Part 2 – Strategies to get you psyched about eating clean

This is sectioned out into three different ways to help you Keep Going!

Little changes go a long way:

• New Tupperware – This can add fun to food prep!  It may sound silly but new Tupperware with various shapes, sizes and materials can have you looking forward to food prep and pulling out your containers at meal time.
• New Spices – Have fun shopping in the spices aisle.  Play with various flavors and don’t’ be afraid to try new combinations.  New spices can make you feel like you have a brand new menu and add life to your blah food.
• New Cooking Techniques – If you are sick of one way of cooking then switch it up between baking, grilling, steaming, poaching, barbequing, and slow cookers.  This will trick yourself into thinking you are eating something new every time!
• New Preparation Techniques – This may sound a little weird but trust me when I say a cucumber tastes different depending on the way you cut it.  Try changing up the way you prepare your meals and see for yourself.
• New Sauces – Be careful with this one because fattening sugary sauces can be the root of your problem. Instead of grabbing new sauces off the shelf try combining the sauces you know are good for you.  For example combine balsamic vinegar, mustard and stevia for a healthy low cal balsamic vinaigrette.  (this recipe and more to come in my next blog)
• New Recipes – Search the internet or mobile phone apps for free new recipe ideas.  Be sure to check out the calorie and macronutrient portions to make sure they are healthy substitutions.
  

Tips and tricks:

• Give life to water – We all know that water is important but sometimes we want something with flavor.  Try adding lemon or lime juice, cucumber, fruit, or crystal light to your water.  You can also boil tea and refrigerate it for a real (no sugar) iced tea.
• Keep tempting items away – If you can avoid keeping tempting items in the house then do!  Make your journey easier and don’t even buy them!
• Drink before you eat – Most of the time when we think we are hungry we are actually thirsty, so before you eat, try drinking two cups of water and waiting 20 minutes. If you are still hungry then go ahead and have your next nutritious meal.
• Get Food Educated – Education is power and food awareness is key.  I strongly suggest that you become aware of what is in your food by doing your research and keeping a food journal.  One of my favorite online journal sites is www.myfitnesspal.com.  You can also use this site by downloading the free mobile apps.

Inspiration & motivation techniques:

 
• Look at your “Before” or “Goal” photos – Keep your before or goal photos close and any time you are feeling unmotivated or weak to a tempting situation, then look at them as a reminder of where you don’t (or do) want to be.
• Visualize your dream body – The power of the mind is amazing. See it, believe it, BE it!
• Feel the joy of reaching your goal – Feel the joy and success as though you have already accomplished it.  This feeling will transcend happiness through your entire being and help you stay on track.
• Think long-term over short-term satisfaction – Think about how you will feel AFTER the last bite of that tasty treat has passed your lips. Think of how proud you will be once you walk away from it. Is the short-term satisfaction more fulfilling than the satisfaction of reaching your long term goal?… No, it’s not.
• Consistency is key – Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see your results.  Consistency is the key to reaching your goals. Stay on track and I guarantee your hard work and dedication will pay off
• Diet is #1 – Diet is the biggest contributor to success or failure.  Work smarter not harder by keeping your diet clean.

Here’s to the best you in 2012!

Exercise your Body, Stretch your Mind, Feed your Soul.

February 2, 2011: For one lucky Canadian, the drive to lose weight and get fit not only netted a healthier new lifestyle, but also a new high-performance automobile. Jest Dempsey Sidloski of Lacombe, Alberta, is the proud new owner of a luxury Mercedes-Benz C250 after sharing his personal health and fitness story in an online contest. The contest was hosted by Bodylogix, the Canadian-based vitamin and supplement brand that offers a comprehensive online nutrition and fitness program for men and women.

Jest is looking good in more ways than one

More than 15,000 Canadians entered the contest, which ran from May through September 2011. Sidloski claimed the Grand Prize by sharing the story of his five-month journey from 245 pounds to 179 pounds with the help of a new fitness program, a healthier diet and Bodylogix supplements. “I changed forever,” says Sidloski. “My advice is to be positive, look for help from friends, stay inspired, get excited and feel empowered.” Secondary prizes were awarded to Eva Jamrocha of Maple, Ontario (a $2500 shopping spree) and Shepherd Campbell of McKellar, Ontario (a Quebec City luxury get-away).

The national competition asked “What’s your Bodylogix?” and invited Canadians to enter online at www.mybodylogix.com by submitting their own stories relating to monthly themes such as exercise, nutrition and fitness. Contestants used words, video and/or photos to depict their experiences, and increased their chances of winning by getting their friends to vote online. Winners were selected by a judging panel that included Bodylogix-sponsored athletes Miryah Scott and David Kimmerle.

Bodylogix is an innovative system that combines supplements, workouts and balanced nutrition into one integrated, online program to support active, healthier lifestyles. The comprehensive line of Bodylogix supplements includes sports nutrition, multivitamins, fat burners, cleanse and detox formulations, and ready-to-drink protein beverages for men and women who want to look and feel better, get stronger and stay leaner. With the purchase of Bodylogix products, Canadian consumers gain free access to personalized meal and exercise plans including videos, recipes, shopping lists, expert advice and the Bodylogix iPhone app. Step-by-step instructions show customers how to exercise properly, balance diet and optimize supplement intake in order to boost energy and shed calories.

Bodylogix products are available exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart stores across Canada. Bodylogix was developed by Canada’s The Winning Combination Inc. (TWC), a leader in the manufacturing and distribution of natural health products and nutritional supplements.

We are well into 2012, have you stuck to your new years resolution?

On one hand resolutions are great, they motivate you to start fresh, get you to the gym, increase your veggie intake, etc. But, on the other hand they can be depressing, drive us to feel bad about not quite sticking to them or they can even promote unrealistic expectations.

So what’s the solution?

Either make your resolutions broader or narrower in order to meet and keep them. For example instead of saying “I’m going to lose 10 pounds” how about saying “I’ll lose 10 pounds over the next few months by practicing portion control”. This way, if you have a richer meal, a party, a splurge, or just a bad day, you can pick up where you left off and still meet your goals.

Another example is “I’ll eat vegetables from a variety of colors at both lunch and dinner daily” or, “I’ll lose weight by eating breakfast everyday”. Setting more specific goals are easier to measure and allow for a feeling of accomplishment. This feeling of accomplishment is important as it often fuels your behaviors and continued success.

Another tip is to treat each week as if it were a New Years.

Just because it isn’t January 1st doesn’t mean you can’t set a goal, be motivated and do something good for yourself. Everyday is a new opportunity to start over, do better or meet a new goal, keep that in mind along with the fact that you’ve got all year to accomplish whatever you set out to do. If you treat your nutrition journey like a marathon instead of a sprint and you’ll see quicker, more significant and long-term results.

Part 1 – Strategies to get psyched about working out

This is sectioned out into three different ways to help you Keep Going!

Little changes go a long way:

• New music – New tunes will have you looking forward to plugging in and add life to your workouts.  You can find (free) podcasts on itunes or you can create your own playlists that compliment your workout style.  Pick speedy tempos to ramp up your cardio and strong beats to help you push some serious weight on resistance training days.
• Fresh outfit –Change up your gym look and get excited to flaunt it during your next training session.  You can save money by cutting up, layering and restyling your old clothes.
• New workout gadget – Treat yourself to a new workout item like a heart rate monitor, shoes, pedometer, exercise journal, etc.  You will look forward to using them at your next workout and they may even help educate you as well.
• Change the scenery- With the winter months upon us we can get bored of seeing the same surroundings of our usual gym or workout location.  It’s nice to switch it up try a new location once in a while.
• Tweak your program – Little adjustments to your cardio and weight program will add new life, variety and challenges to keep you excited about workout out and keep moving towards your goals.  This will be covered later in the “Keep Going!” series.

Tips and tricks:

• Get ready – Your mood can change when you start get dressed, pack your bag and whatever else you have to do to start your workout so just start getting ready.
• Just go – Don’t over think the pros and cons, because chances are you have 101 excuses to not workout.  Just shove yourself out the door and go!
• Just start – If you’ve made it to the gym and still don’t want to workout start by doing just one exercise or circuit.  Believe me we have all been here before, but I can honestly say these are the days I have the best workouts and am the most proud of my dedication.
• Be competitive – To get a great workout let your competitive side come out.  Pick a machine beside a fellow gym junkie and push yourself to go even harder than they do…. Just don’t shout out “I beat you” if you win.
• Grab a buddy – Be sure to pick someone that will have a positive effect on your program and help keep you accountable.
• Sign up for group classes – Sometimes we just don’t want to think about our program, so sign up for a group fitness class and follow the instructor.  You will be so focused on following the instructor you won’t notice how hard you are working and how fast time is flying by.

Inspiration & motivation techniques:

• Revisit your goals – Get in touch with your goals again and write them out like it’s day one!  Remember your passion and rekindle your fire for fitness!
• Visualize you crushing your workout- Visualization is a very important key to success so seeing yourself crushing your workout and reaching your fitness goals!
• Feel the success- Take a moment to actually feel the feeling of completing your workout, reaching your goal, and the happiness of being in the best health of your life!  No matter what stage you are at in your journey, I guarantee this feeling will get you through the challenging times.
• Be present – It doesn’t matter what you did in the past or what you plan on doing in the future, the only thing that matters is what you are doing right now!  Make the most out of life by living in the present moment.

Here’s to the best you in 2012!

Exercise your Body, Stretch your Mind, Feed your Soul

Check into the Bodylogix blog over the next month where I will be posting a new part every Monday.

This blog series will address:
- strategies to get you psyched about working out
- strategies to get you psyched about eating clean
- recipes and cooking tips
- recharge your weight routine
- recharge your cardio routine

Stay tuned…

So, what’s so great about this tiny black seed?

It’s a vegan source of: Omega 3 fatty acids (ALA), Calcium (1/4 cup of chia seeds has double the amount of calcium than milk), Protein (18 grams per 1/4 cup), Complex Carbohydrates (full of fiber) and contains tons of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. See what we are saying, they are truly a power food!

If that hasn’t got you hooked, check this out!

In terms of weight loss chia seeds can be a wonderful and all natural weight-loss tool. At 70 calories per tablespoon not only are they low in calories but chia seeds can actually hold up to 14 times their weight in water. So basically, eat these little seeds and they will expand in your belly, keeping you full for an extended period of time, preventing blood sugar crashes and providing you with prolonged energy (now who can’t use a little bit of that?).

So now that you know all the health benefits of chia, how exactly do you incorporate them into your diet? You can add them into your yogurt to provide crunch, toss it into your cereal, oatmeal and smoothies or add it on top of salads. Did you know you could even bake with it? One TBSP of chia mixed with three TBSP of water is equivalent to 1 egg (three cheers for our vegan or egg allergy fans).

At this point you might be thinking, chia sounds very similar to flax seeds. Sure they both contain omega 3s however, chia contains more, doesn’t need to be ground up for it’s nutrients to be absorbed, can be stored at room temperature and won’t lose it’s nutrients if exposed to light, heat or cooking and the final kicker, chia is pretty much tasteless! So what are you waiting for?

Go ahead, begin adding it to all your favorite foods today and start your new year off on the right foot!

1. Take a look at your stance. Reduce undue knee friction while walking or performing standing leg exercises by keeping your feet pointed forward. Avoid a “pigeon toe” or “duck walk” stance and/or walking pattern.
2. Use perfect form. When performing leg exercises that place force through the knees such as squats and lunges use a mirror and watch your legs closely. Of primary importance is not to allow your knees to move towards (“knock kneed”) or away (“bow legged”) from midline. Your hips, knees, and feet should stay in alignment.
3. Footwear. Shoes with a high heel support (including running shoes with extensive shock absorbing heels) shorten the calf muscles increasing joint friction in the knees. This increased friction can promote arthritis.
4. Reduce high impact activities. Running is fun but if done habitually over long periods of time can by hard on weight bearing joints, particularly the knees. Fast paced walking is a great option. Resistance training is low impact and by increasing leg strength, improves walking and running form further reducing knee stress.

Stretching a muscle that has not been warmed up stimulates protective mechanisms within the muscle that counteract its ability to contract quickly and forcefully.

Instead of stretching before exercise, try performing a series of dynamic warm-up exercises that will both warm up and stretch out the muscles and tendons and at the same time prime the body for optimal performance.

A few examples of dynamic warm up exercises for before a workout include:

1. Bodyweight squats
2. Walking lunges
3. Leg swings (side to side and forward and back)
4. Arm circles
5. High knees
6. Kneeling arm and leg extensions
7. Hip raises

If you are looking to improve performance running or in an athletic event after the above try:

1. Jump squats
2. Alternating jump lunges
3. Butt kickers
4. Side shuffles, carioca

With dynamic warm-up exercises, keep the reps low and stop well before fatigue sets in. You are looking to prime the body for performance not wear it out.

In terms of nutrition there are three main reasons why if you are watching your waist you should pack your own lunch.

1. Instant portion control – These days restaurants are serving up portions of food that are four to six times larger than what an actual portion size should be! Yup you guessed it that means we are eating four to six times more calories than we need! By making your own lunch and measuring out your ingredients you can ensure you are only eating what your body needs therefore preventing unwanted weight gain.

2. Hidden Calories - No matter what you order or how healthy you think you are being you’re likely consuming ingredients you’d never imagine are in your dish. Remember, a chef’s first priority is for their food to taste good, not your health. Therefore before hot entrees leave the kitchen they are often doused with bacon fat or butter to add flavor, sandwiches are loaded with excess mayo, meat & cheese, hamburger buns are coated with egg to make them shiny and salads have four times the recommended amount of salad dressing. All these sneaky additions can quickly add 150 – 300 unnecessary calories to your dish! Keep this up and in less than 3 weeks you’ll gain 1 pound just from your lunch! In a year that adds up to almost 20 lbs!

3. Decrease temptation - When you order in or go out, the sky is the limit. Even if you were intending to be healthy, friends, menus, food carts, you name it, can easily derail your diet, no matter how good your original intentions were. By bringing your own lunch you avoid temptation and the excess calories that come along with it!

So now that you’re motivated to bring your lunch, what exactly should you pack? Some of our favorite easy, healthy and delicious options include:

PB&J on whole wheat bread

Turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with lettuce, tomato and mustard

Almond butter & banana roll up

Left overs from the night before

Salad with homemade tuna or salmon salad (high in omega threes)

Veggies and hummus

Frozen meals

Get cooking and get lean!

So before you add weight loss to your list of new years resolutions read my tips below on what to skip and what to eat in the home stretch of this holiday season!