Monthly Archives: February 2011

Why do you drink?

Posted on February 25, 2011 | Leave a comment

A funny thing happened today that got me thinking about, how do I say this…CRAP SCIENCE!

I overheard two ladies discussing the profound benefit of alcohol.  My ears perked up when one of them blurted out (ok, so I didn’t overhear it, they were on the other side of the room), “I was told by my doctor that a couple of glasses of red wine are good for you!” This was naturally followed up with an excited squeal of joy and a resounding, “I have heard that too!”

I wanted to laugh out loud but instead I actually snorted. (So much for being nonchalant).

Sure, there are studies that support the argument that red wine and many other forms of alcoholic beverages have some health benefits.  There are also studies that support the counter argument that any benefits alcohol may provide you are lost with the damage alcohol can cause.

I’m not here to tell you whether you should or shouldn’t drink, (unless you’re a client of mine then I’ll kick your butt.)

What I am here to tell you is simple…alcohol in any form is sugar.  If you are having a challenge with your weight.  If you have made a commitment to yourself to lose weight, improve your health or you have any number of sugar related issues (diabetes for example), alcohol can not be part of your lifestyle.  I don’t care if it’s in moderation, for cardio vascular benefits, for the flavonoids or the chance it may lower cholesterol.

Well, I have a few shocking pieces of research to offer you too.  Exercise lowers bad cholesterol levels and improves cardio-vascular performance.  Exercise makes you naturally sexy…alcohol, artificial sexy.

There are many foods that are flavonoid rich…

Blueberries,Blackberries,  Strawberries,  Raspberries,  Plums,  Prunes,  Dark cherries (Morello and others), Oranges, Tangerines, Pink grapefruits, Apples, Pears, Kiwi, Watermelon, Kale, Garlic (raw), Watercress, Parsley (Italian or curly), Spinach, Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Beets, Red peppers (raw), Carrots, Tomatoes (ripe), Squash, Cucumber (field), Chocolate (70 percent)

My research hasn’t been paid for by alcohol beverage producers either, so you can pretty much consider it honest and unbiased.

This may be a little harsh, and I am sure some people who read this will be thinking something along the lines of, “Crazy girl”, but debating the benefits of alcohol for your health is a cheap excuse.  A cheap excuse that is a lot like people who are looking for the magic pill, potion or next big fad.

You want health benefits? MOVE

You want extra special big words in your nutrition plan? EAT HEALTHY FOODS

You want to argue the exhilarating benefits of alcohol? Here are some to help you out…

Arthritis, Cancer, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Heart Disease, Hyperglycermia, Hypoglycemia, Kidney Disease, Liver Disease, Malnutrition, Nervous Disorders, Obesity, Psychological disturbances…and my favourite…it AGES YOU prematurely.

Have a great weekend everyone.  Make great choices for your health and if you decide you want to drink, please do so responsibly.

 

Your choice

 

 


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Posted in Exercise, Nutrition

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Adapt, Overcome, Improve, or Quit

Posted on February 23, 2011 | 5 Comments

What do you do when you are faced with a challenge? Do you give up or do you push through?

Last week at boot camp we were presented with a challenge.  Our location got overbooked.  Our school gym space was occupied when we arrived and was going to stay that way well into the late evening.  Our options were to cancel the class or use the cafeteria.  Obviously the first choice was not desirable and the second…not ideal.

We chose to adapt and overcome.  We dropped our stuff made some room and we went at it.  We used what we had and improvised.

Right next to the school cafeteria were the stairs to the school’s upper floors.  We ran those stairs, then back to the cafeteria.  Great floor work, interrupted by stair intervals….and it was tough…but so great to do!

When you can’t make it to boot camp or there is no time to go work out, what do you do?

Do you make excuses like, “I have laundry to do.  My feet are sore.  I’m tired.  My favourite show is on.  Weights are heavy.”

The truth is that you don’t need a gym or tons of equipment to get into great shape. You don’t need fancy or trendy exercise fads.  All you need to get into great shape is to have a commitment. Commitment to yourself.  To your goals and to your well-being.

Sounds easy right?  Well it’s not, it’s tough.  I know how hard it is to get motivated. That’s why I started boot camps so that people could have a group of like-minded people who want to get in shape and stay healthy.  People to share their struggles but more importantly, celebrate in their accomplishments!

I love how I feel after I workout.  I’m proud that I did it.  I love to have a challenge.  I love knowing that the exercise I did is helping me stay fit, healthy and young.

I know painfully well the other side of not working out….feeling tired, sad, miserable, sluggish.  Being active and exercising gives you energy.  Who doesn’t want that!!

I put together a ” 6 minute bedroom boot camp ” that you can do at home before bed or once you wake up.  You can do a couple of rounds of it depending on your fitness level.

It has 3 great options for your fitness level.  Using dumbbells, or a band or if you have nothing you can use your body weight.

You can work out anywhere, anytime.  On vacation, business trips, away visiting family.  You name the reason excuse and I can still give you motivation and a better reason to workout.

Make the commitment to have no excuses.  You can work out anywhere.

This is a great place to put one of my favourite videos.  What’s your excuse?

 

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Confessions of an addict

Posted on February 17, 2011 | 18 Comments

There was a lot of great feedback from my last blog post.  Thank you for that.  Who knew that me talking about my stretch marks would interest anyone!

Fitness is my passion.  I love that a body can change.  I love that you can get noticeably stronger within a week of being diligent with exercise; that is a big deal people!!!  Re-read that!  You can get noticeably stronger within a week of being diligent with exercise.

I love being a part of everyone’s journey.  I love, I mean I LOVE seeing someone start boot camp who hasn’t worked out in a while and within weeks is churning out push-ups.  People that could only walk when they started are running in a short period of time.  I love that I get to be a part of that.  I get to be a part of that transformation.

ADDICTION: When one cookie is never enough

My journey in health is an ongoing one.  Here is something that I have never talked about….I am an addict.

I didn’t get to 225lbs as a teenager because of some medical condition….I ate my way there. When I got pregnant the first time,  I ate my way to a 60lb weight gain…and then repeated that (and then some) when I was pregnant with the twins.

My addiction?  Food.  I have a food addiction.  There I said it, in print.  I’ve tried to be cute about it.  I have called myself a “foodie” or “food expert”.  Oh yeah, expert.  If you do enough of anything, you can call yourself and expert and I ate enough of everything and anything!

Here is the thing with a food addiction; you can’t get away from it.  You need food to survive.  Drugs, alcohol, and other addictions, (even the creepy ones from that show Addiction on TLC-which by the way I am oddly fascinated by) can be taken out of your life and you live.  You can’t do that with food.  Take food away and the result is really dramatic, death.   So everyday, and I mean everyday, it’s a challenge for me to make good decisions.  I know what to do and I do it but boy some days I do struggle.  When I say, I know how you feel, I really do.  I battle my addiction hourly.

I don’t keep junky food in the house, because I will eat it.  Recovering crack addicts don’t leave crack on the counter, stretch analogy I know, but junk food is my crack.  Think of it this way, food is everywhere.  I have to go grocery shopping a few times a week.  I go a list in hand, focused on the goal;  To get in and get out with what is on the list.

Think about Costco…..oh lord….Costco, how I love you but once I walk in I have to go into a trance like state.  If it’s not the nice ladies offering food samples at every friggin’ isle, then it’s that bakery making their ginormous muffins. (*shaking my fists*, dang you Costco and those ginormous muffins).

If you are a crack addict, you have to go looking for crack.  It is not readily available, it is not in your office (hopefully). People don’t bring it to your house (again, I hope they don’t).

Food is everywhere and so many things are focused around it.  Weddings, birthdays, new job, new house, baby, newly pregnant and on and on.  And just when you think you’ve celebrated everything possible with food, people look for more ways to celebrate things with food.  Ever been invited to a pre-kindergarten graduation party??

“HELLO!”, food addict here, could we find a way to celebrate around something that doesn’t scream at me?  How about a nice buffet table of, I don’t know…floral arrangements?  All the self-talk I have to do to get thru some of these “celebrations” is tough.

The question I get a lot is “what do you eat?”  If not that question, it is the statement “I bet all you eat is vegetables”.

Listen, you put a red velvet cupcake within arms length of me, watch out….I can have that sucker inhaled in seconds when my willpower is at a zero.

Some foods are my kryptonite, scratch that…one thing is my kryptonite….sugar……sugar brings me to my knees….cold sweats, internal negotiating, justifications, the shakes…..it is quite exhausting.

One thing that helps me, is knowing (and remembering) how absolutely crappy it felt to be 225.  I hated everything, and how every time I squeezed into size 18/20 pants it destroyed a little piece of me.

All the candy or red velvet cake in the world will never be worth going back to being bigger, or the feelings that brought about.

If you take away anything from this, take this……I have more energy and I am happy because I am at a healthy weight.

I also think about my family.  I LOVE my husband and my kids more than anything…and I don’t want my health or my addiction to affect my life with them. I want to live a long life.

So if you are struggling with your weight and you justify having that cake, the extra glass of wine or the fries…your body will never change.   You will always be tired and have lower energy then you could otherwise have.  You will always be looking for that next diet, magic pill, potion or lotion.  It’s really that simple.

If I can do it, you can do it too, believe that!!

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Posted in Inspiration, Nutrition

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Valentine’s Day…make it about love, not candy

Posted on February 14, 2011 | 7 Comments

It’s Valentine’s Day and I will admit like most women, I looooove Valentine’s Day.

Now I know right now you are probably thinking that I am going to go on and on in this post about not eating candy and that extra weight is harmful to your heart – so now that I have covered that I can move on.

I used to love it for other reasons.  I used to love it because the stores were lined with red and white candy in early January. I used to love it because it was just another reason to eat and celebrate with food.  But, then I used to be over 200 pounds too.

Valentines Day used to be a sanctioned day for me to eat chocolate and all sorts of other sugary candy.  By that alone, how could you not feel love on such a day???  I lived in denial for many, many years. Fact: food will never give you love or make you feel loved. It did the opposite for me….I pushed people away because I was insecure about my weight and how I looked.

Sharing moment:  After my pregnancies, I had a lot of weight to lose and I didn’t want to be seen or even hugged.  There was no Valentine’s romance for me or my beloved :( I came up with every excuse no time, too tired, I will start on Monday, this one bite won’t hurt.  It went on and on.  I felt like I did when I weighed over 200lbs….

Then, I regrouped and made the effort—healthy meals and exercise.  I lost all of the pregnancy weight,  (had to do that twice).  I have a very patient and loving husband who was and is very supportive. So when I tell you that I know how you fee, I actually do.

Valentine’s Day for me is not about the chocolate and candy.  It’s about loving me….loving a healthy version of me.  If I love myself then I can love others in my life and that is something we all deserve, as do the ones who love us.

I still have issues (*alert* sharing moment number two coming up). I have stretch marks -ugh I don’t love them and never will…..but it is a reminder of where I don’t want to be.  I have the scars that come with 2 C-sections – and I have stretched skin…as my husband will say, “Hello you had twins!!!” So I have a couple of physical issues that I don’t love…but I love that I am healthy and that I am not overweight anymore.

Being overweight was the hardest thing for me–mentally and physically. I didn’t love myself enough to do something (exercise and eat right) for a long time when I was younger.

If you lost the extra weight you have been talking about losing, whether it is 5 lbs or 50lbs, you will feel better not only physically in that your body will be able to move better, you will be less achy, you will be able to do more BUT you will feel better in that you will have the confidence to do more-losing that weight will give you the confidence to try a new activity or to re connect with your spouse in a romantic way.

Yes, I constantly preach about being healthy because I have played on both sides and I know that being on Team Healthy is a better life than being on Team Candy

Bathing in it, better than eating it. :)

Ok…so let’s lighten (hehehe lighten–get it) this up a bit.  If, you want to fully experience your Valentine’s Day….then choose wisely…..if you must have chocolate then choose a good piece of healthy dark chocolate.  Please note that I said piece not the foot long chocolate bar.

Dark chocolate should be at least 70% cocao.  Enjoy it–actually taste the flavour, don’t just inhale it.

It is the same with wine.  Now, I don’t drink alcohol (simmer down I don’t like the taste of it) and if I am going to ingest calories, I’m eating them not slurping them down.  Ok, back to the wine analogy.  Having a good piece of dark chocolate is the same (I think) as having a nice glass of wine.  You don’t want cheap, plastic tasting chocolate—just like you don’t want wine out of a box.

Make Valentine’s 2011 different, don’t do the candy, eat and exercise so you protect your heart and can live a long, loving life.

Be romantic with your spouse, or loved one…rekindle that romance.

A note to all saboteurs: Stop pushing your candy on people who don’t want it or need it.  If you are trying to get people around you to gain weight or to make them feel miserable…stop it!

Happy Valentine’s Day to you.  Keep on or start loving yourself!!!

Love,

Me

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Anyone for a Pantry Raid

Posted on February 11, 2011 | Leave a comment

“Hey Carrie, what do you eat?”

I must hear this at least three times a week.  Either on Twitter, Facebook, a post on this blog or from my clients.  It comes with the territory when you live a life of trying to keep people doing their very best! Helping other people in their quest for a healthier lifestyle.  I guess when you tell people, “Don’t eat that, choose this, turn away from that plate, etc…” you have to be ready to put up or shut up.

Yes…I do eat what I advise others to eat.

No…I don’t drink alcohol

Yes…I have treats in my house (popcorn and multi-grain tortilla chips for the little people in our house)

No…I don’t believe in using a social get-together as an excuse to drop your good eating habits.

Teen aged Carrie

I wasn’t always able to make those statements.  After all you don’t get to be over 200 pounds without eating the wrong things.  I know, I’ve been there and when I say, “I know how you feel, I’ve been there, done that.”  I really do.

So, if you were to come to my house right now, or any other day for that matter, here is what you will find.  This is also exactly what I will recommend that you have in your home as well.

1. Chicken
2. Veggies (all)
3. Nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, pecans)
4. Seasonings and herbs (love summer for the fresh ones)
5. Extra lean beef
6. Nut butters (almond and peanut – both all natural)
7. Rolled Oats
8. Olive Oil (cold pressed extra virgin)
9. Unsweetened Almond Milk
10. Beans (all types – black, kidney)
11. Quinoa
12. Avocados
13. Fruit – fresh and frozen (frozen for shakes/smoothies)
14.  Protein powder (mine is the best – but I am partial)
15.  Eggs
16. Fish (wild not farmed is better)
17. Sweet Potatoes

This by no means is the complete list of foods I would recommend…there are so many great options available to you.  A little commitment and some experimenting will allow you an incredible variety of meals options.

When you go shopping, you need to keep a couple things in mind.

1.) The best place to shop is the outside ring of the grocery store. Veggies, grains, meats, eggs, fruits are all on the outside ring.

2.) You NEED to be able to read product labels.  Foods that show packaging claims like, low fat, organic, fat free or healthy are not always up to their claims.  What goes in the box is not always as pretty as whats on the outside of the box.

If you ever need any help, have questions or just need some support, let me know!  Have a great weekend and take it as a great opportunity to buy foods that will help you so much with your nutritional goals.

Like the blog subtitle says…”WWCD”…would Carrie come to your house and raid your pantry? And if I did, would you be dropping to give me twenty?

Need a Valentine’s Day Treat? Try this great protein shake to scratch your chocolate desires!

Chocolate Berry Dream

1 scoop Health & Fitness Protein

6 oz water

1 Cup Frozen Strawberries or Raspberries

Blend and Enjoy!!

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Posted in Nutrition

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Beat the February Blues – Exercise for Happiness

Posted on February 8, 2011 | 2 Comments

 

Beat it with Exercise!!

It’s Feb-Blah-ary, or Fe-BLUE-ary.  Post holidays, shorter days, early nights, cold temperatures.

 

The good news is that you can help your mood and boost your energy during these cold and non-sunny months.

Exercise might be the last thing you want to do to boost your mood and energy, but I GUARANTEE that you will feel better and look better!

Working out perks up your body chemistry:

When you are active, your body releases neurotransmitters such as endorphins, serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine which will make all help you feel happy and help you relax…naturally!

Being active reduces your body’s production of cortisol.  It also has a calming effect on the body and thank goodness for that!  Could you imagine what I would be like without exercise?

Exercise will do this:

Boosts confidence: Achieving a fitness goal, no matter how small, will give you a sense of accomplishment.

Burns calories: How else does the weight melt away? Plus getting thinner and feeling more fit is likely to cheer you up.

Redirects your focus: You’ll be too busy trying to do one more rep of that crunch, curl, or kick to think about anything negative.

Shows you can do something positive: By choosing to get up and move, you’re taking care of yourself, and coping in a healthy way. And when you see that, you’ll believe you can take more steps forward.

How much exercise makes a difference?

So the most important thing is getting started. To get the greatest benefits, work your way up to at least 30 minutes a day, 3 to 5 days a week.

What kind of workout is best?

One you enjoy. Seriously. If it’s not something you like, you’re less likely to make the effort.

How do you get started?

The power of exercise doesn’t come from fancy equipment, but from the effort you put in. If you pick something you can get to and that fits your timetable, you’ve lowered the barriers to beginning.

Start today. Boost your activity level and help put a smile on your face.

Let me know if you think I’m right or wrong.  What feeling do you get when you exercise? Do you get a sense of accomplishment, personal pride?  I know I do, what about you?

 

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YOLKing around, Eggs are healthy!!

Posted on February 1, 2011 | 1 Comment

Which one of the following statements is true?

If you have high cholesterol, you have to avoid eating whole eggs.

If you eat whole eggs, you will increase your cholesterol.

The answer is neither, but I’m sure you have been told this directly or have heard something like that.  This is one of the classic problems with nutritional advice.   You really have to investigate the information yourself and even when you do, sometimes you still can’t get to the bottom of the problem yourself…because of bad, mis-leading or just plain wrong information.

The other challenge when trying to get to the bottom of the nutrition truth is some science is paid for by private enterprise, which is naturally designed to provide the answer that the payer wants.

Have a heart, give eggs a break!

 

The truth about eggs.

The yolk is the healthiest part of the egg.

When you decide (by choice or suggestion) to get rid of the yolk, you are ditching the most nutrient dense, antioxidant rich, vitamin and mineral laden part of the egg.  Have you heard that B-vitamins, Vitamin A, folate and lutein are great things to add to your nutrition?  Well, they are all included in the yolk of the egg.  Trace minerals and a whole bunch of other good for you things are packed in that little yellow pile of goodness called the yolk.

Yes, there is cholesterol in the yolk.  That is called dietary cholesterol.  When you ingest natural dietary cholesterol your body slows its own production of cholesterol.  It’s a self-regulating mechanism.  If you don’t eat enough cholesterol, your body simply produces more of its own since cholesterol is required and vital to many functions in the body.

Lately, there have also been many studies that indicate eating whole eggs actually raises your good HDL cholesterol to a higher degree than LDL cholesterol.

Need help remembering the difference.

LDL = Lousy

HDL = Happy

You want your HDL levels to be healthy; that keeps you happy!

High cholesterol is NOT a disease! High cholesterol can aggravate and lead to other diseases.

Cholesterol is a VERY important substance in your body and has vitally important functions.  It is DEAD WRONG to try to simply “lower your cholesterol” just because the pharmaceutical companies marketing and sales strategies tell everyone on the planet should be on statin drugs.

What you need to be striving for is balancing your cholesterol levels through natural nutrition.  And here is the big bonus…exercise also naturally balances your cholesterol levels.

So please, before you buy into drugs and chemicals to help you, see if there is a way you can do it naturally.  Need help?  Need a balanced approach?  Need advice that is non-biased and ethical?  Ask me, I will help you out.

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