Best Body Bootcamp

So, we’re half way through the 3rd week of January! How goes it? How are those resolutions holding up? Are you keeping up with your workouts? Eating healthier?

Sometimes the best intentions can be derailed by the simplest of oversights. Before you set off on your health and wellness journey for 2010, did you lay down a sturdy foundation? Did you start with a clean slate? Did you remove any obstacles that might get in your way in preparation for the changes you were about to make?

"Before" Photo courtesty of RealSimple.com

One of the most common mistakes people make when trying to make a change, particularly in their diet and eating habits, is not ridding their house or routine of temptations or pitfalls.

While it’s easy to avoid fast food or junk food while out and about during your day, if you have a not-so-secret stash of goodies in your pantry or a fridge/freezer filled with old food, leftovers, and not so healthy options, you risk throwing away all your hard work!

So, if you haven’t already done so since the start of the year, set aside an hour or two this weekend to thoroughly clean out your fridge and cupboards BEFORE you head to the grocery store to do your weekly shopping! I bet many of you still have a bunch of not so fresh or healthy leftovers from the holidays lurking about in there.
We’re going to tackle this in two parts! First the big clean!

Fridge:
Interior
- Remove food. Store the frozen items in coolers. Refrigerated, perishable foods generally won’t spoil during the cleaning process if left at room temperature for under 2 hours. But if you’re worried, place
-Clean crispers and ice-maker bins. Place in warm water with dish soap and scrub. (I usually do this in my tub!) Empty ice maker & trays and wash out (ice can absorb odors).
-Clean doors, shelves, and walls. Vacuum food crumbs. Wipe with a solution of two tablespoons baking soda and one quart warm water.

Exterior
- Vacuum. With a brush attachment to remove dust that has accumulated underneath the refrigerator, on its rear coils and top vents, and along the wall.
- Wipe away dirt. With a wet, soapy cloth, wash the exterior. Lots of germs can accumulate on common areas such as door handles, which can then be transferred to the interior and the food products you are retrieving from inside

Cupboards:
-Remove Food. Remove everything from the shelves/cupboards. Take the opportunity to check for expiry dates, and toss anything that is past it’s prime.
-Wipe away dirt. Just as with the fridge, bits of food particles, crumbs and spills could be lurking at the back of your cupboards without you knowing it! Don’t forget the outside of the cupboards, the doors and the handles.

"After" Photo courtesy of RealSimple.com

Once you get everything in tip top shape cleanliness wise, take this opportunity to also repackage and relabel items, and take stock of what you have and what you need in preparation for the incoming groceries!

If you don’t already have them on hand, get yourself a variety of storage containers for both your fridge and your pantry, preferably glass with tight sealing lids, such as Snapware and Glass Lock which can be found sold individually at Kitchen Stuff plus or in a handy multi piece set at places like Costco or Canadian Tire. You might also want to grab some labels to easily identify items like frozen meat, leftovers, expiry dates on transferred items, etc… something like this or these would work.  Keep the labels & pens in a magnetic basket on the side of your fridge so it’s handy come grocery day!  (there are many of these magnetic organizational baskets available at stores like Staples or Grand & Toy. Look in the locker storage section!)

Next Wednesday we’ll go through part 2 of “The Great Fridge & Pantry Makeover”. We’ll be giving you some handy restocking tips for your pantry and fridge, along with some important do’s and don’ts’!

Here’s to your health & wellness journey in 2010!!

There are many benefits to stretching. Especially if you work out strenuously, stretching is essential to preventing injury and as well as maintaining and increasing range of motion.

Stretching can also improve posture, circulation, joint stiffness and decrease muscle tension. Furthermore if you properly coordinate you breathing with stretching it serve as a way to relieve stress, by promoting your body and mind to relax.

Long stretches are great, but even 10 minutes of stretching can work wonders.

Proper Stretching Technique:

• If your muscles are cold, make sure to always warm the body up by doing dynamic stretched before doing any static stretches. Stretching after a strenuous workout is perfect because your muscles are at the ideal temperature.
• Always remember to breathe, your limbs need the oxygen! Practice controlled and steady breathing: Your belly should slowly rise as you inhale and slowly lower as you exhale. Breathing properly will increase relaxation.
• Remember that stretching should feel good. You will feel a slight strain in the muscle at your max, but there should never be significant discomfort. The more your stretch the deeper you will be able to go, but that takes time.
• Get into a stretch slowly and hold the stretch for about 15 seconds before releasing. You can go deeper into the stretch as your exhale if it feels comfortable.
• Do not bounce or jerk while you stretch. With good form, go as deep as your body will allow and just breathe!
• Make sure to always stretch both sides of the body equally, even if one side seems tighter than the other. In fact most of us have a much tighter side of the body due to overuse.

Here are a few stretches to get you started:

Downward Dog – this is a fabulous full body stretch

Begin on a mat, kneeling with the hands and knees on the floor, hands under the shoulders, fingers spread wide, knees under the hips, knees about seven inches apart, spine straight and relaxed.

On a deep exhale, the hips are pushed toward the ceiling, the body forming an inverted V-shape. Legs are straight. Arms are straight, elbows engaged, shoulders wide and relaxed. The heels move toward the floor. Hands and feet remain hip-width apart. If the hamstrings are very strong or tight, the knees should be bent to allow the spine to lengthen fully.

Avoid pressure on the wrists by pressing into the fingers and palms, directing the push upward into the hips. The head should drop naturally. The heart moves toward the back wall.

The hips move up and back. Relying on the breath while holding the posture, take a deep, steady inhales and exhales to create a flow of energy through the body.

Concentrate on maintaining a slow, rhythmic, breath. Upon exhale, release onto your hands and knees and rests. Repeat several times, until you begin to feel a change in your body.

Cat Stretch – great for stretching out the spine and a great stretch to help you be conscious of your breath.

Using a yoga mat or a nice thick blanket, begin on your hands and knees with neutral spine. As you inhale round your spine downwards, so that your belly button points down to the ground, sit bone up towards the ceiling, head and shin looking up towards the roof. As you exhale round the spine upwards, head and shin towards your chest. Let your breath lead your in the stretch. Repeat this sequence about 5 times.

Lying Glute Stretch

Begin lying on a mat or blanket. Bend knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Cross one leg over the thigh of other leg. Pull your hands through the opening created between your legs and grasp back of thigh of lower leg with both hands. For a deeper stretch place your hands just below the knee of the bottom leg. As you hold make sure that you head is relaxed on the mat. Hold for 5 counts and switch sides.

Yours in Health!
Daniela

Sugar may taste sweet, but the effects it can have on your health are far more sinister.

photo courtesy of howzey

Over the holidays most people tend to indulge in a lot of sweets. I’m not saying you should avoid sweets altogether but I thought I’d give you some insight on why we love the taste of sugar, what’s wrong with sugar, and tips to eliminate most processed sugars from your diet.

Why do we crave sugar?

We naturally gravitate to something sweet when we are really hungry because sugar digests very quickly and satisfies our hunger quickly. Studies have shown that sugar acts similar to addicting drugs like morphine to produce opioids in the brain. Opioids produce feelings of pleasure and satisfaction and can become addictive. Once food manufacturers figured this out they began producing sugar laden foods, especially foods for children. As a result, most people are hooked on sugar by the time they’re toddlers.

What’s wrong with eating sugar?

The average person now eats 158 pounds of sugar every year. If you do the math, that equals 800 extra calories per day from pure sugar. There are numerous problems resulting from excess sugar consumption. Here are just a few:

1. Obesity. Too much sugar in the body can’t be processed or utilized, so it gets stored as fat.
2. Diabetes. Excess sugar in the blood causes too much insulin to be released, which eventually leads to hypoglycemia and diabetes.
3. Poor immune function. Excess sugar depletes vitamin and mineral stores in our bodies,  weakening our immune systems, and contributing to degenerative disease.
4. Sugar can also disrupt our hormonal systems, causing allergies and many other malfunctions.
5. In addition, sugar plantations worldwide have caused widespread destruction by ruining the soil and trees of their surrounding environment.

What to do?

The elimination of most processed sugars in your diet is essential. The best way is to eat mostly natural foods and avoid processed and packaged foods that contain added sugars. You want to avoid any sweeteners, especially the artificial ones which are made of toxic chemicals that can create a whole list of other problems. Remember most packaged foods contain sweeteners along with other additives that you want to avoid. Learn to read labels; there are many natural food products that do not contain additives and simple sugars.

What’s sweet to eat?

As always, get your sweets primarily from natural sources like fruits. Raw honey, pure maple syrup, brown rice syrup, molasses, barley malt, Stevia and Agave are some natural sweeteners that are okay in moderation. However, it’s not necessary to eat any natural sweeteners, as you get plenty of sugar from fruits, starches and grains in your diet.

The best advice I can give is to live by the 80/20 rule. Eat perfect 80 percent of the time, and eat what you want the other 20 percent.

Roger

Photo courtesy of Crystl's photostream

It’s January 6th. We’re 6 days into the new decade and If you’re like most of the population you are already in a tizzy.

You’re panicked and sore and hungry and grumpy and frustrated with yourself and all of the other “resolutioners”.

You’ve probably already “cheated”, “skipped”, and or “fallen off the wagon”, and have filled yourself, not only with things on your new “forbidden list”, but also with heaps of guilt.

With all of this negativity following you around, you’re probably already getting ready to throw in the towel on your new year’s resolutions along with all of those ambitious health and fitness goals you set for 2010.

Stop!!!

Sit.
Take a deep, cleansing breath.
Now exhale.

Let’s try this again!

Did you have a plan? Was it realistic? Or did you just come out of the gate swinging, all full of “I can do this!” energy, grabbing on to any and every trendy diet and exercise fad & pressure tactic being thrown at you?

If it was the latter, you’ve probably overwhelmed and discouraged yourself, setting yourself up for failure before you even started.
But don’t give up yet! It’s not to late to rethink, re-jig, and restart.

Daniela gave us some great advice before the holidays on preparing well in advance before setting your resolutions. Now our friend Leo over at Zen Habits expands on that theme and offers some great new advice for those of us looking to make some changes in 2010, be they physical, mental, or emotional.

So before you give up all together and fall back into your bad habits, it’s not to late to take a step back, clean the slate, and begin again with a more focused and realistic plan to set up some good habits.

What are your goals, resolutions or new habits for 2010?

Photo courtesy of www.traveleden.com/brighton

We’ve been getting a lot of emails from bootcampers with questions about what they should be doing while we are on break over the holidays and what they can do to protect all of their hard work while they are on vacation. Since he himself is heading south for a little R & R, we asked North York Bootcamp Instructor Mark Reisler for some tips on keeping up your fitness routine when out of your element. Enjoy!

********************

It’s mid December and your bootcamp sessions have finished for another year. You wake up in the morning and have an urge to work out and break a good sweat. So you go for a chilly jog or do some of the exercises you remember from bootcamp. That’s amazing that you can achieve the motivation to do this on your own!

It’s now one week later and your bags are packed and ready to go for your much needed vacation down south, somewhere warm and perhaps with a beach. You slowly start to get anxious and worried because you don’t know what you are going to do with your fitness routine while in the sunshine state or somewhere in the Caribbean or possibly even Mexico. Whatever you do, don’t panic because you’re going on vacation! The whole point of a vacation is to get away from all of the stress of your city life.

Whenever I go on vacation I always make sure never to stress myself out physically or mentally. Please don’t let fitness training take over your enjoyment of your vacation!
I personally like to focus on maintenance for my fitness routine, so here are some tips that you can use when you take a vacation:

Focus on body weight exercises. Try this routine. (these can be done in your hotel room or cabana before you head out for the day)

Wide grip push ups 2×15
Triceps dips 2×15
Squats (deep) 2×15
Front lunges 2×15
Basic crunches 2×20
Prayer twists 2×20 (back and forth count as one)

If you’re the more intense type of person here is a routine that will challenge you but not take up too much time. Circuit all the exercises and repeat the circuit 3 times;

Jump squats x10
Sumo jump squats x10
Side to side lunges x10
Side to side push-ups x10
Triceps push ups x 10
Synergistic ab twist x 10
Half burpees x 10

Whether on vacation or not, I enjoy running or jogging. I find it relaxing and peaceful. Try doing some beach running. My advice here though is to cut your regular amount of time or distance you run in half because the sand offers a much bigger challenge than you may think.

Finally, do a quick abdominal workout everyday if you can to keep those abs looking tight on the beach. Some basic abdominal exercises in the morning should be sufficient for you to maintain looking your best. Here are my suggestions:

Basic crunch x 20
Pulse crunch x 20
Full sit up x 20
V-up crunch x 20
Single arm opposite leg crunch x 20 (must do right and left side)

No matter what that, enjoy our vacation if you’re lucky enough to be going away, and hopefully we will see you all in the New Year.

Mark Reisler
Best Body Bootcamp- Yorkmills instructor
H.Ba Health Sciences,CPTN-CPT,PTS

A convoy of Best Body Bootcampers, or as we called them for our special project this month, “picker-upper/dropper offers”, descended upon the Daily Bread Food Bank distribution center at their new Etobicoke location this weekend, during an uncharacteristically quiet time on Saturday morning.

When we asked Laurie, the Daily Bread Food Bank supervisor who greeted us, if it was unusually quiet, she shook her head sadly and said “no”, explaining that while the volunteer sorting shifts have been filled quickly and covered a few times over, the donations to sort are down across the board this year. This only highlighted the importance of our participation this season.

At the beginning of the our final bootcamp session of 2009, we put out a plea to our November Bootcampers to join us in participating in a food drive before heading off to enjoy the holidays. Our small but mighty effort yielded over 460lbs pounds of food! Way to go Bootcampers! In addition, Best Body Bootcamp made a cash donation of a dollar for every member who signed up and participated in the November session.

On a more personal note…
My motivation as the organizer of the food drive, was based on my own experience.

As recently as a year ago, I found myself seeking the help of the Daily Bread Food Bank.

It is a scary, frustrating, sometimes embarrassing and very much humbling experience to find yourself needing the aid of a food bank. It is not a decision that is made lightly or out of laziness or entitlement. For the most part people who rely on food banks are people just like you, who through circumstances beyond their control, found themselves in the unenviable situation of having little to no food to provide for themselves or their families. For most the food bank is a last resort and not an easy decision to make. But I can tell you from experience it is also a most welcome lifeline in a time of desperate need.
Here are a few eye opening statistics from this year alone:

* Food bank use in the GTA has rapidly increased in the past year due to the recession.
Overall number of client visits: 1,030,568
Increase since 2008: 8%
Increase from January to March of this year compared to the same time period last year: 17%
Average per month: 85,881

* The largest portion of new clients is people who have lost their jobs or have had their hours cut.

* Being employed is not always a ticket out of poverty.
Percentage of households with at least one person employed: 30%
Average hourly wage: $10.90

You can find more statistics here

Thankfully my need was very brief, but I vowed that when I got back on my feet I would be sure to “pay it forward” as a thank you for the aid I had received in my time of need, and to help the Food Bank in any way that I could to continue to provide a safety net for others who may & will fall on hard times in the future.

I want to sincerely thank Best Body Bootcamp for the platform to carry out this task, and I especially want to thank all of YOU, my fellow bootcampers, for your generosity and for coming together as a community in such a charitable way.

If you weren’t able to participate with us last week, you can still hop on the bandwagon! Several grocery stores have donation boxes near the checkouts, so when you’re doing your shopping this week or next, toss a couple of extra items in your basket for the donation box. Many stores also have pre-made donation bags & are accepting cash donations at the checkout. You can also drop off donations at your local firehall! (which gives you the opportunity to say hi and thank you to them too!)

The Daily Bread Food Bank also welcomes and accepts monetary donations, visit their website for details on how to help out that way!

To all those who stepped up and to all those who plan to, Thank you so much! We (Best Body Bootcamp) intend on making this an annual event, so mark your calendars!

May you all have a wonderful & plentiful holiday season!
Oh, and be sure to head on over to our facebook page for the pics!

A big mess!!

Do you ever find yourself becoming all of a sudden cognitive of the abundance of clutter surrounding you? Do sit at your desk in the morning the day after a busy day at work and wonder if someone is playing a prank on you by adding piles of papers to your desktop? Do you look around at night in the middle of the week and wonder if your pets are secretly plotting against you by tearing your home apart while you’re at work?

We tackle a sometimes overwhelming amount of stress on a daily basis, via our jobs, families, money issues, etc… but many of us are unknowingly adding to that stress by not addressing the clutter surrounding us.

Clutter Stresses You!

Just sitting in a cluttered space can create stress. It’s a visual reminder of how much work you have to do! Whether it be the projects on your desk or getting your house to a state of “clean”. Working in a cluttered environment or living in a cluttered home can create constant low-grade stress and while subconsciously draining your energy. Not to mention creating an potentially unsafe and unhealthy environment.

Clutter can cost you money!

A messy, disorganized home or work space, could inadvertently cause you to lose revenue or spend money needlessly. An important message or proposal could be hidden in a stack of papers at the office. You may end up buying something for work or home that you already have, because you couldn’t find it!

On top of that, we now have the holidays fast approaching, adding a whole new level of stress to the mix. If you don’t have a handle on your work and life space now, it’s only going to be exasperated once the inlaws land on your doorstep.

The ultimate goal is that when you arrive at the office to start your day, you don’t spend the first hour digging threw yesterday’s mess, and then when you head home after a hard day at work, that you feel like you’re entering an oasis instead of a warzone!

Here are some handy tips to get you started and help you stay on track and out of Clutterville!

• Set a Schedule: Do you prefer to set aside a few hours on the weekend, or take a little time each day? Do you get bored easily with cleaning or do you enjoy focused, lengthy clean up sessions? The folks at Flylady.net recommend tackling your cleaning in spurts of 15 minutes (so you don’t get bored and don’t end up with one fabulous room and 5 wrecked ones!) You will also not burn yourself out doing something for 15 mins. If your work space is messy, take a moment at the end of each day to clutterbust, particularly at the end of the week. Mondays are hard enough without coming in to last week’s mess!

• Ask for Help!: If your home is quite messy, chances are the mess isn’t all yours. (unless you live alone, then it’s all on you!) So ask the clutter collaborators to help you tackle piles! Especially the “hot spots”

• Make It Fun: When you’re cleaning, throw on some lively music to make it as fun as possible. You might actually find yourself working faster and having more fun as you do. (you may even get a little workout out of it!)

• Reward Yourself: Set a goal. (or several smaller goals) then give yourself a reward upon completion! Whether it be taking a soothing bath in your freshly cleaned bathroom, or enjoying a relaxing cup of tea in your shiny clutter free kitchen. Acknowledge your hard work and give yourself a pat on the back!

• Hire Help: Sometimes the task of organizing, cleaning and decorating can just be too overwhelming do on your own. In that case, you might want to consider hiring some outside help, be it a professional cleaning service, a professional organizer, a gardener or a even a decorator. The initial output of money might be off-putting, but it could actually save you time, money and stress in the long run!

Homework: Go home and identify your “hot spots”! Put them on the top of your list to tackle.

Here’s to your health!

It’s a busy world out there, especially at this time of year. For many of us, our days begin and end, crushed into lines, and buses, and subways, with the rest of the “city rats” in the race to survive.
We look down, we look away, we look stressed, we look grumpy.

Sometimes though, when we  look up, we get a nice surprise.
A nod, a smile, or something like this:

Be sure to head over the the Improv Everywhere page for their story on the concept behind this exercise and execution of this morning event, as well as the first hand accounts from the participants.

More importantly, have a great weekend everyone and remember to take a moment this weekend, as you’re hustling and bustling around in the crowd, to simply look up…
you never know, you just might be surprised by what you see.

As you’ve know, we’re doing a series this month here on our BBBC blog on how to get through the holidays as stress free as possible.
While we can give you our suggestions, there are no better experts than those who have learned through trial and error, so we want to hear from YOU!

Have a holiday horror story? Know the secret to surviving the holiday party snack tables?

Head on over and share your stories & tips with us on our Facebook page from Dec 1st to Dec 15th and you could win your
January bootcamp session!

Here’s what you do!
1) Become a fan of ours on our Best Body Bootcamp Page on Facebook!
2) Post your tip or story in the “Surviving the Holiday” thread on the discussion page!
3) And finally, post  “I know how to survive the holidays! You can too!” on our wall

That’s it!

You will be automatically entered into a draw to win a bootcamp session in January!
Winner will be announced on our Facebook Page on Wednesday Dec 16th!

Good Luck everyone!
The Best Body Bootcamp Team!

As a Best Body Bootcamper you know the value of good health. You try to eat right, exercise, and find the balance between your work, your family, your friends, yourself.  As such, you are accutely aware of the importance of a balanced diet and fueling your body properly everyday.

It’s easy to take for granted the “luxury” of grocery shopping, but for many, especially those who we’re hit hard this year by the struggling economy, grocery shopping is just that. A luxury.

Some sobering research from the Daily Bread Food Bank:

* There are 85,881 monthly food bank client visits in the GTA
* 35% of those accessing the food bank are children
* 30% of households using a food bank have at least one person working

It’s the last weekend in November, which means we are getting really close to the holidays and slowly creeping closer to the New Year! Yikes! Of course, for many this means new years resolutions must be set.

Everyone knows that fitness and health resolutions are among the most common. In January gyms fill up with newcomers wanting to start their year off on the right foot, but sadly by mid February most people are back to their old habits.

Instead of setting New Years resolutions, why not build momentum for the New Year and set goals NOW! Before you’re caught up in the holiday rush and too buys.
Start the holidays off right and you won’t feel that dreaded pressure come the New Year.

One of the most common reasons that people fail with their new years resolutions is that they are often not realistic when they set their goals in the first place, and they set out to do too much too fast. Simply joining a gym in hopes to lose X number of pounds is not enough.
What program are you going to follow when you get to the gym?
Can you motivate yourself to go to the gym on your own, or is a group fitness program a better option for you?

Here are some tips for setting your goals:

Ω Be SPECIFIC. Ex: I want to feel healthier, build strength and have more energy and I will achieve this by joining the Best Body Bootcamp, attending all classes and following the nutritional advice that they provide.
Ω Make sure that your goal is MEASURABLE so you can see your progress. This means writing down how you feel, taking measurements or testing your abilities when you start and keeping track of your progress.
Ω Be realistic and make sure that your goals are ACHIEVABLE in the time frame you have set or at least realistic to your lifestyle.
Ω The RELEVANCE of your goal is also very important. Setting a goal to have a six-pack in 4 weeks, when all you really want to be able to do is have more energy to play with your kids, makes the six-pack irrelevant. Be specific. Be realistic.
Ω Make sure that you set TIME FRAMES to your goal otherwise it will be weighing down on you for a lot longer than you bargain for.

Also determining WHY you are setting a given goal is crucial to being able to follow through to the end. More importantly, if you don’t have a good enough reason why you are doing something you will most likely see it as a chore rather than something that you need to achieve because you are passionate about it or because it will change your life for the better.

Find a quiet moment this weekend and write down a few resolutions for 2010.

Have a great weekend
Yours in health
Daniela

We are seeing more and more information, articles and links lately calling for a more “eco-friendly” approach to the holidays. In addition, with the advent of the recent .5 cent surcharge for bags in Toronto at, well, just about everywhere, consumers are stocking up on reusable bags from their favorite retailers.

With the arrival of the big dude in red fast approaching (just a month from today) the folks at BAGGU have come up with a way to make the holidays more eco-friendly and provide a handy “extra” gift for the giving

BAGGU bags come in a plethora of colours, styles and sizes to suit your needs, and best of all fold down into a tiny pouch taking up very little space, so you can carry them with you everywhere and have them at the ready when needed.

Other eco-friendly wrapping ideas:

Make the wrapping & accessories part of the gift!

Buying something for the kitchen? Wrap in a tea-towel and garnish with a small kitchen item (a spoon or gadget of some sort)
Bathroom? How about a towel as wrapping tied up with soap on a rope! Bedroom? Pillow Case!

Say goodbye to the box!

A large stock pot, a watering can, a giant mixing bowl, magazine rack, garbage pail! All make terrific and sturdy containers to fill up with goodies! You can finish with biodegradable cello wrap or just add a bow!

Reduce, reuse, recycle!

Newspapers, magazines, old posters, old maps, out of date take-out menus can all be re-purposed to create a kitchy, fun and unique gift wrap!

What about you? do you have any eco-friendly gift wrap ideas that you want to share? Leave us a note in the comment section!

And the winner is… Edward Kuszelewski!

When Ed first crossed paths with us way back in May of this year, we here at the office thought he was quite the character!

Part of a large group from Gallop Logistics whose boss decided to make the wellness of his employees a priority, Ed immediately set himself apart as the unofficial team leader.

We knew if he was even half as animated in person as he was via email and on the phone, then the 7am class in the Annex was about to be infused with some “Ed-ergy”.

7 sessions later, most of his work mates have dropped off, but he’s still at it, working just as hard as day one, and therefore we feel a worthy recipient of our Bootcamper of the Month award for the October 19th session !

What Oonagh had to say:

Edward is super keen on bootcamp and making huge changes in his fitness. He’s one of the few “Gallop survivors” and is always trying to get everyone else to come. He always gives everything his all and is super positive and fun in class!

We asked Ed for his reaction to the acknowledgment and ask him about his Best Body Bootcamp experience.

What was your reaction when you were told you were Bootcamper of the Month?
I was speechless for a moment and a bit proud too.
It was a surprise I didn’t expect.

What was your fitness regimen prior to BB Bootcamp and what made you choose/switch to BB Bootcamp?
I tried running on a tread mill, then an elliptical… boring.

My boss brought it up at the office and a bunch of us signed up at first… only a couple survivors remain.

What was your initial experience like (your first bootcamp) and what made you stick with it?
Being able to recover from the pain kept me coming back and gave me hope. Knowing that one day I would find jumping jacks to be among the easiest things to do also motivated me

What’s the one piece of advice you would give to a new bootcamper that you wish someone had told you?
I don’t think anything anyone can tell you can prepare you to deal with yourself at Bootcamp.

Perhaps… “Get ready to learn more about yourself!“

What would you say has been your biggest improvement, both physical and emotional?
Bootcamp has helped me work off 30 pounds since I started attending back in May & I feel more in control of my body.

My health awareness levels have also improved.

Bootcamper of the Month fast facts:

Name: EDWARD KUSZELEWSKI
BC Location: The Annex
Trainer: Oonagh Duncan
Number of Bootcamps: 7
Number of pounds lost: 30!!

Number of inches lost to date: Arms (Toned), Legs (Toned), Waist (4”), Hips (N/A)

Additional Milestone:
I just want to thank Oonah Duncan & all my fellow Boot campers for making it a truly enjoyable experience.

A little Bootcamp can really go a long way!

In addition to the recognition and super spiffy certificate, Ed has also been given a 4-week Best Body Bootcamp session on us so he can continue his wellness journey and encourage others continue on theirs!

We hope Ed’s story inspires you to continue on your journey of health and wellness and to set goals for yourself.
And who knows, maybe next month we’ll show up at your class and call YOU to the front!

We are taking registrations for the January 11, 2010 session already!
Head on over to www.bestbodybootcamp.com to reserve your spot now!

One of the major contributors to fatigue & illness, especially around this time of year, is stress.

We stress over money, over schedules, over the weather, over menus, over presents…

Then we get tired, then we get sick, then we get… You guessed it… More stressed!

There are 6 types of stress, according to Paul Chek’s “How to eat, move & be healthy”.
* Physical
* Chemical
* Electromagnetic
* Psychic/mental
* Nutritional
* Thermal.

In each category there are both good and bad versions of “stress”. For example, under the category of Physical Stress, Good = beneficial exercise, Bad = over-exercising.

The thing is, our body doesn’t distinguish between good and bad, it just reads “stress” and adds them all together. It’s up to us try to filter more “good” stress into our life than bad. Our goal is not to eliminate stress all-together, but rather tip the scales from the “bad” stress side, to the “good” stress side.

A little bit of pre-planning & delegating can alleviate most of that “bad” stress tension, and get you through the holiday season invigorated, while relaxed & healthy. There are 37 more sleeps until your gaggle of dysfunctional friends & family converge on your doorstep, leaving plenty of time to prepare in advance for all the “little things” so they don’t turn into that big thing that knocks you on your butt without warning.

Once Dec 1st hits, the panic sets in, so let’s take the remainder of November to lay the “find our happy place” groundwork. Our tasks between now and then:

1) Identify the things that cause you the most stress (year after year) or that could potentially cause stress this year, and see what can be eliminated or re-routed!

2) Make a plan ahead of time. (Lay everything out on paper so there are no surprises)

3) Make a commitment now to start eating healthy and hydrating (with water not festive beverages!!)

4) incorporate some regular exercise or movement into your routine (walking, yoga, Best Body Bootcamp )

5) set aside a little time each week to chillax in your “happy place” (reading a good book, going to museum/art gallery, listening to some music, etc…)

In the coming weeks, several upcoming entries will be filled with helpful tips to tackle our list above. Everything from a 7-day plan to tidy & prepare your house, tips on cleaning out and re-jigging your pantry & fridge, advice on how to manage those decadent hors d’oeuvres being passed around and perhaps most importantly, some ideas/suggestions on how to make time for yourself throughout the process.

Your homework in the meantime is to make a list of all the things causing you stress, and see what can be eliminated now, see what can be tweaked via any of the above categories. We also want you to keep or start moving! Those of you in bootcamp this session are ahead of the curve in that regard! See, you’ve already improved your stress quotient!

Until next time, be well & be happy!

In 1979, a group called the Small Kindness Movement in Japan had November 13 declared as World Kindness Day, laying the foundation for the promotion and celebration of kindness.
In 2000, the World Kindness Movement was officially launched, and there are now over 18 countries involved and committed to making the world a kinder place.

Think of being kind as “paying it forward” (yes, just like that movie!)

An act of kindness can be big or small. It’s something done without expectations of anything in return. It’s a random act, that while perhaps no big deal to you, can make a huge difference in someone else’s day.

So today, on World Kindness Day, try to do one random “kind” thing. Remember what goes around comes around, so your kindness will come back to you eventually.

Here’s a simple act of kindness that everyone can do starting today: Smile!Yes, that’s right, Smile!

During your travels today, take a moment to look up, make eye contact and give someone a big ol’ toothy smile. We guarantee that you will make that person’s day. They in turn will continue on with their day, and because they are now feeling warm and fuzzy, will make eye contact and smile at someone else. It’s contagious! Before you know it, everyone will be smiling on this beautiful sunny Friday!

Kindness! Pass it along!

Here are a few inspirational words to take you into the weekend!

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
– Mohandas Gandhi.

“Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person. “
– Mother Teresa.

“Kindness is tenderness. Kindness is love, but perhaps greater than love…Kindness is good will. Kindness says, “I want you to be happy.”
– Randolph Ray

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair but manifestations of strength and resolution.”
– Kahil Gibran

Have a great weekend Bootcampers!!

Now that most of you have decided “to vaccinate or not to vaccinate”, there are things you can starting doing right now to help prevent & fight the flu naturally as we head into the 3rd wave and face the long winter flu/cold season ahead.

Dr. Richard Nahas has provided 10 common sense flu fighting tips:

1. Get a bit of exercise. While too much intense exercise can suppress the immune system, people who are sedentary are at much greater risk.

2. Eat well. More fruits and vegetables, less sugar and carbs, more breakfast and less dinner, organic meat and dairy whenever possible. Food is the first medicine.

3. Take at least one gram of vitamin C every. It has been shown to decrease the risk of viral infections in people under cold stress – that’s us in Canada.

4. Use Echinacea. If you get the flu, Echinacea purpurea will help you recover. Other species are less well proven. Take it 5-6 times per day at the first sign.

5. Use zinc lozenges. If you get the flu, zinc prevents viruses from binding to cells in your throat. The evidence is not 100%, but it appears useful.

6. Wash your hands with plain soap. Handwashing prevents infection, but several studies have shown that antibacterial soap is not as effective as regular soap. Another marketing gimmick to ignore.

7. Sneeze into your sleeve. This is one of the simplest, smartes public health education initiatives I have seen our government come up with.

8. Don’t shake hands. This is not about fear or germ-phobia. It is just common sense. A hug is much safer than a handshake. Don’t put your hands in your mouth. This is often a nervous habit and puts you at risk for no reason.

9. Don’t believe the hype. There is a huge amount of fear-mongering in the media, but at this time H1N1 is not much more dangerous than any other influenza virus.

10. Be happy and relax. Laughter and love have been shown to boost immunity in dozens of studies, and stress harms the immune system. Deep breathing, jokes, meditation and yoga can all help.

Happy Wellness Wednsday!

And the winner is… Karen Kinch!

Proving that dedication eventually pays off, Karen Kinch came out of the gate strong as a bootcamper by signing on for 3 months in April. When she completed that, she re-upped for a year! That determination and commitment to health & fitness is what made her a stand out in the eyes of our Bloor West instructor, Eroca Nicols, and what convinced our judging panel to name Karen as our Bootcamper of the Month !

Karen is always very positive! She encourages the newer bootcampers by telling them that it all gets better and that they’ll feel less sore as the classes progress, etc.

According to Eroca, her personality and talkative nature make her a pleasure to be around.

She just leads by example and puts out so much effort that others do better and try harder. She’s also good at getting people to do what she says– maybe because she’s a mom.

We asked Karen for her reaction to the acknowledgment and ask her about her Best Body Bootcamp experience.

What was your reaction when you were told you were Bootcamper of the Month?
I was pleasantly surprised! And more happy that someone from the High Park/Bloor West location finally won!

What was your fitness regimen prior to BB Bootcamp and what made you choose/switch to BB Bootcamp?
I used to run 5-10 k daily until i started having back problems. Then after 2 kids, time was also an issue! So being able to doing something like this while the family still sleeps in the morning works great!

What was your initial experience like (your first bootcamp) and what made you stick with it?
I’ve always worked out but I think my body was too accustomed to my routine.  What keeps me around is that I love the different challenges!

What’s the one piece of advice you would give to a new bootcamper that you wish someone had told you?
NO EXCUSES!!  Unless I’m out of town, I never miss a class.

What would you say has been your biggest improvement, both physical and emotional?
I’m much stronger and I definitely sleep better. I have that “good tired feeling” at the end of the day.

Bootcamper of the Month fast facts:

Name: KAREN KINCH
BC Location: Bloor West/High Park
Trainer: Eroca Nichols
Number of Bootcamps: 7
Number of pounds lost: Actually, I’ve maintained. That said, I haven’t changed the way I eat (I love chocolate!) Changing my eating habits is the next step

Number of inches lost to date: I don’t have my numbers handy, but I do know that my arms are definitely more toned!

Additional Milestone:
Nothing in particular really, other than the fact that I feel great every day that I start off with Bootcamp!

In addition to the recognition and super spiffy certificate, Karen has also been given a 4-week Best Body Bootcamp session on us so she can continue her wellness journey and encourage others continue on theirs!

We hope Karen’s story inspires you to continue on your journey of health and wellness and to set goals for yourself.
And who knows, maybe next month we’ll show up at your class and call YOU to the front!

Show of hands: who of you out there bought a bunch of halloween candy during the first shipment to the stores in August and then had to replenish it before halloween?

Ok lower your arms

Now, show of hands again: how many of you have the remnants of your halloween stash in a bowl beside you on the coffee table in the family room to snack on in front of the tv?

Take that bowl right now dump it into the garbage and put it outside!

We’ve all fallen into the trap of the “warped perception” of packaging in our travels..
We read “diet” or “fat free” and our subconscious says “I can eat more!”
We see those teeny tiny “cute” chocolate bars and our subconscious says ” oh they’re so little, they can’t be that bad”
Well our subconscious is WRONG!

We actually end up eating way more of the perceived “healthier” or “smaller” versions of something, than if we had made a smarter choice in the first place.

We are heading into a mine-field of temptation over the next 2 months. We will be bombarded by endless holiday gatherings featuring tasty morsels & decadent goodies at every turn, and while you may think “resistance is futile”, there are things you can do in advance so you don’t wind up flubby & regrettful come January!

First things first… Out of sight, out of mind!

If it’s not in your cupboard or in your fridge, you can’t eat it! If you have a bowl of teeny tiny chocolate bars in your house, well, then you will eat a  bowl of teeny tiny chocolate bars! So resist the urge to toss them into your cart at the grocery store, no matter how good the sale is!!  Likewise all of the other holiday fare that has somehow made it’s way to the grocery shelves months in advance. (have you seen the grocery stores lately?!)

When you are making your grocery list, plan for your snacks just as you plan for your meals. That way you will have prepared & interesting choices on hand when you get the nibbles. Having something ready and at hand means you won’t be tempted by an otherwise less than healthy choice.

In next few weeks we will post some healthier snack options to add to your weekly shopping list, and give you tips on how to survive the holiday season with your waistline intact!

Until next time!

Pick up a newspaper or turn on the tv these days, and you will be bombarded by people telling you what you should do and shouldn’t do with regards to fighting the flu this season. “It’s a different flu season” flyers landed in our mailboxes this week from the Ontario Government, every news station has someone camped out at the vaccine clinics, and yet still no one can give us a clear picture of what is going on and what is “best”.

It comes down to this: It is up to us to educate ourselves, listen to both sides of the debate and make a choice based on our own research.

Dr. Richard Nahas has written a comprehensive article called “What to do about the flu” for the Seekers Centre fall newsletter, which is a must read for everyone now that flu season is now officially upon us.

Click here to download the pdf!

You’ll also find several other timely and interesting articles within the newsletter that you may find helpful!