No More BABY WEIGHT!

How many of you moms had every intention of working out while off on mat leave, having all this time to prep meals and workout with your baby? And how many actually have done that?!?! IT'S REALLY HARD! Babies don't sleep through the night, babies need fed ALL THE TIME, babies need held or get sick or your boobs are sore or you are healing from delivery...and so on.

First of all, THIS IS NORMAL! So don't worry about or feel bad that you haven't done what you intended to do because LIFE happens. Also, don't look at anyone else and compare yourself to them, you have no idea what they are struggling with or what their life is like. Your body created an incredible human being....HEEEELLLLLOOOOOO! That's WICKED! Be proud of that and let's work on creating a happy healthy you in the time that is reasonable for you to commit to,

I have recently revamped how I am doing my own workouts and how I train my clients to get optimal results in a shorter amount of time. EFFICIENCY is the key! And how do we do it??? TABATA Training.

Tabata Training is when you choose 1 exercise/movement and do it for 20sec then 10 sec rest and repeat that for 8 rounds (it totals 4mins), then you move on to a new exercise/movement. This doesn't sound like it would be that hard, but don't be fooled it's intense. The best thing is that people can wrap their minds around 20secs and knowing that after 4mins they never have to see that exercise again (that day) it makes it manageable. Tabata is so efficient because it burns a TON of calories in a very short period of time....THAT'S THE KEY.

25mins a day, 4 days per week...can you do that?! You need to ask yourself a question; How unhappy are you with where you are at and how badly do you want to change and feel back to the real YOU? If you are ready to make a change then you will MAKE time for these workouts.

Here is an example of a Tabata workout that can be done at home;
#1- wide squat with bicep curl and shoulder press (this one is great to start with because it warms up the whole body)
#2- Bentover Row
#3- Plank
#4- Plie Squat with Overhead Tricep Extension
#5- Push Up with Rotation (toes or knees)
Then stretch!!!


I combine tabata training with clean eating and many clients use the Transform30 to kickstart their routine for the first 30 days. I have a website, recipes, support and more during that program as well. Here is a link to the T30 healthy eating program if you're interested

If you'd like to really get yourself back on track, healthy lifestyle not just weight loss, fit not skinny and HAPPY IN YOUR BODY then email me and I'd love to connect via skype, zoom, Facebook, etc.

Performance Fitness hits the tv screen AGAIN!!!

Check us out on Daytime York Region, Tuesday Sept 17th @ 10am LIVE!!

We will be showing the viewers a NO EXCUSES workout! This means no matter where you are or if you only have 15mins, you can still burn lots of calories, increase your heart rate, boost your energy and help tone up your muscles...oh yeah and with NO EQUIPMENT!
Tune in for some great exercises and tips on easy ways to fit fitness into your day no matter what.

We will be on each month from Sept-Dec discussing different fitness topics with Jacqueline Betterton so keep an eye out for our dates each month. If you miss the show, we will have the clips on www.performancefitnesstraining.com shortly after each show airs.

See you in the studio..or on your tv screen!

The never-ending debate; When is the best time of day to workout???

I have people ask me this A LOT! There have been so many contradictory studies, reports, research to tell us WHEN we should workout to burn the most fat or lose the most weight, how do you know what to believe?
Well what it boils down to is;
Whatever time of day you can push yourself the hardest and challenge yourself the most is when you will burn the most calories. So if you are a morning person and you are at your peak for workouts in the morning, then that is your BEST time my friend. If you have to drag yourself to the gym in the morning and convince yourself to just get on the machine then that's NOT your time.
Try each time out (early morning, lunch, afternoon, evening) and see when you feel the best, strongest, most focused on your workout and you will quickly find when YOUR TIME is.

Paula

I learned how important a GOOD breakfast is...through my 4yr old!

Well I have missed you all, it has been a while since my last blog. I trust your summer is going AMAZING now that the heat is here.
My 4yr old has taught me so many things over the last year about how our bodies work and how they respond to what we put in them. Its been said that red heads have very sensitive skin and bodies overall, my 4yr old is the epitome of sensitive. The thing I love about my daughter though is she tells me what she feels like (headache, stomach ache, etc) then when I explain why I don't want her to eat some thing or why she should and relate it to her symptoms she listens and will try it for me.
So for the last 3-4wks she has been complaining of headaches but I couldn't put my finger on why until she told me she didn't have ANY water at daycare of one of the hottest days so far this summer! Dehydration people! So now we have special water bottles for each of my kids that they got to pick out and they are amazing at drinking and refilling them all day!
Secondly, she has been telling me each morning as she eats her breakfast that her tummy hurts but when she touches where it is, its just under her ribs where her intestines and gut are. We are a gluten free house and eat 95% gluten free so i was stumped as to what was causing this. My kids eat oatmeal, toast with peanut butter, eggs, yogurt and berries...lots of variety.
After speaking to a friend who is a Holistic Nutritionist and she made sure i was giving her Vit C, D and suggested magnesium every day for a start. I decided this morning to try something new with her and see how she felt; I gave her a smoothie with almond milk, frozen mango, fresh blueberries, half a banana, hand full of spinach, cinnamon, half scoop of protein powder, tiny bit of agave nectar and 3 ice cubes. First of all she LOVED the taste and secondly there was NO COMPLAINTS of stomach aches, which is something I have heard EVERY MORNING for almost 2 weeks! After she finished the smoothie she then has toast and her multi vitamin. So after breakfast I asked her finally about her tummy and head, she had a HUGE smile and said "Mommy it doesn't hurt!"
So I will keep up with this routine and try to keep a variety in the smoothies but I learned how important it is for our bodies to get the right nutrients at the MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY.
So be aware and choose well tomorrow morning; your body, mind and soul will thank you.

Your Hips don't Lie!!

I did a workout today and realised how imbalanced I was. I thought I was strong, relatively even with regards to my muscles, left side compared to right...well was I ever wrong! I had decided I was going to focus a lot more on single leg/arm work to isolate and even things out, what I didn't expect was how weak I was in certain areas. Single leg squat with a single arm press is a new favourite exercise of mine, it takes A LOT of focus but you feel those hip/bum muscles instantly! It tends to be mainly back and hips that create MAJOR issues if they are not balanced; but the cool thing is, it doesn't take a lot of time to feel the difference and then see he difference. Another great side effect to uni-lateral training is the Core workout you get along with a huge increase in balance.
So if you train with me regularly, be ready...its ON!! You will be challenged & have muscles isolated and "talking to you" that you haven't hard from in while...or EVER! The good new is though, whatever I make you do...I make myself do first :)

My "Wheat Freedom Adventure" Part 2

As you read earlier last week, my hubby and I are on a wheat free regime now and its going amazingly well. We have 1 meal a week that is our "cheat meal" and last night was that. We went out for sushi with friends and it was interesting, tummy felt fine but the puffy fingers today from water retention (which is common) made me feel "fat". I haven't felt that bloated feeling since Day 1!
Tonight at my parents for dinner it was burgers and chicken, so no bun for us and veggies with the burgers...a breeze. Then came dessert, yes we gave in. But HOLY CRAP did we pay for it; Nick was in the bathroom within 30mins of finishing and I had gut rot along with a sugar headache! I'm not kidding you!
So this is clearly an "Adventure" in how our bodies respond to food for sure. We are both learning what we just took as normal before is not that at all, its our bodies telling us "this is not what we want or what we need" to function properly.
If you have gone wheat free or are trying it let me know how you're feeling? And if you want to join me in this adventure..DO IT!
Until next time....

My "Wheat Freedom Adventure"

So as of Monday April 9th, 2012 I decided to embark on a new "food adventure" and test out some theories on the effects of wheat on my body. I have gone wheat-free for a few days/wk and little bouts here and there but never consistently for longer than a few days.
I work very long days and I had been noticing a real lull in my energy early afternoon as well as cravings for sugar or just food later at night light 9-9:30pm and I know from many years of education and research in my field that my body does NOT need to eat, its merely a habit or an imbalance in my body that starts to tell my brain I need it. Losing weight is not at all my goal out of this experiment; it is 100% for internal health of all my organs and my brain along with overall consistent energy throughout the day, no "brain-fog" for half the morning and no bloated belly half the time.
So I told my hubby about my plans and as usual he asks why I'm always so extreme and "one-sided" with what I try to follow. He told me that this "diet" was crazy. Once the word diet came out I proceeded to tell him about what I had learned from reading the research in "The Wheat Belly";
1) wheat/gluten crosses the blood-brain barrier and attaches to the same receptors at opium drugs! The ones that make people have the munchies and makes people addicted! So it is 100% an addictive food. They use a gluten-free diet to treat mental illness in some well known facilities...does that not set off a warning sign in anyone else’s head?! It did in mine
2) The insulin response our bodies have when we eat wheat specifically placed fat around our bellies but the scariest part is that the fat is visceral fat. That is the deep fat that surrounds your organs, the most dangerous fat
3) For men, it also increases estrogen production so not only is there belly fat but also "man boobs"...and the list goes on! So needless to say, he reluctantly has joined me on this adventure and I might add, is doing VERY well.
I have also been reading Dr. Natasha Turners "The Carb Sensitivity Program" and it has a very easy to follow meal plan with all recipes and LOTS of options to help you go wheat-free. She also then introduces carbs back into your diet one at a time so you can see if you have any sensitivities, I’m not doing that part...done that already.
The main guidelines we are following are:
1) Breakfast- scrambled eggs with meat and veggies (doesn't take long) or Smoothie with fruit, almond milk, vegan protein powder, ground flaxseed & spinach
2) Snacks- cheese, raw nuts (no limit), Greek yogurt, smaller smoothie, boiled eggs
3) Lunch- Salad or raw veggies and hummus, chicken or fish
5) Steamed or raw veggies with lots of protein (fish, chicken) avocados, salad, and lettuce leaf tacos
6) Evening- green tea

I am proud to say that I have not had a craving all week! Nick on the other hand would have given his left arm for some bread by Wednesday so he had a small portion of rice noodles with a meat sauce but then was fine! I have felt amazing this week, even with an insane work day wed (7:30am-9pm) I had lots of energy and focus. Also, NO BLOATING!! And a pretty cool side effect is I’m down 2lbs, so wont complain about that either.
This is definitely a commitment and not done easily so if you are thinking about it make sure you have time to plan your meals. I did a big shop on Monday for all our meat/fish, nuts, and avocados to make sure we were stalked up or we would crash and burn.
So YAY for week #1 on my Wheat Freedom adventure, I’ll keep you posted on how it goes each week.

http://www.performancefitnesstraining.com/

Exercise makes you a "whole new person"

Yesterday my hubby went out mountain biking with my brother and brother-in-law; I have always know the positive effects exercise has on our outlook on life and frame of mind but it was SUPER obvious to me yesterday in him. We had a really busy week-end of Easter festivities and we were both tired by sunday afternoon, but when he came home from being out in the fresh air, getting his blood pumping and having some fun with the boys...he was in such a good mood and that lasted for the whole rest of the evening. He was more relaxed with the kids, didn't let little things get to him and he even said that evening that he really felt like he needs to "enjoy" our time with the kids and our family more instead of feeling like we're "on top" of them for most of the week-end. To put this into perspctive for some of you, we have a 4.5yr old, and 3yr old and a 1yr old daughter so you can imagine what life can be like in our house at times!
So get yourself moving and enjoying this weather since spring has come early and not only will you feel the difference, others will SEE it!

I can't put "The Wheat Belly" down!

I have had MANY clients tell me about the book "The Wheat Belly" by william Davis but had't read it, well bought it and hooked! So interesting how our modern day "wheat" has been so genetically modified but yet was never tested to ensure it is still healthy for humans. There is now testing being done but it doesn't go back to the original grain, it only testing to ensure any future modifications are not harmful for our bodies. All for the sake of more yield per crop and more profit.

We need to get back to the basics people; Whole Foods & Real foods, not genetically modified or man made. If this is a topic you are interested in highly recommend this book.