Stop Dieting and live a healthier Lifestyle!

Wouldn't it be the best if someone told you to stop dieting?????

The key answer is just eat right. Do your research and know what suits your body. Now a days with all the technology we have it is so easy to find out what foods are healthy and what foods are not.

Going on a silly diet will only make you more hungry and when that weight comes off I guarantee you it will come back on. The trick is to just eat healthy balanced meals. No big portions and exercise daily. Doing this will allow your body to lose the weight that it doesn't need and keep it off.

There are so many people who will try gluten free or very low carb diets, and lose the weight but the moment they start eating these foods again they will put the weight back on. The reason for this is because they think that they have lost the weight and can eat what ever they want again. Well that's not the case. If you want to keep the body you have and look good then you need to adapt a healthy lifestyle and stick with it.

Now for sure there will be days where you just need to eat that piece of chocolate cake or have that burger. It is absolutely fine but do not do it on a daily basis.

Previously I posted a flat belly guide. It is just a guide and if it is followed you will eventually get that flat belly, but keeping that flat belly is a struggle, especially when you decide to re-introduce those foods into your diet again. If you do wish to do that then re-introduce them slowly and gradually.

The Real Diet Story is that if you lose the weight and then go back to eating the rubbish you use to eat, you will end up back to square one or even worse. Thats the truth and the Real Diet Story.

Getting that body that you have always wanted is really not that difficult if you are mentally ready to make a lifestyle change and to keep it.

JUNK FOOD VS HEALTHY FOOD

I get asked so many times what do I feed my girls. So many people look at them and think I am starving my kids because they are slim and petite. The truth is I am a balanced mum. I feed my kids the same way my mother would feed us, a balanced diet.

This is a sample of what our desserts look like every night

The majority of candy we see in the grocery stores are full of artificial colours and flavours

So here are a few simple rules that I follow:

• I don't allow any artificial food colours or flavours 
• No candy, chocolate or crisps on week days
• No juice to school only water
• we always have dessert after dinner
• dessert is always fruit
• treats and sweets are for the weekends
• my kids don't eat chicken nuggets unless they are freshly made or chicken breast
• no Mcdonalds, KFC, Burger king, Hungry Jacks or anything that I think is made of rubbish
• and finally yes I do allow my kids some artificial junk but only on the weekends if we are at a party or event

These are a few of the foods that I limit for my kids

I am not one of those crazy mums, but I try to do the best for my kids. Now my best might not be the best but its what I know. So this might not suit everyone, but at least it is working for me.

I see so many kids eating so much rubbish and what surprises me is that its the parents giving it to them. I don't blame the parents at all, because the majority of them don't even know what the hidden dangers  are inside these foods. 

When it comes to nutrition, education and understanding whats in our foods is so important.

5 SECRETS TO A FLAT TUMMY

How many times have you heard this??

• A quick pill
• A magic pill
• 5 minute abs
• 20 min workouts to a flat tummy 
• etc

Well the truth is there is no magic cure for losing weight and having a flat tummy. You need to work your heart out to achieve these goal. Sure there are so many teas and drinks out there that will help you achieve results faster but you still have to do the hard work.

Now how hard is it to get your gear on and just do 30mins of an intense workout everyday. If you really think about it, its not that long.

So to help you jump start your weight lose journey there are 5 very important things you should consider implementing into your new lifestyle:

1. No sugar
2. Low salt intake
3. No wheat
4. Low carb intake
5. Increase your cardio workouts

Looks crazy right? Well why not try it just for a month and see how you feel and look. The first couple of days will be challenging but then your body will adapt and you will become addicted to the results. 

Once the month is over, do not think you can indulge in the above because what ever weight you lost you will put it straight back on. Be smart and eat a balanced diet after that first month. 

Goodluck 

All different shapes and sizes

Yes we are all created equally and we all have different shapes and sizes but why is it that some of us women love to look after our bodies and others really don't care.

I walk around the mall and the schools and see so many women, who all I want to do is give a hug, and tell them that I know exactly how they are feeling. Because like it or not us mums and women pretty much all feel the same way at some point in time. 

• ANGRY
• HAPPY
• EXHAUSTED
• EMOTIONAL
• OVERTIRED
• OVERWORKED
• PMS
• BORED

                                                                  and the list goes on.

So what goes through my mind is why do some women let it get the better of them while others do something about it. Now when I say get the better of them I mean they eat to compensate for the way they are feeling. 

Just something to think about.

NO MORE DIETS

I DON'T DIET!!!

 I EAT HEALTHY AND IN MODERATION

I get asked so many times about my diet. The answer is always the same, I DON'T DIET

I just eat healthy and in moderation. If I feel like a chocolate I will eat it but knowing that the rest of the day its healthy eating. It has become a habit for me that I love.

I try hard to enforce this on my clients and help them understand the way to a healthier lifestyle. I don't give out diets because I don't think they work in the long run. Those that go on all these different diets are the ones that will lose the weight but will later put it all back on and a little extra.

So my advice to all those mums trying to lose weight is, learn to eat healthy and in moderation. It is the key to a healthy skinner you.

I have had a few requests of what my daily eating habit is, so I'll try and give you an example of what my day is like. I hope I don't bore you too much.

6am till 7:15am: wake up and make breakfast for my kids. Then I prepare their lunch for school. Giving I have 3 beautiful daughters, this takes me around 20mins. Then its dress my little one and do all 3 girls hair for school. I usually have my warm lemon water at this time of the day

7:15 till 8am: school drop off

8am till 9am: I try and have 2 dates before my workout or a piece of fruit. Then I do my home workouts and if my maid is not here its house clean up time.

9am till 12pm: training clients.

12 till 1:45: running around doing errands. I try and fit in lunch sometimes around here, and that will include something light, like a soup or salad.

2pm is school pick up. After my school pick up I'll have a small Mocha to help me go to the bathroom, otherwise I don't like coffee and can't stomach it.

Anything between 3pm and & 7pm is always homework with my girls or after school activities. I try and get some green tea in and drink plenty of water. This part of the day is the hardest for mums, because its the snacky time of the day. If I get hungry I'll have a piece of fruit, or 2 dates.

Dinner is usually at 6:30pm then its shower, dessert and bed time for my girls. My dinners are usually my heaviest meals. I know its not the answer you were hoping for but its the truth. Its our main meal, where we all sit on the dinner table and eat together as a family. I try and keep my meals small and low carbs. I cook all my meals with either coconut oil or olive oil. I never use butter or margarine unless its to butter my kids toast.

8:30 is my chill time with my husband until I fall asleep on the couch. lol


So after all that, I hope you can see that following a diet is not a long term solution. You need to sit down and really assess what your eating and try and find a happy balance in your eating plan. That can be to incorporate carbs and sweets, but just keep in mind that you should always balance it with healthier options and exercise.

MY JOURNEY

Those that know me know that I can speak about my body transformation for hours, but when it came time to share my story on my blog and instagram I hesitated and have been very hesitant for a while.

So here goes.

I started working in the fitness industry at the age of 18. I would teach 4 to 5 classes of aerobics and pump classes in the mornings and evenings and study during the day. After doing this for over 2 years I started doing personal training and absolutely loved helping people achieve their goals.

To cut the story short, I got married to the man of my dreams and 2 years later fell pregnant. That's when I thought that my six pack abs and toned physique would take care of itself. Oh boy was I wrong!!!!!!!!!!

During my first pregnancy I literally ate what ever I wanted, and had this impression that I would lose it after having the baby. What I didn't take into consideration the effect it would have on my skin and my abs. I put on a total of 38 Kilos with my first pregnancy, 27kgs with my second and after promising myself that I would watch my food intake and exercise during my 3rd pregnancy I still put on 25kgs. Now for a short and petite person as myself that was a lot of weight to handle. I would start at 52 kilos and end up over the normal pregnancy range.

These 2 pics are from my third pregnancy.

 You can see the amount of fluid in my face. I also had completely torn all my abdominal muscles, so there wasn't really anything holding my  tummy besides my back. At this point I just couldn't not walk properly or breathe properly.

With my first daughter, It took me 1 year to lose the weight, with the second it took 6 months and with my 3rd it took 5 months, if not less. I put it down to educating myself. After having my first daughter, I went through postnatal depression. I was finding it difficult to accept that I had a c-section and the after pain was unbearable. I also could not accept what my body looked like. Here I was this silly 25 year old trainer who thought that as soon as the baby came out, my body would magically go back to the way it was. OMG was I SOOOOOOOOO wrong. My body went from being toned and all put together to looking like a sagging cow. 4 years of university and a double degree in health science did not prepare me for this.

After 5 months of feeling so depressed I decided to do something about it. I wrote myself a program and rented out a treadmill. I worked out at home, 7 days a week for over an hour. My routine consisted of 45mins cardio and the rest weight training. It became an addiction, and I promised myself that I would lose all the baby weight by my daughters 1st birthday.

This pic is me after giving birth to my first daughter. I look back at it now and think OMG what was I thinking.

With the 2nd and 3rd pregnancy, I knew exactly what to do and when to do it. I knew what foods were good for me and which ones were not. Out of all my times training, I do take note not to over push myself and lose too much weight, because as a trainer I know there is no such thing as spot reduction and if there is one thing that I don't want to lose its my BOOBS. So I always manage to stay at a healthy weight range and always keep an eye on my boobs lol. The moment I notice them shrink is when I know that I am doing too much. Its a funny thing to think of but its a women intuition.

After deciding not to have any more children, I opted to get my tummy and boobs fixed. I mean I hadn't seen my belly button in over 12 years and my abdominal muscles were really affecting my back. After doing so much research and seeing so many surgeons, who the majority of them all looked at me and were shocked at the way my tummy was. Its crazy to think that you can look hot with clothes on but once the clothes come off the truth shows.

Anyway, I decided to have my surgery here in Dubai with an amazing surgeon who treated his patients with the most respect. After deciding to go ahead and fix my breast and my tummy, I changed my mind and decided not to do my breasts, only because I loved having my own boobs, even though they are saggy, they are still mine. Who knows, maybe one day I will change my mind and go for it.

 The hardest part for  me was wanting to wear a bikini. 

I knew that my body was fit and healthy but my tummy was always stopping me. 

 Even when I would try to cover up a little, it was always still obvious. You can see from this pic that my abs were so far apart and torn, that no matter how many crunches or planks or any ab work I did, they were not going to come back together without the help of surgery.

 Ok, so this is the pic that really did it for me. There was another pic that I had taken, but was not brave enough to post it. 

So this pic is about 9 months after surgery. I have to admit, it wasn't easy at all, especially because I developed  seroma and need about 6 extractions after surgery. But all good, I had complete trust in my surgeon.

So I guess the main reason why I posted this, is to show all the mums out there that it is possible to have your body back to the way you want it. Now, that may not mean a size small or medium but at least you will feel confident in yourself and will start to live a healthy and balanced lifestyle.

 Goodluck ladies 

My next post will have an outline of some easy work out programs to help get you started the way I started.

QUICK WORKOUT

How long do you think you need to get your body into shape???????

There are so many women out there that think they have to spend hours in the gym every day to loose weight. The answer is NO!!!!

Organising your workouts and having a great program is the ultimate key along with a healthy diet.

Try working out for 30 mins 5 times a week.

Schedule your routines and do them with minimal break time in between.

I try and co ordinate all my workouts so that I am only spending a maximum of 45 mins working out.

Finishing a workout and getting on with your day is the best feeling. It's knowing that you have done something to benefit yourself.