nutrition Archives

Working Out for Beginners (and Grandmas), and the surprising way it will change your life.

...to be healthy and fit feels fabulous! — …to be healthy and fit feels great and is worth the work!

Thinking of working out, but you’re a little afraid?

Or maybe you’re afraid of getting bulging muscles. (Don’t worry ladies, that’s highly unlikely.)

Think you’re too weak or too old or too lazy, but you want to at least give it a try?

Good.

Then I want to quickly tell you how it’s going to change your life. I mean even in your everyday stuff. I’d also like to give you a bit of direction about how to start.

How Working Out Will Change Your Life

The first thing many want when they start on their fitness journey is to look different. Thinner, smaller, tougher, lean. And that may happen, but you need to know right at the start, you’ll get much more out of it than just looks.

Your energy will increase. Assuming you’re eating clean and getting enough calories, the adrenaline and other hormones released into your body by exercise will affect your energy.

Your body will work better. Exercise affects you even at a cellular level. When you’re active, the body will use food more efficiently, and many parts – like the thyroid, endocrine system, pancreas, digestive system – will all signal and function better as a result. It’s pretty amazing how movement (or non-movement) affects the body.

You’ll feel better. Client after client has reported feeling more positive, less depressed or lethargic, more motivated and a feeling of being more capable. Exercise improves mental and emotional health, not just physical.

You can do more normal stuff. I’ve noticed this in my own body. Since I began working out, I can do a lot more on my own. I can bring in all the bags of groceries by myself without huffing and puffing afterward. I can shovel snow without pulling a muscle. My joints are stronger. And, if I need to move the couch or fridge, I can do it easily on my own – all important things for a single grandma!

Working Out – Where to Start

It’s a bit tough to say where to start, because it really depends on where your body is at.

A person recovering from back surgery or a teenager will need a whole different routine than an overweight mid-forties woman who’s otherwise healthy.

It’s always best to get the personalized advice from a coach who can advise you based on your specific needs and fitness level. (I can help with that) So please take the following not as specific personal advice for you to follow, but more as a general guideline.

That said, it’s often best to start slow. For a few reasons. If you’ve been especially sedentary or have health issues, this is especially true. A good beginning for you might be to stretch daily or every other day, and go for a walk or bike ride. Keep it light to start – pushing too hard right off will only destroy your motivation and invite injuries.

The next stage would be to increase intensity by either lengthening the time of your walk or bike ride, or increasing the difficulty, perhaps by traveling uphill or going faster for portions of the workout. A person could also add a cardio workout routine or consider joining an accountability group! Click HERE to ask how!

The (Most Important) Thing Beginners Forget About

Most people stop there, forgetting to add the vital element of weight lifting (resistance training).

Wait ladies – before you envision giant barbells and bulging muscles – that’s not what I mean. Not at all.

Here’s the truth about muscles. If you don’t make them work, they weaken. They weaken a lot and actually shrink (atrophy), becoming nearly useless. A lack of exercise leads to atrophy of skeletal muscle, which essentially leads to a smaller number and size of the muscle cells!

Lifting is Easier Than You Think

Just so you know, lifting doesn’t have to be this big, demanding ordeal. I’ve been working out for years, and only lift 2-3 times a week. The rest is cardio. It doesn’t take huge amounts of time to get results.

It may suit you best to start out with smaller weights (3-5 lbs) even once a week, and work up to 10 or 15 as you gain strength.

The bottom line: if you don’t use your muscles, they’re going to leave you.
You need them. Work them. Even just a little at first. Starting small is okay.
The important thing is that you start.

To get tips about getting started on clean eating, click HERE.

To join the athletic grandma community, enter your email address HERE and get a free download about how to improve your self-discipline!

Energy and Youth, in only one shake a day

Perfect time for an icy shake...post-workout while red-faced and hot! yumm :) — Perfect time for an icy shake…post-workout while red-faced and sweaty! yumm 🙂

I call this stuff my youth and energy potion. ? Seriously though, over two years of drinking this superfood every single day has changed my life!! Cripe, it even has me bright-eyed and bushy tailed at 5 am in the morning!!

The things superfood has done for me is hard to fully describe, but I will do my best to give you a good idea of what it could do for you by giving you details of my experience 🙂

1. My energy is so amazing despite sleep deprivation and working full time (and raising baby grandson)

2. An indescribable level of well-being which then gives me a high level of positivity and has improved all of my relationships.

3. Has given me incredible mental clarity...feels great to be sharp, clearer thinking, and to be on my toes!

4. Has made it MUCH easier to maintain a long term clean eating lifestyle by cutting cravings (and with good energy, you don’t feel as hungry!!)…and it is so delicious, I feel like I am getting a treat every day!

5. My hair, skin and nails are more soft, supple and younger looking and with a healthy glow! (Youth!)

6. The combination of phytonutrients, cellular nutrition, and antioxidants is giving my body the high level of nutrition it needs to fight illness and prevent disease! It makes me feel good to know that I am doing the best I can to prevent disease connected to oxidative stress such as cancer! …not to mention preventative power against obesity & nutrition-related disease like gallbladder and liver disease, heart attack and strokes and more!

I can tell you with absolute certainty that I will NOT be without my daily superfood…EVER!

To get more detailed information on what superfood will do for you, please comment below or send me a message

The 100% rule completely changed my life (and it can change yours too!)

The 100% rule has completely changed my life!! 100% is easier than 99%.

Say what?

Yes!! When we stick to something 100% it’s far easier than if we give in to even 1%. If we decide to quit smoking and allow even a few puffs here and there, how hard would it be to stay quit? Or have you truly even “quit” if you still dabble in it?

The same goes with eating sugar or junk food! If we stay away from it 100%, it becomes solid in our mind and is actually easy! If you give in and even have one chocolate or a few chips, then how HARD does it become not to have more?

The same rule applies to exercise. If we allow our exercise to slide even 1%, how hard does it become to get back or stay on track after that? I am currently away from home at a conference in Florida for a week with very long days and minimal sleep. But this is no excuse not to be 100% with exercise and superfood. No way was I going to let my health slip because of travel … I know how hard it would be to get back on track if I allowed even 1% slip! I digitally streamed my workouts on laptop and got my early morning MMA workout in, in a very small 6×6′ space and had a delicious superfood shake afterwards. Once you have decided to commit 100%, then no excuses will be valid, and it will be much easier!

It is true that our well-meaning 99% effort actually becomes exhausting since it consumes more energy without producing results! It is actually stressful! It makes us feel like a failure when we are not — we just haven’t fully committed to something. Putting only 99% effort into things that really matter in life means we are constantly falling short of our potential — and feeling bad about it.

It boils down to decision and commitment. If you quit smoking, then in your mind, you need to 100% not touch cigarettes…then you can identify powerfully and with certainty as a ‘non-smoker’. Because even 1% use still means you are a smoker!

Jack Canfield puts it in this way “99% is a b*tch, and 100% is a breeze”. If something is tugging at you, then you likely have been “99-per centing” too long!

Comment below about some habits that you need to change? What have you been 99% on that feels so difficult? Give 100% a try, you may find that it will change your life as it changed mine!

CLICK HERE to get a free download about how to get started with a clean eating lifestyle

COMPLETE THIS FORM, to join the upcoming “love-yourself” fitness challenge group for February 2017! To get some idea what a challenge group is about first before you sign up, watch the video HERE.

12 Reasons Women Think They’re Overweight (Which One Have You Used?)

It sometimes takes a little detective work to uncover the root cause... — It sometimes takes a little detective work to uncover the root cause…

The other day I asked my Facebook followers a very personal question. “For those of you who feel you are overweight, what do you honestly think the reason is for you being overweight? No judgment here, I’m just interested in the answers.”

The comments that came in were surprisingly varied and honest.

Of the many answers given, the following list of twelve reasons is a culmination of common themes and answers given.

See if any of them hit a nerve with you personally.

A lack of control and willpower. I make excuses for myself and lack balance when it comes to health.
I am stressed. Stressed with the kids, overwhelmed with life, and not getting enough sleep either.
I’m overly busy at work and home. Often that leads to not planning meals or packing healthy food for the day, or not eating enough. I’m pretty sure that’s affecting my weight.
I hate exercise (or can’t exercise due to medical issues)
Emotional eating and other bad eating habits have plagued me for years. Maybe since childhood. And I struggle to believe I can change it
I’m a sucker for junk food. Sweet, salty, bring it on. I can’t resist.
I just plain love food. Lots of it. Pass the potatoes. And the gravy too.
I think my biggest problem is laziness. It’s too much work to cook. Or exercise. And especially to be consistent with it. Sometimes I can do it well for a while, but then I fall off again, which makes me feel like giving up.
I don’t care. There are more important things than health and fitness. I’m fine the way I am.
My physical and mental limitations make me overweight. (depression, hypothyroidism, boredom, hormonal issues, PMS, digestive issues)
I’m going through a major lifestyle change – there’s not time!! (Just had a baby, changing jobs or schedules, new marriage, moving to a new home, death in family…)
I try and try, but keep falling off the wagon. Why BOTHER?! It’s depressing and embarrassing to fail at this all the time. Hard to get motivated with that going on…

That’s not all. Many women also said they didn’t like the feeling of being overweight. Which makes sense.

As these varied answers show, there is no one reason for why we’re overweight. It should be obvious then that there is also no one solution. Still, we think there is, don’t we? Exercise and eat right. That’s the magic fix for everyone. But that’s just behavior. Behavior is always driven by something deeper.

Ultimately, to fix the problem, to actually make a lasting change, we need to understand the root cause.

Once we glimpse what’s driving our behavior, we have a chance. Then we can change our beliefs or behavior to lead to transformative change.

Which of the 12 reasons did you most identify with? Mention them in the comments, or feel free to add your own reason.

CONTACT ME here, if you would like help to dig deeper, identify and resolve your own ROOT cause (many times, its not obvious and we are not even aware of it!) to make longer term success easier and more possible for you.

Is your Stress Causing Weight Gain?

Stress leads to unwanted gains or difficulty losing

We women struggle with weight.

Especially if we’re over thirty or forty.

Without our permission, weight begins to add itself to our waistline.
Even if we’re eating well and exercising! It’s so unfair.

What’s worse, and what adds to the injustice, is the advice of some medical professionals to “get used to it” because it’s “just how it is”. “This is aging, sorry.” “Nothing you can do about it.”

That, my friend, is bunk. Baloney. Boohockey. Bull.

There is absolutely something we can do about pre-menopausal weight gain.
I know this not only as a medical professional. I know not only as a fitness coach whose clients experience success. I know because I LIVED it. I was middle-aged, over-weight, and desperate for a solution. And I beat it.

Middle-aged, pre-menopausal, unbalanced-hormone induced weight gain is absolutely something we can influence and even conquer.

There are a few factors that worsen or improve premenopausal symptoms (like weight gain). We’ve talked about a few of them. Today I want to address one of the big ones.

It may surprise you to learn that stress impacts both our hormones and fat storage.

Medically Speaking

Cortisol is a hormone that regulates both hunger and fat storage. The more stress you have, the more Cortisol is released. This hormone causes fat storage, particularly around the mid-section.

At the same time, this flooding of hormones also suppresses the thyroid which is in charge of our metabolism. So, chronic stress lowers thyroid function which slows metabolism – another cause for fat storage.

Translation: Stress tells our hormones to store fat.

This is meant to fuel the fight or flight response stress historically required. If you were a cavewoman, stressed out by the cougar stalking your family, your body would fuel you for the fight. Today, in our culture, we need not flee or fight to battle the stressor. Demanding children, insufficient finances, high demands at work, or difficult relationships are our stressors. These modern stressors are dealt with more internally. So all the fuel gets stored instead of used.
That storage warehouse is located on our midsection. Aren’t we lucky?

What To Do About It

Despite this process being knitted right into our DNA, we actually can regulate how our body works. We’ve talked about balancing hormones with food and exercise, but let’s address stress. How can we combat stress?

Let’s start with how not to combat stress: hiding in any unhealthy behaviour or substance will actually do the opposite – it will cause more stress. Over-eating, over-shopping, alcohol and drug use, and over-use of media and screens can all be tempting as a way to unwind or relax, but they actually do us harm.

Food, drugs, and alcohol fiddle with our hormones (and internal organs), over-shopping can pinch the wallet, adding more stress, and over-use of media and screens leaves us feeling empty, lethargic, and sedentary.

I started with how not to reduce stress because reducing stress is actually highly personal. There’s no ‘one list’ of specific things to do that will, guaranteed, reduce stress for everyone. One person will be energized by being with a group of friends, and another will be exhausted by it for example.

I can offer ideas though. People have found the following to be energizing, relaxing, and refreshing. Try them out. Experiment. See what lowers your stress level. Then keep it up. Add it to your regular weekly (or daily) schedule. This is not about a quick fix, it’s about maintenance. Health is a long-game, not a fast food.

Ideas to De-Stress:

Meditation and/or prayer
Hang out with friends
Play with your kids
Do something active (skiing, tennis, snowmobiling, quadding, walk, jog, bike, hike, swim…)
Read a book (one you enjoy, not one that feels like homework)
Take a day off – do no work. No house work, no yard work, no thinking about work.
Do something creative (knitting, woodworking, painting, writing, scrapbooking, pottery, singing, dancing class…)
Go for a long drive
Check out open houses, window shop in a store you love,
Get a spa treatment – massage, manicure, or a nice long hair treatment
Go on a retreat, spend some time reflecting.

Even when we eat well and exercise, a high-stress lifestyle can stall any fat-burning success we seek.

Health isn’t a tactical approach. (as Westerners, we hate this, I know. We want results and we want them now!) But health is holistic. It’s a process of maintaining health on all fronts, not just one. We need to focus on clean eating as much as we focus on exercise, as much as we focus on minimizing stress. This is what it takes to thrive in health.

If you’re tempted to feel overwhelmed by this, thinking, “well, I’m not getting them all right, so I may as well do none of them”, don’t give up!!

New habits are hard to establish, and old ones are hard to break. Keep trying. Then try some more. Change one small thing at a time. Think progress, not perfection. It’s the long game, not fast food.

Don’t give up.

You can do this.

Please take a minute to COMMENT on this article! I would love to hear from you!

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

Is Your Stress Level Triggering Pre-Menopausal Symptoms? How to Tell and What to Do About It

Stress can totally work against our body's healthy function. — Stress can totally work against our body’s healthy function.

We women often demand much of our bodies.

Too much sometimes.

We have demanding and stressful careers. Family responsibilities. Our spousal relationship may not be the best. Aging parents can add to the burden. It all adds up to a lot of stress, which takes its toll on the body.

What we find out too late though, is that stress can actually trigger early menopausal symptoms.

If your body is under even a moderate level of stress and over the age of thirty, it’s possible your stress is to blame for pre-menopause. Check out this list of symptoms to find out if it might be happening to you:

Do You Have These Pre-Menopausal Symptoms?

• Irregular menstrual cycles
• Light or heavy menstrual flow
• Lumpy or tender breasts
• Fibroid tumors
• Endometriosis
• Mood swings
• Water retention and bloating
• Sleep problems
• “Foggy, fuzzy” thinking and memory lapses
• Anxiety and depression
• Inability to handle stress
• PMS
• Hot flashes and night sweats
• Vaginal dryness
• Weight gain

If so, you may be on the long (often more than ten years!) path to menopause.

(Quick pause here – menopause is the body’s cessation of the menstrual cycle. But it doesn’t happen overnight. Pre-menopause is the body’s long process of preparing. It slowly reduces the degree and frequency of ovulation until finally it does not happen anymore. The process results in hormonal imbalance, which produces many of the above symptoms.)

What most women don’t know is that we have the power to change it.

We can influence our hormonal balance.

But it’s going to take a bit of work. Because we’ve been wrecking our hormones for a while. Incrementally, every day, our habits actually work against us, pulling our hormones in directions they shouldn’t go.

Other ways we women ravage our hormonal balance include obesity, lack of exercise, poor nutrition, and excess caffeine and alcohol. These add to the problem instead of helping the body cope with what is demanded of it.

Effects of Hormone Imbalance:

Low sex drive
Bloating
Weight gain
Headaches before menstrual period
Mood swings
Irregular periods / excessive bleeding

When hormones are balanced, we tend to feel more alert, energetic, and ready to take on the challenges of life!

So how can we tell if the pre-menopausal symptoms are, in fact, happening because of hormone imbalance?

That’s an important question. Because stress, age, and lifestyle choices are not the only consideration. Some of the symptoms listed can be signs of other conditions. That’s why it’s important to consult a physician or nurse practitioner with knowledge and experience in the area of hormonal balance. (I’m one.)

How To Help Re-Balance Your Hormones:

Like I said, there is something you can do.

But I kind of don’t want to tell you. Because I’m afraid you’ll roll your eyes and say, “Pfft. I knew that.” But sometimes the most powerful truths are the ones you’ve heard a thousand times from a hundred different places … but you may have just preferred to keep your head in the sand.

Trust me, I know. I’ve been there, done that.

Okay, here’s the deal.

Rebalancing your hormones can be simple, but takes the work of doing these things:

Reduce caffeine (did I lose you already? Come back! You can do it!!)
Reduce alcohol (yes, you can do it.)
Exercise regularly (If you hate exercise, you probably haven’t tried these fun programs)
Eat clean. (If you’re really new at this, just start with eating some kind of vegetables every day. Or add one superfood shake a day….perhaps join a clean eating challenge to learn more)
Reduce stress (Meditate, schedule some quiet time every day and every week, using that time to do something that recharges you.)

I’ve been where you are.

I’ve been fatigued, unbalanced, and unaware – and I’m a Nurse Practitioner!! So don’t feel bad. It happens to us all. At least you’re not stuck, right? There IS something you can do.
And I can help you through it.

Need a health or menopause coach, or some advice on which exercise program to try out? I’m your woman.

Have some questions you’d rather not post in the comment section? Contact me here.

Or, if you are having the pre-menopause symptoms above, some hot flashes and night sweats and are looking for some natural solutions, download this free PDF!

Mondays are the best!

Even though Mondays typically have a bad rap, they still tend to be one of the best days of the week and I’ll tell you why…

Mondays are the day that we have a fresh start &new beginnings, the first day to implement your goals for the week, a new start, and a date to start off fresh and creative.

My goals for this week are to be sure to have superfood every single day, exercise of some kind every single day and… To wear my glasses every day so that my eyes are not burning by the end of the week!! ?

My other important goal this week, is to get the message out to you that I have a new health and fitness accountability group starting in May 2016 that you can connect to! We can always use more accountability! ??

I hope that you have a Marvellous Monday and an accomplished week! ?

#AthleticGrandma #SetAndAchieveGoals #MarvelousMonday #Accountability #FitnessGal1969 #mondaysaregreatdays

The Magic to Anti-Aging!

Would you like to learn the BEST and most effective anti-aging strategy there is?

My “then” picture was taken back in February of 2014. I was tired, not sleeping, aching all over, irritable, miserable, overweight, had poor digestion, miserable cravings, PMS and had no exercise tolerance. I knew I was going to become a new grandma and the thought of being in crappy shape, not being able to keep up to my grandkids was just making me more miserable!!!

After going through numerous medical tests which proved there was nothing medically wrong with me, I knew I had to do something..and fast! I felt like I was sick and dying inside!

I made the DECISION to make some lifestyle changes. I incorporated portion control clean eating, professionally designed fitness program and superfood shakes every day. Over the last 2 years, I have failed and restarted numerous times but kept failing forward …and I realized today when I compared my headshots from them to NOW, it truly HIT me just how much difference this has made in my appearance!!

You can just see it! I am 40 pounds less, so much more positive, full of spunk, hair and skin are glowing and I look so much younger!!! Fitness, superfood nutrition and working on my mindset has totally changed me from the inside out!! This method takes dedication and consistency, but does more to improve health and appearance than any pill or cream can, that’s for sure! ?.

Take a minute to message me or comment if you think a transformation like this would make a difference in your life! ?

#CleanEating #Fitness #bestantiagingtips #AthleticGrandma #FitnessGal1969 #askmehow #superfoods #professionaltrainers