Some nutritional info for the abs challenge...

As this 30 day abs challenge is not all just about doing a gazillion crunches each day but nutritional info and tips as well, today is a little but of advice to help with the 'pooch'...

Day 5. Slim-Down Strategy: Eat Monounsaturated Fats
Dietary fat is one nutrient with a serious image problem: "Fat in food is equated to fat on hips—but it's not the same! Our bodies need certain fats," says Bonnie Taub-Dix, R.D., author of Read It Before You Eat It. Getting the right amounts from the right sources will not only ensure your food doesn't taste like cardboard, but also can help you lose stubborn pounds (yes, you read that correctly).

A study in the journal Diabetes Care found that a diet rich in monounsaturated fats (such as almonds, avocados, and olives) may prevent the accumulation of abdominal fat. "Fat is all about the source it comes from," says Lauren Blaue, R.D., a nutrition coach at Life Time Athletic Club in Minneapolis. Combining fats and carbs in the same meal will keep your blood sugar stable and help you avoid hunger-inducing spikes and dips.

This isn't license to gorge on one ginormous cinnamon roll, though. Spread your fat-carb combos throughout the day: natural nut butter on whole-grain toast in the a.m., olive oil drizzled on your salad at lunch, guac with veggies for a snack. Learn more about good fat versus bad fat and find out how much fat you should be eating.

Rest those abs today, do some cardio as tomorrow has some seriously hard ab exercises that you can have a sneak peak at here. 

Hopefully after this abs challenge this won't be the story of my life anymore...

True story!

The food of champions...

Ok, so maybe I am a self-confessed champion, but it still counts doesn't it? Well, I am aiming to be a champion anyway, not sure what at just yet, but that doesn't really matter right now, it's a good aim!

So as I have mentioned several times, after having Fletcher, things in my body are still a bit lot jiggly and wiggly and wobbly so I am trying to get it all tight like a Tiger again - well, not that I was ever really like that but there's another aim. Thus I have been doing some good workouts and walks and the occasional jog, but I have also been putting some emphasis on my eating.

Since after Fletcher was born and then with Easter only a month after, I had been living off people's delicious and generous baking, chocolate gifts, Easter eggs, chocolate, and a bit more chocolate and baking... YUM! My excuse was that I was breastfeeding and although this didn't exactly make me gain weight, it didn't help to loose any or tighten up all the wiggly jiggly bits... DOH! I totally think it's about time someone invented the chocolate diet... I would be amazing at it!

So here's what I've been eating lately to help improve my diet and stop living off chocolate, baking and sugar...

Breakfast of champions!

For breakfast I LOVE me some oats. I put cinnamon, which has numerous health benefits, into my oats, then I serve with natural unsweetened yoghurt, mixed berries or blueberries and some linseeds or almonds (not pictured) and a spoonful of craisins to give me a little bit of sweetening. Sooo good, I never get sick of this breakfast and it has a good balance of carbs and protein to keep me going until lunch (although I do normally have a small mid morning snack anyway).

For dinners have been trying to cut back on starchy white carbs, so have been looking for good replacements. We eat quite a bit of quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), as pictured here it has been made into a salad with olives, tomatoes, basil, feta and cucumber, or it is great cold. If we have rice we try to make it brown, and we substitute potatoes with kumara (sweet potato) or pumpkin. We also eat a truck load of lentils, beans and chickpeas, a.k.a legumes which are a great replacement for carbs and are high in protein too.

My husband loves himself a good bit of meat so we generally eat some meat every night, however I have been getting into the odd chickpea or lentil curry... Delish and great as leftovers for lunch the next day too.

I have been getting the 3 o clock sugar cravings too so to curb those I eat dates and peanut butter - that's a treat, celery and peanut butter (yip, I love me some PB), carrots and celery with hummus, or some natural yog and berries. All good afternoon snacks to get you through until dinner time. But I have to make sure we don't have any real treats in the house or I have a tendency to reach straight for those... Major sweet tooth!

What are your favourite healthy meals or snacks?

How to you curb that mid afternoon sugar craving? 

What is your biggest food weakness?

Mine is chocolate or pretty much anything sweet. I am a sucker for desserts! 

What to do, or not do, post workout...

I was just reading this article from the Womens Running Magazine website about post-workout errors and thought it was a good one as I am a classic for finishing a workout and that's it. However, a workout does not finish when the workout does - there are a whole lot of other components to the workout, not just the exercise itself.

Source

 Here's my list of things to focus on after a workout...

1. Stretch stretch and stretch some more! I am preaching to myself when I say this, but it is sooo important! Especially if you have niggles or tension areas that you know will really benefit from a good stretch-a-thon! If you only have an hour to workout you need to include about 5-10 mins for stretching as you will regret it if you don't - speaking from experience! It will help you with your next workout and you won't feel like you need your zimmer frame for the rest of the day! If you are a foam roller, this is great too, get on that roller and roll!

2. Don't ignore nutrition... The article mentioned above says this:
"John L. Ivy, MD, believes most runners don’t eat enough after finishing a big race. To limit muscle damage and soreness, have a recovery drink or energy bar in the first few minutes after crossing the finish line and eat a high-protein meal two hours afterward."

Too true! It is so easy to think that after you have done a big run or workout that you can get on the donuts and fizzy drinks... NO!! Get a good mix of carbs and protein after a hard or long workout to give you enough energy to keep going through the day. If you don't feel like eating, drink the protein and carbs - there are tons of great energy and protein drinks out there, trial some out. I love my home made smoothies with a mix of carbs and protein to keep me going. 

3. Don't get too ambitious thinking you are a machine and go and do more, back to back hard and long workouts/runs. If you have a run or workout that goes really well and felt easy, it is an easy trap to fall into thinking that you can go out there and smash another one straight away. Even though you probably could, your body needs the rest and recovery. Thus the need for your next workout to be easier and lower intensity, before you can go and do another gut-wrenching one. You are a machine but you need to BE SENSIBLE! Another thing I have been guilty of and then regretting later on when injury or major fatigue strikes.

4. Make sure you stay well hydrated - with water and sports drinks if it has been a particularly long or intensive training session.

5. Recover actively: After a long run or race don't think that you get to sit on the couch for a week, your body will not like this. Walk it out or go for some laps at the pools or do some nice slow and short runs to keep your body moving. Enjoy the active recover stage, it's a goodie!

6. Get a massage or have an ice bath - whichever of these takes your fancy. I am not an ice bath person (but perhaps should become one), but love me a good, strong massage.

Remember these tips next time you have an intensive training session or long run.

What are your major running faux pas? How do you best like to recover? 

Any good recovery tips or rules I haven't mentioned here? Would love the hear them!

Superfoods for runners and anyone else plus a delish recipe...

There are lots of magazines, websites, articles, etc that talk about 'the best foods for runners' and 'superfoods' and so on. I read a lot of them and actually think that what a lot of them have to say is very on to it. However, a lot of the things they mention are things you might have to travel half way across the world to get, or pay ridiculous amounts for. So here are my super foods... Things that are easy to get, cheap when in season and deliciously fresh... The super foods I am talking about are veges that have come from our garden, in particular. Followed by a great recipe.

So... We have a garden! It is so cool growing your own veges and then actually being able to EAT them! We were a little late planting last year and because this summer has been slightly drier than last year's, things have been a bit slower to grow. But things have finally started to sprout and it is great. The only problem is that everything is all ready at the same time. So instead of getting a broccoli a week, we get three in one week.

Today we reaped this harvest...

Broccoli, broad beans and regular beans, potatoes, cherry tomatoes and a rock melon... YUM!

Since we have these two broccoli, plus 1 more in the fridge that we cut yesterday, I thought I would make some soup so they didn't just end up going off. The recipe for this broccoli soup came from this website, but here it is here also.

Ingredients:
1 dessertspoon of oil - I use olive but you could use anything
1 onion, finely chopped
450g broccoli - this is about 2 small broccoli or 1.5 large ones, finely chopped
285g potatoes peeled and diced
1100mL chicken or vege stock (if your vegetarian use vege stock)
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste - I also throw in a few other seasonings, whatever is in the cupboard at the time.

Method:
1. sweat the onion over gently heat in oil until soft
2. Add all the other ingredients and simmer gently until soft:

Everything simmering and softening in the pan.

3. Liquidize the soup - I use my food processor but you could also use a stick blender or a normal blender, whatever you have.
4. Check seasoning, add anything if need be
5. Serve and garnish with chopped parsley, croutons or parmesan (what I used), or whatever you like.
It makes enough for 4 servings - unless you love it so much you want to eat it all!

The final product garnished with some parmesan - it tastes soooo much better than it looks, trust me!

I know it's not the nicest looking soup but it is sooo delicious, especially with some whole grain toast to dip in. It is also high in fibre with all the broccoli and it is super easy and quick to make. Tim and I both had it for lunch today and it kept us full all afternoon. Have a go at making it, and have a go at growing your own veges, it is the best feeling eating food you have grown yourself!

Do you have a vege garden, or have you ever tried growing fruit or veges before?

What do you have in your garden?

Food for thought...

Lately I have been super busy with school work as well as still trying to have a life, and get lots of bits and pieces done around our house before wee one joins us. My priority is my teaching job and doing the best job I possibly can before I go off to have this baby. I am absolutely loving my job and my students - I teach 9 and 10 year olds - and my school is totally the best!

The only problem is, this job is very tiring, not to mention growing a wee baby... Which means that there is less energy for workouts. I have still been pumping up the jam (doing pump class) 1-2 times a week at the gym but my running has turned to run/walks, and inconsistent. I don't mind this but I do need to do better with my consistency.

Ever find this a struggle? Starting an exercise regime/plan and struggling to stay consistent?

This evening I went for about a 6km walk. It was only ever going to be a walk as I really just did not feel like wearing my support belt today, and I just get a wee bit too much discomfort if I try and run without it. I loved the walk but really felt like running the second half especially. Was quite a nice change though to just walk.

If you are a newby to exercise or are really just trying to create some great habits and consistency in your workouts, this website here  has some excellent tips...

"Once you have decided on the type of exercise you want to engage in, creating consistency means being realistic about how much time you need to devote to your regular exercise regimen. Create a workout schedule that involves at least a few minutes a day for a warm up, 20 minutes for a cardio activity and additional time for strength training and a cool down. You might write down your schedule to solidify your commitment to your exercise plan."

Great advice to people starting out, or you can take some gems from that if you are a bit like me at the moment and struggling to fit everything in.

Tim is away tonight on a Managers retreat thingee so I came home and had a nice dinner of fish and veges... So good! After that, however, I decided that I was allowed to indulge in some fruit salad with ice cream and caramel sauce. YUM!

Treat city!!

Don't get me wrong, I am trying to eat really well during my pregnancy and I am not buying into everyone's comments that 'It's ok, you're eating for two so you can eat whatever you want'. This is somewhat true, I am eating for two, however the second person is only teeny weeny and only requires an extra 300 calories from my behalf, so the 'eat-what-you-want-because-you-are-pregnant' excuse doesn't really cut it. I am a bit more partial to indulging in treats a little more often than I used to though. I think I could actually live off ice cream!

Now that I have had that little burst of thought, here's a preggy pic update to keep you happy... Or unhappy if you're not into that stuff??

6 months preggers and check out the bump!

As I mentioned, Tim's away, thus the reason for the cheesy selfie! And thus the reason for eating treats on the couch whilst (supposed to be doing school work but am blogging) watching this victorious victory speech live from Barack Obama...

Got to say, although I am not American and can't vote so it doesn't really even matter, I am a bit of an Obama fan (sorry to all the Romney fans out there). So good on you Obama, and great victory speech. Yip, NZ might be small and totally a gazillion miles away from any other country but we do get some of the world news over here you know :)

American readers (and anyone else) - What do you think about Obama's success in this election? 

I don't really know too much about politics, but I do enjoy hearing people's opinions on the matter and sometimes even share my own... Would you believe I share my opinions?? 

That's about all for now but please, keep watching this space for my guest posts and my giveaway coming up, as promised!  

The perks of a teacher and a banker...

At the moment it is school holidays which, you guessed it, means two weeks off!! Well, sort of anyway, maybe it's more like 2 weeks to get the teacher's work done without any students around...

I was supposed to be at school most of this week planning for the term to come, however I couldn't resist tagging along on Tim's work trip to the 'big smoke', a.k.a Auckland. I am from a reasonably small city so it's always exciting getting to go with Tim and stay in some swanky digs and pretend like I am posh.

We arrived late Monday night to this delightful little apartment which is right in the Viaduct...

My little setup in the corner to do school work (or stalk some blogs, whatever)

On Tuesday morning I thought I'd get up and go for a wee run, reliving some of the glory from the Auckland marathon course, since I won't be running it this year.

I thought you'd like to see what I looked like first thing in the morning with a 19 week bump and wearing my ugliest race tee shirt, so I took this photo for you. And because I thought you'd like to see the most unflattering photo of me that I think has ever been taken... Ha!

I ran about 4km but didn't wear my belly belt, so then walked the other 4 kms. Now when I run I just look a bit like a fat kid trying to catch up to all the other kids miles ahead in the cross country... Yikes! I can't really go too far without the lovely ol' belly belt on as it starts to get a bit uncomfortable/sore. On my walk I enjoyed sites like these:

The Viaduct where all the fancy peoples' boats are parked

A lovely shot of the Sky Tower in behind all the swanky boats

After I got back I did some school work in the apartment and then got dolled up to do some window shopping and have lunch with my sister in law... Coz that's how I roll when I am a lady of leisure...

Just threw this one in so you know that I didn't look as horrid as that first pic ALL day!

 This morning I got up nice and early to head home so I could hit my fave mall on the way, then get some hours in at school. Yip, posh time was over! But before all of that I parked up at a sweet little cafe and had this delicious and nutricious breakie...

You just can't beat good muesli, fresh fruit and natural yoghurt to start the day!

Now I am home and Tim won't get back til tomorrow so I'll probably just eat ice cream for dinner... Oops!

Oh, and I just HAVE to tell you about the BEST yoghurt I have just discovered! I saw it advertised in a magazine a few weeks ago and hadn't managed to find it in the two supermarkets I usually go to, but then tried another one and found it. I was delighted! Here it is... If you want to find it in Whangarei you can only find it at Countdown at the moment. Hopefully everyone else gets it soon because I normally nevs evs shop there.

Collective Skinny Greek Yoghurt... YUM!!

 They had about 6 or so different flavours to choose from, like tart cherry, passionfruit, and more, but I wasn't going to buy all of them so just chose berry flavour. It was sooo good. It's got no added sugar OR sweeteners, it's low in fat and high in protein and it's just so good! Goes really well with some fresh fruit and probs is super delish on muesli in the morning. The only problem is that the tub isn't big enough and it's more in the price range of the gourmet yoghurts... Will have to be my sneaky indulgence.

This was the wee treat I got when I took off the lid. So true!

So that's the start of my school holidays in a nutshell. Not too exciting, I know, but on Friday we are heading off on our real holiday for 5 days to relax and catch up with some of Tim's family down in the Coromandel... Bliss! Can't wait.

If you're on holiday right now, what are your plans? Doing anything exciting?

What's your favourite yoghurt or your sneakiest indulgence?
 

Hey self control... How you dooooin??

So yesterday I did this post about how I was going to be focussing on nutrition as well as training for my next marathon. After I wrote this post, I (not on purpose) went to test my self-control by making these goods of undeniable deliciousness, also known as manna from heaven...

Yes these are that good that you will think they were made by God (so I've heard..)!

Why oh why, when I have decided to start really focussing on eating good things, did I go and make these gems? Anyway, it is a good self-control tester to have these lying around, but I kid not when I say the first person to turn up at my house can have the whole lot of them! Otherwise they will get some much needed freezer time until a worthy guest comes to visit.

How's your self control and what are your weaknesses? 

I am a major sweet tooth!

If you have ongoing head to head battles with your self control like I do then here are some gems (better than the ones above - or maybe not) to help you along the way...

I pretty much look just like this chick... In my mind!

 How to you exercise self control when temptation is put in front of you?

But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and SELF CONTROL.

Galations 5: 22-23

  

 

 

Train, eat, train... Then eat some more!

I finally received my copy of what I call 'my running bible'. It's called Run Less, Run Faster and it's written by the wonderful people from The Furman institute of running and sport (aka FIRST). They are, in my opinion, GENIUSES!!! If you are looking at marathon training (or even half marathon or smaller distances) and haven't read this book then you NEED TO GET AMONGST IT!!! It's all about minimal training for maximum performance - could it get any better than this??

For my next marathon, which is in approximately exactly 125 days, 14 hours and 25 minutes (no I'm not a psycho (much), it's just on their website), I have decided to follow the FIRST 16 week training plan. Phew, 16 weeks is a long time! But... I do want to do a sub 4 marathon so the training is all MUCH needed. The official 16 weeks of training starts in about 2 weeks, and as well as focusing on my training, I will also be putting a huge emphasis on nutrition. It's all about running and eating I tell you!

So for the next few months (which at times WILL feel like a gazillion years) these reads will be hot in my wee hands:

 Thanks to my wonderful Mum who blessed me with a year's sub to Healthy food mag (even though I think it was secretly a bribe so I would make her things out of them... Love you Mum), and to This great website for the copy of my book that was uber cheap and came with FREE postage! Shout out ya'll! 

If you'd like to train with me then at the start of each week I will post up the training sessions for the week, as well as great recipes and foods for runners that I discover along the way - Please make sure to let me know if you do, I'd love to know!

What's your favourite training program and running foods? What are your thoughts on minimalist training plans?? Is less more??