It’s that time of year again, where we set our New Year’s Resolutions.  For many of us, weight loss is on the list.  For some of us, the first week is almost done and we’ve already given up for another year!

If you want to make your weight loss goals a reality, here are some decisions you have to make:

1.  Is it that important to you?  You have to decide if  losing weight is important enough for you to change your way of life.  You are faced with many decisions each day that will affect your ability to lose weight.  You have to be willing to change your lifestyle, to make some challenging decisions every day. 

2.  What is your game plan?  If you’ve decided that it’s important enough, you need to come  up with a solid plan.  Saying you’re going to go to the gym and eat well is not good enough.  You need to be specific and put together a roadmap for yourself to follow.  Decide what activities you are going to do, how often and how long.  Write down what you are eating.  How often do you eat out, how often do you pick up something on the way home, how often do you make your meals and what do you make?  Look at your schedule and decide what you can change.  Be careful to keep your game plan REALISTIC.  You need to make changes for the long haul, not for the short term.

3.  What is your motivation?  The journey to lose weight is a long term commitment.  Along the way you will constantly be challenged.  You need to know why you doing this.  It’s important to you, but why?  Do you want to look & feel your best for an important occasion, do you want to get off your high blood pressure medication, do you want to be able to join your kids in their activities?  Find what your motivation will be.  Write it down and keep it with you.  Post it up  if that will help serve as a reminder.

4.  Who is on your team?  Make sure that you are not trying to tackle this on your own.  Decide if you want to enlist professional help, through a trainer or nutritionist.  If you’re not sure where to start, a professional can be a great asset to putting together the game plan for you to follow.  Decide who will be your support network.  Who will you call when you’re about to eat a bag of cookies?  Who will you depend on to get you to the gym?  Who will you lean on when you don’t think you can keep going?

5.  Will you be responsible?  YOU are responsible for your ability to reach your goals or not.  You can enlist help to get you there, but ultimately it’s up to you, whether you get there or not.  If you are following your plan and you are not seeing results, then you need to look at other options (ie. medical issues).  Only you know if you are giving yourself the best you’ve got.  You are responsible for doing what you can and making changes if it’s not working.  Giving up is not taking responsibility!

Make this the year you actually get what you want.  Set yourself up for success by putting together a plan, be patient and take responsibility for your actions.

Happy New Year!  Cheers to a great 2012.

 

5 simple habits to implement to help you achieve your weight loss goals:

1.  Be prepared.  We are all too busy, but this is an essential key to losing weight.  Make it a priority to plan your day/week.  Take the time to plan out your meals and snacks.  Make a list for grocery shopping and make sure you are well stocked for success.  Schedule the time each day for meal preparation.  Where most of us fall down is when we’re on the run and grabbing something “quick” to eat because we don’t have anything ready.

2.  Don’t multi-task!  When it comes to eating, make it your only focus.  Take 15 minutes to sit down and eat your meal.  When you eat while you’re doing something else you WILL eat more than you should and most of the time you don’t even taste it.

3.  Don’t look for perfection.  We all make mistakes or take a wrong turn.  The key is always get back on track as quickly as possible to you get to your final destination!  If you miss a workout or eat something that wasn’t the best choice, MOVE ON!  Don’t wallow or give up.  Figure out what to do next and move along.

4.  Be your biggest fan.  Everyone needs their own cheering squad – so head up your own!  Give yourself the support you need to succeed.  Reward yourself along the way.  Write yourself little notes to keep positive.  Give yourself things to look forward to.  Look in the mirror give yourself a pep talk!  Staying positive is one of the healthiest things you can do for your soul!

5.  Get inspired!  What is your inspiration?  What do you get excited about?  Find something that keeps you motivated.  If you can really get excited about something, energy and intention follow.  Getting what you want is all up to you, you just have to find the right spark!

Be true to yourself and go after what you want.  This life is your life to lead, so make it a good one!

All too often we hear “I just want to lose 10 lbs, then I’ll be happy.” 

What makes us believe that we’ll be “happy” if we see a certain number on a scale?  Why does it matter if we get to that number and why does it suddenly erase everything else?

Losing weight is not the only ingredient in the recipe for happiness.  It is scary to think that we have everything so tied to a number on a scale.

Here also inlies the reason so many of us battle with weight and yo-yo dieting.  We place too much importance on this magical number.  We seem to believe it’s going to erase all our other problems and suddenly make our life amazing.

Do yourself a favour and give yourself a reality check.  Losing weight will not solve all your problems.  It will not suddenly make you beautiful and it won’t make you rich!

Take a look at why you really want to lose weight and do you really want to keep it off!? 

There is no magic pill, surgery or potion.  Anyone can promise you that you can lose weight.  I just saw an ad that said that I could lose 10 lbs in 1 week.  Wow, that’s incredible!  What happens when that week is over?  You got it, I get to gain that 10lbs and more back.  Oh, and I get to feel like a failure because I couldn’t keep it off.  That’s no way to go through life.

Finding happiness is about changing your life.  Change your focus.  Take a look at what you are truly unhappy about.  What do you need to do to change it?  Are you willing to work at making those changes?  Whether it’s losing weight or finding a different job or working on your marriage.  You have to decide what you want and what you’re prepared to do about it.

It is so easy to get caught in the rut of getting up, going to work, coming home, having dinner, watching tv and going to bed.  The monotony of the routine of life can be enough to make us unhappy!  Making changes doesn’t have to mean doing things you hate (like going to the gym) and eating lettuce leaves for the rest of your life!  It means finding a balance that allows you to “live” life and stay healthy.

Finding happiness is about creating moments in your life that make you smile, make you laugh and give you a lasting memory.  Getting skilled in creating these memories is what can ultimately change your life!  Here are some ideas of things you can do with family and friends to be active and create your moments:

• take a hike – there are tons of trails, parks and conservation areas in the GTA.  A great outing for the family or grab a coffee and walk it with a friend
• try rock climbing – there are great indoor places that give lessons for adults and children
• go bowling or roller skating – when was the last time you went bowling!?
• go for a game of laser tag!
• create a treasure hunt – an awesome way for families to work as a team and have fun!
• go to the park – instead of planting yourself in front of the tv, head to the park – run around with the kids – it tires them out and you get your exercise too!
• Play a game of twister!  Young and old can have a lot of fun with this one.
• Take a walk around the mall!
• Pull out the Wii Fit or other active games.

Changing your habits takes time and it takes planning.  Changing things that you do every day to be more active, will help you with your weight loss goals and it will also serve to keep you happy.

Finding a fitness and nutrition regime that you can incorporate into your life for the long term is the key to losing weight and keeping it off.  Make changes to how you socialize with friends and what you do with your “spare” time. 

Create your moments of happiness by living your life to the fullest not running on automatic! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making a commitment to yourself to make a change takes courage.  Giving yourself the support you need is incredibly empowering.  Believe that you can make this change, that you are worth it and nothing will stand in your way, at least not for very long!

That is the key.  When you hit an obstacle it’s what you do that counts.  If you let negative thoughts and self doubts take over, you won’t realize your goal.   When you start hearing the negativity come out, consciously stop yourself.  Say the word “STOP”.  Stop the thoughts before they take root and sabotage your progress. 

Your journey through change will never be a completely smooth road.  The trick is keeping positive and seeing opportunity in your challenges.  Try creating a postive mantra that you can repeat to yourself in those challenging times.  If you hear those self doubting phrases coming through, stop it, turn it around and make an action out of it.

For example, instead of berating yourself for having that slice of cake.  Stop the thought in mid sentence.  Think about how great it tasted, think about what you were celebrating.  Make it a positive experience, not a guilty one.  Then give yourself an action.  Don’t sit there talking down to yourself and become immobilized.  Take in some fresh air and walk the dog or play with the kids.  Go into the kitchen and prepare a healthy meal.  Do something positive while you remind yourself that you are worth it.

When you accept that you are human and let go of your image of “perfection”, is when you can make change and keep moving on.  Don’t dwell on your mistakes.  Recognize them, accept them, give yourself a positive action and move on! 

Know that changes take time, that is ofcourse changes that are worth making and maintaining.  Remember that you are worth it (say it and believe it) and savour your journey.  Find moments to enjoy and focus on those pieces, not on the missteps.

Focus on what’s important.  You and your happiness.  The rest will fall into place.

I woke up this morning, a brand new week, wondering what will life bring to me.  I am looking for my inspiration.  What will it be this week?  Will it be the renewed energy of our campers starting a brand new session?  Will it be my son’s constant smile and wonder at life?  What will lift me up and keep me positive?

As I sit here wondering what it might be, it hits me that my inspiration should come from me.  What can I do, who can I be that will keep me lifted?  This is a big week for me as I will be conquering a huge fear.  I will be working a booth at a tradeshow.  I know to some of you that may not sound that scary, but to someone who doesn’t like talking to people she doesn’t know, it’s terrifying!  (I don’t even order pizza over the phone)

Starting now I’m focussing on what I’m good at.  What do I do that rocks?  I will strive to hold on to what that is and keep it with me as I practice what I’m going to say and how I’m going to say it at the show.  I will not get discouraged by rejection! 

My inspiration is going to be me.  Join me and find inspiration in yourself this week.  Challenge yourself to step outside your comfort zone and try something new, knowing you can achieve anything you want to.

Lift yourself up, say nice things to yourself and conquer things great and small.  Turn away your negative thoughts.  Say “no” when they start to roll in your head.  Stop people when they start telling you why you can’t do something.  Find a way to do what you want to do.

This week it’s about being our own inspiration.  Good luck!

It doesn’t have to be ALL or NOTHING!  Many of us start on a weight loss or exercise program and go gang busters for the first week and then there’s nothing left.  We do this because we want instant gratification.  We want to see all those pounds that we’ve accumulated over the years melt off in 1 week.  Guess what!?  It isn’t going to happen.

It is great to be enthusiastic and work hard to realize your goals.  But it’s important to remember that what you want, in the end, is to sustain the results you achieve.  If you go on an all grapefruit diet, yes you may lose a bunch of weight, but guess what?  It’s going to come right back on when you go back to the way you used to eat.

Why not make changes you can live with for the long haul?  It doesn’t mean you have to eat carrots at every snack and never have your beloved chocolate again!  It means making adjustments to your lifestyle so that you are eating better and getting more active with each day.  Enabling you to enjoy your life more.

This means that the pounds may not melt off your body like liquid.  THAT’S OKAY!  Typically the longer it takes you to slim down and tone up, the greater chance you have at maintaining the changes you’ve made.  The hard part about this is motivation.  That’s why you need to look at your goals and really find out what is important.  It’s why vanity reasons rarely keep us sticking to our goals.  It’s also a reason to find food you really love and activities you really enjoy so you can have fun on your journey.

As you travel through your program think about all the successes that you are achieving along the way.  Think about the energy you now have that you didn’t before.  Think about how your skin looks and feels better because you’re providing your body with nutrients you weren’t before.  Think about how happy you’re making your kids and your loved ones because you can DO things with them.  There are so many other reasons to lose weight and get in shape than what you look like.

Everything in moderation.  You do still have to make changes and you do still have to stick to a plan, but you work them in so that they become your new habits.  It’s all about creating healthy habits that you can live with and enjoy.  There are tons of cook books and online tools to help you learn how to prepare delicious food that is good for you.  Learning portion control is easy once you get started.  Knowing what you really want to “indulge” in will be clear.

Take a step to live a healthier, happier, longer life that you can really enjoy.  Get off the rollercoaster of diets and exercise fads that keep you going up and down and continually frustrated.

Make a commitment to make one change today.  What’s it going to be?

My mom passed away when I was 24.  My life seemed to stop in it’s tracks.  What was interesting, important and joyful before just didn’t seem to matter anymore.    I was having a hard time getting up in the morning to get to work.  I was not dealing with my grief well.  I knew I needed help and I was lucky enough to find Bereaved Families Of Ontario – Toronto.

I met with another young adult who had also lost her mom.  I can’t tell you how important it was to talk to someone who “got it”.  I had a lot of supports in my life, but until you go through it, you really don’t know what to do or say.  My family were all trying to deal with my mom’s death the best way they could, so we couldn’t support eachother.  I finally got a chance to just be heard.

I participated in a young adult group where 6 of us came and met with 2 amazing facilitators.  We all told our stories and talked about how we were feeling, what we were doing, how we were getting support.  It was such an incredible experience to look around a room and see 7 pairs of eyes look at you and know exactly what you were talking about.  With BFO I learned how to live with my grief.  I learned that I could still honour my mom, miss her but I could still live and find joy again.  Without this organization, I honestly don’t know where I would be today.

It has been 13 years since my mom died.  I think of her everday and hope that she would be proud of all the things that I’m doing with my life.  One of the things that I can do to honour her is give back to an organization that did so much for me.  And so our 12 Hour Boot Camp Relay in support of Bereaved Families of Ontario-Toronto was born.

You can help us make a difference to someone who has lost a loved one by supporting this event.  Read on to see what it’s all about and how you can help.

12 Hour Boot Camp Relay – Saturday,  May 7, 2011 – 7 am – 7 pm

We have 12 hours of workouts planned, but you don’t have to be there for 12 hours!!! 

• Create a team of 4 or register on your own and meet new friends. 
• 1 person from each team is on the workout floor at all times for 12 hours. 
• You decide how you want to split your workout time to suit your schedule
• Food & refreshments are provided throughout the day
• ALL fitness levels welcome – ANYONE can participate
• Prizes are awarded throughout the day and to the highest fundraisers
• All pledges raised go to BFO-Toronto.
• Team registration is $75.00, individual is $25.00 – team registrations waived for teams raising over $1,000.00 for BFO-Toronto

If you can’t participate in the day but would like to support the event, here are other ways you can help:

• make a donation 
• supply some food/refreshments
• provide prizes
• supply coupons or samples for our participant bags

There are tons of ways to help out.  If you’re interested in participating or helping in anyway email us at info@bodybyubootcamp.com.

Head to www.bodybyubootcamp.com/special-events.html for registration & pledge forms or for the link to make a donation.

Thank you for helping us make a difference.

Ally

Everyone wants the magic bullet to weight loss.  When you find it, give me a call!  For the rest of us, here are some easy, fairly pain free ways that you start to slim down.

1.  Cut out high calorie, high sugar drinks.  Things  like sodas, energy drinks and some juices.  Some of these are just empty calories (sodas) and others just add too many calories (energy drinks) to your daily total unless you’re working out like crazy.

2.  Get more zzzzzzs.  Make sure your body is getting the 8 hours of sleep it needs to recharge and rebuild.

3.  Put less on your plate.  For many of us, it’s not what we’re eating, it’s how much.  We have CRAZY portions.  Cut it down, you’ll notice that you’re still full by the end!

4.  Take your time.  Chew your food!  Take your time when you eat.  Make it easier for your body to digest what you’re putting in it.  The longer you take to eat, generally the less you will eat.

5.  Eat a rainbow!  Create a game of having as many colours on your plate as you can.  The more colours you can create with fruits and veggies the better you are fueling your body and the happier it and you will be.

6.  Drink, drink, drink.  We’re talking WATER!   Challenge yourself to drink water when you reach for a beverage.  It’s the best thing to hydrate your body.  If you have a hard time drinking the recommended water everyday, try spicing it up by adding slices of fruit.

7.  Do something, anything!   If you sit all day, everyday, you’re going to get rusty and fat!  Revitalize your body by moving it.  You don’t have to head to the gym.  Pick an activity you enjoy and JUST DO IT.  Think of fun things that will keep you going back for more.

8.  Breakfast is king.  Start your day off right by fueling your body with energy to get you through the day.  Eat as soon as you can after you wake up and get a head start at revving up your metabolism.

9.  Find Inspiration.  Wake up in the morning and find inspiration.  What is it today?  What will keep you energized, focussed and positive?

10.  De-stress your life.  Take time everyday to ground yourself.  Take the stress out by exercising, relaxing, writing, whatever it is that can centre you and keep you calm.

Figure out what you trigger points are.  What do you need to work on?  Make a goal today to work on 1 thing from this list.  Tomorrow start on another.

The scale can be a useful tool in keeping you on track to achieve your weight loss goals.  It can also be a hinderance.  It can become an obsession.  Many of us are obsessed with what number we see on the scale.  It’s not a healthy situation!

I haven’t owned a scale since I lived with my parents in high school.  The reason?  I have an unhealthy relationship with it!  We have agreed to disagree!!!  The reality is whatever number it comes back at me with, I never seem to be satisfied with it.  It  isn’t a rational relationship.  I am a fitness professional.  I know the importance of all the other measures of what being healthy is all about.  But, and yes, there is a big but…when I step on the scale it seems to erase all the other pieces of the puzzle. 

I have grown up with the scale typically showing a bigger number than “it’s supposed to”.  The reality is I have a lot of muscle on my body.  Having muscle on your body and stepping on a scale seem to be at odds with each other!  But for some reason we associate “success” with that number that appears on the scale.  It doesn’t matter how many inches we’ve lost, how much body fat has disappeared, how much better our skin looks, the incredible increase in our energy let alone the rise of our self esteem.  The scale has been the only measure of success.  THAT IS RIDICULOUS!

When you look in the mirror and like what you see.  When you like the way you fit into your clothes.  When you walk down the street  and like how you feel.  When you are amazed at how you can get up the stairs without panting.  THESE are all measures of what is important.  Not a number on a scale!

If looking at the scale helps keep you on track, then keep using it.  If looking at it sets you back and makes you second guess the strides you’re taking because it hasn’t moved the way you’d like it to, then gift it to someone else.

Pay attention to the way you feel and don’t get wrapped up in a number, that at the end of the day, is just a number.

I just attended the funeral of a good friend’s father.  His father died just 4 short months after his mother, most saying from a broken heart.

When you witness such grief it makes you reflect on what truly is important in this world.  Like many people, I get lost in my day to day activities, get stressed over “silly” things and often lose sight of what life is ultimately about.  I hate to think that it takes these types of events as the catalyst to bring me back to what truly is important.

I made a choice 7 years ago to make a huge change in my life.  I quit my full-time corporate job and set out to start one of the first boot camps in Toronto.  I was going to do something I loved and hopefully help people along the way change their lives.  I have met some AMAZING people along the way.  When I think about everyone that has come into our lives at Toronto Adventure Boot Camp, I am humbled.  We have made a difference.

There is a common thread that I’ve realized now, looking back at our experiences.  Most people come to us wanting to “lose weight”.  Most people have the goal because they can’t fit into their jeans or they’re going on vacation and want to get into a bathing suit or just don’t like what they see when they look in the mirror. 

We don’t get a lot of people coming in with their motivating factor being “I want to be healthy” or “I want to make sure I can keep up with my kids or be here to play with my grandkids”.  Usually the motivation is vanity and while that is fine, it can be a great temporary motivator, it usually falls short of providing enough reason to keep with it.

We are eating and drinking and sitting our way to a shorter life span.  And really when you think about it, a life that isn’t as much fun.  What happened to getting out a DOING things.  I fall into this trap with my kids frequently.  It’s easier to sit and watch cartoons than it is to organize an activity or an outing.  In taking the “easy” way, I’m cheating myself and my kids of special memories and habits that lead to a more fulfilling life.

I want people to take a look at their life and make a conscious choice about how they want to live it and what they want to experience.  You don’t have to feel tired and gross all the time.  You don’t have to get out of breath climbing the stairs, you don’t have to eat out of a box.  Life is full of choices.  Make a commitment to yourself to give yourself the best one possible.

I know today I’m making a commitment to myself, my kids and my husband to change some of my ways.  What are you going to do?