Month: January 2015

Sick and tired of being sick and tired?

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Are you feeling tired and sluggish all of the time? Are you getting a lot of sleep, but waking up and going through your day STILL feeling exhausted? If the answer to those questions is yes, I would like you to answer these questions honestly – even if you just admit it to yourself. Are you eating a lot of junk food or unhealthy foods? Are you exercising regularly? Are you sleeping more than 8 hours a night?

I know how it feels to be tired and sluggish day in and day out, because I’ve been there. What I have learned over my own health and fitness journey is that it comes primarily from your diet and lack of exercise.  I have found that eating a lot of junk food, failing to exercise, and sleeping more than 8 hours a night actually keeps your mind a bit foggy. It is a feeling that doesn’t really go away, kind of like trying to see through cobwebs. It doesn’t completely block your view (or in this case your mental capacity), but it does keep you tired and drowsy.

I honestly didn’t even realize how bad that fog was until I started eating better, working out, and not sleeping in until noon every day. It was only then that my mind got back to running normally, without those cobwebs keeping me from being my best. Exercise depletes your energy in the short-term, but what it actually does for you long-term is way worth it. When you work out, you are actually releasing endorphins into your body that I like to think of as mood enhancers! If I am mad or upset over something, all I have to do is throw in one of my high intensity interval training or kickboxing workouts and I feel so much better by the time I’m done.

I’m only human, so I have fallen off the wagon a couple of times and gone on binges where I ate a ton of junk food – usually on holidays or vacations. What happens when I do that though is the fog starts creeping back in. I’m not a scientist or a doctor, so I can’t say with any certainty that something in the junk food is causing this to happen, but I would bet money that it is!

Another instance where I feel this fog coming back is when I sleep too much. You need to get a decent amount of rest, especially if you are exercising because that is when your body heals itself from the strain and builds muscle. However, the longer you exceed 8 hours in sleep, the higher the chances are that you’re going to wake up feeling groggy. This happens to me sometimes because I work overnight shifts here and there that really mess up my sleep schedule. I will only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep for a few nights, and I’ll let myself sleep for like 10-12 hours on a day off to make up for it. On days that I have done that I just wake up feeling worse.

My point here is that if you want to get rid of this feeling, you need to start eating healthier, exercising regularly, and only sleeping as much as you have to. Once you start losing weight and you start feeling the positive effects of the exercise, chances are you’ll come to understand what I mean.

Click Here if you’re ready to make this commitment to change your life for the better.

Post-workout treat

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It never ceases to amaze me, but I know that a lot of people actually think this way! Some people will workout and then they think that it earns them a meal from McDonalds afterwards. They will then come to me wondering why they don’t see results. Well, the answer is simple. You NEED to eat clean, and you need to exercise.

If you work out for an hour and then you go to a fast food joint for supper immediately after, you are negating all of that work you just put in. You cannot expect to lose weight by treating yourself to junk food after a workout. The biggest part of weight loss is actually your nutrition, so if you want to be successful in losing the weight you have got to start eating healthier.

Click Here if you would like access to some recipes for healthy meals and snacks.

There is NO elevator to success!

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If you want lasting success you HAVE to be willing to make changes! Sure, you can spend a ton of money on diet pills, wraps, drinks, etc. In the majority of cases, all you are doing is throwing your money away when you buy these types of things, and I know because I have been there, done that. These things may seem to work in the beginning, but chances are whatever weight you do lose, you will just gain it all back shortly after.

Like I said, I’ve been there. I used to waste a lot of money on all types of different diet and weight loss products. After a while though I realized it wasn’t working, and I needed to make a change. I started P90X, changed my eating habits, and never looked back. The funny thing about all of those weight loss products that claim to help you lose a ton of weight with little to no exercise is that they require you change your eating habits. The reps will tell you to get the best results you should eat healthy and drink a lot of water. Well, guess what? If you would just eat healthy and drink a lot of water, you would lose weight WITHOUT wasting your money on weight loss products.

Of course there will be a limit to what you can achieve without exercise, but the biggest part of the weight loss battle is actually nutrition. If you just eat the right foods and hydrate yourself frequently, you will start to lose weight with or without exercise. If you’re serious about wanting to lose the weight though, and you want it to happen as quick as possible, you need to add exercise into your routine.

Click Here if you’re ready to start taking the stairs.

Don’t let failure keep you down

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I agree with this quote 100%! As coaches we are in this business to help others be successful, not to shove our success down people’s throats. Sometimes I see people get upset or angry when they see people with fit bodies, and they say things like “well that person probably never had a weight problem to begin with”. You CANNOT make that judgment without knowing a person’s story. I know plenty of people that were really overweight, and went on to compete in fitness competitions after a TON of hard work. Do you think they let small setbacks keep them down? Definitely not.

You can’t let failures or setbacks get you down, because if you fall into that trap you won’t see the progress that you’re hoping for. Everyone has small failures here and there. We are only human, so you are bound to slip up in your diet at some point or skip out on a workout. You have to learn to forgive yourself for those mistakes and not let it keep you from moving forward. Sometimes people have a tendency to think “well I messed up, I may as well go all out”. Then they binge for the day on all of the junk they’ve been missing out on, and that cheat day can easily turn into a cheat weekend, which can turn into a cheat week, and so on.

What you need to remember is that ONE bad meal and/or missed workout is not going to make you GAIN weight, just like ONE good meal and/or workout is not going to make you LOSE weight. Don’t get upset over a setback and let a little mistake turn into a big mistake. Try to stay positive and always push yourself to be better than you were yesterday.

Click Here if you are ready to start working toward your own success story.

What will YOU choose?

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You can choose to change nothing with respect to diet and exercise, and expect no positive change in your body. OR, you can choose to make good choices with respect to diet and exercise and start seeing progress in your body, strength, and overall health!

The first week is the hardest when it comes to diet. Once you find healthy meals and snacks that you like it becomes a whole lot easier! After you’ve been eating healthy for a bit and you get all of those chemicals and processed foods out of your system, your body won’t crave the junk food as much. Instead, you’ll find yourself craving your favorite healthy snacks.

Just try to always keep in mind that the time will pass regardless, so you might as well make the best of it!

Click Here if you are ready to get started!

Overcoming hurdles

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This quote could not be more true! Cardio and I have never been friends. It is something that I have struggled with since I was a child, and even into adulthood. I never would have thought that I would be able to do a Turbo Fire workout, and even as I started the program I still had my doubts. I remember the first time I tried Turbo Fire, and even the next couple of times, I honestly thought that I was going to keel over and die. I was sweating buckets, I had to pause the tape every few minutes to get a drink of water, and my heartrate was so high I was actually starting to worry about my safety.

I pushed through though, and I’m not going to say it got easier, but I will say that I GOT BETTER. People usually say that it gets easier, and in a way it does. By the same token though, it doesn’t necessarily get easier- because as you get better, you find yourself pushing harder, doing more, bringing it just that much more. You can jump higher, kick and punch harder, master moves you couldn’t do when you started, and even get through workouts without having to pause the disk.

Believe in yourself, because you CAN do it. It doesn’t matter if you have to pause the dvd a hundred times to calm your heart rate and get a drink of water. It doesn’t matter if you have to skip moves because you genuinely don’t have the strength to do them. It  doesn’t matter if you have to follow the modified version of moves. All that matters is that you TRY, because the next time you try the workout you could be strong enough to do it. As long as you are trying, you are still burning calories! Push through it, and over time you will be amazed at what you have overcome.

Click Here if you are ready to start overcoming hurdles!

Pre-Diet junk food binge

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Does this sound familiar?! This used to be an annual thing in our house haha, but it is no good! All this does is cause you to gain extra weight that you will have to work off during your diet and/or new fitness routine. It does not make any sense for you to eat a bunch of junk food just to get rid of it,  because it is only going to hurt you in the end.

It is better to give it to a friend or family member than to gorge on it right before you start a new diet. It may taste good, but all it is going to do is make you feel pretty crappy and gain weight. Would you rather not “waste” the money it cost you to get the junk food in the first place and deal with the consequences, or get rid of the junk food and get off to a good start with your diet? Personally, I would go for that second option.

If you gorge on junk food before a diet, you are just setting yourself up for failure. You need to change your mentality surrounding the word “diet”, because getting fit and healthy isn’t a short-term thing – it is a lifestyle change. What you need to do is find foods like mimic the meals you typically enjoy, but that are much healthier for you. You don’t have to restrict yourself 100% of the time, but you should try to aim for 80-90%. If you want something that isn’t healthy, just work it into your calorie and macro limits for the day! It is possible to live a healthy lifestyle while still occasionally enjoying junk food, you just have to want it bad enough to keep yourself from junk food on a regular basis. Instead, use it as a treat for progress at the end of the month or something.

Click Here if you would like to take the first step toward a healthier life!

Bad day and a blonde moment…

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Normally I don’t like to write anything negative, but yesterday I had a terrible day and made a pretty dumb mistake that caused some of it. If nothing else, I am sure some of you will get a good laugh from my lapse in judgment lol.

I guess I will just start at the beginning! Some of you may already know this, but for those of you that don’t, I am from Canada where it is super cold and snowy throughout the winter months. Yesterday we got a huge storm with a lot of snow, and a lot more wind. When that happens, the wind blows the snow all over the place and makes visibility difficult as well as causes snow drifts. When I looked outside at my vehicle I could see that the wind has done two things. First, it had been kind enough to blow all of the falling snow off of my car and keep it cleared off for me! Second, it had caused a snow drift right in front of my car. The driveway was a mess and there was no way I would make it out to get to work, so we called our plow guy to do the end of the drive way up to the end of my car so that I would be able to get out. We told him not to worry about the rest of the driveway because nobody would be coming in and out until morning.

At this point I am not worried one bit because I know all I have to do is go out and shovel the little drift in front of my car before I go to work, which would only take about 10 minutes. WRONG. I get outside to start my car and let it warm up a bit while I shovel, and to my surprise, the car won’t start. Because we had told the plow guy not to worry about the rest of the driveway, we can’t access the other car to give mine a boost. The storm was so bad that the police had shut down highways, cabs and buses weren’t running, and it was advised that nobody drive unless it were necessary. I had to run out to the end of my driveway and flag down a total stranger in a truck, who had been the first vehicle to pass in a long time! The poor guy thought someone was injured or something, and thankfully stopped his truck to see what I needed.

This nice man pulled right in and gave me a boost, and I was on my way to work. I arrived only 15 minutes late, and I borrowed booster cables just in case. I got a phone call half way through my shift from the fellow employee who was supposed to relieve me at the end of my shift – he wasn’t coming to work. Now I am used to this kind of thing from him because, well, he’s totally useless! By this point the snow wasn’t falling anymore and the roads were plowed, all he had to deal with was shoveling his driveway and being careful on the roads with visibility. Instead of picking up a shovel and using the 3 hours he had before he had to leave for work to get himself out of the driveway, he chose to make it somebody else’s responsibility! I was furious, because not only did he put in ZERO effort to make it in to work, but he expected me to find someone to cover his shift for him. Thankfully my boss was able to find someone to cover the shift, otherwise I would have been there for a 12 or even 16 hour shift.

Fast forward to the end of my shift when my relief came. He showed up early, and I wasn’t prepared with the door unlocked and my belongings packed up. I went and let him in myself, set the phone and keys from work on the counter, and then packed up all my things. We continued talking as he walked me out, only for him to realize the door had been locked and he hadn’t picked up the keys! There was a spare set at a building next door, but there were multiple buildings and doors in that area, and I wasn’t sure which to visit. The man had locked his jacket and car keys in the building as well, so it was up to me to get the key.

I drove over and pulled to a stop in front of the first building, trying to determine if I was in the right place. I jumped out of the car and was going to look for a door, then realized I probably shouldn’t leave my car running in a sketchy area. I tried to shut the car off and take the key out to lock it up, but my key was stuck in the ignition. I tried starting my car again – no luck. At this point, I am TOTALLY freaking out. I saw a man through a window with his back to me so I went running up and tried screaming to get his attention, but he couldn’t hear me. I saw a door, but there was snow up to my waist drifted in front of it. I climbed through the snow, and as I did, I saw a man coming toward the door from inside. Thankfully he let me in and let me explain everything that had happened, but he wasn’t able to leave to give me a boost. I found out where I needed to go for the spare key, and went on my way.

I ran to the building around the corner trying to keep myself warm, and finally got to the person with the spare key. I waited for a while as he searched through a ton of keys trying to find the one I needed. He couldn’t find it, so he had to call someone to ask where the key would be held. Finally I got anxious thinking someone was going to steal my backpack with my laptop and IPad inside, so I ran all the way to my car, grabbed my backpack, and ran back to the building for the key. I then had to run all the way back to my place of employment with my backpack on my back to unlock the door for my co-worker. Once inside, I told him the story of what had taken so long.

He grabbed his jacket and took me over to my car in his truck, and we attached the booster cables. We tried boosting my car and failed, and sat in the truck waiting for his battery to warm up for a few minutes before trying again. The same thing happened the second time, and we sat in the car again. At this point I pretty much have ZERO hope that my car is going to start, and I am pretty sure I am stranded. I don’t have anyone in the area that could come and get me, all of my friends and family were either stranded themselves or too far away. I couldn’t even call a cab to take me home and leave my car, because the cabs weren’t running! If I had left my car with the keys in the ignition, I was afraid it would get stolen or impounded.

We finally decided to try one more time – third time’s a charm. This time, my co-worker got in the car and tried to start it. What he found is both hilarious, and 100% embarrassing. In my haste to get the key and get back to the building, I had pulled the car to a stop to assess the area, and simply gotten out with the car still in drive! Since the car wasn’t moving, I must have thought I put it in park, and then just gotten out. Thankfully he figured it out, and we were able to get my car up and running again.

The lesson here I think, is that if you’re in a blizzard – don’t rush! Clearly when you’re in a hurry, you make rush decisions without thinking them through. This was quite possibly one of the worst days I have had in years, so I am really hoping that I have maxed out my quota of bad luck for at least a year or two lol.

Hunger VS Boredom

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This was a huge thing for me! I am a big time night snacker, and I loved snacking while I watched tv. Watching movies or shows without food just felt foreign to me. What this is though is habit and comfort, it isn’t hunger.

When you catch yourself heading for a snack, I want you to think to yourself: “Am I really hungry, or is this just habit?” If you are hungry, try drinking a big glass of water to hold you over until your next meal. Believe it or not, water can actually curb your appetite short-term. If that doesn’t work and you’re still hungry, go for some of healthy snacks! Celery is a great snack choice, especially if your goal is weight loss. If you are snacking at night, try to stay away from fruit because of the natural sugars. It is better to consume fruit earlier in your day.

Click Here if you would like to gain FREE access to information regarding health and fitness, including recipes for healthy snacks and meals!

It’s never too late

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As a Beachbody coach, I have come across plenty of people in their 40’s and 50’s or above who are trying to lose weight and get healthy. Your age shouldn’t be a limitation. In fact, we gave my grandmother a Beachbody fitness program for Christmas this year! If you can move around, you can exercise at any age. Just modify the moves, it is as simple as that! Only do what you can, only go as low as you can, and start by using light weights in the beginning of your journey and work your way up.

Just ask the many people who start in their 40’s or 50’s or sometimes even later than that, or the many people who were obese when they started their journey. These people may have thought that they were too far gone to ever lose the weight again! In my opinion, the hardest part is the first few weeks to a month. During that initial timeframe, it is almost more of a mental challenge than a physical one. Of course your body will be challenge, but you have to get over the “I can’t do this” mentality before you can be successful.

Like I mentioned above, you just have to modify the moves and do what you are capable of doing. When I started there were certain exercises I simply had to skip because I lacked the strength to do them safely. There were many exercises that I had to complete using the modified version. Plus, I would have to pause the workout a BUNCH to get a drink and calm my heart rate down a bit. It was a struggle, but I just told myself that I could do it, and so I did. Over time I got better and better, I could do more exercises the regular way, I could finally do the moves I previously had skipped, and I found I didn’t have to pause the workout nearly as often.

I am not saying it will be easy to change your mental mindset, because it won’t. It will be a challenge, but what doesn’t challenge you, doesn’t change you! You won’t regret the changes that take place once you make these life changes, but you may regret it if you don’t.

Click Here if you are ready to make these changes now.