The Don's Meddle

Yesterday I booked, paid & confirmed our honeymoon.  So very excited, looking forward to 12 glorious days spending time with my new husband on the beach, swimming, snorkelling etc and of course the first thing I think of is "new bikini".  As you do.  Then I think, I have been very um relaxed with increasing my fitness and reducing the little belly I have managed to create (will call him Bob).  Even though I do eat healthy majority of the time & train a few times a week, I know I could push myself more and I definitely have been a little relaxed of late with portions/snacks, when I am happy, I eat, I cook, I share food and wine.  Ah love & life. Ain't it grand.  No excuses just things taste good so I eat them. Simples.  I ain't whinging or moaning because I am happy. I just need to pull my finger out and say byeee to big Bob and introduce you all to leaner Bob, belly blob to belly BuffBob?!. So it is time to resh...

I put a post on Facebook asking "margarine or butter", it seems I hang around pretty switched on people, or are friends with online smarties ... being smart that we know (and have known for a wee while) that saturated fat is good for us, butter is way better than margarine because it is a natural product.  For years we have been told to reduce saturated fat to control or lower cholesterol and for years I have been thinking surely it is processed food related (after reading numerous blogs on paleo, listening to podcasts from scientists, doctors around the world).  And starting to see a pattern of what is actually healthy nutrition for us (no processed foods, sugars) good fats are well good.  For years I didn't want to further my nutritional studies to become a dietician/nutritionist because I don't believe in the Dietary Guidelines and  I am a big believer of practice what you preach.  I don't believe we need 5-6 servings of carbohydr...

  Taking note of  the simple things that make you smile or feel good can reflect on your overall happiness. Your bus arriving early with a friendly bus driver greeting you,  a smile from a stranger, a hug from your children, your favourite gym class moved to a time that suits you, helping someone with their pram when people have just walked past, talking to the lady at Woolies scanning your groceries or remembering your to your favourite program returning on TV on Monday nights! (zombie zombie zombie... oi oi oi).  The feelings that you receive daily from these little experiences truly help make you feel in a good mood, releasing serotonin into the body and making you feel less stressed, anxious. Try and focus on what made you smile at the end of each day before you go to sleep, not the things that made you frown.   Concentrating on the small things that make you feel alive each day and less on the things you ...

Fear.  We all have it,  fear is really a coping mechanism,  the flight or fight mentality to protect the body (keep us safe), but I think we also have more fear installed or conditioned in us than we have ever before, we are more stressed, which means producing more stress hormones in our body. To produce the fight-or-flight response, the hypothalamus gland activates two systems: the sympathetic nervous system and the adrenal-cortical system which initiates adrenaline into the blood stream. Adrenaline increases your heart rate, elevates your blood pressure and boosts energy supplies. Cortisol, the primary stress hormone, increases sugars (glucose) in the bloodstream, enhances your brain's use of glucose and increases the availability of substances that repair tissues. You don't want too much cortisol in your body. We all are creatures of habit.  If we haven't stepped far out of our comfort zone the likely chance of us actually doing so is s...

I do like Monday's!  Well I actually like most days of the week (sometimes Wednesday hurt because the weekend is so far away) of course I LOVE Saturday and Sunday, but I try and find the happy in everyday! Feeling alive, happy, healthy and in control of my day, now that rocks. Change your attitude and change your day.     A couple of young gals were talking so LOUD  on the bus this morning, well whinging about how they "hate" Monday and how "hard" today was going to be at work, you know.    As I blocked them out by putting my headphones on I thought, the reason why your day is going to suck is because you have a sucky attitude.  Now don't get me wrong I didn't skip to the bus stop this morning (but will make a note to do it one day this week, ha ha) but I did walk there with a sense of purpose, attitude and looking forward to my day.  Today is mine! I left my gorgeous fiancé sleeping in...

You are what you think and believe. Power of positive thought is a truly strong and powerful tool.  If you walk around everyday thinking poor me, why can I not have this or that, well you are going to miss out on lots of fabulous things in life.  Our actions speak MUCH much louder than words.  You need to visualise, feel and believe in what you are doing daily to feel that sense of achievement, tapping into positive affirmation that today will be okay.  No matter what hiccups occur during the day just know that life is full of things that might make you frown, there will be times where your patience will be tested and your mood will go from happy to sad, frustrated, angry or depressed.  This is normal. I do not believe you can be 100% happy every hour of everyday, it is learning how to ride the emotions and focus on the more positive things happening around you that will help you feel a sense of balance.  If you focus on the bad, they won't ma...

Now that I have your attention.... yes I said two words that most people love especially together.  Since going sugar free (since 23 June) I have lost the appetite for cheap processed sweet foods like ice cream or chocolate (Cadbury) I really don't crave them and really do prefer eating more foods that are made with natural ingredients.  I will swap a few of the ingredients say cocoa powder for cacao and reduce the maple syrup for the crust AND the filling.  Reading many foodie or health blogs I always stumble across delicious and healthy recipes I want to try, some I get around to making and others just seem to sit in my bookmarks folder... this one jumped out the page at me, so think I will give it a crack.  Courtesy of Detoxinista Raw Chocolate Cheesecake Fills one 8-inch pan Adapted from Sweetly Raw Ingredients: For the crust: 2 cup raw pecans 2 tablespoons coconut oil 1/4 cup cocoa powder 1/4 cup pure maple syrup 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt ...