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.

My passion has been reignited!

I have been a personal trainer for almost 14yrs now and i love it more with each passing year. I have been the owner of my own studio for over 3yrs now and it has been an incredible growing experience for me in so many ways, but most of all I have developed a deep passion for whole food nutrition.
Real food and how it effects our bodies is completely under utilized; we turn to pills and multi-vitamins to "fix" us instead of working on using the nutrients in whole foods to prevent or heal MANY issues.
I take pride in the training programs I design and the results I get for my clients BUT without the right eating plan, those results are limited. I have gained a lot of nutritional knowledge over the last 2yrs but not qualified to assess a clients current patterns/habits and then design a program based on thier symptoms, issues and goals.
I will be a certified nutritional coach in 3 months and I am BEYOND excited about what that will allow me to do for my clients.
I hate seeing clients struggle with weigh-ins and motivation. We all have stresses and struggles and we have many things happening in our bodies that we may not even be aware of and those factors are stopping our progress; unbalance digestive enzymes, adrenal glands that are overworked, not enough micro nutrients so that our bodies cannot absorb the proper nutrients or MANY other option but how would you know?
I am SO excited to be learning more and bringing this to regular and new clients a like! Be ready to transform your bodies people! This is going to change the way you looks at Health!!!!

As I learn more, I will be blogging about it so be ready to pick up lots of tidbits of info that will help you on your journey.

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.

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.

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