Pre and post body after baby no. 3 PLUS my Blue Steel pose ;-)

Baby number 3. WOWZA!!! You would think I learnt from my previous 2 pregnancies that eating all that bad junky stuff wasn't going to be a good idea. But no I was listening to that voice saying "you're eating for two".

Boy! Did I suffer the consequences. Yup! 20kgs+ later…..

This was me at 38 weeks with Mietta back in October 2009....

This was my 3rd pregnancy with Mietta (Oct 2009) weighing 85kgs AKA 187lb

My fitness regime back then was based on Fit Yummy Mummy so click to read all the great success stories "of real women" that this program has changed lives across the globe. Without this fitness regime kick starting my new healthy lifestyle, I wouldn't have been able to achieve such amazing results with just exercising 15 minutes per day! I am not a gym person, don't particularly want to work out for an hour as time is too precious to me at the moment as every minute is spent with our young family.

The big turning point for me was the food. I thought I was able to get away with those weekly take away meals, a muffin or a chocolate per day, chips and nibbles here and there. Naha. It was going straight to my you know where. Just fat depositing itself nicely and getting real cosy! So I am so glad my life has turned around and I no longer eat the way I used to. Sure, I treat myself 1-2 per week but not everyday!

Otherwise I would still look like this…..

Here's a chunky version of me post baby no.3 Jan 2010 weighing over 85kgs AKA 187lb

I participated in a few Fit Yummy Mummy challenges throughout 2009-12 and achieved some awesome results. So what better way to celebrate my post baby number 3 transformation than with my very own blue steel pose :-) Thank you to the wonderful photographer Phil Darley at Darley Management who managed to make me look like like super model for a day (yeah right!) ha ha

Dec 2010

So in a nutshell I was able to achieve my body back with some simple tools which I will continue to share on my blog and hope that you too join this journey of feeling and looking great! However the best thing about all this "clean eating" and exercising is how healthy and fit I feel especially the "extra" energy I have to enjoy my very fast paced life!!!! I need all the energy I can get managing a household of 6 people.

Tell me one of your blue steel moments and whether you have achieved something that you never thought was possible?

Enjoy your week!

Much love & friendship,
XxDani

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Fitness Food And Style turns ONE

Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday dear Fitness Food And Style. Happy birthday to me!

Fitness Food And Style turns 1

I can't believe it's been an entire year since I googled Blogger and created my blog. I had several girlfriends tell me I had to share my new healthy and fit lifestyle with the rest of the world. I told them who would want to follow me? Low and behold over 100,000 followers later!! THERE YOU ARE! So thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your love and support. 

Here's a quick snapshot of the last 12 months.

June 2012

I created my blog and Facebook page. This face now goes out there in the world wide web as Daniela Stevens Creative Director of Fitness Food And Style

Dani Stevens Fitness Food And Style

I share all my post baby transformations and hope to motivate others that you can get your body back after having babies. I have, after 4!!!

Post baby number 2

Post baby number 3

Post baby number 4

I started getting better with my food choices and no longer gained over 30kgs over my pregnancies. Hence wanting to share the 15 minute workout program I have been following for the past 6 years and healthy eating. No more yo yo dieting. 

July 2012 
I start my own 6 week Transformation Challenge and document what I eat and the 15 minute workout program I follow.

Fit Yummy Mummy Transformation Challenge

August 2012 
We celebrate two birthdays. Our first born Noah turned 7

Skylanders birthday party

and baby Zali had her 1st birthday.

1st birthday party baby pink

To ramp up my 6 week transformation challenge I pick up the pace and do a mini ab challenge to see if I can motivate myself and YOU to eat healthy and eliminate sugar within 12 days.

I also start to train for my first ever Ballarat fun run. I am no runner, so this was a huge challenge for me.

Run Ballarat

September 2012 
I get really excited about blogging and can't believe there are 60,000 page views in 3 months and my readers/followers on Facebook start growing from 20 people to 1,100. I am truly grateful that you are all enjoying my blog and my fitness, food and style journey xx

Fitness Food And Style reaches 60,000 page views

October 2012
Busy birthday month again with 2 parties and I officially complete my first ever Ballarat fun run and take a picture with Olympic champion Steve Moneghetti.

Steve Moneghetti and Dani Stevens

I even appear on the front cover of The Ballarat Courier which totally blew me away!!!!

Our sweet darling Mietta turns 3 and has a star party!!!

3 little tin cakes 

and we finally get to celebrate my darling husbands birthday

November 2012 
Our pool project is slowly coming to an end, I participate in a yoga challenge for the month and realise how much love and passion I have for this particular movement and we celebrate Oscar's 5th birthday and have a pirate party!!!

Pirate party

December Finally we wrap up the year with no more birthdays (except for JC's on Xmas Day). I kick off my first official challenge and run a #xmas25squats challenge on my blog, Instagram and Facebook which took off!!!!!

I also clock over 100,000 pages views on my blog and have 2,000 plus followers on Facebook and over 5,000 followers on Instagram. Really enjoying what I am doing.

Squats challenge #xmas25squats

We took some fun squat pictures and Christmas is always a great time of the year with our kids, friends and family.

January 2013
I now get hooked and start challenging you all to join me in my monthly fitness challenges, on top of our normal workouts we do. This month it was all about planking and we had some amazing pictures under the #planksjan2013 hashtag. My results weren't too bad either.

Planks challenge 2013

I also gain a lot of Instagram followers with 15,000 from people tagging my challenges and sharing with their friends.

February 2013
This month was HUGE!!! I had so many of you participate in my No Added Sugar 14 days challenge and even got a mention in the Lorna Jane Move Nourish Believe blog.
The I Quit Sugar by Sarah Wilson ebook was a fabulous recipe book, with so many options to assist to curb my sugar cravings.

No added sugar challenge

I also get an exclusive 10% discount for all my readers for the awesome 180 Nutrition protein powder I use. I love it!!! Don't forget to use the promo code 264464 at checkout any time. 

March 2013
This month it was all about push ups and eat more greens. I collaborated with @tonedtannedandfitness from Instagram  #pushupsgreens, celebrated my 39th birthday and clock 39,000 Instagram followers. I also go to my first ever blogger event Digital Parents and meet Klaus Bartosch who invites me to be part of the Vision Crusaders team.

Push ups challenge

So many cool pics with people doing their push ups all over the world.

Push ups challenge

April 2013
With all the greens we pushed up in March what better way to continue this by eating fully raw!!!  Stand up and be RAWESOME was a very challenging month for me to say the least. I really had to increase my calories & fruits a lot more but didn't manage to eat enough, so I ate a 80/20 fully raw diet as my beautiful Kristina at Fully Raw coached us along the way.

Fully Raw and Fitness Food And Style

Our kids loved this challenge and their Incredible Hulk AKA Shrek smoothie.

May 2013
We take a little bit of detour from fitness challenges and we focus on every day things and a little on style with my #photoadaychallenge.

Photo a day challenge - Fitness Food And Style

I also feature in the Lorna Jane move, nourish believe blog and meet Lorna Jane herself.

Lorna Jane and Fitness Food And Style

I have a busy month campaigning for my Vision Crusaders Ride To Conquer Cancer and I meet so many amazing people online that are helping me achieve my goals. Special thanks to Andrea for making this clip for me by Biz Promo Video.

June 2013
This is wind down month where we focus on our spirituality and connecting our mind body and soul. I have collaborated with Grow Soul Beautiful with this months yoga a day challenge. Facebook fans nearly clocks at 10,000 followers and Instagram hits 83,000 followers. I am blown away!

I also started my #richardbransonproject and appeared on Win 9 News and our local newspaper The Courier with our kids primary school holding up the sign.

Source: The Ballarat Courier

So many signs across the world holding up this sign asking Richard to come ride with me. I am blown away and can't wait to receive his reply.

Richard Branson Project

This has been the best 12 months EVER! I thank every person that has contributed to making this such an awesome year! Even if you are not listed by name here, you are never forgotten as you are the reason why I am here. You mean so much to me and I look forward to more adventures in 2013 and beyond!

Which reminds me, have you a spare $5 you can dontate to my Ride To Conquer Cancer please? You will be making such a difference by contributing to this amazing cancer research benefiting the Rio Tinto Queensland Institute of Medical Research. 


===> DONATE HERE

Much love and friendship,
Dani xx 

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Weight loss Transformation Tuesday featuring Leah from Fit Foodie Le

As mentioned last week I'd love to use Tuesdays as our transformation posts. So please send me your before and after pictures to dani@fitnessfoodandstyle.com.au and in the subject field place TRANSFORMATION TUESDAY. For those on Instagram please ensure you place both #fitnessfoodandstyle and #ffstt hash tags.

I can't wait to share your success story as it's truly amazing and I feel it will empower us all to see what other women are doing about their healthy and fit lifestyles. We are from all walks of life and do various things, so I am looking forward to reading from you all.


Introducing the lovely Leah, a fit blogging mum of one who takes pleasure in revamping healthier, cleaner recipes out of old classics and especially creating her own recipes for her and her family. 

Leah from Fit Foodie Le

40 week belly on the left, 41 week post baby in the centre and on the right is her today! Leah found it easy exercising before her pregnancy, during and after baby which minimised these changes drastically. In fact her linea nigra (the dark vertical belly line) faded completely after 3 months! Some of her favourite exercises whilst pregnant included;

• Indoor cycling
• Elliptical
• Yoga
• Water aerobics
• Lots of stretching

Here is Leah's sweet potato black bean soup with avocado creation

sweet potato black bean soup

Ingredients:

• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can red beans, drained and rinsed
• 1  large sweet potato
• 1 can diced tomatoes (may use fresh as well)
• 1 cup frozen sweet corn (may use canned)
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 1 medium onion
• 3 cloves fresh garlic
• 3 medjool dates chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp smoky paprika chipotle seasoning- (you can use regular paprika)
• 1 tsp cumin
• *1 tsp smokey sweet paprika…..(add this more for color but it gives a nice smokey taste too) optional!
• 1/2 cube low sodium veggie bouillon
• 1 tbsp Bragg’s liquid aminos
• salt & pepper to taste (or chili powder)
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 1-2tbsp olive oil (may use vegetable oil)
• 3 cups broth or stock
• 3 cups water

For the method, click on Leah's Fit Foodie Le blog.

Leah has been a fitness instructor for the past 5 years for her local gyms and plans to teach local classes of her own very soon. She is also in the process of writing a fit cook book! Leah and her husband run their own business www.6packusa.com which focuses on personalized fitness and nutrition.  

She has worked in the IT industry since graduation from college, but now jumping head first into the health and fitness arena as it is her true passion!!  It makes Leah extremely happy to help people change their lives for the better!  

Leah also plans to host her own 5K in the near future.  She runs 5 and 10kms often and ran her first half marathon in 2010. A full marathon is on her next to-do list! 

Bayou City Classic marathon

Thank you so much for sharing your fitness journey with us Leah!! You can reach Leah on her Instagram page, Facebook or blog for any questions, alternatively leave a message for her below.


Do you want to see these transformation posts every Tuesday? Please leave me your comment below.

♥ Dani 

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Pre and post baby no. 2 photos PLUS a photo shoot!!!!

Okay so these are my before and after pictures after having my second son Oscar....now I know you all think I look so good and trust me I am thankful for my height too which distributes my excess baggage equally everywhere but as I said in my previous post I have the same body fat % as someone that is 5' it's just that they are more compact than me and look a little more overweight than I do.

March 2009 weighing just over 80kgs AKA 180lbs

So I got into shape after 15 months and began my Fit Yummy Mummy journey.

I then became pregnant with my 3rd baby Mietta when I did this surprise photoshoot for my husband (6 weeks pregnant). And no peeps I am not a model just have a friend called Phil with great hair and make up skills, lighting and a fabulous camera. However I must admit, I kinda did pull it off aye? ;-)

February 2010 total of 25kgs AKA 60lbs LOST!!!!

So there you have it my friends, a journey that I hope never to repeat. Having said that I wouldn't be in the shape I am today if I didn't go down that path. I have learnt a pretty basic rule YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT! So when I used to look down at my muffin top I would wonder "How do I get rid of you?" and then I turn beside me and see an entire block of Cadbury's hazelnut chocolate and a packet of potato chips devoured minutes ago.....that was the old me. This is the new me now and don't get me wrong I do indulge in those things from time to time but I burn it off quick smart so they don't stick around!

Tell me your food struggles, what food types can you not live without?

XxDani

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I can't believe I did a workout!

For those people with young children you will know where I am coming from when I say, a wake up call at 2am to watch cartoons isn't pleasant. So for the next 2 hours I had my daughter Mietta staring at me as I layed beside her in her bed to keep her vibrant voice muted as our other 3 children lay sound asleep. Anyways to cut a long story short, I had a terrible nights sleep and I really didn't want to do a workout.

Until I realised that was the old me thinking! It is so easy NOT to do things, trust me I am the Queen Of Excuses so now I find ways on how I CAN DO IT!! So when NIKE asked me to come up their new slogan JUST DO IT!! Yeah yeah okay, that wasn't me but you know where I am coming from. If you don't do things yourself, they just don't get done. Don't expect a friend, a husband or a lover to get you out of bed and say C'mon, lets workout! Unless you are part of a bootcamp team and they come strip the sheets off your bed at 5am in order for you to show up!

Ok, I am now simply just rambling to fill in this post so I will end my attempt of a short story on "making excuses". I made a commitment to myself to achieve anything in life, I need to give it a fair go. Like really give it my 100%. 

So there! I should have just posted I can believe I did a workout! and dropped the word "CAN'T" as I am here to let you know I CAN and so can you. If I CAN DO IT with 4 kids under 6, sleep deprived, when it's still dark outside and the rain is pouring and all you want to do is lay in your warm bed then seriously what is your excuse for not making time for yourself to get fit, healthy and feeling fabulous. Check out Fit Yummy Mummy for my fitness secret.

Please add your comments so we can work out a strategy and a plan of attack for all your excuses!!

Read soon XxDani

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Pre and post body after baby no.4

Here is a recent snap shot of my latest  "roller coaster" body after having 4 babes. I will share the other 3 pregnancies and pics next time I get online....

Post baby 82kgs Sept 2011 and post baby 65kgs April 2012

40 weeks pregnant with Zali 

Yes, now what I mean by roller coaster ride (BTW Adrian you do have a VIP pass on this ride for the rest of my life) but for the people out there that know the effects their body has on them with any form of weight gain eg: babies, depression, injury etc.... you tend to get a bit dizzy and disorientated, I know I sometimes get a little queasy on these rides. So let me tell you that I have slowly got my vertigo back on track and with each pregnancy I have learned so much about myself, my body and it has been a lot easier to get my body back this fourth and final time!

Trust me I have been pregnant and breastfeeding over 6 years now!!!!!

baby Zali 10 days old

I will continue to share with you my past pregnancies before and after shots so you can see that you can get your body back after having children. Have a sensational day XxDani

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