Women’s Health

May

09

Getting Fit With Power Stroller Continued

Discount Codes / Women's Health  Posted by / 0 comments

Power Stroller

I am loving my experience in the Power Stroller group for many reasons, including all of the reasons I mentioned in my last post. Another reason I love Power Stroller is that it was originally founded in order to help raise money for under privileged children in our local schools.

“Many children in our communities are going hungry. In fact, numbers are staggering. 1 in 5 families live below the poverty line in London, Ontario alone.”

The program through Power Stroller is called Fit Mummies for Hungry Tummies. Working along with The Children’s Nutrition Network in London, Huron-Perth Eat & Learn Program in Stratford and the Elgin Community Nutrition Partnership in St. Thomas, Power Stroller’s goal is to take some of the burden off families who might be struggling to make ends meet by donating a portion of their proceeds to these programs.

Five weeks after getting the ‘OK’ to exercise after having my baby, I am noticing great results from the Power Stroller class with Bernice Robinson. Unfortunately, I was on vacation and missed a few classes in the beginning, but even still, while I haven’t lost any weight on the scale, I have definitely gained muscle definition.

This means that I have gained muscle and muscle weighs more than fat, so while the scale hasn’t changed yet, my confidence in my progress has! Meeting the other moms in the group and hearing about their experiences as new moms has been really reassuring as well. It is nice to know that we are all in the same boat and are going through the same challenges and experiences.

The group is so mom and baby friendly that just this past week, one of the moms stopped during our circuit training to nurse her son! Bernice informed her of the rest of our route in the park and she was able to catch up to us and continue the workout.

NUTRITIONAL EDUCATION

Each week we discuss a new nutritional topic such as proteins, good and bad fats, water and even where to buy healthy foods that you can’t always find in your regular grocery store. Bernice also posts recipes and additional workouts to the powerstroller.ca website each week as well.

NEW SESSIONS STARTING SOON

If you’ve recently had a baby, or you’re just looking for a new fitness program for the summer that is child friendly, you can start out fresh with all the other moms in the next upcoming session starting the week of May 27 at various locations around London, St. Thomas and Stratford.

CITY MOM DISCOUNT CODE

BONUS: All City Mom readers that sign up for the upcoming 8-week session will receive a 15% discount!

Until next week,

Village Mom

Apr

15

City Mom en Paris

Travel / Women's Health  Posted by / 8 comments

Eiffel TowerIf you remember any of your Grade 9 French, you’ll know that this post’s title translates to City Mom in Paris. C’est vrai! City Mom is heading to the city of love seulement!

Travelling solo is something that is completely outside of my comfort zone and this fact has left those that know me well, scratching their heads. What would possess a mom of a young child and wife to jet set across the world alone?

I believe this quote really summarizes my inside desire to take this journey.

Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken. – Frank Herbert

AWAKENING MY SOUL

Before becoming a wife and mother I was a huge fan of travel. I spent one year on a working holiday in Australia and another year teaching English in South Korea. From South Korea I traveled to Japan and Thailand. I had the travel bug and there was no cure!

Since those two experiences I have traveled yearly but nothing quite as exotic. So yes, I am craving the excitement of the unknown but there’s more that is motivating me to take such a huge step.After experiencing a really trying and stressful year I was left feeling accomplished but completely drained both mentally and physically.

Stress usually leads to poor health both bodily and emotionally and for me this was true. I turned to Yoga to help remedy these afflictions and not only did it help, it ignited a true love for the discipline.

When everything else in my world seems chaotic, yoga brings the calm. When I feel depleted, yoga rejuvenates me. When I feel achy and irritable, yoga restores me.

It is for these reasons that I wanted to immerse myself into the world of yoga for a period of time longer than an hour a day a few times a week. I wondered what an intensive yoga holiday might do for my psyche and how it might change my outlook on life.

SOUL SEARCHING

From as early as I can remember I have always been reliant on somebody. Whether it was my parents, friends or my husband, there is always someone to catch me when I fall. One of my deep-seated fears is being alone to fend for myself. And you know what they say about conquering your fears right?

Face them head on!

So taking this journey alone will help me to accomplish this goal and will provide some serious one-on-one time with myself.

SELECTING A YOGA RETREAT

Of course I did lots of research when choosing the retreat I wanted to attend. I didn’t start with my sights set on France but once I found it, my heart was set!

I finally chose to attend Kaliyoga in France. The romantic and historic looking hamlets grabbed my attention and wouldn’t let go. After finding this one in the south of France, nothing else seemed to compare.

Kaliyoga France

Here are some things I focused on when doing my research:

  1. Price
  2. Style of yoga offered
  3. Amount of yoga offered
  4. The teacher
  5. Other activities offered outside of yoga
  6. Food
  7. Location
  8. Style of accommodation

PARIS

You can’t go to France without seeing the Eiffel Tower right? And like every city mom knows, you must experience as many cities in the world as possible to call yourself an urbanite! So, I’ll be spending two days in France’s capital city.

While I’ll try to hit as many famous landmarks as possible while in Paris, I will also make sure to take a lot of unscheduled time wandering, shopping and sipping on some fine French wine in a romantic cafe.

Be sure to check back at the end of May for a full review of Kaliyoga France and to hear more about my adventure.

What’s one of your biggest fears? How have you (or plan to) overcome your fear?

What location is on your bucket list?

Image courtesy of TeddyBear[Picnic] / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

City Mom

Apr

08

Getting in Shape with Power Stroller

Urban Exposure / Women's Health  Posted by / 1 comments

Power Stroller

As you may know, my daughter will be 7 weeks old on Saturday and I just received the go ahead from my doctor to resume my physical activity.  I couldn’t wait to get back at it, but it is definitely more challenging now having a little one to think about as well; I can’t just get up and go to the gym like I used to.

Power Stroller

Luckily there is a class that allows me to combine my physical activity with spending time with my child so I don’t have to find childcare every time I want to workout.

City Mom has featured Bernice Robinson, Personal Trainer on her blog over the last couple of years and now Bernice has started a new company called Power Stroller.

Power Stroller is a progressive fitness training program; meaning, that as your level of fitness progresses, so does the level of training.  This enables you to maximize your strength, endurance, and cardiovascular performance while enjoying time with your baby and forming new friendships with other mothers.

With classes running everyday of the week at various locations around London and St. Thomas, it was easy for me to find one that fit into my schedule.

MY GOALS

I would like to firm up my muscles since I have lost a lot of toning over the pregnancy.  Bernice mentioned in our first class that muscles go through atrophy during pregnancy and we lose a lot of muscle tone.

I would also like to shed some of the baby weight I gained, which is about 15 pounds.

WEEK ONE

I will be participating in the 8-week program with Bernice.  It runs 2 days a week, Wednesdays and Fridays at Springbank Park and I will be sharing my results as I go so stay tuned!

This first week we discussed protein, clean eating and whole foods.  I learned that you should switch up your protein shakes each time you buy a new one.  So if you used Whey protein over a few weeks, the next time you should buy soy based protein powder for example.  There are also recipes listed on the website when you are a client of the program so I look forward to trying some of those as well.  It was really nice meeting all the other new moms in the group.

So far my first week has been very encouraging and I look forward to the coming weeks and the progress I will make.  If you would like more information on these programs, check out the power stroller site at www.powerstroller.ca.

What were your fitness goals after pregnancy and how do you combine fitness with spending time with your children?

Village Mom

Mar

12

Trim Tuesday: Muscle Weighs More Than Fat

Trim Tuesday / Women's Health  Posted by / 10 comments

The Belly Fat Cure

About six weeks ago, I began practicing hot yoga. Many years ago I had a good yoga practice going but life happened and I stopped going. For the past 40 days, my yoga flame has been blazing; I’ve consistently practiced 4 to 5 times a week in this time.

Just the past weekend I noticed some changes in my body. Physically I feel stronger. My core feels more firm and my arms are beginning to look more shapely. This is when the light bulb went off. What I was seeing physically wasn’t sinking in mentally.

MUSCLE WEIGHS MORE THAN FAT

We all know muscle weighs more than fat, but if you’re fixated on the scale (like me) that knowledge won’t matter. You may expect to see that number going down, but if you’re increasing muscle mass, it won’t at first. The changes will be taking place on the inside and the scale won’t necessarily reflect that.

I decided to get some much-needed advice from my friend and personal trainer Bernice Robinson of Bernice Robinson Personal Training Studio. She reminded me that

“…for every pound of muscle it takes 40 to 60 calories a day to maintain. Therefore our body uses more energy increasing our metabolic rate which is the only way to lose body fat and keep it off. Also remember muscle weighs more than fat, but is much more dense; taking up less room in our bodies which equates to a more petite frame.”

“And don’t get discouraged by what the scale is reading! It takes time and it’s a forever thing. Not a short-term, quick fix.”

This is just what I needed to hear to keep going.  Slow and steady wins the race and if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.  A slow and steady fitness regime along with healthy eating is a fool-proof way to achieve your health goals.

MIND BODY AND SOUL

Sucess

I love yoga for a number of reasons and none of them actually have to do with weight loss. I love devoting an hour a day to my body and soul. I am able to quiet my mind during the classes and focus on my breathing and postures. I love the sense of calm this brings to me both physically and mentally.

Yoga makes me feel strong and empowered and if one of the side effects is more muscles and an increased metabolism than I am okay with that.

WEEK FIVE RESULTS

Start waist: 35”

End of week five waist: 33”

Week one weight loss:  4.6 lbs

Week two weight loss: 1.6 lbs

Week three weight loss: 0 lbs

Week four weight loss: 1 lb

Week five weight loss: 0 lbs

Total weight loss: 7.2 lbs

Total waist inches lost: 2”

Short Term Goal: To feel comfortable in a bathing suit on our trip to Florida in April.

Long Term Goal: To lose 37 lbs.

Remaining weight loss to goal: 29.8 lbs

Healthy waist: 32”

What activities do you like to do to increase your fitness? Are you a scale junkie? How do you overcome that?

Note: I am not receiving compensation nor am I affiliated with The Belly Fat Cure. These opinions are my own. Before starting any health or meal plan you should consult with you doctor. Or so I have been told.

City Mom

Mar

05

Trim Tuesday: Falling off the Wagon

Trim Tuesday / Women's Health  Posted by / 9 comments

Trim Tuesday: Blogging My Way Through The Belly Fat Cure

I’m disappointed to share that I got a little off track this past week. I couldn’t seem to overcome that number on the scale. Though on the inside I feel better and leaner, my mind is fixed on the weight.

All the self-doubt created a feeling of rebellion and so I was a little more lenient with my eating than I have been in the past few weeks.  I actually “cheated” a couple of times too; nothing severe but I’m the kind of person that is all-or-nothing and if I cheat, well it’s hard to stay on task.

Despite all of that, I still managed to lose one pound!

WEEK FOUR RESULTS

Weight loss: 1 lbs

Waist inches lost: 0

Overall results:

Total weight loss: 7.2 lbs

Total waist inches lost: 2”

Short Term Goal: To feel comfortable in a bathing suit on our trip to Florida in April.

Long Term Goal: To lose 37 lbs.

Remaining weight loss to goal: 29.8 lbs

Healthy waist: 32”

A BRAND NEW WEEK

So today marks the start of a new week and new motivation. I am starting one of the recommended eating plans for The Belly Fat Cure, Chicken & Seafood. Now I’m not a seafood eater so I’m replacing all the shrimp, halibut etc. with chicken. But I don’t foresee this being a problem since chicken is so versatile.

My goal for this week is to lose two pounds. That means that I am going to have to be really strict on my food intake and that I’ll have to stay on top of my Belly Fat Cure shake to ward off false belly fat.

I believe that a positive movement on the scale will reconfirm my reasons for doing this and help to reignite my motivation.

TIPS FOR WEEK FOUR

Since it’s important to keep sugar consumption to 15 or less servings a day, you want to be really selective of the items you choose. For example, everyone knows that ketchup is very sugar-rich but did you realize that just two tablespoons of ketchup has ten grams of sugar in it? That is 2/3 of your recommended intake and that’s just for a condiment.

I decided to try to make my own ketchup for one of the recipes coming up this week. I used Xylitol to sweeten my concoction instead of sugar and I saved 7 grams of sugar by doing so and the sugar that is in this recipe is naturally occurring in the tomatoes.

CITY MOM’S SUGAR FREE KETCHUP

Sugar Free Ketchup

1/0 on Belly Fat Cure per serving (1 Tbsp)

  • 1 – 5.5 oz can of Hunt’s Tomato Paste
  • 2 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 2 packets (8g) XyloSweet sweetener
  • 1 tsp dry mustard
  • ½ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon
  • Pinch of cloves
  • Water (judge the amount of water based on the consistency you desire)

Mix all ingredients together. Refrigerate in an airtight jar.

WEEK FIVE

What information would you like to see included in week five? How do you get back on track when you’ve fallen off?

Note: I am not receiving compensation nor am I affiliated with The Belly Fat Cure. These opinions are my own. Before starting any health or meal plan you should consult with you doctor. Or so I have been told.

City Mom

Feb

26

Trim Tuesday: Screw You Scale

Trim Tuesday / Women's Health  Posted by / 6 comments

Trim Tuesday: Blogging My Way Through The Belly Fat Cure

I apologize for my questionable language but I’ve made an enemy in the last few weeks and that enemy is my bathroom scale. You see it’s not moving down as fast as I feel it should be based on my efforts.

My habits have changed so drastically since starting the Belly Fat Cure. I have cut my sugar consumption and passed on desserts. I have increased my activity level and I believe I deserve to see greater results.

Alas, I don’t want to become a slave to my scale so with encouragement from my husband and my online BFC community, I continue to push on and here are my week 3 results.

WEEK THREE RESULTS

Start waist: 35”

Week two waist: 34”

End of week three waist: 33”

Week one weight loss:  4.6 lbs

Week two weight loss: 1.6 lbs

Week three weight loss: 0 lbs

Total weight loss: 6.2 lbs

Total waist inches lost: 2”

Short Term Goal: To feel comfortable in a bathing suit on our trip to Florida in April.

Long Term Goal: To lose 37 lbs.

Remaining weight loss to goal: 30.8 lbs

Healthy waist: 32”

So while I didn’t lose weight on the scale, I did lose one inch around my waist and that is enough to keep me motivated. As I mentioned in last week’s post, there are so many factors that make up our weight on a day-to-day basis that we can’t let it be our only measurement of success.

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE BELLY FAT CURE

Last week I asked you guys what you’d like to see in this week’s post and Amanda asked to see a day-in-the-life of The BFC. For the past seven days I have been following the Meat Madness weekly meal plan so we’ll take a look at Day 1:

Breakfast – 4/2

First-Class French Toast – for this recipe I used Weight Watchers whole wheat bread. It comes in with a 2/1 sugar/carb (S/C) value. That means that there are two servings of sugar and one serving of carbohydrates in two slices of the bread.

With some bacon, eggs and Nature’s Hollow Sugar-Free Syrup, it was a filling and sweet breakfast that keeps you full for hours and satisfies that sweet tooth.

Snack – 0/0

Cheese String

Lunch 3/2

Crispy Bacon Pizza – I used Pita Gourmet’s High Protein pita pockets which are 0/1 for an entire pita and packs 10 grams of fiber.

Snack 0/0

Protein Shake – I like a 0/0 protein powder from GNC called Whey ISO Burst. It’s sweetened with stevia so has no sugar in it and has 20 grams of protein in just one scoop. A serving size consists of two scoops.

Dinner 4/2

Sumptuous Pork Stir-Fry – This recipe uses stevia, soy sauce and vinegar to replace sweet-and-sour sauce and that eliminates 37 grams of sugar from the meal. Shocking huh?

Day 1 from Meat Madness for the BFC has a S/C value of 11/6 which falls inline perfectly with the 15/6 recommendation.

CHALLENGES

This week I struggled with getting enough fiber and warding off “false belly fat”. If you’re wondering what that is I’ll just say that it has to do with intestinal habits. Have I said enough?

Jorge Cruise suggests the Belly Fat Cure Drink. Powders like Metamucil can often be sweetened with aspartame and acesulfame potassium; two chemicals that are not brain-healthy.

Instead, he suggests one bottle of SoBe lifewater, 2.5 tbsp of psyllium husks and 3 probiotic capsules.

Here’s the bad news, we don’t have SoBe lifewater in Canada…yet! What we do have is Aquafina Plus+ Vitamins 10 Cal which is good enough as it is sweetened with PureVia which is made with stevia but it does not carry the 10 grams of fiber that lifewater does.

Another alternative for Canadians is using PGX – a fiber supplement that also helps to create the feeling of fullness which can contribute to weight loss as well.

WEEK FOUR

In week four I hope to come to terms and end this battle with my scale and I hope to focus on drinking more water and staying on top of my fiber intake.

What would you like to see in next week’s post?

City Mom

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