As I have aged and especially since I hit 40 (and some) I have found it much easier to put weight on and much harder to lose it and the weird thing is I am still pretty much the same weight - the area it seems to congregate has just changed. It seems to be turning up (very much unwanted) in my mid section.

I have also found issue with my lack of energy and I generally becoming a bit of a cranky pants. Now you can put all this down to just being a bit run down or the kids driving me into the ground but it just didn't feel right. It seems to me that anyone with kids, trying to have kids, just had a kid or even one who has older kids is going to be fairly worn down on a daily basis. It's difficult enough trying to get out there and make a mark in your own life without having to be in charge of other people's schedules, food intake and just generally making sure they are not eating washing powder or trying to ride the dog (that's toddlers - not mums of older kids, one would hope). So I headed off to see a naturopath.

Now the naturopath listened very sympathetically to all my issues and offered some herbal and such remedies to try and alleviate my problems. Part of that required me to keep a food diary just to see what I was actually consuming. I have a very sweet tooth - in fact I don't remember ever meeting a cake I didn't like (EVER). So trying to cut back on some of life's great joys seemed to me like one giant hill and here is where the recommendation comes in. Cinnamon tablets. Yep, tablets. We have all heard of cinnamon, you can sprinkle it on your toast, yogurt and chai latte but tablets?? You can pick them up at the chemist and take one before each meal and it works! (well it has for me).

What exactly do cinnamon tablets do, I hear you thinking. Well, basically they help with your metabolism - speeding it up (cause apparently it slows down after 40), so cinnamon gives it a bit of a kick start. But the really exciting part of it is that cinnamon helps regulate your blood sugar. Which means you don't get those mid morning and mid afternoon spikes when you have to have a chocolate right now!! This means no more sugar highs - when you get that immediate sugar rush and no more lows (when you could fall asleep waiting in the car at school pickup).

Since I started taking the cinnamon tablets before each main meal I have felt a lot more even. I don't feel like having a little lay down in the afternoon (good thing really since my toddler cut out his day time naps there's no time for that now anyway) and I have found it much easier to cut back on the sweet stuff and as a result I have lost 3 kg and 5cm off my waist! And I have more energy to deal with the washing powder eating, dog riding and occasional acts of nudity (the toddlers - not mine).

If you are feeling those morning and afternoon highs and lows and wanted to cut back on the sweet stuff, give it a go. I would love to hear how you go with it.

I also wanted to take a quick moment to announce the winner of the hallmark text bands competition. Drum roll please..... the winner is Wendy Williams. Congratulations Wendy, look out for an email in your inbox so I can get your text bands out to you soon.

Cheers,

Lee

P.S - In my next post I am going to let you in on a basic exercise I have just added to my regime which is simple and has really helped with all over toning and some interesting recipes I have been taste testing on the kids.

Here we are the third month into the year and it feels like we only just got over Christmas or maybe that's just me....

Did you keep your new year's resolutions?? Did you actually have any or did you just not bother with the whole thing? The big one for me was trying to achieve toned arms this year - yeah I know, life changing. I know it's not world peace but you gotta start small. Well, I'm not there yet...but I am making a few small changes to try and actually achieve this goal.

As you may (or may not) have read in a previous post I had a few small health issues last year which have caused me to rethink the ways in which I keep fit. The thing is, I used to go to the gym a lot in my late teens and early twenties, until I discovered a night life, boys and just generally couldn't be fagged dragging myself off to the gym. This went on for almost 10 years.

During this period of time I was out with friends for end of week drinks one day and a particular friend drank only water and then rushed off to a class at the gym. I remember thinking, "why would you bother? What could possibly be better than sitting here, eating a bag of chips and enjoying a nice glass (or two) of wine with friends?" I could not comprehend her thinking process.

Years later (after the birth of my first child) and trying to get off some extra weight I went along to the gym and to my amazement caught the bug. I finally understood what it was that motivated my friend to leave somewhere else to go and sweat it out at the gym. That was nine years ago and I've been going to the gym pretty much, ever since. That is until my recent injuries. Once I realised what was wrong with my foot (plantar fasciitis) I went along to a physio for treatment and was told - no more high impact classes, no running on the treadmill and no jumping for you. Wahhhh. That effectively took out all the things I actually enjoyed doing at the gym. It sounds weird to say that, considering when I started going to the gym my favourite thing was lying down at the end of a class - when it was over.

Not to let it beat me, I upped my spin class quota and started riding my bike (I even got one of those little seats on the back of my bike so I could take my toddler along with me - carrying 14 extra kilos on the back ought to keep me fit!). That is until I could hardly sit down on a seat. So off I went to the physio (again) who told me, "you've hurt your lower back. Cut back on the bike riding and spin classes." Wahhhh. What next??  I took up cross training on the elliptical trainer and weights ... and then my gym closed down. 

I am beginning to think someone doesn't want me to work out! So here is my dilemma. I have to find a new way to work out, a way that gives me the most fitness bang for my buck and something to do with my little guy whilst I am doing it. I have let you in on all the drama - not so that you can feel sorry for me (if you want to, don't let that hold you back) but because I am about to embark on a new journey, a discovery of fitness and health if you will. I don't want to be the woman people haven't seen for a while and comment "wow, hasn't she packed it on!" whilst I walk away. Not only that, I enjoy being fit - that and I truly believe it makes me less of a cranky pants.

So I ask you, would you like to join me on this journey?? I know in the past I have been all about the cake - well this is about to change and in a big way! As I age, my body is starting to respond differently to the things I did, tried and ate before and it cannot be just me, I am sure of it. Do you want to loose weight? Do you want to be fitter? Do you want to try stuff but can't be bothered - so you want someone to try it with you or for you and tell if you if it actually works?? Well, I'm your gal.

I am giving the next 12 months over to a number of fitness and health experiments which I will be documenting in my blog. You can try them along with me, or just see how I go and decide if it's for you. I have already tried out a few exciting new things and I can recommend something that really helps for weight loss - details will be in upcoming posts.

Whose with me??


Lee

P.S - Don't forget to enter the cool text band competition I have running at the moment. All you need to do is subscribe to Mother Load (and live in Australia) - details here. It's being drawn in two days - so get in quick!!

As promised 2013 will see a few interesting changes happening  here at Mother Load, some of which I am going to be discussing in coming posts - but for now, let's get the ball rolling shall we?!

Put your hand up if you like to win stuff! (Seriously, who doesn't?!) Well, The first and in my opinion (most exciting change) to Mother Load this year has been the addition of competitions and giveaways. If you missed this bit before then I have to tell you, I love giving stuff away! I mean, I love getting stuff too, it's nice - but it makes me just as happy to make someone else happy. So here we go!

I went to an event a little while ago and Hallmark were in attendance and unveiling the release of a new product called Text Bands. They are aimed at kids who old enough to spell but are a too young to have their own phones (That's my take on it anyway - they didn't specify an age group). They look a little like a large digital watch and the idea behind Text Bands, is that you put a 10 character word into your band, pump fists with your band wearing friend and trade messages!  

Here's a quick video on them so you can see them in action.

The website offers lots of ideas and fun games kids can play with Text Bands and their friends like Super Animal, Name Game and Zombie Outbreak, which is a much better idea than having them sit around the house on their butts.

They sell individually so that you can choose your own colour and you can buy changeable bands for fashion and fun (including Disney, Army and Star Wars themes) but obviously you need more than one so that you can give another one to a friend to get a game going. The starter kit with one band sells for $14.99 (AU) in shops.

I have two starter kits to giveaway to one lucky member of the Mother Load community. One black and one purple. So how do you enter, I hear you thinking?? Easy peasy - all you have to do is subscribe to the Mother Load mailing list (That's the little box near the top of the Mother Load blog page - just put your email address in) and you're in!! If you are already subscribed and you want to be in the runnin for this giveaway just leave a comment below to let me know you want in!

The competition will be drawn in one week, (that's the 15th of March 2013) the winner will be picked at random and it is only open to Australian residents. Good luck.

Cheers,

Lee

I know that Summer has yet again passed us by here in Australia but I am pleased to say that there has been a residual heat hangover into Autumn (which traditional "Melbournites" will say is just not on) but I for one am absolutely loving.

Melbourne is a great city and having lived in Sydney for many years I definitely have the ability to recommend one over the other - but I won't. I will although point some of the lovely things you can do in and around Melbourne, especially with kids.

I have made this little trip across the bay before but the first time I did it, it was by accident. This time, we planned our little sojourn to Sorrento and back across the bay and it was delightful.

On this particular day one of our best friends was down from Sydney and we really wanted to show him what Melbourne had to offer. So we packed a few snacks and drinks to keep us going and drove down Melbourne's west to Queenscliff (which is a beautiful place in itself and deserves a more thorough investigation - mental note: add that to my must do list). The ferry to Sorrento leaves every hour from 7am to 6 pm (but may change during the year - so don't take my word for it, check before you head off) and it was a pleasant journey across the bay.

There is a place to buy coffee should you be so inclined and even a small kids play area on board to keep small people entertained. You can take your car with you (on the ferry) but on this day we chose to travel across on foot and just walk around Sorrento once we got there. The ocean views are beautiful and the ride was relaxing, even with kids (which is something you can't always say).

The views as we came across the water and into Sorrento were spectacular and as the day began to warm up and we spied that beautiful clear water I was glad that I had packed our swimmers and some towels.

We walked around and looked into all the little specialty shops and stopped for lunch at the Three Palms cafe - which was a little more upmarket than we usually go but was delicious regardless. There were lots of child friendly eating establishments on the main street which was a bit of a climb up the hill to reach but not a long one (and again the views were really worth it!)

The view on the beach was just as lovely and there were standing paddle board lessons taking place - I really wanted to give it a go.... maybe next time.

The kids got in to have a swim - nothing deters kids once water is involved and they loved it. They collected shells and played in the sand. It was a perfect beach for smaller people - not so great if you are into surfing or catching the waves into the shore.

Before we knew it, it was time to bid farewell to Sorrento and head back across the bay again to Queenscliff and then the drive home. It is a really lovely day and I would totally recommend this for a family day out if you're in Melbourne.


Seeing as we are still looking forward to a little bit more of this luscious hot weather - you may just have enough time to squeeze this trip in before it's layers, winter coats and I am recommending the best place to get a hot chocolate in Melbourne.

Cheers,

Lee