"I eat pretty good" The One Phrase Holding You Back

It's interesting when I meet people or train clients and they use the phrase "I eat pretty good" around me. Their perception of eating well must be on a spectrum that I never heard of because these are the same people that struggle with fat loss.

This phrase is as convincing as Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Sad part is, he will probably win....

Many people believe the way they eat right now is the most efficient way to loose a couple pounds. But being realistic, the past couple years that you've been eating this way hasn't changed. If you're not willing to change, you need to stop thinking it will. These same people fall under the category of thinking exercise can cancel out a bad diet. I never seen one person loose 10lbs when training 3x a week and eating like crap, or not eating enough throughout the day.

One simple thing to remember is if you want to change something in your life, you need to do something that you haven't done before. This is what gives you a different result.

Ask yourself these questions:

1. When was the last time I tracked how many calories I eat on an average day?

2 . When was the last time I ate a combination of protein, vegetables and good fat in every single meal for a week straight?

3. When was the last time I prepared meals for my entire week?

4. When was my last alcoholic beverage?

5. When was the last time I ate out?


If it took you a while to think of an answer for the first 3 questions and fired back quick answers for the last two, you are in deep trouble!

So what do I suggest you do? Look at your daily routine. Be realistic, what small changes could you do right now that will help you reach your goal?

Is getting in vegetables difficult? Try using a greens powder supplement.

Is missing snacks during the day a constant battle? Keep easy to pack snacks with you at all times. Boiled eggs, cut up vegetables and hummus, protein bars, etc.

Every excuse you have there's a solution. You just need to want it bad enough.

Instagram Famous Trainers

Hate is a strong word, and I rarely use it. But what bugs me the most are the so called "personal trainers" on Instagram or any social media outlet(and I can name a few). They usually have 1 million plus followers and have a cult like following with everything they do; release a product and name it "bikini workout" and over night you're a multi millionaire.

Most of the time these "trainers" don't have a certification behind their belts, but have a body to show off and that's what people want to see. A body image that one day could be theirs.(But realistically that never will happen)

I just want to be clear, I am in no way jealous that they have more followers than me, or they are multi millionaires. Sure a few extra bucks in the bank would be nice, but not if I had to sell out and sell my soul for it.

Recently one of these Insta stars came out and told the truth about her "healthy" and "inspirational" life. She quickly had success by posting pictures on her Instagram account like this...

She realized she wasn't in fact promoting inspiration to women across the world, but instead creating a unrealistic image for women to achieve. The image of having a flat toned stomach, a thigh gap and so called "self love."

In her emotional discussion about self image in this article click here she admits being born with good genetics combined with calorie restriction, missing meals and excessive amounts of workouts paved the way for her success. Her idea of loving herself quickly turned into an ugly realization that what she was doing wasn't helping anyone.

Essena has now deleted her Instagram account, snapchat, and all of her social media accounts and started fresh with a new website helping women over come body image issues.

Now where am I going with all of this? 

I want to let everyone know the fake world of Instagram trainers and fit people creates a pile of crap and expectations that having a perfect body solves your problems. Following someone on the internet because they have six pack abs and you want to be like them is fine, but the moment you begin to hate yourself without knowing it creates a problem. 

Remember all of these people you see online have the gift of genetics. They are the 1% with great bodies of Greek Gods and Goddess. Its equivalent to you playing recreational soccer on the weekends and putting yourself down because you're not good as David Beckham..... When you put it that way, its crazy, but for some reason many people can't get that through their minds.

Remember, be yourself, love yourself, and don't get trapped into that fake reality. 

New Services, New Projects, Here's what I'm up to!

If you're like me you like planning projects and looking forward to the future and what it holds.

Sometimes I think about projects and ideas so much that my brain will race all over the place to the point where I can't fall asleep at night on a Tuesday night knowing I have to wake up at 5am morning to train clients.

You do everything to try to get to sleep. Count sheep, stop singing that stupid Selena Gomez song, figuring out how many more mortgage payments you need to pay off the house, and of course turn your pillow to the cool side.

This leaves me writing my ideas down and reading a few more pages in my current book and possibly going on my phone to check out some more things. All of this will happen within 30 minutes trying to fall a sleep, then asking myself "what if I did this instead?" "what if I made this first" and then I will hopefully get to sleep around 1am....

So, here is what I am focusing on next that will help you, my readers expand your knowledge in the world of fitness and health.


1. My Website! Yes, I will finally have my own website. I am hoping to have it up and running this December or the latest in January. The reason why I have waited so long (almost a year) to have my own website is content. I could have easily put up a website my first month of my business but I wouldn't have anything! I'd be paying for a page with barely any content.

Now I am at a point where I will have things to offer and have frequent contentfor my readers and clients.

I plan to have a free ebook for everyone who signs up to my website which contains over 20 fitness related tips and explained in detail.

I will have products such as programs, supplements, small gym equipment, meal plans, online training and more!

2. Nutritional Coaching: With the success of my Transformation Challenge I will be offering my clients and online clients a chance for nutritional coaching on a bi-weekly and monthly basis. I've already mentioned this service to those in my challenge as they will have "dibs" on spots first, and then I will be offering it to the general public.

So the first week of December 1st I will advertise this service to everyone and I will have limited spots open. Be sure to email me or comment below to reserve a spot!

3. Meal Plans: Same thing, the participants from the challenge will have the first crack at this service. I will be creating meal plans for you based on what you like to eat and keep it within your macros, calories and what you usually shop for, or need to start shopping for. We will figure out the best strategies to help you to your goal, whatever it may be, and create a meal plan to support it.

Be sure to check when I offer this to the general population as nutrition is usually the fall back on most people's fitness journey.

Now go and enjoy your weekends everyone!

Reality Check: Making Fitness a Priority

Before I dive into this, just a word of caution. I re wrote most of this, as I was going on a bit of a rant. Hopefully this blog entry isn't too harsh and you can still enjoy it.


As a training coach I see clients come and go. It's sometimes frustrating when someone new comes to me and really wants to change their life around in the fitness department, but some how disappears from the face of the Earth.

I understand life gets in the way sometimes, but I personally think that your priorities are out of whack.

How long can you go with low activity, poor eating choices, nagging injuries and life stress before your health deteriorates and there's no turning back?

You're probably reading this now fire red angry and think I am biased and have no idea how your life is. True, but I have an arsenal of clients and former clients that fit in 3-6+ hours a week of exercise with full time children and a career, doing it all year round without thinking twice.

How? They make it a priority without question. They know they don't have the same metabolism they had back in high school. They know the moment they stop exercising, it takes a short period of time to loose it ( 1 week you loose aerobic capacity, 2 weeks you loose strength about 20ish percent). They know it's hard work and have to continue.

Fitness is a lifestyle, not a 3 month thing where you loose 40lbs and you're good to go for the rest of your life. It's about sustainability, not a quick fix. You see so many of these "12 week fat loss programs"

"10 day juice cleanse starter diet"

"30 day shred fit bullshit program"

You get the idea.... Sometimes this is a place to start for people that creates a addiction to exercise and continue on. But for most, they start, maybe get through a couple weeks and quit.

So what should you consider when you want to get back into shape? Don't think its a 3 month, 6 month thing. It's a life style. Just like being a workaholic, book worm, and "Netflix and Chill"  type are life styles. You don't just do it for a few months and call it a day.

My point is plan that exercise will be part of your life, not just periodically. I never understood why people take "a break from the gym." This usually consists of "2-3 weeks off, and I'll be back" but then turns into a 3 month to a year hiatus from the gym. Why? What's the point? That's equivalent to your car having a few issues, you go get it fixed by the mechanic and tell yourself you won't drive it for a few months now that it's back to normal; a few months go by and you try to start you engine and it's not running as well as it was before when you fixed it.

Remember, since this is a life style change it's going to take time. The more you stop the more difficult it will be to get back into it, and see any real progress.  

 

Big Announcement!

Hello Everyone!

I am proud to announce that I will be writing for a new athletic apparel company called RYU. I was introduced to them couple months back and I believe they will be the next leader in athletic clothing for the masses. As of right now they are in the opening stages and plan to have their first retail store open very soon.

From what I've seen they have everything. Workout tops, bottoms, accessories, you name it. I had the privilege to check out their head office in our very own down town Vancouver; I was impressed with every detail. From the energy buzzing through each person working, the colours of their offices, to the overall atmosphere they've created.

I'm excited to get started with them so early on and hope to expand my knowledge with more readers. If you'd like to check out more information, they also have a website up, give it a click and check it out!

http://www.ryu.com/

Hope you will all follow their blog as I begin to write. My first blog for RYU should be up for next month of November. I will be sure to post it when it comes online.

Hormones and Fatloss Part Three

This will be my final instalment of "Hormones and Fatloss".... I know you're all sad, but we need to move on. It's not you its me...And there is someone else...

Anyway! Let's get to it. Today we are talking about insulin... Many of you automatically think about carbs, but there is more to insulin than just carbs. But who doesn't think of carbs all the time? As I am typing this, I am thinking of every carb-full food out there; mainly pizza, a lot of pizza...

But, back to insulin, this guy controls how quickly you can lose fat and gain muscle to what food gives you energy or which ones make you crash, and end up in a carb filled coma.

Insulin is produced in the pancreas and is responsible to take nutrients to your cells in your liver, muscles and stored fat. When insulin is happy your cells are ready to hold onto nutrients, when you use insulin at the right time, like right after your workout (post workout shakes) you can direct all those nutrients to your muscle cells. Meaning more nutrients in your muscles = building lean muscle mass and burning fat!

Now insulin sensitivity is term you should know. High insulin sensitivity is king when it comes to building muscle and destroying fat. When your insulin sensitivity is low your are more susceptible to a "crash."; foods high in sugar are usually the cause of this.

So, how do I increase my insulin sensitivity to build muscle? Avoiding junk foods, and hitting the weights at LEAST 2x a week.

A word of caution. There are cases where people can become insulin resistant because of chronically high insulin levels. When this happens your blood sugar stays higher for longer periods of time because the carbs you put in your mouth are slowed down to the point where they can't reach your muscle cells and build and kill off that fat. Basically your body won't allow you to loose fat, and your stuck in this circle of hell.

Now remember I just scratched the surface on insulin. There are books dedicated to this topic alone, so don't go out there thinking your an insulin expert. I am merely opening your eyes how our bodies work on the inside to battle fat!

Also don't go trusting celebrities recommendations out there either, like Justin Bieber here...

Hormones and Fat Loss Part Two

I hope you all enjoyed my last post on the hormone Leptin. We should now all have a better understanding when it comes to fat loss and leptin.

Now to further your knowledge of hormones, today we will focus on Ghrelin. What? Ghrelin, yes thats right. It sounds like jibberish and something I made up, but this hormone is responsible for telling you if you're hungry or not. Usually it will tell you that you're hungry all the time. Then you over eat, then you're sitting at 10+ lbs you shouldn't have gain last Christmas.

So let's dive right in further detail about our new friend Ghrelin.

We've all been there. We ate about an hour ago, you get bored at home and you "feel" like you can snack on something. But really you don't need to. Your brain is telling you no, but your body is telling you yes. Then you find yourself in the fridge and pantry going through every snack you have ever bought in the last month and feel disgusted that you finished off a half eaten bag of chips.

Ghrelin is your hunger hormone and is produced in your hypothalamus (in your brain) kidneys and along with your pituitary gland. (That was just an lesson from good old high school bio) Ghrelin is also synthesized in and released by the stomach whenever its empty, throughout the night and when you wake up each day. 

Here is the important thing to remember, Ghrelin follows a schedule, this schedule is based on your eating routine. Now if you plan your meals accordingly you can keep your hunger signals in check. But if you tend to skip meals, like forgetting to eat breakfast, you end up feeling hungry all the time and end up snacking; then when you're supposed to eat, your too full, and then the whole world explodes.

This is the spiral you don't want to go down. To make matters worse if you combine a horrible eating schedule along with bad sleep habits you get a shit storm. Ghrelin and poor sleep are like the annoying couple you know. Always posting pictures on Facebook, doing things, and you could care less if they bought matching T Shirts over the weekend.

The lack of sleep impacts the hormone levels in your brain which in turn pushes ghrelin to activate more frequently and there you have it, you are snacking uncontrollably. Now if this sounds like you, a simple step is to work on better sleep quality and a better eating schedule.

This is why I nag my clients to make it a habit to eat every 3-4 hours and have at least 7 hours of solid sleep.

If you can control these two factors, you can do anything when it comes to any fitness related goal!

Let me know if you have any questions!