Hej!!(Swedish for hello),
We are already into December, I can't believe it!  Very soon everyone will join in all these crazy Christmas Parties, but don't forget about your health and fitness. There is no reason for not doing your training just because you are going to a Christmas Party later on in the day.

On top of all the Christmas Parties that divert us from our normal eating and fitness routines, we are stressed about getting everything ready for Christmas.

Don't let your emotions and stress ruin your holiday season.  Keep your dinner menus and training planning and there is no reason why you shouldn't be able to stay fit and healthy over the busy seasons leading up to Christmas.

After my normal breakfast (the oats and fruit as you saw the other day) I did a cross-fit training session, something different to what I normally do. Really fun and hard work!! After that I was ready for some sessions with clients. For lunch I had a nice red lentils soup, (recipe as below);

Red lentils soup                                 

4 servings

2 tsp oil                                                                

2 yellow onions

3 dl red lentils

1 tsp curry

4 carrots

1 tsp vegetable stock

1,3 l water

Salt

Pepper

Method

1. Peal and cut the carrots and the onions fine. Heat the oil and fry the

carrots and the onions together with the curry.

2.  Rinse the lentils and add them to the mixture.

3.  Add the water and the stock, and cook for about 10 minutes o

until the lentils are soft.

4.  Season with salt and pepper. Puree soup in a blender.

Reheat soup.

For dinner we will have burritos.


Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

Is there a best time of day to exercise?

After the children got older and I went back to work I always do my training in the morning, either before breakfast or after. This works best for me now because of family commitments and work. Even though I like sleeping-in, I am managing my biological clock by setting the alarm and got the body used to the early morning training sessions.

One of the top reasons people give for not exercising regularly is lack of time. For many people the best time to exercise is the time that is most convenient and the time that fits into a busy schedule.

Research on exercise and the time of day is growing, but still limited. In general, if you can find a time for exercise that you can stick with consistently, you will be much more likely to train regularly and get better results.

Human sleep and wake cycles follow a daily cycle called circadian rhythms. It's this cycle that regulates our body temperature, blood pressure, alertness and metabolism, among other physiological functions. In general, these rhythms conform to our 24-hour day but may be reset due to your work and family environment. Research by the University of North Texas found that although circadian rhythms are inborn we can reset them based upon our behaviors. For example, using an alarm clock, establishing meal times, and even when we workout are all ways to help rest our rhythms. They found that people who consistently exercised in the morning "teach" their body to be most ready for exercise at that time of day. When they switched to evening exercise they didn't feel as strong and not as motivated.

Some people are just naturally morning people. They have no trouble exercising fist thing in the morning. Others don't get moving so quickly and are more likely to feel like exercising later in the day. If you have such an obvious preference it's pretty easy to decide what sort of exercise schedule you might stick with. The interesting thing is that research shows that no matter when you think you are better able to exercise almost all of us are physically stronger and have more endurance in the late afternoon.

But most importantly, if we are not training for the Olympic Games, whatever time during the day you can do your training and stick to it that’s when you are going to do your training.

While there is specific research being conducted on this topic, unfortunately the answer to the question, "What is the best time for exercise?" varies based upon the specific question you ask, your training goals, your work commitment, family commitment, but they do have some conclusions:

·         Morning Exercisers Are More Consistent
Even though afternoon exercise might be optimal from a physiological standpoint, research also shows that morning exercisers are more likely to stick to it than late-day athletes.

·         Evening Exercise and Sleep
Does exercising too late in the evening keep you up? Studies have shown improvements in sleep from both morning and afternoon exercise, so it's not yet clear if evening exercise keeps you up. Most research supports the idea that exercise can improve sleep quality, and again it all depends on how your body works. If you can do a moderate intensity training session and then go to bed and have a good night sleep, great go for it!


The good news is that you get to decide the best time for you to exercise based upon your personal goals, schedule and lifestyle. Ideally, you will pick a time that you are able to stick with consistently and make part of your daily or weekly schedule.

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

How to be happier

We know from research that exercise improve moods and get us that kick of endorphin that makes us feel good and happy. Exercise is the single most popular tool we have to optimize our brain function....exercise not only makes us smarter; it also makes us less stressed, depressed and anxious. It increases brain-cell production in the hippocampus; the brain's center for memory and learning, and boosts norepinephrine and dopamine.

But research also shows that there are some behaviours associated with life satisfaction and optimal wellbeing. We have to work on these behaviours and make our self happy, and not think it's just going to happened or I can't be happy if I don't change my whole life.

Think about this:

• practicing acts of kindness towards others – both in your existing social circle and outside of it.
• devoting time to nurturing and enjoying relationships with family and friends.
• practicing optimism when thinking about the future.
• focusing on what you do well rather than your mistakes when you approach a new task.
• learning forgiveness.
• spending periods of time being "mindful" – focusing on the "here and now" rather than planning or worrying about your future.

The good life is here for us but we have to preseve it and work on it.

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

This is funny, but unfortunately this is what it all comes down to.

We develop the technology to help us and make life easier and more fun, but we are killing our bodies.

10 years ago we had to get up from the couch and change channels, we had to get out of the car to open the garage door, we would walk to the colleague to ask them to go for a coffee, the kids walked to school and now we don’t even have to walk to the video shop - we download the film to our computers.

We are slowly killing our bodies and brains by not moving enough. 

What would you rather have a flat screen and a big belly or a flat screen and a flat stomach, the choice is yours!

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

This was my breakfast today! A great mix of muslie, nuts, Special K and fruit, which will keep me going nicely until lunch.

Part of a good breakfast, and of course all other meals, is that you take your time eating. Set aside 15 minutes at the table, sit down and enjoy your food.  Enjoy the taste, don’t stress and give your body time to get the feeling of fullness.


Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

Don't know what to cook tonight? Try this!!!

Salmon Lasagna

Ingredients (serves 5)

• 500g smoked salmon
• 1 big bunch dill
• Enough lasagna noodles to make four layers in a baking pan

Béchamel Sauce

·         2 cups milk                                                                      

·         ¼ cup unsalted butter

·         ¼ cup unbleached flour

·         ½  cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 

·         ½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, sprinkle on top

Method

Béchamel sauce

1.    Melt the unsalted butter with the flour over low heat.  Stir rapidly. Cook this for 1 minute and remove from heat.

2.    Slowly add the milk to the mixture, constantly stirring into a thick sauce.

3.      Season with some sea salt, and continue stirring until the right consistency has developed. Remove from heat and add Parmesan.

 

Lasagna

Preheat oven to 225C. Cover the bottom of the dish with salmon, and cover the salmon with dill, then a third of the béchamel sauce.  Put a layer of lasagna down. Repeat two more times. Top with a final layer lasagna sheets of and sprinkle with grated Parmesan.

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

Has exercise become too complicated?

When I was 10 years old my parents started a running club within their company. I went along every Thursday night for the 2,5 km or 5 km run, but I thought my parents were mad. Why did they have to make their employee run? My parents didn’t have the science behind what exercise actually does to the body, they just knew that they felt better and work better when they were fit, and they wanted that for their employees.

I’m not fit because I was born that way; I’m fit because I exercise.

I don’t wake up every day and think “–Yeepe, I’m going for a run.” I do it because it is part of my daily life. Of course I can feel the benefits it does to my body, but I don’t feel like training all the time.

I don’t analyze it, it’s Monday so I’ll go for my run, just like I would wash my hair because it is Monday. And afterwards I get that great “feeling good kick”, and that’s when you know you will do it again.

We have to stop making excuses, and just go out there and get our bodies moving.

Today we have all the research showing us that we can actually keep our body and cells younger by exercising. Forty and thirty years ago we did not have that, but we were still more active than we are today.

Don’t wait, plan and think you are going to be fit, just go for it today!!!!!

Yours in Health & Fitness,
Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

  
How do we stay motivated to do exercises?

I bought my new 2012 kikki.k dairy, and can't wait to write in all my training session. This is only one way to stay motivated.

 Write you sessions in you dairy, make them part of everything else that is important to you. After you have finished your session, use a highlighter and color in what you have done. You can use different colors depend on how well the session went, or different color for different types of training.

This way you can easily follow what you have done, how well it went and hopefully you will have a very color full dairy.   

If you do miss one session here and there, don’t let that stop coloring your dairy.

How do you get right back into it?

Find out why I missed the session? If you know why you didn’t do your training, it’s so much easier to overcome it.

Start with you mind; don’t let the excuses take over. Write down your goals, maybe there is a fun run coming up soon that you could participated in or you might have a party around the corner that you would like to look good for.

Set goals, and make sure you have short goals. Shorter goals are more accessibly and that can really help prevent you from feeling overwhelmed. It’s easier to stay focused on shorter goals than the longer ones. Meeting short goals gives you a sense of accomplishment that keeps you motivated to the main goal.

Give yourself a reward. I bought myself a really nice lululemon top when I did my 6 km up& down-hill run in about 30 minutes.

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta
www.newfitness.com.au

It’s Sunday afternoon and time for the weekly planning of menus and exercises.

·         Aim this week to take away four food products which contains too much sugar, and replace them with a healthy alternative, like musliebar change to vita-weat with peanut butter, readymade juice and replace it with homemade fresh squeezed juice.

·         Replace two situations this week where you are inactive with some activities that will make you more active, like walk to pick up the kids from school, park as far away from the shop as you can and walk to the shop or go for a walk instead of watching TV.

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

Hi,

I’m Birgitta and this is my Fitness and Wellness blog.

I’m a Fitness Specialist  and Personal Trainer, and for the last six years I have been working from my own Personal Training Studio.

I have always been an active person, and basically done some kind of sport since I started ballet at the age of 3. I have competed in body building and was a kids gymnastic instructor  during my high school years.

I started this blog to help you get and enjoy a more active & healthy lifestyle. You will find my newsletters, recipes, and great ideas about how to live a fit and healthy life.

I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to leave a comment  with questions, comments or suggestions you may have.


Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

Hi everyone!

Do you feel that you are struggling with finding the time when it comes to exercise? Why not start with my 5-minute work-out every day?

When you feel that's going well just add 5 more minutes and a 10-minute walk around the block and suddenly you have done 20 minutes of exercise!

Yours in Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

www.newfitness.com.au

10 diet mistakes
– know them and it will be easier to keep a healthy weight

We try so hard to eat well and do the right things, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem to work anyway. Keeping these “mistakes” in mind and the healthy weight journey will be easier.

You fear carbs

When you avoid carbohydrate you deplete you serotonin levels, which can make you feel deprived. And no one can last long on a diet that makes you grouchy. Fill up on fruits, vegetables and whole grain.

 You overestimate your workout’s calorie burn

Just because you have done a 45 minutes work-out doesn’t mean you can have a big chocolate cake as a reward. Exercise and eat healthy is the way to go.

 You eat healthy food but don’t cook it yourself

If you don’t prepare your own food, you give up control over your kilojoules destiny. So get the family into the kitchen and start cooking some healthy delicious food.

You wing it

If you don’t plan your meals and snacks you are more likely to grab whatever is easiest. Make a weekly menu and shop accordantly, and don’t forget a healthy snack as you walk out the door.

You eat a lot of pre-packed food

Low-kilojoules snack bars and frozen dinners aren’t necessarily healthy. Often they have too much sodium and sugar. Pre packed dinners can be good when you are running late, but don’t use them on a regularly bases. 

You over-eat fruit

Although fruit is definitely healthy, some are higher in kilojoules than others. Don’t cut out fruit, just cut down on portions. Just because one banana is good doesn’t mean fifteen are better for you.

 You let yourself get to hungry

When you are trying to “save” calories by skipping meals, you set yourself up for overeating later on. So eat frequently and that way you will approach you meals with a lower level of hunger and you can make smarter choices. 

You think short term, not long haul

If all you thinking about is looking good for next month’s party, then go ahead with the “starve-my-self- diet” and you will lose two kilos, but they will bounce right back on. A fit and healthy lifestyle that will show both on the outside and inside is a lifelong commitment. So make a decision about eating healthy and exercise and stick to it.

You give up when you screw up

Every healthy-diet plan needs wiggle room- for that beautiful cake at your friend’s dinner. The problem is our all-or-nothing attitude. So many of us thinks, due to that cake we might as well give up. But nobody had ever gain weight from one piece of cake at one-off dinner party. You gain weight when you let that cake be an everyday habit. Enjoy that cake and the dinner party, and make sure that you get back to your healthy eating plan again.

Yours in  Health & Fitness,

Birgitta

New Fitness
- Personal Wellness -

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New Fitness Pty Ltd, w: newfitness.com.au e: birgitta@newfitness.com.au m: 0414 725 932
Birgitta Thorborg, Certified Personal Trainer & Fitness Specialist