Guest post by Kasey Casal

Tell me a bit about yourself:
My name is Kasey Casal I’m 29 years old and I live in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. I’m also a HR Consultant, foodie, avid luxe traveller, bookworm, mother of two, Jia’s best friend from University and a fitness addict.

I am a seasoned exerciser and have been working out consistent very strict regime since I was in my early 20s, and have worked with a personal trainer for over 4 years to perfect my form, fitness regime and body. I take working out very seriously, as you can imagine having two children is very rewarding but it can definitely take its toll on your body.

On my workout regime and routine secrets:
When I started training around 21-22, I would say I was like the vast majority of females in having the perception that lifting weights made you bulky. So I regularly engaged in group style cardio classes such as spin cycling, zumba and dance and other exercise routines which were focused on ‘weight loss’.

However, after losing a dramatic amount of weight and losing shape looking like a bean pole I was very unhappy with my image and felt that I looked emaciated and malnourished. Every woman always has the idea that the more cardio you do, the better shape you will be in. This is far from the truth.

I invested in a personal trainer 4-5 days a week to create a basic workout and diet plan and assist with my form especially for squatting and started doing some research and enrolled in an elective class at University, Food Science. This helped me change my mindset, perception of working out and fitness strategy dramatically. Because I come from a dual research background in University, I am very strategic and passionate with finding out all I can know about a particular subject, then applying all that I know into practice until I perfect it.

What I found was that doing high intensity interval training such as Tabata and lifting heavy weights via supersets together with a clean balanced diet such as paleo, can give dramatic results in minimal amount of time, by only engaging in 45 mins 4-5 times a week in the gym. The results I got in less than 6 months of following this routine were exceptional and I dropped down to 10% body fat to a healthy shapely size 6 and gained a booty that could compare to an asian version of JLo.

This combined with hard work and discipline can achieve the following:
Ramp up your metabolism to the point where you are burning fat even after your workout ends
Give you mental clarity and stamina as your ability to push through barriers in the gym can help develop that skill in other domains of your life
Mould and shape your body the exact way you want through particular weight training exercises.
Create long lasting muscle memory which will enable you to snap back after having a baby in record time.

Of course, everything takes time and your body isn’t built in one day. Once you get to that goal the hardest part is then maintaining the habit and finding the motivation to stay in shape. I would say it takes less than a month to kickstart a regular habit from a psychological perspective. So for me, as long as I am consistent with my exercise and feature it into my daily routine – I end up sticking to it. The endorphins post exercise are amazing as they boost your mood, promote longevity and help build immune reserves.

On Diets and Fads:
Initially when I wanted to lose baby weight after having my first child at 17, I did what any other woman does, starve themselves then binge eat on carbs and sugar loaded foods. What I later realised, when working out is that you definitely need food to fuel you and you need the right kind of food and combination at the right time.

After trying every fad diet under the sun like blood type, Paleo, Dukan, Macro, I found the best of all the diets and personalised it to my lifestyle and the way my body works. If you want to lose weight initially, cut carbs and eat high protein as much as you can with 5-6 small meals a day. I didn’t eat sugar, processed, fat or fried foods during the week but I would have a cheat day on the weekend to give into my cravings. If you eat by the 80/20 principle you can still maximise your results, as we are human we do need to give in to our cravings once in a while to keep sane and not hunt for a baby cow or eat a whole bakery from deprivation. Once you achieve your goal weight then you can reintroduce carbs in your meals however stick to low GI carbs like brown rice, wholemeal and sweet potato.

Generally speaking I don’t follow any fad diets now, I just eat clean and in line with my workout regime. If I am doing a HIIT training session, boxing or a crazy leg workout where I know I will be consuming a lot of calories I will eat something high in carbohydrates like toast and banana with peanut butter. If I am doing a light training session like yoga and pilates reformer or swimming, I eat a banana or salad or high protein like eggs and avocado. Always drink a protein shake or coconut water after a workout to replenish your muscles and help you recover quickly.

After having a baby:
After having my daughter who is now 15 months of age, I ramped up my fitness regime to do a lot of high intensity interval workouts which I feel gives dramatic results in minimal time. As you can imagine having two kids, running a consulting business and being a single mum can make you very time poor. 30 minutes of HIIT training or boxing can really give you great results and maintain a strong body and mind. Yoga and pilates reformer has been my saviour in gaining my core back and snapping back into shape. I do this 1-2 times a week which helps with my posture and mental well-being to keep grounded. Pilates reformer is all the rage right now as the Victoria’s Secret models use them to get super toned so if you know of any gyms or studios it would be well worth trying out. Of course, weight training is still important especially legs and bum so I do engage in a squats and lunge circuit type session once a week. Jump squats, burpees and walking lunges do wonders for your backside!

Why do you love working out?
After going through a one year period where I was very disciplined and dedicated to my workout regime and dieting, even cutting out alcohol and processed carbs, the mental clarity and focus I had was on another level, kind of euphoric even. Although my workout regime and diet is more relaxed now I like to keep that maintenance of keeping fit in my lifestyle as it enables me to juggle the many roles of motherhood and life and take things with ease and stride without getting too stressed out. Working out is very much a stress reliever and my down time in which I can reflect on my day and clear my mind so I don’t have a meltdown and go Britney and shave my hair off. Overall, I would say that for me I love the challenge as it also helps me grow not only my muscles and body, but mentally, as person as well – as you develop an appreciation for the obstacles and failures it takes to develop growth and achievement!

About the Author-
Kasey is a 29 year old Hr Consultant based out of Sydney Australia. She loves food, fitness and is an avid luxe traveller. Being a mother of two adorable babies hasn’t stopped her from achieving her fitness girls. Follow her on instagram @kaseycasal.