ZAR - 10 Healthy food tips!

Instead of a recipe this week, I thought I'd give you 10 ways to spice up everyday fruit, veg et al.

Natural almonds - roast for 10 mins in the oven; they taste even better!

Nectarines, peaches or fresh figs - grill and serve with greek yoghurt.

Roma tomatoes - quarter and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season. Bake for 20 mins in a hot oven. You can also do this with cherry tomatoes. Just cook for a little less.

Wilting herbs - if you have any herbs you need to use up, put them in the food processor with a handful of nuts, olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Use over fish or on a salad.

Sparkling water - if I'm trying to avoid alcohol, this makes me feel like I'm not just drinking water. Squeeze in a quarter of lime.

Oats - soak 50g rolled oats in juice of an orange overnight. In the morning, mix in a small handful of raisins, grated apple and a good spoon of yoghurt. Serve with berries if desired.

Pineapple - remove the skin and cube. Thread onto skewers and bbq.

Beetroot - remove the stalks and wash. Place in saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 30 mins to an hour depending on size. Turn off the heat and cool in the cooking water. Peel, cube and put into a bowl with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, S&P and crushed cardomom pods. Serve on the side or in a salad.

Frozen yoghurt - hull a punnet of strawberries and blend with 100g greek yoghurt. Freeze for a couple of hours until still soft but slightly frozen.

Capsicum (pepper) - roast either on the bbq, on the flame of a grill stovetop or in the oven. Cool in a plastic container with an airtight lid (or plastic bag, tied). Peel and remove seeds and stalk. Slice and put in a salad or pulse in processor with roasted garlic to stir through pasta or serve as a side with fish. Or use as a bruschetta topping.

Enjoy!

ROSIE - Toning exercises

Last week I blogged on muscles and toning and promised you some ace exercises to tone up. Remember the FITTA principle? Apply that to this group of exercises and you'll be lean and mean in no time at all - but remember the Adherence part, the most important of all!

1) Shoulder press
Take a dumbell in each hand, stand feet shoulder width apart. Hands start above your shoulders. Holding the abs in, push the weights up to the ceiling to arms straight. Breathe out as you push up, breathe in as you control them down.

2) Tricep dip
Sit on a bench with your hands either side of your bottom. Feet are flat on the floor, the straighter your legs are the harder it is. Keeping your bottom close to the bench, drop it down and lower to the ground. Keep those elbows tight in behind your back and don't let your bottom drift away from the bench.

3) Side/front raise
Don't take too heavier a weight with this, it's deceptively hard! Stand feet shoulder width apart, abs in. Arms hanging by your side, bring the weights straight up to shoulder height to the side, drop them back down to your thighs and repeat to the front. Make sure you touch your thighs in between each rep. Breathe out as you bring the weight up, in as you take it down.

4) Bicep curl
Feet hip width apart, abs in. Hold the weights with the backs of your hands touching your thighs. Bring them up to your shoulders, bending your elbows, control back down. Breathe out as you bring the weight up, in as it goes back down. Make sure you touch the weight onto your shoulders and thighs each time to get the full range of movement.

5) Lunges
Stand with your feet apart, one in front of the other. It's vital that you get a big step (bigger than usual) to get a good range. Bend your knees down to the floor, and then straighten. If you look at yourself in the mirror, a good guide is that you should have a right angle at each knee at the lowest point, with one knee almost touching the floor. Try this with a weight in each hand and it bumps it up, by pulsing on the last rep for 10 it should finish you off!

6) Squats
Stand with your feet apart, wider than shoulder width. Abs in, shoulders high, chest up, lower down as if you were sitting into a chair. Bring yourself up to straight. If you look in the mirror from the side, your thighs should be almost parrallel to the floor when you're at the lowest point. Again, add a weights and that pulse to the last rep and feel the burn on the thighs.

7) Push up
The old favourite! Using your own body weight is the most natural weight you can use and should be achievable, having said that I STILL can't do many full press ups... not something I should admit probably. If you want to make it easier, do it on your knees; but feet or knees, make sure your body is in a straight line all the way, no bottoms in the air. Try and get as low to the floor as you can.

8) Tricep extension
Take one weight in both hands and take it straight above your head. Abs in, shoulders relaxed, drop it down behind your head. Your forearms should be the only thing moving; keep the upper arm fixed. Try and touch the weight on the top of your neck (gently!) and take the arms straight at the top.

The general rule for ALL of these exercises is; abs in, shoulders relaxed. Breathe out on the effort in each case.

Good luck!

ZAR - Bad thoughts & bad eating...

Lordy, lordy I thought I was stronger than this. I've had alot on my mind recently and what I've noticed straight away is that I am making food my crutch.

It's proof that so much of success or failure in terms of weight loss or weight maintenance relies on a strong mental attitude. When I'm not worried, stressed, overwhelmed, angry etc, I don't even look twice at a brownie. Last week, I not only had brownies but I had fish and chips for supper.

I've pretty much sorted out what was worrying me, so this should be a better week but it really has shown me the importance of not only dealing with problems as quickly as possible when they come along (not always possible I know) but also being especially aware of times such as this.

I made sure that I carried on working out - this not only helped to work off the brownies but was good for my state of mind.

I tried to keep as busy as possible, purposely leaving jobs to do when I knew I would be looking around for something delicious and naughty to snack on.

I got on my bike. Regular readers will know I've just bought a roadbike, and I got my clips fitted yesterday. I'm really enjoying cycling and it certainly blows out the cobwebs.

I decided not to give myself a hardtime. Usually I do this and makes the whole situation worse. This time, I took a deep breath and vowed to do better next time. This is not to say that there won't be a tougher line this week - there are no excuses now.

It's proof that I've still got a long way to go and will always battle with this. If anyone has any ideas - please let me know.

GEORGIE - Rosie's motivated - I need to get there...

Following Rosie's rousing rally call for motivation yesterday I had a little think and, in need of motivation as I am - I decided to compose a list of things that will motivate me over the coming month to get back into the gym harder then ever...

Here we go - this will be stuck in a prominent place - probably the fridge or larder door...

Reasons to get motivated

1) Too tight trousers. Figure hugging yes, blob bulging NOOOO

2) I must not look fat on telly again. At sky sports someone emailed in congratulating me on my pregnancy - that will NOT happen again. I start a new job next month god help me.

3) Nobody likes a drunk - and alcohol is the easiest way for me to pile on the pounds

4) A dress by Victoria Beckham that I've seen, and I want, but I cannot afford. However when I go to try it on to torture myself I must actually be able to fit into it.

5) I feel like crap and I want to feel good again.

6) The second bum that is currently taking residence on top of the first one. Call them muffin tops but I look like I am growing spare buttocks.

7) Its only a few months to go before the summer goes and then we all know how hard it is to get out there and exercise once the cold and dark mornings come so I need to get into the groove sooner rather then later.

8) Both my sisters are inspired and motivated and I am not. Being a competitive person I need to take on that challenge.

9) I was called 'curvy' the other day. Hate that.

10) E! Top 40 beach bodies. Something to aspire to. Yessur. Sky Plus/Tivo that bad boy and watch it over and over again

Good luck people - hope NONE of these resonate with you as you are all HIGHLY motivate people...

xxx GB

ROSIE - FInd motivation!!

So, this is something that we've written about at least a couple of times over the last 6 months on Bingham Girls but, from my experience, both personal and professional, it is the BIG one when it comes to exercise. The biggest excuse for not doing exercise is "I don't have time". I've uttered it to myself more times than I care to admit - and I LOVE exercise.

We live in such busy times; jobs, families, children, pets, socialising, housework, DIY, holidays - there are a million and one things that usually come higher up the list than exercise, and usually not because you want them to but because they HAVE to be higher.

So, how to motivate yourself? I think the biggest thing is to ask yourself how important it is to you to exercise. How does it make you feel? What do you want to achieve? What health factors make you need to exercise? How do you feel when you DON'T exercise?

Time passes by so quickly and if you think to yourself, well, I'll do 4 workout sessions this week and suddenly it's Sunday evening and you've only got one in, it can be very demoralising.

Sit down, write a list (yes, I'm a list girl) of all the good and bad things about exercise. What excuses do you use to avoid it? Why does it not happen? You need to analyse your life and maybe why it doesn't happen. I think you will honestly find that when you do that, there will be a lot of things that can be cut out of your life, or done more efficiently to create time. It doesn't have to be about dropping something from your life to make more time for it, it's just about making the time.

Do it - if you're finding that your exercise is falling by the wayside through no control of your own - it usually IS in your control, you just need to find a way to control your time better.

ROSIE - A woman's body

I think I can safely say that the majority of women AREN'T looking for that waif like model look. They want a toned, lean, healthy looking body, with a few curves, not like someone who would drop over if you so much as breathed on them. The problem is that most of us (I say US here, ladies, I'm not picking on anyone) have a little eensy weensy layer of fat on us. Why? Well, because we're women. We are designed to store fat more than men because we stay in caves, cook the men their food, have babies and generally sit around all day. Ha! You know what I mean; in caveman times we would generally stay at home and keep the nest; needing more fat to keep us warm and "fed". Whereas men would create and build muscle just like that whilst out hunting those deer for us. Ever wondered how your husband can "decide" he's getting too chunky and needs to lose a few pounds? A couple of runs, "no pudding for me tonight", lay off the beers and he's done it, just like that? Whereas us women battle and battle for weeks on end and lose half a pound. AAAAAAGGGH.

Women NEED more fat. They store more fat, they put on fat more easily and losing fat is more difficult for them. I think when you're trying to shape your body (I say this as I don't necessarily mean lose weight), it's oh so important but oh so difficult to step back and look at the bigger picture. Think of your ancestors! It is natural for women to carry more fat than men.

I've lost count of the amount of times we say this on Bingham girls. It's our mantra - if you're bored of it already, perhaps it's time for you to stop reading as it will be said OVER & OVER. Healthy diet. Healthy lifestyle. Exercise and activity. Lots. of. water. Good amount of sleep. Cut down on your stress.

Countering all the above contribute to carrying more fat & weight than you should. Take time for yourself, think about what you're doing to your body. More often than not it's SO obvious that we're doing something wrong (i.e. drinking a bottle of wine a night) but we overlook it because it's such a part of our life.

If you eat right, live right and exercise right your body will thank you for it and you will see changes; just be patient.

I'll be doing a little piece on toning next time and coming up in the next week... something to make you feel good about your body's "stable weight".

ZAR - Yummy...chicken schnitzel the healthy way.

This is very unusual for me. I actually don't enjoy schnitzel because of the frying. Way to much oil for me. However, during this wintertime, I am of course, craving fat and carbs (I don't think I'm alone) and I decided to try and make a healthy version of this Aussie favourite. I served it with a roasted field mushroom and a fresh and crispy coleslaw of cabbage, capsicum, celery, fennel and Spanish onion. It was DELICIOUS!

1 chicken breast (approx 150g) per person
1 egg, beaten per person
Plain flour
Dried breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
Olive oil spray

If you want to make your own dried breadcrumbs just put some bread in a low oven to dry it out and then pulse in a food processor.

Preheat oven to 190 degrees.

Place the chicken breast on a chopping board. Place your hand on the top and using a long, thin knife, horizontally slice the top third of the breast away. Slice the remainder of the breast in half horizontally. You should then have three thin pieces of chicken breast on front of you. Season with salt and pepper.

Put a piece of baking paper on a baking tray and spray with olive oil spray.

Arrange the flour and breadcrumbs on separate plates and the beaten egg in a bowl on the bench.

Coat the chicken pieces in the flour, egg and then the breadcrumbs. Put onto the baking tray and then spray the tops of the chicken with olive oil spray.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes until light golden.

ROSIE - More muscles!

Zar and I bizarrely wrote on quite a similar topic this week but I'm glad because it highlights the importance of resistance training in terms of shaping your body.

Zar gave you the science - I am now giving you a little bit of theory on HOW TO... build those lovely lean looking muscles.

I write this from a woman's perspective; mostly because the majority of my clients have been women, I used to work in a woman's only gym and, of course, because I am a woman. I think (this doesn't necessarily mirror other trainers) that I have more empathy with a woman, appreciate how they work and so work better with them. Of course, as I said, some clients like trainers of the opposite sex, some male trainers only like to work women. Whatever suits whoever.

Of course, any men out there who would like a piece on "bulking up" or strength training, do shout, I can do a mean programme for that too.

So; toning up. There's a few schools of thought on this, of course all trainers believe different training methods should be applied. This is MY way of training. It's not right, it's not wrong, it's just worked for me and the majority of my clients over the years; if it doesn't work for you, keep trying different methods! I'm basing this on someone who has a relatively good base of fitness, no injuries and knows a few different exercises.

I'm applying something called the "FITTA" principle here. Some of you may have heard of it before, it was almost tattooed onto me whilst training to be a PT and can be applied to pretty much all elements of fitness.

FREQUENCY
I would suggest minimum 3 times per week, 4 is good. Do it after your cardio; the reason being that if you knacker your legs out doing lunges, for example, you may jeopardise your running style.

INTENSITY
This is where most people, women especially, get it wrong. IT MUST BE INTENSE. You must get to the end of the set and feel like you could complete NO MORE REPS. However, again, over and over I see people (mostly men, needless to say - sorry guys, egos and all that) doing TOO HEAVY WEIGHTS with a really really bad form. See, I can do a bicep curl with 10 kgs?! Yup - but your swaying like a tree in the breeze, only really using your back and putting your lumbar spine in serious danger. Watch yourself in them mirror, it's not poser-y.

I would suggest 10-12 reps, as I said, of a weight that you feel you couldn't do any more of but can do the whole set with good form. 3-4 sets is fine. Pick 8-10 exercises.

TIME
With regard to the actual movement itself, don't rush it; make sure you do the full movement (i.e straighten your arms all the way, or make sure you knee goes as far as possible down to the floor on a lunge). But don't fall into the trap of doing it too slowly. It should feel like it's keeping moving but not rushing. Don't take breaks in between sets, if you really have to then just 20-30 secs. This type of training should require no more.

TYPE
Again, some trainers would argue this but I do one exercise after the other to the end. So I would do one set of each of the 6 exercises, complete each set, then go back and do them again, until you have finished your sets. This way you will not fatigue specific muscles and need such a break.

Pick two-3 upper body exercises, 2-3 lower body exercises and 2-3 core exercises (I will be posting a blog with some exercise ideas). Preferably opposing muscles.

ADHERENCE
This is key but oh so often forgotten. Sculpting your body TAKES TIME. Don't do them for a week, then get bored and think you're not making a difference. The key with muscles is repetition. This is why I've suggested doing the same exercises for a period of time, say a month. Your muscles need to gain the benefit from the repetitive movements and grow stronger.

Make sure you're doing the exercises PROPERLY. Each rep should be as good as the first. Make sure you change your weight as they get easier; if you don't feel like it's hard, it's not working. You should feel the burn in your muscles, that means their working.


I will repeat and put my life on the line - YOU WILL NOT BULK UP. Refer to my article a few months ago regarding this and yes, I will give you my personal assurance that you will, if you stick to the above, change your body!

ZAR - Muscles...

Pose says it all the time and we all know it - we have to get moving to burn kilojoules. Cardio is great for fat burning and you can't expect to lose fat without getting your heart rate up. However, there are many benefits to adding some type of resistance training or strength training to your weekly workouts.

Our metabolism is mostly determined by our lean muscle mass. 1kg of muscle mass burns 627-1465 kilojoules per day while 1kg of fat only burns about 20-40 kilojoules per day.

We don't need any more reasons not to crash diet but I'll give you another. On these types of diets, muscle mass will deteriorate and metabolism slows. Since losing weight and gaining muscle, I find I burn energy even when I don't train and getting back on track is much easier.

Resistance or strength training is about using large groups of muscle with as much intensity as possible. Pilates and pump classes are excellent for this type of exercise. You can also do a workout yourself focusing on using your body weight - squats, lunges, tricep dips, push-ups and the plank.

It's also much more than just about the metabolism. Strength training creates stronger bones, prevents injuries, increases balance, flexibility and mobility.

Just remember that muscles will not appear overnight. To achieve muscle definition, you have to lose fat and this is done by combining cardio and strength training but more importantly eating a healthy balanced diet. If you need help getting on track with this, consult a professional.

SOMETHING FOR THE WEEKEND - Zar's Vietnamese Fish!

This needs a little bit of advance preparation but once you have the paste in the fridge, it takes no time to make a delicious supper. Serves 2-4 depending on what you serve it with.

3 garlic cloves. peeled
5 cm piece ginger, peeled and chopped
3 long red chillies, chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 red onion thinly sliced
2 tbsp sunflower oil
400ml light coconut cream
500g ling (or other firm white fish fillets) cut into 3cm cubes
Juice of 2 limes
Coriander or mint sprigs, sliced shallots (spring onions) and chopped raw peanuts to serve

Put the garlic, ginger, chillies, fish sauce, turmeric and half the onion in a small food processor or blender. Add 2 tbsp water and process until it's a smooth paste.
Heat the sunflower oil in a pan over a medium heat. Cook the other half an onion for 5 mins until light golden. Add the paste and simmer for 10 mins. Add the coconut cream and simmer for another 15-20 mins. By this time it should be thickened and reduced by a third. Stand at room temp for an hour or chill overnight to allow the flavours to develop.
Heat the paste through in a pan over a medium heat to warm it through. Add the fish and stir to coat. Cook for 5-8 mins, stirring once or twice until fish is cook through. Add the lime juice, taste and season.
You can serve this with rice vermicelli noodles or with stir fried vegies as well as the herb sprigs, shallots (spring onions) and peanuts.

GEORGIE - it's all in the head and not because someone puts it there!!

So I liked this story I read today - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1294631/Company-director-drops-stone-hypnotist-convinces-gastric-band.html

Hypnosis, its believers say, can work wonders. I have friends who've stopped being heavy smokers thanks to a few sessions so I'm really interested in the idea that you can lose weight using your mind.

But really - doesn't it really come down to just one thing - the belief thing? Whether you believe you're thinner or less hungry then you were before OR you believe you are worth looking and feeling better it's all the same in the end - it just comes down to our desire to do it really easily. That's how the media deals with weight and diets - journalists make us envious of the fact it's SO easy for some people to shed the pounds or get a kiss-ass body...

I guess what I am trying to say is that gaining belief rather then PAYING someone to instil it surely must be much more rewarding. That girl, who looks great and no doubt feels much better, lost weight by cheating her body into thinking it was full. But I feel like she also cheated herself a little. She paid someone else to help her with her weight problem instead of getting her head around her own issue and dealing with it head on. Not having the self belief to get your fat ass off the sofa in the first place and lose some weight without the help of a hypnotherapist smacks a little of an easy way out to me. Call me old fashioned but I would like to feel like I'd done something myself - without the help of anyone else. That's why getting healthy is so hard and so rewarding too.

ROSIE - Supermum (or not)...

So, I realise I have not pulled my fair share in the blogging stakes recently. My posts have been few and far between and I have relied on my oh so brilliant sisters to keep up the good work. Not that it's a chore, you understand, but it's another THING that needs to be done.

My excuse? I don't like to call it an excuse... more my reason - well, I've finally bitten the bullet and got a "proper" job. Without boring you with the details, I am now a fully fledged member of the working mothers brigade. And wowser, what a job. I don't mean my "proper" job, I mean all the other things that go round it! Packed lunches (me & Jack). Snacks (me & Jack). Bags packed (me and Jack). Spare clothes (just Jack). Dropping Jack off at the childminders and leaving him screaming in her arms (definitley just Jack). It's ridiculous how a 21 hour working week can take up your time!

So, needless to say, a few other things have fallen by the wayside. My regular "I-do-this-religiously-every-day-and-have-done-for-3-and-a-half-years" walk with Jessie in the morning has been cut in half. My exercise? Hmmm. The less said about that the better. Let's say I probably do about a third of what I would LIKE to do. And I am KNACKERED! I am asleep on the sofa at 9 at night!

I'm hoping it's just a phase and I will get used to it. In the meantim, my mantra -which I am screaming in my mind in a sort of frenzy - is to MAKE TIME. True with healthy eating, exercise, making time for loved ones (the monosyllabic grunts to my husband SO have to stop)... I think a lesson to all - unless everyone out there is superwoman (or supermum).

Love from a very UN-supermum. x

Zar is excited!!!

I've had a strange few weeks. I was absolutely sick as a dog with the flu for 2 weeks. This meant time out from the normal routine. I really felt like I was living in an alternate universe. No work, no exercise, I couldn't eat for several days. After the flu went, I was so weak I had to recover for a whole week before I went back to work. I haven't been working out this week as I didn't want to overdo it. For me, very strange.

Then on Thursday, I did something which I've been so excited about for about 6 weeks. It was quite strange seeing as I hadn't worked out for 3 weeks. I PICKED UP MY NEW BIKE - WOOHOO!!

I went out on the dream machine yesterday for the first time and - WOW! This is so exciting. I really feel like this is going to be great for me. I'm going to start cycling to work and back once a week. I've also signed up to do the Sydney to the 'Gong bike ride which is 90km on Nov 7th. If I have this beautiful machine at my toetips, I may as well get into it. As long as I don't get hit by a car....

There is no real message in this blog, just that I'm very excited about my new bike, and my new exercise routine. Let's just see what happens when I pick up the tricky shoes in a couple of weeks.....there could be some great home video footage there!!

GEORGIE - Did you ever think about where it comes from?

I'm at Hampton Court Flower show all this week - and right opposite the marquee we are working in is a garden where the RHS has grown a display of all the herbs that make up the supplements we peddle daily into our bodies. It's amazing to see and smell the plants like Oil of Evening primrose and St Johns Wort - I have never really thought about the basis of the little oil capsules that I use to make body and mind feel and look good. I like the fact that if you see them in their natural state you feel like you know what's going into your body. That's all really - a mega short blog I guess - but I think before I start taking any supplements in the future I am going to make the effort to find out what is actually in them and seek out the purest forms of these herbs and plants so I can get the most out of them. I had a little read up tonight about some of these plants on the internet and I am just gobsmacked by how much we get from nature that is healthy and therapeutic!! I feel enlightened!!

ZAR - healthy skin tips

I wouldn't say I was vain but I will do anything I can to keep myself looking good. This includes my skin. I try to stay out of the sun in terms of baking in it so I don't age prematurely, I cleanse and moisturise twice a day and I don't have to wear too much make-up. I also get to be in the fresh air much of the time.

I read the other day about foods that can help the health of your skin.

VITAMIN A
Milk, cheese, egg yolk, fish liver oils and foods rich in beta-carotene such as carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, apricots and mangoes.

VITAMIN C
Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons and mandarins as well as kiwifruit and berries.

ZINC
Lean meat, chicken, fish, dairy, legumes, wholegrain cereal and bread, pecans, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.

ANTIOXIDANTS
Berries, green tea, red and orange fruit and vegetables.

HEALTHY FATS
Oily fish (salmon, trout, mackerel, sardines), cold-pressed flaxseed and olive oil, nuts, seeds and avocado.

Don't forget that drinking plenty of water, enough sleep and exercise will also give you healthier looking skin. It goes without saying that smoking and alcohol will age you as much as exposure to the sun will.

GEORGIE - getting off that pop - again

Greetings!! Absento I have been while I took a summer break and it was lovely to take in some sun and sea and enjoy the irresponsibility of doing nothing but reading, relaxing, and er, eating and drinking.

Luckily Cyprus was healthy as hell. Fresh salad and pork/chicken kebabs, fish, hummus and lots and lots of watermelon! But a few G and T's every night and I am feeling a little bit over indulged on the booze front.

With a new job starting in a a few weeks, it's time to make sure I look my best when I walk through the doors to meet my new colleagues. Easiest way to brighten the skin and ensure a rested and healthy look for me is to get off the pop. So for a few weeks, it will be mineral water for me, and although it always normally takes me a few attempts to say no at a glass of wine in the evening (I always forget my vow and realise that I am going to have to start my pledge tomorrow) I would really recommend trying it for a while at least.

For those of us who occasionally over do it, waking up without a hangover is the best thing EVER. You never waste a weekend sleeping off your excesses and you can get on with enjoying whatever else you have planned - and you will be amazed how much better you sleep too.

If you consider doing it - and I would say just try it for 3 weeks and see how you find it - don't let any of your friends tell you you're a bore - alcohol is not required for a good time - you will be surprised how fun an evening out can be without the headache OR the hole in your wallet the next day!!

Good luck!

ZAR - Winter blues

I skyped Mum and Gega yesterday and felt terrible when they let me know that it was 8 degrees......in summer! Aahhhh.... Here I am struggling in 17 degrees of winter. The temperature doesn't worry me - I just stack more layers on but all I think about is food!! Banana bread, hot chips, brownies - fruit just doesn't cut it when it's colder!

One of the Sunday papers had an excellent article on avoiding gaining any extra padding this season - I should take note

Beware stretchy clothes
If you continue to wear the jeans and skirts that you normally do, you'll be immediately aware when they get tighter. Fitted clothes are as good a monitor of your body as the scales are. Continual monitoring is so important to keeping off lost weight.

Soupy soup soup
Inexpensive snd low in fat if you steer away from the creamy versions. Use fresh stock if you can. Add lentils and protein to make you feel fuller for longer. Make a big batch and freeze it so it's always there for a quick fix.

Spicy food
Great way to warm yourself up and fight winter bugs. If you're buying Asian or Indian takeaway, steer clear of creamy or oily dishes. Go for ones full of vegies. Or make my beef curry that I posted on March 19th. I have come to the conclusion that I need to eat more hot food in the evening - hot and sour soup, prawn sate etc.

Walk it off - at least...
As I tweeted a little while ago, I'm so glad I don't make morning exercise part of my routine. It is so easy in the winter to stay in bed in the morning and head straight home after work and then vegitate at the weekend. If you can walk somewhere - do it and commit to yourself to continuing your exercise regime or starting a new one.

Set a goal
My goal is not to put on weight over the winter. I know I need to get more specific. I will maintain 75kg by the time spring comes around. One of my customers told me about a "5 in 50" challenge (which I'll be writing about next week). Lose 5 kg's in 50 days or for me, I will maintain my weight over 50 days. If you don't hit your targets then you have to donate money to charity. Get a group of friends together and support each other.