Get Out Of Your Head - The Mindful Way

Researchers are finding out that mindfulness has been shown to increase happiness. Originally a Buddhist term, the word mindfulness  is now becoming as ubiquitous as the word Zen. But what exactly is it? Going to the gym and running on the running machine while watching TV is not being mindful. Going through a Qigong or Kung Fu form while concentrating on the breath and the movement is. I’m not judging the person on the running machine. It’s okay to be mindless every now and again, but if our goal is to be happy then factoring in more sessions of mindfulness and less sessions of mindlessness will help us to achieve this. 

A student came to me the other day and said that she’d been meditating for 20 minutes every morning but she didn’t feel any different. For true transformation to occur, we need to integrate mindfulness into our day to day life. The Zen master, Thich Nhat Hanh, advises us to use a ringing phone or a red traffic light as a tool to remind us to come back to ourselves and breath three times. What are we doing with our time now? Are we happy? If not, why not? Willpower is like the groceries we buy at the supermarket, it runs out. This is why we need to integrate our practice into our daily life so it’s no longer about willpower, it is a habit to us and this habit then becomes a way of life.

For true transformation to occur we need to get out of our heads. What I mean by this is we need to give our mind a break and ground ourselves in our body. Since coming to the UK, I have seen many people on a Friday night going to a pub and drinking lots of beer and wine. My students have told me that they are getting out of their heads. In China we don’t have this culture, so at first I couldn’t understand why people stand up all evening in a crowded room and drink a lot and don’t eat anything. But now I understand. These people feel stress and this is the only way they know to get away from their stress. But their way is mindless rather than mindful and it will only give them temporary relief and a headache in the morning. A Qigong or Kung Fu Workout is a mindful and positive way to deal with stress. 

Our body is a miniature universe and our Qi is the inexhaustible energy of the universe which underpins our existence. It’s always there for us, just as a waterfall is always flowing regardless of whether we are there to look at it or not. Going through a Qigong or Kung Fu form helps us to be mindful. It shifts our energy and focus from our small mind with its endless circle of thoughts, plans and worries to our universal mind. It stimulate brain chemicals in our mind that are linked to happiness. If our mind and body are in harmony then peace naturally occurs without us having to work at it. Tapping into the universal mind gives us a happiness that no one can take away from us. Happiness is our most natural state of being. We deserve it.

Meditation Aids help us to live happily in the present moment. 

Killer Core and Cardio workout!!! Whoosh!

Hello everyone, how are you, what's news in your world? All good here. Hope you're eating clean, exercising and loving life :-)

I just came back from the Killer Core and Cardio KCC workout that most of you are following (who don't follow the Fit Yummy Mummy workouts) and sheesh was that a good workout. For those that don't know what the workout consists of, here it is:

- Russian twist with plate

- Suicide runs (sprinting up and back touching the ground at each end- 10m)

- Plank

- Step- ups with plate

- Side plank (30 secs each side)

- Backwards running 

- Weighted sit-up

- Running push-ups (x4 mountain climbers then x1 push-up) 

- Oblique crunch (30 sec each side)

- Skipping (rope)  

- Reverse crunch

- Knees up running (slow)

- V-sit

Jackie from Crabtree Fitness Professionals made us repeat these suckers twice, duration for each exercise 60 seconds. It was intense and made me sweat. Great work! I can't wait to see the results of the KCC ab challenge peeps next week. Can you believe it? Our ab challenge finishes next Wednesday 5th September.

Which reminds me my next Fit Yummy Mummy Challenge starts on Monday 3rd September and runs for 10 weeks so anyone wanting to join me.... You know the drill. Otherwise check my fitness tab for any new readers that wish to follow me and the success this program brings to our post baby bodies!! My main goal with this challenge will be strength training and really building and defining my muscles. I've never had my body looking like this before, so I'd like to take it to the next level.

I have a few days to catch up with so I'll endeavour to link the recipes to my food tab.

My goals thus far have been spot on, having said that I did miss my run today as I have a rest day today. However the fact that I took part in the KCC workout tonight should count as a bit of running, yeah? Good to see what my other readers are doing, so I understand when they tell me how much the knee up running killed them!

All workouts done and no caffeine day 5. I am on fire!!! Slowly working towards these abs resurfacing, just need to strengthen these muscles and looking for heavier weights. However I still haven't ventured out to buy some. Why???? I don't know. Unsure of going DB, plate or Kettlebell.

Breakfasts
Quinoa with fruit (I promise to post my steps and cooking process real soon for one of my readers that has requested this)
Pear and cinnamon porridge

Morning snacks
Frozen raspberries with natural yogurt and walnuts

Lunch 
Egg pizza

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 tomato
handful of chopped spinach and parsley leaves
1 diced red onion
handful of kalamata olives
1/2 cup of crumbled feta cheese

Method
Gently fry onions, tomato, spinach and olives. Then quickly beat up the eggs, add the crumbled feta and pour on top of mixture. Then place under the grill until cooked. Real fast and simple, extremely flavoursome. I just use whatever ingredients I have left over in the fridge. You can use your imagination and put whatever ingredients!

Vegetable arrancini ball with rocket

Afternoon snacks 
Cheese and crackers
Apple
Vegetable sticks

Dinner
Vegetable meatballs with brown rice and rocket, feta salad

Ingredients
500g beef mince
1 egg
2 slices of fresh breadcrumbs soaked in milk
1/2 cup crumbled feta
handful of parsley and coriander
4 small grated beetroots
1 garlic and 1 onion grated
2 carrots crated
S&P

Method
Combine all ingredients as pictured above and roll into balls (I made 12 medium size golf ball sizes) and bake in 180C degree oven until cooked (approx. 30 minutes).  I then made a passata tomato base sauce with basil and served with brown rice and rocket salad.

Beef and Chicken curries with pumpkin, brussel sprouts & feta salad

We went to our friends house for dinner and I made this salad with the ingredients I already had in my pantry and fridge.

Ingredients for Pumpkin, feta, brussel sprouts salad
1/2 a kent pumpkin (washed and sliced)
2 red onions (cut in wedges)
olive oil
sprinkle of coriander spice
400g can of 4 mixed beans (wash and drain)
12 brussel sprouts (steamed and sliced)
1 large slice of feta cheese, crumbled
bunch of rocket and spinach leaves (washed)
handful of parsley and coriander
1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds (lightly toasted)

Method
Roast (approx. 20 mins in a 180C degree oven) pumpkin and onions with a sprinkle of coriander, cracked pepper and drizzle of olive oil. In the meantime steam or boil brussel sprouts in salty water for 3-5 minutes and to keep them green and fresh, I place them in some ice. Once pumpkin and onions are cooked I lay them with the sliced brussel sprouts to absorb the beautiful sweet flavour and juices.

This is such a simple salad, as the pumpkin, onions and brussels were the only things that had to be cooked. When you are ready to serve simply layer up your rocket & spinach salad, cut up the pumpkin in bite sizes, crumble feta around, pumpkin seeds, beans, onions, pumpkins and so on...the best part is you just have to drizzle it with balsamic vinegar. Really tasty!

Please let me know what's news with you???  How are you going with your ab challege? Stay happy!

Xx Dani

Did you miss me? I missed you xx

Hiiiiiiiiiiiiii everyone, how are you?????

How was your weekend?

We had a fab few days and it has been so great to see the winters sun. We are certainly looking forward to our Spring and Summer here in Australia. Although my boys not so much as they suffer from hayfever, catch 22.

How have I been I hear you ask? Well......besides having my laptop away from my side for the past couple of days......

I've ditched caffeine drinks, including coffee and green tea. Day 3. PHEW! Kinda struggling but coping! A bit fatigued as well as I've done a couple of runs....SOOOO hungry!!!

My goals these next 12 days ~ just in case you forgot, well really they're here to remind me :-)

• EAT NO SUGAR WHATSOEVER (this includes honey & maple syrup)
• NEVER MISS A WORKOUT
• NO CAFFEINE DRINKS
• RUN AT LEAST X3 PER WEEK (on my day of rest AKA workout free days)
• FOCUS ON MY CORE FYM STRENGTH TRAINING

Okay so I've done pretty well with all of the above BUT on Sunday we did go down the beach and we had minimum chips on the beach watching the waves roll in....and on the way home a packet of mint and caramel slices just disappeared in my tummy. Between you and I, I really think they wanted to join the ab challenge. Seriously, this is tough!!! Like really tough to be so diligent. I will persevere.

I ran on Saturday and I'm sure you had a good laugh at my You tube stitch vid, it was made especially for you. I also ran today approx. 3km non-stop which was a good sign and a very slight stitch. Maybe I should not talk while I run with my running crew and just focus on my breathing, I think that's what it was. All I can say, is bring on October for the fun run so I can get this running over and done with. It's just one of my goals before I turn 40 to do a fun run. Unless I do like it.....we'll see.

Okay back to my glorious food, I am soooo in love with food....can't you tell??? How am I ever going to get those abs????

Breakfasts
Pear porridge

Natural wholegrain flakes with fruit

Snacks and drinks
Vanilla protein shakes
Herbal teas

Classic nutmeg (without honey) milk drink takes me back when I was a kid.....

My beautiful girlfriends Celeste and Kelly know exactly what to bring over for morning snacks. All these goodies ARE SUGAR free!! Love you guys xxx

Recipes to be provided and linked under my FOOD tab *COMING SOON

Lunches
Take away beef and pumpkin salad (dinner left overs)

Chicken, cheese salad sandwich on wholegrain bread

Dinners
Home made pizza's various toppings from ham, pineapple, mushroom to the FB posts of olives, rocket, feta cheese. My husband is in PIZZA heaven, we can't remember the last time we ordered take away.

BBQ scotch fillets with pumpkin, feta and spinach salad

I'll be back on track now that my fabbo Mac Pro has been updated with the latest and greatest software. There is so much work ahead of me, updating and linking my recipes to the FOOD tab to make it easier for you to find my recipes. Things have been so crazy these last few days that I haven't had a chance to post the recipes. I promise, I WILL. I am a woman of my word. Thanks for being so patient with me.

Here is our day out on the weekend at the skate park!!

1. Noah teaching Adrian how to "drop in" at the skate bowl 2. Oscar & 3. Mietta scooter riding 4. Mum & Oz

I look forward to reading from you and thanks for all your wonderful posts and comments on Facebook, you really make my day!!!

Xx Dani

I AM HEALTHY, NOT OBSESSED

I believe in being healthy when it comes to exercise and eating “clean” for the large percentage of my week.  Why do I bring the word obsessed into this picture…well...here it is in a nutshell…just as with anything else, too much of anything or an obsessive attitude can bring about an unhealthy balance in life…regardless of how good it is.   If I was spending hours on end exercising, putting exercise above everything in my life to the point of letting it interfere or negatively impact my life, relationships, and self…NO  GOOD.  I mean really…can you imagine if a scenario went like this…I am invited for the day to relax at a spa with hubby, or attend an important function with my family and I said nope … gotta exercise, or I need to be late so that I can get my workout in…OK…now that would be OBSESSIVE.

I am not saying that exercise is not important, it definitely is a lifestyle along with my nutrition, but I am talking about for example…the old habits of Darla from my competition days, and sometimes modeling where obsessive did enter the picture now and then.  Not cutting myself any slack with food and working beyond my physical means…YUCK.  What the heck was I thinking…my A1 personality type was definitely on hyper mode during my “obsessive” days.  What I am saying is that a good thing can be overboard or “obsessive” and cause more harm than good…in all aspects of life…physical, mental, and spiritual.   Probably the worst would be complete burnout of a repeated behavior…my fitness would be a “have to” instead of a “want to”…OH MY and NO WAY.  I want my healthy life to be a fun “lifestyle”, maintainable by consistent exercise and healthy food intake for the majority of the time…something I look forward to doing and just feel weird if I don’t. 

My Fabulous Friend and Hubby

I am so glad to be in a much more relaxed “older, wiser, better” place with balance and I truly enjoy all moments in life.  I am not going to lie and say that I never struggle with letting go of a day of exercise because sometimes I do…the rearing of old ugly habits knocking on my mental door.  Thank goodness for a more relaxed hubby who balances me out really well when I need a verbal chat to bring the sometimes “Over Do It” Darla back to reality.  Being healthy is definitely a FABULOUS description of my lifestyle…OBSESSED … well, when that word gets tossed my way…I greet it with a Stay Healthy Smile!

IN YOUR FACE MOTIVATIONS

Personal Share:  I just got back from a mini vacation boat camping trip with my wonderful husband, son and soon to be bride....and a bonus...I ran into one of my best friends who was camping in the cove around the bend...now talk about a small cove... I mean world.  We had such quality time with lots of swimming, great food and overall fun!  YES...I we found another waterfall and my Mom will kill me (love ya Mom) as I frolicked about the falls and climbed on a few rocks;)  Fitness is FUN and does not always have to be the same routine.  I say be spontaneous, be a kid, splash around and laugh so hard that your belly hurts...LIFE IS TOO SHORT!  Enjoy the pics and Stay Healthy~

                                                                                                      

Fun swim and climb to the falls with friends

                            

 

GREAT FUN WITH FAMILY ~ I AM AN OUTDOOR STAY HEALTHY GIRL

OUR NEW FAVORITE COVE ~ BULLARD'S BAR

 

Night on the Water with my Son, his fiance and Hubby

Thanks for stopping by my Blog, hope you enjoy the content, and if you have not become a follower yet, I would love to see your face on my friend's list.  If you are inspired, LIKE my entry, leave a comment and I look forward to responding! 

 

Have a Fabulous Week!

 

Stay Healthy!

 

Darla:)

Day 12 TT12 - ab challenge ROUND 1 completed

Happy Saturday everyone, hope you're having a fab weekend so far!



Breakfast
egg muffins with spinach, tomato & feta

PWOS vanilla

Ingredients
2 eggs
feta
S&P
avocado (1/2 mashed)
handful of spinach
1 tomatoe
2 wholemeal toasted muffins

I was super hungry after I came home from my 6km run/walk...

Ohhhhh I was so hideous with my run this morning!!! Pathetic actually! Seriously. Here I am claiming to be all fit and healthy (well you know, kinda, I'm on a journey with you all) and I can't even run without getting a stitch? WTH??? Yes that dreaded stitch came back!

This is what I was dealing with !!! I had to take this footage to show you BUT I'm also here to let you know that I WILL NOT LET THE STITCH beat me!!!! Here goes! Have a laugh will ya!!

Morning snack
GF and nut free fruit bars

I make these for the boys lunch boxes regularly as they are not allowed any nuts at school, so instead I place various seeds and usually I put almond meal but I've started on either GF flour, wholemeal or buckwheat. I bake them so they are crunch like muesli bars.

Ingredients
Oats
Buckwheat flour
Pumpkin seeds
Sunflower seeds
Cranberries
Macadamia oil
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method
Mix all ingredients together until you get a nice dough like mix (add water or milk if too dry) and shape into muesli type bars

Lunch
Salad sandwich

Afternoon snack
Yogurt fruit parfait

We just cut up some kiwi & strawberry for the bottom layer, added yogurt, then frozen berries with walnuts, topped with yogurt. Kids had honey drizzled onto, I added a mint leaf :-)

Dinner **will post pics ASAP having connection issues**
BBQ scotch fillets with pumpkin, feta and spinach salad

Dressing
I mixed some olive oil, 1tsp honey, 2 tsp seeded mustard, squeezed 1/2 lemon and gave it a shake in this little jar and poured over the salad.


Fitness - ab challenge update


As you know I am doing the Fit Yummy Mummy Tighter Tummy in 12 days challenge which ended today. I took a quick pic from one of my core strength exercise moves today....

Well this is it....12 days of focusing on the ab region, I'll be repeating this program again for those that wish to join me. As for those that are doing their own program we are still going for another couple of weeks, as some of you mentioned you wouldn't see massive results in just 12 days. So I will repeat this TT12 again.

Here are my results......thus far.

I lost a total of 1.5cm around my waist & muffin top region

This was me 12 days ago when Celeste took a picture of me, so I got Adrian to try and take as close to those pics as she did.

Now I know it's no chisel 6 pack and not sure how far I can take this but hey, let's see what another 12 days does.

I didn't really commit 100% to this mini 12 day challenge. I had chocolate, I had chips, I missed a workout, I have more excuses than I can think of.

So........

My NEW goals for the next 12 days, starting tomorrow are:

• EAT NO SUGAR WHATSOEVER (this includes honey & maple syrup)
• NEVER MISS A WORKOUT
• NO CAFFEINE DRINKS
• RUN AT LEAST X3 PER WEEK (on my day of rest AKA workout free days)
• FOCUS ON MY CORE FYM STRENGTH TRAINING

Are you in???

Xx Dani

Day 11 TT12 - ab challenge

WOW!!! One more day to go and I'm done with the TT12 challenge. I have been a bit slack and haven't really focused properly. I really need to re-focus and not pick at sweet things at night. I just shared half a pack of chips with Adrian and a few "favourites" from cadbury chocolates (only because I won them on trivia night a few weeks ago, I'm actually surprised they've lasted this long!).

I will update my recipes ASAP and link them under my FOOD tab, just need to wrap things up tonight, so I'll keep this short.

No workout today - day of rest

Breakfast
Strawberry porridge

Morning snack
Cottage cheese with fruit

Lunch
left over chicken burger salad

Afternoon snack
Broccoli and hummus dip

Dinner
Parmesan chicken schnitzels with a plated bruschetta salad

I hope you have had a fabulous Friday. Enjoy the weekend, I am very excited as Adrian doesn't need to go down to the beach so he's here for the entire weekend YAY!

What's on for you this weekend?

Xx Dani

Day 10 TT12 - ab challenge

How are those abs coming along everyone? Here are our 2 teams:

Tighter Tummy in 12 days (x2)
1. Dani
2. Michelle
3. Christine
4. Sheri
5. Ritika
6. Maria
7. Liz
8. Pauline

Killer Cardio and Core workout (3 weeks)
1. Celeste
2. Jodie
3. Anita
4. Jess
5. Adrian
6. Daniel
7. Amanda (FYM)
8. Tace
9. Elise
10. Tami
11. Sanya
12. Sarah
13. Dee (FYM)

I need some feedback, comments etc....to make sure you are on track. I made some poor food choices when I went out the other night and seriously can notice that layer on my tummy. Don't get me wrong I don't think I am overweight or fat in any way....however to achieve that chisel look, seriously I need to drop down to 10% body fat (I am currently @ 17%) which I think for my frame (1.78cm tall and weighing 65kgs) I will look too gaunt and not so nice!

I'll post a video soon to let you know what I am talking about.

I really need to bulk up in my muscle region, invest in some heavier weights and a all natural, organic protein powder. No nasty synthetics. I'm on the lookout!!! So watch this space!

Breakfast
Pear porridge

Here's my bulk porridge that I make for the 6 of us and then store any left overs throughout the day as a top up for Zali or in our smoothies etc....Not only do I have oats in the mix but I also throw in some linseed, rye and barley! Just to cover all my fibre :-) I tend to cook either on the stove top with milk and natural fruit juice (from a pears can) or under extreme emergencies in the microwave, same method just watch it doesn't overflow!!! Sticky porridge aint' nice to clean up! Trust me, I do it daily.....


WORKOUT and AB EXERCISES I completed the workout B for the month of August. Come check it out if interested in following the same exercise regime as myself. You get 50% off Holly's FYM fat loss ebook and 30 days free trial at Club FYM. It is amazing how varying her exercises are, it keeps you motivated and for me today the Bulgarian dead lifts with my leg up on a bench was very challenging. Great to feel other muscles!!! This workout took me approximately 18 minutes.

For my interval training I did my typical 60 seconds hard core exercises (mountain climbers, heel kicks & squats) followed by 30 secs slow marching on the spot. I repeated this 10 times and worked out a ripper sweat!

Morning snack
PWOS vanilla

Lunch
Tuna salad wholemeal wraps

Tuna, carrots, avocado, spinach, tomato (not pictured) wholemeal wraps

Simple and fresh ingredients makes such a lovely nutritional and filling meal. After lunch Mietta and I were busy again, this time making colourful play dough!

Method
Mix all ingredients and heat in a saucepan until you get to the 4th picture seen above. Then colour away. We used 3 and came up with these.....

We're learning about traffic lights so we chose these red, orange and green colours :-)

Here is Miss M in action....

Yes she's even got her nails painted hot pink!! We are busy girls at home :-)

Afternoon snack
Chickpeas on the go with an apple

I'll make sure I update this post with my steps and recipe on cooking home made crunchy chick peas. I will also link it in my FOOD tab. Thanks so much for your patience as I make this site as user friendly as possible for you.

Dinner
Chicken quinoa feta burgers served with steamed vegetables

Ingredients
500g chicken mince
2 grated carrots
1 grated onion
1/2 cup grated cheese (parmesan or tasty is fine)
1 small block of feta crumbled
handful of chopped herbs (parsley and mint)
1/2 cup quinoa
2 eggs beaten
2 slices of wholemeal bread (which I blitzed into breadcrumbs and the soaked them in the eggs mixture)
S&P
clove of garlic

Method
Combine all ingredients and roll into balls, flatten into pattie shape and allow to sit in fridge for half an hour (if possible) if not they're ok to either fry up or oven bake with a light spray of olive oil in your pan or dish. I made 8 adult size burgers and 4 mini ones for the kids and oven baked them for 30 minutes on 180C degrees or until cooked.


***Beauty update****

By the way I keep forgetting to mention last month I went out to Creswick (for my local readers, they'll know where that is) and found my NEW Delightfully Natural beauty regime!!!! One of my gorgeous school Mums referred me to her girlfriend who only uses natural and organic ingredients in her products. I was about to buy the Mirander Kerr KORA range online when I thought, best I support a local Australian business who is also all about natural, organic ingredients and NO CHEMICALS whatsoever!!! Anyhow's a big shout out to Kelly for creating such a beautiful skin range, which I'll also convert into my make up, body and hair range as well.

So many times I think about what I feed my body and then realise..... what is it that I am putting on my face???? I sometimes turn to my pantry and make my own facials and masks, here's some stuff I did recently when I started running low on my regular beauty products.

Face moisturisers
Coconut oil
Olive oil
Avocado oil

Facial scrubs
Almond with your choice of oil (I use the left over almonds when I make my almond milk)
Oatmeal and honey (blitz oats to powder form and mix with honey until you get a thick paste)
Coffee - left over from my coffee machine when I'm in the shower I just add water! These are great for any blocked pores.

Face masks
Almond - crack a couple of eggs, add some almond oil and paint your face with this sucker and feel all the natural ingredients working hard to plumping your skin back to life. I love this!
Honey -  is also a favourite as my Mum is a bee keeper we used to do this all the time. Also the wax from the frames of honey she pulled out, I used to place on my red pimply spots as a teenager and in the morning they were gone!!!!
Yogurt - also can be mixed with honey (1tbs of each) for a fabulous mask leaving your face feeling great!

The list is endless really but I really want to embark on all fresh ingredients, organic, raw etc... as much as possible and I will share with you what I use, buy and where I get them from. If ever you too decide to join me down the path of youthfulness :-)))) I'll never forget an interview I saw with Elle McPherson and she said, she became a vegan at 40 years of age and completely made the change to everything natural and organic, including products. She claims this change of lifestyle contributes to her youthful looking appearance. I may not go completely vegan but I sure am trying to go down the all natural and organic path.

As I approach my 40's I too want to be feeding my body and face with the right natural, raw ingredients. Let's see how I look in a couple of years time aye???? You be the judge :-))))

How about you? What do you do to make yourself healthy, fit and youthful looking?

Xx Dani