The Encore Program provides a support group and gentle exercise program for women who are recovering from breast cancer. I often go out and do some guest speaking with these groups, and they are always a wonderful, welcoming bunch of women. We always manage to have a good laugh!

We couldn’t have asked for better weather for our walk. It ended up being about 25 degrees, sunny, and perfect for a 10km stroll from Glenelg to West Beach and back. We were supported by National Foods, who kindly donated a stack of Feel Good Iced Coffees for our walkers.

On behalf of the Fitgirls crew, I would sincerely like to thank our sponsors, our walkers, and especially the Encore people for the wonderful work that they do.

-Carly

They had each other for support, motivation and encouragement. And they had each other when times got tough.

Our first ever Booty Camp started last week. I can’t believe the changes I seeing in these women already! Their strength has improved, they are doing more push ups, holding longer planks and running further than they were a week and a half ago. They are training (hard!) three times a week. Together. They have each other to provide a little friendly competition, banter, shared groans when the body hurts. They are all in the boat together, and through teamwork, they are achieving their own individual goals.

Here are some great pics from our training session last Saturday at Glenelg. What a beautiful morning to train!

I am being attacked by the Hunger Monster on an hourly basis! The increased exercise has ramped up my metabolism, which has turned me in a food-craving lunatic.

I’m not one to cope well with hunger. I get quickly agitated, I can’t concentrate and when I feel like I need food, I need it NOW. Not in 5 minutes, or half an hour…now!

I wonder if it is a genetic flaw that I am so hungry?! I’ve been a hungry girl for as long as I can remember. I was a chubby kid because I could eat a man-sized meal. And that’s why now, everything I eat is monitored, and portion-controlled. Otherwise I would just have my head in the pantry all day.

I love that feeling of fullness. Not being stuffed, but that content, happy fullness that comes after eating a decent-sized meal. It sustains me, and it means I don’t have to think about food for at least another hour or so

Is it lunch time yet?!

Asian-Style Curried Chicken & Vegetable Broth

• 1/4 cup green curry paste
• 300g chicken breast fillet, cut into 2cm cubes
• 150ml light coconut milk
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 80g dried rice vermicelli noodles
• 1 bunch gai lum, stalks diagonally sliced, leaves shredded (chinese broccoli)
• 125g fresh baby corn, halved lengthways
• 2 bok choy, stalks diagonally sliced, leaves shredded
• coriander leaves, fresh lime and chilli (optional) to serve

Directions
Heat curry paste in a large wok over medium heat, stirring, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until aromatic.
Add chicken. Cook, tossing gently, for 1 minute. Add coconut milk, stock and water. Bring to a simmer.

Add noodles and gai lum and bok choy stalks to wok. Cook for 5 minutes, or until noodles are almost tender and the chicken is cooked through.

Add gai lum and bok choy leaves, and corn to wok. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until leaves wilt.

Divide broth between 4 serving bowls. Top with coriander, lime and chilli. Serve.

Serves 4.

Nutritional Info: 268 calories, carbs 22.6g, protein 24g, fat 7.8g, sat fat 5.8g, fibre 3.6g

Vietnamese Chicken Salad

• 500g chicken breast fillets
• 150g rice stick noodles
• 2 tbspn rice vinegar
• 4 tbspn fresh lime juice
• 2 tbspn sweet chilli sauce
• 4 tsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp peanut oil
• 100g (2 cups) finely shredded chinese cabbage
• 2 carrots, peeled, coarsely grated
• 8 green shallots, ends trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup firmly packed fresh coriander leaves

Directions
Place chicken in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. Place over high heat and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer chicken to a plate. Set aside for 10 minutes to cool slightly. Coarsely shred chicken and place in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place noodles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes to soften. Stir with a fork to separate. Drain well.

Place vinegar, lime juice, sweet chilli sauce, fish sauce and oil in a screw-top jar and shake until well combined.

Add the noodles, cabbage, carrot, green shallot, mint and coriander to the chicken and gently toss to combine. Drizzle with dressing and gently toss to combine. Divide the salad among serving plates and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Nutritional Info: 308 calories, carbs 33g, protein 32g, fat 3.9g, sat fat 0.8g, fibre 2g

Pork, Pineapple & Noodle Stirfry

• 2 tspn olive oil
• 400g lean pork steaks
• 250g rice stick noodles
• 1/2 small sweet pineapple, skin & core removed
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 brown onion, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 150g beansprouts, trimmed
• 250g green beans, trimmed, halved crossways
• 1.5 tbspn honey
• 2 tbspn soy sauce

Directions
Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium/high heat. Brush both sides pork with 2 teaspoons olive oil. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes each side or until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Cover and stand for 5 minutes. Thinly slice.

Place noodles in a large, heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Stand for 2 to 3 minutes to soften. Drain and rinse under cold water. Cut pineapple in half lengthways. Thinly slice.

Heat a large wok or frying pan over high heat until hot. Add sesame oil. Swirl to coat. Add onion and garlic. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until tender. Add beansprouts and beans. Stir-fry for 1 minute.

Add noodles and pork to wok. Pour over honey and soy sauce. Toss to combine. Add pineapple and stir-fry for 1 minute or until just heated through. Serve.

Serves 4.

Nutritional Info: 285 calories, carbs 23g, protein 27g, fat 5g, sat fat 1g, fibre 5g

14kg lost in a week? It’s not possible.

Each kilo of fat that we store on our bodies is worth about 9000 calories. So to LOSE that 1 teeny tiny kilo, we need to have a DEFICIT, that’s right, of 9000 calories.

For the sake of this exercise let’s imagine we have a client called Julie. Julie is 35 years old, average height and weighs 150kg. Julie consumes the very minimum amount of daily calories recommended for a woman – 1200. Over the course of a week, Julie would therefore consume 8400 calories (and she’d be starving).

Now, let’s take into consideration Julie’s BMR (basal metabolic rate – the amount of calories burnt over the course of a day, not including exercise). A 35 year old woman of average height, who weighs 150kg would have a BMR of 2227. This means Julie would naturally burn 2227 calories a day, (even if she is sedentary) through bodily processes like a beating heart, maintenance of body temperature, breathing etc.

So without any exercise, Julie naturally burns 15,600 calories a week.

So far, we have a deficit of 8400 calories (in) minus 15600 calories (out) = 7,200. Not even a kilo of fat would be lost!

Now let’s say we make Julie do 2 hours of exercise a day. This exercise would need to be relatively low-impact because she is very overweight. So, 2 hours of light aerobics per day would burn 1520 calories, or 10,640 calories a week.

Keep in mind that 14 hours of exercise a week is ALOT in anyone’s book. And almost unachievable for someone of that weight (she’d be starving AND exhausted).

Lets re-calculate to include the exercise Julie is doing.

8400 calories (food) minus 15600 calories (BMR) minus 10,460 (exercise) = 17,660 calories deficit.

A deficit of 17,660 cals equates to just under 2kg of fat lost in one week. And that’s with a very low-cal diet and a stack of exercise.

Can you see why 14kg in one week is physically impossible?!?! I tell you, this show makes my job very difficult indeed.

And if you’re wondering what my calorie deficit needs to be (and I’ve worked it out just this morning)….. To lose 6kg of fat by my competition on July 10th, I need to have a deficit of 337 calories a day. Basically, if I eat 1330 cals a day and burn off 400 cals a day through exercise, then taking into account my BMR of 1270, I should lose exactly 6kg in 160 days if I follow the formula. I’ll let you know how I get on!!

So anyway, there I was yesterday, pedalling away on the stationery bike, when 3 chicks in their mid-30’s jumped on the bikes next to me. Now I have to admire these girls for forming their own little workout group, leaving their kiddies with the hubby, and having a girlie night at the gym (which is better than the pub I figure). I had inconveniently left my earphones at home and was unfortunate enough to be privy to their conversation (and the terrible gum music – Kylie Minogue – worst workout music ever).

Now, I try not to be one to judge, especially since I understand that not everyone has the nutrition knowledge I do. But honestly, you would think these girls live in a cave. They were loudly and proudly discussing how fabulously their shake diets were going. Yep, Kate Morgan had won these middle-aged, semi-overweight girls over. They’d been shaking it up for a week and a half. That’s a week and a half of muscle loss, fluid loss and bone loss. And maybe a smidge of fat loss. But nothing like the fat they’re about to put on when they realise a woman cannot sustain herself (or keep her sanity) when living on a calorie-depleted diet of fluids.

I couldn’t sit there and listen to these poor brain-washed girls. I had to get up and walk away. And I couldn’t even give them a business card! (The gym has cameras, dammit, and I just know they’d catch me out trying to drum up business!).

The experience left me frustrated and angry. Kate Morgan and the like has a lot to answer for.

Note to self: take earphones to the gym!

After the success of our Glenelg to West Beach walks last year, Fitgirls have decided to organise another walk, this time for charity, for all of our clients, subscribers and friends.

The walk will start at 9am on Sunday, 21st February, with everyone meeting outside Cibo at Glenelg. From there we will walk along the beautiful beach of Glenelg North until we reach the West Beach Surf Life Saving premises, where we’ll turn around and head back to Cibo at Glenelg for a well deserved cappuccino (skinny, of course!). All up, the walk will be around 9 – 10 kms, and will take around 1.5 to 2 hours, and will burn around 500 – 600 calories!! It’s flat and relatively easy, and is suitable for people of all fitness levels and ages.

We will be charging a small entry fee of $10 but your coffee at Glenelg will be included in this fee.

The profits of the day will be going to the wonderful YWCA Encore Groups. Encore is an eight week exercise program for women who have experienced breast cancer.

We have spent some time with the Groups at their weekly meetings, talking about keeping fit and healthy, and we have been impressed by the great work that Encore does with these women. Funding for Encore has previously been provided by Avon, however, Avon significantly reduced its funding in 2008 and now Encore relies solely on donations and fundraising activities, so this is where Fitgirls and its extended family can help out.

So get a walking group together… husbands, sisters, kids, neighbours, work colleagues, and register online at www.fitgirls.com.au, or email Jenny at jenny@fitgirls.com.au with your details. Dogs are welcome too – the Fitgirls’ pups, Hugo and Charlie, love this walk and their recovery sleep at Cibo.

As an added incentive, there will be a prize for anyone who brings 5 or more people along with them. That person and their 5 friends will receive a free Boxing session, designed especially for them, valued at $100! Come along and join the fun, work on your fitness at the same time, and know that you’re helping out a very worthy cause.

To register and make your $10 donation, please click on the Buy Now button below. Alternatively, please email jenny@fitgirls.com.au to organise alternative payment.

It’s nearing Friday afternoon, which spells one word for me. Actually two. Sauvignon Blanc. After spending 8 years slaving away as a sales rep in the media industry (and not enjoying a second of it mind you), I became very used to the Friday afternoon tipple. It was the only thing the sales department had to look forward to after a hard, tiring, competitive, emotionally draining week.

What’s funny is that I don’t think about the not-so-healthy-grape-juice at any other time. Mondays, nope. Sundays, nope. Not even after a long, tiring weekday at work. I’d rather have a protein shake. But give me a Friday arvo at 5pm, and I’m crawling the walls for it. And this my friends, is not what we call addiction, it’s what we call habit.

A bad one.

Breaking a habit is harder than it sounds. But as the great Tom Venuto (of Body for Life fame) would say, you can’t break a habit by creating a vacuum. In other words, you can’t stop doing something, without replacing it with something else. Ex-smokers often turn to coffee (another stimulant). Ex-coffee addicts often turn to diet colas (another way to get caffeine). Nothing like replacing a bad habit with a bad habit eh?!

The challenge comes in replacing a bad habit with a good one. So yes, today I will be going without my Savvy B come 5pm. But I’m not just going to go cold turkey here. I need to replace the glass-to-mouth-action with something. So tonight I’m going to try something different, but still enjoyable. Scott is working late and it might be an opportune time to hire a dvd I’ve been hanging out to see (a chick flick of course – usually banned in the house when Mr Macho is at home). And I’m going to chill out on the couch and enjoy. Of course, I’m not implying that I’m going to turn into a socially inept hermit here, but I’m going to start thinking of enjoyable ways to spend a Friday night without the toxicity.

But what I’m really going to enjoy is the lack of headache tomorrow. And the sluggishness that comes after a couple of vinos and a late night. I’ll be gym-ready by 7am tomorrow, ready to give the quads a(nother) thrashing. It’s in the small decisions, these small changes in habit, that we create a better, more fulfilling life.

What are the habits that are holding you back, and how can you change/replace them with something better?