Alternative to Juice

(Not Juice the dog, there is no alternative to her.)

A lot of people get sick of water for a refreshing drink that is hydrating. We often grab bottled juice from stores, or pop (please no - 16 teaspoons of sugar in one serving!).
Fruit juice often has additives and preservatives, for one thing, but even when you're drinking the pure stuff, it is robbing you of the fibre of the full fruit. And since it goes down easier, we consume more of it. 6oz. is a serving.
Remember, the more sugar you consume, the more sugar you crave. And, if you consume sugar in the morning, you can bet you will be craving it periodically throughout the rest of your day - that means fighting that overwhelming urge to hit the vending machine, or the cookies sitting around the office.
Skip your morning glass of orange juice, and replace it with iced green tea. Mm, so fresh and delicious. Make a large pot of the tea as normal, let it cool, then toss it in a pitcher and into the fridge with ice.

If you MUST, add a teaspoon of honey (at least it delivers some antioxidants to compliment the disease-fighting punch you're getting from the tea). But, add your honey by the glass, and not to the whole batch, because your taste bus will adapt to the tea and you will most likely enjoy it without sugar!

This is a great alternative to lemonade for guests as well (really, most beverages other than milk and water are just unnecessary calories, and horrible challengers to our appetite control).
When blood sugar levels are stable, you lose fat. When they spike and drop, you gain it. Seems easy, right?
GIVE UP THE JUICE!

A Simple Way to Beat Procrastination!

When you're really feeling like you're dragging yourself and puttering around, avoiding the workout that you are currently setting out to do, make sure you put your running shoes on!
This is such a simple tip, but it works. If I'm puttering around in bare feet, sock feet, flip flops... I will procrastinate sometimes three times as much.

When my shoes are on, I'm ready to go and as good as out the door! It works like magic. So get off the couch right now, throw on your running shoes, don't stop to think.... fly out the door. Like I'm about to...

Have a good workout!

Fat-free and Low-fat Foods... Good or Bad?

This is just a very quick word of advice for those who always pick up "diet" foods in hopes that this piece of marketing will translate into a smaller waistline or faster results.

Remember, those who are healthy, look amazing. Just because a product has been skimmed of its fat and calories, does not make it a healthy option for our bodies. Our bodies are biologically complicated, but impressively designed. We are designed to cope with nature's food, given the fact that we are active and eat nature's foods in moderation. Our capitalist society has come up with many manipulative products to try to convince us that we can eat junk food, or more typically decadent foods more often, after they've been tampered with by chemicals and machines.

Our bodies do NOT know how to deal with these chemicals, naturally. One big reason why cancer is flying around and affecting far too many of us are these strange manipulations that humans have started to put in the foods we love, to make them more appealing for a quick-fix or lazy way to get lean. Companies are taking advantage of the fact that many of us are struggling with our weight, after fast food and junk food has taken over and stripped us of our common sense regarding nutrition.
Our addictions to bad foods are largely caused by capitalism, and the stress of our overworked society.

Keep it real: eat real ice cream, when you want it. (Just watch that it isn't too often. If you force yourself to choose nutritionally dense products, and naturally clean and lower fat foods, you will become healthier which will lead you to desire indulgences less.)
Eat full fat cheese, so long as it has natural ingredients that you can pronounce and do come from the ground, not a factory.

You will enjoy your indulgences more, be more satiated, need indulgences less. You will all around feel more energetic because you will be consuming FOOD and not freaky things designed to look and smell like it! Don't strange, waxy substances put into "ice cream" treats freak you out??? They sure freak me out!

Our bodies take care of us, when we do them. They know what is real and what isn't. You can't fool a brilliant biological human body, so quit trying. Work out, use what you've got, reduce toxicity, and replenish your system with healthy things provided by the earth.

I will certainly touch on specific ingredients to look out for in another post.
Tonight - try real basil, tomatoes and fresh, full-fat mozzarella cheese for a caprese salad. Well balanced, light, yet filling. Mm.

And throw out your Skinny Cow ice cream treats in favour of a less-frequent spoonful of Hagen Das. Seriously!

Periodization Training

I went on the web to see if I could find points to support this post, but I was surprised to find a plethora of false / overly complicated information. That means, that anyone who doesn't work in the industry looking to learn about this style of training could have a difficult time, given the calculations of weights vs. 1 rep max, body weight, etc.

I'm going to make it really easy for you.

Periodization training is a way of dividing types of training up into... periods. It is good to stick to a particular workout / style of training for about 4-6 weeks at a time. This doesn't mean necessarily repeating all the same exercises over and over (especially if you're with a trainer, they will know which ones to stick to for the style and your goals), but keeping the repetitions around the same number, and the load at approximately the same difficulty. For example, many divide periods into programs for endurance, for strength, and for power. It's good to "master" each zone, and then move onto the next when its demonstrated its excellence. 4-6 weeks is usually the right amount of time for the body to excel at the program, and then to be shocked back into progressing / transforming with the next change.
For endurance, you will want to keep your weights lighter so that you fatigue between 12-15 repetitions (sometimes even 20-30 repetitions, depending on the sport for which you train, or on the client's body type). For strength, the norm is between 8-12 repetitions. For power, you need bursts of strength in smaller spurts, and repetitions can fall between 3-6 or so.
It is also important to incorporate plyometrics for power and stabilization.

Periodization is important for athletes because each of these components need to be fine-tuned to succeed at the activity. In running, for example, one will need power for the start and for the sprint in the finish, endurance so that the muscles can last the race with out fatiguing, and strength so that the muscles don't fatigue before the heart, and that they protect the joints, and to support the metabolism in general.

Periodization training is also important for the non-competitive individual, as it leads to consistent progress. The body does hit plateaus once it's mastered a certain style of training. Variety is the key to success, because it contributes to overall conditioning (and with it, you'll know your body can handle whatever life throws at it!). The body frequently needs a jolt of surprise to get its butt moving again, transforming the physique and being presented with challenges to overcome.
I know we're always wishing that the challenges in life would cease, but really... then we would exist at a standstill and never change, never progress. How gross! Imagine you were to have stayed where you were two years ago? I'm not talking age, I'm talking wisdom, development... I certainly don't want that!

Remember - this is a guideline. If you need specific advice catered to you, recruit the help of a professional to get more bang for your buck.

Ultimately, change it up. Whether your goal is to play for Team Canada, or simply to feel tight, strong and invigorated.