Tag: fit moms

My Insanity fit test results are in!

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I have been looking forward to trying Insanity for a long time now, and I finally got the chance to do it! I threw the fit test in today because I was curious to see how I would make out. I was actually pleasantly surprised at my results, which were pretty dang good considering I am not a huge fan of cardio!

Here are my results for the 1 minute intervals (after the warmup of course!)

115 Switch kicks (57 ish each leg)
53 Power jacks
90 Power knees
30 Power jumps
10 Globe jumps
15 Suicide jumps
17 Pushup jacks
60 Low plank obliques (30 each side)

I challenge anyone reading this blog post to complete this fit test! You can follow along with this Australian fitness instructor on Youtube so that you can see what to do. Comment below with your results (if you’re comfortable with that, if not, just let me know you did it) when you’ve finished!

Remember that I’ve been working out for almost 2 years, so I don’t expect you to get the same numbers that I did if you are relatively new to fitness. All I want is for you to do the best YOU can, not the best I can!

INSANITY-Banner

If you enjoyed this fit test, feel free to email me at hfmxj@stu.ca with the subject line “Insanity” for more details on the full fitness program. You should also know that this is one of the programs now available via Beachbody On Demand for streaming!

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RESULTS DON’T LIE!

These are real people, getting REAL results. Are you going to join them in their success?

On a diet do you look at junk food and think “I can’t have that”?

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Chances are, you probably do. This is something that a lot of people do, myself included.

Here is the problem with that: You know that common saying that you always want that which you can’t have? Well when you think that you “can’t” have something, it makes you want it that much more. In order to change your eating habits long term you have to change your way of thinking about it first.

From now on, instead of saying “I can’t have this” to yourself each time you see a treat you’d like to have, but know you shouldn’t – try saying “I don’t eat this”. Think about what junk food does to your body and mind. It causes you to gain weight, it causes brain fog, it causes drowsiness, and much much more. Then think about your goals and what you want for yourself with respect to your health and your life.

Is your goal to be healthy, have energy, lose weight, etc.? If the answer to that question is yes, then you need to start telling yourself that you don’t eat junk food anymore. Not because you can’t have it, but because you don’t want to put all of that junk and toxins into your body.

Click Here if you would like to create a FREE Team Beachbody account to gain access to a variety of information on health, fitness, and nutrition.

My Transformation: Body and Soul

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In honor of #ThrowbackThursday, I thought I would post an old photo of myself! I look at this photo from Christmas at my grandparents house a few years back, and it amazes me how different things are now. I had no confidence in myself to speak of, so I would do my hair all fancy and wear nice makeup to try to instill confidence in myself. I still do those things lol, but now it is just for fun!

For me the best part about having lost this weight is simply regaining my confidence. I love that I no longer avoid public places, and I can actually have fun. I love that I finally get to experience things that I was forcing myself to miss out on because of my weight, like swimming and tanning on the beach. I love that I finally got out of my shell and went after a dream on mine this summer! Until summer 2014 I hadn’t flown in an airplane, I hadn’t left Canada apart from going shopping in the states a couple of times, and I hadn’t travelled or explored much at all apart from the smaller cities surrounding my own. I am so proud to be able to say that I’ve now flown 6 times, I’ve had the opportunity to explore Barcelona, Paris, and London, and I’ve found a new passion that I can’t see ever going away. I NEVER would have had the confidence to do that prior to finding Beachbody and changing my life through this health and fitness journey. 

Most of all, I just love that I’m not sad and down on myself all the time anymore. I have become a much more positive person overall. I am kind of shy and awkward by nature when it comes to talking to new people in person, but I have seen a dramatic increase in my sociability since starting this journey. I’m not nearly as shy and afraid as I used to be, and it has allowed me to meet more people than I have in years. If you’re struggling with your weight and dealing with depression or isolation because it, please come and talk to me. Beachbody changed my life, and I would love nothing more than to see your life turn around for the better too. 

Send me an email to hfmxj@stu.ca with the subject “I’m ready to transform” if you’re ready to take this leap!

Do you reward yourself with food for your successes?

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I was really bad when it comes to stress eating, and reward eating, and just eating in general. If I was having a bad day, I would self-soothe with ice cream or chips. If I was doing really well, I would think that I had earned myself a treat.

Now that I’ve gotten into healthy eating, I consider healthier snacks to be treats like greek yogurt and strawberries. Once you find healthier versions of the junk food you used to like, they can become your treats. What I have learned about rewarding yourself with junk food is that it is a very slippery slope. Once you have that treat, you may bring back all of those cravings to the forefront of your brain and have to start from scratch trying to get rid of them.

When I reach goals that I set for myself, I reward myself by buying new clothes to replace those that are now too big for me. If your goal is to fit into a bikini or swimming trunks and look great by summertime, and you hit your goal, treat yourself to a hot new bikini or swimming trunks!

This is a lifestyle change, and it is not something you kind of start and then stop as soon as you reach your goal. It is something that you continue with for years to come to KEEP the results that you’ve gotten. I have made this switch, and you can make it too!

Email me at hfmxj@stu.ca with the subject line “Beachbody: I’m Ready”, and I will help you work through the options to find a program that will be best suited for your individual goals and needs.

What a coach should do

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I always felt out of place at the gym before I started this fitness journey. I always felt like everyone was staring at me and making fun of me behind my back for being so overweight. I couldn’t stand to go to the gym, because the whole time I was there, I was more focused on watching the other people to make sure they weren’t staring at me. It seems silly to people who never experience this, but you’ll most likely understand to an extent if you are overweight.

The fact of the matter is, chances are they aren’t actually paying any attention to you. Even if they are, their opinion doesn’t matter! I think a majority of people would look at someone overweight in a gym and think “Good for them, they are doing something about it and working towards being healthier and happier!” Everyone has to start somewhere, and anyone who really matters will be proud that you are making that effort to better yourself.

You shouldn’t have to worry about people putting you down for your weight to try to “fat-shame” you into working it off. Getting down on yourself and feeling like crap about your body the way it is now is NOT going to help you get results. What will help you get results is being motivated and encouraged by a positive force. Someone who will help you learn how to love and appreciate the small steps forward, and who will help you through the small steps backward without judging you for them.

That is what I had when I started my fitness journey almost 2 years ago, and it is a big factor in my becoming a coach. I would LOVE to be that person for you!

Click Here if you are ready to start working on your own health and happiness :)

10 Day Plank Challenge!

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Do you want to build a strong core and get abs? If so, you should try this challenge! Planking is actually really good for your core and abdominal muscles. It isn’t easy, which is why you increase the time incrementally throughout the ten day timeframe.

If you are new to fitness I would suggest probably starting out by using your forearms to hold yourself up. As you build strength, you should try holding yourself up with your hands. If your arms get too shaky, come back down onto your forearms. You want to push yourself to do better, but you don’t want to push yourself to injury!

I’ve posted this challenge in my free health and fitness group for all of my members, and you are invited to join us! Just comment on this thread and let me know if you would like to participate, and we will go from there :)

Are people trying to sabotage your success?

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You probably wouldn’t expect this, but people (including those closest to you, like friends and family) do tend to sabotage others unfortunately. A lot of the time they will do it subconsciously, and they don’t realize that they are doing it. This happens because you act as a mirror to them, meaning that you reflect their bad choices.

Seeing you make positive changes in your life makes them feel bad about themselves because they know they really should do it too, but they don’t have the strength to do it. Instead, they try to bring you back down to their level and get things back to the way they once were. When this happens you need to be clear with those people that they need to accept that you’ve made these changes, and don’t let them discourage you from doing something that is going to improve your life.

It can be really hard, especially if that person is your significant other. Unfortunately I’ve seen many cases where one member of the relationship chooses to change their life for the better, and the other does not. What tends to happen here is the person that chose to make good changes will revert back to old habits to ease the pressure, OR the relationship will end up on the rocks.

This can be REALLY scary for people, because essentially in some cases you are choosing between your relationship or your health. The way that I see it though, is that if your significant other can’t support you in your decision to get healthy and they would prefer to make you keep your unhealthy habits – they simply do not deserve to be in your life. You should surround yourself with positive people that motivate and encourage you, not people who try to bring you down.

Having a good support system is crucial for most people to be successful on their weight loss journey, so it adds a lot of pressure when those closest to you are not supportive. If you have someone (friend, family member, or otherwise) like that in your life, I would strongly recommend that you sit them down and tell them how you feel. If they still won’t budge, I would consider how much you really need them in your life. If you don’t want to cut them out completely, it would definitely be a good idea to at least limit the time you spend with them temporarily. Once you’ve fully established your new healthy behaviours as habits, you can then reintegrate them into your life if desired.

Click Here if think you could benefit from some extra support through myself as your FREE Team Beachbody coach as well as through our challenge group of like-minded individuals going through their own transformations,

Thinking of giving up?

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Are you considering giving up on your health and fitness journey because you aren’t seeing the results that you wanted? If so, I don’t blame you. I’ve been there, many times actually! I know what it feels like to be fed up and frustrated, and to think “what’s the point?!”. You get so mad that you are putting in all this work through your exercising, and restricting yourself from foods that you love for results that simply aren’t showing.

What I have learned throughout my own transformation journey though, is that if you want it now, chances are you’re going to want it again down the road if you give up. Take me as an example. I gave up multiple times, which means that I still had the same goals over a long time period. Giving up just means you’ll have to start from scratch at a later date to get the results you want. It took me a few years to finally try and succeed, because this last time I simply DID NOT give up.

The way that I like to look at it is that the time will pass regardless, so why not make the best of it by working toward your goals? If you look at it this way, maybe it will help you stay on track. You need to think of fitness and nutrition as a lifestyle change, and not a quick fix for weight loss. If you return to your bad habits after you lose the weight, all that is going to happen is that you’ll pack on all of the weight you lost. If you stick to good exercise and nutrition habits over a long period of time, YOU WILL see results.

Click Here if you would like to learn about full fitness and nutrition programs that can help you reach your goals.

Do you blame your coach?

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This happens all the time! People cheat on their meal plans or they skip out on workouts, and then they are shocked that they aren’t seeing progress. The fact of the matter is, you need to earn your missed workouts and your cheat meals. When you’re starting out and you cheat regularly, you are not going to see the progress you’re hoping for.

People like to blame their coach or the program if they aren’t successful, but the reality is that the products are proven to work. Everyone that purchases a Beachbody program is provided with the exact same tools! Though the results do differ depending on personal body types and different starting points and whatnot, everyone should be able to achieve great results for their own body type. Getting results depends on your commitment to following the program as it was meant to be followed.

If you refuse to change your eating habits, you’re not going to see the results you want! Some people tend to think that since they just worked out, they’ve earned themselves a treat of some sort. If you have that line of thinking, you’re setting yourself up for failure. All you do when you give yourself a treat after a workout is negate all of the work that you just put in!

If you think you can skip out on some workouts because at least a couple of days is better than what you did before – nothing – I repeat, you’re not going to see much results! You have to work out consistently if you want to see positive changes. A few times a week is better than nothing for sure, but if you’re serious about this weight loss journey, you need to make the commitment to AT LEAST 4 days. You should be working out more days than you aren’t if you want to see progress.

If you want to blame your coach for not seeing any progress, you need to take a close look at yourself first. Ask yourself if you’ve been following the plan exactly as it was designed. Ask yourself if you’ve been cheating on your meal plan. Ask yourself if you’ve been skipping workouts. If you’ve been following everything as it was designed and still aren’t seeing progress, then maybe you could blame your coach or the program – but chances are you would be better off visiting your doctor to try and determine if you have some kind of health issue that is preventing you from successfully losing weight.

Click Here if you want to try a program that definitely works. I have personally tried 7 different Beachbody fitness programs, and know from personal experience that they work. I would be happy to speak with anyone about these programs, or any others. If you are ready to commit to a program and get started on your own transformation just let me know!

Why you should NOT weigh yourself daily

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Hey everyone, I want you all to take a look at this photo. That is a block of muscle versus the exact same amount of weight in fat. Even though they both weigh the same, you will see that the fat is twice as big (or more!) as the block of muscle. Honestly, you need to get the number on the scale out of your mind and not let that drive you crazy! I know from experience that doing that can be hard, but when it comes to fitness you need to know that muscle is denser than fat.

You can be shrinking in size as you put on muscle while your weight stays the same! Muscle burns through fat even after your workout, so you can be burning fat even as you sleep if you have been putting on muscle. What is important to know is that you could stay the same on the scale for a week or so, or just drop down by 1 pound, even though you are working out regularly. This can be super discouraging for people, because you expect to see changes fast! Changes ARE happening though, it just takes some time for you to notice. You need to lay the groundwork first by working out regularly and building up muscle. Once you’ve done that, you will gain momentum and your progress will start to really show!

This is why I usually tell my clients to focus on photos as a judge of progress instead of weight, because the photos don’t lie. Measurements can also be good to determine if you’re losing inches. It is good to weigh yourself once a week or every couple of weeks, but don’t fall into the trap of trying to weigh yourself every day. Our weight fluctuates throughout the day and from one day to the next, so if you get into the habit of weighing yourself every day you will likely get discouraged. Instead space it out some and do it once in a while so that you are more likely to have some positive results to note.

Click Here if you would like to start putting on some muscle definition and tone up to help your body burn more fat. I have a couple of programs that have been specifically designed for this purpose, and I am sure we could find one that would be perfect for your individual goals and needs. Once you’ve created your FREE account you can click the Contact Your Coach button and we can discuss options :)