"Get Up, Stand Up, Don't Give Up The Fight"

Ever really not, I mean REALLY not wanted to do your workout?

Ever sat at work/home listing the extremely valid reasons you have for not doing it?

Does this happen often?

Well, join most of the population. I have yet to meet a person who 100% of the time is desperately looking forward to their workouts. When we lack motivation we can ALL come up with a thousand valid excuses NOT to work out, in fact - I have compiled the most oft heard reasons for skipping a workout/or not working out at all:

I don’t have the time to go to a health club or gym:
It’s true – we all lead very busy lives. However, exercising does not have to take up much time and eat away into your daily schedule. It can easily be built into your everyday life. Make your exercise as important as your scheduled TV viewing, housecleaning etc..and where possible include as many of your family members as possible to make you r time well spent in a multitude of ways. Be honest with yourself about how you spend your time - I am betting you can find half an hour to forty-five minutes a day that could be better spent by caring for your health.

I’m too tired to do exercise after work:
Sometimes, after a long day at work the last thing you might want to do is something physical because you feel too tired. Instead of reaching for the remote control and vegetating in front of the TV for the rest of the evening you can energize yourself by doing some exercise. You will be amazed to discover that being more active will actually raise your energy level. However, if you really are too tired after work then try to increase your activity at a time during the day when your energy levels are at their highest, such as mid-morning or lunchtime.

I'm too fat:
Low self esteem about how we look can be one of the biggest stumbling blocks. Let me put your mind at rest by reassuring you that you don’t have to wear a leotard to go to your local gym. In fact, most gyms set specific ‘women-only’ times so you needn't feel self conscious. If you go to these classes you will find that most women wear even a baggy t-shirt and leggings or baggy sweatpants. Dress comfortably and REALLY look at the people around you - you will see every size, shape and fitness level. And I'm willing to wager that most, if not all, are harbouring the same worries. Smile and be proud of your steps.

I can’t afford to exercise
Walking is great....and it’s free. You don’t need a special kit or uniform or buy expensive equipment. In fact there are many, many activities that you could do without spending a single cent, or very few at least.
- jogging
- cycling
- swimming
- at home exercise videos
- resistance bands and free weights (low $$ at wal-mart or Canadian Tire)

I suffer from back/knee/neck pain:
Rather than being something that prevents you from exercise, you will actually find that regular moderate exercise will strengthen the muscles that support your affected areas. Get advise from your chiropractor, physiotherapist, doctor or other qualified person and ask them what kind of exercise you should do. Swimming and cycling are very effective for people with joint pain. Your qualified expert will give you all of the advice you need, and a personal trainer is an AMAZING resource to get you started, keep you motivated and help you stay safe.

A couple of ways to make it happen:
- make it ifficial. Schedule it into your phone, tablet, daytimer, whatever way you keep yourself organized. Write it in pen - and don't schedule over it. If there is an unavoidable change - like a school concert or similar - you rejig your day to make it fit elsewhere as soon as your know.

- make it social. Grab a group of friends, make a weekly walking group, go to a class together, hire a personal trainer for all of you as a group. This will help keep you accountable - and will have you looking forward to your next workout, if only to discuss last night's Bachelor or book of the month.

- make it a habit. Schedule in your 3-5 bouts of movement per week, then promise yourself that you WILL commit to it for a period of time (my ideal is 3 weeks). If at that time, you feel worse, your life is too hectic, whatever, you can go back to your old habits. I can pretty guarantee you this will NOT be the case though. You are much more likely to be looking for ways to move MORE at this point.

-make your motivation important. Having a small waistline is not going to be sufficient to get you out of bed after a hectic day before, a late night and burning legs from leg day before. Choose instead, something that will NEVER fail to motivate you - your family, your health (I use my genetic disposition to diabetes as a reason to get up every day) a goal ie/hike to the entire length of your favourite trail.

- make it WHY - Not WHY NOT. As soon as the niggling excuses and reasons why you can't workout start to creep in, replace them with reasons why you can and must! No energy? exercise will help pick you up - and will help you be more productive. Grumpy? Getting out for a power walk will lift your spirits. You know the drill.... replace negative reasoning with postivive ones and you'll find yourself looking forward to and not dreading your workout any longer.


Exercise/Movement:
- reduces variable risk factors and can prevent/help to control/reduce up to 38 chronic conditions
- helps manage stress/emotional issues - improves mood
- helps maintain healthy heart function
- boosts sex drive
- promotes better sleep
- make you more able to think clearly, prioritize and make decisions
- aid in balance and everyday function, now and as we age
- reduce risk of bone disease, promote healthy joints and bone density
And the best benefit in my opinion, is that every time you purposefully move your body is an opportunity to know it better, to use it to it's potential, to be in tune with all it's cues, and best of all to LOVE it.

Get moving - we cannot afford NOT to!

Find Your CORE!

"My Pants Don't Fit" or "My Arse Is Too Big"

Yep - that's me. Progressively over the last couple of months my pants have been getting tighter. Like, pass me the vaseline and the shoe horn kind of tighter.
I work out 6 days a week with regularity and I average at least 22K running. I have a very physical job. I eat very healthily. And yet, since January, I have been feeling a change.
Now my workouts have been lower key - due to a bad back, no iron whatsoever and a serious lack of energy, but that shouldn't make a difference this distinct. For the first time in forever I have a legitimate reason to be uncomfortable in my own skin.

Three things are happening:
i) my health is out of whack. My levels are off and I'm exhausted all the time.
ii) I'm getting older. It is true (unfortunately) that as we get older our metabolism changes and we can't get away with occasional bad choices like we used to.
iii) I've forgotten to eat because I'm hungry and let my mood/boredom/the sun's presence in Jupiter/ all designate my eating habits.

Darn it. Home made crackers are healthy right? But, probably not 6 of them everytime I step in the kitchen. So I'm on crackdown. NO sugar (I felt great when I watched my sugar intake for 6 months last year). And no more mindless eating for me. It's a quick and easy trap to fall into - and I'm climbing out before this becomes a habit and my overlarge bottom gets me stuck.
Portion sizes, hunger cues, and overall my sense of how I feel in general will tell me if I am on the right track. And if my pants are still a bit tight when I'm sorted out and eating mindfully and happily again? Well, that's okay, that's meant to be. But I refuse to be less than 100% physically if I can help it. After all - I, like all of you, have loads of battles ahead to face, and I'll take them head on, at my best.

Now please, please, please hide all of your chocolate, ice cream and french bread if you see me coming. A girl only has so much self control, you know :)

Find Your CORE!

"What I Know For Sure" Easter 2014 Edition

Hey blog readers. Thought I would share a short list of my observations and predictions for Easter 2014. Enjoy!

- the first little stems that poke up through the spring earth (or snow, as it was this year) are the GREENEST green ever!
- that my Lily Of The Valley plant completely changes location every single spring. I give it another 3 years until total world domination.
- bunnies, though cute, do not actually leave offerings of foil covers chocolate balls. They do, however, leave lots of other similarly coloured and shaped offerings pretty much everywhere. Not recommended for consumption.
- fear the wrath of the two frazzled looking Moms, both simultaneously leaping for the last packages of Peeps on the shelf on Easter "Eve".
- prepare to line up for.freakin.ever. pretty much anywhere the day before a stat holiday. Because these types of situations clearly invoke an oncoming apocolyptic type response in our world of plenty. Two shopping carts full of goods and food. Hey, I'm not judging. I know there will be a WHOLE 24 HOURS until they can shop again. Clearly a cause for panic.
- that we Canadians bear a striking resemblance to the Naked Mole Rat (see picture below) in the early days of spring weather,nervously stepping outside our winter cave, blinded by the sunshine, noses inquisitively twitching.

- above mentioned noses begin to smell the inevitable spring smells. Mud. Dog poop left from ALL winter long. Rain and worms.
- bird's singing IS truly the most beautiful song
- sunrises across farmers fields mingle with the early morning mist
- garbage hidden under 24 feet of winter snow,which, after the thaw, has become the outdoor decorating choice of all suburbia
- next to bird song, the most wondrous noises are made by children playing outside, road hockey sticks scraping, bicycle bells ringing, happy voices raised.


My predictions for the coming weeks:

- that my children, and children everywhere that Cadbury's has access to, will be on a sugar and fat high by 7am - Easter morning.
-that soon the stinky spring air will be replaced by the freshness of fresh grass, spring flowers, BBQ's grilling, and lilacs blossoming.
- that Canadian's will start to smile more readily and engage with each other
- that short sleeve tops and shorts will be brought out of storage and body image woes will elevate by exponential amounts
- that spring will proceed into glorious summer

Congratulations everyone - we survived winter. Cheers!

"Are the Voices in your Head"

People have told me that they hear my voice in their head, encouraging them to work harder, eat better, move more, not to skip the workout, keep smiling, well, if you'v ebeen to any of my classes, you know. "Get comfortable with being uncomfortable"!

This makes me shudder and terrifies me on many levels. First - I've heard my voice on tape - egads! Like nails on a chalkboard. Second, and more terrifying, I immediately think you hear MY voice (like the one in MY head). Then I panic and wonder which one, before realizing what you mean.

Yes, I have a voice or two (or ten but whose counting anyway)in my head. I have logical, pragmatic, intelligent, positive, clear headed Annie. And then my alter ego: negative, passive aggressive, condescending, cruel and controlling. I also have others, but you have to marry me to meet those ones (ie/PMS Annie). Consider yourself spared, and consider Sean a saint!
Now I'm not schizophrenic, or bipolar. I'm a product of growing up believing certain things are true (I'm a failure/I'm unlikeable/I'm not good enough) and as an adult have learned that these things are not, logically, true.But emotionally, these things are harder to discount, especially after having believed them for 30years. Imagine finding out at 30 that the earth was not round, and had undisputable proof that this was a fact, after knowing that the earth was round for so long?
Exactly.
So, I have to battle back the things I once believed wholeheartedly. And replace them with hard, rational evidence. And remind myself of this. Often. This is how I battle back and stay positive, happy and live a normal life.

So in the end I'm so glad that my voice has become part of other peoples thought processes. Because sometimes when I teeter on the edge of make a bad decision or succumbing to a challenging day, and my positive voice isn't enough - I call upon my own army of peoples positive voices to fight the battle along side me.

I can only hope I have lent my voice to some positive life choices. And I encourage everyone to be a positive voice in their family and community. You never know when someone may be storing your words up for a battle later on.

Find Your CORE!

"Part Of Your World" Mother's & Daughters

My daughter has turned into a human being. When she was born, she was literally delivered from the womb a smiling, joyful, singing bundle of blonde curly love. When she turned two years old she proceeded to grow two rapidly protruding horns from each temple and an attitude as twisted as her adorable little ringlets. She tested. She emoted. She climbed. She jumped. She whined. She manipulated. She fretted. She worried. She yelled. She practised calculated silence. She tried on every face, every challenge, every emotion known to man. My daughter was a tiny little bundle of identity crisis. We couldn't stand each other. If I said the sky was blue, she would argue it was pink. The war for power was waged in the hallowed halls of our usually serene abode. I loved her so much, but I had NO FREAKING IDEA WHAT TO DO WITH HER!!!
So, I pulled out my hair. I rocked in the corner a time or two. And tried to let it be. Isn't this what I had wanted for myself? To try on all the faces and find out what was really me? To be safe to experiment in my own home. To be loved despite it all? And mostly, to be accepted even if the ugly came with the beauty?
I haven't seen the movie Frozen and I realize how lucky I am to have dodged that parental bullet. But I am going to watch it now - on purpose. Because the other day, my daughter played it for me on her piano and sang the song, "Let It Go".
Listening to her sing, I was brought back to my younger days, watching my Disney Princess, Ariel the Little Mermaid. I used to sing the song, "Part of my World" at the top of my lungs around the house too.
It's interesting the progression of Disney Princesses and how it relates to the empowerment of women through the ages.
My Mum's Disney Princess: Snow White

"Some day my prince will come
Some day we'll meet again
And away to his castle we'll go
To be happy forever I know

Some day when spring is here
We'll find our love anew
And the birds will sing
And wedding bells will ring
Some day when my dreams come true"

My Mum was stiff upper lip, hide the emotions, outside veneer perfect "let's not talk about it" repressed woman to a tee.
My Disney Princess: Ariel, the Little Mermaid

"What would I give if I could live out of these waters?
What would I pay to spend a day warm on the sand?
Bet'cha on land they understand
Bet they don't reprimand their daughters
Bright young women sick of swimmin'
Ready to stand"

I grew up hiding under the guise of perfection, seeking to be something I wasn't and desperate to break through and be myself and break through, but not brave enough.Longing.
Amy's Disney Princess: Elsa from Frozen

"It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me,
I'm free!"

And she is. Free to be herself, whatever that may be. And to be welcomed, open arms, into the safety of her family whenever it is needed.
I vow to let her see my scars and see that I am not ashamed of them.
I vow to let her get hurt, let her dust herself off and feel her own strength.
I vow to let her cry when she is sad and hide in bed for a while when the world gets too tough.
I vow to cheer her on when she throws off the covers and confronts her fears.
I vow to learn and grow myself from her example, and to share that with her.
I vow to tell her the truth at all times, even when it is hard.
I vow to train her brother to be a street fighter to beat the boys away.

I love the movie Frozen,even though I don't know what it is about. Every time I hear Amy sing, I see the truth that she will experience a freedom that was never possible for me.
And maybe, just maybe, she'll see that I'm free too.

Let it go, let it go
And I'll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand
In the light of day
Let the storm rage on

The cold never bothered me anyway!

P.S. Amy is now totally a human being. She would like me to clarify that she is,in fact, an AWESOME human being who has had her ears pierced and would like to be paid for using her name and likeness in my blog. She sends her thank you's to her many fans.

"I'm Loving It"

Our provincial government, in it's infinite wisdom, has passed legislature requiring all large chain franchises and high gross restaurants provide, in plain view (presumably on all menus), calorie counts for every menu item.

Luckily, many restaurants already do have this information at the consumer's fingertips. McDonald's has placemats and brochures with all nutritional information for their products listed.Swiss Chalet has a "HeartWise" menu with sodium and transfat info listed. Other restaurants have this as well...and more. However, the consumer has to be interested enough to ask for this, and let's be real here we're all friends, when you are in the drive thru at McDonald's, light headed with starvation, yelling kids, gas tank on empty, who really cares?

We, the consumer, know exactly what we are getting into when we eat out. High calorie, high fat, high sodium and high sugar. Yep - I don;t think it matters too much where you are lining up, IF you are lining up, your food is unlikely to provide you with an adequate amount of nourishment, laden with a side of crap.

WE. KNOW. THIS.

I am actually not against calorie counts on menus for the most part. I just wish they weren't necessary.

There are two things I would love to see from our government first.

i) Some kind of incentive to prepare and eat your food at home, sourced from local farmers, distributors and purchased as is seasonally appropriate. Trust me, it IS possible to do this on a "fast food" budget. Maybe more education is needed, I don't know how to make this real, but I wish it was.

ii) Legislature to ensure realistic portion sizes in restaurant. We (the consumer) think more is better value - but when it comes to super sizing, we know that what we save in the restaurant booth, we are going to pay in taxes to keep our already overburdened health care system afloat.

This graphic lays things out pretty clearly in my opinion.

So, in short, YAY! to calorie counts. It's something. But not nearly enough.

Find Your CORE!

"Don't Stop Till You Get Enough"

So now I'm back blogging, you know I need to weigh in on this month's weightiest topic (you see what I did there - twice!) - The Biggest Loser. If you know me, you know I don't see anyone based on their size. I am in the fitness industry because I want to help people love movement and to be healthy. I could give a crap what their BMI's are. I want people to live long, healthy, productive and active lives, and to have absolutely no regrets. Let's be honest here, this is only possible at or within a healthy weight range (which differs for every individual). So please do not think any comments about weight in this blog are meant unkindly. I'm not that person.
I am going to make a confession here. Don't hate or judge.

I have NEVER watched the Biggest Loser. Nothing about watching people who need help get humiliated and set up for failure appeals to me. Now I understand that not all the contestants gain all their weight back - but I would love to find some statistics as to how many currently maintain a healthy lifestyle. For the record - I have no problem with people losing weight in a doctor supervised, personal trainer assisted, dietician approved environment (which the show is) but I have always thought the show needed more.
- a psychotherapist. Overeating to morbid obesity is a disease and must be treated from the inside out. The why of each individual circumstance should be addressed fully or the cycle will continue.
- a life coach. To take each contestant shopping for groceries, clothes, help them make meal plans, teach how to make healthy meals and snack by themselves, and how to schedule and organize their lives. THEN, in the final month of the show, they should go home with the contestant and help them implement these rituals when the added daily stresses of life are back. Help them identify their triggers and manage their emotions. ANYONE can lose weight, get fit and eat healthy when they are locked in a bubble. It's the real world that fouls everything up.

I know - these things cost more money and, let's be real, all reality TV is more about making money than actually helping people. I know it's cynical, and I'm being very general...but too bad, this is my blog.

So the big kerfuffle is as follows.

"Contestant on Diet Challenge Show Loses TOO MUCH WEIGHT"

Ummm..hmmm....duh! Sorry, I know that Rachel looked a little like a praying mantis, but SHE WANTED TO WIN! She had to lose a certain percentage to beat the other two finalists and she did just that.What would YOU do if $250,00 was on the line after you starved yourself and were verbally bashed into working out a gazillion hours per week until every joint ached, and your body wanted to collapse? Exercise while overweight or obese is extremely difficult. Every movement, sitting and standing even, can be painful. Amplify this by what these contestants put themselves through and I would want a HUGE reward at the end as well. This was the motivator for these contestants - to WIN. They wanted to be the Biggest Loser. Not the fittest Dad, not the hottest Mamasita, not the "health nut". They wanted to be the Biggest Loser. Unfortunately, the actual results become the byproduct.

Do I think she lost too much weight? See above. Results vary with individuals - what is a ridiculously low weight for one 5'4 woman is completely healthy for another. I pray that Rachel and her health care team can determine what that is for her.
Until the headlines read,
"Biggest Loser sends Home Contestant, Rejecting them Because They Failed to Meet Unrealistic Weight Loss Goals, and thus Perpetuating their Already Constant Cycle of Low Self Esteem and Emotional Issues"
I refuse to comment any further.
Find Your CORE!