Fat traps when eating out

One of the hardest things we all struggle to do when trying to be super healthy is going out to dinner and making good food choices. We end up thinking we have made a really healthy choice but in fact we haven’t. Restaurants delight us with their menus with descriptive words so we visualize how amazing this meal is going to be, but do you really know what the words on the menu mean?

Break(the)fast - my obsession with quinoa porridge

I recently went to try out The Outcider cafe in Kirra. The raw and wholefoods cafe is a pretty great one. I couldn’t go past the quinoa porridge and it didn’t disappoint the tastebuds that’s for sure. I loved it that much that I decided I needed to make my own. It was so simple, easy to make and amazing that I couldn’t stop talking about it to everyone. I am now obsessed.

Serves 1

½ cup rinsed quinoa
1 cup coconut water
155g coconut cream
¼ cup shredded coconut
1 apple, thinly chopped
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla essence


Combine quinoa with the coconut water in a pot and bring to the boil.
Reduce the heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes until quinoa is soft
Add coconut cream, shredded coconut, apple, cinnamon and vanilla essence
Cook for a further 15 minutes until creamy and thick

Serving suggestion – top with mixed berries and coconut or any other fruit you love!!

Those 'I feel fat' days

We’ve all had that horrible ‘fat day’. You wake up and feel... well, fat! You know the ones where you want to crawl back into bed and curl up under the covers; they make you re-think your outfit choices so you have something a little flowy over the stomach, you feel gross and you probably end up being a little moody. Yep, we have all had those!

I will occasionally have those days where I wake up and feel like big giant blob. I feel bloated and gross and it doesn’t matter what the scale says or what my friends say I just feel like a big giant blob. Even though in reality I don’t look like that at all.

Fat days are literally a mental thing. It’s some kind of irrational feeling that goes on in our head that makes us view ourselves differently. You ‘feel’ like you have gained about 5kg overnight but to everyone else you still look exactly the same. Your stomach isn’t really that bloated and you don’t look like a hot mess. I find sometimes I ‘feel’ fat because I ate something a little naughty the night before but I’m actually the exact same weight as I was yesterday when I felt skinnier.
So why do you feel fat? Ate something bad? Stressed out? Haven’t exercised in a little while? Whatever it is just let it go. It’s just a feeling that can easily be replaced by the ‘I feel skinny’ feeling.

So how do you get that ‘I feel skinny’ feeling?

How losing 7 kilos gave me a healthier attitude towards health and fitness

A few weeks ago I started a detox. I was sick and tired of working my ass off at the gym, watching everything I ate and it wasn’t making a whole lot of difference. I thought I mustn’t be training hard enough or I was eating too many snacks throughout the day. My problem was I had a very slow metabolism, I was holding onto too much fluid and in a way I had an unhealthy attitude to how much I was training, or over training more like it.

So I went on a 3 week detox that was watched by my nutritionist. Yes it was strict but the overall benefits most definitely outweighed how much willpower I had to have for it.
I lost just over 7 kilos, I feel healthier and happier within myself and it made me realise I don’t need to train twice a day because the balance of healthy eating and a healthy mind is what it’s all about. Don’t get me wrong I still train hard every week day morning with my trainer because the benefits of weight training are so great and it really works for me, plus I really enjoy it. I just realised I don’t need to do that 10 times a week.

Whether you are trying to find a healthy attitude towards health, food and fitness for the good reasons (to lose weight, get motivated, be healthier) or to realise there is more to life than working out really hard twice a day and being exhausted there are some simple things you can change to help you. There is a fundamental link between a healthy mind and a healthy body.

FOCUS ON SMALL ACHIEVEMENTS – You might have a big end goal of say losing 10kg but that goal seems so far away and you give up because it’s all too hard. Instead focus on small goals. Start with 2kg and once you get there aim for another 2kg. Take it step by step. 

REALISE THAT CHANGE DOESN’T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT – It never does. You didn’t put on that 10kg overnight or in a few weeks so you’re not going to lose it that quickly. There is always that disheartening realisation that progress isn’t immediate. That doesn’t mean you give up. It means you keep going. Right when you give up is just about when the change occurs. 

DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS– Extremely hard I know but I have learnt that comparing myself to someone else drives me mental. Me at a certain weight is completely different to someone else at the same weight. I don’t have their same body type so I am not going to look like them. Notice the changes within yourself and how much better your body looks compared to what you were previously. Compare the new you to the old you.

HAVING A TREAT IS NOT THE END OF THE WORLD – No one is perfect, everyone lets the diet slide slightly to enjoy and indulge in something a little naughty. It’s not the end of the world. As long as you make sure it’s only a treat (say once a week) it’s not going to hurt. The everyday treats are where it hurts the waistline! 

ENJOY EXERCISE – Going to the gym isn’t for everyone. Weight training and high intensity workouts aren’t for everyone either. Enjoy doing something active so it doesn’t feel like exercise. Go for a bike ride with a friend, join a zumba class, join a bootcamp, go for bush walks. Anything that keeps you active and you enjoy is so beneficial to your overall wellbeing.

STOP SAYING I CAN’T – You can!! Every time you say you can’t you probably won’t. That’s not the attitude. Give it a go and you will definitely surprise yourself at what you actually can do.

Why I love eating clean and my new obsession with Luke & Scott

You know when the whole ‘Ashy Bines’ thing started and it bought clean eating to a very public eye and everyone was all of sudden giving it a go? Well I tried too. Sort of failed and then I was sick of seeing Ashy’s face and name plastered everywhere so I decided that clean eating was just this fad thing and it was completely restrictive, like I had to live off celery and carrot sticks.

I was pretty wrong and it took me a while to get back into it and now it’s one of the easiest things I do in my life.

Rules of the gym

There are a number of unwritten rules for the gym. Most are common sense but it baffles me that people don’t have enough of that common sense and seem to just be content in their little bubble of oblivion that you’re now about as unpopular as Miley Cyrus in a convent.


RULE #1 – Use a towel. You’re sweating and leaving puddles on the equipment. That’s disgusting. Put a towel over it or wipe it up. No one wants to share sweat with you.

RULE #2 – Use Deodorant. Not hard. You stink and you make me feel physically ill. I’d rather spew from too many burpees than spew because you because you smell like garbage.

RULE #3 – Excessive grunting is not ok. Keep it a little quieter.

RULE #4 – No lifting up your top to check you abs after that set of sit ups when you think no one is watching. They are. Check out your progress at home you look like you’re far too into yourself.

RULE #5 – Dress Appropriately. No one likes to see your bum hanging out. Also short shorts on a guy is really not ok. Also, why are you wearing a hat? It’s not sunny inside. If it’s to keep your hair back try a headband instead.

RULE #6 – There is no need to apply a full face of makeup before coming to the gym. You’re here to exercise so you’re supposed to look all hot and bothered not like you’re at a beauty pageant. If you’re makeup and hair is fully intact: get out. You’re not at a night club.

RULE #7 – If you load up the weights put them back. Another one that isn’t hard.

RULE #8 – Don’t be an equipment hog. Monday seems to be international chest day so there will always be a shortage of benches. Share them around for the other people waiting. And don’t start collecting a whole bunch of dumbbells like a squirrel and then not put them back. Other people want to use them too.

My go to 15 minute workout

Think a short workout isn't effective? Think again sister!
I love a quick workout, especially when you don't have a lot of time on those busy days.

My quick 15 minute workout is enough to get the heart rate going, the blood pumping and the fat burning. Better still there is no gym required and easy enough to do at home, so now there is no excuse of why you can't do it. If you don't have dumbbells you can use anything with a bit of weight. Try cans of foods or milk bottles filled with water or sand. Make sure it's enough weight so you can feel the muscles working.

This high intensity workout is great, make sure you work hard for the on periods and take the rest. This is the best way to burn the fat!