Last Saturday everyone in Australia was horrified to learn that the Victorian bushfires had devastated small towns and communities. So fierce were the flames that some towns have been literally wiped off the map.

As the days went by, the death toll increased dramatically as did the numbers of people made homeless by the fires. Our wildlife too has suffered tremendously.

Black Saturday will go down as our worst natural disaster. It has touched so many people around the world with offers of help and donations overwhelming many in these now devastated communities.

209 people lost their lives last weekend. Over 7000 are now without homes and countless wildlife have been destroyed.

The one thing that has shone through has been our great Australian spirit. People from around the country have donated generously with the bushfire fund passing $139 million. Some have donated homes, cars and other necessary equipment to help families through this challenging time. Many are donating their time and skill to help rebuild homes, schools, shops and other services.

Today we remember all those who lost their lives. Our hearts break for the families lost and those left to pick up the pieces.

I frequently post short exercise video tips from a few of my favorites sources on indenialhealth.com. I’ve often thought that it would be great if there was a way to string some of the workout videos together rather than having to stop your routine to play the next one you like.

Sarah from Diet.com mentioned on twitter recently that they have a great little application called the workout builder that lets you select a variety of videos and string them together to create a customized routine.

It is really simple to use. You can select from a variety of videos that are categorized by core, upper, lower or combo and then by the type of equipment you will be using, for example an exercise ball or dumbbells.

Once you have made your selections, you are presented with a variety of videos. You can drag the exercises you want to your playlist area and select how many reps you want to do. For a bit of extra customization you can drag and drop the videos in any order you want.

Once happy with your playlist you simply hit the save playlist button and the workout builder compiles all the videos together for you. It’s really easy to use and a fantastic workout tool.

It appears you do have to register (free to join, involves a survey) to be able to save your playlist and while I’m not a big fan of taking surveys , it didn’t take too long and the results were pretty spot on and made me chuckle a little.

Head on over to diet.com and try it out for yourself :)

By the way, you can find me on twitter as well.

We’ve all been there. You make a commitment to yourself to stop eating junk food, cut your portions and exercise regularly.

Then something or some place totally knocks you off course.

It’s amazing how quickly you can fall off the wagon. For me it came in the form of an Indian Restaurant last Saturday night. We went there for dinner with our friends Ann and Trev. Most of you know Ann, she posted here about her ongoing challenge to continue working out at her local gym.

We had made a point of not eating too much during the day so that we were hungry by the time we got to the restaurant. MISTAKE NO 1! Never go to the restaurant hungry!

After checking out the menu we decided to share a range of meals. Ann is the only vegetarian among us so we thought it would be unfair to pick only one for her seeing the rest were meat based. MISTAKE NO 2! Cut down the meat based dishes!

So we ended up having 3 entrees to share, 7 mains and 2 portions of naan bread. When they meals came out we were blown away by the sizes, they were huge and oh so delicious!

I don’t know what it is but whenever I am out with friends the part of my brain that usually shows restraint and control goes completely out the window. We all ate way too much and felt pretty full when finished.

We went back to my place for drinks and coffee and although I felt pretty annoyed with myself for eating so much, I was pretty confident that tomorrow would offer me a new day to correct the wrongs of the night before.

I know that many of you feel self loathing and guilt when you fall off the wagon. The problem with self loathing is that it is so defeating. When you feel this way it can be tempting to just give in and not try and start the new day in a positive frame of mind.

It doesn’t help when you see people around you and on the media that seem to be perfect.
Oprah has been one high profile person to come out recently and been quite open in saying, yep I have lost the plot with my weight and fitness but I am not going to give in to it. I know it can be depressing to feel that you are constantly having to check what you eat and living in fear that the weight is going to pile on. It’s a path that will lead you nowhere and only serve to push you further into negative thinking and self loathing.

I know it can be demoralizing when you were doing so well and then fall off the wagon. The thing is though, you have to pick yourself up and fight another day.

If you take anything out of reading this blog I hope it’s that you need to stop focusing on what you have done wrong in the past. Focus on today and keep fighting. Most importantly, find time for yourself and look to inject some fun into your life.

The really bad news for me is that this amazing new Indian Restaurant is less than 5 minutes walk from my house. Let’s see how long I can go before succumbing to that naan bread and Chicken Masala! Stay tuned….

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You can do an amazing fat burning beginner workout lying on the ground using your own bodyweight exercises.

You don’t need to go to a fancy gym to get started. In fact, it’s better to do bodyweight exercises at home in beginner workouts because you won’t be intimidated by the folks at the gym. It’s not a fashion show at home!

This is a simple beginner workout you can do in the comfort of your own home with bodyweight exercises.

I’ve been noticing this week a few videos popping up showing you how to workout with a pumpkin as part of Halloween festivities. Most show people using a pumpkin in place of an exercise ball which I have found quite amusing :)

Craig from http://www.turbulencetraining.com has put together a short video called The TRUTH about the Pumpkin Workout. Craig has summed up in video my thoughts on this subject ;)

Looking to get your focus back? Trisha from Ideas For Women has a great post on this very subject

It’s always good to have a range of easy DIY salad dressings and Mark from Mark’s Daily Apple has 10 delicious dressings to keep you happy.

Communication is key to a successful relationship. Knowing how to effectively communicate can be extremely positive for your health. Barbara Ling has a fantastic post on the secret to communication.

A Life Fit For You has a great post on the effects sugar has on your body including your brain. The post also covers the importance of carbohydrates so is well worth the read.

Ms. Penny Pincher over at InDenialMoney.com has a great post on wasting food and tips to minimize what you are throwing out. It’s amazing how much better you feel when you start organizing your life, it has a really positive impact on your health and wealth!

Struggling to find time for yourself? It is so important to make time for you and Zen Habits has a great post called 20 Great Ways to Find More Free Time.

Have you ever wondered how much a pushup weighs? I had never thought about it so was interested to find out. Fit36.com has the answer.

On Monday I had to attend a full day training course that dealt with aggression in the work place.
When I was first made aware of the training, I assumed the course dealt with handling co-workers who may be aggressive towards you. At the time I found this quite amusing because in my workplace everyone is lovely. It made me laugh thinking that I might need to karate chop a fellow colleague.

I have to admit that I really wasn’t looking forward to it at all and felt that it was probably a waste of my time. As it turned out, it’s one of the most interesting courses I’ve attended and I really did get a lot out of it.

The course was all about identifying aggressive behavior, assessing your risk, having a plan and what to do if things turn physical.

I think most women worry about the possibility of being attacked. I know that this has often crossed my mind. Yesterday I learnt some really basic moves that might just help me get out of a bad situation. I did say to the instructor that I wondered whether if put in the situation of where my personal safety is at risk whether I would have the presence of mind to act defensively.

I think this is probably something that most people can relate to. I often wonder how I would react in an emergency. I think I know myself pretty well and would like to live under the assumption that I’d not panic in an emergency situation but I really don’t know.

I guess you can’t really know how you are going to react in that moment but can only hope you are one of those people who remains calm and doesn’t completely lose their sense!

I really hope I never have to find out, what about you?