How to start a diet and clean eat the easy way!!

The easy way to start a diet...

I get people all the time asking me if I can write them a diet... Sure I could make something up

BUT

how realistic is it me giving you something that is completely random to what you usually eat and expecting you to follow it??

Not that realistic in my eyes and you are setting someone up to fail in order to just take their cash which is wrong..


How I suggest you start a diet / clean eating...

Write down every single thing you eat and drink for 3 days, this will paint you a clear picture of your eating habits and where you may need to make some changes.

After you have written everything down and you can see where you need improving set yourself little goals each week. For example if you can see you drink a lot of coke or soft drinks set a little goal that instead of coke you will go for diet coke or something else a little more healthy. If you can do that for a week then set another goal to go from diet coke to another better option..

keep making smaller better choices and you won't shock your body and keep doing this crazy yo yo dieting and binge eating..

Once you have mastered the art of swapping for something better and you are in a good routine then approach a PT or coach to write you a eating plan..

Everyone is different there is no one diet fits all hence writing down the 3 day diary.. That will be your starting block to eating better :)

The top 5 things that people dont understand that piss body builders and athletes off the most!! This is a must read

OK This might actually save a lot of relationships and friendships..

People and especially athletes aren't always the best at communicating so let me explain and also decode it for you the best and nicest way I can..


Here is some things you might misunderstand and fight about with someone who is prepping


1. The Silence... 

There will be days and maybe even a week where we go really quiet and won't say much at all to our partner or best friend which is different from our normal behaviour..

People take it as: We are shitty or there is a problem and we are burning over it so they get paranoid and take it personally

What it really means: We are just so tired and all our energy is going into prepping because training, prepping meals, sups, working, stressing over how we look and if we are dropping weight is a full time head case and we tend to get mentally exhausted and we just don't feel like talking..


2. Patience and lack of 

People dont understand and will ask: Why are you stressing over forgetting to bring your meal and not eating for hours or not getting to the gym its not the end of the world

How we think: Every single thing we do is all monitored to a tee.. We weigh our food to the gram, our training as to be on point and we need to make sure we are doing every single thing our coach tells us in order to stay on track and make it on stage... One little mess up throws everything out in our head and causes us to stress and get anxious thinking we just F'ed it.


3. Why we compete? 

People think: We love ourselves and want to show off on stage and brag

Why we really compete: Comp prep is one of the biggest head cases of your life and its a crazy mental and physical battle every single day for 20 weeks... do we do it for the money? haha there is 0 money in it and it will actually cost you $5000 + for a beginner natural bikini competitor do we do it for the trophy? The plastic thing you get.. naaaaa

People mainly compete because we are addicted to the battle... We are addicted to the constant battle and doing things to our body and changing it in ways we didn't thing was possible... Everyday until the end is a fight


4. Our meals

People will ask a million times:  Why are you eating that? thats gross I could never eat that for breakfast. That sucks you can't eat junk food or enjoy food I couldn't give up wine ect or will leave junk food laying around the house


Please for the love of god: We know its shit, you think I wake up and crave steak and avo for breakfast or crave plain chicken ever meal while I get to watch everyone eat awesome food while I'm blank and feeling flat lol

We know what we are missing out on and we get it you don't need to point it out but we have a job to get done so we have to do what we have to do. Try and be considerate and dont leave junk food laying around its the same as leaving a beer in front of an x alcoholic


5. The gym

Randoms: Want to train with you or talk constantly while you are trying to train

People prepping: The gym doesn't become fun for us when you are tired, weak and mentally exhausted. Some days are a real struggle and it takes every bit of energy just to pick up a weight. We want to get in there do what we have to then get home to eat and rest ready for the next day and what we have to do..
If someone has a sour puss look on their face just understand their body language and let them do their thing and dont take it personally

My top 10 Dumb things I have done so far while dieting... Haha

Here is my top 10 Dumb Dumb moments so far while prepping


1. Searching the house for 30minutes for my mobile phone that I was holding in my hand the whole time

2. Filling my car up with petrol thinking I was looking at the price instead I was looking at the litres... $50 turned into $80 really quickly : /

3. I'm so crazy forgetful and I have had to improvise many times with forgetting socks, singlets, sups and earphones plus everything else

4. My last meal is salmon I stare at it so intensely while it's cooking to then pick at it while its still cooking then being confused thinking where did it all go and look around

5. I probably walk around Woolworths for about a solid hour up and down the isles not knowing what I'm looking for I just keep looking at everything like i have never seen it before

6. I get so tired and spaced out I will answer peoples questions in my head and forget to say it out loud

7.  Running late I had to eat my breakfast from a plate in my car... my breakfast is steak and avo haha
imagine sitting next to me at the traffic lights

8. My morning cardio is going for a 4km walking around peak hour traffic... I really should have a look in the mirror before i set out on my walk

9. Weighing my food in public is probably one of the weirdest things ever.. People think you are constructing a bomb

10. My car is full of containers and water bottles and I had to pick someone up the other day.. oooops

My Morning Drink

Lemon & filtered water First thing in the morning..

I have noticed a big difference having lemon in filtered water first thing when I wake up.. 

Think about it.. you have just been sleeping for 6 - 7 hours and everything in your body has settled and its all just sitting in there. 

Drinking lemon first thing on a empty stomach will go through your body and do an awesome clean and help with detox and to flush everything out :) 

5 reasons to have lemon first thing on an empty stomach..

1. Supports the immune system

2. Balances pH levels

3. Detoxifies the liver

4. Aids digestion

5. Anti inflammatory

Here comes the mental roller coaster no one tells you about & the top 5 head case questions you will ask yourself

I'm just over week two and I'm really starting to feel the pinch  

Here we go again here comes the emotional roller coaster that comes with prepping that no one tells you about..

Last competition I was by myself flying across Australia and this year I will driving all across NSW for my job as ATP Science

What to expect on the emotional roller coaster.. 

Firstly the start of the week you feel pretty motivated to you get the job done and train hard.. then towards the end of the week you start to feel 

really tired

blank

agitated very easily

or

really tired..

That’s how im feeling at the moment and no one around me gets its and I have no one to bounce off which makes it so much harder 

Some people say its hard prepping with your partner I actually think its harder prepping single

Here is the top 5 questions you will ask yourself about a million and one times while prepping 

1. Am I going to be good enough and lean enough to be on stage?

2. Do I really want to do this? why am I doing this?

3. I dont feel any learner I really don't want to get my skins done on the weekend! 

4. I'm so tired I don't feel like going to the gym and lifting stupid weights, do I have to go? 

5. I still have x amounts for weeks left no one will notice if I pull out now

It's not all bad but the struggle is real..   

Getting my skin folds taken... Lets see how fat i got in my offseason haha

Skin folds..  

Ok so i'm getting my skin folds done Aka fat pinched and there is absolutely no where to hide at all!!!

I get my fat pinched in 14 different sites around my body and it all tells a story..

so the results are in.....  

Aaaaaaaaand you can clearly tell I had an off season Haha

67kgs and a whopping 20%Bf

Sunday the day before I start my diet

If you aren't prepared its next to impossible to stay on track..

I have been given my diet by coach and for the first two weeks its no carbs..

Meal 1 - Steak and Avo

Meal 2 - Chicken and Avo

Meal 3 - chicken

Meal 4 - Chicken and almonds

Meal 5 - Salmon and Veggies


There is a method behind the madness there is a reason why I'm on no carbs and low calories at the start of my prep

I get my skin folds done in two week and we will see how much my % comes down. I also think I had a higher reading due to that time of the month which makes you hold so much water so we will see if it was water or I'm just a fatty haha

10 ways to tell the difference between a awesome coach and a sh*t faker.. Here is a checklist

I'm so passionate about health and fitness.. I have learnt so much over the years and I have met thousands of people in the fitness industry..

I have had the privilege of meeting some very knowledgeable coaches and athletes and I have also see and heard horrible stories of these people claiming to be professionals with these one size I'm going to starve my clients approach to comp prep and couldn't tell you the difference between a donut and a steak


Im so excited for my prep and these are the things my coach is doing with me that makes me feel safe and assured I'm with a professional

1. Before I even saw my diet I filled in a 30 - 40 questionnaire about my body and how I'm feeling, how its working, any reactions or conditions

He asked me all those questions because he understand the human body, hormones and symptoms and conditions

2. Track record with athletes.. Have a look at the conditioning of a coaches previous clients

3. Have they competed themselves? I'm sorry but unless you have stepping on stage you will never know exactly how you think and feel. If you have never been in shape yourself they don't give others advice

4. Do you have variety in your diet or are they the typical chicken and broccoli? I have a variety as well as probiotics before food to help with my digestion

5. My coach advised me to do a allergy test so we know exactly what foods my body doest agree with

6. How often do you have a consult with your coach? mine is every week

7. Do you have vitamins in your diet? I got sent a list of vitamins and the links to find them which was on a website called I herb.

8. Your first diet, have you been given enough calories or have they started you in minimal calories

9. Do they understand how the body works especially if you're female do the understand how that time of he month works?

10. Do they explain things in details and why they are doing things?


My coach does the above 10 things :)

 

Fat loss.... Why can't you hit those stubborn areas? Matt Legge and the ATP podcast episode 1

I can honestly say I have never learnt so much in my life in such a easy way..

Knowledge = Power :) 

I have been listening to these ATP science pod casts and taking my own special notes.. 

Matt Legge is the genius behind ATP science and has been a natrapath for over 20 years and has also been poached by huge drug companies to create products for them called white labelling which means he is the brains behind the products they claim to be their own..   

If you want to listen to it for yourself here is the link 

http://atpscience.com/episode-1-fat-loss/

If not I have taken all the best parts out of the pod cast that I have found the most interesting 

                                                       Episode 1 is Fat loss 

• When it comes to diet and exercise there is no one size fits all solution. Energy in and energy out will dictate to some degree how many calories you are burning but its not the big key 
• The biggest thing that determines your body shape if your hormone profile 
• If you have any hormone imbalances then that will put a hand break on your fat loss 
• Estrogen will hold fat an fluid in the following areas 

- Hips 

- Lower back 

- Lower abs 

- Upper thighs and groin 

- Chest in men 

- Tuck shop arms 

• The biggest thing I have learnt was even in a calorie deficit your body still won't be able to hit those areas 
• Insulin's job is to take sugar out of your bloody stream 
• If you are insulin resistant your body will take that sugar and instead of putting it into your muscles it will put it into your fat cells 
• Type 2 diabetes, PCOS is a condition caused from your body not being able to deal with insulin properly

In summary in this episode.. In order to lose weight properly and from all over your body even the stubborn areas you need to know your body on a deeper level to be able to paint a clear picture on whats going on with your hormones in order to remove the fat loss hand break 

Here is some ways to know your body on a deeper and more efficient level 

- Blood test 

- You can get someone to take your skin folds which measures your fat in areas around your body 

- Take note on how you feel after eating certain foods 

- Take note of symptoms you are experiencing in order to research further what the cause is

• Having a unhealthy thyroid can lead to high estrogen, high cortisol, high insulin which all store fat 
• you aren't burning fat in the gym you are burning fat the other 23 hours of the day so you need to make sure your hormones are working properly for maximum weight loss   

Where to start

- Find out where your at 

- Find out where you want to be 

- Create a holistic strategy on how to get there 

- keep track of how you're feeling and where you are storing fat along the way which will start to paint a clearer picture 

Stay turned for my wrote up on episode 2 Estrogen 

My High intensity training with my Strength and conditioning coach

HITT training with Carlos from Rileys gym

This year I have set some really big goals that I'm excited and nervous about :)

Last years prep I stuck to weights and only weights and no other types of training.. This year I want to bring a bigger and better package and I want to push my body to its limits to see what it can do..

In regards to fitness and even in life I don't believe we will get everything we need from the one thing I believe we should pick and choose what works for us and what doesn't and to try new things..

Once a week I'm booked in with Carlos who is an incredibly knowledgable trainer who I have a huge amount of respect for.. I love his training because he focuses on

- High intensity Full body workouts
- Strength
- Conditioning
- Posture
- Flexibility

After his sessions every muscle in my body is so sore.. Our last session was 15 exercises superset 10 - 20 reps with 1 - 2 minutes break each set..


Don't just do what everyone else does... Be different :)

Check out my trainer
http://athletesphysique.com.au

Stop chasing numbers on the scales...

This one is a big one!!

Chasing numbers on the scales is what leads people to do drastic things to drop weight and also sacrifice their nutrition and health.. I used to chase numbers on the scales and all it made me do was get depressed, anxious and didn't do me any justice at all..

Last years competition i was on stage is 65kgs and just under 9% body fat..

I have just started to prepare for my next competition and I'm currently sitting at 76kgs.. Im not going to lie seeing that number on the scales made me freak out and my mind started to spin and panic..

I calmed down and told myself why am I getting upset over a number on a scale??

The best way to keep track is to take photos of yourself once a week and also grab those skinny jeans you can't fit into anymore and use that as your motivation..

Im 76kg in these pictures and it doesn't bother me anymore :)

Starting to get back on track.. 22 weeks out

22 weeks out

All fun and games is slowly starting to come to an end for me. I start prepping for my next competition in 22 weeks which meals every single meal will have to be prepared by me and I will be under strict instructions from my coach so no more free eating :(

I have half started to eat clean and started prepping my meals and I have noticed a difference already

Im going to keep track again for all my progression and changes so you guys can join in on the journey

My personal Booty workout

My personal Booty workout...


I have taken photos from google images so you can see what the machines look like :)  

Today I picked

Superset 2 exercises for Booty
Superset 2 exercises for my hamstrings
Superset 2 exercise for Quads
Superset 2 calves

By the end of my workout I was exhausted!!

"Tips"
Put your mind to muscle e.g. if your working your booty make sure you slow down your reps and really squeeze that muscle so hard so it burns..

Dont do your reps really fast because your technique and posture goes out the window and you have no idea what you're working lol


Warm up..

2 sets of walking lunges 20 reps


I super set everything which means going form one machine to another without having a break


Booty..

20 reps per exercise 4 sets with 1 minute rest after each superset 

Hamstrings 
20 reps per exercise 4 sets with 1 minute rest after each superset 

<-- My personal picture 

Quads
20 reps per exercise 4 sets with 1 minute rest after each superset 

Calves 
2 - 3 sets of 15 - 20 reps

MY BOOTY SUPPLEMENT STACK

Activate your almonds!!

It won't hurt to activate your almonds :)

After doing some research of my own I kept reading things about almonds and how you have to activate them first. I have been eating almonds for years and this was the first I have heard of it.. 

Why should you activate your almonds?  

- One particular study claimed that raw almonds contain certain phytochemicals that prevents your body from absorbing all the nutrients that come from Almonds

- By activating your Almonds it helps with digestion 

How do you activate almonds?

The activation process requires almonds to be soaked in water for 12 hours. By soaking the almonds in water for 12 hours should deactivate the enzyme inhibitors and brings the nut to life. Once the almonds have been soaked, they are then dehydrated at low temperatures (40 degrees) over a 24-hour period. 

I gave it a go myself and I have noticed a huge difference with digestion and taste... 

Give it a go you have nothing to lose :) 

5 tips when doing Soft sand beach runs

Ok... I sometimes have these bright ideas to go for a soft sand run on a 30 degree day

Today was one of those days lol

I decided I would run from Broadbeach to Surfers Paradise on the soft sand..

In total it's roughly 7km which I didn't realise and I couldn't tell you last time I went for a run, I have been sticking to my weights..

I put my ear phones in and off I went. It was actually a really good mental and physical battle and you want to stop so many times but you keep pushing through

A few things to remember if you are going to go for a run outdoors

My top 5 tips


1. Wear sunscreen you will get burnt especially on your shoulders

2. Have a good music playlist before you start running it will help so much break through the mental barriers

3. Don't do what I did and run 7km straight away do a 1km or 2km first and work up to doing 7km

4. Stretch before and after. My legs and calves were crazy painful after and it took me 3 days to recover

5. Start on the hard sand first to condition your legs then go on the soft sand once your legs are used to the un even surface

Lastly as an extra tip put sports tap under your feet and around your toes because you will get crazy blistered from the sand which makes it difficult to walk after your run and wear proper shoes..

Hope this has helped :)

Rest Day

Put your hand up if you ever  have a proper rest day? I bet no one put their hands up haha

The biggest mistake people make when training is over training
less = more..

If you train properly when you're in the gym and train to failure you should be so sore that you can't hit that same muscle group the next day..

No only does your muscles need a rest but you also need to give your nervous system and hormones a rest..

Listen to your body it will always tell you what it wants :)

On my rest days I like to go for a easy walk and to lay in the sun to recharge and refresh..

Put down the weighs and pick up something fun

Happy mothers day!!

Happy mothers day to all the mums across the world :)

I'm such a lucky girl to call this special lady my mum.. She is strong, funny, sometimes random, caring and loves me and everyone around me unconditionally..

You only ever get one mum so if you are lucky enough to still have yours on this Earth make sure you give her a huge hug and kiss..

If you are already a parent then you will know how hard it is and exactly what she would of went through raising you.

I love that we have a mothers day dedicated to all the mums :)

oxox

Nature is the best medicine

Nature really is such an incredible medicine..

Life can be so crazy at times and it can leave your head spinning..

I'm not going to lie the past few weeks everything has all come at once and I haven't slept properly or eaten properly due to stress with so many changes and decisions to make good and bad..

I have been working really hard and I haven't been training at all because I'm so tired..

When life can get overwhelming the best advice I can give you is to

Stop... Breath.... and remind yourself you will be ok...

The next thing to do is to remove yourself away from the computer, office or where ever you have been stressed and honestly just spend 30minutes outdoors wether its by the beach, in your back yard, at a park with head phones in listen to music..

30 minutes outdoors and away from all the stress really helps so much with anxiety, stress and it allows you to breath and gather your racing thoughts.

My final advice is to speak up and let the closest people to you that you might be struggling and feeling overwhelmed.

If you dont have any friends or family then I'm here so feel free to comment if you ever feel stuck or trapped in your own thoughts

oxoxox

Yoga with a fun twist :)

                                    Yoga with a twist

I have seen pictures on Facebook come up more and more of these people doing all these awesome poses and partner work that reminds me a little of circ du soleil :) I was honestly so impressed by it and it's so different which really caught my attention.

 I'm always looking for a new challenges and a friend of mind Madonna is an instructor and invited me along to her Monday morning class 7am - 8am at main beach to give it a go.

Im not going to lie I was so nervous thinking there is no way I can do that, I'm not that strong or flexible so I was really out of my comfort zone on this one.

I bit the bullet and gave it a go and completely surprised myself!!

No only did i get lifted up and had my hands behind my back I also lifted up Brendan who is a strong and solid guy and I held him up while he put his hands behind his back haha

There is no better feeling then stepping outside your comfort zone and trying something new...

I can honestly say I'm now hooked and I want to try some other cool things..

Add or follow  "Zen Soul Life" and check out some of their other cool stuff and give it a go

Watch this space because in a few weeks I will upload some really cool pics hehe

Meet Anthony..

Guys this is a must read!! 

I started my shift today at Rileys gym this morning but I didn't think I would start it with tears running down my face and speechless 

I want everyone to meet Anthony 

Here is 5 things that people don't know about Anthony 

- Anthony travels to Rileys via bus 

- He spends 2 hours training weights and cardio

- He has been coming here for 30 years 

- He walks in with the biggest brightest smile and positive attitude 

Anthony is legally blind and has a walking stick...  

Next time you think it's hard I want you guys to think of Anthony and how much of an inspiration 

I'm still speechless and it definitely will make me think twice before ever complaining