Fitness Food And Style Photo A Day Challenge - Day 1 DENIM

Hello everyone, another month, another challenge.

I thought I would mix things up a little and get you to capture everything and anything Fitness Food And Style related. So get your camera ready!

The words are your guide, prompt, inspiration to get all creative. As you may know by now, I am such a visual person and I live on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter. So please come and join me. Hash tag #ffsphotoaday and let's have some fun.



Photo A Day Challenge




Day One - Denim



Assorted denim




A denim bag filled with coloured and acid wash denim jeans. A denim vest, jacket and acid wash shirt! :-) can I have any more denim???

Here are my fantastic four pics that caught my eye from;

@kristinostevik
@sunshinengiggles
@bec_wallaby and 
@susanmarlene



Denim action



What's your favourite denim piece?

Hope you're having a fabulous Wednesday! XxDani


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Healthy new lifestyle Transformation Tuesday with Matt

This young man is all about, eat what you want as long as it fits your macros. I came across Matt on Instagram @ If_It_Fits_Your_Macros early this year. So Matt's theory is, enjoy the food you eat and if that means a donut, go for it. Of course don't eat the entire Krispy Kreme or Donut King box!!! He's about calorie counting and reaching your macronutrient target and has an amazing story to share. 

So without further a due, here is the sensational Matt Cull.










How old are you and please can you share your health and fitness journey to date? 

I’m 21 and I started out at around 17 going to the gym like most other young guys, with very little knowledge or dedication and spent the best part of 2 years training in the gym with very little progress. It wasn’t until I began studying a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science that I really became dedicated and started to develop my knowledge of fitness and what is required to gain muscle mass. From there I improved my eating habits and ever since I have been dedicated to educating myself in nutrition and training through my own research of scientific studies and research, the most reliable source of information that is available. More recently, I have been dedicated to spreading the truths of the fitness industry through my business project ‘Macro Fit’, and educating people about a more flexible approach to dieting through macronutrient tracking. When I started my journey I was a mere 68kg and am currently 83kg at 6’ which I predominantly achieved through the utilization of tracking calorie intake and macronutrients.

What types of foods did you used to eat as a kid and young adult? What's changed since then? 

When I was younger I just ate whatever Mum cooked. Our dinner was always home cooked and on the rare occasion we would have take away, it never bothered me that we didn’t eat much take away because my mums cooking was always good. We had plenty of rice and pasta usually with a serving of meat and vegetables. Breakfast was always cereal and toast. Nowadays, I eat a similarly broad range of foods, and even though I still live with my parents, I cook all my meals. I eat any foods that will fit into my predetermined macronutrient goals. Anything from poptarts to broccoli, chicken to pizza etc. It’s all about moderation, with health being the number one priority, so getting sufficient vitamins and minerals and fibre is just as vital as reaching your macronutrient targets.

Do you play any sports or what sports do you like watching?

I have always been very athletic in the past and have played more sports competitively than I can think of however I predominantly played footy and cricket. I have put these on hold for the time being however to focus on my studies and on my weight training.

What are your interests, passion and what makes you smile?

Obviously physical fitness and health is a great interest of mine; ensuring I am healthy and doing the best I can to ensure a great quality of life for myself in the future. In particular I love weight training. Educating myself is a passion and I’ll probably be at Uni studying until I’m 26.  I get a great deal of satisfaction from helping others, especially in educating people about fitness. I have a lovely partner of 5 years who makes me smile as well as our border collie pup of 10 months. I also absolutely love the TV show “Parks and Recreation”, it’s pretty much the only TV I will watch as the rest is nonsense.


What was the catalyst that sparked your lifestyle change?

Starting my university degree, not only because I was learning relevant information about the anatomy and physiology of the body but also that university teaches you that you can’t make any claims about something, unless there is sound scientific evidence to support the claim. For me, this provoked a desire to research things for myself and find out all the answers I needed to know from a fitness perspective.

What are some of your dreams/goals you hope to achieve over the next 12 months?

I am hoping for my new business to be a success, so I can help spread the truths of the fitness industry to the world and help people to live a more practical and sustainable life while achieving their health and fitness goals.

What tips would you like to share with my readers about your transformation?

Count calories and track macronutrients. It’s not as hard or as time consuming as it sounds, and once you get used to it, it become second nature. I spent too many years not knowing how much to eat, or what proportion of macronutrients I was eating or needed to eat. Tracking macros takes the guesswork out of it and gives you the option to be much more flexible than just about every other dieting protocol, which means you are far more likely to stick with it and achieve goals in the long term.

Thank you so much Matt for sharing your new healthy lifestyle with us. For those interested in following Matt and his amazing macro lifestyle, you can reach him here;

Website (not yet active but coming soon)- Sign up to mailing list at www.macrofit.com.au
Email for more info about tracking macros – info@macrofit.com.au


This post is proudly sponsored by 1st Available.com.au REGISTER NOW FOR FREE!


Healthy living and what we typically eat

I was looking through some of my old posts today and came across this one I did in the very first month of my blogging venture.

Not much has changed and it's great to see that we are not on any yoyo diets, this is now our healthy lifestyle.

June 2012

Here is what we ate today....

Almond Milk






I occasionally substitute cows milk with almond milk which is 1 cup of almonds blended with 2 cups of filtered water (or just depends how thick and creamy you like it). I know some recipes suggest to soak the almonds overnight, I find the result is the same......so just keep blending the almonds until they completely infuse into the water making it look all creamy like milk. Then strain in a cheese cloth and voila! you have an amazing tasting milk alternative, especially for those that get some tummy bloating after having too much cows milk.

Breakfast ~ Quinoa with strawberry, kiwi and raspberries

Simply cook the quinoa as per package instructions, add milk and load up with fresh fruit and there you have an amazing supportive and clean eating breakfast that will keep you fuelled for the morning!

Quinoa with strawberries and kiwi fruit



Morning snack ~ Yogurt with pineapple pieces

Super fast, as there is always yogurt in the fridge and if ever your fresh fruit supply is down, make sure you have some handy "tinned" fruit to add. Also nuts are power protein food!


Yogurt with pineapple



Lunch ~ Salmon beetroot salad with corn kernels
We had salmon last night and this was my left over. Mixed some salad, canned corn kernel and beetroot. Super fast, super tasty!!!! Simply splashed vinegar and olive oil and voila!


Salmon beetroot salad



Afternoon snack ~ Chick peas, celery, gala apples with dip

Our kids are famished when they come home from school and kinda and love this snack. We also incorporate rice crackers too

Chickpeas with with dip 



Dinner ~ Poached chicken with broccoli & peas on a bed of rice
These are considered my cheat nights, where I just wrap the chicken in foil and spice accordingly, in a steamer beside the broccoli and peas whilst the rice cooker does it's magic. Then crumble feta cheese over it. There's no slaving over a hot stove for this ripper dinner!


Poached chicken with broccoli and peas



So that was our day of meals. I hope it gives you some insight on how you can eat healthy and colourful dishes and not spend too much time in the kitchen. I'd rather play "cars" with our kids, as I did while dinner was steaming away :-) XxDani

Do you plan your meals and keep a record of what you eat? 

Mini "STEP IT UP" leg challenge ends

Here we go. Another week has just flown.

Where does the time go? 

Oh yes, that's right. We have been stepping it up with our 100 steps per day this week, right? HA! I really don't know how we do it. How do we fit it all in? Eat healthy, prepare the healthy food, exercise, run a household, family and work commitments, have fun, good times and laugh, personal and hobby interests, sleep and do it all again the next day. We just do it.


Lorna Jane black tshirt and metallic leggings



Anzac Day

A day that we pause to remember those who sacrificed their lives during the war that have given us the freedom we enjoy today.

There are many traditions associated with ANZAC Day. The dawn service, which is a service of remembrance undertaken in the freezing pre-dawn darkness. Games of two up- a gambling game played by the service men during war. The Essendon vs Collingwood football game - we lost!! And of course Anzac biscuits.



Anzac Day WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Adrian was going to take the kids to the dawn service, however the plan is definitely next year. We had a beautiful service at Noah and Oscar's school on Wednesday. The kids were so reverent and I was really moved. We truly are blessed to live in such a peaceful country.


What's your Anzac Day tradition? 

Anzac Day crepes


We had a great day yesterday (except for my footy team losing) and instead of making traditional healthy Anzac biscuits HERE I opted for my traditional crepes! Introducing my ANZAC DAY CREPES......


Anzac Day crepes


Follow my crepe recipe here but with this method, I mixed oat flour (blended Uncle Toby's oats until it was flour form). For the toppings, we just added coconut butter, honey, then some lemon and no added sugar strawberry jam. The healthy toppings are endless. Mix and match as you please. My fave are crushed walnuts!


Banana Choc Smoothie



Banana choc smoothie

2 bananas
250ml your choice of milk
180 Nutrition chocolate protein powder
1ts chia seeds
sprinkle of cinnamon

Blend and enjoy!

Our 80/20 fully raw lifestyle is going great! We make a lot of smoothies, I drink plenty of juices and then I'll make dishes like these primarily at dinner time.



Raw salad with meatballs



Fully raw salad with meatballs 


You can find my typical meatball recipe HERE and we just mixed various vegetables for our salad;

150g spinach
1 red & yellow capsicum
1/2 red onion
6 baby corns
2 tomatoes
punnett of tomatoes
1 cucumber

Our dressing was lemon with a drizzle of olive oil and it was simple and really quick. 

When I say quick, I kinda lie. The hardest part of this fully raw (80/20 really) is ALL THE PREPPING of the fruit and vegetables, I do throughout the day. My kitchen is constantly messy and I am forever washing, prepping, cutting fruit and vegetables!!! Yikes! Healthy living is really hard work. Don't get me wrong, once all that is done dinner is typically put together in under 15 minutes!

How are you managing this new fully raw lifestyle? What are some challenges you are faced with? 

Kristina from Fully Raw has posted this amazing Youtube video to help you with the top 10 challenges people face when they go fully raw.

Let me know what you think.

Until next time, much love and friendship xx Dani



Mini leg workout challenge this week USE THE STAIRS

With a lot of people requesting another mini challenge, I thought I would come to the party as everyone did extremely well with our 1000 squats in 5 days last week!!! Jeepers were my legs sore! Yours??? Yes, I know. 


Step it up. Take the stairs challenge


Fitness


This one is pretty easy. I didn't want to stretch our friendship so instead of 200 reps per day, I have dropped it down to 100 step ups per day over the next 5 days = 500! Which simply means, go hard for 60 seconds and slow for 30 seconds. 

Example 20 step up x 5 sets

The aim of this challenge is to get your heart rate up and I will be doing mine as part of my interval training which gets my heart pumping and body sweating. So just because you go up a flight of stairs everyday at your apartment block, at work etc... you're not really working up a sweat are you?

For those unable to do this type of interval work, simply take the stairs and avoid any escalators and lifts. This also applies to parking. Park as far away from wherever you are going so it forces you to make more steps in your day!

Food

Our Stand Up And Be Rawesome challenge AKA #standfullyraw is going great guns and people on Instagram have been tagging some amazing meal ideas. Here are just a few AMAZING people that I truly adore and they inspire me daily!!!! YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THEM if you are on Instagram.

justglowingwithhealth
purtyvicky
realfood4thought
rawnaeima


Fully raw meal ideas 


We have been enjoying our juices and smoothies this week, here's just a few of our favourite ones.

Banana chocolate smoothie

2 bananas
1tsp vanilla essence
1tsp chia and sesame seeds
1 scoop of 180 Nutrition chocolate protein powder
handful of walnuts
almond milk

Chocolate smoothie

Strawberry banana and coconut smoothie

2 bananas
1 punnet of strawberries
1 scoop of 180 Nutrition coconut powder
almond milk


Strawberry banana smoothie


Here was our lunch today, my Dad loves french toast. I made it with a twist.

French Toast club sandwiches

Simply mix eggs, a splash of water with salt and pepper, dip in wholemeal bread and cook in olive oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towel and start building your club sandwiches. 

We had smoked ham, parmesan cheese with spinach. Amazing!


French toast club sandwiches

BTW here's a picture of Zali and I with our final squat last week. She's a trooper. Monkey see, monkey do. Or is it like Mother like Daughter?


Drop it like a squat

Please note, I was heading out that evening so all I had to do was put on my stiletto's and a leather jacket and my rockstar outfit was complete. I am loving Lorna Jane's active gear and loved Lorna's twitter back to me when she saw this pic: 

"Your Active Life extends beyond the walls of the gym. It's for the girl on the go - glad you love it. Lx" 

Love it I do, Lorna. Thanks for being such a great designer. 

Goodnight from me. Until we meet again xx Dani



This post is proudly sponsored by 1st Available. Click now to register for free.


Newsletter Number 2 - April 21st 2013

In this newsletter - Find out about the Hybrid Fitness Business Register, the upcoming No Mere Mortal Challenge, The Comedy Show dinner and the Spartan/Tough Mudder. Also here about to remarkable efforts by 2 Hybrid Girls and a few other things that are going on. Check it.....HYBRID NEWSLETTER is now a webcam cast. Getting with the times!!!!

180 Nutrition protein powder GIVE AWAY


I've had a few of you mention that if you are not on Facebook or Instagram whether this competition applies to my blog readers???


OF COURSE IT DOES!!! 


Simply leave your favourite smoothie recipe below and share this competition with your friends so they too can go in the draw!! 
The more the merrier! 



Fitness Food And Style 180 Nutrition Give Away





If you can't wait until I announce the winner at the end of the month, simply head to www.180Nutrition.com.au and use your exclusive 10% discount promo code 264464.

A special thanks to Guy and Stu for sponsoring this giveaway for our #standfullyraw challenge, you guys are the best. If you haven't already liked their Facebook page. Please go HERE.

Happy Friday everyone!

♥ Dani 

Mini squats challenge - 1000 squats in 5 days

How are you going?

Just a quick post to let you know my legs feel like jelly and sore?!!! Doesn't even come close. Day 4 today so I have 200 scheduled today.

It's great leg awareness. I have been a little slack with my exercise regime, nevertheless I am still breaking up my squats throughout the day 25 reps whilst brushing my teeth, 25 reps while I am folding our washing etc... You can fit in fitness wherever as long as you make the time.


Dani Stevens drop it like a squat




Instructions for "good-form" squats


1. Stand up straight with your feet firmly planted on the ground approximately shoulder width apart. To help maintain a straight back as you perform the exercise, it's a good idea to focus on an object directly ahead of you at eye level.
2. Contract your abdominal muscles as you bend your legs at the knees. Either stretch your arms out ahead of you, lightly position your hands behind your ears or hold your arms at your side as you slowly lower yourself into a squatting position. Lower your body to a position where your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Return to the starting position and repeat.
Important: Proper technique is critical, otherwise serious injuries or gradual injury over a period of time can occur. The back must maintain its natural curvature and not "round out" otherwise excess strain can be placed on the spine and cause serious injury.
Also, to avoid undue stress on the knee joint, do not allow your buttocks to drop lower than your knees as you lower your body towards the ground.
Remember, the main aim of the two hundred squats per day program is to get you motivated and moving. Also to improve your leg strength, fitness and general health. The program is all about making progress and constantly challenging yourself. Give the 5-day program a chance and you'll be amazed at your new found strength. Please do not attempt these as a regular exercise regime as you need your body to repair and have rest days. So I simply recommend incorporating them in your normal fitness regime x3 per week.

Dani Stevens no more excuses

Last night on Instagram I posted the above quote. I always find some excuse not to do something. I mentioned I was going to pull the pin with the 200 squats but with everyone cheering me along, I couldn't let you down. You ALL inspire me so much!! Thank you.
Who inspires you?
FOOD
Our #standfullyraw 80/20 challenge is going great guns! Kids are enjoying their jam packed fruit lunch boxes. For my local readers please head over to Peachs on Eastwood St in Ballarat for your exclusive 10% discount when you mention my blog. I really would love to encourage more fruit and vegetables in your day so please feel free to share with your friends and family.


There is also a 180 Nutrition giveaway on Facebook and Instagram. Please head over if you haven't already liked my page and share the post with your friends for your chance to win a 1.5kg bag of either chocolate or coconut protein powder. Leave your fave smoothie recipe on my wall post and I'll announce a random winner at the end of the month.
For those that can't wait, you can simply order directly at www.180Nutrition.com.au and please use the promo code 264464 at check out for your exclusive 10% discount.
I'm all about sharing the love! Happy Thursday everyone.
XxDani