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5 Days Of Health & Fitness Tips: Day TWO – Nutrition

June 4, 2019 By Lindsay Gee

There are so many tips I’d like to share with you about nutrition that even I get overwhelmed with the amount of information you should know about what you put into your body. From eating within 2 hours of waking to not eating after 8 pm, to limiting sugar, to fasting diets…there is a ton of information out there on what’s “right” and what’s “wrong. And, it changes almost daily.

But, there is one consistent tip that I have and people rarely talk about it.

Whether you’re on keto, you’re a macro lover, you’ve banned sugar, you eat according to a dietitian’s guidelines or you’re on some other “plan” that floats your boat…this one rule applies to all meal plans/diets.

Lindsay’s TOP TIP for nutrition:

It’s simple: Enjoy your food.

I could go on and on about certain programs and I could talk about why you should get rid of sugar. I could also give you timings for food consumption but at the end of the day, you have to take time to enjoy your food, otherwise, you’re going to feel like you’re going without. You’re going to feel starved and deprived and that’s when the shit hits the fan.

I despise diets and fads and crazy programs that don’t have you eating a very balanced diet…but I cannot fight the diet industry alone, so I’ll support you in what you’re doing. However, I will always, always, always tell you to slow down and enjoy your food.

If you’re banning added sugar, take time to appreciate the sweetness your fruit or yes, even some of your veggies have. If you’re trying new recipes to fit a meal plan, slow down and really figure out what you like about the meal and enjoooooooooy it.

Enjoy. Your. Food.

Don’t just throw it in your gob and not be present while you eat. Distraction is terrible when you’re eating. Mindless and rushed eating will most likely lead you to start thinking about your next meal within 45 minutes of your last.

Slow down, ya racehorse…and enjoy the taste, the texture and the experience of fueling your body in a healthy way.

I don’t mean you need to go full-on Remy from Ratatouille and analyze every bite you’re having, but I do mean that you should acknowledge how yummy your meal is and appreciate the nutrients you’re giving your body to get through the day.

via GIPHY

We’re so busy that food sometimes becomes just another thing on your to-do list of 1000. But, it’s an important one. This is the moment you get to fuel your body with the good stuff and set yourself up – body and mind- for success. Food is calories and calories are energy, so start thinking of food as your ability to energize yourself properly and FEEL BETTER.

Slooooooooow down. Enjoy. Enjoy all of it. Even the salads, the vegetables and the protein you should be eating. Enjoy your meal. Sure, it ain’t no wine and peanut butter cups, but it is still delicious and you need to appreciate it.

5 Days Of Health & Fitness Tips: Day ONE – Working Out

June 3, 2019 By Lindsay Gee

I get asked a lot what my top tips are for health and fitness and it’s really hard to come up with one or two, particularly because there are so many categories of health and fitness. Workouts, nutrition, hydration, self-care, sleep, routine, community, metabolism…and that’s just a few.

Over the next five days I’m going to give you my top tips for the following categories: working out, nutrition, hydration (drink your water, yo), self-care and a Follower’s Q&A.

Lindsay’s TOP TIP for Working Out:

Aside from ensuring you’re meeting the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology’s recommendation of 60 minutes of physical activity per day, my top tip for working out is: Exercise all systems.

What the heck does “exercise all systems mean”?

In the body, there are oodles of systems. For example, you not only have a cardio system and a muscular system, within THOSE systems you have little mini-systems. Squeee…I love this shit.

I’m going to keep this as simple as possible, so if you’re an expert in this field, move along – I’m going uber basic.

When you train cardio, there are numerous systems you need to train. Aerobic, anaerobic lactic and anaerobic alactic are some of them. You need to use different types of workouts to train a particular system.

Still with me?

For example, if you’re sweating through a low and slow workout, you’re training your aerobic system – good for everyday life and gives you a good baseline aerobic fitness which helps you get through the day with less fatigue. If you’re sweating through a 45-second interval workout, you’re training your anaerobic lactic system – good for boosting your metabolism and helping with weight loss.

Don’t even get me started on the numerous systems involved in strength training! YOW! Did I mention I LOVE this stuff?!

Mix it up, baby. Mix up your workouts and keep it spicy. Keep your body guessing. You don’t necessarily need to understand what each workout is designed to do (though at a baseline level it’d help, you don’t need to know the cellular physiology), but you do need to know the more you mix it up, the more systems you train.

The more systems you train, the more well-rounded of a fitness-goer you’re going to be. Ultimately, I know you want results and mixing it up and training multiple systems helps you achieve the results you desire.

Think about it. Have you ever gotten into a really good routine, say jogging, where you feel strong and healthy and fit? Then, your friend asks you to come to a spin class and you almost die? Yeah…it’s called cross-training and the entire purpose of cross-training is to mix it up. “Shock” your system, so to speak.

Don’t get complacent in your fitness. Keep changing things, adding things, trying new things. Keep mixing it up and keep your body on its toes…literally and figuratively.

Train run day…I died. #crosstrainingisouchy

Yeah…train all your systems, that’s absolutely my #1 Top Tip for working out.

If you’re unsure where to begin, talk to me! I’d love to book a call and chat with you about your goals. We can also work together and create a program to help you achieve those goals!

Tomorow’s top tip will be all about nutrition. So, stay tuned. If you have a question about health and fitness that you’d like me to answer, drop it in the comments below – maybe yours will be the question answered on Day Five.

Think Your Patience is Low with a Toddler? Wait For It…

June 2, 2019 By Lindsay Gee

I lost my shit on my kids the other day. Fully and completely lost my mind. I yelled, I snapped and I couldn’t catch my breath. My shoulders were near my ears, my heart was racing, I was shaking, raging..and I simply lost it.

Know what they did?

One couldn’t find a shoe and one left her purse on the stairs.

Yup, that’s it. Nothing major. Just everyday issues in our house. But that day, these everyday issues sent me over the edge of reason. Simply not locating a shoe and, once again, not doing something I’d asked THREE times that morning to have done resulted in me losing my ever-loving mind. Big time.

I put myself in a timeout and I made myself reflect on what the hell I’d just done.

What was my problem?

Why did I explode like that?

It’s a shoe, Lindsay. A shoe.

It’s a purse, Lindsay. A purse.

But no…it’s a shoe we have had to find every single morning of every single day for the last 10 years. And, it’s a purse that I’ve asked to be put away 879,747 times in the past 3 years. It’s the little things that creep up on you and force you over the edge of sanity and reason until you explode from frustration because…KIDS ARE FUCKING FRUSTRATING.

Why did I lose my patience so quickly?

I didn’t.

I lost my patience after 10 years of incredible patience.

Think about it. Think of how patient you have to be with a newborn who cannot communicate and who cries when he or she needs something.

Think about the patience it takes to teach someone to use the potty. Think about the patience it takes to teach a child to hold a spoon and eat.

Think about the patience needed to teach your child to talk, to tie a shoe (omg….nightmare…”through the rabbit hole…no….throooough…no…oh, good try…nope, through the hole…through it. Good try, but no, put that through it”.

Or teaching them to read. To sound. It. Out.

Me: “Th-en. Th-en. Th-en. Then. You got it buddy, that’s the word ‘then’. It was in the sentence you just read and we learned in just a minute ago. It’s the exact same word…see how it’s the same? T-H-E-N. Then.”

Sweet child: “Got it, Mom!. The cat tripped and th – th- th- th- th…hmmm, I don’t know that word Mommy.“

FOR THE LOVE!

As I thought about my lack of patience I realized the reason was simple. My patience was used up in the first ten years of my childs’ lives. I was so patient for 10 years and now that my kids are older, the expectation is that they can actually find a shoe and they can actually put a friggin’ purse away.

Mommy’s patience has dwindled. They used about 98.2% of my patience over the last 10 years, so the little things well, the little things aren’t little and my patience meter is loooooooow. Not because I’m not a patient person, but because I’ve had to be patient for 10 years and I’m about tapped.

I need to reserve patience for the big things that are coming. And maybe my depleted patience level will somehow fill up a bit so that I can tap into the patience vault when they’re teens. I’m 150% certain I’m going to need it then.

So, while I’m in this sweet spot where my kids are old enough to know better but not old enough to know everything, I’m giving myself a little grace when I lose my shit. Because I’m patience-tapped and my reserves have not been filled back up yet.

Mamas, if you find yourself losing your mind over the smallest of things, please know you’re not alone. Please know that they’re not actually small things, they’re big things because you’ve had to repeat yourself so many times about those small things. At some point, going lose your marbles over the most of requests or questions.

And you know what? It’s okay.

The lesson is simple. You’re human. You’re allowed to lose your patience. But, you also need to apologize and explain to your kids why you went full-on crazy snowman from Frozen.

It’s okay, Mamas. We breathe. We rage. Then, we apologize, laugh and move back onto being our amazing selves. Sometimes patient. Sometimes not. But, always, always filled with love.

In a Fitness Rut? Here are 5 Simple Guidelines to Help Get You Out

June 1, 2019 By Lindsay Gee

I hear it all the time: “I know I should workout, but I’m too far gone and the thought of getting started is terrifying”, or “I have no idea what to do” or, my favorite – “I just don’t have time”.

I get it. I truly do. But, I’m always of the mindset that nothing can be too terrifying, overwhelming or time-consuming if we break it down into bite-size pieces.

Getting active and taking care of the body that carries you around is critical to your health. Cri-ti-cal. Your heart, lungs, blood, muscles, joints , brain- basically, your entire body – need you to get active and at least on the path towards being fit.

It know it’s scary. I know it’s terrifying. And, I absolutely know that it is confusing out there. So, I’m going to make it simple for you and give you five guidelines to working out that you can tackle, one-by-one.

My 5 Workout Guidelines:

#1 – Sweat, on purpose, at least 3 times per week.
This means I want you to dedicate three, 15-minute sessions to cardio – minimally. Ideally, you’d complete over 20 minutes of cardio, but if you’re just starting again or getting out of a rut, start with 15 minutes and build on that.

What you do for cardio is up to you. But, at the end of the session, you should be breathless, sweaty and feeling accomplished (or exhausted…LOL…depends where you’re at!).

Yup…tip #1 – get sweaty…and don’t be scared to show it!

#2 – For weight loss, weight-bearing exercises are best.
Cardio sessions are always best if you complete a weight-bearing exercise. Treadmills, steppers, going for a walk – those are all weight-bearing exercises. This means that you are responsible for holding your own weight and moving your own body, unassisted through space.

Things like biking or swimming are not weight-bearing. Here’s a caveat: if you have a lot of weight to lose, you can start with non-weight-bearing exercises for ease on your joints. But, once the weight starts coming off, get off your buns and move your own body.

#3 – Lift weights at least 2 times per week.
Weight training is one of the most overlooked, and wicked (IMO) tools in a fitness plan for newbies or re-starters. Everyone always focuses on cardio, cardio, cardio, but holy smokes – weight training is the bomb.

Not only does weight training help you get stronger so you can get through your days easier and with less fatigue, it also build muscle that protects your body AND helps it burn more calories than fat does. Strength training also helps prevent the loss of lean body mass that occurs with age and/or dieting.

If you’re unsure of what to do for a strength training program, get help. And that leads me to #4 on my my workout guidelines.

#4 – Get educated help.
Listen, there’s a lot, and I mean A LOT of shitty information out there on fitness. People can literally take a weekend course and be “trained” to help you with your fitness goals. This boggles my mind. BOGGLES IT.

If you’re unsure what to do and you need more help than the 3 sessions of weight-bearing cardio and 2 days of strength training recommended above, find someone you trust and you know is educated to help you.

I’m not saying they need a Ph.D. in exercise physiology at all. I mean, I know that’s what I have, BUT…there are many good trainers out there without the Ph.D. but with loads of smart courses under their belt and loads of experience. Choose those people!

Please, please, please research someone before you decide to go for them for advice OR go to them for a program and/or personal training.

If you’d like to chat with me, I do one-on-one consults where we review your goals, your current program (if you have one) and get you started on a plan that will work for you. It’s fun, I promise. CLICK HERE to set up a time to chat!

CK HERE to set up a time to chat!

Muwahahahahahaha. Just kidding. Kind of.

#5 – Remember that health is more than just fitness. You need to take care of your body, mind and soul.
People always equate health to working out. Sometimes they’ll throw in a carrot or a salad because they remember that nutrition is also important, but please remember you need to take care of yourself in more ways than just getting sweaty.

Think nutrition to nourish that body of yours. Think hydration to keep joints and blood moving easily. Think self-care to take care of your brain. Think kindness towards others to take care of your soul. There are so many aspects to your health and fitness, it’s important to address them all.

If you need a starting point, check out my Choose Your Own Fitventure membership. You get five new challenges every week that cover fitness, nutrition, kindness, self-care. Every week is different. You choose what day to get each challenge done and you have a week to get them all done. Five new challenges are released every Sunday.

Choose Your Own Fitventure. A health and fitness challenge membership like you've never seen before!

It’s super fun and it’s a GREAT way to get started or re-started on your health and fitness journey.

Just a thought.

Quick summary: Cardio 3 times per week with weight-bearing movements, weights twice a week, get help to ensure you’re doing things correctly and take care of your body, mind AND soul.

See? Not too overwhelming. Not so terrifying. And, lots of ways to help get you started. You CAN do this, you know. Please let me know if I can help you in any way, shape or form. You can always email me at lindsay@lindsaygee.ca with any and all of your questions.

Now go on…GET YOUR BUTT MOVING!

What Should You Do Next for Your Health & Fitness? I Have an Idea…

May 22, 2019 By Lindsay Gee

Here’s the thing: fitness is ridiculously confusing.

Finding a fitness challenge? Well, that’s easy, there are millions of them available online. BUT…how do you know they’re any good?

Honestly, any shmo can throw together a challenge, put it into a pretty graphic and wham-o…they’re an expert and you’re about to hurt yourself.

It drives me bonkers. Your body is important. Your health is important. Your safety is important.

So, I’ve created a new health and fitness challenge group that not only keeps you accountable (hello rewards system), but also helps you focus on more aspects of your life than just cardio or strength.

Welcome to Choose Your Own Fitventure!

Here’s how it works:

Register (starts May 30 – but you should get on the waitlist) – monthly or annual plans available.
Get access to a super easy-to-use app.
Receive 5 new challenges every Sunday.
YOU plan your week and decide what day you’re going to tackle what challenge.
Receive points for every challenge you complete.
Talk with other participants in the group and stay accountable.
Receive prizes and discounts as you unlock your points.
Have fun and keep your health and fitness on your mind all week long!
Finish all 5 challenges.
Celebrate! And then start again the next Sunday…and so on…

I created this challenge group because I felt people needed a reminder to take care of themselves in other ways than just working out.

And, one of the best parts of the challenge? YOU decide what days you do the different challenges on. I mean, who the heck am I to tell YOU that on Thursday you need to fit in a 45-minute workout? Maybe Thursday sucks for you, maybe you’re super busy that day and adding a workout in just isn’t feasible. Valid point. I hear you.

You want to feel better, have more energy, take care of yourself., stay accountable and be rewarded for your hard work.

Consider that all done with Choose Your Own Fitventure.

Here are a few examples of the challenges you’ll receive:

Meal prep: Cut up all of your vegetables for the week and have them in easy-to-grab containers for quick and nutritious snacks.

Workout: Every hour on the hour, complete 10 pushups. Set your alarm and every time you hear that buzzer/ding/fun song, get your 10 pushups done.

Self-care: Plan 60 minutes of calm, just for you. Decide what you want to do that makes your heart happy, calms and relaxes you and schedule it for next week.

See? They’re not overwhelming challenges, but they are important. Every week you’ll receive a variety of five challenges. Some weeks will be solely fitness. Other weeks I will throw in a variety of challenges to hit all aspects of health and fitness. I promise to keep it spicy and fun.

Here’s an example of one of the cards for nutrition. This is the intro card to one of the challenges for the week:

You’ll click the card and the challenge is explained (there’s a little bit more text at the bottom, but screenshots can only do so much!).

Oh! And did I mention accountability? Yup, there’s that, too…and yes, you get points for that to to put towards your rewards!

Cool?

If you’re struggling with staying on track or find it difficult to get motivated to stay active and/or take care of yourself…the Choose Your Own Fitventure membership might be exactly what you’re looking for! Join monthly or annually, it’s totally up to you!

Registration opens on May 30 and you’re going to want to get on the waitlist…because…DISCOUNTS, baby!

If you already have a fitness class that you love, this is a great supplement to your current program! So yes, continue to go to your classes (hello, Hot Mama!) but add this to your plan…you won’t regret it!