Some Words on Fat Loss

Fat loss is a goal for many, yet something people are feeling ashamed to talk about these days.  In the interest of self-love and body positivity, it is in many circles considered taboo to discuss wanting to lose weight or lose fat. 

But you can simultaneously want to change your body, while accepting your body.  

After all, bodies change anyway. They are always changing. It’s whether or not we want to get behind the wheel and steer that change in a certain direction that is the question.  And when we do, let’s unpack WHY we may want it steered in the fat loss or weight loss direction:

Most people when asked why they want to lose weight will answer “to look better and feel better.”  Both of these things are outcomes of fat loss, when there is excess fat to lose.  But my question about the look better part is “look better for WHO?”

If the answer is for you, because when you like what you see for yourself you will feel better aligned, more aesthetically pleased and more confident… those are all fair reasons.  If the answer is for anything or anyone external, the problem with that is it could feel pressurized which often times ends up feeling terrible in the process.  And, for a process to be sustainable, it should not feel terrible. It should feel progressive and supportive.

Losing weight to feel better is always valid.  If there is excess fat to lose and one wants to lose it, it can result in more energy, a brighter mood, balanced hormones — and a very important one — ease of movement. Because when it is difficult to move around and perform activities such as looking after children, playing sports, or even just walking, that becomes a big and negative distraction that often results in extra stress.  Even if it’s subconscious.

{I would like to be clear that even if you have excess fat to lose, it does not mean you have to want to lose it.  All sizes and percentages of body fat can have a bursting-with-happiness, fulfilled life.  It is simply if you are feeling held back either by confidence, a feeling of incongruence in your physical vessel or by that of comfort / health concerns.}

If you are decided that you would like to lose some excess fat because you are lacking confidence, uncomfortable and in pain, or just not feeling quite like yourself and at your best, you can start here.

1. When you put your meals together, choose your protein and produce first. Then add healthy fats. Finally, add healthy starches when you feel you need them. (If you have trouble knowing what foods belong in what categories, stay tuned because I’ll be composing a guide to help you.)

2. Move more.  Both leisurely activity and higher heart rate activity count.  Just add MORE. It can be 5, 10, 15 minutes at a time.  Week by week, make sure you are moving your body around more than before.

3. Commit to exercise like you commit to brushing your teeth.  You can’t just skip several days and get all clogged up.  Maintenance is part of the life program.  Accepting that will make the lifestyle changes a lot easier.

4. Strength training. It’s probably the most bang for buck thing to add in for fat loss. Building lean muscle tissue improves your health in every single way, makes you want to move even more, makes you want to eat better, helps you sleep better, supports your hormones… It’s the best thing you can do for your life.

5. Stay hydrated. Start your day with two glasses of water to replenish thirsty cells, and keep them flushed with water throughout the day. Half your bodyweight (lbs) in ounces every day is a good guideline.

Although I’ve tried to simplify this approach, I understand implementation can be complicated.  I excel at helping clients fit these factors into their specific lifestyles and at working through the obstacles that can pop up. 

I want you well. Reach out if you ever need the help.

Swap The Crash Diet

By now, many people who started a crash diet a week ago are already feeling bored, antsy or frustrated. Any diet that restricts foods that are otherwise nutritious naturally ignite our impatience, because intuitively we know we should be able to eat that them. Maybe you’re on keto craving oats, maybe you’re intermittent fasting just wanting an orange and a couple almonds in your stomach in the morning. And suddenly, you’re feeling that something is “bad” or “off limits”, even though your gut knows better! Crash diets lead to a lack of harmony in the mind and body.

So if you’re starting to teeter, or to feel a bit edgy, consider this my permission to ease out of your crash diet. There’s a better way to drop some excess body fat, and it’ll fill you right up.

I’ve been counselling eating habits for almost 20 years now, and my approach does not fail when followed consistently. It’s flexible, it’s nutritious, holistic and energizing. Because your mood and energy levels MATTER. Sustainability MATTERS. You want to be the best version of yourself, in both the short and longterm, and not turn into a monster for a smaller waistline. Don’t torture yourself and your family with these wild diets!

Here are my tips:

1. Lemon water in the morning - preferably warm.

2. Produce during every snack and every meal, opting for more veg than fruit (produce = good carbs!).

3. Adding a starchier carb (such as grain or potato) at 2-3 snack/meals, perhaps not ALL.

4. Good quality protein at every snack or meal.

5. Good quality fats at every snack or meal.

6. Focus on whole foods vs. convenience foods, and those that naturalyl do not include top allergens: soy, wheat, dairy, corn. This doesn’t mean avoid these foods at all costs, just focus on the OTHER foods more. Put them onto the front burner, so that these inflammatory foods don’t have as much of a space to disrupt you.

Now, part of the process is learning what foods belong in what categories.

Here is a simple breakdown of how I lump foods:

1. Pulses / Legumes / Beans: part protein part starch

2. Grains: starchy carbs

3. Veg & Fruit: non starchy carbs

4. Meat & Eggs: protein, some are part fat part protein (fattier cuts of meat and fish like salmon)

5. Nuts & Seeds: Some higher protein than others - mostly fats.

Examples of balanced meals & snacks:

1. Oats with flax & collagen (for fats & protein, respectively), 1/2 cup of berries for high fibre carbs

2. Two egg omelette, cooked in 1 tsp avocado oil with grated zucchini, sliced tomato and chopped spinach

3. Salad made with chopped massaged kale, 1/2 cup of quinoa or rice, roasted peppers, chopped chicken and homemade olive oil based dressing.

4. Salmon cooked in lemon, salt & pepper, roasted broccoli, 1/2 sweet potato.

5. Apple, 3 turkey slices wrapped around 3 slices of avocado.

6. Cucumber, carrots, peppers with 2 T hummus.

7. Chicken breast, spinach sautéed in avocado oil with sea salt, roasted squash.

8. Chili made with ground turkey, 2 kinds of beans, 2 colours of peppers and a can of tomatoes.

9. Peppers stuffed with quinoa, ground beef, spinach and a small handful of chopped nuts (baked).

10. Halibut or other white fish served with avocado & mango salsa, 1/2 cup of wild rice and sautéed spinach.

If you eat this way the majority of the time, your body will be getting such quality nutrition that it will be able to handle more indulgent items twice a week or so. So, you don’t have to swear off cheeseburgers, or pizza, or anything! Just slip them in from time to time, but opting for these energy-boosting, high nutrient meals on the regular.

The rest will take care of itself - and that goest for whatever your goals may be. Muscle-building, heart health, hormone stabilizing, fat loss, better moods, better energy - happiness. You will be satiated, not hungry - happy.

I hope this helps! I want you well!

A Better Way to Resolve

It’s resolution season. Whether you make them this time of year, throughout the year or not at all, there is something to be said for making CHANGE. And there is a better way to do it.

The name of my company was / is (I haven’t fully ditched it, despite using my own name more dominantly) The Change Training. Because I believe that change is the only constant, it happens no matter what, and it’s best to get behind the wheel and learn how to steer your change. I want to write about the most important part of steering your change.

Typically, when people want change it comes from a negative place. Feeling groggy or heavy perhaps, maybe feeling overfat. Maybe it’s simply being too self-critical, or feeling low in confidence. A lack of strength. Either way, getting healthier does help all of these things, but I don’t believe reflecting on the negative feelings and / or habits is the best way to go about it.

It is the season of “no more bread!” or “no more booze!” or “no more sugar!”

So here’s the thing. There is NO SHAME in wanting to feel better. You have every right to acknowledge that you’re feeling uncomfortable, and to want to make the most of your time in this life. The self-love movement has gotten to a place where we sometimes feel like we can’t so much as mention fat loss or physical motivations. But how you feel in your body affects how you feel in your life, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being honest with yourself about that. You have the right to feel better. To feel more comfortable, stronger and better aligned. Health resolutions are great. Of course they are! Because getting stronger and healthier can have the biggest return on investment you will ever experience in this life.

You do NOT have to get there by dwelling on your habits that got you feeling uncomfortable in the first place. You do not have to list off all of the things that you’ve been overdoing (overeating, overdrinking, overlazy-ing- whatever they may be) in order to make change. You certainly don’t have to say anything negative about yourself in the process. In fact, I prefer you wouldn’t. Real self love is being honest, and then looking at opportunity to be feel your best.

Fill up your time and your headspace on listing off the feelings that you want to move into. A stronger core, better posture, a clearer mind, and importantly - higher confidence. List off the benefits that getting healthier will bring to your life.

If you spend more time focusing on what you’re cutting out, and feeling badly about past behaviour, it won’t leave you the energy and the brainspace to keep all the wonderful reasons for getting healthier to strongly move you forward toward it.

This year, why don’t you try the following:

Write a very honest list about all the positive outcomes you will experience from getting healthier.

Ditch the list about what to ditch, there won’t even be room to worry about it and to add that ounce of discouragement to soil up your path. (Discouragement is the number one thing that will slow you down - I’ve seen this thousands of times in my work.)

Write down everything you are about to gain.

• a clearer head, more energy

• fresh, clear skin

• the confidence and self belief to go after more

• more supple joints, more mobile days

• more happiness, purely

• the strength to squat down with and lift up your child

• the energy to partake in more recreational activities outdoors

• the peace of mind of warding off illness

• the peace of mind of warding off debilitating injury

• compassion and spreading more positivity (for real, it does this well!)

• setting a wonderful example for those around you

• fitting better in all of your clothes - yes, you’re allowed to be excited about that!

There is nothing more exciting than this kind of change. These kinds of outcomes. I’m sure you can add dozens of things specific to you to this list.

You only live once, as far as we know. You deserve to get the very most out of this life. Stop feeling badly, stop being hard on yourself. There’s no need to cut so much out when you are adding so much good stuff in - it will sidle out that which no longer serves you much more efficiently than your feeling badly about it.

Happy 2021, I wish you the very, very best for this upcoming year.

I think we are going to see some big surges in creativity, in resilience, in quality of time among our communities after such a hard 2020. I love you.