Tag Archives: fitness support

Yesterday you said tomorrow.

Posted on October 19, 2012 | 4 Comments

I hear that A LOT.
I receive emails regularly to the effect of…

“Carrie, I am going to get started tomorrow”

“Carrie, missed you and boot camp last night, will be back next week”

I have heard them all (many times) and of course if you have been away or fallen off the wagon I want to help and I will be there for you and for your sake I always want you back

BUT….

you need to put up or shut up.

Talking will not get you into your skinny jeans.

Talking yourself out of not working out is the issue you need to deal with.  I am always here to help, but you have to and need to have a goal.  If you have your goal, then you need to focus on it.  If you can’t focus on it and your goal doesn’t drive you to winning, then you’ve set the wrong goal.

Motivation is what gets you going, habit is what keeps you going.

I really have been where you are. I have fallen off that wagon a few times…and pulling myself up was friggin tough…BUT SO WORTH IT!!

When I finally figured out I was worth it and food will never make me feel better, I had my “a-ha moment”.

You are not a dog – so don’t reward yourself with food! Remember that one!!

You might not be where you want to be (in terms of your health/fitness) but you are closer than you were yesterday–that is if you show up to boot camp.

You’ve heard me say it at boot camp many times…when you are feeling out of sorts or teetering of the edge….“You dig deep!”

This is what I know for a fact:
You don’t get the body you want by hoping for it;
You don’t get the body you want by wishing for it;
You don’t get the body you want by taking it easy and not pushing yourself;
You don’t get the body you want by making excuses.

You get the body you want by getting off your butt and working for it.

Losing weight is hard–I know…been there; done that,  so start listening to me!
Maintaining weight can be hard (again, refer to above).
Staying fat is hard (again refer to above).

You choose the hard you want.

  • Hard to stay healthy
  • Hard to stay fit
  • Hard to feel younger
  • Hard to look better.

or…

  • Hard to breath
  • Hard to walk
  • Hard to find clothes
  • Hard to play with your children
I know you can get fit….but will you?

Gimme me a “oh hell yeah”

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The secret of success is you!

Posted on May 15, 2012 | 4 Comments

Remember that girl who gave up… yeah, no one else does either.

We have had a lot of people come through our boot camp program over the last few years.  I can now spot almost immediately who will be able to tough it out and who will give up.  I firmly believe that like attracts like.

Your everyday, overall attitude and also the attitude you show how you view specific things is what will determine your success. It’s like people who play poker poorly…they often have a “tell” that gives away their odds on success.   Poker players don’t want to give away what their holding.  You’re can’t be a poker player with your health.  You should be giving away your positive attitude in everything you do! Let other’s see it.

Exercise is a reward not a punishment.  One hour a day for your overall health is a very small investment.

You might spend hours and hours AND hours in your garden/yard for the few short months of nice weather we have here in Canada, but you won’t invest an hour into your life long health.  Crazy right?  You’ll do everything you can to beautify your property which only a few people will see, but you won’t make that same investment of time in yourself which everyone will see.

The difference of fit vs fat, strong vs weak, longevity vs shorter life span is as simple as the difference between being able to tend to your garden in your 80′s or sitting in a wheelchair watching others do what you used to take for granted.

Is our boot camp program hard?  Hells yes it’s hard, but it works.
It is fun and always changing.  You can’t get that from a bunch of machines.
The support I see everyday from your fellow boot campers encouraging each other is something that I am in awe of.

Think it’s not for you or it’s too tough?  You do what you can and you get stronger! Are you going to get stronger, healthier, fitter, faster doing what you’re doing now?

You need to start, set daily goals and not quit even when “life” gets in the way.

Stop settling for status quo. Stop beating yourself up in your mind. You have been through a lot harder in your life and there is no doubt you can tough out an hour of exercise.

Be stronger than your excuses.

There will always be an excuse or “reason” why you can’t.  Make your reasons why you can stronger than your excuses.

Limitations only exist when you let them.

When you are tired and I have you heading up that hill or stairs or I say 10 more burpees, dig deep, push through.  Show yourself, me and the world that you can do it. I know you can do it.  You just have to know you can do it. I have said it, well, yelled it 100x – you don’t walk to the finish line. You summon up that strength and you fight on!!

I refuse to give up on you!

Boot Campers are too busy getting better to have time for excuses!

Who loves ya’?

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Motivation to keep you moving!

Posted on April 20, 2012 | 4 Comments

Here are a few motivational / inspirational posters to keep your head in the game.  When you think about giving up, or slowing down…read these…print them out- remember them!

Happy FriYAY everyone!

 

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Cravings…arrrrrgggggggghhhhhhh!!!

Posted on March 26, 2012 | 6 Comments

Cravings.

It’s almost a dirty word.  It sets off such emotion. We all have them and we all deal with them differently.

The triggers to these cravings are endless.  Hormones, TV,  commercials, watching other people eating something, listening to other people talking about food, emotions….and on and on.

I have a few tactics that I use to help me stay on track to battle cravings.   Tactics?  Oh yes tactics.  This is warfare my friends.  Get your armour on.  It’s go time!

Tactic #1 Brush your teeth
This will kill a craving in its tracks.  Food tastes weird right after you brush your teeth. The benefit of doing this is twofold.  You clean teeth and kill the craving. Make sure you brush your tongue and inside your cheeks as well for an even stronger effect–weird I know, but try it!

Tactic #2 Chew some sugar-free gum
This is simple and it works. The chewing takes your mind off of the craving. There are now dessert gums. Sugar free and that will help with any post meal cravings for sweets.  Try it!

Tactic #3 Drink like you live in the desert
Most people are dehydrated and end up mistaking hunger or cravings for actually being thirsty. Water is magic…seriously!  Not only does it quash your cravings but it helps your metabolism.  Double whammy.  Boo-yah!!!
Now, I know many of you are rolling your eyes about me mentioning water, AGAIN–but if you read my blog post about sweeteners, I use Crystal Light to help get in my allotted water and have lots of options for flavours.

Tactic #4 – Chew on this….
Fibre…this will help battle those cravings by slowing down the absorption of sugar.  Aim to get 30 grams of fibre each and every day.
Here are some great high fibre foods that you can easily incorporate into each meal:
-apples 4 gm of fibre
-broccoli  7gm in 3/4 cup
-blackberries 7gms per cup
-beans   6gm in 1/2 cup
-oatmeal  7 gms 3/4 cup
-peas 9 gms in 1/2 cup
-strawberries 4gms per cup
-raspberries 5 gms per cup

Tactic #5 Zzzzzzzzzzz
At night cravings go sky high….that is when you need to shut ‘er down.
When you are tired you make bad choices.  If you see that you get into the habit of snacking at night.  STOP IT!!
Go to bed early and you will feel so much better!!!

Use these 5 tactics and crush those cravings!

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Posted in Nutrition

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Beware of the “Experts”

Posted on December 7, 2011 | 9 Comments

I saw this on Facebook the other day , shook my head and now I have to comment on it.

Just have a baby, low on energy, want your old body back? (notice the bad grammer-guess the product doesn’t help that)
Have picky eaters, children, teens, seniors, want to ensure their nutrition?
Need to lose weight for health reasons, Diabetes, Heart Conditions, Back Problems?
Want more Energy for family, friends and the busy holiday season?
Want to trim down for Family Pictures, High School Reunions or Tropical Vacations?

Well what is this all in one miracle that works for children to seniors?
For sickly people to people in pain?

So if you are trying to lose baby weight or if you are a senior with a disease then this miracle product will work for you!! Actually, it will work for anyone with a heart beat including the dog or the squirrel on your lawn.

WHAT A BUNCH OF LIES!!!!

This is a post from someone with ZERO health/fitness training and education–pimping some product.

I am sure you all know someone like this. It could be a neighbour, co-worker, family member that has gotten involved with some kind of multi level marketing company.

They have no idea how these products are manufactured–they have no idea about the “ingredients” in these products–all they know is that it might help them lose weight and get rich.

What also shocks me is that smart people will take health advice from someone who has no training or education–that is a whole lot of crazy!

I always find amusing is that the majority of these people selling these types of miracle products are usually unhealthy, sick and broke!  Great role model for your company folks.

If you are selling a weight loss product, you likely shouldn’t be overweight.
If you are trying to get someone to join your “company” you likely shouldnt be broke.

There is no miracle product that is a one size fits all…..read that again.  If someone is trying to tell you that it is good for your kids and for your grandparents they are way off base. (Unless they are selling water or vegetables).

What I see usually, are people who are drawn into these quick fixes and then they are on to the next one.  It might not be a direct selling company, it might be that they started with Jenny Craig and then moved on to Herbal Magic and then on to the next diet centre. Or diet books; one week it is Atkins then the next week it is the blood type diet.

What the heck has happened to society……
Everyone is looking for the easy way out.
Lazy, lazy, lazy.

Losing weight takes an effort.  No magic drinks, pills, lotions or potions.

Guess what, you did this to yourself. You did not wake up with an 30 extra pounds on your frame. You had to have the Eggs Benedict when a veggie omelet would’ve been fine. You had to have the chips because they were out on the table at a party. You had to have the pizza because everyone else was. You couldn’t pass up dessert because it was your favourite……shazam you gained weight!

Everyone is unique…..its this special thing called DNA, maybe you have heard of it?!

Your genetic makeup is your own. So what works for Sally won’t necessarily work for you.

One thing that is true is that you need to eat real food–(not boxed food) and you NEED to exercise—-those are two truths that will never change.

Just so we are clear anyone telling you to buy some “magic” product and replace two of your meals with this magic product and you will be a brand new person is lying.

Slim Fast said the same and remember what happened to Oprah when she went on that liquid diet.  Yeah she lost weight but now look at her.  Has she ever been able to keep it off? Did she ever learn why she loses weight than gains it back, faster and bigger then before?

What’s your thoughts? Let me know…agree / disagree?

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Posted in Nutrition

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Your mistakes should be your motivation, never your excuses.

Posted on November 22, 2011 | 2 Comments

You can’t hope away the extra pounds.  Simple enough sentence but really think about it this:

“If you want to see change, you have to make the change happen.”

We all get off track from time to time and the reality is life happens. You don’t give up, you don’t throw in the towel and you don’t make excuses.

As one wise boot camper said to me, “Those times when you don’t feel like showing up; when you are busy, stressed, over scheduled, that’s when you do show up”

Know the difference between a set back and failure.

Set Back: You slipped up, lost focus, got busy, caved in, got lazy

Failure: You decided your health wasn’t worth the effort.

You can recover from set backs pretty easy.  As long as you don’t suffer set backs too often and your commitment on your goal is always your prime focus.

When you feel like quitting or not showing up you need to remember the reason why you started.  Your goal, whatever it is, has to be from your heart.  Your, “I want it so bad!” motivator.

I am here to motivate you, but you have to actually want to see change.

The excuses get old and tired.  There has to come a point where you just stop making excuses.  I guarantee you that there is someone out there that is busier than you, stressed more than you, over-scheduled more that you and they still manage to eat healthy and exercise.

So what’s stopping you???? That’s right, your answer should be NOTHING!!

I read a great quote and I think this needs to stay with everyone

“Dead last is greater than did not finish which trumps did not start”

Recognizing the things that you do wrong is a great step to fixing your mindset.  You have to be honest with yourself. Your mistakes should be part of your motivation to succeed, not your excuses when you measure your failure.

Hockey practices, swimming lessons, tough day at work, shopping, tired, hungry.  Guess what.  So many people think those reasons for not eating healthy and not exercising are justifiable because you got to “take part” or be there.  Good, you should be there, but what about the television, talk on the phone, surf Facebook time.  Pass on that stuff, because it’s not what the people who are hitting their goals are doing.  And when those people look back, they won’t be saying, “I wish I would have spent more time updating my status, or watching TV.” Nope, they’re looking in the mirror and saying, “It was so worth it!!”

Your mistakes should be your motivation, never your excuses.

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What’s in a challenge?

Posted on August 19, 2011 | 4 Comments

There are so many different challenges out there now-a-days in the health and fitness industry.  Body transforming, weight loss, marathon exercise sessions. Drink this, lose that, eat this for a month.

The reality is I think those are pretty much gimmicks.  They don’t teach you anything and in the end, usually leave you with a lighter wallet and often once you are done with the challenge, a few months later you’ll be worse than when you started.

Now, I’m not against challenges at all.  In fact I think that they can be great and are often the difference between success and failure.  The key to a great challenge is what it does for you.  I’ve run many different challenges with my clients and my boot campers. The challenges I run are always based on a personal challenge.

The first challenge I always introduce to my clients is the challenge to show up and bring it!  It takes guts to show up day in and day out.  Life gets in the way.  Work, activities, social gatherings, etc.  We make choices and prioritize things that suit our needs.  When clients come to me with their wants and needs, they get a challenge in return.  I challenge them to make a commitment to themselves.

Its easy to mail it in with everything you do.  It’s a challenge to do your best every time with everything you do.  At boot camp, going through the motions and giving minimal effort is not a challenge.  Doing all the movements the best you can, giving a sprint extra effort or doing two more push-ups when you think you’ve done all you can already…challenges.

Challenging yourself means digging deep and giving it your all.  It means doing what you think is tough and making it easy.  A challenge means you are stretching beyond your comfort level and doing what it takes to get the job done.

This week at boot camp I created a challenge to show everyone first hand what they could do.  Every session this week we’ve run this timed challenge and all I’ve asked is that they do their very best, improve on their previous time and give it all they’ve got.  The result?  Every person has improved their time and are finding it easier to complete.  They all love it (and probably hate it a little too), but they are killing it!

They are challenging themselves without buying some crap potion or lotion.  They are setting personal goals and achieving them.  They are improving themselves in ways that they probably didn’t think was possible.

So what’s in a challenge?

Success.

 

 

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How do you justify failure?

Posted on June 2, 2011 | 1 Comment

I am amazed daily how people out and out lie to themselves.  Oh and the lies they try to tell me, mercy me!!  HELLO!!! Mom of 3 here, not buying the lies you are trying to sell.  Move along!!

Yep, I said it, harsh as it may sound but it’s the truth….lies!

It goes a little something like this:

  • ‘Its ok, its been a long week! A couple of glasses of wine will be fine” Total lie
  • ‘I missed lunch so I can eat whatever I want for dinner’                  Insane lie
  • ‘I worked out, so I can treat myself to the cake, pizza, wine” – totally Delusional lie

Know this: You are in complete control

A crappy mindset will destroy your results.

If you don’t do the work, you will never get the results you want.  By doing the “work”, I mean eating healthy.  Real food and getting the right exercise (*cough* boot camp).

If you think that you can avoid doing “the work” by trying fads, pills, potions, scam products, you are lying to yourself, again!

Be strong:  Mind, body, spirit…and that is not me being all fluffy.

Strong mind: Know you can do it, believe in yourself, commit to having complete control

Strong body: Being active. Inactivity kills….harsh, but sadly true

Strong spirit: Be the energetic person that you are! Don’t give up.

You decide and determine how you look and feel.  I want and hope you choose healthy, fit, and energetic!

Don’t give up on you and never lie to yourself.  In the end, you are only hurting yourself and making excuses to help justify failure.

But here is the good news…it’s not a true failure until you give up.  So admit your mistake, be honest with yourself, pick yourself up, dust yourself off and….DROP AND GIVE ME 20!!

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OptimusPrime you’re not…but you can be a Transformer!

Posted on May 31, 2011 | 2 Comments

Now that's a machine

The human body is an extra ordinary machine.  I mean, show me another machine that gets stronger the more you work it. The more you challenge it responsibly, the stronger it is, the more efficient it works and the better it responds.  Leave it alone and ignore it’s desire to work and it actually breaks down.

When it breaks down its through disease and obesity which are both offset and minimized through consistent effort and exertion.  When you don’t challenge your machine it deteriorates.  The tissues that keep it strong and fight obesity give up and the result is less muscle and bone mass.

Some people get to that point and decide they need to reduce the calories they take in and go on some sort of diet, or take a potion, pill or some other quick fix which only leads to greater problems.  Short term fixes for a long-term problem mean only one thing…bigger long term problems that become harder to fix.  Laziness may be what got you where you are…do you actually think being even lazier is going to help? Come on, give me a break!

If you are able to move, then move! Simple.  If your weight or mobility issues challenge that, then move!  Even simple arm raises in a chair or leg raises will start to get your body going again.  Little steps can lead to a long journey!

Your body is a gift…treat it like one. Take care of it and cherish it.  You only get one.

You want the secret to weight loss and good health?  It doesn’t come from a pill, or a well-crafted advertisement that makes unrealistic promises. It doesn’t come from a box of pre-packaged meals or a juice that magically cleans you out.  The secret comes from within you!

Set a goal, lay out how you will achieve that goal and anything that goes against your goal is not acceptable.

Remember these ten simple things about exercise:

  1. Exercise increases your metabolism.
  2. Exercise burns calories
  3. Exercise helps you sleep and manage stress better.
  4. Exercise (resistance training) maintains or builds muscle.
  5. Exercise increases bone density.
  6. Exercise helps prevent diabetes and assists in controlling blood sugar
  7. Exercise improves heart, circulation and lung health.
  8. Exercise improves mood, helps relieve depression and increases self-esteem
  9. Exercise increases mobility and quality of life as you get older
  10. Exercise helps you keep the weight off long-term.

Exercise makes this happen

Your body naturally slows down as you age.  Your metabolism decreases over time all on its own.  Exercise offsets that process and counteracts the effect of aging.

There is no secret anymore.  This is what the diet industry does not want you to know.  You can control your weight challenges without them.  You choose what to eat.  You choose how much you want to move and you don’t need them! You can do it!! I’ve done it.  Trust me, because your success is what matters to me.

You can do it!!

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Focus Friday

Posted on April 15, 2011 | 9 Comments

Why is it the when the weekend comes a lot of people fall jump off the wagon?  Some people throw the rules out the window in terms of their good food and exercise goals.

“I’ve done so great all week, I’m going to treat myself.  Just a little something special.  A few drinks with friends, maybe some dessert. I owe it to myself.”

That mentality is NOT #WINNING (Hey what can I say, Charlie’s in town). That is an attitude destined for failure.

The truth is the damage you decide to do on the weekend often sets you back so far that you end up working all week hard just to get back on track.  At best you battle those extra calories just to break even.  You don’t get ahead.  You waste positive results gained from Monday to Friday just to blow it up on Saturday and Sunday.  Then they wonder why the scale isn’t moving.  Frustration sets in, self-doubt creeps up and then…the towel is thrown in and they give?

Sound familiar? Am I talking about you?  Well, remember; I’ve been there, I’ve done that, I’ve felt the same way.  So, I offer you this advice from experience.

Decide!

  • Decide right now as you are reading this that you are going to take charge of your health.
  • Decide that you will not go on a food bender
  • Decide that you will grocery shop for healthy food
  • Decide that on Sunday you will make a few meals for the week ahead
  • Decide to exercise
  • Decide to treat your body with respect (eating junk is totally disrespectful. You might as well eat dog food-most fast food is dog food grade meat–think about that for a sec)
  • Decide that your health is your foundation. Without your foundation you have nothing to support you.
  • Decide to be a role model for your children / family
  • Decide and commit to your goal
  • Decide that food cannot fill some emotional gap

Focus

  • Focus on yourself
  • Focus on what will make you healthier
  • Focus on what will help you get to your goal
  • Focus on your goal
  • Focus on people who will support and encourage you, not those that want to take you down and tempt you with food so you can be miserable like them.  Yeah, I said it, you know who you are.
  • Focus on getting endless energy

Get fired up about your life!

It is after all what you make it.  You can be sad that your clothes don’t fit or you can be focused on getting to your ideal size and making them fit!

If you know anything about me, you know I am cheering for you right now (wooooooohoooooo).  I want you to be healthy.  I want you to be happy.  I want you to get excited about life. I want you to be the healthiest and BEST you possible!

Decide and focus!

Let me know if you need a few more wooooooohoooooo’s to keep you going!!!

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