Blog
Workouts
To lose weight you MUST be in a caloric deficit. There is no debating this fact. When trying to lose weight so many of us focus on eating less and workout more. This can cause metabolic adaptation. Exercise will only burn 5-10% of your daily calories and the body just becomes more effective … Continued
Hey, you’re doing too much! I want you to stop working out so hard! Say what? Yes, if you have lack lustre fat loss results, my suggestion is to stop trying so hard. I know that doesn’t seem to make sense, let me explain… It might be that your caloric intake is TOO low & … Continued
Summer is often a time when fitness and healthy living gets put on hold… Luckily, I have the PERFECT SOLUTION for you to keep your health at the forefront of your mind. It’s a ‘challenge’ like no other. Remember those ‘choose your own adventure’ books? Well, this challenge is very much like that. YOU get … Continued
Are you discouraged with little or no progress where your health and fitness are concerned? Here are 5 mistakes to avoid… 1. Don’t do too much too soon – start slowly to avoid overwhelm, discouragement and the temptation to quit. 2. Don’t ‘just’ rely on the scale to determine progress. Look at … Continued
This is a common question BUT can we just be clear that NEITHER will be very effective if you don’t have your nutrition & lifestyle dialled in. So, before we even discuss this question, let’s: ->Fill up on lean proteins, veggies, complex carbs ->SLEEP more ->Reduce STRESS ->Lose the liquid calories ->Skip the processed foods ->Be … Continued
❓Does walking 5-6 miles a day put you in the ‘fat burning zone’?… 👏🏻Great question!… . 🙄The whole idea of the fat burning zone is a bit of misinformation…. . 📚Studies show that low intensity cardio (walking on a treadmill for example) will burn fat & doing higher intensity exercise (like HIIT, interval training, burst … Continued
🤷♀️Do you have weak abs & wonder why you can’t get visible abs? 🔪💉Have you had a Caesarean or other abdominal surgery? ✅This is a common issue with many women. 🤓Let me explain why this is relevant… ✨Your body is a wonderful machine. When you have any sort of abdominal trauma or #surgery, your transversus … Continued
⏳Are you over 50?… . 💙Wouldn’t you love to fit into your clothes better as you increase your balance, strength, and energy?… 💥SO much emphasis is placed on simply LOOKING GOOD, when we really need to focus on being able to MOVE well… . 🤷♀️But, do you feel like you’ve fallen between the cracks of … Continued
Here’s an awesome workout to do at home or while traveling… Alternate squats and burpees with this rep scheme: 21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 For example: 21 squats then 21 burpees… 18 squats then 18 burpees… Work down to: 3 squats then 3 burpees Squats can be done with bodyweight or with DB, … Continued
Traveling? Try this Hotel Workout… ➡️5 Handstand push ups Or Regular push ups ➡️10 per side DB row ➡️10 per side alternate DB snatches ➡️DB OH Walking lunge 10 per side Do 15 min of work OR Do 5 rounds Want my follow along workout videos for free? Another way I support my coaching clients … Continued
Confession time 🙄 … For the longest time I wouldn’t post anything about my own workouts because I felt like I might alienate my clients 👽 Sometimes I feel like my clients will look at me like I have three heads if I post what my training actually consists of 👹… I love to help women … Continued
Quick body weight workout anyone? I always take my jump rope with me for an impromptu bodyweight workout. This one occurred in the gazebo with a Mama Robin keeping watch. She had a nest full of eggs just to my right (you’ll see it at the end of the video). I wanted to get in … Continued
Healthy Eating
No brainer way to lose weight while feeling full? Eat lots of protein & here’s why: 🍗It’s harder to overeat on protein compared to carbs & fat (that seem to go down a lot quicker). 🍖Protein is more satiating. 🥚Protein helps control blood sugar so you won’t feel a surge of energy & then a … Continued
Are you a stress eater or under constant stress? Apart from many hormonal consequences from increased cortisol levels that come with chronic levels of stress, one of the most common is increased food cravings and those cravings tend to be for sweet foods. However, the more sweet foods we eat, the worse our mood tends … Continued
We all overeat from time to time. Don’t worry, you haven’t just gained a bunch of fat. For every gram of carb that you ingest, your body will hold 3-4g of water so the scale WILL be up. But rather than sinking into the abyss of despair… Here’s your 3 step plan: Relax & drink … Continued
Definition: Intuitive eating is an approach to eating developed to help people heal from the side effects of chronic dieting. An intuitive eater is someone who: • Makes food choices without experiencing guilt • Honors their hunger • Respects their fullness • Enjoys the pleasure of eating 10 Principles of intuitive eating: 1. Reject … Continued
Life is always throwing potential ‘set backs’ in the way of your nutrition progress. Don’t miss out on fun opportunities just because you feel you may fall off the nutrition wagon. Here are a few strategies to cope with summer BBQ season (or ANY social event): 🥩🥦Bring your own healthy option when possible – this … Continued
It’s the small habits that create the biggest change over time… If you’re tired of dieting and upset that you exercise your butt off, but don’t ‘actually’ work your butt (or your belly fat) off, then food tracking is a solution worth considering. Studies show that food tracking is one of the most effective ways … Continued
❓Do you believe in magic🔮?… 🍏AVC is as close to any sort of magic potion that I’ve ever found… ❓Are you ready for all it’s many benefits & uses?… 🔥Here goes!… 🍎Mouthwash… 🍏Hair rinse to remove residue, reduce dandruff & itchy scalp… 🍎Skin toner for people with oily skin, acne, scars, dark/age spots… 🍏Wart remover… … Continued
Ever wonder how we get fat? There may be a multitude of reasons why the process happens. BUT, there’s actually a simple metabolic process that causes us to store fat that’s pretty much the same for everyone. High blood glucose elicits the release of the hormone insulin This speeds the uptake of … Continued
💃Your mom was right… . ✔️She probably told you to eat your veggies🥬🥒🍅🥕but there are reasons for this habit she may not have known about… . ✖️The majority of foods we eat tend to create an acidic environment in our bodies… . 😀The body functions best in a slightly alkaline state with a pH of … Continued
Have you been the same weight or is it slowly creeping up and you just don’t understand why? Have you heard that your body has a ‘set point’ where weight is concerned so no matter what you do? Well, this is called ‘set point theory’ and it suggests that our bodyweight is … Continued
Yes indeed!… But let’s ensure you’re eating the right sorta fat 🐟… . If you’re wondering about Omega fats, here’s quick run down for you… . Basically eat the highest quality omega 3s that you can… . We get plenty of omega 6 from (from plant-based food & factory raised animals who are fed corn … Continued
❓Iron Deficient?… Not the kinda iron in the gym, I mean the kind in your blood💉… If you’re constantly… 😴tired & weak… 🥴feeling lethargic or run-down… 🤕headaches… 😱heart palpitations… 😰become breathless with physical activity… . ✔️You may be iron deficient… . 👩1 in EVERY 12 women can iron deficient… . 🥗25% of the vegetarian community … Continued
Mindset
How do you feel about your weight? Does the number make you do the happy dance? Or does it make you want to fall in a pit? If you neutralize the number, you can use it to connect the dots between actions & results… If you want a great home workout program to help you … Continued
Want the secret to permanently dropping that dress size? I’ve got it for you… This is important to know, especially if you’re battling with menopause hormones. Are you ready? –>There’s actually NO secret<– Wait, what? There’s no ONE secret to losing your menopause belly, magically dropping, keeping the weight off… Instead, it’s a series of … Continued
Ready, shoot, aim! You don’t have to know all the answers or have every step dialed in before taking action towards any goal. 😱Do it scared. 👣You’ll never get anywhere standing still, so take a step in the direction of your goal. 💫As you do so, the next step will be revealed. 🤓And the good … Continued
🤷♀️Did you weigh yourself today? There seems to be two schools of thought regarding weighing. The first school of thought is to use the number on the scale as data. The second more popular school of thought is to use the number on the scale to base your FULL IDENTITY😳 Which way to you think … Continued
Don’t go it alone because there’s strength in numbers. I want to encourage you to find a ‘fitness family’ so that you can reap the benefits like these studies suggest: One study found that 95% of those who started a weight-loss program with friends completed the program, compared to a 76% completion rate for those … Continued
Sorry for the harsh message ahead. You’re special but probably not THAT special. I’m sorry that sounds harsh but hear me out. It seems that many are getting just a snippet of (mis)info and self-diagnosing some serious stuff. Some ‘coaches’ are even playing the fear card telling clients they are ‘broken’. The fact is, you … Continued
🥳Celebrate your failures. And then forget them! Amnesia serves us better than guilt. Guilt is a wasted emotion unless it’s used to course correct. 🧁🍕Blew your nutrition this weekend? 💪🏻Skipped your workout? 👎🏻Lost your temper with someone? Beating ourselves up, staying stuck in the past, paralyzed to move on…these result from focusing on the FAILURE … Continued
🙅♀️If you don’t do the hard things now, you won’t find time to do them later. .. . 🤦♀️It won’t get easier to… ✔️build good habits… ✔️plan a head… ✔️remove temptations… ✔️exercise daily… ✔️meal prep… ✔️cut back on processed foods… ✔️get enough sleep… . 📆Procrastinating on these things will only contribute to the equivalent of … Continued
My mom would have been 78 this month🎂… . She died suddenly 5 years ago😞… . 💕I had the opportunity to sit with her for her last 10 days while she was in the ICU… . 😢She did not have an easy passing… . 😐The truth is, while she died suddenly, she was dying a … Continued
Time to be honest… I’ve been sharing a little more about my personal programming. In the past, I’ve been a little nervous to share what I do in terms of workouts/nutrition because I didn’t want to scare anyone off. I do lots of body weight training and ‘versions’ of exercises in my best follow along … Continued
⚠️WARNING ⚠️ ✳️RANT✳️ I’ve become hyper-aware of SO many social postings or should I say ‘posings’ and it’s sort of irking me. It bothers me because these posts can be discouraging to everyone that’s busting their butts, sweating it out, DOING fitness, instead of just ‘posing’. After all, fitness is a VERB… We DO fitness… … Continued
I hate bathroom selfies 📷… But I took this picture to make a point☝… I’ve gained 3 pounds (and I don’t care). I weigh myself daily only because it’s one form of feedback… My focus has been on getting ready for the CanWest Games (not on the scale)… My focus is on performance goals, not … Continued
Q and A
Menopause gets a bad rap – we tend to blame everything on it when something else may really be in play. We can’t control estrogen/progestrone but we CAN control 2 other hormones. In this video, I want to discuss INSULIN and how you can use it to our advantage to control our weight. If insulin … Continued
So I’ve got it…. It’s called Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. It sounds a little like something from Harry Potter without the whimsical magic 😉 What does my diagnosis has to do with you? Skim down to the ‘important for you’ bullets if you don’t have time to read this entire blog post… I had some routine blood work … Continued
Travel delays? Ug. It happens…. Here are some tips to make it a happier experience… Pack your attitude – Decide what kind of traveler you’ll be… Prioritize your health & think of how you’ll support it on the road… Stress is a killer – travel delays can make you crazy, so let it go as … Continued
😫Do you have pain & inflammation? ❓Have you tried CBD? ⭐️There are some amazing health benefits to topical or sublingual CBD products. 🌱Consider getting a product made from hemp so that there is no TCH or psychoactive properties. ✖️That is, there is NO high associated with these products. ✅CBD has been approved by the World … Continued
If you think you’re too old 👵🏻 to be your best self, may I be so bold as to say that you’re mistaken?… 🛑 If you feel you’ve ‘tried everything’ with no results, just wait. 💃🏼Meet my 64 year old client. ✨She is an inspiration and has wise words to share. 🗣She says… ✨I think anyone can do … Continued
Do you believe in magic?… Apple cider vinegar is as close to any sort of magic potion that I’d ever believe in. Here are 11 every day uses… 1. Mouthwash – Mix 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar with 1/4 cup of water. Swish it around in your mouth for 15 to 20 seconds and … Continued
💥Ever wonder how we get fat? There may be a multitude of reasons why the process happens… BUT, there’s actually a simple metabolic process that causes us to store fat that’s pretty much the same for everyone [stick with me]. 1️⃣High blood glucose elicits the release of the hormone insulin. 2️⃣This speeds the uptake of … Continued
“You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.” Winnie the Pooh It may seem odd to quote a fictional bear when discussing fitness, but Pooh bear sums up your health journey quite nicely. For the most part, being healthy is not rocket science. You likely ARE stronger than … Continued
Do you wake up every night at 3 am? This could be the reason… You may be low in blood sugar which results in a cortisol response. One of the jobs of cortisol is to wake you up… Then if often takes up to 45 minutes to fall back asleep. It takes about 90 minutes … Continued
I have a new job opportunity for you! Are you ready? It’s called your workout and it’s the most important job you have in your life. In fact, it should be your SINGLE PRIORITY if you’re getting close to retirement or you’re already in retirement. Even more of a reason to take this new job. Let me … Continued
It’s a weekend and you’re going to enjoy some time with friends right? How can you minimize the damage that a ‘party’ can do to your health journey? ➡Focus on the friends not on the food/drink ➡Hydrate (lots of water early in the day and match each alcoholic beverage with H2O) ➡Eat protein – if … Continued
Ever wonder why some people can drop the weight and keep it off? while others yo-yo back and forth or never achieve any weight loss whatsoever? Meet my client and now friend, Lori O. She started her weight loss journey at 197 lbs at only five foot four inches. She finally decided that ‘enough was enough’ … Continued