Five Free Fitness Health Hacks

Everyone wants you to buy buy buy. There is always the latest and greatest “silver bullet” magic health product, whether it’s a pill, potion, patch or other product. Yet, the underlying fundamentals of health and fitness have not changed, and you can reap the benefits from these approaches without mortgaging your first child to do so.

Also, it’s trendy to restrict, eliminate, avoid or otherwise take things away in the name of health and fitness – think of every “cleanse” or “detox” you’ve ever heard of. And yet studies show this approach simply does not work in the long run. When we’re told “don’t push that red button” what do we want to do? Push the darn red button. So this week’s Instagram video series and Facebook posts are all about things to do MORE of!

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Five Fun Ways To Move Outdoors

Happy Spring!  Today marks the first full day of Spring, following the Spring Equinox yesterday.  It’s hard to believe that while I have long known about the equinoxes (is that the correct plural form?), I didn’t actually know that they meant equal hours of day and night until this year.  It’s a good thing I’m open to lifelong learning (and willing to admit and PUBLISH the fact that there is something – many things, in fact – that I don’t know)!

At any rate, the weather is also decidedly Spring-like.  We went from the depths of winter’s deep freeze to absurdly warm weather over the course of a single weekend (the “Spring forward” time change weekend, at that.  I’m sorry, but can we please just stop with this nonsense of changing the clocks?  I’ll sign a petition!  Does anyone else have a hard time with the time changes?).  The snow is melting at an astonishing rate and people are emerging from their hibernation in full force.  The sidewalks are full of walkers, runners, joggers, bicycles, scooters, etc.  Kids are splashing in puddles and dogs are gleefully racing around the park.

The changing of the seasons often stirs a desire for change in our routines.  We do Spring cleaning, we might change the decor in our homes, or even the foods that we eat.  The fashion-forward among us (not me!) even make wardrobe changes and/or hair colour changes for the season.  So it’s the perfect time to make a change to our workout and/or exercise regime as well!

Lastweek’s Instagram video series and Facebook posts were all fun ways to get your body moving outside – it’s so much fun, it won’t feel like exercise.  You don’t need to slog it out in the gym to get lean – here’s your chance to get some fresh air, sunshine AND fat loss!

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Five Facts About Overtraining

For some of us, this feels like the winter that will never end (hello to my fellow Canadians and some of my American readers).  But is there a risk that your low energy levels actually have more to do with an overzealous workout routine?  Maybe you’ve been super diligent and consistent with your exercise in 2019…but maybe a little TOO much so?  Too much of a good thing is still too much.

Did you know that over-training can actually be derailing your fat loss efforts? You can actually be working *too* hard and diminishing your results because of it.  You want to be sure that you’re working smarter, and not necessarily harder!

This week’s Instagram video series and Facebook posts are all about over-training – signs and symptoms, why it matters and how to stop doing it so your body can get leaner, fitter and stronger.

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Five Fad Diets Demystified

It’s hard to believe we’re only (already ?!) two months into 2019 and there are already articles about the best/trendiest/most popular diets of the year.  Of course, these kinds of lists come out every year, and every year people jump on (and off) them.

Do any of these diets actually “work?”  Well, I guess that depends on how you define success.  Arguably, no, not in the long-term anyway, or else we wouldn’t be perpetuating a multi-billion dollar global diet industry.  But there’s always going to be someone, from an instagram “celebrity” to your brother-in-law’s uncle who SWEARS by XYZ diet, and is so fervent in their zeal that you start thinking that maybe, just maybe, it’s finally the diet FOR YOU, and maybe you should check it out.

Out of the “oodles” (that’s the scientific term) of diets out there, certain ones seem to surface and gain more vocal adherents more often than others.  This week, my Instagram video series and Facebook posts are looking at keto, paleo, plant-based eating, tracking macros and Intuitive Eating approaches.  I’ll give you the low-down on the WHAT of these diets, the pros, the cons and my verdict.

Let’s dive in for diet de-mystification (also a technical term, right?).

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