Love Your Body Workout: Interval Jam

You may have noticed something different in the title of this post.

I usually preface all my workout posts with the length of the workout, but I have decided to make a change as I embrace a new way of looking at fitness.

This week, I launched my Love Your Body Bootcamp, but this outlook applies to all types of training.  We are all fabulous just the way we are and I think it is time that we approach health and fitness from a place of loving the skin we are in.  In my opinion, the best way to change your life is to start from a place of positivity and acceptance.

So all my workouts are about loving the body you have right now and getting excited and motivated to make it even healthier and stronger.

Are you with me?  Good.

Now, on to today's workout.  It is a tough interval circuit and takes about 30 minutes to complete. Let me know if you try it, I would love to hear your thoughts!

As always, check with your Doc before your begin/modify your exercise program.

Do you love your body just the way it is?

Stay Healthy,
Tracy

How to Indulge Guilt-Free

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day.

I know I did.  I got surprised with a dozen pink roses. Not too shabby.

I also made a dozen of these.

5 Ways to Find Balance

Happy Tuesday!

This is that time for year where many of us find ourselves short on time. Between shopping and preparing for the holidays, work and other obligations, we are frantically trying to manage our time and find balance (Read: sanity).

I am absolutely no exception to the rule.  I have picked up some seasonal work (and love it), but I am finding myself busier than ever while still finding time to blog and stay connected to the online world.

For example, you may have noticed the lack of postage yesterday. 

At first, I was stressed about it, after all I did commit to 5 posts a week.  When I gave it some thought, I realized that if I need to make some adjustments to my blogging schedule that it totally okay.  I pride myself in quality over quantity and I am don't want to throw up a post just to have something up that day.

So to find my own balance over the holiday season, I may be blogging less frequently (I am aiming for 3-5 times a week), but everything I do post will something that I am truly passionate about.

Looking for a little balance yourself?  Here are a few tips to help you out!

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Time Management
Something that many of us dread.  Figure out who much time you have this week to you have to accomplish your goals (i.e. workouts, chores, baking) and how long it will take you to do each one. 
 
Prioritize
After you manage your time, make a list of all of these to-dos for the week and figure out which ones are the most important and which ones can be placed on the back burner. Take note of the top 5 and slot them in your planner.

Be Flexible
Things don't always go according to plan, so be prepare to roll with the punches and do the schedule shuffle.  If you can't check everything off your list, don't stress.

Ask for Help
Don't be shy to enlist the help of family members and friends.  Maybe you need someone to pick the kids up from school or you need to ask your partner to take on laundry duty this week.  That's what friends are for. :)

Plan for "Me" Time
I have said it many times before, but it is worth repeating.  It is so important to take some time every week to focus on you.  Whether it is 5 or 50 minutes, your body, mind and spirit will thank you.

How do you find balance this time of year?
I am still working on this one, but I am getting there.  Giving myself permission to take a break really helps.

Stay Healthy,
Tracy

Lessons Learned

A very late post today.  My day didn't quite go as planned and you know what, that is totally okay.

I also don't have any Friday Favourites for you today and that is okay too.

These are just a few of the lessons I learned this week.  Here are a couple more.

Wordless Wednesday: A Delicious Hobby

Today, I Will...

I hope you had a great long weekend!

I had a wonderful time at the cottage and my belly is still full of ham and pumpkin pie ;)

The weather was unseasonably fantastic this weekend and I found myself in complete awe of views like this:

The Benefits of Massage and a Quick Announcement

Sorry for the late post today, but I had a massage and it was glorious.

It has been a very long time since I had one and my body was very thankful :)

Not me, but a picture from my favourite book :)

Why You Are Not Losing Weight

I am a realist.

Even though our focus should be on feeling better and getting healthy, I know that many of you focus on one thing:  weight loss.

We have all been there and that is okay.  Weight loss is an important goal for many people and I would like to think that the process of losing a few pounds will help get you closer to feeling better and getting healthy.

So here it is. You are eating right, exercising, but your body isn't changing at all.  What is going on?

Here are a few reasons why the scale won't budge.

Detoxing and Cleansing

My friend Leanne @ Healthful Pursuit was discussing cleansing on her blog the other day.  I have written about detoxing before, but I thought I would dig a little deeper.

Healthy Banana Bread Makeover

And Not-So-Healthy-Peanut Butter Nutella Cupcakes.  I always say it is all about moderation, right? 

So today you are getting two recipes today for the price of one ;)

For the banana bread, I took this recipe and used my bread maker. I knocked out some of the fat and sugar, lost the egg and added some fibre.  This bread is oh so good, moist and delicious.

I made a loaf at the beginning of the week and it was gone before I could even take a picture of it.  Today, I snapped a shot before anyone could have a taste.

Being Flexible with Your Exercise Routine

I am having a mind-body conflict.

My mind is telling me that I want to break in these babies:

Shopping Saturday

Another beautiful day and I started the morning teaching a pliates class.  This new mat that I won for Joyce @ Freaking Fitness sure came in handy :)

Confessions of a Personal Trainer

Many of you know that I have recently re-embraced my love for all things healthy and have decided to go into business for myself; teaching, training and helping other fitness pros.

(The website is almost complete. Don't worry, you will be the first to know when it goes live :)

As much as I try to walk the walk, I am certainly not perfect.  No one is.  Many people assume certain things about personal trainers, which are not necessarily true.

Listening to the Mind, Body and Spirit

How is everyone doing with your Work-in Week?

My body is talking to me today and I am listening, so it is yoga and perhaps a dip the pool later.

In my guest post for Lisa @ I'm An Okie last week, I talked about the importance of paying attention to what your body needs.  It may be listening to what it wants you to eat, which activities feel good and when it wants you to rest.

Exploring the Great Outdoors

I had a fantastic weekend at the cottage.

It was so nice to enjoy the quiet and spend some time outdoors.

It was the first time I have ever been up there in the winter and got a chance to walk on the frozen lake.

Can you tell I am excited? :)

It was pretty cold and windy, but we hiked around for over an hour.  I was great to get some exercise and have an adventure at the same time.

It is easy to forget how therapeutic nature can be when you spend most of your time in the crowded city.  Like I said, sometimes we need to be reminded of the good things in life.

And nature is a good thing.

Heading outdoors is also a great way to spend some quality time with your favourite people.

Next stop, hot chocolate town. :)

Did you spend any time outside this weekend? 

Stay Healthy,
Tracy

P.S.  Check out Woman's Health magazine and nominate your favourite health and fitness blogger.

3 Reasons Why You and I Are Fabulous

Every week, I participate in #fitblog chat on Twitter.  At the end of the discussion, we all gets the chance to brag about something we did this week that made us proud.

This is my favourite part of the chat.  It is so great to hear all of the fantastic accomplishments of my cyber friends.

Without hesitation, everyone tweets about recent weight loss, running that extra mile or completing a project at work.

Funny how we have pride in the things we have done, yet we don't feel the same way about our bodies or our minds?

Being body proud isn't about vanity, it is about loving yourself and being happy with the skin you are in.  Don't be afraid to love who you are, what you look like and the qualities you possess.

I'll start.

I am fabulous just the way I am because...

My laugh is infectious.  It is hearty, distinct and can be heard from across a crowded room. 

My back is strong.  Through  running and strength training, I love how my back is becoming more defined and toned.

I have a baby face.  My cousin's daughter thought I was in my early 20's.  This truly made my day.  For the record, I am not in my early 20's :)

Now it's your turn.

Write down 3 reasons why your are fabulous just the way you are!

Stay Healthy,
Tracy

Going Vegan, Day 4: I am a Flexitarian

Another day of vegan eating under my belt and I have to admit that this challenge is, well, challenging.

I signed up with an open mind and a willing stomach. As I progress, I am learning more about myself and what is right for me.

While I absolutely love being more creative in the kitchen, introducing more real foods into my diet and being more aware of what I eat, I am finding that I fit into the category of a flexitarian.

What is a flexitarian and how is that different than say, a vegetarian?

Glad you asked.  Here is a quick breakdown:

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Vegetarian. A diet that includes fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds.

• An ovo-vegetarian diet includes eggs, but no dairy.  
• A lacto-vegetatian diet includes dairy, but no eggs.

Flexitarian. A mainly vegetarian diet including some meat products.

• Pollotarians eat chicken and fish, but no read meat.  
• Pescetarians eat fish, but no chicken or red meat.

I am a middle of the road kind of girl and I believe there is room in my diet for just about anything (including organic, grass-fed animal products). I have adapted an "In Defense of Food" atittude to use meat as a side dish rather than the focus of my meal.

However, my mind is still open and I will complete the challenge to see what other surprises it may bring!

Speaking of surprises,  I got two gifts in the mail yesterday.

A new breadmaker.  The one I got for Christmas decided to fall off the counter while it was busy making bread so the good people at Black and Decker sent me a new one :) and...

A copy of Crazy Sexy Diet by Kris Car, which I won from Natalie Duhamel. I was so excited, I never win anything.

So for the rest of Work-In Wednesday, I made bread and dug into the book (review to come!)

What revelations have you had this week
(food related or otherwise)?

Have you read Crazy Sexy Diet?  What did you think of it?

Stay Healthy,
Tracy

Coping with Chronic Pain, Part 3: Exercise

Warrior III

Parts 1 and 2 talked about different options to help you try and manage your pain.  In the next few installments, I would like to go into more detail for each option and offer some tips that I hope you find helpful.  First up...

Exercise

As a sufferer myself over the past five plus years, I have found regular exercise to be one of the most effective ways to manage my pain.  

I didn't always feel that way.  Moving hurt too much.  Then depression set in and what do we do when we are depressed?  We eat.  So I was moving less and eating more.  Not a good combination.  

Then I realized that I had to change the way I looked at exercise.  I went from teaching ten fitness classes a week plus my own workouts to nothing.  I couldn't do it all anymore, but I had to do something.  Here are some things to think about when it come to chronic pain and exercise:

• We have good days and bad days. If you need to rest, rest.  If one kind of exercise is not working, try something else.  The important thing is that you keep trying. 
• Often we are in so much pain that we don't want to move at all.  As I mentioned in the first post, exercise is a slippery slope for us so we need to find balance. 
• If you have never exercised regularly in the past, start off slowly.  You may also want to enlist a personal trainer who is able to teach you correct form and modify exercises.
• If you are an avid exerciser, you may find that you are not able to workout at the same level of intensity you once could.  It can be very frustrating, but don't get discouraged.  You can be active, you may just have to learn to do things a little differently and listen to your body a little more.
• Yoga is a sufferer's best friend.  There are poses to help you build strength and stretch your muscles.  Meditation and relaxation are also fantastic to help with some of the depression that comes with the pain. 
• Although it can be intimidating for some, pilates is also very helpful.  All of the exercises can be adapted to your level and it really helps you connect with your body - how it feels, what muscles are working, how movement and breath work together etc.

Which kinds of exercises work for you?  What didn't work and why?

Stay Healthy, 

Tracy

Achieving Holistic Health

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I am sorry for the lack of postage last week. I was without the internet (I know, the horror), but I am back now and ready rock :)

In the fitness world, we are always talking about different approaches to exercise, the best gear to get you through your workout and the benefits of a balanced diet.

Is this really enough to achieve overall health?
Now don't get me wrong, staying active and healthy eating are vital to our well-being, but there are other factors.

Oral health, for example. If we neglect our teeth, it can cause infections and other serious problems that could affect our body as a whole.

Another one that come to mind is skin care. Do you think about the kinds of products you use? Any chemicals that are in our makeup, shampoo or body lotion will get absorbed into our skin and impact our overall health.
 
What do you think? What else do we need to consider when looking at holistic wellness?

Stay Healthy,
Tracy

No More Ice Cream!

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Have you ever swore off your favourite treat?

Have you also noticed that when you tell yourself that this snack is not allowed, you crave it even more only to eventually give in to that craving?

For me, this forbidden favourite is ice cream. I love it, all flavours and varieties. While I know that ice cream is not the most healthy food choice, I have learned that I CAN include it in my weekly diet.

The key: Moderation

I understand that the word moderation is very simple in theory and not always so easy when you are faced with a tub of Ben & Jerry's but bear with me here.

Instead of opening up the container and grabbing a spoon, take a scoop and put it on a small cone. If you love potato chips, place a handful of chips in a small bowl instead of diving into the entire bag. Do you crave fried chicken? Grab one leg and leave the bucket on the counter.

Are you getting the idea?

Nothing is off limits if you can use some portion control and enjoy in moderation.

Stay Healthy,
Tracy