Look what we found in our garden today....

and still more zucchini coming our way.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

I have to ask. So, who's thinking that in 2010 I'll start.....
Why wait?
Make a list of those goals, things you would like to achieve and start now.
Give it a go, don't think "I will have a no spend week starting in 2010" start it now so you don't go and have a spend up just to make you feel like you're not missing out on anything.
Don't decide to start that fitness routine and a healthy new you starting 2010, start this minute and don't give yourself permission to eat junk and laze around until 2010.

So, what are you waiting for?

MY LEGS ARE TIRED

I shouldn't whinge but they are really heavy this morning.

I jumped out of bed at 5:30am to meet my very good friend Julie and drive for 1/2 hour to the beach. We started to jog in the soft sand but quickly realized that a fast walk would be more our pace.

For those of you who love to walk or run on tracks or cement and live near a beach, give it a go in the soft sand. You will feel it a lot quicker, it's hard sweaty work and boy does it feel good.

We had a perfect morning for it today and fast walked/jogged for nearly 2 hours. Next week I'm trying to convince Julie to head up some sand dunes.

AAHHHH MY ASSIGNMENT IS DUE

on the 5th of January. Oh crap, guess what I'm doing between Christmas and New Year.

For those that don't know I have been studying Sports Nutrition through Beck Health and Nutrition in NSW. Some of it I know due to my Personal Training studies, but I wanted a more indepth look at the sports nutrition side mainly for my own training.

Have a safe and happy Christmas and I'll see you in the New Year.
xxxSue

LOOSING WEIGHT

Over the last few months I have managed to put on a few kilos. I haven't been exercising the way I usually do and have slipped back into some bad eating habits.

4 days ago the eating habits changed, I feel on track there and the exercise will start tomorrow morning with skipping and boxing.

Time to try and feel better on the inside and outside for summer.

I'M BACK

Okay, I've finally made up my mind to keep this blog going. When I decided to condense both blogs into 1 last month I was under a great deal of stress time wise, but now I'm feeling much more in control and I have decided that the 2 blogs are better kept apart.
So if anyone is still even visiting, I'm back.

Now onto some important business......
Worm farms.
My existing worm farm just doesn't cut it, it's 2 layered which is a pain to get the castings out and it doesn't have a tap, just a drainage pipe into a bucket. This is not ideal considering it is in with the chooks and they knock over the bucket. It dries out much too quickly also.
The solution...

Can-O-Worms
with 4 big layers and a tap I'll be set. I will be getting this beauty along with 4000 beautiful worms after we return from our annual holiday in Robe in January.

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with 2 blogs. There are also posts that seem to fit both blogs but get put in one or the other, so I have decided to move any further posts over to here

I hope that you will come and visit me over there.

AND SO IT BEGINS ALL OVER AGAIN

Ever since some major teeth problems about 6 weeks ago I have lost my motivation for my fitness. I admit I have been in a lot of pain and on drugs that my body has not tolerated so I have had some excuse I guess.
Not any more though, the problems are pretty much fixed and with the warmer weather we are having I really noticed some not so toned areas that until recently have been covered up hmmmmm.
So tonight I will be writing up a new weights and kickboxing program and at 6am tomorrow morning I will begin. Running up my mountain this time of year is out due to the huge number of brown snakes up there and as I don't take my phone and I run alone it really isn't such a great idea.
I haven't been to karate for 3 weeks, I'm still in two minds about continuing I just wish I could make up my mind once and for all.
So while I procrastinate I will be getting fit again at home.
Have a great weekend
xxxSue

THEY ARE SO SWEET

I have missed having chookies so much, now I have 6 more and here they are in all of their sweetness.

They are Isa Brown pullets, 12 weeks old so it will be a little while before we see some eggs. The kids will be very excited when they get home from school today.

Here is our chook pen, the shed is our original chook shed, we cleared it out, redbacks and all, over the weekend then re-built the fence. The chickens will have free run of part of our backyard when I build a temporary fence around some areas that I'd rather not have them in.
As you can see we are yet to built a gate at the back of the yard, that will be next weekend's project I hope.



This yard looks quite small in the photos, but there is also a run down the side of our garage full of snails, slugs and numerous other creepy crawlies. I am worried about our blue tongue lizard family that happen to live under all of the ivy etc in the yard. Sadly, I think they will move on now, we will really miss them it they do, I will let you know if they stay around or not.

YUMMY!!!!!!

Well that loaf didn't last long. I tried the basic mix as was suggested in the book and have enough dough to make another 5 loaves in the fridge.
I will put in less salt next time however, Americans must love their bread salty.

READING TIME

Let's start with Stephanie Alexander's Garden Kitchen Companion. I can't believe the price I got this baby for. $43.00, that's it and no postage. It's RRP is $125.00, I emailed a friend right away to see if she wanted one also and of course the answer was yes.

The next book, Country Women's Association Cook Book was something I was curious about. I do have other CWA books so I thought this one might like to sit next to them.

Artisan Bread in 5 minutes is a book everyone seems to be raving about and now I see why, my first big batch of bread is rising as we speak and I will be cooking some very soon. Yummy recipes and so easy. The new Healthy Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes will be here next week for me to try out.

WHAT A GOOD DAY

First up I received an email from a friend who asked me to come along to a meeting for a group that was about to be formed about gardening and sustainable living. It was great to meet like minded people and we will be meeting at each other's homes once a month and maybe help out with a project they may have going on.

In other news, the sun was shining and it was time to finally build the chook yard, I will be clearing out the shed tomorrow and then I just have to wait for my chook lady to get back to me so I can get my babies.

I did some planting this afternoon, I put in jap pumpkin, zucchini, basil and capsicum. I'm in need of my other 3 round raised beds now, come on Darren, move your butt!! LOL.

I also shifted my compost bin as it would be in the chook yard if I left it where it was and we worked out a better system for the berries. Hoefully they will like where they are now and will produce lots of fruit.

I'm making soap tomorrow, that should be fun.

HERE'S THE THING

I used to work as a personal trainer and one thing that really got to me was 20 something year old personal trainers who have had no kids and live at home so everything is done for them who think they can give solid one on one advise to their clients instead of just grouping everyone together and treat them the same. I know this is not the case with all trainers but I do think that more effort needs to be put into treating clients as individuals.

It was an issue I was well aware of when I was working and it was brought to my attention again today by a good friend who obviously had one of these trainers. I'm not saying that they don't know what they are talking about but when you have a 40+ mother of three who is trying her best to get into shape there are ways and means of training her to suit her lifestyle.

It should be more individual, I guess that's what I'm trying to say.

This really is something I think about a lot as even at karate I end up fighting a 20something year old who has no kids and not a lot of responsibilies, is a lot more flexible than me and I am expected to be able to do what she does. That just is not possible for me anymore with injuries that seem to happen all too frequently when I try.

I am fit and healthy and there is no reason what so ever that I wouldn't be able to do what she or he can do, the training however should be a little different. Same goes for my friend, of course she is capable, the training just needs to suit her.

hmmm, can you tell I'm in pain?

WHAT I'M EATING

I have been pretty ill over the last few days, two weeks ago I went to the dentist with a huge infection in my gum, after being on antibiotics and numerous other drugs for these last two weeks the infection hadn't cleared up then on Thursday I saw another dentist (I wasn't thrilled with the first one) and it was decided that one of my back teeth had to come out.
I don't cope very well with anaesthetic so with having that and swallowing blood for two days and being back on pain-killers etc, I have been really sick.
I never sleep during the day and it seems that is all I have been doing, I'm still in pain and extremely nauseous from the drugs. Drugs and me just don't mix but unfortunately I need them at the moment.
So that brings me to what I am eating. I would rather not eat at all but some of the drugs require a full stomach, so I have been living on mushy weetbix and minestrone soup.
Tonight however my SIL made me from scratch ricotta and spinach ravioli with a fresh tomato, basil and garlic sauce.
It was amazing and mushy enough for me not to have to chew very much. Thank you Michele. I really want a pasta machine now and she said she would get me one for Christmas, yummy fresh pasta, mmm can't wait.

A GOOD DAY

When Darren woke this fine Sunday morning he was told "about time, I'm going for a run". So he had the kids and me and my ipod were on our way.
I didn't feel like doing the usual run, so I took an old track I hadn't done for a few years. I'm not sure how far this track was and I don't know what my heart-rate etc was as my faithful workout watch isn't working grrrrrr. (not so faithful it seems).
This track is gorgeous, it's one of the many craters around here and as I was running, I realised it looked very much like Bella and Edward's special place in the woods. Sorry if you are a non Twilight fan, you won't get it at all.
I forgot how amazing this place was and I ended up running it twice and taking a detour on an overgrown path up the side of the crater just for something a little different, which I might add, led me to my usual mountain climb path.
So, me and my ipod had a very invigorating run, then I came home and the kids wanted to take Heidi for a walk, so off to the shower and a change of clothes and off we went again.

SKINS

In case you don't know what I'm talking about....

I bought the full length pants a few weeks back and they are amazing. I have one knee that has always had problems and has never been 100% since being operated on 18 years ago. I also suffer badly from shin splints, very painful. Putting on these very expensive tights has been a blessing when I run, no more pain!!!!
I wear shorts over the top as I'm not one to wear skin tight pants to show off my less than impressive butt, I am even considering getting the knee length skins to wear under my gi for karate.
Skins are not cheap, I had to pay $140 for the full length ones, but I say, worth every cent.

COME TAKE A WANDER IN THE PATCH

I turned these beauties.....

Into this today.

Only 3 more beds to put up.

Butter beans and heirloom tomatoes went in yesterday.

Lachie insisted I buy a chilli plant this year. Hmmmm, I really don't like chilli.

Herbs are happy.

I love my asparagus plants, they provide me with yummy spears for months.

Nearly at the end of this batch of broccoli.

The spinach is nearly ready for picking.

We've been happily picking lettuce leaves from these plants for weeks now, we just pick them as we need them.

We planted a Stella cherry tree today. It's a self pollinating type and in 3 years we should have yummy cherries.

Berries are flowering.

Apples are budding up nicely.

Thanks for visiting my vege patch with me.

THIS WEEK I AIM TO.....

do lots of baking, more spring cleaning and try to get over a horrible headache that I have had for days.

I am still knitting my dishclothes and am definately getting faster.

I cooked a banana cake with the left over bananas from the market on the weekend and made lots of sausage rolls to freeze for the kids. I also stewed the apples from the market to freeze, ready for pies.

I have not run this week due to my head hurting but am hoping I will feel better tomorrow to do that.

So that's my rundown of this week, maybe I'll share some photos in my next post.

MARKET DAY

As you probably know if you read my blog, I try to buy organic and local wherever possible.
I didn't succeed on either account today with my market shopping. There is very little local produce available at our markets at the moment so I had to buy from a supplier that came from about 300km away.
The produce is still picked fresh but as it is not organic I wash any fruit and vegetables in an organic wash.

I'm not sure how much your produce costs in the stores where you live, but ours can get quite pricey down here.
So here is the good news, this is what I picked up for $15.50.

2kg Pink Lady Apples
5kg oranges (I love to juice)
1kg brown onions
1kg bananas (just right for banana cake)
1kg tomatoes

It is so worth it to get to these markets if you can, oh, and the re-purposed bags I made last night (blogged at my other blog) worked perfectly. I think I'll make some more today.
Have a great weekend
xxxSue

BUTTER VEGETABLES

What are you eating for dinner?

I thought I'd show you what I am having.

Cooking away.

Yummy, butter vegetables and rice. I used the recipe for butter chicken and just replaced the chicken with vegetables. I'm loving Indian food atm.
Butter chicken is a deceiving name as it's suprisingly low in calories.

Have a great weekend
xxxSue

MY MOUNTAIN WAS CALLING

and I had to respond.

After having 2 weeks off any real exercise due to a corked thigh from karate, I was desperate to run up my mountains.

What a beautiful spring day up there, well expect for the gale force winds which are really bad now that the council in all it's wisdom chopped down all of the trees. Don't get me wrong, I think the pine trees whould have gone years ago and native trees planted in their place, but they took the lot native and all and have not re-planted. It's so sad as it really is a beautiful natural area.

The beautiful native birds were out as were the flowers and the butterflies and so were the swooping magpies protecting their nests and the swarms of bees. All in all a great run.

My heart-rate watch stopped working so I have nothing to record there and I did the 4.2km in 49 minutes. Pretty slow for me but I did walk a bit and continually stretched my quad. Towards the end my leg was starting to hurt but I think the physio wrap kept any further injury at bay.

I'm certainly feeling energized now and must go and get ready for work.

Thanks for coming and reading :)

I'M BACK

I'm sorry about the lack of posts over at this blog lately, things will be changing though. I did try to post over the last 2 weeks but we have had an amazing amount of internet problems that are thankfully fixed now.

My patch is growing beautifully and this week I will be harvesting beetroot and broccoli. I will be trying out a new recipe for preserving my beetroot and blanching then freezing the broccoli.

Over at my other blog a while ago I started knitting (this bug seems to hit me every winter yet I never seem to finish anything). Well, it took me 3 weeks but I have finished my first dish cloth, only 13 more to go. The idea behind knitting cotton dish cloths is that they are kinder to the environment as you are not throwing out sponges or bought cloths. They are cleaner as they are washed every 2nd day, hence why I need lots and no nasty germs have a chance to breed. They are small and I can practice my knitting and it doesn't matter if I make a mistake.
I am making cloths in other colours for cleaning eg bathroom cloths, so they do not get mixed up.

Do you like my laughing broccoli? He smiles at me when ever I'm doing the dishes.

This week I received these 2 books in the post. I have wanted Amanda's books for ages so finally decided to buy them. They are beautiful books full of down to earth knowledge from a most amazing woman. I have been reading her blog for a couple of years now and I love her simple way of living.

I laughed when I turned the pages of Amanda's new book and came across this beautiful project, look familiar?

here is mine made a few weeks ago...

MY PATCH

I have always loved gardening especially growing fruits and vegetables. Even when I lived in a small flat I still had a vege garden. Now the kids grow the veges with me and they enjoy learning and having fun out in the garden.
I have changed my vege patch around alot over the years and we are finally building something that I will be totally happy with (until I get a better idea that is).
This first photo is the main built up bed that I grow my big crops in like tomatoes or corn. My asparagus and garlic also gow in this bed.

This barrel houses my herbs for cooking and drying.

These next beds are the brainwave of Darren. He works wih trucks and thought that 2 old tire guards bolted together to form a circle would make great raised beds. So far we only have 4 up and have another 5 to do, all in good time he keeps telling me.

A close up of my tiny broccoli heads minus the big, fat caterpillars I just picked off the leaves.

Raised bed with broccoli.

Beetroot and spinach happily growing

Lettuce and spinach just put in.

I grow most of my plants by seed that I get as organic seed or save my own.
Our new chook yard is next to my patch and I will hopefully have the fence up in the next couple of weeks.

VEGITARIANISM

I used to be a vegetarian, over time I started eating white meats I'm not quite sure why after all, be it chicken, fish whatever they are living breathing animals that are slaughtered for human consumption.

Over the last few weeks I have been starting to get the guilts over eating meat once again. Believe me, I am not trying to give anyone else the guilts, this is my personal preference and I am simply blogging about the choices I am making.

So last week I woke up and made the decision to not eat meat anymore, I am still eating cheese and eggs and drinking milk, I am not consuming and parts of dead animals eg, geletin (made from cows hoofs).

I am loving revisiting my old vegetarian cookbooks and trying lots of yummy new dishes. My family is not so keen and that's okay, I can't force my choice onto anyone else, so I will still have to buy, cook and serve meat but I will be buying less and making sure that their plates are 2/3 full with meatless products (sneaky aren't I)

I will let you know how my journey goes and will post some yummy vegetarian recipes for you to hopefully try.

xxxSue

BREAKFAST

Breakfast is a bit of a contentious issue in this household. DH has never had breakfast, he just gets dressed for work and goes, and surprise surprise, he's hungry by mid morning!
I have always had breakfast and no matter how small, the kids eat breakfast also. Why? Because I believe it jump starts your body, your brain, and sustains you until your next meal.
Over the last week, I have put DH on a calorie controlled diet, I am responsible for his meals so therefore am making him have breakfast every day. He's not complaining, well apart from the fact that he has to get up 10 minutes earlier to eat the breakfast that is.
It is sustaining him until lunch and I have finally proven my point.

So what do I eat for breakfast? Believe it or not I eat the same breakfast nearly every morning and never get sick of it, it's a smoothie made from 1 banana, 1/2 cup of blueberries (sometimes I use mixed berries) and 1/2 cup of Pura lite-start milk. Wizz it all together and there you have it, a healthy, nutritious breakfast that definately does not leave me hungry mid-morning.

What are your breakfast habbits? Leave me a comment, I would love to know.

I WONDER

So I wonder how many people are interested in this blog? I mean, health and fitness are my passion but I'm not so sure that too many people feel that way.
Let me tell you about my day....
I have been fighting the flu for the last week, something I don't usually get. I have been running and running for the last couple of months and I know that I have been stressed and not looking out for myself. I'm now working 2 jobs again, although part time, I do feel that I have taken on a bit too much. The flu has made me slow down, my body needed it and it's definitely time to get a little more organised and find some time just for me.
Today I went to our karate tournament, I did not participate in this one as I've found it hard to get to training this term with the extra work and all. I watched the senior girls fight full contact , no gloves and thought "thank god I'm not fighting" It was not the reaction I was after, I wanted to be thinking "I wish I was out there giving it a go". Now I am in two minds about even going back. You see all of the other senior girls are about 15 years younger than me, scary isn't it? I don't think of myself as old and I certainly give as much as I take but I am noticing the injuries and the time they take to heal and I'm starting to wonder if it's all worth it.
I will sleep on it and hopefully when I get up tomorrow and do my skipping, boxing and punching bag workout I might have a little more focus as to what I want in regards to my karate.

AMAZING COOK BOOKS

This set of cook books have kept our tummies full and happy for the last year or so. Yummy, healthy food for any meal or occasion with all the dietary information on each recipe right there to make fat, carb or calorie choices to suit your diet.

I just wanted to share because if you are looking for books with everyday ingredients and easy to follow fat reduced recipes, these are them.

Today I made from these books

*Chicken Pesto Pasta
*Potato Meat Pie
*Zucchini Slice (using up the last of my zucchini from my garden)
*Mars Bar Slice (using lite Mars Bars, a great treat for school)
*Chocolate Chip Muffins

I also baked fresh bread to go with dinner tonight.

What are you cooking, or are you on the "takeaway rollercoaster" this week?

PRACTICE WHAT I PREACH

Okay, so I have been a bit bad lately. The last 3 weeks have been insane, I've been working on the nights that karate is on, so no exercise there. It's been really bad weather and my mountain gets pretty slippery when it rains so much, so no exercise there. My punching bag set up is out the back of our house with a tarp over it to stop the rain, so no exercise there either.
Are you seeing a pattern here?
EXCUSES!!!!!!!
I know damn well I could be doing exercise inside, I have Body Balance DVD's as I was an instructor, I have free weights that I can lift, I can do a heap of lunges or push-ups or sit-ups. I have high ceiling, I could even skip inside.
Time to stop with the excuses and do something about it.

I notice that when I stop doing something I'm passionate about, I lose focus in other areas. I haven't been eating as well as I want to and am feeling the effects within and on the scales. Not that I am overweight but being nearly 39, I do know that my body isn't what it used to be and I love to feel healthy and vibrant inside and out.

So, today is the day, not tomorrow, TODAY!!!

I'm getting back on track and giving things a little more thought, how about you?

FARMER'S MARKETS

Do you have a Farmer's Market near you? If you do, you really should check it out. I love to shop locally and with the goods coming straight from the farmer, they are cheaper and fresher.

I mentioned in my opening post that I like to shop organically so apart from growing my own, the farmer's markets are the next best thing.

We are now on an even stricter budget due to this economic crisis, so buying produce this way certainly helps my wallet.

The above photo shows what I purchased this morning.
5kg potatoes
1.5kg onions
1/2 queensland blue pumpkin
1kg chestnuts
1 bag walnuts
2 punnets seedings

All for the princely sum of $17.50

Try and do that at the supermarket.

It's all fresh with nothing sprayed. I can't wait to roast chestnuts with the kids tonight.

So go on check out a market and think of the yummy fresh produce you'll be eating.

INCIDENTAL EXERCISE

It's been school holidays here and I haven't had the opportunity to run up my mountain or to get to karate as often as I wanted but I have done heaps of incidental exercise with the kids.
We have taken Heidi for walks and runs, I have played on the playgrounds with the kids, we have gardened together and not to mention the extra housework involved with them being home from school.
So while I haven't been able to do the exercise that I wanted to do, I've still been active and spent time with the kids while doing it.

WATER OR COKE?

WATER

#1. 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated.
(Likely applies to half the world population)

#2. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak
that it is mistaken for hunger.

#3. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as 3%.

#4. One glass of water will shut down midnight hunger pangs
for almost 100% of the dieters studied in a University of
Washington study.

#5. Lack of water, the #1 trigger of daytime fatigue.

#6. Preliminary research indicates that 8-10 glasses of
water a day could significantly ease back and joint pain
for up to 80% of sufferers

#7. A mere 2% drop in body water can trigger fuzzy short-term
memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on
the computer screen or on a ! printed page.

#8. Drinking 5 glasses of water daily decreases the risk of
colon cancer by 45%, plus it can slash the risk of breast
cancer by 79%., and one is 50% less likely to develop
bladder cancer. Are you drinking the amount of water
you should drink every day?

COKE

#1. In many states the highway patrol carries
two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from
the highway after a car accident.

#2. You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke
and it will be gone in two days.

#3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the
toilet bowl and let the 'real thing' sit for one hour,
then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes
stains from vitreous China .

#4. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers:
Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds
Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.

#5. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour
a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble
away the corrosion.

#6. To loosen a rusted bolt: Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola
to the rusted bolt for several minutes.

#7. To bake a moist ham: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into
the baking pan, wrap the ham in aluminum foil, and bake.
Thirty minutes before ham is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix
with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.

#8... To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke
into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run
through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen
grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your
windshield.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION:

#1. the active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid.
It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric
acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major
contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis.

#2. To carry Coca-Cola syrup! (the concentrate) the
commercial trucks must use a hazardous Material place
cards reserved for highly corrosive materials.

#3. The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean
engines of the trucks for about 20 years!

Now the question is, would you like a glass of water?
or Coke?

No running for me this morning, we had a wild windy, rainy night, way to wet to be running around mountains I'm afraid.
As I said in an earlier post, I do karate. The style I do is Kyokushin which is a full contact style. Yes, I get punched and kicked and end up with a lot of bruises but that is because I bruise easily. I also punch and kick pretty hard so you get what you give out really.
It's not all about fighting, it's about technique, defence and disipline and it's one hell of a workout, I get a real high from a sweaty 2 hour workout, I know that's not for everyone but boy is it satisfying!
Anyway I went for my 2 hour workout tonight and I am now hot and sweaty just the way I like it. LOL
Time for a shower,
xxxSue

REWARDS

This is my reward that I bought myself for a few reasons. The first is getting rid of 5 pesky kgs that had crept on last year while I wasn't looking and keeping them off, the second is taking up my study and really focusing on what I want to do with it and the third reason is because I deserve it.
Rewards are a great incentive to work at your goals, I don't reward myself often but when I decide to it's great incouragement to reach my goals.
I have been eyeing off this handmade necklace since Christmas and I am so excited to finally be getting one. Canela from Cinnamon Sticks makes the most gorgeous jewelry I've seen in a while, I don't usually wear jewelry but I wanted this as soon as I saw it. So do yourself a favour and take a look at her shop here

SUPPLIMENTS

I personally don't believe in taking lots of different suppliments because if you are eating a fresh, healthy, balanced diet then your body should be getting most of the nutrients it needs.
That being said, I do take a few carefully sourced suppliments that help me in certain ways.
Suppliments I take:
Celery and juniper is a natural anti-inflamatory that I take for my back issues, these are not taken on a regular basis, only when needed.

Glycine is a non-essential amino acid that helps detoxify the liver, encourages muscle tissue growth and converts glucose into energy. Your body does produce it's own glycine but I do find extra to be helpful to me.

Once a day multi-vitamin can assist in areas you may be lacking through diet and environmental issues, I find these are helpful for me for a couple of reasons one being that I don't eat red meat and sometimes don't get enough iron from what I eat.

There is definately a place for well chosen suppliments to suit your own body but there is also a lot of rubbish out there that you can waste your money on and have no benefits to you.

YESTERDAY

After having 2 weeks off of any exercise due to a chest cold, I finally got to run/walk around my mountain. My time was a little slower than usual but that was expected I guess.

DISTANCE: 4.2kms
TIME: 42 minutes
HEART RATE AVERAGE: 170
CALORIES BURNT: 723

Not a bad way to burn off those Easter treats.

I am a bit sore today, due to no running while being sick, so I'm not going to kickboxing tonight, but will run again tomorrow.

This blog has been on my mind for a while, the decision to start it was a little scary to be truthful, I am about to be accountable for any bad eating decisions and lack of motivation.
What I hope to accomplish is to be able to keep on track to reach my goals and to hopefully inspire and motivate others.

So, let the journey begin......

A BIT OF HISTORY

As a kid I was always average weight and average height, we lived on a dairy farm and ate fresh, healthy food and ran around a lot.
As a teenager, I put on a bit of weight, I never thought I was overweight and it didn't seem to matter what I ate or didn't eat, I stayed around the same weight and a size 12-14 in clothes.
I always played sport throughout school, after I left school it took a couple of years to get back into sports, it wasn't that high on my list of things to do nor was eating healthy foods.
Through my late teens and early twenties I partied way too hard, I drank way to much and I was a social smoker (usually when I drank). I ate crap food but still did sports like netball, basketball and volleyball and went to the gym in fads. I stayed the same size in clothes but felt really bad on the inside.
When I hit my mid twenties I started to take a real interest in my health, I became a vegetarian, I went to meditation and healing classes, I did my Reiki 1 and Reiki 2 certificates and started exercising more. I cut back on partying, drinking etc and started to take control of my health.
When pregnant with my second child Lachie, I put on a lot of weight, I found it difficult to move around from 5 months into the pregnancy and was sick and in pain for the most part. 3 months after I had Lachie I had lost 28kg since he was born, not the ideal way to lose weight I can assure you! I wasn't trying, it just happened and I was very sick because of it. I was way too skinny and looked terrible.
Very slowly I put on enough weight to look healthy again and that is where I stayed at a size 10.
After I had Sophie, I decided it was time to tone up and get fit so I joined a gym, within 1 day of joining I had a job there in the creche and was hooked. 3 months later I was teaching kids fitness and training to become a personal trainer and Body Balance instructor. My dream job (or so I thought)
After a year of working days, nights and weekends it was taking it's toll on me. I had gone back to really bad eating habits, I exercised so much that I could eat whatever I wanted and it didn't effect my weight. Then one day I limped into see my boss and quit just like that, I had hurt myself badly while taking a class yet was expected to do 2 more classes that night. Enough was enough.
So that experience left me with a nearly finished personal training certificate and me not wanting to work in a gym ever again.
Two years ago, I decided to start doing weights again down at my son's karate club, soon I was going to kickboxing as well and then I tried karate. I loved it all and was hooked, I felt back on track for the first time in a while.
I am always striving eat the best quality and fresh foods I can afford, I used to eat organically when we had a shop down here that sold organic produce, unfortunately they closed, so apart from the fruit and veges I grow, I buy really good quality and wash everything.
I run up and around mountains 3 times a week and still do karate and I ride my bike. I am studying Sports Nutrition at the moment and will also be taking on the rest of my personal training certificate as soon as I can afford it.

I'm sure there is heaps more I could add but I think that is enough for today.