Note: This article is a bit longer than my normal ones, so like an average Canadian (sorry about that) but this is also an important topic deserves a self confession, and an educational component that will actually give you the right tools to help you overcome common reasons “why” you eat that contribute to weight gain. 

I remember it clear as a bell. It was curling night with the boys, the late draw and already past my bedtime. It was the final end and I have the last shot to win the game. Not only that, it’s a shot I have actually practiced the most. I lunge out and release the curling stone and watch… and yell, there is lots of yelling “HURRY HARD!” My heart starts racing, I see the stone curl more and more and my stomach falls to the floor, with a quarter of the way to go before the rock arrives at its destination I already know I missed the shot horribly. 

And with the game in my hand we lost. Feeling defeated in yet another loss in my first year of curling in the mixed “fun league” I was furious with myself. 

A quick hand shake with the other team and I got out of dodge in about 3 seconds flat. Angry with myself for letting my team down, on my way home I was bound and determined to do some damage. My aim was the Dairy Queen close by and a Peanut Buster Parfait. Sadly the DQ was already closed, but did that stop me from my “quest?” Oh heck no, I hit the brakes hard cut across a lane and drove into the parking lot of the gas station convenience store. 

It was there I purchased 4 king sized chocolate bars. In the 800 meter drive from there to my house I had already eaten one of them. The other three had no chance either and in about 10 minutes from time of purchase I had consumed all 4 king size chocolate bars. That’s nearly 1700 calories. 

Moments later I had calmed down and was “ok” with what I had just done and got back to healthier eating the next morning. Lucky for me. 

But if this had been several years ago I would have not been “ok” I would have (on top of being angry with myself) been disappointed and felt really guilty. I would have also only known how to deal with that guilt by…. You guessed it, eating more chocolate.  And the cycle would have continued beyond just one eating episode. 

I’m sure you have been there in some form or another. Eating food that you didn’t really need to eat, or overeating meals not because you were hungry but because of some other reason that has nothing to do with nourishment. 

We’ve all been there.

We will all be there again at some point. 

But why does this happen? And what can we do about it? 

Well let me first start off by guessing that you are a smart person. You basically know what to eat, the problem isn’t that. The problem you have to deal with is “WHY” you eat. 
You see knowing what to eat and even how much to eat won’t make a lick of difference if you don’t address why you eat. 

I have a nice little acronym for common reasons why we eat that cause many of us to gain weight. 

It’s called B.E.A.S.T. eating. 

And if the “BEAST” is getting you more than twice per week, it’s something I recommend you deal with if you want to be healthier. The great part about dealing with it isn’t just weight loss, it’s also a way of improving your stress management skills, and who wouldn’t want that? 

B.E.A.S.T. stands for

Boredom
Emotional
Anxiety 
Social/Stressed
Tired 

Are any (or all) of these reasons above causing you to overeat or buy 4 king sized chocolate bars to crush in the blink of an eye? Then it’s time to put an end to that habit and take control… most of the time. 

Why You Do This … It’s The Elephants Fault

When addressing “why” you eat. It’s important to recognize and understand what is going on with your brain at the time. There is no better way to talk about it than to use the way Dan and Chip Heath talk about it in their book “Switch”. 

Think of your brain as two parts. The first part is your very large instinctual brain. It is emotional, irrational and has no capacity for language or foresight. Think of it as a large elephant. 

The second part is a jockey on top of the elephant. This jockey represents your logical brain. The jockey is the one who has capacity for language, can rationalize things and has foresight. 

When everything is content the little jockey can steer the elephant wherever it wants to go. But when the elephant is stressed enough to stampede, the logical thinking jockey has no hope of stopping this enormous animal. It’s just along for the ride.
Have you ever eaten too much or you keep eating chips at night while watching TV knowing you shouldn’t be doing that and yet it’s rewarding in the moment so you feel like you just can’t help yourself only to feel guilty about it after the moment is over? 

When I purchased and rapidly consumed 4 king sized chocolate bars can you guess what part of my brain was in control at the time? 

That whole cycle can be damaging. When these things happen you can now recognize that it’s the elephant that is in control. It’s also why you feel guilty afterwards, the logical brain knows better but just isn’t strong enough to stop it. 

Here’s the real kick in the pants. When the jockey realizes what just happened and starts to feel guilty, that guilt is an emotion, which can put the elephant right back in control and the cycle continues and your waist line continues to grow with each cycle. 

The key is to first become aware of what part of your brain is taking control. The second key is the learn how to calm the elephant down just before the stampede occurs and keep the jockey in control. 

Of course this is going to take practice, which means you won’t be good at it right away, and that’s ok. You will also not be able to control the elephant all the time, that’s ok too. I’m going to give you some battle tested solutions to practice if you are a consistent “BEAST” eater. 

Hint (Willpower alone won’t work, the elephant is too strong for that) 

Solutions To “Why” You Eat — Battle Tested

With everything mentioned so far you’ve learned about common reasons why you eat that cause weight gain (BEAST) and how your brain works around stress which makes it very hard to control. (Elephant & The Jockey)

Here are Key solutions in order. 

Step 1: Record
Start keeping a record of times you overeat or eat foods when you are not physically hungry. Write down why you did that. Write a B for boredom, E for emotional A for anxious etc. Notice any patterns and triggers that set you off. 

Step 2: 3D Effect
The first physiological response in your body to stress is a change in your breathing. It sets off a cascade of muscle tension and heart rate changes that signal the brain to activate your adrenal glands. This is how the elephant brain knows how to take over. Among the hormones that get secreted in this process is Cortisol and it also aids in fat storing (BOO!). Great for our stone age ancestors… not so great for you who wants to fit into a smaller size pair of jeans. 

To stop this cascade effect you want to practice catching that breath change and follow the 3D effect which is:

• Deep Breathe – STOP! Take 5 deep belly breaths and calm that elephant down.
• Drink Water – Practice making your next action to drink water, an action that has no ill-effects
• Distract – Distract yourself with something that will make you smile or stimulate you logical brain with an activity that requires focus.

The last 2 “D’s” actually create a nice time gap between an initial stressful thought and taking action which stops the elephant and puts the jockey in control. 

For me I practice this every time before I check my email because the thought of checking my email makes me anxious which in the past has caused my to reach for a chocolate bar or overeat at lunch if I’m thinking about it as it’s my first task after lunch typically. 

Step 3: Test The Jockey

Finally test the jockey using the 5-5-5-5 method and F.O.G.

5-5-5-5 method is a simple one that often reduces the severity of why you eat. 
Simply ask yourself “is what ever bothering me going to matter…”
​

• 5 minutes from now
• 5 hours from now
• 5 days from now
• 5 month from now

You might find the level of severity be within the first 3 “5’s” and something you can laugh off and take a different action that your logical mind can come up with instead of eating. 

F.O.G. is a simple acronym that is particularly effective at what’s causing you to want to stress eat. 

Is what’s causing me stress based on a
​
Fact
Opinion
Guess 
​
When you do this FOG test you are simply getting yourself to think logically which is the part of your brain that can make the smartest decisions for your health.

So let’s recap:

• Why you eat can be the limiting factor that is causing you weight gain, even if you know what and how much you should be eating.

• You actually have two brains, your elephant and the jockey. The key is the make decisions with the jockey brain and not let the elephant to take control.

• When the B.E.A.S.T. is getting you more than twice a week, it’s something you should address

• Conquer that “B.E.A.S.T.” eating in 3 Steps

• 1. Keep a record of why you eat and become aware of your patterns
• 2. Practice the 3D effect
• Test the jockey brain with the 5-5-5-5 method and the F.O.G. test

Finally, acknowledge that you are human. This isn’t about perfection, getting control over your eating will take practice and you will have to learn to notice what you do and why without judgment. Once you become aware it’s easier to take control. 

Put these strategies into practice and let me know how it goes for you. Happy Eating Everyone!
If you want more help you are welcome to contact me rob@rmfit.com and I am happy to learn more about you and help you in any way I can.

Lately, maybe it’s because more than half my of my clients are over 50, I have been having the conversation with quite a few clients about the importance of bone density as we age and I thought perhaps it’s something I should write about as it seems to be a benefit of exercise that gets missed… and it’s a very important one.

In addition to increasing your metabolism, aiding in fat loss, improving sleep and boosting your mood; exercise has the capacity to improve your bone density.

No one wants to lose their dependance, or miss out on that “bucket list” activity or skip that golf vacation because your bones were too weak to handle a fall, or hold up to the rigours of repetitive movements like snow shovelling, golf swings, gardening, or even everyday movements at work.

And while it’s common to think that bone density is a concern only if you are at a “certain age”, think again. Yes it’s true as we age bone density doesn’t become an even bigger reason why exercise is so important. But here is the thing, starting early improves your chances at prevention.

Post-Menopausal woman, thin women with family history of osteoporosis and men with low testosterone levels are at the highest risk of having weaker bones and should be taking action to slow the bone deterioration down or even improve it. (yes you can do that). Younger women and men who are not actively exercising might want to start making it a priority because you will be adding bone density earlier and giving yourself the best opportunity to maintain strong bones as you age.

With all of that being said what does the research tell us about how to increase bone density?

Well there are 4 exercises that are well documented in aiding your bone density.

1. Brisk Walking

– Walking at an up tempo pace is something almost anyone can do anywhere.

Start with a brisk 10minute walk everyday after lunch or dinner and work your way up to 30minutes.

2. Squats

– You can do squats in many difference ways, hold a weight in your hand close to your chest, bodyweight only, sitting back on a bench and standing back up or if you can handle it even squat down and jump up. Which ever squat you do always make sure you start the movement from your hips first and the knee bend second.

Aim for 2-3 sets of 10-15 squats resting 1minute between sets 3 days a week

3. Step Ups/Lunges 

– Step ups or lunges are my favourite bone builder exercises because they also add an element of single leg activity which directly transfers into real life.

Aim for 2-3 sets of 10-15 lunges per leg resting 1minute between sets 2 days a week

4. Pushups 

– The exercise you can do to maintain upper body bone health is the pushup. The good news is if you can’t do a pushup on the ground you can try incline pushups and as you get stronger you can go lower. I start a lot of my clients off doing counter top pushups, taking it slow and controlled.

Aim for 203 sets of 10-15 pushups resting 1minute between sets 2-3 day a week

Of course there are a couple of factors that I have to mention if you want any sort of benefit from these exercises.

A: You have to make it challenging for your body. The intensity of the exercises has to be just slightly out of your comfort zone. Push yourself to do as many reps as you can stopping about 1-2 reps short of failure. Meaning when you think you can bear to do 1 or 2 more reps with good form that’s a good time to stop, rest a minute and repeat the exercise.

B: You have to be consistent. The benefits of exercising comes from being consistent week in week out. The hardest part perhaps is being consistent so it’s important to plan out when you will workout beforehand.

If you have questions about exercising and increasing your bone health, let me know I am happy to help. Email me at rob@rmfit.com 

It’s Wednesday morning and you’ve just rolled out of bed to start your day. By the time your feet touch the floor to stand up and move off the bed your muscles are hit with a deep soreness. Your mind has a flashback to Monday’s workout and all of those lunges, planks and pushups you did. For a brief moment you question your sanity for actually participating in this “exercise” thing. But then you come to your senses and realize that you are investing in getting results and living a healthy lifestyle.

Half of you reading this will say, “Yes, I love that feeling, it’s a sign of a good workout!” (And I’m just as twisted and sadistic as my coach)

While the other half will say “Oh no I must be so out of shape, I hate this feeling!” (My coach is insane!)

No matter what your “enjoyment” of the soreness also called DOMS (Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness) it shouldn’t really be the goal of your workout… unless you’re literally working out to for the soreness and for no other reason, then by all means try this workout:

100 Jump Squats, 100 Sit Ups, 100 Lunges… Put 4 “Mentos” candies in your mouth and wash it down with a liter of diet coke and drop a 10-pound dumbbell on your baby toe and call it a day. You’ll be sore right away and for days afterwards.

Ok, now that you’ve though about which of your friends is naïve enough to convince taking the Mentos & diet coke, it’s time to get back to reality.

Soreness is sometimes a by-product of your workouts due to various factors that are not entirely known. Science can say that one of those factors is micro-tears in the connective tissues caused by greater stimulus than it is used to. That’s why you get sore more often when you are just starting to workout… almost everything is a new stimulus to your body.

But guess what, regardless of if you get sore or not your workouts can produce amazing results if you are searching for the right clues.

Here are some tell tale signs your workout kicks butt:

• You are getting stronger week in, week out
• You have more endurance
• You are more mobile
• You are enjoying it
• You sleep better
• You are less stressed or handle stress better
• Your health is improving (cholesterol, more energy, less body fat)

Oh and if you are looking for a quick and effective workout for building strength, total body endurance and fat burning sign up for my workout of the month HERE

I hope you had a NEAT weekend! I know I did and I’m happy I did. Now you may have noticed that I used the word NEAT in all caps. No, no it’s not because I think it’s the greatest word to say in the English language, that word is boing (seriously you can’t say it without thinking about something fun) but I digress.

In fact NEAT is an acronym for possibly the most underrated element in your fitness and healthy lifestyle repertoire. It is also one of the most important ones.

NEAT stands for Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis

Basically NEAT is the energy you burn through activities in the day that aren’t associated with formal exercise sessions. Yes going for walks, moving furniture, mowing the lawn, chasing after a 19month old son… running as fast as you can to the change table after his diaper gets… well you know; are all good forms of NEAT. Now before you roll your eyes and brush off yet another “active living” article, think about the impact of NEAT on your lifestyle and your waistline.

NEAT can account for a large amount of calories burned day in and day out, year in and year out with painless effort.

We know that these days high intensity interval training is all the rage, and for good reason, it burns lots of calories in a relative short amount of time. The problem is that you have to work your fitness level up to a point where high intensity interval training is effective enough to produce a desired effect. The other downside is that it can exhaust you so much that you actually move less through the day basically nullifying the calorie burning effects of the workout. While NEAT when applied can painlessly increase the amount of energy your burn, and of course if you can do both you have a super burn tandem.

One other thing that NEAT does better than any other form of exercise is that it seems to have very little effect on hunger compared to high intensity interval training which is important if you are eating less calories in order to lose fat.

For the next two weeks be aware of just how NEAT you are and look for ways to improve so you can burn more calories and gain more stamina day in and day out and have your health and your waist line thank you for it.

Here is an example of a High NEAT day.

Wake up in the am. Have breakfast; take the dog for a short walk (10minutes)

Take 4-minute stretch break at work every hour (set a reminder on your phone, do it with a work mate)

Every “smoke” break your co-workers have, give yourself a “health” break and move

I know working through lunch seems like a good idea, (maybe today will finally be the day that working through lunch = getting caught up…. HAHAHAHAHAHA) Instead make lunch time, mobility time or walk and laugh time with co-workers

Take the stairs, not the elevator

Learn to dance, go out on a mini “city adventure or hike” Learn to garden, every commercial break or break between binging on Netflix, get up and MOVE.

And on the weekend, you have plenty that you can do to move more especially during these summer months.

If you are a numbers person get yourself a fitibit® pedometer and aim for 8,000+ steps a day.

There are so many ways to be NEAT. It’s easy to do and when done consistently in a way that’s mostly fun for you, the more effective it will be.

What kind of things do you do to be NEAT? Reply back and let me know.

Have you ever been sore after a workout before? Ha, who am I kidding of course you have, I’m sure many of us have felt that kind of muscles soreness after an bout of physical exercise that was above our normal tolerance level. This effect that tends to happen the next day or even a few days later (why is always worse 2 days after?) is known as “Delayed Onset Of Muscle Soreness” or DOMS for short. While it’s not entirely known why this soreness happens, it’s widely thought that it is part of the repair process to micro-trauma in the muscles and is made especially worse when we perform a lot of eccentric muscle actions (lengthening of the muscle contraction, i.e. lowering the dumbbell in a bicep curl exercise).

I can remember a conversation I had with a new client of mine a few years back, she said something along the lines of “Oh sweet joseph! My legs are sore from last workout shouldn’t w just stretch… for the love of Pete let’s just stretch… or nap.” Of course she was kidding about the nap (or was she?). I explained to her that while the DOMS effect might make you think you should just stretch or do nothing, the opposite can actually help to alleviate the soreness. Exercising can actually help to reduce the DOMS effect. So before you throw in the towel on your workout know that showing up again for another training session might just be the very thing you need to get the blood moving and the DOMS taken care of.

Here are a few other tips to relieve sore muscles:

– Get a massage (I recommend everyone get a massage at least once a month)

– Stay hydrated

– Eat plenty of nutritious fruits and veggies

– And while I have no scientific evidence, a low sodium diet seems to help me or at least when I have more salt in my diet after a hard workout I am “hobbled” sore.

Having said that, there are a few caveats when it comes to DOMS and working out.

The first caveat is that you soreness should only last 24-72 hours at most and 72 is the high end. If you are still sore after that you can rest assured you likely over did it in your last workout, think about taking it easy for a few workouts.

The second caveat is that it’s important to know the difference between muscle soreness and something worse like a strain or a pull. Pain = NO GAIN and you should take time off and perhaps see your physician if it worsens.

The third and final caveat is that it’s important to know that being sore after a workout shouldn’t be the goal. Your purpose for working out is to get better at something and to improve your health. While most of us sometimes wear the soreness as confirmation of a workout (I’m guilty of this sometimes as well) there is no science behind performance and health improvement and muscle soreness. Chase progress not soreness.

I tell you if I wasn’t married to my wonderful wife Kim, I would be out of business, and likely out of ideas of what to write about. As I was thinking about what to write today, I just wasn’t feeling motivated because I was “stuck” and didn’t know what to write about. So I sent my wife a text message telling her that I was having trouble with what to write in my newsletter today.

Her response “Write about motivation and getting stuck… like you are now with your newsletter.” (Cue light bulb over my head.)

Well, that was an easy response… and genius. Of course I’m sure I’m not the only one to feel unmotivated because I feel stuck, I see it all the time in my line of work. In fact, it’s the number one reason why someone will contact me for help. It’s an all too common problem where we feel “stuck” in our goals in getting something done, whether it be the goal of completing a newsletter before the day is out or something much more challenging like changing the way you look and feel. Getting stuck truly is the fuel for losing motivation. So what can you do when you feel stuck? How can you get your motivation back and start taking action on your goals? Well the answer lies in the text to my wife.

“Action precedes motivation”

Most people hope and wait for motivation to come so they can take action when in fact, that line of thinking is backwards. You make motivation when you take action. Now it’s true that this is easier said than done, so let me make it easier and share with you 3 key ingredients to take action and make your own motivation.

Ingredient 1: Small, simple action

The smaller and easier the action is, the more likely you are to do it. So when you are trying to get motivated for even a single workout, don’t think about the entire workout ahead of you, just put your gym shoes on. Simple.

Ingredient 2: Support

Sometimes you just need a little support to help you see what you need to see in yourself in order to get it done. Don’t know what to do? Your trainer can have a plan for you. Reaching out for support can get you seeing those simple, easy-to-do solutions when your mindset is just not in that space.

Ingredient 3: Know your why

Of course you won’t really be motivated to accomplish a goal if you don’t know why you want that goal in the first place. Having a clear understanding of why you want to get into better shape is vital for success.

All these ingredients combine can create “the motivation you need to succeed”. (Sorry to sound like a cheesy infomercial with that line just there.)

In practice this can be so simple. Look back at my problem today with being stuck. My reason for writing these newsletters is to help you with real world solutions to real world problems in healthy living so I reached out to my support and got a simple solution. My first action was reaching out (that was simple enough), my second small and simple action was to write down the topic title and suddenly my motivation took off and I was able to write this with relative ease.

If you are feeling stuck and unmotivated, review what ingredients you need to make your motivation. Do you need to simplify and shrink your action step? Do you need the right type of support? Are you clear about why it’s important to you?

If you need support or help getting clear on your why give me a call, I can help.

Take control of your eating, lose weight and boost your energy

Let’s cut through the lies and come out and say it. If you are overweight it’s because you consumed more calories than your body needs. That’s a fact but it’s also sort of useless information if you are trying to stop over consuming your calories. It’s like telling someone the reason they are drowning is because they are in a lake and can’t swim… “oh now you tell me (jerk!)” tell me something I don’t know.

Knowing that you over eat your calories won’t change anything. Becoming aware of the factors that lead you to over eat will. For a very small percentage of my clients, I can simply help them become aware of how much they are eating and they can naturally lower their portions and lose weight quickly. But for most of us, it’s not that easy, there are other factors in play including why you eat and what you eat that play a role and getting to the bottom of those factors are important. But one question about eating seems to get left out like the geek in school who is always “there” but no one pays any attention to. Funny how those are the ones that grow up and become the “Bill Gates” of the world. (Successful on a world class scale)

The question that I am eluding to is “How do you eat?” The very nature of how you go about your eating behavior has the power to change the what, why and how much you eat. So maybe it’s time to start focusing on making changes to how you eat and start making true lasting results. Here are 4 simple ways to do that.

1. Meal planning
– Become proactive with your eating by having a meal plan. It starts with a plan of what meals you are going to eat for that day or week and building out a groceries list to get what you need for the plan. I suggest to start planning just a few meals each week (maybe just breakfasts to start). You can build from there and as you practice this you will get better at what and how much you need to buy. To make this a habit simple review your plan each day and check mark if you are on plan or “x” if you are off. Aim for 90% check marks before adding more meals to your plan.

2. Eat slowly and mindfully until satisfied
– Stop racing to see who can eat faster you or the dog. Slow down gosh darn it! It takes your body time (15-20mins) to sense fullness. Now I don’t know about you but I know I can sure as hell chow down a lot of food in that time span. By slowing down and learning to listen and stop when you are satisfied and not stuffed (think 80% fullness) you can naturally eat fewer calories. In fact this one habit has served me well for years even when my eating isn’t the healthiest I practice this as much as I can and when I do i’m successful and when I don’t… well lets just say it’s a tie between me and my dog, the only difference is he has no choice in his portions. The bonus to this also comes from being able to savour each bite, enjoying the taste and texture of your food. You’ll be amazed at how your palette for junk food diminishes.

3. Change your environment
– Perhaps the easiest way to eat better is the change up your environment so you have fewer options and temptations. Make home a “safe” place to eat by keeping tempting foods away, instead of eating in front of the T.V. eat at the dinner table, eat on smaller plates, take a different route to work if you can’t help but go through the drive through for breakfast and order the high sugar, high fat, high calories meal. Eat your lunch at work in a place that’s quiet and away from the desk (I know that’s a tough one). In any case become aware of the environment that you are eating in and the choices you make with your eating, seek to change up any situation that commonly causes poor decisions.

4. Change the routine
– Over eating calories can stem from not eating enough… for most the day anyways until you catch up with the lick sip nibbles and bites through the day and a giant dinner after little to no breakfast and a fast food lunch. Instead change your meal frequency in a way that gives you energy, satiety and eliminates that low energy but starved feeling you have by the time you get home from yet another stressful day at work. Another way to change the routine is make a habit of going for a 10minute walk before each meal, it’s amazing what that can do for the psyche and the decisions you make while eating, but don’t take my word for it, give it a try for two weeks straight.

Taking control of how you eat is such a game changer. The confidence you get from actually being in control of your eating can cause you to make better food quality choices, eat fewer calories and even get emotional eating under-control. Now I know I just gave you a bunch of tiny actions you can take. I don’t want you to get overwhelmed and try all of them at once. Instead pick one thing to do and move forward. If it was my choice without knowing your specific situation I would suggest start with the meal planning but go in with the mindset of it being an experiment in which you can learn about what works for you. From there your experiment will reveal what other factors of how to eat will work for you. Give it a try, let me know how it goes, and if you need help along the way, I am here to help.

Over the past 3 years or so I have had several personal training clients online and offline in St.Albert and the St.Albert area that have been doing short but frequent 12-minute workouts with good results. In fact I started doing them myself when on vacation as a goal of maintaining some sort of strength and fitness and noticed how well it worked both mentally and physically.

So if you are:

– Short on time

– Just starting a fitness routine

– Wanting to add in an extra workout or two

Then give this protocol a try. I call it the 3 in 12 program. And it’s really simple. You choose 3 exercises do complete in 12 minutes. Sounds like not enough right? Trust me, give it a try for 14 days in a row and you will likely already notice a difference in your performance and how you feel. Why does this happen?

Well short workouts can do a few things for you.

1. They are short so it’s easy to actually show up and do it (no excuses)
2. They get your circulation going which makes you more alert and productive
3. Because it’s short most people naturally push themselves more compared to a longer workout so your intensity is there for the entire workout.
4. Getting in a good workout usually leads to making better food choices as well.
5. Short workouts like this don’t usually make you hungry so if fat loss is your goal eating less and working out for less time (as long as it’s effective) might be the perfect fit for you.
6. Exercise even 12 minutes of it can help to reduce stress and put you in a good mood.
7. Exercise can help you get a better nights rest.

If you want to do it as a complete routine aim for 6-7 days a week otherwise use this protocol when you are time crunched and can’t get to your normal workout routine.

Step 1: Set the timer for 12 minutes

Step 2: Choose 2 strength exercises and either 1 mobility or 1 cardio exercise

Step 3: Aim for 10-12 repetitions

Step 4: Do as many rounds with good form as you can in 12 minutes. (Note: Use the first 2 minutes to go light and get the body warmed up)

You will want to choose exercises that don’t really compete with one another (they don’t use the same muscle groups). This way you can push the pace from a cardio stand point while the muscle get a rest.

For a basic plan choose at least 2 different workouts in the following fashion:

Workout A Choose Variations of

Lower Body: Squats, Lunges, RDL’s, Hip Thrusts

Core: Planks, Side Planks, Rotation, Reverse Crunches

Cardio: Jumping Jacks, Mountain Climbers, Shadow Boxing, Sprinting

Workout B Choose Variations of

Pushing: Pushups, Chest Press, Shoulder Press

Pulling: Rows, Cobra’s, Chin Ups

Cardio:Jumping Jacks, Mountain Climbers, Shadow Boxing, Sprinting

Here is an exact workout program you could use at home with just a set of Dumbbells and Bodyweight

Day 1

1. Alternating Reverse Lunges x 12-16 total
2. Plank Saw x 8-12
3. Towel Shoulder Mobility Drill x 5sec hold per side OR Shadow Punches x 40

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF WORKOUT

Day 2

1. DB Rows x 10-12
2. Pushups x 10-12
3. Spider Lunges x 4/side OR Jumping Jacks x 20

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF WORKOUT

Day 3

1. DB Squat to Press x 10-12
2. W-Cobra x 10-12
3. T-Spine Rotation x 8/side OR Mountain Climbers x 30

CLICK HERE FOR VIDEO OF WORKOUT

There you have it three quick 12 minute workouts you can do everyday or just something to do when you’re short on time.

I’ve been extremely grateful to be a personal trainer in the St.Albert and St.Albert area. My clients are awesome and not matter what custom action plan we put forward each and everyone finds a sneaky way to create a habit that helps them get results. Over the years I’ve taken notes of all the little tricks they’ve used and come up with a list of real clients using sneaky tricks to get real results.

Here they are:

1. “I ask myself if I’m hungry enough to eat an apple, if I’m not then I find something else to do instead of eating. If I am, then I eat.” (Trish S.)

2. “When I have a craving to snack on wings or something crunchy at night I eat cauliflower and hot sauce and cucumber. It satisfies and defuses my appetite.”  (Robin M.)

3. “I put 3 elastic bands on my water bottle, each time I complete one bottle I remove an elastic band.” (Emily S.)

4. “When I don’t feel like working out I make it a goal to put on my running shoes and fill up my water bottle, it usually ends up with at least a few minutes of exercise.” (Will H.)

5. “I keep a journal that records my little victories and what I’m grateful for every day, it gives me the mindset I need to take action.” (Erin H.)

6. “I created a new set of core values for my life. It’s my guiding light for the decisions I make especially when I catch myself in those internal conversations when chocolate is around.” (Chelsea W.)

7. “Instead of believing that I can’t do something I ask myself can I do that?” (Jen S.)

8. “When ever I make a mistake with my eating choices I think of it like I just made a poor investment, it’s makes no sense to put more money into it, just like it makes no sense to keep making poor food choices. Make the next meal a good investment.” (Cal R.)

Have you ever tried to lose weight only to find yourself too hungry before your next planned meal? It’s a disaster; you end up overeating and possibly making poor decisions. While it’s a good idea to practice being a little hungry before your next meal, letting yourself go from hungry to “Hangry” is usually a recipe for weight gain and yo-yo dieting. Instead aim to consume these 6 natural appetite suppressants that will leave you feeling fuller for longer so you don’t become the next person on the Snickers Commercial.

1. Green Leafy Veggies

Veggies provide vital nutrients and fibre which help signal your brains satiety levels that it got what it needs.

2. Lean Protein

Protein like poultry, fish, pork and beef provide weight in your stomach and it takes longer to digest than any other macronutrient making this a powerhouse for making you feel fuller for longer. Aim to have a palm sized serving in 3 meals a day. Even vegetarian dishes can get in on the action with protein rich legumes like beans.

3. Green Tea or Coffee

The caffeine and antioxidants in these hot beverages when consumed in moderation can help suppress appetite. Just go easy on the sugar and cream.

4. Cayenne or Hot Sauce

Spicy, has been an age old battle tested way to eat fewer calories. It can give you a slight boost in your metabolism temporarily as well. One evening snack that can help curb cravings is cauliflower in hot sauce with cucumbers to cool it down. It won’t take much before you feel full and your late night cravings are non-existent.

5. Apples

There is an old rule that works fairly well as a marker for being aware of your hungry. “If you are not hungry enough to eat an apple, you probably aren’t actually hungry”. Of course when you are hungry enough to eat an apple, then by all means have one. Apples are filled with soluble fibre and pectin, which can fill you up for hours.

6. Water

It happens too often in line of work. Seeing people overeat snacks throughout the day because they are hungry when in fact they are confusing thirst for hunger. Make it a rule to drink a glass of water between meals to keep yourself hydrated and never confuse thirst for hunger again.