healthy Archives

Beginners Have to Start Somewhere (The Time is Now! Starts May 29)

You may be wondering a little about just how I ended up being here like this with you today.

Let me tell you a quick story about a couple years ago, I was so tired, sore, miserable and unhappy….had sore back, knees and whole body pain issues. Was overweight and living cheque to cheque and was truly in a bad place in life. .

At the time I was trying to find a way to pay bills as a single mom, eat clean and get into better shape..

I was struggling with juggling kids, grandson, work, looking after an acreage, horses, dogs and trying to get the bills paid. It felt like I had no time and certainly no energy to exercise and no money to buy the proper healthy food..

And I was getting more and more disgusted with the extra weight i was carrying around and realized just how out of shape I had become. I was frustrated with never having any money left over after payday. .

Then something really bad happened: I went outside to play with my kids on the lawn and suffered severely with body and back pain after that for weeks, and realized something had to change. I saw my doctor and every medical test was normal, which told me clearly that there was something seriously wrong with my lifestyle and habits..

Being in crappy shape like this meant I couldn’t be the kind of mom, grandma and friend I wanted to be and to be able to afford to do fun things in life like we deserved to do..

As you can imagine, I was in bad shape and desperate, but I wasn’t ready to give up on my dream of having my own business to build financial freedom and getting healthy again with the ultimate goal to be in the best shape of my life..

Then I discovered something called Team Beachbody, which has superfood and professionally designed fitness programs…and an opportunity to build financial freedom at the same time!

At that point, everything changed!

I discovered / finally figured out how to:

– Regain my energy, zest for life and be able to feel good again

– Working out at home with professional programs really gave amazing results (check out the muscles!)

– Eating clean and superfood is NOT expensive at all if you learn to manage your grocery budget and do not eat out

Because I discovered Team Beachbody, superfood and professionally designed fitness programs and the business opportunity, I was able to:

– Run and play with my grandson with energy and without getting tired or sore,

– Lose 40 pounds and maintain weight easier and have the effective tools and expertise to help others to get healthier as well

– Look younger, feel younger, and pay off debt which had been plaguing me for years and finally feel HAPPY!

Now I’m living my dream of having my own business and getting healthier to be in the best shape of my life and I never have to worry about suffering ever again.

And that’s why I’m so passionate about our upcoming 21 day beginner superfood and fitness challenge where we provide the free coaching so you can successfully experience getting back into shape to be in the best shape of your life too! ..and even grow your own fitness business if you want!

To join the upcoming beginner 21 day challenge starting May 29, contact me HERE asap to get started.

The Choice is Yours (Yes, Every Choice Matters)

Yes, we all have choices….. Sleep in or get up early to work out? Hit the drive-thru or take a bit of time to meal plan and meal prep? Watch mindless TV or do some personal development? Buy an expensive handbag or sneakers or invest in a superfood and workout program?

Hey, its true that where you spend your time and money are where your priorities are. I urge you to make the sacrifices you need to make to live a healthier, happier and more fulfilling life.

I’m all about quality of life versus the quantity of things I own. I want to be able travel the world with my family and spend many more years together. I want to see my great grandchildren graduate high school and get married. I want to prevent generations of family to come from having high blood pressure, high cholesterol, cancer and diabetes.

Speaking of quality of life, I have truly learned to value personal growth, health and happiness over money and this mind-shift alone has totally changed my life.

Examine what you can eliminate in your life to ultimately make YOU (your health and happiness) the priority. And to help you to do that, the next time you hear yourself say “I don’t have the time” or “I don’t have the money”, try saying instead that “It’s really not a priority” and see how THAT feels.

…Believe me, YOU ARE WORTH IT!

#wecanchoose

To download the FREE – 7 tips to improve your self-discipline, enter your name and email here!

Do Small Choices Matter? (Yes! They Do!)

Seriously! When I started on my health and fitness journey 2 years ago, I could not even do more than a couple push-ups on my knees or more than a few minutes of jumping jacks before being out of breath! It’s amazing what our body can achieve if we push it to do more each day. I guess that is the power of the compound effect. You may not think that each and every workout makes a difference in the long run, but in fact they DO! Every snack choice (an apple instead of a Hershey bar) and every decision we make towards a healthier choice (no matter how small or seemingly insignificant it is) every single day does matter!

Choose to be active instead of sitting on the couch. Choose to do a workout instead of wasting time scrolling social media. Choose a garden salad with roasted chicken instead of a burger at the restaurant. Just by making these better choices each and every day and adding superfoods to my diet, I have dropped 42 pounds and am feeling the strongest and healthiest that I have in my life! Now as a grandmother, I can call myself the MMA Granny and I have earned it! ?

The compound effect of each and every choice we make each and every day really does matter. Keep that in mind for today and as you think about what you will do to be healthier in the next month! We all mess up once in awhile since we are human after all, but if we mess up too often, that has a compound effect in the wrong direction!

To download 7 tips on ways to increase self-discipline power, be sure to get your FREE DOWNLOAD HERE.

Keep Fitness Fun and Rewarding ( and You Will be Sure to Succeed!)

There is absolutely NO feeling as good as this!

There is no feeling like the sense of accomplishment! This morning I officially completed a 30-day challenge that I set up for myself with an awesome core/MMA fighting program! This is just the way I LOVE fitness. Short challenges that push me and keep it totally interesting…and in the comfort of my own home… plus they are professionally developed to give an amazing full body fitness like I never imagined!

This type of core/fighting workout is a great cross-trainer for other types of fitness activities as well… especially court sports, running, horseback riding, hockey, football and so many more… the agility, core strength, leg and upper body strength that you can build without any equipment is astounding!

The beauty of the workout lineup I have available to me through this annual digital access program is that I never get bored, I can keep picking new challenges for myself with different professional programs and trainers as I go! When it is fun and interesting like this…with short term rewards…a person is far more likely to keep it up! I also keep a paper copy of the workout calendar beside my workout area, so that I check off each workout as I complete them… as you see here….

TRACKING workout completion every day builds motivation as you see what you are accomplishing!

As I am sitting here having my superfood shake post-workout this morning, I am thinking that a trip to the spa as a reward for completing this program is totally in order! (Ten Spa in Winnipeg is an amazing place!!) A spa treatment and a day of relaxation! Doesn’t that sound awesome? It feels great to have earned a reward like this… Now just have to decide what program to challenge myself with next! .. Hmmm 🙂

To hear more about how the annual all access digital fitness programs can change your life too, contact me directly by email HERE.

To join the Athletic Grandma Community, be sure to enter your email HERE and receive a 7 steps to improving your self-discipline download with worksheet.

Hard Work is Always Rewarded (Just Ask My Kids)

Was a rough conditioning workout this morning after going 3 weeks without lifting. Whoa! I was totally grunting, sweating and wishing I had kept up with regular lifting at least a couple times a week. I have been so preoccupied with my core fighting program the last few weeks that I didn’t take the time to lift! Regrets!

I was thinking today about how hard it can be to get up early in the morning and get a workout in… especially if you know it is going to be a super hard one! …and today certainly was!

BUT…It’s true though that if you are working to change your health and your body that it will take hard work to make the changes that will bring you to your goals. Nothing that is easy really brings about great results in our life, does it?

I remember over the years that I have pushed myself to work hard, do things right and keep going no matter what. I have also drilled this into my kids as well…like constantly… I have always believed that if you work hard, give 110% to everything you do, that you will not only feel better about yourself …. you will also prove to others that you are reliable, have a good work ethic and thus prove valuable not only to the organization you work for (or your own business), but will be valuable to all other people in your life too!

When you apply this to health, it may be hard, but forging ahead, not wasting time, working hard and not giving up will definitely be the way to achieve your goals. The truth is, it is hard to do, but it is also hard NOT to do. Its hard to look in the mirror and see a picture of unhealthiness, isnt it?

Take a few minutes today and acknowledge that “hard work will always be rewarded”! It in fact is always rewarded in some way. We may not see it immediately or even for a period of time, but eventually the rewards will come and you will be so glad that you put in the hard work, effort and dedication.

Enter your email address HERE to get a FREE download about 7 ways to increase your self-discipline

The Real Truth about Women and Bulky Muscles

As women, we’re afraid of getting big, bulky muscles.

We want to be sleek and toned – small, not big.

So the idea of working out can make us fear we’re on our way to looking like the Hulk. Or worse, his lopsided half-sister. For some, having bulging, rippled muscles is the goal. From most women though, I hear their dread of that happening to them.

Good news: big muscles don’t accidentally happen.

The truth is, bulking up is really hard for women to do.

Sure, our bodies are different, and some gain easier than others. And there are those examples of women who , ‘in just two years’ made massive gains and ended up tanned and flexing on a stage somewhere. But there’s something you don’t know about those women. They didn’t accidentally get that way and decide to go with the flow. “Oh well… I guess I’ll just have to accept my new muscly body”. No. They aimed for those results, pursuing them with determination and focus. They worked hard for multiple hours daily. Daily! Their rest days were a good hard cardio that still left them drenched. And they made sure to limit carbs and get in a lot of protein powders designed to pack on muscle.

We don’t bulk up with muscle accidentally.

Most of the time, we misunderstand muscles completely

After 2 years of heavy lifting (up to 30 lb dumbells), no increase size, only sculpting achieved!

Here’s the real truth about women and the risk of bulky muscles

Muscles become more compact when they are conditioned and strong.

That means the more you work them, and the stronger they become, the more firm and toned and smaller in size they become.

I know it seems counterintuitive – even false, when all we see in media is the kind of muscles that bulge. But we know we shouldn’t always believe what the media tells us, right? This is one of those things we shouldn’t believe. Muscles are small. Sleek. Compact.

Just ask my clients who, as soon as they began developing their muscles, shrank. They shrank while they were getting stronger. That’s not just because of fat loss, either. It’s also because muscles are leaner, the stronger they are.

Sometimes ‘Bulk’ is Actually Just Fat

Especially in the beginning of one’s weight training journey, a woman may feel like she’s getting bigger. If that’s happening, it usually means that either their caloric intake is too high or they’re retaining water (a temporary issue generally), or both.

This doesn’t happen often with my clients, but when it does, it’s not because of a sudden increase in muscle mass. Good news – water retention and excess caloric intake are simple fixes.

You Can Work Out to Maintain, Not Just to Gain

Working out is not an eternal upward slant. Goals do get reached.

Once you’ve achieved your goal weight or strength or fitness level, you can change your fitness and nutrition plan to maintain. There’s no reason to continue building and strengthening beyond what you want to. It’s your body – you get to choose how you want it to look.

Kicking into maintenance mode will definitely keep you from building muscle beyond what you want. No risk of bulking up here.

The bottom line is, if you’re eating clean and working out, you’ll burn fat (which is bulky) and strengthen muscle (which is compact) – expect to get smaller.

Need some help with clean eating? Join my Facebook group The Clean Eatery for tips, community, and motivation. Also, sign up here for 7 tips about how to improve your self-discipline.

Clean Eats on a Dime (And 6 Costly Mistakes to Avoid)

As a Coach, Nurse Practitioner, and host of The Clean Eatery, I often hear clients and patients say how expensive they think clean eating is.

At first, I didn’t understand. I didn’t find it expensive at all. In fact, it’s much cheaper! I soon realized why. There are six mistakes people make that cause clean eats to be more expensive than eating processed foods.

Before we look at how cheap clean eating really is, let’s look at the common mistakes people make that can inflate the cost unnecessarily.

Costly Clean Eating Mistakes to Avoid

Filling the Fridge with Good Food

It sounds weird, doesn’t it, that putting good food in a fridge is a mistake? But it is. People get all pumped up, fill their cart in the produce section, and set it in the fridge… and it’s more than they can or will use in a week, so it goes bad. Money effectively flushed.

Buying Pre-made

It can be tempting, especially as a beginner, to buy pre-packaged food. It’s certainly easier, and if you’re in a pinch for time, sometimes it’s worth the cost. Buying pre-cut fruits and veggies, for example, is much more costly than buying the whole fruits and veggies and cutting them yourself. You’ll pay more for a pre-packaged parmesan chicken breast than a plain chicken breast that you season at home. (You’ll also save yourself the chemicals, but I digress…)

Going Organic

No, despite immense pressure from the foodie community and those who can afford such luxuries, buying organic is not actually required. Especially if you’re starting out or on a limited budget, there just has to be some flexibility on this point. Eating clean is not an all-or-nothing deal where you have to eat all organic, fair trade, locally sourced, or don’t even bother. It just isn’t. Listen, a carrot or salad is better than crackers or chips any day of the week – organic or no. I know there’s a lot of pressure and social status attached to one’s food choices these days, but trust me on this – it’s a heck of a lot cheaper to go non-organic, and a carrot by any other name (organic or not) will taste as sweet.

Buying Frozen Produce

Despite popular belief, fresh produce actually tends to be less expensive than frozen. This is highly debated, in part because of how fresh produce prices fluctuate seasonally, but I found a third option that’s even better. I buy fast frozen vegetables. They have a longer shelf-life, and their nutritional value is often more intact than raw or canned vegetables.

Eating Clean and Dirty at the Same Time

The most expensive option I can think of is to maintain old shopping and eating habits while also buying items for a clean diet. When people double up like that, they inevitably must throw lots away. Lettuce wilts, tomatoes go uneaten, and the drawer of good intentions – er, I mean the crisper, fills with microbial lifeforms. It wastes both food and money, and nobody eats any cleaner because of it.

Lack of Planning

And I’m not talking about meal planning. I’m talking about thinking ahead so when you’re stuck in the middle of a day of errands and appointments and suddenly get hungry, you’re not stuck doing drive through. Forgetting to eat before you head into your day’s activities leaves you stranded, having to buy unnecessary extras on the go.

Clean Eats on a Dime – Keeping Costs Down

Clean eating doesn’t have to cost much. If you start by avoiding those six common mistakes and doing the opposite instead, you’ll be saving money on your grocery bill, not spending more.

Keep costs down by…

* Buying only one week’s worth of food at a time.
* Avoiding pre-made – make your own meals from whole and not processed foods, cut your own veggies.
* Buy non-organic produce.
* Don’t assume fresh produce is more costly than frozen. Compare prices often.
* Commit to clean eating – financing both old and new diets is expensive.
* Plan your day – eat ahead, and pack food along – to save on expensive convenience foods.

Clean eating is actually super simple and cheap.

If you’re just starting out and feel overwhelmed, or feel this whole clean eating thing is complicated, check out this post on how simple and minimalist it can really be. I hate cooking too much to be inventing new, sophisticated recipes with obscure ingredients. My plan’s got to be fast and easy. And it is.

Also, if you’re looking for some motivation, community, or help along the way in your clean eating journey, come on over and join The Clean Eatery, my Facebook group. We’d love to have you.

CLICK HERE to receive a FREE printable guide re: getting started NOW with Clean Eating!

3 Myths That Keep us Fat and Tired (and What to do Instead)

Millions of books, articles, coaches, and programs tell us how to slim down and get healthy, yet most of us still struggle. We’ll try diets and we might even workout really hard for a while, only to return to the same, tired problem.

We’re fat. We’re tired. And we don’t know why.

A big reason is because some of the advice out there is just plain wrong. Believing these lies, we continue to struggle with weight and fatigue.

I’ll look at three of the biggest myths we believe, and then show you the truth

Myth #1: Eating Less Helps Us Lose Fat

Sorry, no. Eating less does not help us lose fat. Some people who try calorie cutting may experience a loss in weight, but it’s not fat they’re losing. Without adequate sustenance, the body will fuel itself by burning muscles, not fat.

What’s worse, when regular eating resumes, the body will pack the pounds back on, and in the form of fat. I know, it’s unfair. But this is how it is.

The truth is, it’s not how much we eat, but what kind of food we eat that dictates fat loss or gain. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

Myth #2: Exercising More Burns Fat

What a weird thing for a fitness coach to say, right? But it’s true – exercising won’t burn fat. It builds muscle. It sends endorphins coursing through you, making you feel awesome. It has loads of health benefits and I obviously recommend exercise. But don’t expect it to be just this that burns the fat. You’ll be very frustrated if you do.

Exercise doesn’t tell our bodies whether or not to store or burn fat either, hormones do, as I’ll soon explain.

Myth #3: Ab Workouts Give You Abs

I know this goes along with Myth #2, but it’s such a common belief, it needs its own point.

We’ve been misled – perhaps by our own desperation – to believe that if we just do enough crunches, if we really hit those sit-ups hard, the fat will melt off our midsection and we’ll finally be slim.

Not so. It is impossible to turn fat into muscle.
No, I’m afraid abs are made in the kitchen.

So How Do We Really Burn Fat Then??

The reason none of these things work to burn fat is because they don’t impact the boss. The decision maker. The one who decides whether our body will store fat or burn it.

And that boss is our hormones.

Our hormones – particularly insulin – decide when to store food as fat rather than burning it.
Are you curious what swings insulin to choose fat storage? Are you sure? You won’t like the answer.
Oh, alright.

What triggers insulin to tell our bodies to store our food as fat is the intake of sugars, carbohydrates, and pretty much any processed foods (because they typically contain both carbohydrates and sugars (plus chemicals), and in high amounts too.)

Note: The recommended clean eating for everyone is NOT a carb-free approach. Our bodies need carbs. We just need the right kinds and in the right amounts. The less processed the better too.

Our hormones ultimately decide how much fat to store, and they don’t care about crunches. You can do two hundred sit-ups every day, it won’t matter unless you feed the hormones what they need to choose to burn fat instead.

It’s not just how much we eat or whether we workout, it’s what we eat that determines whether fat is burned or stored.

Clean eating is super, crazy important. It’s critical.
We can’t be healthy or lose fat without it.

This is why I advocate for and lead a Clean Eating Class regularly on Facebook. It’s free to join, and comes with a meal plan, recipes, shopping list, and daily challenges and motivation from me and others in the group. Contact me to join here and I’ll send you registration information.

Stop letting these myths delay your progress.
Kick your hormones into fat-burning mode with clean eating today!

LETS DO THIS!

#1. Click the button below to receive a PDF about how to get started with a clean eating lifestyle NOW!

#2. THEN, Contact me to learn more about joining a clean eating challenge and burning fat!

CLICK HERE to receive a FREE PDF re: getting started NOW with Clean Eating!