weight

Wellness

Making your New Year’s Resolutions

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Making your New Year’s Resolutions

For those of you who have been training, you will likely have started hearing in November about Reverse Resolutions where you are trying to accomplish a goal by New Years Day!    I encourage having continuous goals throughout the year.  However, stats show that the majority of Canadians will make at least one New Years Resolution.  The general outline goes as such:  55% are aiming to eat healthier, 50% resolved to exercise more, 38% wanted to lose weight.  On average less than 20% actually keep the resolutions.

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Choose an Obtainable Goal.  A model/celebrity/athlete is simply not realistic for the majority of people.  Resolving to include daily physical activity in our lives could be very realistic and obtainable.

Avoid Choosing a Repeat Fail.   A resolution that historically has not gone well for you should be analyzed and altered.  Often this will mean that you need to break it down into smaller shorter term goals- and take immediate action.

Create a Game Plan – Starting right now, write a comprehensive plan for the next week, each month.  You wouldn’t start a trip without knowing which direction to go, your personal plan will help you to succeed.  Write it down where you can see it regularly or set a reminder in your phone.

Reward yourself for your Accomplishments – Include a reward as  part of your plan.  A reward involving self-care is ideal.

Limit your Promises Trying to do too much at once can be overwhelming and set one up for frustration and discouragement.

Ask for Help –  You may need to set limits to the “help” that you get from friends, family, but have someone to be accountable to.  If you can include those around you in your goals.  Including a coworker in your goals to take a short walk with at lunch could mean packing a more health conscious lunch and getting in activity.

Get more Help-  Sometimes friends, or family are not objective enough.  Research studies show that assistance from a fitn3ess professional will greatly improve one’s success rate.

 

Healthy Recipes

Lentil/Split Pea Soup

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Lentil/Split Pea Soup

It’s getting cold out, Fall is creeping around the corner. Other than wearing your oversized sweaters, cuddling under blankets, feeling that body heat after your workout, you want to consume something hot and enjoyable. Nothing beats a good ol’ homemade lentil soup with this classic recipe.

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Fitness, Wellness

Lets Talk Fitness Fears

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Lets Talk Fitness Fears

It’s no secret that the benefits of a healthy lifestyle extend far beyond mere physical fitness. You’ve probably red countless articles online on the benefits of exercise and fitness. But for some people knowing in your head that fitness is good and actually getting involved with it are two very different things.

Here are some common fitness fears and how you can overcome them.

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Lack of time

The number one reason people state for not living healthy and exercising, is lack of time. It is usually an excuse of being occupied with work or kids. However this excuse is not sufficient.

For starters, there are various ways in which stay at home parents could stay on top of their fitness routine. Fitness never has to be a major time commitment that most people imagine it to be. There are various opportunities to stay on top of your fitness – whether it’s going for a walk during your lunch break or twenty minutes in the gym instead of waiting in the train station.

Self Consciousness

A big and valid hurdle for some people to tackle before fitness is self consciousness or fear of looking stupid. If you struggle with low self esteem, social anxiety or body image issues then heading down to the gym or even just going for a run round your neighborhood can be an intimidating prospect. Remember that everyone has to start somewhere and everyone was new to fitness at some point. Do not worry about what other people think an instead focus on having a great time exercising.

Lack of patience

If you’re just starting out on a weight loss or fitness program it can easily seem like you have a real mountain to climb. You might feel like you are surrounded by people with ideal bodies and unable to see any way you can ever reach that level. However remember that no real change comes overnight, especially not a lasting change. There are no shortcuts in fitness, therefore must view your journey as a gradual process.

Fear of Failure

A similar fear to not thinking you can change is not thinking you can change enough or at all. You might have set yourself fitness goals and now find yourself reluctant to try and hit them for fear that you’ll fall short. Remember that goals and targets are motivation tools not measure of success or failure. The key is celebrating every success, however small.

Fear of Change

Most importantly, people sometimes aren’t fully committed to change. You might think that fitness is a good idea, but find yourself dreading the effort involved. However this is perfectly natural. But remember that starting out in your own little ways, will gradually bring changes that will make a big difference while paving the way for bigger improvements when you’re ready.

Having someone to help guide you along the way could be the difference between procrastination and progress!

Healthy Recipes

Millet Cereal

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Millet Cereal

 

Millets are interesting. It’s kind of hard to describe the way it tastes as well. Depending on what you serve it with, it takes a lot of its flavor on that. I would say that the texture is a cross between couscous and the flavour of quinoa, with a tad bit more nuttiness to it. In this post, we’ll be talking about millet and having it as a hot breakfast cereal!

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