This also does not include the natural sugar in fruits and honey and all that other yummy stuff. Basically, I'm just not going to eat the man-made junk. I'm going all natural baby - well, almost...

So here's how I am going to select the food I eat:

• Is this food nude? Does it look as if it's come straight out of nature, the way God made it (e.g. as it's picked off a tree, dug out of the ground)? Sausages - not a nude food.
• If it's not nude, what's in it? Only eat it if all or most of the ingredients healthy (e.g. tuna bake: tuna, cheese, potatoes, and onion are healthy. BUT, even though apple pies have apples in it, the sugar content is way too high - so you wouldn't eat that).
• If it has the word 'pie' in the name, don't eat it... Whether it's called shepherds pie, pepper and steak pie, pizza pie, apple pie, curry pie, cream pie, or anything pie don't eat it. Even if  it's a veggie pie - I don't care. Most pies, contain processed meat (which is NOT good for you) and it has too much pastry in it (or, more accurately, around it it), which brings me to...
• If it's a pastry, don't eat it. This includes pies, sausage rolls, lasagna, pasta, AND baklava (any any other sweet or savory pastry). WAY too many kilojoules...

For now, I'm allowing any drinks because it's not like I drink anything besides water, tea, and juice. My short-term goals are to increase the amount of protein in my diet, and decrease the amount of carbs, and learn to enjoy and appreciate food the way God originally made them. God has blessed us with the wonderful gift of creativity, which means we can play experiment with how we make this food. BUT, let's keep it healthy. After all, god gave us food to keep us healthy and alive - not to rot and kill us. My long-term goals are to lose 'unhealthy' weight and to gain good health.

From now on, I plan to use this blog as if it were my food and exercise diary. I will keep you up-to-date with  new and healthy recipes I try or create, and with any new exercise routines to keep you fit! I will also continue to update this diet (and eventually give it a name) as it progresses and as I modify in hopes of meeting specific needs.

Please pray that this diet will come to fruition and pray for my self-control during this time. 

Food and Fitness Diary

Okay, so I tried out doing writing up a food and fitness diary for a couple of weeks and found that it helped me a bit.

 Here's how to do it:

1. Record
2. Evaluate
3. Note
4. Set Goals
5. Implement

I recorded everything I'd eaten that day and all exercise I'd done.
Example:
- Did 60 crunches today
- Did 10 push-ups
- Ate pasta
- Had wheetbix for breakfast with 2tsps sugar

I would then evaluate my diet and activity for that day. I put a tick next to the good and a cross next to the bad.
Example:
- Ate 2 fruits (tick)
- Ate 5 veggies (tick)
- Ate 6 chocolate biscuits (cross)
- Ate 2 lollies (tick, because 2 is enough for a treat)
- Did 60 crunches (tick)
- Did 10 push-ups (cross, because that's not enough)

After evaluating I would then write some notes.
Example:
- Didn't drink enough water today
- Need to walk more
- Ate plenty of fruits and veggies


The next step is to then set myself some goals for the next week/month.
Example:
- Tone up arms
- Start butt exercises
- Drink more water

The final step is to implement your goals or to put them into action. The next time you look at your diary (which should be the following night) or when you decide to check if you've achieved your goals, tick them off and start on some new goals.

Spam Sandwich

Here's another recipe for all you food lovers out there.

So, I was at home bored and hungry, but there was very little in the house to eat (we all know how that feels), so I started to experiment with what we had: bread, avocado, and spam. So I decided to make a sandwich for lunch.

Ingredients:
- 2 slices Wholemeal bread
- Avocado (do not use avocado dip)
- 2 thin slices of 50% less fat spam
- Margarine

Method:
1. Lightly toast the bread
2. Spread margarine onto toast
3. Scoop a bit of avocado onto each slice of toast, spreading it
4. Place your two slices of spam onto one slice of toast and place the other slice of toast on top to make a sandwich
5. (this is the best part) EAT it!

You can add or replace anything in this recipe, for e.g. tomatoes, slices or ham, beef, chicken, melt cheese - whatever you want! Just be sure to keep it healthy :)

Hope you enjoy my lunch idea XD

Dance Aerobics

So,

Yesterday I tried out a dance aerobics DVD I bought from ALDI a while ago, and it was so much fun! It was nowhere near as intense as I though it would be (which was a bit disappointing because I love to work up a sweat) BUT this DVD would be great for people who are new to dance, or exercise in general. Dance and aerobics are great for increasing stamina, flexibility, and strength, and this DVD infuses both together. So here it is:

Health Wellbeing, Mind Body Spirit, Your New Body (A low-impact cardio workout) PLUS Dance Aerobics (a funky dance based workout).

So, there's actually two parts to this DVD. 1. is a low-impact cardio workout (with the use of light handweights) and 2. is the dance aerobics.

I haven't tried out the 1st workout yet (however, I did take a sneak peak of it and it looks terrific!), but the dance aerobics was great. It was a fun 40 minute workout and a little bit challenging at times. I highly recommend this workout to anybody, especially if you're new to exercise.

Now, I'm not saying you must get this particular DVD. There are heaps of exercise DVDs out there for you to try. So shop around till you find something you like. I have a couple other DVDs from this series which I will try out soon and let you guys know what I think about them.


If you're interested in this particular DVD, or interested in the series go to: mind-body-spirit.com.au for more information.

Before, After

Before, After by nessak94 featuring vintage style jewelry

Fitness in the Holidays

Hey guys,

Usually, exercising in the holidays is easier to manage because you have more time + (if you're a parent) the kids are home and they are there to keep you active and almost always on the go. But I personally find it hard to keep up my fitness during the holidays because I never have much physical activity on AND dance is never on in the holidays. So in a way, I think I'm worse off than those who don't regularly exercise 5 hours a week, because by holiday time I'm doing very little physical activity and then when I start dance again at the beginning of the new term I'm absolutely ACHING. Not to mention, disappointed because I can't kick my leg as high, or I've lost my turnout, or I feel heavy when I jump.

So this holiday I did something different to my usual holiday routine. I kept myself busy. My goal was to do something everyday. I decided to spend more time with friends, I helped my dad paint a room (which is a great workout for your back by the way) as well as do some gardening with my dad (also great for your back), took my son to the beach, went to prayer night and bible study, AND I also went to gym for 5 hours (for at least 3 hours each day). This holiday has been AWESOME!

Okay, so I don't have a gym membership, but Fitness First do a fitness program for teens in school called FFIT Holidays (which I did) and another program called FFIT Schools. This program has helped me keep fit during this school holiday and I even got to try out new stuff like:

- Zumba
- Body Combat
- Pilates
- leg press, chest press
- cycling
- and some strange yet exciting vibrating construction designed to tone, build, and relax muscles. It looks something like this:

So if you're still in school and find it hard to get motivated to exercise in the school holidays I highly recommend this program for you. I know that it has helped me a lot. Although I love dance, it's nice to learn how to work your muscles in other ways.

Mission Update

Hey guys,

Just thought I'd add a statement to my 'Mission' page. I was talking to two of my youth group and bible study friends about this blog and asked them to pray for it. And during this conversation with them (just through reflection and added input) I want to add a new mission statement, that being:

I'm not trying to be healthy for myself - that's what the world wants me to do - but because I am Christian, I live for Christ, not the world. So, who am I trying to be healthy for? Well that's easy, God. 

I personally believe that as a Christian, everything we do should be for God (well, the good things) and to glorify Him. But, yes, I know, we are all far from perfect so we're not always going to please Him; we are going to fail sometimes. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't try. We can please God by taking care of the body He gave us. As my friends pointed out to me, by taking care of our bodies we will (hopefully) live longer, which means more time to spread the gospel. By taking care of our bodies we will be more energetic and in a better mood to spread the gospel, which means more listeners and more connection between people.

So there it is world. My new mission statement. If you're interested in joining the mission and/or have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will get back to you as quickly as possible.