I was having a wonderful conversation with one of my very hardworking super mom clients the other day.  She was talking about how tired she was and how she was finding it hard to get her food under control.  I then asked her the question, “Do you think you may be overeating as a means to justify taking time for yourself?”  She looked and me and said, “I think you might be right?!”  She then suggested that I write a blog about this to help out other moms.  So here I am, writing a blog to hopefully help out all of you wonderful hard working moms and possibly dads out there.  This could even apply to you workaholics out there!
We live in a world which celebrates being busy.  This world does not celebrate taking time out to rest.  In fact, if we rest, we are thought to be lazy.  As not to confuse rest with being lazy, everyone needs a little time out to rejuvenate the body, mind and soul.  In other parts of the world we have siestas and even shorter work weeks……imagine that!  Our Western culture however does not include any of these.  Therefore continuing to encourage the idea of going until you can’t go any more.  Have you ever heard the term, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”?  This idea certainly does not promote a healthy or balanced lifestyle. It is because of this that many of us feel that we need to justify our down time.  And for many of us, this means overeating so that we can sit a rest a little longer.
Can any of you relate to this so far????
So what can we do to help with this unproductive lifestyle habit?  Firstly, allow yourself to be tired.  Say it out loud and make it real!  Remind yourself that when the body is tired what it really needs is rest, not extra food.  Secondly, make a list of things that help you to feel calm.  One thing that I like to do is sit outside with a tea and listen to the birds.  Bringing calm into your day can also be as simple as taking 3 deep breaths and relaxing your shoulder.  Whatever it may be right it down.  Lastly, have a notepad and a pen close to the area that you would typically go to eat.  Write down how you are feeling before you eat, while you are eating and after.  Try this for a week and you will discover amazing things!
YOU are all amazing and deserve to feel this way.  Remember to fill your body, mind and soul with things that help to replenish your energy without overeating!  You can do it.  You are worth it!!!
Peace Out.

Dealing with injury as a trainer is humbling and even a little depressing!
So I’ve decided to get completely real with you all in the New Year. I would normally write a blog encouraging everyone to get back to good health with a plethora of different tips! This year, I myself am not feeling as strong as I usually do. I have been dealing with a foot injury for over a month now and it is throwing me off of my game…… I have not been able to follow my regular routine of my 12 minute HIIT workouts 5 times per week. This has been very mentally challenging for me as this is usually my feel good drug. I now know how others who are in constant pain feel and I have been humbled. This injury has forced me to tap into my mental toughness especially over the holidays when everyone is indulging in food and drink. I made the decision early on with this injury that I would focus on healing my body with modified workouts and good whole healing food. I crunched down on my sugar (pretty much none other than fruits), drank more water, and stretched when I wasn’t taking part in the busy holiday season. Despite my efforts, I am still not fully healed. There are some mornings I wake up praying that I will be back to normal only to step down and feel the same nagging injury. Needless to say, I feel somewhat defeated. I am grateful however, that I am healed enough to enjoy ice skating with my family! This experience has further helped to teach me that nothing is perfect and we just need to keep perspective, have respect, and keep going. Hears to a year of “Never Giving Up”!
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You are what you eat they say............what they say is true!!!  If you eat healthy non processed food, your skin will glow, you will find your ideal weight, and you will have great energy through out your day!!!!

​As we enter this new year, I would like to share 12 "foods"(not really food because it's all processed) you need to cut out of your diet now!  I challenge you to cut these non foods out for 1 month to see how you feel.

1.  Crackers
​2.  Packaged Cookies
​3.  Muffins not made at home
4.  Donuts
5.  Packaged Dry Sugary Cereal
6.  Pop
​7.  Deep Fried Food
8.  Candy
9.  Meat that has been preserved with nitrites.
​10. Frozen Dinners (such as pizza, lasagna, meat pies, etc.)
​11. Packaged "Fruit Bars" or "Fruit Gummies"
​12. Sugar Free Gum with Aspartame

​If you like the idea of feeling better and finding your ideal weight without dieting, check out my program Tranformin12.  Start date February 1, 2018.

Have you ever stopped pushing to your max in a workout because it felt uncomfortable?  Have you ever skipped a workout because you were sore from the last one? Have you ever chosen not to switch up you current workout because you are comfortable?  If you have answered yes to any of these questions, you may be letting your brain stop you from achieving maximum results.

​From childhood we are programed to be cautious and not push it too hard out of fear of injury.  Our parents say things like, "Don't climb too high, you might fall."  or  "If you try that, you might get hurt."  Now obviously they are doing this out of love and concern, however, not realizing that those little brains are taking this all in.  This is programming that we end up carrying in our brains for the rest of our lives.

​So we can't blame this all on our parents...........Our brains are actually hardwired to protect us!  To put it in simple terms, when we stub our toe, our brain sends signals down to our toe to say, "Ouch that hurt!"  Our brain then remembers what it feels like to be hurt and it tries to protect us.  We end up living in protective mode for much of our lives, unless we bring awareness to the impact that our brain really has and getting out of our comfort zone!

​The next time you do your workout and you don't feel like pushing it harder or switching it up ask yourself.....
​"Am I really at risk of injury if I add 5 more push ups?  Will I be unable to walk if I add 10 more squats?"  Or......
 Is my brain just trying to protect me by telling me I can't do any more?"  My guess is, you will find that you are more than capable of ramping things up if you start ignoring all of those pre-programed thoughts.

​Try a little bit of reprogramming by practicing mantras like, "By pushing harder I will get better, stronger and faster."  "I am in control of how my body responds to my workouts."  Or, "It hurts so good!"  LOL!

​It's my belief that our brains control 99% of everything we do.  If you want to keep getting results from your workouts tell that brain that YOU ROCK!!!!

Why we don’t need as many carbohydrates after the age of 30.......
So why is it that most people male and female can get away with eating the burger with a bun and fries in their 20’s, and why is it that this changes after the age of 30????
The answer is quite simple.  The body stops reproducing cells as efficiently after the age of the 30 and the body also begins the process of breaking down.   Carbs are a great source of quick energy for very active people as well as for those under the age of 30, who need the extra energy and are able burn it off.  As we age, the body requires different sources of energy for upkeep.  For example, the brain is made up of mostly fat, therefore, to keep the brain healthy as we age, it is important to feed it healthy fats such as omegas and DHAs (found in nuts and dairy).  After the age of 30 we also begin to lose 1 pound of lean mass per year.  That means that if you are not working to build muscle and eating to maintain it, you will lose it!  Protein is one of the best ways to help build, repair and maintain muscle.  Your body in middle age physiologically craves these 2 macro nutrients.
So when do carbs come back into play?????  Unfortunately, not in the form of French Fries.  The blood in our body requires vitamins to be delivered to it each and every day.  As you can well imagine, there are no vitamins hiding in French Fries!   In mid age the body utilizes carbohydrates mainly in the form of vegetables and fruits.  Each time you fill your body with these beautifully natural and colourful foods, you are feeding and providing your blood with much needed vitamins.  For example, broccoli is high in vitamin B and spinach is high in iron.  Both of these micronutrients are needed to keep the blood healthy and working for you.
Your body is a very complex machine!  It needs to be fed the right nutrients as you age if you want it to keep working well for you!!!  The next time you would like to order fries instead of a salad, or eat that extra cookie because it tastes good.......ask yourself........What is this doing for my body right now?????

Since the birth of my first child 5 years ago I have had to change many things in my life.  One of the biggest changes was the way that I worked out.  For me, missing a workout is not an option, nor is spending quality time with my children.  I also have a business and house to run.  My workouts are my time for ME!  I had to think of a creative way for my workouts to still be challenging without taking an hour or two.  This is when I developed the 12 minute workout.  I had already been practicing interval training but with a little less intensity.  I thought to myself, why not work a little harder for less time and see if I can achieve the same results????  I cut my interval workout time in half and pushed it harder.  I couldn’t and still can’t believe that 12 minutes can feel so long!  After a month of training this way I realised that I was getting better results than when I was training for twice the time!  I was amazed and intrigued.  This led me to do a little more research as to why and how this could be as well as deciding upon 3 reasons everyone should be training harder for a shorter period of time.
Reason#1   This one goes without saying.........anyone can find 12 minutes in the day whether it be morning noon or night.  I was discussing this option for a busy mom of 3 and she said, “I can do that at work, during my lunch!”  Another new mom said to me, “I can do this when my baby is sleeping!”  The idea of only having to work out for 12 minutes is much easier to commit to 5 times a week.  In my experience with all of my clients, this method really works!
Reason#2   Less chance of injury.  Because you are only working out for 12 minutes the body has more time to repair.  12 Minutes of intense interval training is much less stress on the body than going out for a 10 km run or spending 2 hours at the gym lifting heavy weights.  You also have more time to stretch when you are finished.
Reason #3 If you are looking for weight loss this method will benefit you most due to the simple reason that the body burns most of its calories after your workout.  You can make the judgement call; however, it makes more sense to me to give it my all for those 12 minutes in instead of wasting my time for 1 to 2 hours at the gym.  I was able to get my workout in today while my kids were having some quiet time! 
Life get’s busy, but you don’t have to sacrifice getting a great workout in if you keep it short, and make it count!