I R Model Now!

I’ve got about a week and a half until my next measurements and I’m feeling apprehensive.  These last couple of kilos are being a real pain in my fat ass.  It’s going to take extra discipline to get rid off them so I’ve gone back to keeping a food diary and I’ve really started to up my workouts.

I’ve started playing touch football again for the first time in 11 years and it is so much fun!  I was so worried I would be a fumbling mess but at the risk of sounding like a corny Celine Dion song, I have to say it’s all coming back to me now.  We train twice a week in fitness and ball drills and we have our games on Mondays.  I scored a try last week and that was fricken awesome!

Seeing that I have picked up touch I have decided to drop indoor soccer for the time being.  Not that I don’t love it, because I really do, but Thursdays have become the only day that I can have a rest day and boy, I need that day.

So the old training schedule looks like this now:

Monday: Touch Football
Tuesday: Group Personal Training
Wednesday: Personal Training + Touch Training
Thursday: Rest
Friday: Personal Training
Saturday: Group Personal Training
Sunday: Touch Training

Intense, yeah?  Pro athlete, right?  Oh I know.  You don’t have to tell me!

Food-wise I’ve still been sticking to minimal wheat / starch products and lots of lean protein, legumes, quinoa, fruit and vegetables.  I just need to be careful of this sweet tooth that seems to be taking a large bite out of me lately.  I’m blaming hormones.  Yep, that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.  But no more will I be a slave to hormonal changes!  I’ll allow a few pieces of dark chocolate once a week and THAT’S IT.  No ifs, ands or buts! (cries)

In one of my last posts I mentioned I did a fashion shoot for Cosmopolitan magazine.  Well, that’s because I’m pursuing a lucrative career in modeling!  I’m going to be the next Jennifer Hawkins y’all!  Ha! Insert your own laughter here.  No, actually Cosmo like to use “real girls” in some of their shoots so I tentatively put down my name.  To my surprise they actually called me in!  It was such a good experience because it was almost like a little reward for myself for all my hard work this year.

Source: brandflakesforbreakfast.com

I was incredibly nervous and some of the photos look like I’m a deer caught in headlights!  Luckily they let me pick me my favourite photos so they will use one of the ones I picked for the issue.  I will be in the March issue of Cosmopolitan Australia so make sure you grab a copy!  For a small fee I will sign your copy.  Yes, that’s right!  You’ll have MY signature!  Get in while you can.  This offer is very limited (so limited it doesn’t actually exist…).

I think that’s about all I needed to update you on.  Oh, yeah, my obsession with chai lattes… I think I’ll tie that in to the tea post I’ve got coming up.  A word of warning – you may become addicted to tea after reading.  I take no responsibility.

 

Chicken Tenderloins with Creamy, Herby Sauce

ZOMG!  Nom nom nom.  I loved this recipe and so did my husband!  The sauce is just delicious!  You could have it on pork or beef or even stir it through a pasta or rice dish.

This dish weighs in at 383 calories and 13g of fat.  Pretty darn good in my opinion!

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 12 chicken tenderloins
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons plain flour
• 1/4 cup light thickened cream
• 2 tablespoons of finely chopped tarragon leaves (or herb of your choice – I used parsley)
• Steamed baby chat potatoes
• Steamed or grilled asparagus
• Olive oil cooking spray

Spray a little olive oil cooking spray in a non stick pan and heat over a medium heat.  Cook chicken for 3 minutes a side or until golden and cooked through.  Transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm.

Add mustard and flour to pan and stir until combined.  Slowly add cream and 1/2 a cup of water, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat.  Add herbs.  Simmer for one minute.

Arrange chicken on plates and spoon over sauce.  Serve with potatoes and asparagus and DIG IN!

Morrocan Lamb Steaks

This is an easy dish to throw together during summer!  Just remember your portion sizes as it’s quite easy to go overboard with meat serving sizes.  Aim for 120g – 150g or a piece that is the same size and thickness of your palm.  And if that doesn’t stop you from eating a massive piece of meat maybe this will – 150g of lean lamb steaks is 210 calories.  That is more than enough especially if you want to make room for tasty sides!

This meal comes to a total of 470 calories (130g of lean lamb was used).

Ingredients (serves 4 dependent on lamb steak sizes)

• Moroccan seasoning
• Fresh or dried rosemary
• Cayenne pepper
• 8 x 60g – 70g lean lamb steaks (visible fat trimmed)
• 400g chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
• 1/2 a lebanese cucumber (diced)
• Punnet of cherry tomatoes (cut in half)
• 1/2 a green capsicum (diced)
• Handful of flat leaf parsley (roughly chopped)
• 4 corn cobettes (steamed)
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 a lemon
• Light tzatziki dip

Sprinkle the lamb with a little moroccan seasoning, cayenne pepper (careful!  It can be spicy!) and rosemary.  Set aside whilst you prepare your salad.

In a bowl combine the chick peas, tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum and flat leaf parsley.  Squeeze over the juice of half a lemon and drizzle a little (and I mean a LITTLE!) extra virgin olive oil.

Cook your lamb on the BBQ or in a pan over medium heat for about 4 minutes a side or until cooked to your liking.

Serve with a dollop of light tzatziki, the chickpea salad and corn cobettes.

THAT Dress.

I’m still alive! Sorry about the lack of posts over the last few of days. I usually bang them out on my WordPress iPhone app but it has been playing up a little bit for me lately! Technology! Bah!

I’ve also had a bit of a cold, formed an addiction to skim chai lattes, scored my first try in touch football, did a fashion shoot for Cosmpolitan magazine… you know the usual… I’ll update you more in coming posts! I also have some good recipes coming up over the next couple of days too so keep your eyes peeled! No, literally, I’d like you to peel your eyes, k? Thanks.

Over the weekend my husband and I celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary. We booked a table on Sunday for lunch at a great little restaurant called Sauce at Coogee Beach but dilemma! What to wear?! Nothing in my wardrobe spelt “romantic beach-side lunch” to me and then I remembered… the leopard print dress! The one that a few of my lovely readers suggested I wear again! Well, I wouldn’t want to let you guys down, right? So I pulled it on and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was loose and flowy! I even considered belting it! Belting it!? The dress that used to be skin tight!? Yes! But I didn’t because it would have been most uncomfortable after consuming my own body weight in ribs. So I chucked on a pair of tan sandals and called it a success.

Husband thought I looked like a winner but then again he always has, god bless him.

I might add that I get all funny and red-faced about putting these photos up for the world to see! But I’m getting more confident and I really think it’s good for me to do this, especially on the days where I feel a bit flat and blah, woe is me, I feel like a piece of lard… You know what I mean? I’m owning my success! You should try it. It feels awesome.

When you feel blah what do you do to make yourself feel awesome again?

Amanda’s Top 5 Tips to Survive the Party Season

I love the Christmas holiday season! For me Christmas has always been synonymous with food. And lots of it. Similarly, New Years Eve has always been synonymous with getting shit faced.

That being said, I thought I would share with you the tactics that I am going to use this year to avoid putting on the usual 5kg I do every other holiday season! If you are anything like me and put on weight by just LOOKING at a delicious Christmas spread then read on.

Portion Control!

Source: weheartit.com

I don’t know what it is about me and food but all I know is that if you put a spread in front of me then I will endeavour to demolish it all in a matter of sheer minutes. I will pile my plate high with spoonfuls of everything on offer, smash it down my throat and then generally go for seconds. Do not ever take me to an all you can eat buffet – I will own that shit and it will frighten the pants off you.

Scary huh? That’s the hold food has over me. But this Christmas I will not give in to that little gremlin voice in my head that prompts me to turn into an Amanda tornado, a flurry of arms and tiny teeth (I have a little mouth – don’t hate!), consuming every food item in sight. Oh no, that will not happen this Christmas at all!

Here’s my plan of action:

• Remember to fill up on healthy breakfasts and do not skip meals
• Have a taste of everything but stick to a small spoonful not a large serving spoon sized serving of everything
• At parties, steer clear of pastries and fried party snacks and instead choose the healthier options like vegetables crudités, dip and sushi
• Say no to seconds – yes, Christmas pudding with custard and brandy cream is delicious but I only need it once!
• Be sensible – I don’t know about you but I have a tendency to just ‘glaze over’ when I am around lots of food and become a thoughtless, salivating mess! The aim is to only eat enough to be satisfied not to have to undo pant buttons!

Don’t Get Lazy!

Source: weheartit.com

It’s important to stick to your regular routine as much as possible. It’s very easy to fall into the mantra, “Hey stuff it! I’m on holidays!” but those thoughts will come back and bite you on the ass. And by bite you on the ass I mean your ass will get fat. Just sayin’. Plus it will be extra hard to get back into the swing of things once your holiday period is over. Really not worth it!

• Stick to your regular training schedule
• If you can’t stick to your regular training schedule make a new one that will fit within your holiday plans
• Go to bed and wake up at your usual times so that you don’t fall out of your sleeping pattern
• Do anything you can to just stay active – even if it means just a walk with the family or a trip to the park to run around with your dogs

Low Alcohol Drinks Are Your FRIEND!

Source: joe-ks.com

Listen. Yes, social drinking can be fun and it feels great to lose inhibitions and feel like you are the life of the party for the night. But the fact of the matter is that the consumption of alcohol often has a detrimental effect to weight loss. Not to mention the bloating and sluggish metabolism that comes after a big drinking session! Oh and need I add that there is also substantial evidence that alcohol is linked to depression (hello hangover blues!)? And what about all those empty calories – yikes!

So if you tend to drink a lot during party season try to remember that it’s not important how drunk you get, it’s just important that you have a good time and you don’t have to be drunk to have fun (yeah yeah, I know, cliché)! And think of how good you will feel the next day when you are not hung-over? Awesome.

• Choose low alcohol drinks – my personal favs:
  • Lindemans Early Harvest variety wines
  • Moscato wines
  • Yellowglen Jewel sparkling wine
  • Coopers Light beer
  • Hahn Premium Light beer
• Have a water or soda water with fresh lime in between drinks
• Slow down your drinking by playing pool or having a boogie
• Consume some carbs before drinking to slow the absorption of alcohol
• Don’t go into ‘shouts’ with friends or allow your glass to be topped up – be responsible for your own intake

Make Healthy Contributions!

Source: rockymountainbbq.ca

If your Christmas spread looks like something out of a scene from The Nutty Professor then you need to start rethinking what you are going to bring to the table! Why not show your family that you don’t have to have high fat and high calorie food for it to be tasty? Be a good influence and bring the following to your next Christmas party!

• Carrot / celery sticks with hummus
• Rice paper rolls with fresh prawns, coriander, lettuce and grated carrot
• Home made salsa and pita bread ‘chips’
• Sushi
• Mezze platter with olives, marinated mushrooms and marinated artichokes
• Capsicum strips / cucumber strips with beetroot dip
• Fresh salads with lots of vibrant vegetables
• Baked sweet potato instead of baked potato
• Fresh prawns and oysters

Google is also useful for looking for healthy recipes and not just pictures of funny cats! Make this Christmas your healthiest Christmas ever!

It’s All About Attitude!

Source: tane.li

It’s so easy to forget about your health commitments during holidays but it’s really important that you stay on track so that you don’t reverse all of your hard work! If you think you can just eat everything in sight and then deal with it in January then you have another thing coming! Trust me – you will regret that decision IMMENSELY.

• Try not to forget your goals during the holiday period – keep a reminder where you can see it (it may be a picture of a bikini you want to buy or a photo of you when you looked your best)
• Don’t get too stressed – as stress levels rise we are prone to overeating so just remember that you don’t have to make Christmas perfect for everyone!
• Stay strong and focused – don’t give into the temptation of overeating and know when enough is enough

Remember, the Christmas holiday season only lasts a few days. Are you willing to let go of months of hard work for just a few days? It is possible to still have fun, enjoy the holidays with your family and friends, eat the foods you love and still maintain your healthy lifestyle!

How do you endeavour to stay healthy for the holidays?

One Year Ago…

Sometimes it’s nice to put things in perspective.  It’s good for the soul to reflect and look at your achievements.  It’s healthy to acknowledge how far you’ve come and celebrate.  So without further adieu I present you with:

FYI – in case you are wondering that is a SKIN TIGHT leopard print dress.  Yes, that’s my belly…

Now

This post is dedicated to PoP. 🙂

Protein Shake Trial & Measurement Time

I started taking Define Women’s High Protein Powder by Vitalstrength approximately 4 weeks ago now and I have to say I’m really reaping the benefits! I was sceptical at first but the results speak for themselves.

I’m recovering quicker from training sessions and I have decreased muscle soreness (which was becoming a big problem for me!). Teaming the shakes with my already jam packed training schedule and my protein-rich diet seems to be just the thing I was looking for!

I can really notice my body changing and even my husband has been commenting on how my muscles seem to look leaner and more defined. And I can feel abs people! ABS! They are coming back with a vengeance. I can’t seem them just yet but they are coming. Oh, believe me, they ARE coming.

Also, once Chanel is finished her bottle of Hydroxy Liquid Lean I’ll ask her to provide a full report.

With that said, here are my latest measurements results! They aren’t as great as I would have hoped but I did have a week off from training this month and was a little more ‘free’ shall we say with my food intake… And let’s face it – you can’t have killer results EVERY month so that just means next month I’m going to smash it, yeah?

I was really pleased about my knee results though! They are my most loathed part… Damn you knees! I WILL demolish you! But my poor lady lumps… well I guess you can’t have it all! Or can I? Maybe a quick trip to Thailand is in order to get this situation sorted if you know what I’m sayin’!

I’d also like to inform you that it has been 4 days since I last weighed myself (“Hi, my name is Amanda and I’m a scales addict”) and my feet are itching to jump on the scales. This just further confirms that my morning weighing habit was becoming far too obsessive.

Some people commented on my last post that weighing themselves daily is something that keeps them on track and I think that is great! It’s really all about what works for you however for me I knew that my emotions were being affected by the number displayed and I was getting increasingly frantic with bringing that number down. I don’t need that stress in my life and plus I will be doing myself such a service by seeing my results week to week rather than day to day. Besides, the only numbers that should really matter to me are my measurement results and I just have to keep reminding myself of that!

How do you track your weight loss success? Do you track your measurements and weigh and if so, how often?

I’ve Got a Confession to Make…

Remember very early on in my blog when I asked my hubby to hide my scales?  Well, I uh, umm, oh this is so hard and embarrassing to admit… Okay I’ll just spit it out.  I’ve been weighing myself daily again.  DAILY!  How ridiculous!  This goes against EVERYTHING I stand for but I am so obsessed with my end goal (which is SO close) that I can’t seem to think rationally.  I’ve become a monster!  Don’t look at me!  Don’t look at meeeee!

Every morning before I get in the shower I weigh myself, then I look at the number and if it is any bigger I fret.  If it has gotten smaller I rejoice.  But it’s just so ridiculous because I KNOW that day to day how much your weight can fluctuate, I KNOW that muscle takes up less room than fat meaning I can actually be physically smaller and still weigh the same, I KNOW the detrimental mental effects that weighing yourself everyday can cause, I KNOW I am not a number but I just.  Can’t.  Seem.  To.  Stop.

Enough is enough I say!  I will no longer fall victim to a machine!  I’m hiding the scales again and am committing to weekly weigh ins.  I am focusing on reducing in SIZE not in WEIGHT. That is the key! (I’m feeling quite smug with that little phrase!).

Speaking of reducing in size, tomorrow I will have my monthly measurements taken.  I’m worried that my week off from exercise will have a negative effect but I’m not going to focus on that.  I just need to focus on moving forward.  So I will post the results of that plus I will fill you all in on how my protein trial is going!

Are you a scale-a-holic?  Do you focus on your weight more than your size?

Source: weheartit.com

Zumba! Join the Party?

I did something so crazy the other week.  Something I could never have pictured myself doing.  Something so inexplicable and ridiculous that I have no idea who I am anymore.

I went to Zumba.

 

Source: Photobucket

Except it looked nothing like the above, nor did it look anything like the hot sweaty night club full of tanned, fit, gorgeous models that the TV advertisements would have you believe.  It looked more like a group of awkward, uncoordinated, sweaty ladies in a school hall similar to this:

 

Source: blingcheese.com

If you haven’t heard about Zumba yet then I am afraid to tell you that you have been living under a rock.   I won’t go into explaining what it’s all about but you can read more about it here if you are one of those people that reside under a rock.  I won’t hold it against you… I promise.

A few of my friends and I decided it might be fun to give Zumba a try at one of our local schools.  I didn’t really know what to expect but images of gyrating hips and shaking booties filled my mind.  I decided to go there with an open mind and see if I could be enticed to “Join the Party!”.

We arrive at the little school hall and the class begins.  There’s a Jane Fonda-esque warm up to start with.  Think running on the spot, pretending that you are holding weights and bouncy squats and lunges.  Physical – I was getting it.   All that was missing were a pair of electric blue spandex tights under a fluro pink g-string leotard.  Needless to say I was already in a fit of giggles.

I’m really not great a copying people’s moves.  I just can’t get my brain to comprehend how to make my body move in the mirror image of somebody elses and I’m afraid to report that the instructor was not the best at helping the class out.   She would simply point at the foot that we should begin with and then point in the direction we would be going and then off we would go!  Sorry lady, but I need a little more help than just a point, thankyouverymuch!

Our first ‘routine’ starts.  The hall filled with rhythmical Latin beats and the instructor took off in a flurry of hand and feet movements.  I decide to get the feet down-pat first and add the hands when I was comfortable.  I felt self-satisfied with my decision – Amanda, you genius you!  I think I did okay with following the moves after that.  There were a few moments where I was facing the back of the room whilst everyone else was facing the front but everyone was laughing too much to care!

I can’t even begin to describe some of the moves we did… but I will have to give it my best shot for my favourites because these dashing moves were just made for sharing.  It would be mean of me not to fill you in.

First there is the move I dubbed ‘The Chicken or Fish’.  Imagine you are serving food at a wedding with platters of food on one arm and the other hand is on your hip.  Turn to your left and quickly move two steps, turn to your right and quickly move two steps and so forth.  Then there was the ‘Wash the Sky, Wash the Ground’ whereby you turn to the left with both hands in the air and “wash” in that direction and then turn to the right and lower your hands to your right side and “wash” in that direction.  Yep.  Those were my FAVOURITE moves.  I also enjoyed the swiveling hips and booty poppin’ moves immensely.  But I think what I enjoyed the most was just laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.  It was just so hysterical!

But unfortunately I did not get much out of it fitness-wise.  I didn’t have much of a sweat or elevated heart rate going.  Neither did another couple of my friends.  We put it down to the class possibly being a beginners class.  I don’t think I could do an intermediate class though – I found copying the moves hard enough with my two left feet!  But I do think I needed just a little more ‘activity’.

I think it would be great for people just getting into exercise as it is fun and would give them quite a nice little workout.  For me, I think I will stick to going every now and then for a bit of a laugh but I won’t be ‘Joining the Party’ anytime soon!

What do you think of Zumba?  Have you given it a shot?

Weddings Make Me Silly!

I have so much to tell you I don’t even know where to start! The words are getting all jumbled up in my brain!  So much has happened over the past week or so…  I think I will start with the Wedding.

So as you all may know by now I have spent the last few weeks eagerly anticipating my best friends wedding.  Weddings make me go a bit silly.  I get so crazily excited over them!  I’m happy to report that the day was beautiful and went off without a glitch!  Well, there was the issue with my shoe not having a flower attached where there should be a flower attached but we are so awesome that we fixed it within a blink of an eye!  No man, woman or shoe was going to ruin this day!  No siree bob!

On the Thursday before the wedding I went and got myself a nice spray tan.  In my opinion everyone looks better with a tan.  The bride tends to disagree and believes that the unsightly pallor of death is beautiful… shudder. We won’t go there!  So I got myself all bronzed up and was feeling GOOD!

Saturday rolled around and we were all getting right into the hair and makeup, painting our nails and moisturising our skins and what-have-you and once we were all sufficiently dolled up we got into our dresses.  I was dreading the thought of feeling like the ‘fat bridesmaid’ again, a feeling I know only too well after being in 2 wedding parties, but I didn’t!  I was really happy with the way that I looked.  Of course I looked at photos later and had pangs of, “Oh my fat arms!” and “Curse you double chin!” but overall I didn’t feel like I was alien to the other bridesmaids and that felt insanely good.

Concentrating on not falling over!

 

Nothing better than having your hair and makeup done!

I was feeling SO good that I got myself incredibly drunk.  Yep.  Drunk.  I was a dancing, singing, twirling, tumbling mess of a woman.  Disgraceful!  But ridiculously fun. 😉

And oh my goodness, the things I ATE that weekend.  I had bacon and eggs, lollies galore, soft drinks, chips, cheese, sausages, MACDONALDS… all the things I would never EVER dream of eating I ate like I had never seen food before IN MY LIFE.

I think deep down I was testing myself – “How much can I eat before I start putting on weight?  If I eat MacDonalds will I get back to Sydney 4kg heavier?”.  In the past a weekend of relaxed eating would land me in all sorts of trouble so when I did finally step on the scales back at home I felt nauseous.

I looked down at the scales and I was only 700g heavier.  And I felt okay about that!  Then a couple days later of eating well and I was back to my pre-wedding weekend weight.  Hello metabolism!  Thanks for coming back to me!  It’s so awesome to have you.  Please stick around.

Speaking of weight I thought I would revisit that goal I set at the end of September, the goal of losing 2kg before the end of October.  I actually had forgotten at the time to record my weight but I THINK  I was 75.5kg.  Now I am 73.7kg.  So CLOSE!  Missed it by “that much”.  But on the plus side I’m now only 3.7kg away from getting to my next goal of 70kg.  And you know what that means folks!  I will be only 2kg away from my ULTIMATE goal of 68kg!  Sweet Mary Mother of God!  I can NOT believe it!

I’d LOVE to be able to get to 68kg by the end of the year but my body likes to do things according to it’s own schedule so I will just keep pushing on until I get there.

I have some good posts coming up!  My Zumba review, protein trial update, tips to survive the holiday season… I’m revving up people!  Stay tuned!

Discussion time!  Do you have issues with your metabolism?  What are some of the things you do to combat a sluggish metabolism?