Specific – A well defined goal, stating exactly what you want. Eg: Karen wants to start running.

Measurable- Establish concrete material for measuring progress leading up to your goal. Eg: Karen will keep a journal and will write in it every time she goes for a run, walk or jog.

Attainable- How can your goal be accomplished? How will you measure your progress? Eg: Karen will start by doing intervals of walking and jogging.

Realistic- Within the availability of knowledge, resources and time. You do not want to set yourself up for failure. Eg: Karen has said she is going to do interval training, she feels she can walk 5 minutes and run 1 minute and increase her timing from there.

Timely- Set a timeframe and a deadline for your goal. Eg: Karen wants to be able to run for 15 consecutive minutes by the end of a six month period.

The program starts February 1st, so SIGN UP NOW!!!

What you can do to earn points:

• · 2 points for coming to any class of your choice
• · 5 points for submitting a SMART goal (see more information below)
• · 2 points for submitting a small achievement or step towards that goal
• · 2 point for submitting how you celebrated that achievement
• · 10 points for a personal training, yoga therapy or life coaching session
• · ·        10 points if you submit a food diary for the work highlighting that you have ate 30 fruits and vegetables in one week
• · ·        10 points for submitting a food diary with your protein servings, for quality protein you will need 12 per week
• · ·     5 points for completing 30 minutes of cardio that makes you sweat!
• · 5 points for completing well-balanced resistance workout

PLEASE NOTE:  ALL SUBMISSIONS WILL BE KEPT COMPLETELY CONFIDENTIAL

What you need to know about a SMART goal..

A SMART goal is a goal that is specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. The first day you come in to the gym you will be given a ballet and you can write down your goal (it will remain confidential), we will work towards getting you to this goal and you get points along the way. The top three people who have the most points at the end of the 8-week period will receive the following prizes:

• 1st place- 3 free personal training sessions!
• 2nd place- 1 month free membership!
• 3rd place – exercise items!

For anyone interested in approaching healthy eating habits and getting support while doing this we are offering an 8 week session “Highway to a Healthy Way”.  Shereen Thompson will be hosting this with all of her energy and enthusiasm! 

Shereen was away for a couple of weeks and sent some advice to help us be prepared for our coming summer vacations!

  One of the most challenging things we can face when we are trying to eat healthy and get fitter is staying on track while we are away from home. Whether it’s an all inclusive vacation, a weekend getaway or a business trip, there are many challenges to face when we are not in our familiar surroundings going through our regular routines. One of the most common attitudes towards this is that while people are on vacation, they should take a holiday with their eating habits at the same time. This can lead to disaster! Not only can it cause setbacks with weight loss, it can wreak havoc on your digestive system if you have been eating healthy for a period of time. Now there is no need to deprive yourself and miss out on delicious cuisine, you just need to be smart about it! Here are a few helpful hints to help you survive a ‘getway’.

There are three reasons why eating in restaurants, as we tend to do most of the time while traveling, is so dangerous for your diet:

• Restaurants often serve large portions, and we tend to eat more when more food is in front of us.
• Restaurant menu items are often high in calories, fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium and low in fibre.
• At restaurants, you usually have no idea how many calories or grams of saturated fat are in the dishes you order.

But it is possible to enjoy your vacation and the local food without packing extra pounds for the trip home. The secrets: choose foods wisely, make “moderation” your vacation mantra, and stay as active as possible during your trip.

When you arrive at your destination, ask the hotel concierge or local residents what restaurants are nearby and what type of food they offer. Or, check out the local tourist restaurant guide; hotels often have these as do airport information booths.

Better yet, investigate your eating options before you go. Email or call the concierge of your hotel and ask for restaurant suggestions. If possible, look these restaurants up online to see what their menu choices are. (Of course, if you’ve got Internet access via your phone, you can look this up during your trip.)

Here are more tips to help you take your diet on vacation:

Vacation Diet Tip No. 1: Eat in Once a Day

To save both calories and money during your trip, try “eating in” for one meal a day. Pack some tried-and-true breakfast options in your luggage, like lower-sugar instant oatmeal, whole-grain breakfast cereal, power bars or breakfast bars (look for brands lower in sugar and saturated fat but high in protein and fibre). You can also find a local market and stock up on fresh fruit to have in your hotel room for breakfast and snacks.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 2: Go for Zero-Calorie Beverages

You don’t need hundreds and hundreds of calories from beverages on top of the extra calories you’ll be consuming from food. The good news is there are usually plenty of no-calorie drink options at most restaurants. Ask for lemon or lime for your glass of ice water or order unsweetened hot or cold tea, coffee, sparkling water, club soda, or diet soda.

The bad news is that alcohol can be a diet disaster when you’re on vacation. Many of us tend to drink more while on vacation — perhaps frozen margaritas by day and a few glasses of wine by night. Each alcoholic drink can tack on about 150 to 450 calories.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 3: Downsize Your Portions

It doesn’t make sense to deprive yourself of enjoyable foods while you’re on vacation. Instead, downsize your portions by ordering from the kids’ or junior menu, or ordering an appetizer instead of an entree. You could also split an entree with your dining partner, or save half for another meal and stash it in the hotel refrigerator.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 4: Ask Your Waiter 4 Questions

1.       Ask how a dish is prepared and served. Then, you can request that your selection be prepared or served differently, if necessary. For example, meats that are fried can often be ordered grilled instead.

2.       Ask for sauces, gravies, and dressings to be served on the side so you can use a modest portion.

3.       Ask that your entree be served with fresh vegetables (no butter or sauce, please) or a side salad instead of the usual french fries.

4.       Request whole grains whenever possible. Some restaurants offer 100% whole-wheat bread and buns, whole-grain blend pasta, tortillas, and steamed brown rice.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 5: Order Fruits and Veggies Every Chance You Get

Look for opportunities to order dishes that include high-nutrient, high-fibre fruits and vegetables. Entree salads or side salads made with spinach or romaine lettuce are a fun way to get your vegetables. If you’re ordering something like a shrimp or chicken quesadilla, you can ask the restaurant to add some grilled vegetables.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 6: Be Careful With Condiments

Consider this: Half of the fat grams in Arby’s Southwest Chicken Wrap or Ultimate BLT Wrap come from the ranch sauce or mayonnaise.

Some types of condiments are super-high in calories and fat, especially creamy sauces and spreads like mayonnaise. Opt for condiments that contribute less than 25 calories per serving, like catsup, marinara, mustard, or BBQ sauce.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 7: Go Fishing in Restaurants

Make it a point to enjoy seafood when you eat out. It’s a great way to get your weekly dose of fish and their heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids. But there is a catch — avoid battered and fried fish dishes. Instead, look for grilled (and non-buttered) selections. If the fish dish comes with a sauce, just order it on the side.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 8: Beware of the Table Munchies

If you’re famished when you sit down at the restaurant, those table munchies — like bread, crackers, or chips — will be looking really good. But these little bites can add hundreds and hundreds of calories, and fill you up before your meal ever arrives. So tell your server you don’t want any or order a no-calorie beverage and a salad or healthy appetizer instead.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 9: Have Dessert, but Share

Part of being on vacation is enjoying life, and part of enjoying life is ordering dessert when you really want to. If your meal has left you satisfied, you can take your dessert with you and enjoy it later when you are hungry again. You can also share your dessert with one or more dining partners, either at the table or later on.

Often it’s the first few bites that we most enjoy anyway. So aim for satisfying your dessert craving with a handful of bites that you take the time to savour.

Vacation Diet Tip No. 10: Healthier Fast Food

Whether you’re on the road or in the airport, it seems like just about anywhere you go, you’ll find fast food. This can be a good thing; where else can you feed a family of four with a $20 bill? Plus you know what to expect from familiar fast-food chains. Ask for nutrition information pamphlets so you can get a quick idea of what is good for you and not just good to the taste! Many fast food places have a lighter menu to choose many healthy delicious meals.

  And last but NOT least; GET MOVING!!!!! You are in a different place so get out and explore!!!! Go swimming, rent bikes, go hiking, just KEEP moving!!!!!! And don’t forget to take pictures…

Shereen Thompson

Over this series of articles, I have alluded to the importance of eating habits, when you are looking at your physical fitness and trying to lose (or gain) weight.  And I would like to repeat, physical fitness is important, but your eating habits are very important.  When you eat, you are nourishing your body with fuel.  This fuel feeds cells.  And the quality of fuel affects the quality of your cells.  It reminds me of the commercials currently playing on TV for a credit card company.  “What’s in your wallet?!”  I would like to ask you “What’s in your cells??!”

 A great guide is the 80/20 rule.  80% of the food you eat should be nourishing and healthy food.  20% of your food can be the treats that you enjoy.  Then you do not feel deprived of anything.  The psychology of deprivation is very powerful and will even discourage the best of intentions. When we get disheartened we give up or psychologically sabotage our efforts. 

 It is encouraging and empowering to be able to eat well for 80% of the time.  This feeds our motivation as well as our cells and metabolic processes which keep the body running smoothly and burning those calories.  It builds a cycle of success, that we all need.

The 20% treat, allows you to enjoy food.  It avoids the guilt that goes along with food.  Food is a wonderful source of enjoyment.  And it should be a source of enjoyment.  It provides us with an activity that fulfills all the senses we have:  

Sight – to see the combination of all the colours of nature displayed for our nourishment and enjoyment.

Sound – to hear the sizzling, bubbling, pouring, cracking, slurping -  any sound of the preparation or act of eating.

Taste – need I say more?!

Texture – the texture in our mouth, between our teeth, or felt thru our fingers and hands or lips

Sensation – and even the feeling throughout our body, with the heat or coolness as it travels past our throat and down to our stomach.

 Can you answer that 80% of the food you eat will positively and healthily feed your cells? Can you enjoy your food in a complete and wholesome way? If you are answering yes, and still not losing weight, than it is time for some education. 

“What’s in your cells?!”

 SANDRA MALTBY-MILLS

 Quite often I get asked: 1.  What kind of results can I expect to get when working out?  and 2.  Why aren’t I getting these results.  So I have compiled some tips that will help.

When you have committed to losing under 10 pounds, your best measurement in this case may not be by the scale but the way your clothes fit or the measuring tape.  If you are training with weights you are gaining in muscle mass.  Muscle weighs a lot more than fat, however, it takes up less space!  Try not to chain yourself to the scale.  Body weight can go up or down by 1-3 pounds depending on the time of day! 

If you have over 20 pounds to lose, you should be able to consistently drop 1-2 lbs per week.  There may be a week or two where things slow down but if there has been 3 – 4 weeks with no results, you need to address the intensity of your exercise, and honestly assess your eating habits.  Discipline and hard work will get you there.  The fundamentals always work.  It is time to dig deeper and keep it up!

 With regards to the exercise intensity, try the FITT principle

 F = frequency.  If you are participating in our contest you’ve been keeping up with your frequency.  And good for you!  A general guideline for cardio minimum 3x and on average 4-6x per week. 

For resistance, it depends on how you work out, but generally if you do all your body parts in one work out then you should do 3 – 4x per week and leave a days rest between those workouts.

 I = Intensity.  Aahhh.  This is where we can fall into a bit of a slump.  Your cardio respiratory intensity is measured by your heart rate.  When you are exercising it should be between the minimum and maximum guidelines for your age.  We have them posted above the water cooler.  Beginners should work near the minimum guideline and the more fit should work towards the maximum guideline. 

Your intensity with the weights can be increased by the amount of weight, the number of repetitions, or the total time of the training exercise.  Only one should be increased at one time.  Of course everyone is working at their own level, so, to speak in general terms, you should make sure the last couple of repetitions that you do are difficult!  You should feel the muscles working hard to finish the repetition (with proper form of course).  The amount of repetitions should be between 6 – 15, for a healthy muscle.

 T = Type.  The type of exercise you should be doing to increase your cardio vascular health is obviously cardio exercise, ie. moving in a continuous way to increase your heart rate within your heart rate zone. 

The type of exercise to increase your strength and to put on muscle mass – which by the way burns more calories even at rest! – is resistance training, which does not always mean working with weights.  You can use body weight, elastic bands, or anything that will create resistance for you to move.

T = Time.   How long should you train for?  Is longer better?  Those just beginning to exercise should aim to keep their heart rate in the target zone for a minimum of 20 – 30 minutes starting at a duration where they are comfortable and working up to as much as 45 – 60 minutes as the fitness level increases.  Beyond that, there are diminished returns and for general fitness the benefits are minimal.

Generally, for resistance training no longer than 45 – 60 minutes is recommended.  Particularly grueling strength sessions may be only as little as 20 – 30 minutes.

 And finally, don’t forget another important principle is REST.  The body needs to recover and adapt and be fueled properly!

 Have Fun!

Sandramm

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got”

 I have heard this quote said in many different ways.  And I don’t know who came up with it first but it’s a good quote!  It says a lot.  I would like to take it and apply it to our workouts.

Many people are successful and very committed to their exercise routine.  And that is what it becomes to our muscles, routine.  Our body is a very finely tuned machine.  It does what it needs to do to keep us alive and we don’t even have to think about.  Our muscles learn to move in certain ways as we use them.  They adapt to these movements and become very economical and efficient. 

 You may have observed after you have been exercising for awhile you stop noticing improvement.  The results you were getting when you first started were wonderful and now nothing is happening!   The muscles are bored, (and maybe you are too!) they have adapted to the stress you have brought them under, and now they need a new challenge.  This means it is time to change up your routine!  It is time to work your muscles in a different way!   

 So if you are interested in a new routine there are many other options with the other machines: the cable crossover, the free weights, the stability balls, the Bosu, and our classes!  If this all seems a bit intimidating for you, we offer orientations to other programs.  Please inquire in the office.

 To assist you with a change, we have moved some of the equipment to create a circuit for interval training!  Circuit or interval training is a one-stop workout which combines both resistance and cardio training to gain the best of both in a minimal amount of time.  The key to it is to move quickly through the weight and cardio exercises in rotation. Here are some suggestions you can use in our new setup.

•   Start with a 5 – 10 minute warm up to prepare the muscles, lubricate the joints and get the body ready.
•  Alternate between a weight machine and a cardio exercise.  Move quickly, the amount of time you rest will depend on your fitness level and the intensity you want to maintain.
• Spend 1 minute at each ‘station’ or exercise.  Of course, the time is flexible depending on your fitness level.
•   Go around the circuit once and repeat as desired!
•  Pay attention to your heart rate or perceived exertion level.  We have the charts posted on the wall.  You may want to complete the cardio portions at a greater intensity than you would normally perform your cardio work out since it is a shorter duration.  Work toward your maximum heart rate level (depending on your fitness level).

So give it a try and enjoy the change!  Your muscles will thank you!

Actively 

Sandramm

 In the last couple of newsletters, we have looked at information to help us motivate ourselves, in particular, knowing the benefits of exercise, taking a different outlook as to the priority of our exercise regime, and understanding how to visualize a goal to help keep you motivated. 

 Hopefully, you took the time to answer the questions in the last newsletter to help clarify what you are hoping to achieve.  Clarity is key to obtaining results.  If you haven’t specifically stated what you are trying to achieve, how will you know when you get there?  How will you know you have been successful?  And we all know the great feeling of being successful.  It fuels you and even urges you on to greater possibilities, to greater results!

 Take for example, this promotion.  Everyone is clear on their objective.  They want to win one of the draw prizes or the free one year membership.  That is the goal.  It is well defined and clear.  The steps to achieve this have been laid out.  Attend the gym or a class 5x in one week for a ballot.  And the members who have made this a priority and believe that they can do it have been successful.  After being successful, they are now fired up to do it again!

 Now, let’s apply this to your health & fitness goals.  We have established that it’s a priority, and we are clear about what it is we want to achieve.  So, we are able to lay out a plan. Here are some general guidelines to help you get results:

 Commit (4-5x per week) and prioritize!

• Include 3 resistance training (15-20 min) sessions, 3 cardio (20 – 45 min) sessions each week.  And each session should finish with 10 minutes of stretching.
• Work slightly outside of your comfort zone to improve and get the best results.  Your last two repetitions should be difficult but able to maintain proper form.
• And last but never least is your nutrition!  If you are going to put all that effort and time into your work outs, don’t expect a cappuccino and bagel in the morning, a ceaser salad at lunch, and a few slices of pizza in the evening to cut it!  Unfortunately, although exercise is very important, two thirds of your results are obtained from your eating habits.  Darn – I know you didn’t want to read that!
• So… simply put, eat your fruits and vegetables, get lots of protein and fibre and watch your portion sizes.

 Now from these simple guidelines, make your plan and COMMIT!

 First of all, look at your priorities.  For example, how often do you take a shower?  The general answer will be every day.  So what do you do when you are so busy you have to miss a shower?  The general answer would be to fit it in whenever you could.  So the shower is a priority.  A #1 priority!    What level of priority is your workout?  Your results will be equivalent to the priority you give your work outs.

 Another very important factor is, knowing the details of your goals.  What are you trying to achieve?  When you achieve it, how is it going to feel?  What will you see?  What are you going to be able to do?  What will you do when you reach your goal?  What kinds of things will you hear?  What will you say?  Take some quality time, sit down and think about these questions.  Write it out.  Find or draw a picture that symbolizes it for you.  Create a positive affirmation for yourself.  Having a clear picture of your end result will increase your success and drive your motivation!

 We would love to hear from you.  Share with us:  How do you motivate your self?