So here goes: ‘What I Know for Now’ (as it relates to all things fitness).

1. You have to keep moving forward. As long as  you are consistent with your workouts, the results will follow. Every workout does not have to be an all out 100% effort. Even on the days  that the weather, (especially in Calgary) and the universe seem to conspire against you,  or you are just plain tired just keep at it, and you are a success.

2. Life is ever changing. Each day brings us new challenges, we can either refuse to acknowledge them or embrace them and see what lessons we can learn from them.

3. Our diets will never be perfect. Stop beating yourself up about a bad choice every now and then. Remember the 80/20 rule. 80% of your diet should be based around clean and healthy eating. The other 20% is about letting go and enjoying life.

4. The scale is not the end all of our existence. Exercise brings about more benefits than just numbers on the scale. Many of the changes are happening inside our bodies that we can’t see. We have lower resting heart rate, better body composition, and more self confidence. No scale can ever tell us all that.

So what I know for now, is that each day that we keep on giving our best and keep moving forward is a success.  Fitness and health are life long goals, that help us to achieve the best that we can be. It is not  so much a destination as a journey. Enjoy your journey.

Till next time,

Shelley Healy

I don’t advocate fat burning supplements or resorting to unhealthy gimmicks, but there are a few tips of what you should and should not do that can imapct your metabolism.

Metabolism DO’s

1.  Don’t reduce calorie intake to low. Commonly known as starving yourself. When you drastically reduce calories this messes up your bodies chemistry and it actually begins to slow down your metabolism in order to keep you alive.

2. Don’t skip meals.  If you are like me, life can get pretty busy, as a trainer working in  a city like Calgary, it can be easy to miss a meal.  However, studies have shown that up to 10% of our daily calories are actually burned through thermogenesis. That is the process of converting calories to energy. That means that regular eating, such as 4-5 small meals a day actually keeps your body burning calories all day long without any drop in your blood sugar levels, so you have more energy for longer and have the capacity to burn stored fat.

3.  Don’t forgo sleep. Research has shown that sleep is essential for your body to repair itself. Sleep actually triggers an increase in the hormone called ‘leptin’ which is our hunger curbing hormone. Just 1 hour of sleep less a day can drastically effect your weight loss efforts.

So now you know what NOT to do, stay tuned for my next newsletter when I will reveal tips on how to BOOST your metabolism.

Stay motivated,

Shelley

1. First stage is the ‘Honeymoon’ phase of exercise. You start off with a bang and  resolve to exercise everyday and lose 20 pounds in a month. Before long you realize perhaps you set the bar to high. Start off slowly, with doing the lowest amount of reps and sets and using light weights. It is better to under workout in the beginning that start with a bang and slow down due to extreme soreness.

2. Second stage is ‘Disenchantment.‘ After the first few weeks if your progress is slow and you are not seing the results you want, you start to back off. This is where having clearly defined goals is going to get you through. Perhaps a short term goal in the beginning would be to increase the amount of time you spend exercising, rather than focusing on pounds lost. Set small improvements and you won’t be disappointed.

3. Third stage is ‘Stalling”. You will use almost any excuse not to workout. The weather, stress, your family, or you convince yourself you just don’t have the time. Perhaps you need to try something new, if you always do cardio indoors, take it outdoors and go for a walk.

4.Fourth stage is ‘Frustration”. Exercise starts to slip from your list of priorities. Make a schedule and stick to it. Don’t let anything interfere, view it just like any other appointment, doctor or dentist that you wouldn’t cancel. Stick with it for 5 weeks, and you will have developed a new habit.

I am talking about the good fat that your body requires for optimal health, and to lose weight.  Omega 3 is an essential fatty acid that is absent from most diets.  Omega 3 fats helps our bodies to fight against inflammation and can help to lower cholesterol.

Good sources of omega 3′s can be found in flax, flax seed oil, almonds, walnuts and cold water fish. This good fat has been shown to raise our ‘good’ or HDL cholesterol and lower the ‘bad’ or LDL cholesterol.  You can see that these foods are not the most popular today, and therefore the typical diet will not contain enough good fats to help our bodies.  These fats are very sensitive to heat, light, and processing. Therefore, the more natural these fats are, the better.  Try adding a tablespoon of flax oil to your morning smoothie or stir it into some yogurt, you will barely notice it at all.

So while it is critical that we eat a  low-fat diet, don’t carry this fear of fat to far.  Instead, begin by replacing the bad trans fat and saturated fat. replacing them with  the good fats. Eating healthy fat will not make you fat, eating the wrong food and the wrong amounts is what makes us fat.   By adding good fats to your diet your body will reward you with improved health and overall  performance.

Yours in health,

Shelley Healy

“Make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you.”

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Now this may sound like a strange question, since most of us are conscious of the types and amount of food we eat. We know not to eat most white refined foods, like white bread, white pasta, white crackers and so on. We try to eat some fruit and veggies daily. But what about when we open a package of food? Whether it be a can of soup, or dressing for our salad, did you stop and read the nutrition label BEFORE buying it?

Reading the label requires a little detective work. First, what is the portion size that the label states? Is it for the entire container, or only a small portion of it. In order for the numbers to appear lower in fat and calories many companies drastically reduce the serving size to make the numbers look better. In fact most serving sizes are measured in 1/2 cup or 30g sizes, in reality most people would eat twice that amount.

For example low fat frozen yogurt, a serving size listed on the label is 1/2 cup. Now who eats just a half a cup of frozen yogurt? Nobody I know has that amount of willpower to actually measure out a half cup, and put the rest back in the freezer. More likely we will eat easily 1 cup or more. However, if you went by the label you would feel good about yourself thinking you only had 100-120 calories, when in reality you had a 200-300 calorie snack. Then you wonder why the weight is not coming off.

Another example is cereal. Most labels list a serving size as 3/4 cup. If you have ever taken a measuring cup and poured in 3/4 cup you realize that is not enough to fill you up. So you do what most of us do, you grab a bowl and start to pour in the cereal until it ‘looks’ about the right amount. You may be surprised to find out that you have poured in about twice the serving size.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read the labels on packages, you should ALWAYS take a moment and read what it is you are really eating. Be aware of the serving size and take into account what you really eat, then when you total up your food at the end of the day you have a realistic idea of where your calories are coming from. Try this for a week and you may be surprised to find out that you have been suffering from portion distortion. Don’t be fooled, be smart, a little knoweledge really can go a long way.

Shelley Healy

Did you wake up, feeling good about what you have accomplised only to hop on the bathroom scale and suddenly you feel rotten?

This is a big trap that many of us fall into, letting the number on the scale dictate how we see ourselves. If the number is down we feel great about ourselves and our workouts, if the number is up, we feel upset or depressed because we think we didn’t push ourselves hard enough that week.

Here is your permission to not let what the number says, tell you how to feel. Fitness is more than just your weight, it involves how your clothes fit, how much energy you have for day-to-day activities and the sense of doing something really positive just for you.

Our weight fluctuates every day and even during the day. It depends how well hydrated we are, how much sodium is in our diet and the time of day you weigh yourself. Weighing yourself everyday is a big no-no. Weight loss or gain takes time and you won’t see the numbers you want in just one day.

Remember if you are working out in a consistent strength training program you are also building muscle, which weighs more than fat. Even though that means a higher number on the scale, muscle is much more metabolically active than fat, and every pound of muscle burns an extra 50 calories a day just to maintain itself. Besides muscle is denser and firmer than fat, so you look better in your clothes even if the scale say you weigh more.

Fat is stubborn and you need to be to. Work hard, work smart, eat well and you will see the results you desire. In time it will show up in weight loss and a fitter, stronger and healthier you.

Keep up the good work,

Shelley Healy

I know, you are thinking, when you go away that is the time to relax and take a break from our everyday routines. That is true, except for exercise. If you can keep up or even modify a little your workout when on the road, then when you arrive home you won’t face the dreaded weight gain from to much good food and alcohol.

Most hotels, and of course cruise ships have a workout area. From personal experience I have seen them range from a small, small room with only 2 pieces of equipment to a huge modern gym that actually makes you want to workout.

When you book a hotel make sure you look for one that has adequate facilites and they sometimes will even post pictures so you can be prepared and know what to expect. All you need is a piece of cardio equipment, such as a bike, treadmill, or elliptical and some basic dumbells. If you find a gym with machines now is a good time to try out pieces that you don’t normally use.

I don’t make machine based exercise a part of my everyday workout, but when you are away from home they can certainly get the job done. Don’t feel shy about going to a new workout facility, remember everyone else there is new to that gym and they are probably a little uncertain as well.

The key is making the decision before you go that you will committ to exercise while you are away. You will feel better while you are away and when you return home you won’t experience that slowdown of getting back to where you were before you left.We start to lose the benefits of cardio exercise 24-48 hours after our last workout, and while our muscles take longer to start reversing, if you have ever experienced post workout soreness after taking a few weeks off, it isn’t pretty and you won’t quickly forget it. Frown

So if you are planning a get away in the near future, pack your runners,and your workout clothes they should be considered essential. After you check in, find the gym and get familiar with it. Remember, that exercise is an everyday part of your life whether at home in Calgary or on the road.

Stay fit,
Shelley Healy

Our bodies are very good at mastering a skill and before you know it, you are burning less calories than you were before. Why is taking the workout outside more of a challenge?

1. Uneven Terrain

Even tiny differences in the path makes it more challenging to do your walk. Especially is this true if you are walking on unpaved surfaces. You are required to  balance more making your core and legs work hard.

2. The weather

Ever notice how hard it is to walk or run into a wind? This extra effort requires your body to work harder and thus you burn more calories. If it is a sunny day you will become fatigued much quicker due to the hot weather.

3. Hills

Even though a treadmill has an incline setting, it does not match a true hill walk with arms pumping.  Without the machine belt helping to pull you along,  an outside hill is all about leg power. Lean into that hill and get moving.

4. Adaptability

Going outside forces your body into new and uncomfortable routine.  Your brain has to account for new variables and work harder in the same amount of time.

Summer is a great time to challenge yourself. Get out from old rountine and surprise yourself with some great results, and don’t forget your water.

Until next time,

Shelley Healy

Remember: If you can imagine it, you can achieve it!

Eat Delicious!

Everyone is looking for the magic way to eat that will burn fat, keep you feeling full, not feel deprived and be sustainable for life.

Does such a ‘diet’ exist?

I say it does, but it’s not a diet, bur rather a simple way to eat for a lifetime.

5 Tips for eating healthy:

1. Eat small meals, every 3 hours.

• This prevents you from ever feeling hungry.

2. At every meal have some protein and carbohydrate.

• Think lean protein such as chicken or fish, whole grains and fresh vegetables.
• The combination of the 2 will leave you feeling satisfied.

 



Eat Healthy!

3. Don’t follow the latest diet faze.

• If you cannot sustain a way of eating for more than a month or two you are on the wrong program.

4. Learn what a portion size is.

• Many people simply eat too much at a given time.
• They feel that if they don’t eat enough they will be hungry. See tip #1.

5. Read food labels.

• Don’t assume a food is good for you by the advertising on the package.
• Read the label to determine how much fat, calories and/or sodium really hiding in your food.

Fitness is really simple!

For many people getting started is the challenge. We hear so much about the need to exercise and stay in shape, but where do you start?

Really fitness is very simple. It’s not about working out for 2-3  months  and dieting as you try to keep up with your new resolve then ‘arriving’ at your perfect weight. Rather think of it in terms of a lifelong journey. Just as in life everyday we have choices. The choice for fitness is one that fits into every lifestyle, age group and budget.

For beginners, consider adding a 15 minute moderate walk, 3x a week to your routine.

Do you complain about having to take the stairs, at work, or while shopping? Rather, look at it as a choice toward your better health. Stair climbing will produce strong leg muscles which will help you to have greater endurance for your daily activities.

It all starts with the small choices we make daily that add up to a lifetime of big results.

Many people feel to tired and say they just don’t have the energy to exercise. The reality is that being active and regularly participating in physical activity gives you energy.

Physical activity gives you energy!

Still not convinced?

Here is a list of 10 reasons to exercise:

1. Gives you more energy
2. Burns extra calories
3. Lifts your spirits
4. Reduces tension and stress
5. Helps you sleep better
6. Improves your self-confidence
7. Strengthens your bones
8. Help reduce blood pressure
9. Strengthens your heart
10. Decreased cholesterol

Think about your reasons for wanting to get healthy and fit. It’s never to late to start toward your goals.

Resolve today to get more active and look for ways to get moving.

The benefit will be a healthier, happier you.