The truth of it..

Paleo Diet

The paleo diet (paleolithic or caveman) diet has been around for a rather long time.  I was recently introduced to this way of eating so thought I would share.

The Paleo way of eating consists of primal foods - meat, fish, poultry, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.  It eliminates all processed foods, sugars, breads, rice, pasta, dairy, foods that are difficult to digest (in my case, dairy).

The paleo lifestyle is based on the premise that "if the cavemen didn't eat it, we shouldn't".  The paleo foods are nutrient dense, as close to their natural state as possible.  It is not based on low calorie eating but consuming of fresh, natural foods, foods that could be hunted and gathered by our ancestors when packaged and processed foods were not available.

There are extremes with everything, and the paleo lifestyle can be quite extreme, but if you want to experiment with a fresh, healthy eating lifestyle try giving a modified version a go.  It is a great way of maintaining healthy metabolism and reducing inflammation in the body.

I'll be posting some Paleo recipes in the near future so I'll love to know how you go with them..

Bio mechanics and self myofascial release...

Im back....  I spent all of last week on a professional development course learning all about biomechanics, self myofascial release, a little about boxing, boot camps and some other goodies.

Wow! What a week it was.  I learnt so much and am so excited about putting a lot of what I learnt into place.  The crux of the learning was based around integration of exercises and how the various areas and lines of the body are all connected, so if you have an issue in your calf it may affect your shoulder etc as it is all linked.  Also the importance of self myofascial release.  A simple non invasive method of self directed massage, used to manipulate tissue to alleviate stresses that can interfere with movement. Very fascinating and insightful.

While watching the ads for The Biggest Loser, I saw on tonights episode a guest speaker they have is Professor Paul Taylor..well he was one of my lecturers last week and he was amazing.  So much knowledge...loved listening to his theories...

So now that the hectic study week is over I'll be spending this week finalising my timetable for training and the timetable for my running group start up (next week)...  As well as doing the last minute uniform, school book runs for the kids and everything else associated with back to school ....ahhhhhh !!!

Hope you have all had a great fitness week...Enjoy your day!!!

It's going to be a hot one today in Melbourne.  About time too I say.  Wish I was spending the day here..

Instead, Im spending the day learning like this,

Crossfit!!!  

Very exciting, cant wait to share some new techniques with everyone!!

Enjoy your summer day and remember to drink heaps of water, especially if exercising.

We've spent the last couple of days at the beach at a friends amazing beach house. Thanks K!!  The weather wasn't as fabulous as we would have liked, but it was nice just getting away.  Did a 7 km run along the beach one morning and it was magnificent.  It seems like such a healthy lifestyle when you live near the beach.  Who wouldn't want to go for a run every morning along such an amazing view??

We even managed to fit in a impromptu training session on the deck, (as you can see we had a backdrop to die for), I even joined in some very funny trampolining with the kids  (took me back to my younger years. I thought I would post a photo of that too, just for laughs)

              And then finished off the days with a special glass of bubbles.

So back to dreary, stormy, cold Melbourne.  Its tough!!  Ill be spending the next few days putting together my training schedules for this year.  If anyone is interested in securing a time slot, feel free to email me at urbanfitstudio@hotmail.com.

Super Hero!

A few months ago my little boy celebrated his 6th birthday in Super Hero style.

My very talented sister, of  Little Sooti Events put together a party fit for any super hero.  The kids had a wonderful day and even had a visit from Batman.  The pre confirmation call the night before was hilarious.

Phone rings, me: Hello, who is this?

Answer at end of line: It's Batman!

It took me a second to register, I thought I was in a movie and then realised it was the party entertainment.

I thought I would share a little print article featuring Daniels' super hero party. 

Tiny & Little Magazine

Click on the link and view page 96.  So proud of my sisters efforts on the day...

If you need an event planner for any occasion big or small, child or adult, or even a feature dessert table then you must visit Thetis over at Little Sooti Events and have it organised and styled for you professionally and creatively!!

Little Sooti .. website ..

Little Sooti .. facebook ..

No Excuses..........

Yummy salad

Salads are probably my favourite type of food.  I love the freshness of them and the fact that you can just throw everything in there and make it a meal.  I made this delicious salad yesterday to take to my sisters for our family get together.

One of my clients passed on the recipe ( thanks Jane ) and I just added a few more ingredients - walnuts and witlof.  It was so easy to put together, the pumpkin roasting was probably the most time consuming. I must admit though, I do tend to increase the quantities for a larger salad.

I thought I would pass it on as its so good.  I believe its a credited recipe but cant remember by whom so my apologies.

Spicy roast pumpkin, feta and olive salad ( I added witlof and walnuts)

3tbs olive oil
1/2tsp ground cumin
1/2tsp cayenne pepper
sea salt
ground black pepper
800g pumpkin cut into 2 cm cubes
100g baby spinach leaves
150g marinated feta drained and crumbled
20 kalamata olives, pitted

Preheat oven to 220*C .  Place olive oil , cumin, cayenne pepper, salt , pepper in a bowl and stir to combine.  Add pumpkin and stir to coat.  Transfer to a roasting dish and bake for 30 mins or until pumpkin is tender and caramelised.

Dressing

1tbs red wine vinegar
60ml extra virgin olive oil
1 shallot finely sliced

Whisk all ingredients together until combined.

Combine spinach leaves onto serving platter and scatter pumpkin, olives, feta and any other optional ingredients over leaves and drizzle dressing over .

Enjoy!!!

Happy New Year !

                                                     Happy New Year !!!

I hope you all had a wonderful evening and celebrated with loved ones.  We had a lovely evening at home with my sister and her family.  Lots of dancing, laughter and fireworks watching from the balcony.

What a great start to January 1st 2012.  A very hot 5km run in the morning and the rest of the day spent with family at a new years day bbq.  I'm very excited about the year ahead and look forward to sharing the journey with all my readers, friends, family and clients.  The best is yet to come for all of us with all that we desire..

It's going to be a good one, I can feel it....