We can have it all!

I was feeling like I needed something sweet, my sister in law, Lara, lives for the "Skinny Cow" ice cream treats.  They are soooo yummy, Mel Tested...gotta do it for the cause! lol And super low calories, fat and all that fine print.  So, we can have it all...once in awhile. I'm not saying you get desert every night, but when you choose to treat yourself, do it guilt free with a Skinny Cow, lots of other great flavours as well.  Note to self, you will have to hide them in the back of the freezer so your husband and kids don't find them!

Power Balls!

mmmmm I made Tosac Reno's Power Balls today, I handed them out to the evening Boot Campers ( sorry morning and afternoon crew, I have some waiting for you) after their work out, they were a great post workout snack. Note to self, use a large food processor, I tried to get away with using my mini one, what a mess and not powerful enough.  Tried my super blender, just ground the bottom up and an even bigger mess...OK so I was too lazy to walk downstairs and get it out of storage, finally I did, and boom it was done just like that! Here's the recipe,
3/4 cup dried apricots
3/4 cup pitted dates
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup flaxseed
4 plain brown rice cakes 
1/2 cup rolled oats
1 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup almond butter, slightly warmed

MIX altogether in BIG food processor, scope out about tblsp size, roll into ball, then roll into sesame seeds.  I ended up with 27 balls, the recipe yields 24.
Nutritional value per ball: 121 cal. / protein 3g / carbs 14g / fat 7g / fiber 3g

The Journey-No Short Cuts!

I'm often asked by clients to create a "miracle" for them.  They want the magic potion or some crazy extreme diet that will allow them to drop 10 lbs. in one week for some special event.  It's not going to happen! There are NO quick fixes!  You know why the quick fix doesn't work or last, because it's all about the journey.  When you take the short cut, it ends up being the longest route. In the journey, you learn how your body works and you learn RESPECT for yourself and understand just how hard it is everyday to stay on track.  You fight hard everyday, just to eat right and get a work out in and do whatever else you have to do in that day.  These ups and downs are what make you. They teach you to push yourself just a " little more".  And each day you get closer to your goal.  The EXPERIENCE is what is key.  When you take the short cut, you miss out on the experience and the feeling of emotions it gives you, this is what drives you.  Without having experienced this part of the journey, you reach the goal but it's an empty feeling, there's nothing to look back on, no emotion or feeling attached.  The end result is not such a big deal now because you didn't earn it.  When you struggle everyday and reach your goal, at the end you can appreciate how hard you had to work for it.  It's here in this moment that you realize it was all about the journey and not the goal. It's the challenge during this experience which drives us, NOT the end result. 

Laziness left me with Pizza!

So this was pretty much me today, ate great all day long, not organized for super, left it up to my husband, thinking I'd get a healthy meal for dinner, nope! The reality was he was tired and so was I.  Nobody wanted to put any effort into it and we ended up with pizza.  I felt grouse afterwards, super thirsty, probably from all the sodium in the pizza.  I know what works for me, I have to work out in the morning otherwise the day slips away.  I have to plan my meals out i.e. do up a shopping list for the week, get the food, prep it and pre make whatever, so it's good to go.  I also have to have my day planed out first thing in the morning so I can get everything done without wasting my day.  Even though I KNOW better, I still have my lazy days too! I'm consistent with working out and eating well and that is the key! Everything in MODERATION!

Curious about my day?

Well I was thinking, since the contest(Mel's Resolution Boot Camp) is coming close, 11 days away, I'd give you an idea of what I eat and do for exercise...hopefully this will motivate you, and give you an idea of what to look forward to. Check back later today as I will update the Blog through out the day. Up this morning at 7am, coffee of course and banana.
8:30am work out: I did 12 exercises for a minute each/ 10sec. rest...did this twice. total 24mins. 5 min. warm up/ cool down.
Work out was all out as fast as you can go and as many reps as possible! 
1 Superman push ups / 2 elevated push ups ( note push ups are chest to floor...yes YOU will be doing chest to floor as well) 3 Squats ovhd press / 4 Clean & Press w. 3 jump squats / 5 Reverse Pull ups / 6 Side jump Burpee w. 2 knee to elbow into tuck jump, other side / 7 Front around the world lunges / 8 Ball push up w. burpee, alt.knees up /9 Dips off rings / 10 weighted full sit ups / 11 Squats w. around the world ovrhd press 12/ run...and I added some pull ups at the end.

OK, so don't freak out, this will not be your work out, but all these exercise can be modified to any level, that is the great thing about Boot Camp and having all different fitness levels.  Everyone starts at a different fitness level, you may be strong in the legs and weak in the upper body, the person beside you may be a beginner or advanced, it doesn't matter,were all there to cheer each other on and push ourselves out of our comfort zones.
9:30am Breakfast: 1/2 cup of oat meal, 1 tblsp flax seed and wheat germ and 1/2 apple shredded into bowl, topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Added water and microwaved 45 sec.  I also ate the other half of the apple and...the last tiny piece of peanut brittle, I know B.A.D! see u at lunch.

Enough with the rain already!!! 11:45am Snack: almost had a cookie but instead a big bowl of mixed raw veggies and about 2tblsp. humus.  Lunch 2:00pm: half a w/w chicken quesidilla, full of peppers and onions.  2 oz. cheese, 1 tblsp. Bar B Q sauce was spread all over the wraps.  Then baked in the oven.  I only ate half of this and saved the rest for tomorrow's lunch.  I also had a spinach salad topped w. half orange pieces and a couple of walnuts, dressing was just 1 tblsp. Balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner 6:30pm: I was starving, doing reno's all day, I was a hungry momma!  Dinner was pretty awesome, we had fresh made burgers with smoked bacon from the Red Barn store, mmmmm highly addictive.  I had it with a w/w bun with a tiny bit of relish and mayo, these burgers don't really need anything.  I had a piece of cheese on the burger til my son stole it.  And there was a stuff potatoe as well, but I had 3 bits and passed it to my husband because the burgers are so filling.  I drink about 4 large glasses of water and 2 cups of herbal tea, ready for bed! see you tomorrow!  

Opportunity creates Inspiration!

This is how my brain feels right now, on fire and racing faster than the speed of light.  Opportunity is all around us, but sometimes we miss it because of fear, fear of failure.  My day was not going so well, by the end of it I was done.  l could have at that point, crawled into bed and hid.  But nope, I had an appointment and thought I would bomb at this as well.  The thought of canceling occurred because of the mood I let myself get into.  My husband reminded me that sometimes just "showing up" is all I need to do and who knows what could happen, so get my butt in gear and get going.  Well not only did Opportunity come knocking, the door flew off! I spent 2 hours, brain storming and listening to Andre the Marketing Genius giving me ideas on my business.  When I left, my brain was on fire, full of ideas, ready to go. Look out Victoria, here comes Follow the Leeder in Personal Training!  Thanks again Teresa and Andre!

The Road to Hell is Paved...

This is one of my favourite quotes, I first saw it on a Nike running ad, this guy is running up a super steep mountain side and it says, " the road to hell is paved" this is sooooo true!  I love this because anything worth doing is always hard, if it was easy, we wouldn't enjoy it as much.  It is here, in the journey that we learn so much about ourselves.  Every time we set a goal and accomplish it, we become stronger mentally and physically.  Yes, some days are allot harder than others, on those days, I have to dig deep and do allot of self positive talk, really I do!  But on the good days, it's amazing what one can accomplish.  So to my Boot Campers this morning, you ROCK, way to start off the New Year with determination and fire!