Weight Training at Home: July 2013

August 31 day water challenge and my squat results

Another challenge is here!!!

31 day water challenge - Fitness Food And Style

Please print out and have it handy on your fridge, at the office, inside your pantry door, inspiration board etc… so you can keep accountable as I know, I have been hopeless with my water intake over the winter months here in Australia.

The other challenge I thought we could set ourselves is a couple of personal ones. As you all know I have my BIG Ride To Conquer Cancer event coming up in Brisbane, so I will share my “bike ride” fitness regime that a High Performance Athlete Trainer created for me.

My other goal is to get more upper body strength. So I will be trying to do a variety of push ups, pull type exercises and planks. For more information on the various challenges, click on the links or go to my challenges tab and choose what you would like to do here. Whatever you choose, please take a before and after picture so you can see your progress.

July results – no added sugar and 50 squats challenge

My results for our July no added sugar and 50 squats every second day aren’t jaw dropping by any means but I just wanted to show you how a month of at least squatting can improve your tush a little. Excuse the 2nd underwear picture but it was the only time I could get my little one to take a picture and I couldn't find my swimmers which is why I wanted to do a real comparison for those that wanted the same bottoms, light or time of day. Sometimes these things are not possible in my day, so please forgive me.

Fitness Food And Style 31 day squat challenge - results

It’s not a huge difference (as you know, I am no fitness model. I am just a regular Mum of 4 kids trying to fit in fitness at any opportunity I can). I missed a few days of squats due to being fatigued with my cycling training and I have also been pretty hopeless with my no added sugar meals. So those 2 combinations, if they are not working in conjunction with one another won’t improve our body shape.

Work in progress is all I can say.

Please list your 2 goals for our August challenge and ensure you subscribe to my blog so you don’t miss a post this month.

Much love and friendship,

Dani

Summer Fun: My Birthday and Beach Trip!

Yesterday I turned 24 years old. I can't believe it. I still cannot believe I even turned 21. Now here I am turning 24. OMG! Where does time go?! I have had a great weekend filled with love, celebration, salty air, and good food. Here is what has been going on:

Friday: Long day at work, but at 5 o'clock it was finally dunzo. I started with a heavy leg work out at the gym and cardio then went home. There was lots of packing to be done! My cat was the best little helper in the world, then he decided to play in the bathtub. I just thought these pictures were cute! :)

Saturday: Marquis and I left for the beach bright and early. We arrived around 2 and had a drink at our hotel bar, toured some condo's, then got ready. We had dinner at our favorite Myrtle spot, "California Pizza Kitchen" then had a lovely evening on the boardwalk: live music, arcade games, shopping, and maybe a cocktail or two!

Vodka tonic at our oceanside hotel bar!

Beautiful beach view from the bar!

Sunday: We spent the day at the pool and ocean soaking up the sun! When we were all pooped out from the sun, we showered and went to Planet Hollywood for an early dinner and cocktail, then saw "Wolverine" in 3D at the awesome theater at "Broadway at the Beach". By the time the movie was over we went back to our hotel for a drink at the hotel. It was such a beautiful night. The breeze was perfect and there is nothing like having a drink by the ocean. The bartender even turned on "True Blood" for me on the bar outside!

My beach bum!

Planet Hollywood

Drinks at Planet Hollywood in our souvenir cups!

Ready for an evening out!

Monday: We woke up bright and early and toured more condo's (we have been looking for a while) and finally placed an offer on an awesome ocean front condo at "Ocean Reef Resort" this place is amazing. It was a bowling alley in it, water park, general store, Starbucks, restaurant/exclusive bar, and tons of indoor/outdoor pools. The rest of the day was spent being beach bums again, but it was interrupted by a huge storm around 4 PM. We decided to go back to the room and get ready, then went to Encounters: UFO Museum. I love the paranormal and UFO's so I was really excited about it, but very disappointed. Afterwards we had dinner at Margaritaville.

Gorgeous view

Soaking up the sun!

Poolside kisses

Cheese!

Encounters: UFO Museum

Listening to real 911 calls about UFO's in Encounter's

Encounters: UFO Museum

Tuesday: It was my birthday and time to leave the beach and head home. I spent the afternoon of my birthday grocery shopping, unpacking, prepping food, cleaning, and getting ready to be back on my grind. Marquis is prepping for his next bodybuilding show in October so we are back on our grind. We did take a little break last night for some birthday cake, though. My o my, it was amazing! I had a fantastic birthday and I welcome "24" with open arms!

Cake batter ice cream cake for my birthday!

My first picture at "24" - let's do this! :)

Weight loss story on Transformation Tuesday with Robert Durbin

You know that saying, age is nothing but a number. This next story will blow your mind. He is one very inspirational man. He is living proof that you can start to live a healthy lifestyle no matter what your age.

Amazing Robert Durbin 64 with a six pack

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

I’m 64 years young. Back in 1987 I had a fall and broke both my ankles, which put me in a wheelchair and then through a series of operations they told me I would be in a wheel chair by the time I was 57. I was already over weight at 208lbs with bad lungs from smoking, My youngest daughter and boyfriend got me interested in body building and I decided to do that. So I joined the Y with braces on and workout boots. Boy wasn’t I the talk of the gym. I almost quit because I gained 6 more pounds. As soon as I started seeing changes, whilst having a couple of set backs with tumors in my left ear, I quit smoking in 2003. I really started feeling good and have been ever since. With help from family and good friends I hope to compete in body over 60 years of age and I have started body weight and bar exercise. Just keeps getting better   

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

As a kid I ate country style every thing cooked in lard or bacon grease and same as my adulthood, I just ate more of it. Since body building the hardest part of eating was smaller portions, now for me I have the perfect diet.   

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

I don’t play sports but enjoy pro football and college basketball. I love doing Cross fit and watching the cross fit games.   

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

Exercise of any kind and hearing people admiring me for what I’ve done so far.   

What was the catalyst that sparked your lifestyle change?  

LIFE!!!!

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

To complete in NPC body building masters. Go to NYC and train with Barstarzz and to go to California. To train with Frank Medrano he is the best.   

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

To get in the gym it’s not to late I’m 64 years young and doing it

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

To follow Robert's journey please connect with him on his Facebook and Instagram pages. If you too would like to appear on my #transformationtuesday posts simply click here.

Much love & friendship,
Dani

Who loves Gluten free products?

Well today is your lucky day! My wonderful friends from Wellaby's are giving away a pack of;

- Cracked Black Pepper Lentil Chips
- Kalamata Olive Hummus Chips (pssst! my favourite)
- Classic Cheese Cheese Ups
- Feta, Oregano & Olive Oil Crackers
- Pamesan and Sun Dried Tomato Crackers
- Classic Cheese Crackers and
- Grated Parmesan Mini Crackers

Wheeeeeeesh!!!! Total Prize Pack Value $28.43 and all you have to do is visit Wellaby's, like their Facebook page and leave a comment below and tell me, what is your favourite dip that you would love to dip your Wellaby crackers into?

Ours was pretty simple, we just sliced opened an avocado and the chips were gone!

Wellaby's hummus kalamata olives chips

The kids love these in their lunch boxes and their afternoon snacks after school. I sometimes have a packet stashed in the car for my emergency snacking with some laughing cow cheese. It's all about being prepared and not snacking on unhealthy foods. We love their variety.

Wellaby's is all about Living Well & Tasting Great and you know I am ALL about that. All their products are baked and not fried (which is fab, I hate that greasy taste in your mouth), have no gluten, wheat, nuts, GMO or MSG and contain no trans fats. They are also rich in calcium and high in protein.

So next time you are at the health food section in your local supermarket, grab yourself some. Alternatively leave me a comment below for your chance to win your variety box of Wellaby's chips and crackers!*

*Visit Wellaby's, like their Facebook page and leave your favourite dip recipe in the comments below. Winner announced 12th August 2013. Australian residents only.

Don't forget to like their Facebook page for any other specials and offers.

Happy Monday everyone!
XxDani

Cookies and Cream - healthy style

Cookies and cream. When I was younger I used to love dipping my cookies in full cream milk. You know the days when the milkman would leave milk on your doorstep and you saw that cream ontop! Oh how those days have changed.

Now it's these beauties with almond milk. I just had to reminisce after making a huge batch for the kids lunches this week.

LSAnzac cookies

LSAnzac biscuits

Ingredients
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 cup LSA mix (linseed, sunflower, almond meal)
5tbs macadamia oil
4 tbs honey (or maple syrup, agave etc...)
2tsp vanilla extract
1ts chia seeds
2tbs water

Method
Place all the dry ingredients in a blender

Whizz in your blender until combined

Add the oil, honey and vanilla. Gradually add the water which will combine the mixture.

Roll and flatten your cookies. Bake until golden brown in a 150-170C oven. Depending on the size of the balls you roll and flatten, this mixture makes approx. 35 cookies.

Real ingredients

What are some traditional meals you've grown up with and now have put a healthy spin on it?

Happy Sunday!
XxDani

Workout central

Can I just tell you how jelly my legs are feeling right about now. Not only with our 50 squats every second day but my intense cycle training has been going off! I have 3 more weeks until my first Ride To Conquer Cancer with my VisionCrusaders.com team and I am just about to hit my $2500 target for Brisbane. I can't wait!!!!

HIIT kettle bell workout from Lorna Jane Move Nourish Believe MORE campaign

Having said that I am missing my kettle bell interval training. Due to my cycling I don't want to be over working my body, so I have dropped my 15 minutes interval training every second day but maintaining my 15 minutes resistance training. For those that want to follow the fitness program I follow, you can check it out

~~~~>> HERE

So why is too much exercise bad for you? The guys at The Institute Of Natural Healing nail it. Too much of something is never a good thing, we all know that. This article goes into why we shouldn't work out too much and thank goodness I have given up on running long distances. That in itself harms your body, so I am a true believer and so happy to have found a 15 minute program that simply works.

Combine this type of movement with well balanced meals throughout your day and you too will work out your best healthy lifestyle.

This was my day.

Breakfast

Fruit salad porridge

Fruit salad porridge

Post workout smoothie

180 Nutrition* coconut and banana smoothie

*receive your exclusive 10% by using promo code 264464 at check out

Lunch
Egg pizza

Snack
Watermelon Agua Fresca

Watermelon Agua Fresco

Ingredients

8 cups watermelon (cubes)
drizzle of honey* (or agave)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
3 sprigs of mint (or rosemary)

Method
Juice your watermelon, stir in honey* (optional) and lime juice. When serving garnish with lime slices and mint.

Dinner
Fruit salad

We have decided to eat lighter meals wherever possible before we go to bed. Besides washing and cutting fruit is a lot quicker than prepping our typical cooked dinners. It is a little tricky being 80/20 fully raw over winter but we try our best.

What do you find is difficult over the winter months when it comes to eating and exercise?

XxDani

High Five! (Birthday Weekend!)

I am starting the "Five on Friday" link up fun a little ~~early!~~

Before I start, The Huffington Post and AOL featured my weight loss story. If you are interested you can read it here!

(1) My birthday is Tuesday (July 30th! Leo, baby!) and I am going to be 24 years old. Holla!

(2) I'm taking off to the beach in the morning to go have some fun in the sun and soak up the salty air. In my world, I use every excuse possible to go to the beach, so I'm celebrating my birthday there!

(3) Since I am going to the beach, every girl should travel in style, right? I love my new zebra print luggage set, so fun!

(4) I have crazy new glasses, that are a little absub. But I don't care, I love it!

(5) Over the past 4 weeks, I have really stuck to clean eating, very limited wine consumption, and hard workout's, but I will blow it all at the beach. I'm starting to see some good muscle definition!

What's your 5 things you want to blog about today? Link up!

Weight loss story on Transformation Tuesday with Stephanie Schuh

Welcome to our Transformation Tuesday post. I love this transformation as they are 2 completely different women in 2 decades it's amazing how younger you can get by eating healthy.

Let me introduce you to Stephanie who is only in her twenties on the left and now rocking her 40's in the right! You go girl!!! To submit your transformation story go HERE. XxDani

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

I am 41 and in 1997 I decided I was sick of being fat and feeling terrible all of the time. I had gone to many doctors hoping to find out what my problem was, and got no help or answers more than "eat less workout more". I finally did my own research in the area of human biology, digestion and nutrition, and found out that it is way more complicated than that. But I spent the time to figure it all out, and now I have created a plan to help others in this situation. I want to take my struggles and put them to good use. If I had to be fat most of my life, I want to turn that into a "good thing", and use my knowledge so others can benefit. In life you just have to turn things around for yourself and use negative situations as learning tools.

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

Picky eater growing up which is a nice way of putting Junk Food Junky. I ate tons of fast food, Doritos, soda, candy anything but fruits and vegetables. In college, healthy to me, that was Lean Cuisines, Lunchables and fat-free/low-fat everything. I now have learned clean eating is unprocessed and chemical free foods with and tons of organic fruits and vegetables added to all of my meals. I also started a Food Combining method of eating and once I did, everything changed for me. Health issues cleared up, weight came off easily and without plateaus, and I became the smallest size I have ever been. I never get sick anymore, and I am healthier than many people half my age. As a matter of fact, most people do not believe me when I tell them my age is 41. Just another added bonus and testament to the way I eat.

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

I used to play volleyball, softball, and gymnastics. I was a cheerleader that went on to teach Cheer and Hip-Hop dancing. To this day, I still Hip-Hop dance as part of my cardio workout every night, along with weight training, jogging and Crossfit exercises.

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

Fitness, food and health are my passions, I even write recipes for GoodVeg Magazine twice a month as well as the Lifeway Kefir company. I love creating healthy recipes and helping people who are struggling with their weight loss journey. Nothing makes me happier than to help people who feel lost. I love seeing the look on their face when they hit their fitness goals...best feeling ever!

What was the catalyst that sparked your lifestyle change?

I have struggled with my weight most of my life (9 or 10 years old) and felt I would never be a small girl. Once I got pregnant with my son at 22, my body became toxic and I piled on the weight, steadily gaining 7 to 10 pounds a week at one point.
I was around 250 pounds when I gave birth, and left the hospital with a 10 pound boy and a multitude of health issues and weight to lose. As it turns out, my son wasn't causing me to become toxic, the foods I was eating were. I started dieting and working out, but because I was DIETING, the weight loss was a slow road and many of my health issues remained. I started a Food Combining method for weight loss and once I did, everything changed for me. Health issues cleared up, weight came off easily and without plateaus or working out (I added my workout routine after I lost a the majority of my weight), and I became the smallest size I have ever been (Around a 0 to a size 2 depending on brand of clothes). I never get sick anymore, and I am healthier than many people half my age, and as a matter of fact, most people do not believe me when I tell them that I'm 41, just another added bonus and testament to the way I eat. Fountain of youth effects, apparently because if you look at my transformation picture I am 22 in the before, and am 40 in the after. I also have more energy than I know what to do with, just more wonderful perks of healthy living.

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

I want to work with people struggling to lose weight and get healthy. I want to help people with health issues as many are caused by the way we eat and what we eat. I have lived with these issues myself, and I have made myself a guinea pig over the course of 16 years testing out my methods to make sure they are effective. I'm currently working on some helpful fitness products to expedite muscle building and weight loss, and would love to have my own fitness line one day.

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

As I said before, I created the website The Science Of Eating.com and Facebook page to help anyone trying to clean up their life in the way of healthy eating, fitness, weight loss and optimal health. I have chosen this path because of my own struggles with weight, health issues and I have lost 100 pounds by following a "Food Combining" eating plan, choosing natural ingredients for my meals and staying active by working out several days per week.
This approach has been very easy for shedding fat, and you never feel like you are dieting or that you have to give up the foods you love. I teach people a slightly different way to prepare meals that works with our body's digestive system to maximize fat loss and nourish our body.
I have been researching all of these topics for the better part of 16 years now, and offer hundreds of free recipes that taste amazing, and take the guess work out of meal planning. I also offer product ideas so my followers know exactly what I am consuming and what products I swear by so they know exactly what to look for when shopping for groceries. If you cannot find some of the products I use at your local stores, I provide links in my recipes and pages to purchase these items securely through Amazon.com or directly from the product's website.