So Christmas and the New years celebrations seem all but a distant memory and you made your New Years resolutions, right?

Are you already struggling to stay on track? You do not need another New Year to make changes or another Monday but you can start by setting goals now.

Setting unrealistic goals can be a deal breaker and before you know it you’ve already fallen off the wagon.

Make your goals realistic. Whether they are for weight/fat loss, wanting to get fit or fitter, eating healthier. sometimes we just do not know where to start and by setting unrealistic goals we give in!

Let’s use losing weight, or fat loss as an example.  If you have a lot of weight to lose it will not be an instant transformation, there is no magic pill or quick fix and so you need to ask yourself the reasons why and then look at the how.

You may want your clothes to fit better, have a special holiday or occasion to aim for, increase your self esteem ,feel better and have more confidence in your own skin.

Remember there are no quick fixes and so you need to make changes that are achievable so you can adhere to them.

To lose weight ( a lot of people like this term but it’s about fat loss too ) you need to make changes to your diet. I prefer to use the word nutrition. If you eat rubbish, you will not look after your internal health and hence weight & fat is gained. However, of you make changes to your nutrition, you will find your internal health will improve which will aid losing fat/weight.

So what can you do to start making changes?

Cut out the C.R.A.P!

It’s as simple as that.

By cutting out

C-affeine

R-efined sugars

A-lcohol

P-rocessed foods

Eating whole foods, lots of plenty of fresh veggies, lots of good protein & good fats & some fruits you can make a lot of changes to stabilise your blood sugars and your body’s ability to burn fat.

Sounds good!

You may not be a breakfast eater or you may eat cereals loaded with sugar that’s so not good for you!! You are led to believe you are eating healthy as the cereals have added this and added that to them but realistically they are fully loaded with sugar which will spike your insulin levels that leads to the perpetual cycle of sugar addiction.

Processed foods contain a lot of refined sugars and artificial sweeteners & chemicals to make your food taste nice and prolong the shelf life.

Making a small change and eating a protein based breakfast can start to lead to better eating habits and good nutrition and will help you stay on track towards your goal.

It doesn’t have to be complicated, just simple every day foods like eggs, whisked up (no milk) fried in a little coconut oil (very good for you) with say some mushrooms & spinach. Quick, easy, nutritious and no manufactured cereals, upsetting your insulin levels in sight!

Want to know more about looking after your internal health and eating clean to balance your hormones and to aid fat loss and achieving your goals?

Please email me at

dianne@funfitexercise .com

www.funfitexercise.com

Yours in health & fitness

Funfit Dianne x

Yikes December is just around the corner & the silly season is upon us!

Do you just know that Christmas is going to be a write off for the waist line?

Will you need a kick start in January and know you want to lose 5lbs or more?

Then join the Kick-Start Your Health Programme for January 2016 a 10 day online programme that gets you results without even needing to leave the house! 

The Programme focuses the mind to break bad habits, tone up and get great results in a short time period.  Weight loss could be in the region of 5 – 10llbs over the 10 days.

 The programme is entirely natural and involves:

• A nutrition webinar to understand how the programme works
• 10 workouts that last 30 minutes each – to be completed daily in the convenience of your living room, with no special equipment required
• A 10 day natural cleanse of the system – all herbal and 100% organic
• A natural, clean eating programme that will break unhealthy habits – this does NOT involve buying complicated ingredients or drinking shakes or meal replacements

See what others have to say about it:

Success Stories

What was your motivation for taking part in the 10 day online programme?

I needed a kick start. Recently, I had noticed the pounds sneaking on and my clothes were starting to get tight.  Whenever I have tried something in the past, I have lost my will power after a few days.  I really needed help and support and to be accountable to myself – basically, I needed a kickstart into a new routine and out of the diet and inactivity routine I have found myself in recently.

Did you have any reservations before starting?

No because I know I needed to change my lifestyle and make better choices.  I wanted to fully commit to something where I would have the support to lose the weight.

What was the programme like? Was it easy to follow?

The programme was very easy to follow and out of the 10 days, I only had one really tough day but having a group to support you, got me through it, where before I might have resorted to a glass of wine!  It is vital that you plan the meals and make sure you have shopped accordingly.  I ate delicious food and the exercises were easy to fit into my usual day.

What success did you have following the programme?

I lost 8lbs! I lost cm’s from all parts of my wobbly bits! Since the programme I have continued to make better choices in my diet and have kept my activity level up.  The Funfit Kickstart & Cleanse was exactly what I needed to get my going on my new life!  If you have found yourself in a rut like me, I would definitely recommend this programme.

Sam Taylor

Busy Mum & Blogger/Business

Get results fast with this easy to follow online programme.  At the end of the 10 days you will feel healthy, energised, toned and best of all, your tummy will be much flatter!

 Email dianne@funfitexercise.com for all the details on how to register – early bird booking discounts if booked before Dec 25^th £75.00.  £99.00 if booked between Dec 25^th and Jan 1^st. Places are limited so please book in now to secure your slot and get the early bird discount!

Go on…admit it! with Easter fast approaching you thought I was going to talk about the chocolate variety

So how do you eat yours?

Fried, Omelette, scrambled, poached……

There are numerous ways of using eggs in recipes and I have added a couple of my own tasty recipes for you to enjoy below.

Eggs are nutritious too. They are full of protein, vitamins & minerals. Try and select organic or free range eggs, more yellow and more yummy.  The cheaper eggs come from caged hens and the poor things do not get to see the light of day and are farmed in the cheapest way possible.  Also if you select eggs with the Lion quality stamp you know they have been laid by hens who have been vaccinated against salmonella.

Worried about cholesterol?

Well you needn’t be! The cholesterol found in eggs is not the culprit and is also much lower than previously thought. It’s the saturated fat that you consume that can raise the levels of your blood cholesterol. So it it’s how you cook your eggs that can be cause for concern. We all love a good fry up from time to time but use fats sparingly when frying your egg. A little olive oil is all that is needed and for a healthier alternative try coconut oil! You’re probably thinking, hang on a minute didn’t she just say that it’s the saturated fats that you need to be more aware of?? Yes I did but coconut oil is an exception. The fatty acids found in coconut oil has amazing benefits on your health. More about that another time.

Try this recipe for a healthy kick start to your day.

Breakfast Courgette Pancakes: Serves 1

Ingredients:

1medium size courgette

1 med size spring onion

1 large egg

Sea

salt & black pepper to taste

coconut oil for frying

Method:

1. Grate courgette into a bowl
2. Finely chop spring onion & mix with the grated courgette
3. Whisk one large egg and mix with the above, add s & p to taste
4. Melt coconut oil in pan and put 3 mounds of mixture into frying pan. Frying until lightly brown, pressing down to flatten. Turn over so both side cooked & enjoy.

Baked Egg in Avocado Cups: Serves 1

Ingredients:

1 Avocado

2 eggs, beaten

Sea Salt & black pepper to taste

Coconut oil

Chopped chives

Chill flakes to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven 200 degrees
2. Slice avocado in half & remove pit
3. Use a spoon to scoop out enough avocado to make room for the eggs. Place avocado in a tin or oven proof dish so they do not roll around. TIP: You can slice a little of the bottom of the avocado to give them a flat base so they do not roll around. Crack an egg into each half of the avocado and sprinkle with Sea salt & black pepper to taste and add a pinch of chilli flakes.
4. Bake for 8-15 minutes depending on how you like your eggs done.
5. Sprinkle with some chopped chives & serve with a rich green salad. Delicious!

Recipes have been taken from my cookbook, Fabulous Funfit Foods, which contains 30 breakfast, 30 lunches & 30 dinners recipes. Quick and easy healthy nutritious meals. Click on the following link to purchase & download your copy. all for just £9.99.

http://funfitexercise.com/fabulous-funfit-foods/

So the question is ‘How do you eat yours?’ Eggs –  they’re more than they’re cracked up to be………

Hope you enjoy the recipes and thank you for reading. Please share with your friends

I must confess I have become a total Dallas junkie since watching the first two series of the all ‘NEW’ Dallas. Lots of wheeling and dealing and lots of eye popping candy too with the devilishly handsome Jon Ross (JR’s son) and the good looking Christopher (Bobby’s son).

Well since then I have discovered the good old Dallas on the CBS Drama Channel. I am now on episode 96 (sad I know) but that has got me thinking about Fitness and how it’s evolved.

You see the beautiful Pamela Ewing (Victoria Principle) has discovered ‘aerobics‘ in this episode and is parading around in her shiny lycra leotard and leggings doing this new Fitness craze called ‘Aerobics’ back in the 80′s. I bet the ratings of Dallas hit the roof!

Now the fashion made me chuckle as I used to wear all that gear back in the day but the actual ‘Aerobics‘ raised alarm bells. In this episode the group of Lycra clad ladies were doing all this bendy stretchy flat back stuff and then the Instructor said “Right ladies now we’re going to do some ‘Aerobics‘” and boom they all started doing jumping jacks, might I add not wearing any trainers. No proper warm up and then straight into jumping jacks, the high impact work. In one episode they simply stopped after doing jumping scissors and said “Right that’s it for today ladies, see you next week” By todays Fitness Industry Standards this would be classed as ‘contraindicated’ (dangerous) as research on the human body and fitness has evolved and thankfully the fitness fashion has improved too!.

Now the word ‘aerobic’ means working with oxygen, so going for a run or walking briskly is classed as ‘aerobic’ activity. Any activity where your heart has to pump harder to get the oxygenated blood flowing around your body, your breathing becomes more rapid so you are training your cardiovascular system.

In a class environment for any aerobic activity it’s important to warm up first so you mobilise your joints, warm you muscles and gradually increase your heart rate, preparing the body for the workout to come and to decrease the risk of any injury. Also at the end of your main ‘aerobic’ section of the class it’s equally important to gradually cool down to bring your heart rate down safely. Stopping suddenly can cause blood pooling. When exercising your heart is pumping vast amounts of blood around the body carrying oxygen & nutrients to the working muscles. If you stop without gradually cooling down so does the force that pushes the blood back to the heart. Cooling down keeps the circulation flowing which in turn helps prevent Blood Pooling and also helps remove waste products from the muscles.

With todays Fitness Industry Standards an Instructor should be qualified at Level 2 in either an ‘Exercise to Music’ course or ‘Gym Instructor’ course to deliver a form of an ‘Aerobics’ class or work in a gym environment. At level 2 you are taught the Anatomy & Physiology of the body and how to apply this on a practical level to ensure you warm up, workout and cool down safely.

So is the ‘Aerobics’ craze still with us??

It is indeed but it’s no longer called just ‘Aerobics’. New crazes & trends hit the fitness industry all the time. Take Zumba Fitness for instance. Now Zumba Fitness was founded by Beto Perez. He turned up to teach his regular class one day and forget his music and just used his tapes he had in the car and just danced he’s finely toned booty off in class. He had a light bulb ‘ping’ moment & with professional help developed the idea into a global fitness trend. A dance based fitness class or a dance based ‘aerobics’ class? People tend to shy away from the word aerobics so Zumba Fitness has marketed this class as exercise in disguise. It’s ‘aerobics’ all dressed up as dance with a fitness element using infectious latin inspired music. If you had called it Latin Aerobics would it have done so well, I am not so sure.

Fitness trends to come and go and the dance fitness world has exploded with Bokwa, Bookia and now Fit Steps and these are all forms of ’aerobic’ exercise classes. So clever marketing sells it to you.

Les Mills also have a massive global following in the fitness world. Take Body Combat for instance, oh boy you are certainly getting a good ‘aerobics’ workout with this class. It’s a mixed martial arts class choreographed to pumping music and there you have it,a unique class using modified & adapted styles of martial arts.

There are a lot of different style classes out there that will get your heart pumping, your body sweating and you breathing harder taking you out of your comfort zone, challenging your fitness in more ways than you ever thought and yes these types of classes are ‘aerobic’ classes. Remember you are working with oxygen!

I hope you enjoyed reading this, I am not a regular blogger, I am a Freelance Fitness Instructor who loves fitness and also Dallas!

Do you buy the latest gadgets in fitness equipment with all the good intentions to workout at home?

Have you purchased a Fit Ball?

Did you inflate it & then not know what exercises to do?

Is it just hiding away in your garage or spare room?

YES!!! Well this could be just the class for you.

My new Fit Ball class will energise you with a low impact cardio warm-up, coupled with exercises to help you
improve muscle tone, core stability, posture, strength and balance.

I will show you how you can do simple exercises with your Fit Ball at home.

If you fancy this class and do not own one you can buy them from Argos, Trago, Supermarkets, Online & Sports Shops.

They are not expensive and come in various sizes. Use this guide as to which size to buy:

A simple way is to sit on your ball with your legs at a 90 degree angle or slightly higher but not less.

•If you are 4’11″ – 5’4″, get a ball that is 55cm
•If you are 5’5″ – 5’11″, get a ball that is 65cm
•If you are 6′ – 6’7, get a ball that is 75cm

A week course will be £16 for a 45 minute class at St Cleer Memorial Hall, Wednesday evenings 7.45pm – 8.00pm

All you need to do is provide your own ball and then let me show you how to ‘Experience Fitness the ‘FUNFIT’ Way’

What do I do next?

Please email or call me to book and we can set the ball rolling, pun intended!

MY ONLINE FUNFIT ‘HEALTH & HAPPINESS’ BOUTIQUE

You can find out more on my FaceBook page:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Funfit-Health-Happiness-Boutique/437852746235403