Checking In

Hey All, I can't believe my last post was a few months ago now!! I'm so sorry. So much has been happening since then. Where do I start:

My trip to Bali has been and gone. It was an amazing time being with a bunch of your friends, no husbands/partners, no children (that part was the best hehe). I'll talk more about that later.

The Bali 9 at Jemme in Seminyak

My 30th body transformation has been put on the back burner for a while. Pretty much after I posted my last blog my body went down hill. For a long time I have been suffering from digestive/bowel issues, especially constipation. It was so severe I almost went into hospital AGAIN! So I did my own research and started calling different naturopaths etc to get more information as I wasn't getting anything from the dr's. They ALL told me that I need to stop stressing out, I'm a mum and it's expected that I will be tired - all the time. I do have a thyroid condition which I was diagnosed with after I had my daughter in 2010 and I knew all along it was my thyroid but all my blood tests came back normal (I am taking medication Thyroxine). I will write more about my findings and what I have been doing to help myself, I am sooooooo much better now :)

I also start my first Nutrition unit next week - eeekkk, so I have been busily preparing for it. I am so excited to be finally starting it. There will definitely be more blogs on the stuff that I am learning - watch this space.

Last but not least I have been enjoying cutting down my training at the gym and filling the time spending it with my husband, daughter and friends. At the end of the day I realised life is too short to be sick and tired all the time and to enjoy and be grateful for what I have in my life.

Beauty and Sam down at Trigg Beach after our beach walk

Dad's 50th

Mothers Day, I got to layz around all day

How lucky have been with this Perth weather!!

PS. More yummy recipes to come :)

Halijah x

My 30th Body Transformation!

Ok, I'm going to put it out there and make myself accountable to you guys. I'm going to blog about my body transformation. I've been umming and arring about it for a while now, because, I'm a little embarrassed and pretty scared that I'm not going to make it! So I thought what better way to keep myself on track is to tell you all about my progress... AAAAHHH! 

I turn 30 this year (in August) but a bunch of us girls, who are also turning 30, are going to Bali to celebrate in early May. So I have less than 8 weeks to get my act together. I started this transformation beginning of this year and I set Bali as my goal. I was training with my personal trainer, Zoe twice a week from January, but have since cut it down to once a week since the middle of Feb. My main reason for hiring Zoe was to work on my shoulders (size and strength) and my glutes (size and technique). These two areas are probably my weakest point for putting on muscle and leaning out. So far I have gained so much more strength in my shoulders. Before I could only dumb bell press 7.5-10kg, now I'm up to 12-13kgs even 15kgs (with help of course!). Since changing my technique I am also noticing changes in how my shoulders are developing!! YESSSS!

As for my glutes, we made sure that my squat technique was perfect. I had always thought I was squatting incorrectly as I would get lower back pain. Now it's time to go heavier! I have a love hate relationship with training legs. I love it when Zoe's there to push me, and I love the results, but some days it just hurts.

I also have been doing some outdoor sessions with Amy from Move Fit one day a week (to change up my routine). 

So here are some progress photo's I have put together...

Taken 8th January 2012 first week training with Zoe

I'm going to be honest with you all, I haven't been 100% with my eating and training. In feb I had a week where I had severe stomach problems. I was too tired to train, and because I was feeling like crap, I ate crap! Zoe also made me have a few days off because I pushed myself too hard and I was completely worn out. Too much too soon can be bad for you too. The weekends have been tough with events, being tired and emotional. But March is a new month and I am taking my nutrition and training day by day and not getting too stressed about it all.

Taken 2nd March 2012

The comparison shot below gives you a better picture of the areas that have changed. 

So this weekend I have a wedding to go too in Narrogin. My goal is to pack all of my meals and take them with me. Dinner at the wedding will be my treat meal and on Sunday it's back to clean eating again. I will blog next week with my progress.


Keep Committed, Keep Training - Halijah :)

Training with Move Fit Specialist

Hey All, Check out this short video clip of me training with Amy Fox from Move Fit Specialist. I have been seeing her for the last 8 weeks doing outdoor training 1 day a week. This time we headed into a gym to do a work out. http://youtu.be/57xtISC71Qc

Let me know what you think! Have you trained today??

Who needs a gym!... Circuit #1

I couldn't get into the gym yesterday, I needed a morning to get some cleaning and washing done. But it didn't stop me from fitting in a workout. Here is a quick circuit I did and it took me less than 15 minutes to do. You will need some equipment but if you don't have any don't use that as an excuse not to exercise... IMPROVISE!!

Equipment I used:

Cross Trainer (not in the picture), I used this to warm up.  You could skip, jog on the spot or run up/down your stairwell for 5-10min.

1x 10kg Dumbbell (you could use therabands, weighted plates, dumb bells, your baby?)

Medicine

8kg Kettle Bell

Workout: 4 exercises x 5 sets (you repeat the whole thing 5 times with 30-60 sec rest between sets)

10 reps x Bicep Curl/Shoulder Press (I used the 10kg DB)

30 reps x Mountain Climbers on a Medicine ball (harder) or you could place your hands on the ground for stability. Keeping your abs nice and tight, bum down, bring your knees to your chest and swap legs quickly.

10 reps x Sumo Deadlift/Upright Row with a kettlebell. You can use a medicine ball, DB, bands.

5 reps x Competition Burpees (normal burpee but your body goes all the way to the ground)

This is a great total body workout, it's tough and I burnt about 130 calories!! I also finished off with 20mins cardio on my cross trainer.

Happy Training :)

My lunch today

Spicy chicken on a bed of raw salad, drizzled with balsamic and olive oil. 

(That is a cup of cinnamon tea, this helps with my arvo sugar cravings! and helps put warmth into my stomach)

Sundays is usually my food prep day. So I marinated a few kg's of chicken breast with a spice blend that I make up: chili flakes, ground ginger, ground garlic, ground cumin, ground garlic and salt. By doing this it saves me time preparing meals for myself, hubby and Beauty. 

I used my thermomix to cut up veges: Broccoli, carrots, beet root and parsley. I don't normally weigh my veges but it works out that I usually have 3 cups in total. So 2 cups of the raw mix and 1 cup of baby spinach. And with the dressing I use 1 tsp olive oil and 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar. 

There you go a clean, healthy lunch with a good amount of protein, carbs and fats!!

Green Smoothies

Do you struggle to get your kids to eat their veges? Well, I do, sometimes. A great way of getting some raw greens into their diet is from smoothies. Green smoothies are a daily ritual in our household. We use a range of leafy greens (kale, baby spinach, lettuce, chard) depending on what we have in our fridge or our vege patch. 

Why are green smoothies so good? They are loaded in anti-oxidents, vitamins, live enzymes and minerals, all the things you need for a healthy body. By blending/juicing, it breaks down the whole foods making the nutrients readily absorbed into your body. Otherwise you would have to chew for hours on end to get the same benefit. I'll be posting some recipes for you to try just incase you get inspired. Let me know what you think! Happy Smootheeeeing!

Today's Smoothie: Colour (water) Melon Juice (this is what Beauty calls it)

You will need:

Handful of watermelon

Handful of strawberries

2 Handfuls of baby spinach

1 Tbs flax seeds

3 Tbs Plain Yoghurt

Water

Thermomix (or a good blender)

Beauty helping put watermelon into the thermomix

Throw all your ingredients in

Finished product! She has to have it in her own shaker bottle

Introducing PHAT Mums

Don't get discouraged by my blog name PHAT Mums. 

PHAT to me means - awesome, pretty hot, cool, fully sick!. You get my drift! 

I'm a mum to a 2 year old crazy, beautiful girl, let's call her Beauty. I'm also a wife to my darling husband and I am here to share with you what my life is like trying to be awesome and perfect at being fit, healthy and happy from a mummy's point of view. Like I said 'trying to be awesome and perfect'. 

I invite you to spend a bit of time with me, going through the motions of being a mum.

Thank you and you will hear from me soon! x