Holiday Survival Guide: Exercise Edition

I’m sure you’re aware if you’ve set foot into a mall at any point in the last few weeks that the Christmas season is fully upon us. It’s a crazy time of year and for many of us the only exercise we find time to fit in is fighting off the other shoppers to snag that last minute present, boxing matches in the parking lot for that coveted parking spot, or running after your kids through Toys-R-Us (Tis' the Season!!)…

That said, how do we make time in our crazy lives this holiday to fit in the physical activity that our body is craving and not fall off the wagon when January rolls around – because if any of you are like me, or rather what I used to be like December was a total write off and by the time January rolled around well…..

you get the picture...

So with all of this in mind we’ve come up with some HOLIDAY DO’s for exercising this holiday season!

DO know your schedule and time availability, and don’t try to plan something that will be a burden on your schedule! Shorter and more intense bursts of activity like sprints, tabata or some of our punch-clock-workouts (Check ‘em out) will do the trick and help you stay limber and ready for action when the new year rolls around!

DO remember that if you skip out on your workouts all holiday season that getting back into the daily grind is going to totally SUCK when January rolls around.  With this is mind make sure you tackle a workout and keep your mind in the game!

DO bring your family on board! Your kids might be home from school soon and this is a great opportunity to get the whole family on board for some great family fun! Go rock climbing (inside of course!), go on a family walk with the dog, build a snowman and run around your yard. Take advantage of this opportunity to be with family and not just roasting chestnuts on the open fire.

DO skip the online shopping.  With the ease and convenience of shopping online these days there is often no reason to head out and tackle the mall parking lots and holiday shoppers. Head out to the mall and walk around a little bit, it will do your body good. Just try not to get too frustrated at those crazy mall people – patience and grace are the name of the game!

DO remember that your best exercise decision may actually be not stuffing that other holiday treat into your tummy… and check out our other HOLIDAY DO list for surviving the holiday parties and temptations along the way…

Ultimately the best thing that you can do for yourself is to maintain you normal schedule, of eating, exercise and sleep and with a few treats along the way you’ll be all set for a successful holiday season!

………

Just in case you don’t have enough holiday cheer in your life – try out this little holiday circuit workout we’ve put together for you!

15 Dumbbell Goblet Squats (No Dumbbell? Make it 30!)

15 Single-Arm Dumbbell Rows/Side

15 Burpees

12 Dumbbell Reverse Lunge/Leg (No Dumbbell? Make it 24!)

As Many Pushups As Possible (Leave 1-2 in the tank, don't go to fatigue)

20 Bicycle Crunches/Side

REST NO MORE THAN 60sec BEFORE YOU GO AT IT AGAIN!

COMPLETE 4X

Holiday Party Fat Loss Survival Guide

The Christimas season is here and with it comes all of those holiday parties at work and home. You know how easy it can be to fall off the wagon on your healthy eating and fat loss journey with all of the delicious Christmas baking hanging around and staring right back in your face.

With this in mind we’ve come up with a few tips and tricks for you to survive the holiday season and those parties!

Some Holiday DO’s

DO eat a diet filled with veggies (for fibre and water) and tons of protein (lean meats fill you up! Have a protein shake before you go to a party so you're not wanting to go on a "see-food" diet)

DO know where you’ll be going and what you’ll be facing as early as possible so you aren’t caught off guard by those delish holiday treats hanging around in unexpected places!

DO skip out on those office “goodies” that will lead to mindless eating and probably aren’t homemade anyways (at least that’s what I tell myself), plus you’ll probably find yourself back there for seconds or thirds once you crack that tin open...

DO focus on eating meals that are well balanced and not overly adorned with carbohydrates (you’ll be able to better justify a few well-planned treats!) and it will help keep your blood sugar levels in check!

DO drink plenty of water, especially at a party. You may realize that the hunger you are feeling may actually just be your body needing some simple aqua! If you do have a holiday treat, make sure you drink a glass a water before thinking about going for seconds. (It washes out the craving)

DO be choosy when it comes to what you are going to indulge in!

Hey, it’s the holiday season after all, right!? Go in with the attitude that you are going to allow yourself a few treats along the way, otherwise you’ll leave yourself feeling deprived and could easily just binge away on all of the deliciousness potentially facing you at every corner. By knowing what’s going on in your holiday schedule you should be able to plan when you will partake in the holiday feasting and sugar-plum goodness.  This can also serve as a motivation during the week to hold off on mindlessly stuffing your face with those goodies at the office or at home.

Oh, and please DO remember that you aren’t an elf…

PS. Keep an eye out for our blog next week as we talk about exercising during the holidays, I think you’ll really like it!

I wonder how elves exercise?...

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

#NWM in Photos

This past weekend an awesome group of our JQ Fitness Runners headed down to San Francisco to conquer the famous Nike Women's Half Marathon! They joined with over 30,000 runners to take on the streets of San Fran for 21K (What, what!!) – and we couldn’t be more proud of all of the hard work they put into training for this exciting occasion!

Of course we captured some of these moments via instagram and wanted to share some of the exciting snaps with all of our friends…

We saw this tiny sign in from of Union Square announcing that there might be a race here...

And even got some personalized messages at the #werunsf expo... "Jeff show us your..." what?! 

Johanna found her name on the wall at Nike town! #famous no big deal...

And of course got some new sparkly kicks... honestly only surprised that they aren't pink ;)

Our amazing group of runners gathered for a pre-race dinner with some Karas Cupcakes for dessert... carb loading before the race guys?

#werunsf for Breakfast! Go JQ Fitness runners! (Tutu's & all!)

Just hanging out at the starting line in a sea of tutu's, ready to rock it!

& they made it to the finish line - still rocking those tutu's I may add!

SURPRISE AMANDA! Matt proposes to our lovely trainer Amanda at the finish line!! He ran the whole race with the ring in his pocket! How's that for a finisher? Congratulations guys we are SO happy for you xx

As for the rest of us, we had to settle for these blue boxes to celebrate our 21K! For us it was totally worth it!

      

And of course, they were handed to us by a cute firefighter in a tux... I'll take it ;) 

We had such an awesome time running our half, celebrating the 10-Year anniversary of the Nike Women's Marathon, and picking up our finisher prizes - we may just have to do it all again next year :)

#weRANsf

#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 .