Self Improvement & Self Love

I love that we are living in a world where we are starting to encourage self love. I think it's because most of us grew up in an age still where marketing and so on, basically told us we weren't good enough or pretty enough. 

Maybe that's a whole different post. Today I want to talk about the fact that we can love ourselves and want to improve at the same. In yoga we speak of rajas (goal seeking, change and activity) and tamas (rest, digest, inactivity), 2 of the three Gunas (the third part being Satva or balance). Without getting to yogi on you, I think many of us struggle with the balancing act. The balance between wanting more and remaining the same.

Extreme examples of  Tamas and Rajas

We wish to improve on ourselves, me for example, I have some wonderfully cute spring/summer clothes that don't fit. I would like to fit into them and be comfortable wearing them. In order to obtain that goal, I think to myself I'd like to loose "a few pounds".

We also wish to self love and be just who we are. At the same token I want to love myself and where my body likes to sit at and enjoy eating a drinking and being merry with friends and family. I can always buy new pants right?

I've actually struggled with this quite a bit lately. Finding that balance between loving myself the way I am currently and wanting a little more. But something I have forgotten is that they can actually exist together. I don't have to be one complete way or the other. I remember when I was on a mission to loose my "baby weight" after my second was born. It actually seemed to melt off, and during the process I was proud of myself. I loved my body for the limits I could push it to, the amazing things I did with it, such as grew a human and breastfeed! 

Taking a look back at the last while or so I've struggled with my balance, my internal dispute I feel as if I have forgotten how to set healthy limits/goals and still love myself in the process. When  I choose to love myself I sort of loosen up a bit too much and just LOVE all the things. When I decide to set goals and limits I become strict and unwavering, until I've decided I'm tired of it and loosen up.

The vicious cycle I believe all of us face. So how do we balance self improvement and self love? Like with anything, practice. Spending time actually thinking about our goals, instead of them being gut reactions to the scale or situations we've endured. Then realizing boundaries and limits can be done in a healthy way. And ALWAYS that we can forgive ourselves. 

Progress, not perfection they always say. Even if some days progress is realizing that we can try again tomorrow. 

Love,

Jen

I Have Time

I have time. My mantra the last couple weeks. I've been reading from Dr. Joe Dispenza's book Breaking The Habit Of Being Yourself. Now I won’t lie, I haven't finished it yet or gotten to learning his meditation techniques, but it's got me thinking a lot.

He talks a lot about the science behind the age old phrase many of have heard a million you times. "You are what you believe you are." What you put your energy into becomes true. This isn't exactly a new concept. But as I've said in other posts about over exposure to these type of sayings, is we become sort of numb to their resonance.

Of course the first step to trying to change something, is observing it. We teach this in yoga.
Observe your breath, observe what you say to yourself while challenged. Observe where your mind wanders. So, in my usual fashion, taking the yoga off the mat I began to observe some of the things I say. What are some things I feel have issues with and what do I say when I have these issues.

I found I fear missing those moments with my kids as I rush them off here and there. I find myself hurrying this and that and those around me. I very much dislike the feeling of being rushed and not having enough hours in the day.

During these rushed moments I found myself saying things like “I have so much to do today.” I’m so busy” “Can we all just hurry?”.  Sound familiar? I’m going to guess like 90% of us?

Now I’ve spent the past two weeks with “I have time”, “everything will get done” “rushing only stresses me out more”, “I feel better in a slower pace”.

You know what? I’ve had time. Everything still got done. I was even very sick for the better part of three days. Which usually means a disaster in my house of things to do to catch up on. Honestly? I slowly did a bit here and there without rushing or stressing about it and it all just worked out.

Try it out. I’m not telling you that you need to sit down for 20 minute meditations every day. Instead of stressing about adding something else to your to list, just observe the things you say in the moments you don’t feel your greatest. Try next time to maybe say something a little more constructive. That’s it. That’s all.

Love,

Jen

Arbonne Preworkout Review

Last  year I wrote What's In Your Pre workout? A post going through some of the things in one particular workout powder. Although It was just the one, many of them have the same ingredients and stimulants in them. 

Recently Arbonne came out with a new sports line. If you don't know Arbonne, it's a direct sale company with everything from makeup to nutrition and skin care. Well I asked a friend who sells Arbonne about it and she gave me some to try out. I ordered some. 

This preworkout I don't believe to be anything like other pre workouts. I've heard of many people saying the look for ones that don't give you the jitters or "prickly skin" or make your heart feel like it wants to come out of your chest. These are all things I definitely don't want to be feeling. I fear that if we feel so jacked up that our hearts are going to jump out of chests, how likely is it to injure ourselves? Additionally the havoc it may cause on our bodies nervous system? This is why they tell you to cycle pre workouts. Every few weeks stop taking it. Your poor body thinks it's fighting a lion every time you workout. Not in the mental sense like "you're a hardcore beast, kill this workout" either.(Sorry)

During the workouts I used the powder I felt like my normal self. I just noticed on cardio day that maybe I wasn't completely dead by the time I reached the last intervals. On lifting days I could get a few more reps in. My friend who sells Arbonne said she notices she has a little more motivation. She isn't a regular gym rat, so the little bit of extra umph to her workout helps. 

Here is the part I really like. The ingredients. So lets go through them.

Vitamins A, C, E, B6, B12, thiamin, riboflavin, sodium and potassium.- Different key vitamins and nutrients for the body. Pretty straightforward. 

L-Arginine - An amino acid found in the body, said to help improve function of blood vessels. There are contraindications for people who have history of heart attacks. Although I'm sure if you've had a heart attack you likely know better then to take stimulants or pre workout powders!

L-Citrulline - Another amino acid found in the body and foods like watermelon. Oddly enough our bodies use this and turn it into the above Arginine. 

L-Carnitine - An amino acid that Bodybuilding.com has a whole article on. Check it out 11 Super Side Effects of Taking L Carnitine

D-Ribose - A sugar or energy source but this ingredient is also said to help some people with muscle soreness too.

Ginseng - Many of us have heard of ginseng. Some come to it for when they don't feel well or use it as a bit of energy boost. Ginseng is an ingredient with many benefits. Here is a website with a lot of interesting information Gingeng Panax

Tumeric and Cayenne - Again we have all seen these before. Spices used in cooking perhaps. Or the dreaded "cleanses". They have detoxifying properties and aid in digestion. 

OTHER INGREDIENTS: organic cane sugar, citric acid, rice syrup solids, orange flavor, pineapple flavor, silicon dioxide, stevia leaf extract.

Since there isn't a bunch of artificial sweeteners, and cane sugar/rice syrup are used there is some calories added. 

Macros are: Fat 0g, Carb 9g, Protein 0g. Making for 36 calories (9 grams carb multiplied by 4 calories per gram). Although the website will tell you 50 calories. 

Overall I really like this preworkout. Especially if you are not a "hardcore gym rat" and/or newer to fitness! If you want to order some check out Amanda Sten Arbonnne .

Love, 

Jen

Helping Healthy Friends

Welcome to 2016! Happy New Year! With New Years, as usual comes New Year’s resolutions. And with these also comes New Year’s resolutions posts. Fitness and health blogs all around the world writing endlessly with tips and tricks you should do to help you achieve your goals this year. My post is a bit different. 

I recently had a friend speak to me about helping change a friend. She has concerns for her health and well-being. Physically, mentally, emotionally. Knowing that many of the emotional and mental well-being has to do with the physical. Health, not just body image. I’ve had many friends ask me for advice on nutrition, exercise, weight loss, stress, etc, and to be honest I tell them what I think they “should” do.

During my yoga teacher training, my teachers said something that really stuck with me. “Stop shoulding all over people”. Funny? Yes. True? Even more yes.

I’ve spent hours giving advice to friends, solicited or not (guilty), about diet and exercise. And after thinking on my own experiences and to be a little bit of a hypocrite the advice I gave my friend for her friend was this:

You can’t force her to change her life. It has to be on her own accord. She has to seek it out. She has been given advice and suggestions and they’ve never stuck. My guess; likely because she didn’t feel it to be her own solution, or supported the way she needs. She needs to Find Her Own Village.

Next time she complains of her weight or health issues, maybe we need to stop “shoulding” on our friends and family and start asking them how we can help. What would you like to change? How can I help you make that change? How can I support you in your journey?

I believe we hear/see everything we “should” or should not do. We know we SHOULDN’T eat junk food. We know we SHOULD exercise. We know we SHOULD eat leafy greens. We know this already. 

Listen to our friends and family when they start wanting change. Listen to ourselves when we wish to change. How can you help yourself? How can you find the support you seek? Maybe that’s really what we crave. Or what really makes the difference? 

I wish you love, happiness, peace and laughter in the New Year.

Love,

Jen

The Emotional Lesson I Learned From My 4 year Old

Yesterday morning we dropped off my husband at the airport to head out to work. He is usually home for 10 days and gone for 3 weeks. This has been the schedule for a while. Or something similar since well before either of the kids were born. 

Well, yesterday morning (like at least half of Daddy drop off days) my 4 year old started crying. Intensely. Tears streaming down her face, pout to her lip and all. She was sad Daddy was gone. I immediately stopped the car, got out and hugged and kissed her and tried to help her feel better about seeing him soon.

20 minutes later she was fine and smiling and forgotten all about it. We usually think "Typical child, off to the next thing. Mind like a goldfish." But let me tell you I admire this. 

Last weekend I was in some Restorative Yoga Teacher Training and my teacher wrote a Ernest Hemingway quote on the board. 

"Try to learn to breathe deeply, really to taste food when you eat and when you sleep, really sleep. Try as much as possible to be wholly alive with all your might, and when you laugh, laugh like hell. And when you get angry, get good and angry. Try to be alive. You will be dead soon enough."

Well today I was angry. And I tried to suppress this anger. Not letting what was bothering me, bother me. But then I thought about my 4 year old and her tears streaming down her face. How she got sad. Good and sad, let it all flow out and then she was done. Letting it all go.

So I got mad. Good and mad. Without reacting I just got angry. I thankfully had an amazing friend there to let me do just that and listen. I got mad and then pouted a bit. Then I was able to just let it go. 

I embraced the intense emotions instead of trying to push them away, felt them and was able to move on. 

Things will upset us, that will never change. It's whether we let it eat us alive or not that matters. 

Love, 

Jen

Gymnasts and Savasana

Over the course of the summer I have had the pleasure of working with a local gymnastics company. I've been doing conditioning and yoga with their competitive girls. A few had taken a yoga class or two and that's about all the exposure they've had. 

I remember telling a few people that I was going to be teaching gymnasts yoga and the response was like, "but why, they are so flexible and strong already?". True enough but they are strong and flexible in just the things they work at. Like any person, you become skilled at what you put effort into. I was, and still am sometime baffled at the fact there are some poses they cant do or cringe at as I show them it.

But aside from their strength and flexibility, two big parts of any athletes training is mental focus and learning the ability to relax. Especially for competitive athletes. Here is where I think simple Savasana is important. This seems sort of simple doesn't it? Relaxing I mean. I sometimes think I'm the master of it with my Netflix binges. I don't think it's quiet so simple for athletes to do this. 

Bringing me back to the gymnasts, at the beginning of the summer, our first Savasana was a bit "rough". Most, if not all of the girls were fidgeting, some kept opening their eyes and looking around, and some were even still talking. Now I can completely understand the awkwardness of their first Savasana. Not to mention they are 7-12 years old. I'm pretty sure at 7 I personally had the attention span of a goldfish.  

My 4 year old can do about 30 seconds. Ha Ha. 

Some of my wording with these girls is "Lying down in Savasana, working out any last stretches, itches and scratches and finding that comfortable spot." Little more talking and as they settle down say "coming to lying completely still". Over the summer they would tell me that every time I said that they would all of a sudden have an itch again. I know. That's the point. Stay still. Let that itch be all you think of or let that stuff go. Sounds weird that you wouldn't scratch an itch right? But the itch only comes because they basically mentally created it from me saying that. Makes sense that mentally they itch it I think. Let it go. Relax.

Mental focus, or unfocus for that matter. As a competitive athlete there is a million things that can go wrong or we do wrong. This is why we practice. While learning not to point our foot that way or grab this way on the bar, we also need to learn to let go afterwards. Constantly focusing on the way we are bouncing off the board incorrectly or the "itch" is the same thing. Honor it for what it is, learn from it and let it go.  

Finally, last week was our last summer session. And before sending them off to their final weekend of summer, school starting and coming to focus on training for competition season over the fall I had them in  a 10 minute Savasana. And wow. Almost from the time they put their heads on the mat they were still and peaceful. For the full 10 minutes. To the very moment I started with "starting to slowly move the body". That's progress if I ever saw some. I mean I can't tell you what's going on in their heads, but as young, high energy athletes (that talk A LOT) seeing them still, speachless and relaxed for a full 10 minutes was amazing. My hope for them is that they be able to take that ability to relax the mind and body during high stress times, say the evenings after a day of competing. 

I'm excited to work with them through the fall and can't wait to see them grow even more. 

As an athlete, what do you do to unwind and relax from the stresses of training?

Love, 

Jen

Easy Homemade Face Wash

I love stuff I can make at home for skin care. Because A) I know what in it and B) well, to be honest I hate running out of stuff and having to drag my two kids to the store. Or waiting to long before it runs out to reorder it from wherever. 

This facewash is soooooooo simple and so good for your skin. I took it camping and made my face feel fresh even when all grungy and camping. 

What you need:

• Brewed chammomile tea. 1/2 cup
• Castile Soap, 1/4 cup
• Almond Oil, 1/2 tbsp
• Lavender Essential Oil, 2-4 drops

*Tip: You can usually find all these ingredients at a health food store! And there are many many uses for all these ingredients! 

1.Brew the tea. I made a strong cup and let it brew a while. Chammomile is moisturizing, while being an anti imflammatory, helps retore natural pH levels and provides some sun protection even.

 I found this awesome tea EARTH TEA where they help feed starving children of the world through the United Nation World Food Programme. Their tea is also grown right here in Alberta.  I mean you can use whatever tea brand you want, but supporting local farmers AND feeding starving children, I'm in. 

2. Put castile soap into a medium bowl. I used the lavender here, but you can use whichever suits you or you have. Lots of recipes I've seen calls for the baby one. I have also heard to avoid the citrus. I'll get to why I used Lavender a little further down. 

3.Add Almond oil. Almond Oil is an antioxidant, antimicrobial and anti inflammatory. It helps reduce irritation, itching and promote healing of the skin and scars you may have.

4. Add a few drops of Lavender essential oil. Maybe you're really into oils and want to add you own mix and that rocks. I used lavender soap and oil because Lavender is also an antiseptic and anti fungal. Additionally it is a calming scent for nerves and anxiety. Maybe stress is adding to your blemishes and calming those nerves helps with breakouts? Try it out?

5. Add cooled tea to mix and put into containers. I started with this small batch. I got a small bottle and put the rest in a  glass jar. Just make sure to shake before using. It comes out a bit runny so be careful, but it's super super sudsy! 

Enjoy and let me know how it works out!

Love,

Jen

Fitness Takes A Village

We often say this when talking about raising children. And that is very true. I will not contest that in the slightest. What I don't think that gets spoken about often is that its needed in our health and fitness lifestyle too. 

In our day to to day lives, how many times are we exposed to offerings that are not in our diet or meal plans? Daily, hourly, every minute (thanks Instagram and Facebook and your damn food accounts pfft). Oh sure we can argue it takes willpower. Sure it does. That's not the whole bit of it though. 

Starting a journey into fitness can be exciting. Being honest though, like most new things, the novelty wears off a bit. You have to find that sort of love for it. Read my Love Your Fitness post talking all about that subject. But one thing that can keep you motivated is finding your "village". 

Thinking back on to the hot new fitness regimes out there all the time. A big part of it seems to be the people. Crossfit being the best example of this I think. They compete with each other but in a supportive way. They all do the same daily workout. They are a village in it together. The Zumba phenomenon years ago. A village, dressing in bright colors expressing themselves through their creative dance. Yogi's looking to each other for support and guidance and assistance. Body builders coaching and spotting and competing together. From what I've seen most successfully winning in groups. Families. Villages. 

Taking that outside of the gym, zumba room or barre class, you need your village in support of your friends and family. And that's the more difficult one. You may want to change your ways but your husband or friends don't. You want to stop the Saturday nights binge drinkfests, ball team cookout that could feed an army or just fast food picked up daily by the family. So many motivational and inspirational messages tell us we can't change others, only ourselves. It is a matter of willpower and strength. Half right. Half wrong. We can not change them, but we do not just have to grin and bear it. Seek a village. Seek those with goals like yourself. Connect with those that inspire you, lift you up and support you. 

Something I found profoundly powerful? Asking to be supportive. I tell my husband, "Hey I need to really stop with the wine and candy for a bit. I'm not feeling so hot these days." Now my husband is amazing and he says "okay, I'll be as supportive as I can". Because you know, he's one of those jerks that can eat like crazy and loose weight. *Love you babe* But even if he didn't say that, now he knows my intention. My reason for not having a beer on the deck with him, but a water, or a salad instead of ordering pizza. 

Put your intention out into the world. Really the scariest thing that can happen is you get what you ask for. And hey who knows, maybe you are the one that inspires those around you!

Take care and you are ALWAYS, ALWAYS welcome to share with me here and we can be our own village. 

Love, 

Jen

Home Remedies For PMS

I know in the past I've read of ways to help alleviate pms symptoms, a lot of them being things you can do the weeks before, such as reducing caffiene intake, tennis ball fascia release, exercising, and so on. These  help but let's be honest, every month during the time we say over the next month we will and two days after we have forgotten all about it. So, here I am writing about things that can help in the now.

Raspberry Leaf Tea

If you've had a baby, you may know this one from pregnancy to either help with labour or try and drink at the end in hopes of bringing on labour. This tea is a uterine tonic with many benefits, one of which being to relieve menstrual camps. Drinking a couple of mugs a day during the cramping phase helps quite a bit. Ive boughten it at health food stores for between $7 and $9 but recently saw it being sold at Shoppers for under $7!

Magnesium and Multivitamin

Magnesium can help relax muscles and some say that a lack of magnesium is linked to cravings chocolate. I like to think taking it helps curb the craving a bit.  Now dark chocolate is a better source then the sugary milk chocolate most of us reach for, so maybe if you don't like 80% cocoa try a supplement. Keep in mind, to much can cause diarrhea, so start with lower dosage. I take mine before bed. 

I agree a multivitamin isn't something we need everyday usually, but I make sure to take mine during the monthly visit for an extra iron source.

Rescue Remedy

I use this stuff when my kids are cranky from teething, I'm having a rough day and especially when I'm on my Aunt Flow rage. Come one, admit it, we all get it. It really helps calm me down and think a little more clearly. You can buy the drops, gum, candy and so on from Bach. I've used them all and usually by this stuff for new moms in their Welcome Baby basket. It's that good.

 PMS Smoothie

This PMS Smoothie from my personal blog does wonder for bloating and other symptoms. Using the tea mentioned above as a base too!

Yoga Poses

Moving your body in general will help, and of course taking a yoga class would be great. But if you are looking for something to do a bit at home here are a few poses. 

• Sage Twist

• Camel (More experienced practitioners and/or warmed up)

• Lying Chair Twist 

• and gold old fashioned Child's Pose. This one feels so good for lower back pain, especially if you get your toddler to come along and sit on your back while doing it. 

When all else fails and go easy on yourself, love yourself and when it's really just sucky, give yourself a break have your indulgence (in my case and oreo with nutella) and take a deep breath. 

Love, 

Jen

No Shampoo? No Problem.

Since my husband and I got together nearly 11 years ago he's been calling me a hippie. At first because I am a vegetarian and all mushy and gooey about being nice to animals and saving bugs from the house and putting them outside.

As the years have passed I've gotten more and more "hippie" for lack of a better word. But I think my newest adventure takes the cake.

I'm not washing my hair. *Insert whispers and funny stares*

Well, actually I am, but not in the traditional sense. A couple of weeks ago I wrote this post Nature Powered Skin Care, and spoke about my awesome new face stuff that helps maintain my natural oils in my skin instead of stripping them. This is the same reason hairstylist tell you to go as long as you can in between hair washes. When you shampoo your hair you are washing the dirt and product but also stripping your natural oils from your hair. From this your body goes "hey we are missing something up there, start producing oil!!!!" Thus, making your hair greasier and greasier each time you skip a wash day. You've gone into over oil production mode trying to make up for the lack there of on your scalp. This is why I only wash my kids hair when really dirty from say ice cream in it or like once every 1-2 weeks. *insert more whispers and stares*

Sooooooo, No shampoo? No problem. I've researched a little bit about going natural with hair washing and it is so simple it's worth a try. Maybe even once or twice a month as sort of a reset if it's not your thing all the time. No crazy ingredients you need to run to the health food store and cost you a fortune. It's literally baking soda, apple cider vinegar, water and bottles to hold the stuff. 

I used an old conditioner bottle for the "shampoo" mixture and a spray bottle for the "conditioner".

Shampoo:

• Couple of tablespoons of plain old baking soda. ( my bottle is an old Dove 338 mL so scale to your size)
• Fill remainder of bottle with water.
• Shake and put on the scalp. Here try and keep it to the scalp, avoiding putting it on the ends of your hair. Leave a minute or two and rinse. First time I tried this was mixed in a mason jar for cuteness. Yeah that doesn't work well. Use something that you can kind of put specifically on the scalp in areas, such as a squirt bottle or old shampoo bottle.

Conditioner:

• 1 part apple cider vinegar
• 4 parts water
• Shake and spray onto all of the hair. Leave for a few minutes and rinse. The vinegar smell DOES rinse away. :)

The hair will not feel sleek and shiny most likely after your normal conditioning regime. I even used a tiny bit of leave in conditioner just on the ends. I imagine eventually over time the natural oils work there way to the ends of the hair and this will not be a necessary step.

I have this awesome Wet brush that I bought like 6 of for in my house. It will brush through any wet hair, even crazy knot filled toddler hair (dry or wet) without pulling and children screaming. As a licensed hairdresser I get them directly from the professional hair distributors for like $12 but they should be under $20 in a salon. Worth it. Buy some.

Style your hair as normal. I did notice it takes a bit longer to dry your hair, but it is crazy soft. The ends are very soft and have none of those dry fly aways. I barely had to straighten my hair. The top is not greasy exactly but not that super clean feeling after stripping it. Again I imagine this goes away after time. I will update with another post after its been a while.

So I did this 5 days ago. My hair felt a little like straw on the ends, but I think I had to much baking soda. I've read you need to adjust to your hair. A bit of trial and error. The next day I washed with normal shampoo and conditioner, because it was my birthday and I just wanted to feel pretty and was worried it would look yucky halfway through the day. I normally wash my hair every second day. Well yesterday would have been a wash day, but I already noticed it wasn't that bad and wasn't itchy. I know you know what itch I mean. The one that makes you wash your hair before you go to the gym itchy.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Jen 

Nature Powered Skin Care

Since about the age of 12 I have had problems with my face. Pimples and so on. I turn 30 in a week and it's been driving me nuts that its carried into my adult life. I've switched to a lot of products and used harsh this and that to cleanse my face.

The thing that's worked the best? I've made the switch to natural everything around my face. I started using Twisted Sisters Skin Nutrition . The Cream Cleanser and Face Fertilizer and I don't think I will use anything else ever. Instead of stripping the oils from my face, it's actually helping keep them, so my face doesn't have to go into overdrive creating more, this making the problem worse.

Secondly I've switched to natural toothpaste. I'm a half and half person. Meaning I have always used some natural face or body products, but about half have been normal drug store options. After learning a little more about acne face mapping, and that switching to a natural toothpaste can help with acne around the mouth (my main issue) I thought I'd give it a try. I found one on Well.ca  along with my next item. Use the coupon code SelfCentered to get $10 off! I got some for my kids too.

Lastly I bought a natural foundation. I've used a few natural makeup products before and didn't seem to make a difference, but I'll keep with my three combo because whatever it is, it's working. Plus, this one I also found on Well.ca and it's made here in Canada! Pure Anada Brand.

So if you're like me with your face still making you crazy over half your life, or maybe looking for more natural options (And some Canadian made too!) Check out some of these new products I'm in love with!

Why I Love Macro Counting (IIFYM)

Macro counting, flexible dieting, If It Fits Your Macros. Many names for it. I have been doing flexible dieting for about a year and I used it for my bikini contest prep even.

Here is a good blog post guide on how to macro count. I thought I would direct to a good article instead of trying to rewrite something written a million times. I also suggest checking out Layne Norton for info and blog posts. Likely the most famous flexible dieter.

This post isn't about how to macro count, but why I love it and think its appropriate for majority of people. Mama Lion strong wrote a blog post about how it can be hurt a few with eating disorders and I agree, but for the most of us it's a great tool to have. 

So flexible dieting is all about obtaining a certain amount of calories, with ratios of fat, carb and protein designed for the type of activity you are doing. Calorie deficit = weight loss, calorie maintenance = body recomp/fat loss without weight loss, calorie surplus = weight gain. When you are tracking these three main macronutrients you are eating "what fits" into them.

So say you love oreos (okay so I do) and it's something you would like to eat. You plan to fit two oreos into your plan at the end of every day. (okay so this is what I do). As long as I'm eating within my fat, carb and protein limits (and obtaining a minimum daily fiber intake) I can eat them.

Now obviously if I ate just oreos and protein shakes all day, every day I could keep within my numbers, but I wouldn't hit my fiber intake (which is pretty important) and I would be pretty hungry. Usually these junk type food are high glycemic indexed, so meaning they enter the blood stream quickly and leave quickly. Whole food, generally are slower processed the body so you don't feel as hungry. Most of us flexible dieters say we usually eat 80% whole foods, 20% what we want.

Of course the main reason I love this is because I get to eat the things I love and crave. Without the guilt. This is a big one. My entire life I've grown up in a society that says cookies and cake are bad. Feel ashamed for eating those awful things and get started on your diet tomorrow for doing it. How many times have you been at a party or something and your friend turns to you and says "I can't believe I ate this and that, I'll punish myself in the gym tomorrow for it" Or "I guess it's only salads all next week to make up for all this crap I ate"? Or you buy a bag of said Oreos, eat an entire row or bag and feel terrible after. Aside from the sugar rush tummy ache. But what if you planned to eat two Oreos each night? Or planned on having that McDonald's burger on Tuesdays because Tuesdays at work are always busy? Planned it to fit into your macros. And ate whole foods the rest of the day and stayed within your macros? Where would the guilt and shame be? Lost, that's where.

The thing I've struggled with in the past is the spiral. I ate this and feel crappy about it, so the rest of the day is lost. Continue eating like this today and start again tomorrow. Tomorrow comes and I eat a donut at break and think the day is lost and yesterday repeats itself. There is guilt that goes with "failing" at my diet that day. But now I eat something unplanned, like when my oh so adorable daughters bat their eyelashes for a donut at the shop next to the gym. I get one, eat it, enjoy it and adjust my foods the rest of the day to make sure I stay within my numbers. Look at that, true "guilt free" foods.

Now the other part I love about this type of eating style is it fits whatever you eat! Paleo? Still can count macros. Gluten free? Vegetarian? Organic whole foods only? You can still count macros. I am a vegetarian and eating mostly whole foods and organic. I use foods in a holistic manner, by eating certain foods that help ailments and so on. For example I had some gallbladder issues this winter and I was eating foods that specifically helped me with it and avoided the ones that hurt me more. All while staying within my macronutrient range.

I'm not going to say I don't go off track, or occasionally "yolo binge" etc. But that's part of being human and the past 29 years of being made to think that's basically the way we should eat. Old habits die hard. That's also part of the perseverance training, to get back on that damn horse after unplanned "carb loading". Ha ha.

Macro counting may not be for everyone, It does require some work. The first few weeks are a pain trying to set up foods, navigate how things fit and weighing/measuring everything. But eventually it gets easier and you learn how to count with eyeballing even. I can look at a food and give you a pretty good idea of what the macro profile is now.

If you are interested in macro counting, I strongly recommend the above blogs, plus doing some research online. Some of the calculators online are pretty aggressive and I don't agree with. But one I think comes pretty close is macronutrientcalculator.com .

Some of the things you will need to start are:

• A food scale
• Calorie counting app, My Fitness Pal, Calorie King, Bodyspace are all popular.
• Measuring cups/spoons

Thanks for reading, and no matter your "eating style" as long as it makes you happy and gets you the results you want, tell others to piss off and enjoy.

Jen

The Red Dress

In four months I will celebrate my 30th birthday. Not turning 29 for a second time, but fully embrace 30. Guns a blazing. Bicep guns that is.

Match 1st I started cutting calories for a 4 month process of shedding the "extra" I added this winter to see the muscles I've built underneath. Yep summer is less then 4 months away people! Let's get moving and shaking on those short shorts legs and sleeveless shirts.

I'm a very goal oriented person. If I have a goal, I will achieve it. So I set the goal of this beautiful red dress for my 30th birthday. I happened to be in a store looking for new boots and came to pass this dress. I stopped and just had to try it on. It fits, sort of. I can zip it up and all, but it just doesn't sit quite right and shows everything. I think I've ever only owned one of two red dresses in my life and I hardly wore them. Likely because red dresses scream "look at me" and I've always been sort of self body conscious. Lifelong body issues; certainly a post for another day. Red dress fits perfectly for this situation since my birthday is on Canada Day. Be color themed :)

So, I have a motivational dress now. A goal to obtain. And a date to obtain it by. Sounds like most of us at any given moment? A bikini filled vacation booked, a wedding, a reunion and so on.

Going back to school days where we learned goal planning, let's see where I sit.

• Goal - Smoke show for 30th birthday. Ha ha. I have a weight number, but I don't want to share it. Not because I care what anyone knows I weigh, but because MY bodies 100, 120, 140, 160 will look different then yours, his, hers or anyone else's. So make your own approachable and REALISTIC goal. If I can make a suggestion 0.5 - 1 lbs a week is a realistic goal. Expecting to loose 10 pounds in 2 weeks is not healthy for your body or your mind. Sustainable and steady is the way to go. Remember the tortoise and the hare?
• End Date - July 1st 2015. My 30th birthday. Pick a date, for whatever reason/event.
• Motivation and Commitment - The Red Dress. Trying on the dress monthly and taking pictures to see my progress. Keep imagining the red dress on the day I don't feel like the stairmill. Pick a motivational dress, outfit or whatever. A physical thing to look at is something I prefer.
• Reminder to stay on track - Trying on the dress is a good one, but I like my Project people will be taking weight and pictures bi weekly, measurements monthly.
• Plan - I have a plan for my caloric deficit (better term for "diet") and when I start adding cardio to my current workout schedule. I know this is where a lot of people struggle. They get lost in the "who, what, when and where" of fitness and nutrition. But even if you plan to workout so many days a week and commitment to one or two specific things nutrition wise, now you have a plan. One that you can measure your commitment.
• Review and assessment - Reviewing my progress regularly (see weight, pictures and measurements) and assessing where I am in relation to my goal. This one can be hard to do for yourself. It may be hard to see progress because we see ourselves every day, and we judge ourselves on our failures a lot, especially when it comes to weight loss. So maybe your spouse or best friend wants in with you? Check in on each other and review progress. Keep each other motivated. (Tip: Can also be your support person at events and functions when people ask have that extra piece of cake or drink etc). Over the course of 4 months, things will need to change on how I reach my goal. As my body changes, I will need to keep reassessing how to stay on course. I still love that quote "Be stubborn about your goals, flexible about how you reach them"

Now my real "secret" to weight loss. I also bought a dress that I feel good in now. One that flatters my current body and I feel amazing in. With no event in the future exactly, but hey, who doesn't need a fun little black dress? But wait, why buy a dress that you likely might not fit soon? Because you need to love your body now. As cheesy as it sounds some of those fitness clichés are good tips. "I work out because I love my body, not because I hate it". Yep. If we view ourselves in a negative light now, do we think loosing a few pounds will be easier? If we have a little bit of self love and view the process as improving on something that's already great, do you think it might be a more enjoyable process? Be a little self centered and point out the good.

Let me know your favorite tip for staying on track with your goals below!

Jen

Quit Smoking With Positive Thought

Today I celebrate 5 years of not smoking.

I wrote the below post 2 years ago on my personal blog I am no longer using, but I thought it was important enough I had to reshare here. The power of the mind is fascinating. You can do anything if you really think you can.

This is something I am extremely proud of, especially after trying probably close to 10 times previously. I smoked for a whopping 13 years. Yes I started at a young age and it was very unfortunate.

I want to share with you my story of how I quit, in hopes of maybe helping someone else.

As so many, I tried many times. I tried patches, gum, food, “will power”, lollipops, water etc. I felt tortured through each process. I read the book “Allen Carr’s Easy Way to Quit Smoking” and it helped. Then I started again. I read it again. Started smoking again. But I do sort of recall using some of his thought processes in order to help me and this is why I share the book with you. It is a great book.

It really start when my younger sister and her boyfriend quit on February 1st. I was a little jealous they quit and I was still smoking and it motivated me. I said I would quit March 1st. Most people do dates like this and then do nothing to prepare until February 28th. I spent the entire month preparing myself mentally for quitting. Every time I smoked I kept thinking “this is disgusting, this doesn’t ACTUALLY taste good, this isn’t good for me” etc etc. As the days counted down I kept thinking about how I couldn’t wait for March 1st, not dread it. I wanted to quit earlier but I really wanted to spend the proper time thinking about how much I hated it. If that makes sense.

March 1st came. I woke up excited, but to be honest a little nervous about how it would play out. I don’t want to give you the impression my mind was 100% the entire time. I was pretty good for the first day, each day was a little more difficult for 6 days. I was a little bitchy, not over the top, your body really is detoxing all that crap. Most importantly every time I had a craving I made a point to honour what it was. “I’m having a craving, I really feel like I need to smoke, but I really don’t NEED to. This will pass.” In the meantime as it passed, instead of thinking about the cigarette as a delicious creature I couldn’t have, I reminded myself of the bad things I thought all month. Then redirected myself to a task, filing, laundry or whatever. I think the important thing is to honour the fact that you are having a craving and work through it. The old mind of matter is real, just not the traditional “will power” way. Thinking through the process in a positive manner, not a negative one. Thats the difference.

Another important factor for me was my visual calendar. Every single morning I went into work and the first thing I did was put a big red X through the day before when I didn’t smoke. It was extremely satisfying to make that mark on the calendar. A visual reminder all day long at my desk of the amazing work I was doing. I did this in my calendar for at least 3 or 4 months.

I additionally did a lot of hot yoga that first month. I did it a lot before, but did it 6/7 days a week then. It felt great to feel the benefits of better breathing. You may find something else for you, but digging into a healthy hobby like that made me feel amazing and helped keep me positive.

Good luck to you on your journey and stay positive.

Update

A month ago I wrote a little post called The Project. Introducing you to 3 people who I am coaching through nutrition and blogging about their results. I'm sorry I haven't updated as much as I'd like, we've been moving and it's hectic!

Anyways. I wanted to share a little bit of their results and what they had to say about it. Perception is quite the thing. We may think we see no progress but the rest of the world sees it all. Or we may see little progress and think "what a waste of time" but in fact that small progress but be huge to someone else.

Jenn

In the first month Jenn has done very well. Some "cheat" days where macros were forgotten about and some workouts missed. Guess what? This makes her human like the the rest of us. And guess what else? She still had results. She kept getting back on that horse the next day and she has results to show it.

• Weight - Down 4 lbs
• Chest - Down 0.5"
• Waist - Unchanged
• Hips - Down 2.75" (WOWZA!!!!)
• Thigh - Down 0.5"
• Arm - Down 0.5"

I've put Jenn on a plan to loose on average 1 pound a week. So it looks like she's on track. I know it might not be aggressive enough to some or to her (her goal is about 35 lbs), but two things I want to point out.  Firstly it didn't take 3 months to gain weight, so slow and steady is the most sustainable way to loose weight. And secondly our marathon mama here does A LOT of cardio training for her half marathon in two months, traiathalons and so on this summer. Steady state cardio like what she is doing lets your body adapt to it. So it's harder to use cardio to burn off extra fat like in others, in conjunction with the caloric deficit. This is all said, I think she has done amazing! The perseverance in this busy working mom of two is downright inspiring.

Vanessa

Vanessa also endured some personal stuff that put her off track some days, but again still had progress! I'm even amazed the one night she came to my place with some friends and we were wine drinking fools and she kept to the no alcohol for the first month part. Good on you girl!

• Weight - Down 5 lbs
• Chest - Down 1.5"
• Waist - Down 1"
• Hips - Unchanged
• Thigh - Gained 1.5"
• Arm - Down 1"

I've also put Vanessa on a 1 pound a week deficit. She started HIIT cardio and lifting heavier weights. This would be why she's gained that 1.5" in the thigh. For someone tall like her, that can be a difficult thing to do! Her goal was originally to loose 15 lbs. The last check in she said "I'm not sure I'm going to get to my weight loss goal with the muscle I am building, but I feel good about where it is going". There ya go. What's that saying? Be stubborn about your goals, but flexible about how you get there. She wants to look a certain way based off a weight she was before. But if she looks that way and weighs more does the number really matter? Good for you Vanessa!

Here is a side by side of the first month's difference for Vanessa.

Dylan

The strong silent type. Ha ha. I ask each of these three a bunch of questions at check in and he never has much to say. But let me tell you the strong in that part is real. He's been pretty on point with his nutrition plan and macro counting and his results are damn impressive.

• Weight - Down 14.5 lbs !!!!!!!
• Chest - Down 1.5"
• Waist - Down 2"
• Hips - Down 1.5"
• Thigh - Down 1"
• Arm - Down .5"

Any females reading this wishing they were a man? Ha ha. I kid I kid. I've put Dylan on about 1- 1.5 lbs a week loss. I wasn't sure on his numbers exactly because there was some additional factors for him. Some cardio/supplements he was taking that may or may not have messed with his metabolism a bit. But here we are. I even almost upped his calories after the first two week because of a 10 lbs jump! He' s also missed a few workouts from work and had to change his cardio plan a bit because of an injury, but he keeps on trucking along. Great work, well on your way to your goal of coming down 25-30 lbs. Can't wait to see you after the three months with that commitment!

All three of them started with a daily meal plan for the first two weeks. One I worked out specifically to their macro numbers. After the second week I spoke more about macros, what they are and how to swap foods out. Because I can only imagine how sick they were of the same thing everyday. No alcohol was for the first month. Alcohol is one of those funny things, that once consumed, makes us forget about calories and macros. Think back to all those late night pizza binges after the bar! Now they are all free to swap out meals and food within their daily goal numbers. I've helped them with being able to calculate alcohol into their plans as well, putting no foods really off limits, just kept in moderation to reach their goals.

Thanks for reading!

Take care,

Jen

What's In Your Preworkout?

As much as I am a "push hard, reach your goals slightly, type A" person, I'm also a "be good to your body because you only get one" person.

This past fall I competed in a bikini competition. I pushed myself hard. I also didn't compromise on my believes of how to treat my body. I'll blog about competing another time, but I want to talk about the one thing I didn't do that many competitors and non competitive athletes use. Pre Workout powders.

Let me firstly say that to each their own believes and what you do with or to your body is your own damn business. I'm simply sharing my view and the bit of research I put together. Also, that I am not expert in food sciences. Just trying to help make sense of a product that is confusing.

With that said, I looked into the ingredients of my husband's pre workout powder. All internet research because my nutrition books are packed in boxes for the move, but I will list what sites I used at the bottom of the post.

Preworkout powder in question: Superdrive Pre Training Energy Superfuel. According to my husband "the best stuff".

• Ornithine Malate - So our bodies produce malic acid when converting carbs into energy. MY assumption is this is used in the pre workout powder for aiding in taking whatever carbs/glycogen you have in your body and using that to give you the extra boost of energy.
• Carnitine Tartrate - An amino acid used to combat muscle fatigue and support weight loss (fat burning). Also says it MAY help insulin resistance. Seems straight forward in it's purpose in a pre workout powder.
• Microancapsulated Triacetin - This is an interesting one. A food additive apparently. Not sure added for what, seeing as how they use it in gasoline to reduce engine knocking, in cigarettes to plastesize the filters and oddly enough in antifungal creams?!?! Got me beat for a hypothesis on actual purpose there.
• N-Acetyl L-Tyrosine - This fun named ingredient is not found naturally produced in the human body nor is it found in food. It helps prevent the blocking of a particular amino acid. Also says "effective in the increasing of serum tyrosine levels in the blood". Low serum tyrosine levels are commonly found in those with hypothyroidism. (messed up metabolism)
• Dimethylaminoethanol Bitarte - And I quote "said to help memory, focus and increase alertness". Big claim. Ethanol part scares me personally.
• Higemine Hydrochloride - This is a stimulant designed to help some body tissues relax and others; such as that of the heart; to contract, speeding up the heart rate.
• Citrus Aurantium (Bitter Orange) - Ahhh the cousin of banned Ephedra, claims to have ephedra's metabolism boosting, appetite supressing and targeting certain receptors in fat cells, but avoiding the Beta-1 and Beta-2 that make Ephedra dangerous.
• Caffeine - I'm sure most of us know this one well. My personal choice for pre workout in the form of the coffee bean. Caffeine is actually considered a psychological stimulant and blocks adenosine (the thing that makes you feel drowsy).

Now for the stuff listed as Other Ingredients aside from their main purpose ingredients.

• Natural and Artificial flavours - Pretty self explanatory. Flavour is strawberry kiwi if you must know.
• Lecithin - A thickening agent. I assume during liquid thickening so you can have more volume for less money? It is a business after all.
• Silica - When used in food products it's purpose is to absorb water. Likely to help when all products are turned into a powder, it's to make sure its completely dry so you don't have a clumpy mess when you open the container.
• Sucralose - A non caloric artificial sweetener. A whole other blog post, so I wont touch this one.
• Citric Acid - Adjust PH levels, can help enhance flavour, but likely used for it being a food preservative.
• Salt - Again another food preservation method.
• Acesulfame Potassium - Another artificial sweeetner. Which I totally did not know.
• Radish Powder - used for coloring. Better then Red Dye number 5 right? Ha ha.

Now if you haven't gotten enough of my opinion on the matter, I'm not for using these. This is strictly my own theory but I think about the ones that help with insulin resistance or converting carbs to fuel. These are basic functions our bodies perform. So maybe using something to perform these functions for us hinders our bodies from continuing that function? Like our bodies just go "hey, something else is handling that function so lets turn off, be lazy and put our efforts toward something else that needs our attention?" Most, if not all pre workout powders say on the label not to consume for longer then a certain amount of time consecutively. Maybe that's the reasoning? Or addiction to the fun heart racing items?

With all this said, and my personal opinion on them, taking a pre workout for a few weeks or a workout here and there when exhausted I don't think will do excessive damage or anything. Just please stick to the warnings on the label, take a break from it and cycle it and of course listen to your body when taking it.

Have a good workout!

Websites use:

• WebMD.com
• Wikipedia.org
• Livestrong.com
• Drugs.com
• About.com
• Medical.Dictionary.com
   

The Project

I haven't come up with some clever name for this so "the project" it is. As I've finished my yoga teacher training, been working on my sports nutrition and competed in the fall I've gotten to have a good understanding of a lot of things related to the body and fitness. Above that I've also done a lot of research online and in numerous books.

So I've decided to take some test subjects and apply my knowledge and blog about their results/experiences and the process. I first did a call out on my Facebook for a volunteer, thinking nobody would want to let me blog about it. The response I got was flattering and amazing, so I picked three.

Vanessa

Vanessa is a fun social girl. 28 years old, was a competitive cheerleader in jr high, high school and leagues after high school for 3 years and also used to coach. She stopped cheering approx 4 years ago. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and is currently working on her Masters of Counselling via distance with Athabasca University. Currently works out about 3 days a week mostly cardio and some strength training. AS she refers to it though she's been "lazy" with it and not pushing herself.

When I asked her why she wanted to be a part of the project here is what she had to say:

I want to do this project because I need that extra push to get me into shape. I am usually pretty good at eating healthy and using my will power, but it is easy to veer off track. I also like having someone who is knowledgeable plan meals so that I know I am eating properly. I have been working out for a long time. I used to do crossfit, but they no longer have that at my gym. Therefore since switching gyms, I have been a bit "lazy" and not feeling up to making myself work hard, therefore, this will give me that push and make me fulfill this project! I am also all about challenging myself, and I know this will be a huge challenge.

Vanessa's goals are to loose 12 lbs and look great for a trip in March. She uses her goal weight number based off the last time she felt really good.

Jenn

Jenn is one hard working super mama. She has a full time job, two young kids and a busy life. She has lost 35 lbs on her own since the spring. She is training for a half marathon this spring, a half iron man, long bike ride and 4 triathalons!!

When I asked her why she wanted to be a part of the project here is what she said:

I've been thinking about getting a trainer but cost is sometimes an issue. So I opted instead this year to get a triathlon coach as I thought that would be good start. But to have a fitness trainer that can help me focus on strength and nutrition will be a huge asset.

Jenn's goals are to loose another 35 lbs and to be in a size 8 or less pant. She says she wants to be lean and strong.

Dylan

Dylan is a pretty physical guy used to play lots of hockey and still plays baseball. He is in the construction industry so his job can be physically demanding most of the time. Dylan usually works out at the gym 4-6 times a week, weights for an hour and cardio for 45min to an hour.

When I asked him why he wanted to be part of the project here is what he said:

Well i have been thinking about talking to a dietitian for awhile now and then it just so happened you needed a guinea pig. (Ah men, so few words. ha ha)

Dylan's goals are to loose 25-30 lbs and be down a pant size. This goal weight number is when he felt really good.

I had each of them take their weight, pictures and measurements, gave them a meal plan based of the calories/macros they need. I calculated these numbers based off of their weight, goals and activity levels.

I sent them all this first letter with some additional instruction on what to drink, supplements to take etc.

So the plan is that you will follow the diet plan for two weeks. I know it might be boring eating the same thing for two weeks, but its the easiest way for me to make sure the macro numbers I gave you are correct, and get a good reading of how the meal timing etc works for you.

After the two weeks, we will be starting to swap meals out for similar macros. So when you are preparing your food, please weigh on a food scale if at all possible (this applies to things that you will see with grams next to it) and log it into my fitness pal, for a few days at least to get the idea of how logging works. When you pull up an item you will be looking at the three main macronutrient components. Fat, Carbs and Protein.

Eventually we will have you swap out foods and meals for similar macros. So say you have chicken, salad and bread on your plan, you find out that the local Tim Hortons chicken sandwich has roughly the same macro makeup (carb,fat and protein amounts) you can have that instead. You all have a small treat at the end of your day. This treat fits the macronutrient profile you need, but because of the other foods you've eaten throughout the day your fiber and micronutrient profiles are fullfilled.

Ever heard of the quote everything in moderation? Well this is exactly it. Your little treat is in moderation. It may be hard at first to have a bag of Oreos or whatever your treat is, in the house. You may normally never buy these, because when you do you sit and eat a whole row or whole bag. Then, what normally happens is some sort of guilt associated with eating these foods. This project is more then just loosing weight or whatever your goal is. It's to help develop a better relationship with food and those foods we think are so evil. Everything in moderation also applies to healthy whole foods. Many of us get on the healthy eating train and a few days later eat a food we think is not considered healthy or "clean" and fall off our plans. Eating whole healthy foods is certainly best, but for mental health and to satisfy our taste buds we can also have treats.

Sometimes we get off track on things and eat things we arent suppose to, or some even under eat. Both are not great habits. Both are also very hard to break. So we may have slip ups and that's okay. We forgive ourselves and move on, staying on track the next meal. Please just let me know when this happens. Macronutrient counting is sort of a specific science so if you over eat or dont eat enough I need to know how its reflecting your weightloss or inches numbers. I promise you wont upset me or dissapoint or anything like that! That said of course, please stick to the plans as much as possible, this only makes your results that much better and faster.

Don't be frustrated by numbers on the scale. This is only one measurement we use. Generally most of us are more concerned with inches. But again, the scale is another hard habit to break.

Please enjoy the journey reading! Let me know in the comments what your goal is and why!

My Journey To Fit & Healthy

I get asked a lot about how I lost the weight or started eating healthy and so on. So I thought I would write my story so far. I'm going to go back 4 years. Pregnant with my first. I gained 60 lbs, had a large cherry pepsi almost everyday, ate all my cravings and wasn't that active, despite having a personal trainer even.

IMG_0107

After the birth of my first, an emergency c section, I thought I had to loose the baby weight. I was breastfeeding and ate the My Fitness Pal recommended 1200 calories plus 500 for nursing. That didnt last long, I hated it. I tried eating relatively clean with cheats here and there, did the Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and a few other videos and lost the weight by 3/4 months PP.

I wasn't too happy with my pre baby weight though, so of course not happy with it then. Never did too much extreme to change it though. The summer of 2012 I trained for a half marathon and ran it at 7 weeks pregnant with my second. Never really shifted my body composition much. (So there goes the cardio looses fat rule!)

IMG_0110

I got pregnant with my second when my first was 17 months old, just two months after I finished breastfeeding. I started becoming really interested in food, healthy eating and holistic type nutrition. I began reading a lot about foods through the internet, books and so on. Especially interested in food knowledge now because I was responsible for feeding my child and I want her to grow up healthy.

IMG_0108

I sadly had another emergency c section. I gained a healthy 26 lbs with my second pregnancy though. Most lost before 6 weeks pp. I was breastfeeding and eating a lot. I forgot how hungry you get after having a baby!!!!

The first picture here on the left is at about 6-8 weeks post partum. I was proud I looked like this so soon after baby by the way. Body pride all along the way. This I believe to be key. Love your body at each stage. Learn to find something about it that makes you happy.

IMG_0102.JPG

I spent the time from Mid June to September doing basically cardio. I research more this time and found HIIT to be how to loose that stubborn fat the fastest way. Before googling exactly what that is, I must caution you to actually read about it's benefits and suggested usage. I did it every second day, sometime third. Do NOT do this type of training daily. Sometime I did some HIIT and then a long distance run after it too. I am a runner after all.

treadmill

In my head I had a a number goal. Which I never had before. I wanted to get to 125. Every time I was dying on the treadmill, I just kept thinking, "you can do 10 more seconds. This is for 125" I also had my sisters wedding coming in September in Cuba and wanted to be a hot mama. So I bought and hung in view a motivation bikini. These goals were strong motivation for me. Two kids, one of which was extremely colic and a husband working away mostly I had to dig deep for the motivation some days. Some days running on that treadmill in the basement at 11 pm was my stress relieve.

I reached my goal in September, got a gym membership to change it up (AND DAYCARE!) and stopped cardio and started lifting weights. Mostly high rep, low weight stuff, I was a) scared of getting hurt and b) healing a diastasis recti. Please google Wendy Powell and her Mutu System to find out all about this.

I loved my body in Cuba in November. Still at 125, two months later, and proud as hell to walk on the beach with my two kids. Even post a picture of me in a bikini on Facebook and Instagram when I got back!

image

Then I got into heavy weight lifting. And my love of weights began. First goal? Be able to squat with the bar on my shoulders without the pad. I had to build those muscles to be strong enough so it didn't hurt. Second goal? Build my ass I lost from all that cardio. Okay this might have been my priority in September, but was really serious about it now.

This is also about the time I started really thinking about bikini competing. A goal to obtain in 1.5 years. By my 30th birthday. (July 2015) Give my body time to get ready, and also because I was still breastfeeding and planned to until my second was at least a year old. I didn't want to risk getting my body fat too low and loosing my milk before we were both done. I like to make assumingly crazy goals and try my best to achieve them. See above about my half marathon!

I then heard about a competition November 1st and thought to myself, "you can do that. You've been training hard, made great progress. Worst that can happen is dead last, but it's still a win to try".Okay in reality worst that can happen is developing an eating disorder, body viewing issues, a destroyed metabolism, hardened relationships from grouchy hangryness and post show depression. But all things I've researched intensely to be mindful of and avoid as much as possible.

Bringing me to my believes. I still believe in being as healthy as possible, eating whole nutrition rich foods and paying attention to my body and what it needs. I don't like taking fat burners, artificial sweeteners or other strange things filled with chemicals that aren't good for you. All supplements and foods as natural as possible. And vegetarian. Did I forget to mention I don't eat meat?

image

I didn't want a coach for contest prep, because I was sure I would never find soemone that believed the same things as me. One that wouldn't starve me on 800-1200 calories, wouldn't tell me to take fat burners or make me do hours and hours of cardio each week. There are things such as macro counting, smart ways of doing cardio and natural supplements that can do the same job without ruining your body. Again please research all of these.

Had some trial and error with macro counting myself. Especially hard figuring it out while breastfeeding, but if you refer to my It's a Lifestyle, Not A Diet Post, you'll understand some things take some time. And they are worth figuring out. Plus of course, the time will pass anyways, make it worth your while and try. Below is a picture of me from about April to June with macro counting, lifting weights and zero-minimum cardio. I of course went over macros a lot, cheated on them lots and so on. I'm human, forgave myself and moved on.

image

June 29th I started with my coach. One I researched a lot and read every post on his blog to make sure we viewed how this should go as the same. When I started with him I was basically the exact same weight as I was in September. See the difference in my body though? Weight isn't everything. I gained lots of muscle, leaned out and remained the same weight. This picture is from November to April but the above one shows me in June too. All the same weight.

image

Now it's almost 7 weeks later and I'm amazed at myself and what I've accomplished. All my muscles I've spent the last 11 months building are coming out as a I lean out. Here is the difference in the last 8 weeks.

image

And 3 weeks.

image

And for shits and giggles the difference since starting with coach 7 weeks ago.

image

I can't wait to see more. Knowing stage weight isn't something I want to keep obtainable forever too. It's just that, stage/competition weight. I was really happy at 125 and will likely go back up there afterwards. Maybe more to bulk in the winter and grow a bigger booty and shoulders. ;)

The whole process has been trial and error over the last 15 months. Food wise, exercise wise and mentally wise. But I think being told what to do and not knowing why or how it works is something that just never works for me. If I invest the time to research and try different ways of doing things I will find my stride. Which I believe I have. Which is how I hope most people view it for themselves. Find your own journey, in the healthiest way possible of course. Last picture July 2013 - August 2014. The journey may be long, but it's worth it.

IMG_0119.JPG

Thanks for reading and good luck in your journey!

It's a Lifestyle, Not A Diet

I used to be so sick of hearing this. It's a lifestyle, not a diet. Blah blah blah. But you know what? It's true. Although it doesn't mean it changes overnight either. I had a great conversation with a dear old friend today. It was about her wanting to eat better, take better care of herself. For health, for esthetic, for trying to have a baby. She's struggled with eating well and exercsing. Motivation and execution. She told me "eating better" and getting healthy just seemed like such an overwhelming task. Too much to learn and know. Wished it could be as easy for her as it's been for me.

It never was just easy. Still isn't. I never learned overnight how to eat well and exercise and so on. It started with learning a little bit at a time, research, some trial and error and finding what I like and don't like.

But I get it. That feeling like no matter where you look there is advice and then just as fast someone telling you another way is the right way. Eat breakfast, don't eat breakfast. Run a lot; don't do cardio. Eat less, eat more, eat clean, eat whatever fits! No wonder so many of us give up before we start.

I'm no expert, but it's also no secret I love nutrition and exercise. I even plan to start schooling to become a Holistic Nutritionist next year. So here is the advice I shared with her.

We took her hardest hurdle. Breakfast. She never eats it. Now I will side with suggesting it should be eaten. So I told her to spend the next week focusing on breakfast. Pre-make smoothie packs and put in the freezer, then pop them out, blend with milk in the morning and go. Gave her a vague recipe to follow and told her to play with until she liked the taste. But to include carbs (fruit), protein (powder we bought together) and healthy fat (flaxseed). And a bit of spinach for micronutrients.

I know she has struggled so hard, but I know she will do this. Because we took away the perfection of it. I said, eat what you normally would each week. Burgers after ball practice, beers on Friday night, hangover pizza the next day. Whatever. Just focus on the smoothies for breakfast.

Why not give her a meal plan to follow and say "eat only this"? Because thats not changing her own opinion on foods, not helping her know the "why?". Removing the daunting task of changing her entire life. Thats just it. Changing your life overnight won't make it stick. Bit by bit, day by day, meal by meal is how you change how you view food.

Something she told me she struggled with was feeling guilty after eating a food. My response? "It's just food! You ate it, so what. Forgive yourself and move on. Doesn't mean the rest of your day, week, month is ruined and may as well restarting the diet on the proverbial Monday. Get right back on the horse the next meal, if not, the next one after that.

Pushing through a diet or new plan isn't the way to change how you are with food. Gradually learning things and applying them that suits your needs is. It's not a diet, it literally is a lifestyle.