The 3 areas of Wellness that attribute to our Health & Fitness journey are commonly approached incorrectly, . Lets take a look...

1. Mindset

When starting this new path we always have the best intentions of success, we want this! The mistake made here is PERFECTION - one little speed bump can send most people completely off track.

We have to go in with the mindset and an action plan, which allows for wiggle room to let "Life" happen!

Consistency is key but if you set your intentions for everything to go as planned each day, then you are setting yourself up for failure right from the start. Do not go in with an, ALL OR NOTHING mindset.   

2. Nutrition

The biggest misconception here is the amount you should be eating in a day. The first thought when someone wants to start eating healthy is, "EAT LESS" but no, no, no that is not correct at all!!

Your body has to be fuelled enough to function, if you are feeling hungry or just blah because you are limiting...

To serve your happiness and wellness let's talk Morning and Evening Routines!

I used to start my day with looking at my phone first thing when waking up, however starting your day with your phone is an immediate stressor! The light can set the tone for your whole day because this type of stressor can raise your cortisol levels. Another habit of mine is watching the news - again another stressor.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, stress causes increased cortisol, which will make it more difficult to lose weight because our body goes into a defensive mode and holds on to EVERYTHING!

Start your morning with the goal of reducing any stressors. Here are some changes I have decided to make.

MORNING ROUTINE:

30 min of reading a physical book in the morning

Journal writing - gratitude and daily intentions

This will help your day start calm and happy! If you are stressing your body before you even leave the house, you are already setting your cortisol off high....

I want to share my own Fitness Journey to give you perspective on where my Health & Fitness Coaching comes from. To know you are not alone and that I have battled my own struggles and I am here now to help work through yours.

I grew up overweight and it became a huge part of my identity, which I found held me back. Fast forward into College and I was extremely thin to an unhealthy point and everything revolved around my body - which is devastating when I think back to my mindset at that time.

Following College I entered Grad School and went into a big lifestyle change, gaining 20lbs!

After Grad school, I knew I reached a point that I could no longer let my excuses control me and I had to take action. So I became Certified in Group Fitness Instruction, since I was a dancer my whole life I thought this would be a great way to stay active and make a little money. It started to really help shed the weight but looking around the room, I had the urge to want to help everyone...

Focus on making your diet just a little bit healthier and looking at how you can tweak the meals you are already having.

5 components to include in our thought process when making a meal:

1. Micronutrients

You want tons of this! Just think bright and colourful foods

2. Whole & Unprocessed Foods 

Look at swapping what you already eat for the healthier alternative (i.e White bread for Sprouted Whole Grain bread)

3. Protein

Make sure this is included at every meal, our body will absorb protein better when eaten in small increments through the course of the day vs. a massive serving at one meal. 

4. Calories in Check

Portion control will help with this! As well if you are following the first 3 rules, your calorie count will naturally be toned down. Using a food scale is also a very helpful tool to keep your calories in check!

5. Balanced Macros Throughout the Day

Planning ahead will help with this, for example; if you are going out for dinner that night, you can look up...

STOP sabotaging your progress! Don't let all your efforts towards reaching your goals work against you. Here are 3 common diet mistakes that women are making:

No. 1 Not eating enough calories

 When you don't eat enough you are actually slowing your body down and making it harder for yourself to shed the weight. Your metabolism is what burns those unwanted calories but when it isn't fuelled enough, it slows down. 

No. 2 Not paying attention to your Protein intake

 Each meal should include1/4 portion of a lean protein. It is also recommended that you spread your protein intake out throughout your entire day and don't try to cram it all in at one meal. Protein is important for every diet but especially so, if you are doing any type of strength training.

No. 3 Not getting enough Fruits and Vegetables everyday

 This should be the majority of your diet - the more colourful the better! Fruits and Vegetables get their vibrant colours from the...

 STOP TELLING YOURSELF YOU'RE GOING ON A DIET!

Going on a diet is never going to work because you have already decided this decision is temporary. You will go on it until you reach your goal and then be done. What do you think happens though once you come off of your regimented eating plan?

That's right! All that weight just comes back!

Instead of focusing on diets, focus on your mindset. Here are 2 tricks for that;

1. Stop making certain foods off limits - as soon as it's off limits, you want it so much more! You enter a rebellious mindset. Reframing your approach to nutrition and giving wiggle room for treats will be a much more sustainable lifestyle - not diet!

2. There are two schools of thought when changing your mind frame that need to be combined for your success.

a. Eating for Health

b. Eating for Fat loss

This is why I love providing custom plans and programs for my clients. Sustainable nutrition isn't always one size fits all because we have different goals and...

We all do it!  That's right and there is a biological reason for it!

Don't ignore emotional eating though, pay attention to your hunger cues and heightened states of emotion from life stress because when you feel this way, your body will look for a way to soothe any stressors. Incase you haven't guessed it FOOD is one of those soothers your body will crave. 

HOWEVER, if we understand what is happening in our bodies, it can be easier to catch ourselves - when we feel out of control, we act out of control. 

Here is a breakdown for the reasons why your body wants to emotional eat. 

Food in our brain causes a chemical release of "Happy Hormones" when we eat. So when we are stressed and cortisol is released, our body is looking for balance and so we look to food. Unfortunately the foods that give us the greatest "Happy Hormone" response are of course, JUNKY FOODS! 

Why junk food? Because it creates a hyper satisfaction that gives us a greater release of...

**Pre-recorded Live Video

Here is the long awaited FAQ video!

It only made sense to create this one, since I find myself answering the same questions multiple times a day. So bookmark this video because it is definitely going to be handy!

FAQ Discussion includes:

1. Where to workout? Gym or Home?

2. Shouldn't I lose fat before I try to build muscle?

3. How do I lean out and not get bulky?

4. How sore/sweaty or feeling dead should I feel after a training session?

5. How long is long enough to call it a good workout?

6. What are some exercises for spot reducing fat?

7. I feel like I am always active but not seeing any results, what am I doing wrong?

If any of these questions have crossed your mind, reach out to me and let's work together to help you reach your Health & Fitness goals and rid yourself of any frustration you may find yourself experiencing, on your journey to be the healthiest version of yourself. 

Ready to get your Health & Fitness goals on track but have no idea where to start?

Getting started on the right foot is so important and to do this you need a plan!

Having a well rounded approach to your Health & Fitness is paramount to reaching your goals. Although you may be going to the gym, if you haven't set out a clear workout plan and are just choosing random exercises then you might find it will take much longer to obtain your Fitness goals. 

A strategy is going to give you more results and the results that you want! A balanced workout schedule that targets all of your muscles groups will result in a leaner and healthier you!

Most successful results come from BALANCE.

With nutrition, balance looks different for everyone, factors include; food preference, culture and schedule so this is a more in depth plan. 

Fitness plans however are a bit more straight forward because there are only so many combinations of movement that will compliment our...

Get in and get out - take advantage of this FREE Low Impact Full Body Workout that is only 30 minutes. Get it done and move on with your day.

Start being accountable for your Health & Fitness, if you say you are going to show up - SHOW UP! This is only 30 minutes of your day.

Our bodies cannot handle a high impact workout everyday and sometimes when you are having a sluggish day but know that a workout will make you feel better and you just need something on a less intense scale. Low impact is a great solution.

Low impact means no jumping and no heavy weights but make no mistake, will get your heart pumping, body engaged and give you a great body stretch. 

Equipment: Mini Resistance Bands

Take this opportunity to reset your body for the week ahead or to give your joints a well needed break, while still breaking a sweat.