7 Physical Fitness Test

You guys know that I’m all about consistency over perfection, and sometimes that means WE NEED SHORTCUTS. The hard way isn’t always the better way! Even though I like cooking, I’m not too proud to admit that sometimes life just gets too busy to do it all from scratch. I’m not about to reveal a secret list you’ve never heard of before; these are practical, simple ways to get your P’s and N’s: protein, produce and nutrient dense foods, with minimal effort and fuss. Here are the top convenience items that make it into my grocery cart every single week. Whole Rotisserie Chicken: Actually, we’ve graduated to 1.5 rotisserie chickens because my crew eats like they’ve never seen food before! On the day I buy it, I steam or roast some broccoli and sweet potato and done. I use the leftovers as a no-effort protein on top of my salad for lunch the next day. Pre-washed Bagged Lettuce and Spinach: Click Me! Every week I buy one huge container of Spinach, one huge container of mixe...

My mamas ask me regularly if I have any good smoothie recipes. ‘Good’ is a pretty subjective term. Do my smoothies taste like Booster Juice? No. Do they have any juice in them? Not exactly. Extra sweeteners like maple syrup? Again, that’s a no. Healthy-ish? Definitely. Satisfying? Yes. P’s and N’s? You bet. I don’t use recipes, so much as a formula for my everyday smoothie. They’re not the same every day, but pretty close, because I want smoothie packed with P’s and N’s (protein, produce and nutrient dense foods) vs. making a McDonalds style smoothie that’s basically a juicy milkshake: tons of sugar, low in protein and lots of processed ingredients. Although I’m sure it’s delicious, will leave us hungry and with cravings soon after. My formula is pretty similar to this infographic by Precision Nutrition. I blend mine using a Blendtech, but any reasonably powerful blender will do the trick. There are basically 6 Components : Liquid: I tend to use water and ice. Some people like milk o...

A couple of days ago I was talking to a mama of two who I haven’t yet worked with. At 3 years postpartum she was telling me that she still struggles with the way her tummy looks and feels. We chatted for a bit, and then I referred her to my diastasis self-assessment tool. She wrote me back not an hour later to tell me how she wished she had known more about the types of exercise that are appropriate post baby because she’s sure that what she’s been doing for the past three years has made her situation worse. Fast forward to this morning and I was chatting with another mama of two in my post-natal class. Her second isn’t yet one year and we’ve been working together for seven months or so. She was telling me how much better she feels physically after baby two because she understands what makes sense for her postpartum body. Instead of pushing herself so hard that she leaves our sessions feeling beat up and with back pain, she’s feeling gradually stronger and stronger. This is why I love ...

Have you guys been following the news on the weight regain of The Biggest Loser contestants this week? None of it surprises me. Most often when we see people lose huge amounts of weight very quickly, we also see them gradually regain that weight over time.  This link talks more about the contestants and the reasons why this is happening. News flash: extreme dieting leads to metabolic damage and slow down and interferes with our hunger signals. Crash diets and simply slashing calories: they might work in the short term, but they’re not the answer and if anything they’re setting us up for failure. Moderation isn’t sexy. Healthy habits: not sexy. You know what though, they work I would much rather teach my ladies how to incorporate healthy habits and moderation into their lifestyle and watch them thrive and reach their goals over time, than serve them an unmanageable meal plan of egg whites and chicken breasts and steamed broccoli. Of course a calorie deficit is a part of weight loss,...

Have you ever had an experience where you romanticize something, but then in practice, it turns out really nothing like what you’d imagined in your head? On Tuesday morning, Valentines day, I was in the gym and everyone was talking about their Valentines day plans. Plans ranged from VIP movie nights with wine, to fun, hipster restaurant dates to super-fancy dinner reservations.  Wanna know what I had planned? I planned to put these little heart shaped chocolates into everyone’s lunch boxes and call it a day, because #momlife. Very elaborate, I know, LOL. So after hearing about everyone’s fun plans, I decided I could do something a little more special, why not be festive? I decided to surprise my husband (and two tiny valentines) with yummy steaks from our local butcher, roasted veggies and sesame soba noodles and some wine (for the grown ups, not the kids!).  Anyways, I envisioned a really nice and civilized meal (not sure *why* I thought that might happen), but the reality we...

In last week’s newsletter, I was chatting all about the stories we tell ourselves about our bodies and how those stories can hold us back. As always, I get super-personal in my newsletter and I shared some of the stories I’ve told myself over the years that have held me back from my own goals and happiness. The stories we tell ourselves could range from: I’m too skinny to I’m too fat. I’ll be good enough when I fit into a certain size or weigh a certain number. They could be about our perceived flaws like cellulite or body parts that we fixate on. They could be the stories we tell ourselves about our physical abilities and athletic performance. The truth is: these stories only matter when we give them power, and when allow them to define our identity. Recently I’ve seen some of my favourite fitness professionals say that it’s really just about loving ourselves as you are, right this second. I think we’re oversimplifying when we say things like this. It would be nice to just flip a swi...

Last week I sent out an email to my inner circle about how I’d just decided to get rid of all of my skinny jeans during an early summer, er spring cleaning. It seemed to really resonate so I want to share it here. If you don’t get my newsletter and you’d like to get the inside scoop, sign up here. Anyhow, I was going through three bins labelled maternity, that I’ve been keeping around for the past few years. It it turned out that one was a mix of jeans I used to wear in university, and around the time I got married, you know pre-pregnancy jeans.  I am in no-way a pack-rat; I consider myself very unsentimental when it comes to material things, ruthless even when it comes to purging. I have no idea how this bin stayed around for so long. I’ve literally run 10k races and then given the medal to my kids or put it right into a donation pile because I know I won’t think about it again once it’s out of my sight. I decided this weekend that there’s no point in keeping these bins of skinny...

Goals, Intentions, Resolutions, a word or phrase – whatever you promised yourself for this year, how’s it going for you? While I totally believe that any day is a great day to get started with making positive change, as a I coach I also feel that we should ride the motivation wave when possible, which includes New Years. However, by week two of January, many of us are starting to lose some motivation and those intentions may be flagging a bit. No sweat, I’ve got you covered: my favourite FREE challenge of the year, Mission Nutrition, is coming to a closed Facebook group on Monday February 5th. This is going to be 5 days of education on the key habits you’ll need if you want to get leaner and reduce your stress around food. Mission Nutrition leads into my signature program, No Nonsense Nutrition Academy, which launches just ONE time per year. It is much more than nutrition, and it’s the real deal if you’re looking for lasting fat loss and ready to find your forever lifestyle. If you mi...