Celebrating our 3rd Annual iluvthis Bootcamp BE[CAUSE] event - #Because14

For those of you who were able to be with us last Monday, February 17^th, you’ll know what a great day we had. We're so honoured that you came out in support of an amazing cause that we're so passionate about.

With your help we were able to raise more than $11,500 in support of FREE-THEM to help fight human trafficking right here in the GTA and in our communities. So many people blessed us with their time and resources to make this event as special and amazing as it was. 

Huge shout outs once again to all of our sponsors at Interad, CMENT, Brightworks, Elevation Church, Acura of Oakville, Pivot, & The Sports Clinic! And of course Pepsi-co & Starbucks for the cold & hot beverages, and the lovely Deb for all of the seriously delicious baked goodies! 

Also a huge congratulations to all of the competitors in the TEAM CHALLENGE! First place went to Stephen's Beauties - Eva, Lori, Nelson and Matt followed 11 seconds later by Fast & the Furious - Mark, Shannon, Jeff and Lana! That wildcard team didn't fare to badly either coming in 3rd, congrats to Mark, Heather, Sandra & Les!

Don't forget, if you were stoked by that AWESOME kick-boxing warm-up our new small group classes start MARCH 3RD, and we offer a full 50 minute kick-butt, kick boxing class! Sign up today :)

In addition to that awesome warm-up, we also had the privilege of cooling down with Farhan Dhalla, what a great way to end the morning and remember why we came out in the first place!

And I mean, what else can we say – to each of the lovely volunteers and participants, who gave their time and sacrificed their bodies (for the challenges and bootcamp) you are the most beautiful, amazing and wonderful people we know, and we're so blessed by each and every one of you.

Personally, I’m super excited to see all of the photos from both the event, and from the photo-booth! Because who didn’t enjoy playing dress-up and taking some silly photos! Keep an eye out for these on the facebook page so you can reminisce on all of the fun!

In the meantime, take a peek back on some of the moments captured by our team, and even some of you, using our event hashtag (#Because14)! 

Thank you so much for being part of this amazing day! & don't forget to mark your calendar's for next year's event on FEBRUARY 16th, 2015! 

xx

Skip The Crackers & Eat The Cake

Special Post by Johanna Quinn,  JQ Fitness

What is it with us women anyway? When did we begin to develop such a destructive relationship with food? 

Seriously.

Let’s have a chat, shall we?

I was working with one of my personal training clients this morning. She is an amazing woman. She looks great. She is strong and lean, but clearly does not see the same person I do when she looks in the mirror.

I kick her butt twice a week at 6 in the morning and I mean kick. her. butt.

When I greet her she is already soaked in sweat from the 30 min she does 'prior' to "warm-up" on the treadmill. She has to get her "cardio" in, she says.

She is driven, works hard & long hours, and has a demanding job, but is determined to carve out time each day to exercise. I admire her discipline.

I have been working with her now for about 6 months. She surprised me when she said at our previous session that she wanted me to take her measurements etc.

So...this morning I showed up with the scale and tape, which always makes the female population moan and groan (it’s amplified at 6 in the morning if you were wondering). Her body fat read 28%. She was horrified and remained bothered for the rest of our session together. We began to talk nutrition. I used my favorite line "you can't out-train a bad diet". You can't trick your body. It’s too smart for that. She chimed in, "I don't understand, its not like I eat a lot of fat - how can it be so high??" (FYI- being a trainer for 17 years, I hear this all. the. time.)

See, us ladies have such a negative, twisted view of food. We see food as an enemy. We feel a sense of pride when we 'skip' a meal or choose a low-fat/low-calorie snack. As if we are winning this big battle against the big, bad, ugly enemy we call "food"…

Let’s Get Real…

Sadly, I feel like I am describing many, many women. 

Maybe even you.

I get it.

I can remember coming home one day from high-school. I probably hadn’t eaten most of the day. Maybe some caf fries for lunch or maybe just a muffin for breakfast. (Yikes, I know now, but didn’t at the time). 

I grabbed a bag of opened chips from the pantry. I probably ate most of the bag. My dad came into the room and said "Johanna, you better stop eating those chips. You don’t want to get fat do you?" I'm pretty sure I ate the whole bag just to spite what he said.

I love my dad. He meant well. I don't have “skinny” genes and he knew it. 

If you are a woman reading this I am sure you have a similar story: Someone trying to be helpful and well meaning, but who, with a few misguided words, creates the totally wrong connation with food.

The “Skinny” on Fat

Lets set one thing straight. 

Fat doesn’t make you fat.

Any one who lived through the 'fat-free' fad in the 90's can attest to this. Remember feeling so proud for purchasing everything fat-free? Even mayo??

Sadly, our waistlines kept expanding.

Fat is not the problem.

My dedicated client has a 'fat-free' diet (pretty much). She read off her daily food consumption to me. "It’s more or less the same thing everyday," she says. 

Her vice?

Those nasty flavour packets filled with artificial sweeteners that turn your water flourescent.

and...

crackers.

yep. crackers.

fat-free wheat thins, to be exact.

Ok. So let’s break it down. We know that fat doesn’t make us fat. Still not convinced? Ask a farmer what he feeds his livestock to fatten them up -  and quickly.

Its not eggs, mayo or protein shakes.

Its grains: mainly corn and wheat.

Enough said…

Time for an Overhaul

Ladies, its time to re-wire our brains!

If your body is craving something: junk, crackers, fruit-whatever. It’s a sign!

You see - our bodies are pretty amazing. If you have ever trained for a sporting event, marathon or triathlon you really know how amazing the body really is. 

But.

It does need proper fuel, not empty calories. Fat-free, calorie-free, taste-free - whatever.

Fat-free foods are void of nutrition. Therefore, increasing cravings (which is the last thing we need - seriously). They also leave us wanting more, so we typically overindulge. (Artificial sugar is a whole other topic, lets save that for another day)

Moving forward from today, let's start to have a positive relationship with food. Food is your friend! Your body needs great, wholesome foods to keep up with your dreams and aspirations.

Looking Ahead

Here are a few tips to figure out which foods YOUR body fuels really well on. And yes, everyone is different. What works for your hubby may not work at all for you.

1. Start tracking your eating and drinking over a few days.
2. Pay close attention to your cravings (its your body's way of talking or screaming at you)! What are you craving? What time do you crave it at?
3. Ask yourself a few things. - Am I stressed? Am I drinking enough water? -Have I had enough protein today?
4. Look at your breakfast. I find that if I don't fuel myself enough at the start of the day I end up craving sweets and carb rich foods mid-morning or late afternoon.

Alright. So let’s loosen up! Enjoy life and for my sake and yours - live a little! Eat the cake and skip the crackers!

Cravings often mean your body needs more protein, more food, water or sleep! PAY ATTENTION! Your body is not only incredible, but also beautiful - no matter how much fat or how many calories are in your food.

Nourish your body, and be the Beautiful You that you were created to be. 

 

#Luved VS #Unloved: Battle of the Carbs

Some of this entry was originally posted here

LUVED & UNLUVED CARBS

Did you know that every time you put food into your mouth your body responds with a hormonal response? The main hormone responsible for this is called insulin.  Insulin has one goal, get rid of the sugar in your blood and store it as FAT.

Eating highly refined and refined carbs (think any kind of WHITE SUGAR/FLOUR anything super processed – If it’s WHITE, it ain’t RIGHT!) causes a MAJOR insulin response in your body compared to when you eat proteins and fats (which do not trigger an insulin response).  This is why you need to be really aware and mindful of the AMOUNT and TYPE of carbohydrates that you are consuming!

When you eat these UNLUVED carbs (High Glycemic Index (GI)) along with fatty foods, its like throwing gas onto a fire – accelerating fat storage in your body. Really, let’s be honest, who wants that?

That’s why in bootcamp and with our personal training clients, we recommend that you CUT OUT these unluved carbs from your diet! You might LUV them, but they definitely don’t show your body any LUV – so why would you want to put them in there!?

Instead we should be eating limited amounts of lower GI/LUVED carbs including:

• Wild rice, Brown Basmati Rice, White Basmati Rice, Brown Rice
• Sweet Potatoes
• Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Sprouted Grain Spaghetti, Spelt, Quinoa, Capellini, Kamut
• Exekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread, Ezekiel 4:9 Raisin Cinnamon Bread, Stonemill Sprouted Grain Bread
• Steel Cut Oatmeal, Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Cerealss, Dorset Museli Cereals, Nature’s Path Smart Bran, Natures Path Granola/Flax (*note: not all Nature’s Path Cereals are low GI!)
• Stevia, Xylitol, Raw Honey, Sugar Cane Juice, Organic Sugar, Maple Syrup

This week let's try and cut out those UNLUVED carbs and show our bodies the LUV they deserve!!

PS. unfortunately, this isn't what we mean by loved/complex carbohydrates lol

#VeggieLUV

“Eat your veggies” is a common phrase heard around dinner tables near & far – especially spoken by parents to children who don’t hold a particular affinity for those dark green crunchy things (broccoli in particular… I mean why does broccoli get such a bad wrap? What did it ever do to us?)…

But I digress...

Eating your vegetables is one of the tried and true recommendations for a healthy diet. And for good reason. Eating plenty of vegetables can help you ward off heart disease and stroke, control blood pressure, prevent some types of cancer, avoid a painful intestinal ailment called diverticulitis, and guard against cataract and macular degeneration, two common causes of vision loss (Harvard School of Public Health). 

Apart from the clear nutritional punch that veggies offer, they also serve as an awesome food for fat loss. They are packed full of fiber, which, as you know when combined/eaten with protein keeps you feeling fuller for longer! Feeling satisfied is one of the easiest ways to ensure that you won’t grab for that sugary snack later on in the day when overcome by a case of the munchies.  Fiber is the master manipulator – tricking you into feeling full, which delays the metabolic slowdown you get with fat loss.  

If you're replacing those nasty unluved carbs in your diet with higher amounts of veggies and smaller amounts of luved carbs, your body will be forced to burn off that stubborn body fat for fuel, leaving you leaner & lighter in the process. 

One of the easiest ways to get the benefits of more veggies is to EAT MORE VEGGIES… I know it really is quite a brilliant thought ;)

Sarcasm aside however, even though we know we should eat more veggies, how many of us actually do?

This week lets focus on being intentional about eating more veggies or a greater variety of veggies.  Try filling up your plate with at least 2/3 veggies.  You’ll feel more full, and I can pretty much guarantee that you won't be ingesting nearly as many calories per meal. 

So pack on those veggies, fill up that plate, & reap the numerous benefits that MORE veggies will bring!

I Dare You: A Special Thanksgiving Post

Special Guest Post from Melissa Windsor, JQ Fitness

 “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” 

- Melodie Beattie 

 I saw this quote the other day and it really struck a chord with me. Often, we get so focused on the things we don’t have – the things we believe will make our lives more full and enjoyable, that we forget about the people & blessings that we already possess that make our lives worth living. When it comes down to it, I am just as guilty of this as the next person, and it’s something that I’m working on…

I think it’s easy to let the Thanksgiving season just slip by without recognizing the unique opportunity it gives us to be thankful in all things, to realize that here in North America, in Canada, we’re truly blessed; With access to healthcare when we need it, despite the long wait times and our long list of complaints against it. With access to some of the best educational systems in the world, we don’t have to wonder if our children will grown up without learning to read or write. With access to political freedoms such as free speech, independence, the right to vote, a constitutional government (to name a few…) – despite the complaints that we may have against it, we are better off than many other countries and places in the world.

And that is simply on a community level. How much more do we have to be grateful for in our own personal lives?  If you’re reading this you most likely have access to a computer, which means you have electricity – something we most definitely take for granted. Even better, you may be reading this on a mobile device in which case, you’re carrying your technology with you – really quite an impressive thing when you think about it. Most of us don’t need to worry about where we will be spending the night or if we will be able to find food to eat tomorrow.  What about our health, our families and loved ones, the list goes on…

Gratitude truly is one of the most important things that we can practice. I believe it creates an awareness that allows what we have (relationships, things & other blessings) to becomes more valuable and appreciated. It really is quite a revolutionary thought in a society that is constantly telling us that what we have isn’t enough, that we always need the next best thing, to never be content.

So this Thanksgiving, I dare you to be grateful, to speak aloud your blessings, to appreciate the loved ones who surround you & tell them how much they mean to you, to be content, and to let what you already have be enough . 

Thanksgiving Grain-Free Pumpkin Bars

Honestly thought I put these on the blog last week, apparently I only shared the link - BUT - I'm not kidding you when I say that these are hands down the most delicious, healthy & clean eating treats I have ever tasted. 

I shared the recipe on my own personal facebook and a handful of my friends also made them - one thing that we all agree on is that these Grain Free Pumpkin Bars are to die for (not to mention totally pan worthy - as in, I could probably eat the whole pan by myself...).

But I digress - I'll start off by saying that this recipe is NOT my own creation, I came across this little gem while hunting for some delicious fall recipes at The Detoxinista - so please note that the recipe and ALL credit go to her! To see the recipe on her site, in its natural habitat - go here! She also has many other amazing clean eating recipes that look delish!

I'll stop rambling now so you can get to what you really came here for...

Grain Free Pumpkin Bars

(fills one 8" by 8" pan!)

  Photo credit: Detoxinista

1/2 cup almond butter 
1/2 cup pumpkin puree 
1/3 cup raw honey (or you can sub stevia, I used about 7 little packets in mine and they were still just as good) 
2 eggs 
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice 
1 tsp vanilla extract 
1/4 tsp salt 
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions 

1.    Preheat oven to 350 and grease an 8” by 8” pan well with coconut oil or butter
2.    Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well until a smooth batter forms
3.    Transfer the batter to your greased pan and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until the edges are golden brown and the center is firm
4.    Allow to cool in the pan (or not if you are like me and can’t wait…)
5.    Cut, Serve & ENJOY!

I mean come on people - you have got to give these a shot... she even makes a maple pecan glaze to go on them - can someone say delicious! (Though I must say that I have absolutely no problem eating them without that delicious mapley goodness)

These would be the perfect, healthy thanksgiving treat for you and your family! The whole crew will love them, so long as they enjoy pumpkin and things that are delicious!

Hoping that you all have a fab week leading up to Thanksgiving!

Enjoy xx

Why We Kick Your Butts The Way We Kick ‘Em…

Maybe you are wondering just why exactly we structure our workouts the way we do? Why we challenge your bodies, and push them so far that your muscles are screaming and you think you’re going to die (please, don’t think you are the only one – it really is a love/hate relationship that you personally have with bootcamp…).

We thought that since it is the beginning of a brand new session, we would offer you all (the returning and the brand spanking new iluvthis bootcampers) some fabulous insights as to why we train the way that we train – and why it is so gosh darn effective at bringing you those FAT BLASTING, BOOTY SHAPING, MUSCLE BUILDING results!

In the past, straight aerobic exercise has been touted as the most effective way to lose those extra pounds, but a new wave of exercise has rapidly been taking the fitness world by storm.  You may or may not have heard of High Intensity Interval training, but nowadays it seems that everybody has taken to some form of weight/cardio intervals, HIIT, cross-fit etc, to burst through weight loss plateaus in an effort to loose fat and build lean muscle or even just for the purposes of strengthening and conditioning their bodies. People are beginning to realize that in order to actually change the physical SHAPE of your body, you MUST increase the amount of muscle on your body – not only is this the only way to get that lean, fit, healthy shape to your body, but it is also imperative to burning more fat (the more muscle you have, the more calories your body will burn even when you are at rest).  This is ultimately the difference between loosing “weight” and losing “fat” – and our ultimate goal for you is that you are able to lose fat, while gaining lean muscle.

Check out this quick pic to get an idea of what we mean:

Both of the women in the picture weigh the same amount (150lbs) and have the same BMI – But the different shapes of their body are incredibly noticeable.  The woman in red has a higher muscle mass than the woman in green – red dress is leaner and more toned than her green dress friend. Ultimately, this is what Bootcamp style training, HIIT can do for your body.

So why exactly is interval training so effective at changing your body?

1.  High Intensity Intervals allow you to burn more fat than long duration lower-intensity exercise

“An old-schooled personal trainer (one who has stopped reading research for the last 10 years) will tell you that lower intensity cardiovascular exercise like walking for 2 hours daily burns more fat.  They will argue this is because at these lower intensities a higher proportion of fat is used for energy as opposed to carbohydrate or sugar. The key word here is “proportion”.  While it IS true a higher proportion of fat compared to carbs are used in low intensity exercise, higher “total” amounts of both fat and carbs are used in higher intensity exercise.” – (The Myth of Low Intensity Exercise) Overall, you will burn more calories and as such more fat and carbs when performing HIIT exercises opposed to long-duration, low-intensity cardio. 

 

2.  You will burn fat stores even AFTER you are finished working out

Compared to traditional long duration, low-intensity cardio such as running, jogging or going the elliptical for a set amount of time, assuming that we have worked your body hard enough at bootcamp, “more fat will continue to be burned after the workout as well. This is called EPOC, excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, and it refers to the amount of fat and calories burned after a workout is over.  The EPOC of a workout is determined largely by its intensity.  Low intensity workouts have a very small EPOC while higher intensity workouts have a larger EPOC.  Researchers argue the magnitude of this effect, but it is not disputed that higher intensity cardiovascular activity will generate a larger EPOC effect” (The Myth of Low Intensity Exercise).  Who doesn’t want to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time anyways? Definitely the most bang for your buck! So the next time you want to beat up your trainer just think about all of the amazing benefits to your body after you are done – I told you it’s a love/hate relationship!

3.  Studies have also shown multiple other benefits to HIIT workouts like those we do at bootcamp

“A January 2009 article in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology adds to the growing evidence that high-intensity interval training may be more beneficial to the heart than continuous moderate intensity exercise… This study hints that high intensity interval training may be superior to continuous aerobic exercise in addressing one of the key underlying factors involved in the induction and progression of cardiovascular disease.  Another novel finding in this article is that high intensity interval training was shown to greatly enhance, to a significant degree, the production of antioxidants by the body.  Again it outperformed continuous aerobic exercise in this regard. This study and others like it are beginning to show that high-intensity interval exercise is not only great for changing body composition but may also excel at protecting the heart” (Intervals Better Than Aerobics For Heart?). 

For more information on this study please check out the article at the Metabolic Effect Website: http://www.metaboliceffect.com/interval-training-better-than-aerobics-for/

Overall, the benefits of HIIT and our Bootcamp style workouts are many and varied.  We are so glad that you have decided to join us this Summer for iluvthis Bootcamp, and can’t wait to see all of the amazing changes that you are able to make along the way!

Have an amazing day, and remember:

You are going to LUV this!

Sources:

http://www.metaboliceffect.com/the-myth-of-low-intensity-exercise/

http://www.metaboliceffect.com/interval-training-better-than-aerobics-for/

Images:

http://www.chanhassenfitnessrevolution.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/HIIT-High-Intensity-Interval-Training-After-Burn-Effect-Chart.png

http://www.metaboliceffect.com/wp-content/uploads/xxwomen-scales.jpg