6pm: Max Strength/Endurance Training

I have a love/hate relationship with my trainers. Well hang on, I am a trainer! I have a love/hate relationship with myself too. I know that it is good for me to work out, I know that it is necessary to have a healthy body and sound mind. But seriously, why can't watching tv be a sport? Watching people train on tv, like I'm working out with them....in my mind. No? No. Love it or hate it we all have to find some form of movement that works for us, something we don't dread! It can be as extreme as Cross-fit training or as calming as Tai Chi. Whatever it is, no amount of dieting is going to shift those kilos if you don't move your ass...so off I go! Here's the workout for today...

5 DB single arm squat press

10 BB bent over row

15 burpees (an evil, evil endurance move, kind of like doing a starfish jump and a pushup)

20 walking lunges

5 sets-1 min rest after lunges

Core: 45sec side bridge hold

4 sets

WISH ME LUCK!

Megan Gale Swimwear Launch

Last night I was lucky enough to open the show for Megan's new swimwear label Isola. It was FREEZING outside but once we got going it was so hot, that's one way of staying warm in winter, by getting the nerves and adrenalin pumping strutting around in front of 100 guests and media, in a BIKINI!!!

I have to say that apart from my foot cramping up mid-strut, it was a great show, I just hope nobody noticed the pain on my face at one point, just keep walking, just keep walking...

You have to admire Megan, she didn't become a huge model until her late twenties and once she did she really capitalised on her success. She's was already massive in Italy until we caught on and made her the face of David Jones. Now she's got skincare products, movies and a swimwear line to call her own. Not bad for a fellow Perth girl, something I can aspire to!

As for backstage, its always hectic, always last minute frantic running to get hair and makeup done but in the end it looked great, we only had light tans and moisturiser to help us look like we weren't about to die of frostbite and we got the best gift bag at the end, with dry shampoo by Label.m and a beautiful Shu Uemura lipstick in pale rose, not a shitty marone colour like you usually get with free gift packs! Oh and not to mention the MOR body butter and the Lancome youth activator cream, that Megan really knows how to look after a crowd...xxx

Chicken Tonight

Nothing beats a great roast chicken dinner. Today I'm making lemon and paprika spiced chicken with slow roast pumpkin and cauliflower mash. So easy, so yum!

Please buy organic chickens when possible. I like Oaks chickens from David Jones. They are expensive but its important to remember that chicken are actual animals too, not just a family favourite meal. They deserve to have a nice life and generally don't. This is where the extra money is going, to support a struggling industry of growing happy, organic, free-range chickens. If it helps, imagine dividing the cost of the chicken into how many meals you will get out of it. You will still have a home cooked meal for less than $10 each, I think that's a pretty good deal!

You will need:

1 whole chicken (or chicken pieces)

1 lemon

2 garlic cloves

Half a pumpkin

Coconut Oil

Salt

Paprika

Cauliflower

Butter

1. In a baking dish place the chicken stuff with chopped lemon and garlic cloves.

2. Sprinkle generously with paprika and salt and rub into chicken

3. Cut pumpkin into chunks and place around the chicken

4. Add 2 Tbsp over the top

5. Roast, uncovered, for 4 hours at 120C

6. Boil chopped cauliflower until soft, strain and blend with butter and salt in a food processor until smooth.

I'll let you know how it tastes :)

Yoga

I started practicing yoga on the Gold Coast back in 2003. At first it was so boring to me. I felt like I needed to be moving really fast to get a workout so it was torture to go through this sequence of sloooowwwwwww movements every day. But yoga is all about finding the right teacher and the right style. For me, this style is Ashtanga. This system of yoga was brought to the western world by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois and is a strong form of yoga producing intense internal heat which detoxes the body and calms the mind.

I am not a fan of Bikram yoga. I don't think that you need to heat a yoga space to such high temperatures as enough heat is generated in your own body and from those around you. In India yoga is practiced before sunrise to avoid high tempatures! Bikram yoga is often favoured as people feel light and 'thinner' afterwards. This is a deception though as you have only lost a huge amount of fluid which you will need to replenish straight away or face dehydration.

My advice is to attend a few different yoga studios and get a feel for your practice and don't give up just because you don't like one class or one teacher. I love Dharma Shala in North Bondi if you are starting out or if you are really serious about progressing your practice I would recommend Eileen Hall at Yogamoves. Eileen is one of the few teachers in the world certified in both Iyenger and Ashtanga yoga having trained with B.K.S Iyenger and Pattabhi Jois (pictured) in for many years in India.

It's important to know where your teacher has trained. Many teachers become qualified after having no yoga background and simply doing a short course. They really don't have the complex knowledge that is needed to teach not just the physical postures but all 8 limbs of yoga. Injuries can occur when teachers push students into postures they are not ready for. So ask around, word of mouth is vital. Make sure you communicate with your teacher too. Let them know if you have any injuries or any fears about the class. And if they try to get you to do a headstand at your first session, you've got the wrong teacher...xxx

Hangover Cure

Well I know I've been there. So hungover you can't move, all you can do is sip water and wait for the day to crawl by until you feel better...but is their something else we could be drinking to make us feel better, faster?

Generally when we are dehydrated in day to day life we will feel symptoms like a dry and sticky mouth maybe a headache or just plain old tired! So when we feel like this how many of us actually reach for a glass of water?

Coffee, tea or soft drinks, vitamin waters and fruit drinks are often the first choice, unfortunately all of these things will only just dehydrate us further!

Caffeine is a diuretic which means it squeezes liquid out of the body. So all its really going to do is make us have a bit of a buzz followed by the need to pee and then a huge slump in energy, which most of us will follow with another coffee to perk up again and sooooo begins the cycle! Before you know it you've had 3 cups of coffee, no water and your still thirsty, your skins dry and your nails are splitting, your still dehydrated!

Sugar is the other culprit as it is in most commercially produced beverages. When we drink them we are actually sending our blood to our stomach to aid digestion instead of carrying fluid out to our bodies to rehydrate our cells! Electrolyte drinks are a huge problem, especially when we're working out. What exactly are electrolytes? They are the ratio of minerals in our body. Sodium (salt), Magnesium, Calcium, Potassium and Chloride are the main ones. Drinking these sugary sports drinks actually have the opposite effect of hydration, meaning that cells are not rehydrated and this can lead to muscle cramping and fatigue.

So what's the best drink for rehydration? Whats the best hangover cure? Coconut water and fermented drinks such a beet kvass are super high in minerals and are a great first choice. Bone broths are highly nutritious and a great food source also if you can't stomach a meal. But the most basic action is to put a pinch of salt per litre of filtered drinking water. This will remineralize the water and help it to be absorbed into your system instead of just travelling straight to your kidneys and actually flushing out minerals already in your body! Now I really mean just a pinch! If you can taste it then you've got too much in there.

Of course if you've had a big night you're probably just going to have to accept the self-inflicted pain you've brought on yourself but if you can have a piece of toast before you go to bed you will be giving yourself a head start on a speedy recovery...xxx

Chicken Liver Pate

Livers are high in fat-soluble vitamins A and D. Essential for cell growth and development, particularly for pregnant women, these vitamins protect against free-radical damage and are important for the proper function of the brain and nervous system. So in times of stress, loading up on vitamin A can help you deal with things a little easier. So if your freaking out that you lost your job or your boyfriend didn't call or your girlfriend won't talk to you, make some pate, its easy and it will help you de-stress...xxx

200g Chicken Livers

200g Organic Butter

1 small red onion

Dried Rosemary

Salt and Pepper

1. Melt 2 Tbsp butter in a pan

2. Saute finely diced onion and 2 tsp dried rosemary until onion is translucent

3. Add livers and sear them quickly, the inside should still be raw

4. Allow to cool slightly

5. Place into a food processor and blend until smooth

6. Add Salt and Pepper and remaining butter, except for 3 Tbsp which you melt in a pan

7. Pour the liver mixture into a glass dish, and then pour melted butter over the top to seal

8. Refrigerate for 3 hours or until set

Great with vege sticks as a snack or with your favourite cheeses! Yum!

Goal Setting

Some people don't have to set goals. Some people are lucky enough that they are just simply doing what they love and wake up everyday knowing what they are aiming for and how they're going to get there. Are you one of those people? Do you wake up in the morning before your alarm because you can't wait to start the day? If not then this is where setting goals are essential for you. Start by making a list of what you want in you life, what you want to be doing for work or where you want to be living. It can be anything! Sky's the limit. Write down these goals and keep them with you, read them everyday and keep them in the forefront of your mind. We all attract whatever it is we are thinking about so why not make it something extraordinary!!

The next thing to do is to make a list of everything you need to do to achieve that goal and set a date that you will do these things by. Make sure you include every action no matter how small or insignificant it may seem. For example, I really want to meet Jamie Oliver. Did anyone see Masterchef last night? One of the prizes was a cooking class with Jamie Oliver! Jealous!!! I just think he's amazing, his food, his philosophies, what he does for young kids and animal rights! Amazing! Brad or Angelina? Whatever! No give me Jamie any day!! Ha Ha, Anyway...I'm getting off track...so how am I going to meet Jamie Oliver? Well I could find out when he is next in Australia and buy a ticket to his exhibition. So the first thing I need to do is research on when he is here but if I was going to do this on the Internet and I don't have Internet connection the first thing on my list would be to get down to Vodafone and get connected! Breaking down the pathway makes our goals seem less overwhelming as we can clearly see what we have to do.

You can have whatever it is you want in this life. Taking action is the only way to achieve your goals, so do it, write down one thing, then you've already taken the first step....xxx