"Whether you think you can or think you can't you're right!"

 

Sunday funday here! A mixture of getting ready for the week ahead, coffee, family time and also I was doing a little reflecting on my week...

This week had many high points;

-My husband is totally on board with exercise and healthy living- I have been dreaming of this for over 7 since I made the switch-HECK-TO-THE-YEAH-BABY!!!

-I am back on beast, ahhh endorphins! This is my life now. Cannot. Live. Without. Weights.

-I had a client reach a huge milestone :)

-I had the pleasure of guiding many motivated ladies through some crazy workouts, I love my job and it truly is an honour to work with such great ladies (and 3 great men lol).

-I sometimes have a hard time balancing work, home and kiddos. I often talk myself out of social events because I feel like that could be family time. I am really grateful I had a lovely group of ladies over to shop, chat and have fun on Friday because that's important too. I must do that more. Laughter is great for the soul :)

-My husband was home all weekend and I got to hang out with him a lot, he truly is my BBF!

-When I logged online this morning I saw a post on the buy and sell made by a client who had went through her pantry and was giving a bunch of stuff not on our healthy eating list. How freaking awesome is that?!

 

I am off to finish up setting up my gym space for this week :) It's gonna be a great week here! I also have a beast workout to do before this week is complete.

 

If you are wanting to make changes in your life you have to start. You cannot grumble about yourself and then do nothing. It is in your hands. You only get one short life. Do you really want to spend it wishing you were someone else all the while hating on yourself. You have to decide that YOU are worth the effort. Work on being the best version of YOU. If you are unsure of where to start, I can help you.

 

Have a great rest of your Sunday peeps!

 

XO,

DIANA

 



A Saturday chat :)

Hey healthy peeps :)

Tell me I am not the only person having a terrific week. I have had 8 new clients this week, 8!!! That's 8 peeps who I get to work with, get to know, get to teach and in turn learn myself. I feel like every time I work with a new client it is a learning experience. We all work different ways, respond to different things and have been on different walks. I love meeting new peeps! something you may know about me though is I am painfully terrible with names. I am working on it.

With all the new members and clients there are a few things I will mention;
1. We are a supportive place. Negative past experiences at a gym led me to want to open a fitness studio where it has total acceptance of others- No matter where you are on your health journey! Absolutely no negative comments will be tolerated either in studio or on this page. All love peeps <3
2. There will be no posting by others trying to sell on this page. This is MY business page but sometimes my status gets hacked with someone trying to promote their products. I will delete your comments. If it continues, I delete you. Or tackier still, if someone asks me a question and before I answer someone else will PM them with their product. These pushy tactics aren't what this page is about.
3. I keep getting asked how early you need to come to class or PT. I am running a home based business and many times I have clients booked back to back. 3-5 minutes prior to your workout is plenty of time to get in, get your shoes on and be ready to go. If I am still with a client when you get here, there are chairs in my office for you to wait :) I literally have a few minutes set aside for dinnertime some days so 20 minutes prior to class I am likely eating- ain't nodody wanna see dat LOL!

Now that business is attended to lets chat about the fun stuff. Running- I am a huge lover of outdoor running but lets face it when it is cold and icy out it sucks. I don't like the treadmill... Orrr dooo I? Earlier this week my daughter and I went to orientation at our local fitness facility (family fitness has been a struggle lately with the cold and my oldest child is old enough to come to the gym and track with me but requires orientation for safety reasons first). Anyways, we are there and I am like I don't like cardio equipment, I prefer to run outside in -20. Then she starts signing Amber up and I am like whoa hold up. I am signing up too! They have a virtual system on their tv screens that stimulates different trails. Like Stanley park. Crystal it is AWESOME! Like real life! Anyway when you go up a hill so does the treadmill. It is just what my brain needed to not be bored on a dreadmill. Er I mean treadmill. Now don't get me wrong I still love being outside but on cold days I will take a trail run in Ireland instead ;) How cool is technology?! It is a game changer for me!

Another game changer this week was attending my first freezer meal workshop last night. So one of the snobbiest foodies I know (That's a compliment. Meaning she is picky on ingredients and eating clean. I think she will like that title lol) was hosting it with her fabulous pampered chef rep so I knew it would be great. Like any recipe, you can modify it to suit your individual needs. The meals I made were very healthy. I added extra veggies to everything. Some of the recipes suggest to serve with pasta and I will likely serve with veggie noodles. You tailor it to you. I will for sure host some of my own and attend more! I have been doing meal prep for years and have been a little bored lately with the non "freshness" of reheated food. This is gonna be epic! Set your crock pot and voila dinner is served ;)

This week as I mentioned has been about family fitness. Getting busier in my business usually means less family time, so I got creative. I put family time and workouts all in one :) This momma managed 5 weight workouts + 2 runs with Mandie + family fitness every day. That's not a shabby week!

Switching it up is definitely the #1 piece of advice I give when peeps ask how I kept a massive amount of weight off for so long. When I get bored or something feels off I switch it up. There is no way I would continue eating healthy if I were feeling deprived on a super restrictive diet. That's why extreme dieting doesn't work. It is set up for short term results. Eating a balanced healthy diet and exercising regularly isn't a huge sacrifice because I am eating yummy foods, I am at the point that even if I don't love the workout I do it because I love the way I feel afterwards.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend healthy peeps!

Di

Getting ready for the holidays

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas ...

*This is the handout for points club this week. How cute is this workout? Each round is one point!

 The holidays aren't just about junk food. I think the true meaning of Christmas to me is about giving and showing love to others. I would never celebrate Christmas if it were just about gorging your body with junk and being lazy. My focus this Christmas is on giving, love, spreading love and hopefully inspiring others with the gift of fitness.

I have been living a healthy lifestyle for a long time. Every year at this time a lot of people fall completely off their health plan. Try not to be one of them. I am going to have a few treats; moms cooked dinner-Newfie style, Aunt Suz makes the best cookies-I am totally having one. Or two. My kids and I will plan active games, I will get my workouts in. I am not missing out. I will feel good about myself.

You don't have to wait to make a New Years resolution. Just eat healthy most of the time. Striving for perfection throws SO MANY peeps under the bus! Don't take a two week holiday from the gym this Christmas. Give yourself Christmas off and then include family in healthy activities. Go sledding. Go skating. The notion that I am setting a bad example for my children because we aren't going overboard is absurd.

Every Christmas eve we get Christmas pj's and a Christmas movie from Santa, we always do kid friendly New Years parties, Rod and I will load up the kids in the car and hit Tim Horton's (coffee for us, hot chocolate for the kids) and go look at Christmas lights. Oh, and EVERY Christmas eve since I was a small child I open my gift from my Grandma and its always homemade. Now my hubby and kids look forward to their homemade goodies too!

I am curious what are your holiday traditions??! :)

Holiday Success Plan

Holiday Success Plan:

I know, I know its only November the 14th... You know why we are chatting about this now? Because we are going to stay ahead of the pitfall! Walk through any grocery store or department store now through to the new year and the amount of junk food is tenfold. No wait, more, onehundredfold!

Am I suggesting we go through Christmas without a single goodie? Absolutely not! I am suggesting we plan ahead and not get sucked into the biggest weight gaining time of the year. Ever notice that in those same department stores on January 1st all those boxes of chocolates are replaced with fitness equipment and gimmick pills! :( And the cycle continues....

This holiday season I went up ten pounds

I didn't have time to workout

What I'm proposing is that you plan ahead. Fill your plate with greens at the buffet table, be the official veggie tray gal this season-this way you KNOW there's at least one healthy option at the family potluck.

I am planning on going into the new year stronger than ever, not starting over and I want that for you too.
Lets chat a few tricks.
Fruit trays are never a miss.
Add that with a little dark chocolate dip (plenty of healthier versions out there) and its sure to please even the pickiest company!
Trade a serving of fruit for a serving of red wine this holiday season.
There are ways of having a little something somethin' without blowing it.
Keep tracking your meals over the holidays.
It is SOOOOOoooOOOO easy to miscalculate what you've already eaten if you aren't tracking.

-I am going to be making many homemade meals that are healthier versions.
-I am going to track my food.
-I am going to get my workouts in, all besides my planned days off-Christmas eve, Christmas day and boxing day and possibly New years day.
-I am going to give presents instead of junk food.
-I am focused on family, health and giving instead of junk food.
-My treat choices will be limited and I will track them.

XO,
Di

Not my monkey!

I have a dear friend of mine often says "Not my monkey, not my circus" or maybe its the other way around. Anyway its about not taking on other peoples crap. Even if they try to dump it on you. Shrug it off.

Lately I have been seeing, hearing and private messaged about how my being a Beachbody coach is a negative thing. Saying things like how it kind of goes against the healthy message I am trying to promote. I have done a great job of shrugging it off but it got me thinking.. Beachbody compliments my business and not that I am defending myself but I thought maybe I would share why I love it so much;

Almost two years ago I learned about a challenge group that was starting up. I was doing schoolwork to become a trainer, had my house on the market, the kids were busy, hubby was out of town lots and my favourite gym had closed. I signed myself up for the T25 challenge and for 10 weeks +4 gamma weeks I worked my tail off. The accountability of the group when I was so busy in my own life was huge. It is hard work. It isn't a gimmick diet, its sweat your ass off and stay away from junk and get shit done. Serious business! I also started drinking Shakeology. It is a meal replacement but more than that it is a sweets crutch for me without going overboard on crap!

I enjoyed it so much I became a coach! I've done a few challenge groups and I love coaching people online. Being a Beachbody coach doesn't make you a certified personal trainer (although I am one) it makes you an accountability leader of your group. The trainer is the instructor on the DVD. You make a percentage of sales just like any other sales job except at this gig you get to help others and hear success stories and be inspired daily!

Beachbody has connected me to people who needed motivation but couldn't come to my studio and needed another option. It is an addition to my business. Do I think Shakeology is a miracle cure for obesity? No. Are there pushy sales people? Yes there sure are, just like any other business. I am not one of them. I am not about pushing products, I love shakeo and it has purposes in my life so I share my fav things! The workouts through Beachbody are no joke and anyone who says they try to sell a quick fix hasn't tried T25 gamma speed 3.0 LOL. Hard work. Not surprisingly tho, almost everyone who's questioned me in a negative light has been a competitor.

Oh and I've also heard in a negative light that I charge too little for my services. Really? I understand that many trainers charge more hourly than I do but I am working from my home studio so my cost is lower. I don't think I am undervaluing myself. I am providing excellent service for a reasonable price. Helping others is my passion and I make a reasonable living but I am not out to get rich. I also have a max class size of 6. Ever been to a class with 25 peeps crammed in? The trainer is doing well and the classes may be fun but from a safety standpoint its a major no no for me. However, this is MY choice and they have theirs. Just thought I would clarify a few of the "whys" I have ran into lately :)

One more point, the fact that I am a trainer who has lost a bunch of weight isn't "just" what makes me qualified. I have the education but given that I have succeeded at long-term weight loss through proper nutrition and exercise and that I have never taken the short cuts to healthy living is something that IS an asset to me in regards to helping my clients. I am not sorry for my story, it has brought me to this wickedly-awesome-life!

Every single day I answer questions from people looking for help and I have never not answered and encouraged. For free. That is who I will unapologetically continue to be. "Not my monkeys, not my circus."

Blessings!
Di

A sample day

My Monday!

This seems a little silly to me posting what my day looks like but I have gotten several questions about it lately so here it is. I am sorry if someone thought it was more exciting and I am letting them down LOL...
6:30am Wake up! Get dressed. Eat breakfast. Always Shakeology except weekends I usually get bacon. Mmmm bacon!
7:00-8:00am Get kids up, pack lunches
8:00-8:40am My own weight workout
9:15-10:15am teach fitness class
10:15-11:15am pt client
11:15am-2:00pm Paperwork, gst, lunch (pork loin, broccoli, quinoa), bank run, coffee with mom.
2:00-2:30pm helped a fit peep make zucchini noodles, snack time-warmed egg veggie muffins,2!
2:30-4:00pm Check emails, bought a new workout outfit, answered messages
4:00-5:00pm Pt
5:00-5:30pm eat dinner-chicken, kale salad and get ready to run in the cold. Brrr!
5:30-6:15pm run group
6:30-7:30pm teach
evening fitness class
7:30-10:00pm hang with kids, tuck them in-hit my other office-the bath tub lol. Sleep!

No night time clients tonight, most evenings I do. I don't usually have a lot of paperwork either but it was gst time. Boring! This is my usual Mon-Thurs schedule. Friday-Saturday are mostly pt clients and more family time. Sunday is family day. No work. Ever.

Before I go to bed I always do prayer, meditation and practice gratitude.

Diana writes a novel :P

Support System

I'm going to go ahead and brag. Are you okay with that? I have to. I HAVE THE BEST HEALTHY LIVING SUPPORT SYSTEM there is going! Was it always this way? Heck no.

I was an overweight child. I ate crappy foods. I was an emotional eater. I became a young stay at home mom with a husband who worked away in the oilfield. I didn't get out much. There were a lot of lonely feelings. I ate them all away at night when the kids were tucked into bed.

To go along with that story I ever did well at gym class. I was made fun of. By the time I got to high school I would already have my lines made up for gym class before class began. "I must not forget my gym shorts"
No one ever cared. I remember watching the games and wishing I could be good like them but never really knowing the steps to get there. As a young adult I was on the go but not what you would call active.

Before I made the decision to get healthy every social event turned into an intervention. I know people cared but until someone is ready to change you are just creating more feelings to be eaten away later. I am serious. Fat people don't need to be told they are fat, NEWSFLASH- They already know!

-I did a soup diet one time, obviously lost 40lbs quickly stopped and gained the weight back.
-I took pills, failed.
-I signed up at a gym and got poor treatment and quit.
-I started walking and got heckled and quit walking.
-I started and quit MANY THINGS.

One night when I was out for a girls night I saw an obese woman in the corner of my eye on my way to a bathroom stall. OMGosh, she was HUGE! Know the wave of panic like you forgot something really important? That's the one that came over me as I realized that the obese woman I had seen was my OWN reflection in the mirror! I had known I was big and that I wasn't healthy- I never really had a healthy relationship with food or exercise but at that moment it sank in how far I had gone. I left without saying goodbye to my friends.

That was on the weekend. Monday morning I met with my Doctor and weighed in. Whoa. Surgery he said would be best. He was not positive about anything. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. How had I let myself go this far? I was not a lazy person. I did crafts, cleaned my home, my kids were my priority, I was the best mom I could be. On the ride home that day I had low moments where I thought hitting the ditch would be a simpler option. By the time I got home I felt like I could do this- but no to surgery!

I lost almost 40lbs on my own but needed help.

I signed up at LA weightloss shortly after that and lost 100lbs with them. It was just a simple food program and eventually I had learned how to be healthier then their program lol, that's not snotty its true :)

LA weightloss was my support system for food. I needed them at that time.

My support system for exercise was my friend Kathy. When I started joining Kathy and her mother in law for walks I could barely walk a few blocks. By the time we were done I would be in pain with a sore back and half sweating to death. After I finished my first race Kathy told me that they went for their 'real' walk after I went home. That is a friend! I never knew and at the time I would have been defeated by it but by the time she told me I cried because it was so sweet.

So after walking got easier I joined a gym, slowly made fitness friends and now many gyms later I have an amazing support network!

Not everyone along the way has supported me. I had a fitness trainer say that she just thought obese people were the worst. LOL. Really! At first I was so obese everyone wanted me to excel but once you start looking like your friends and still wanting to work on yourself you have to watch out for saboteurs. Here have a lil piece of this or that. I think you are overdoing it at the gym. I limit my time with those types.

Start your own walking club. Join fun classes like ahem- MINE :). Surround yourself with healthy minded peeps and don't be shy to reach out. I answer questions ALL THE TIME :)

I know you all have at least one healthy peep tho, ME!

XO,
Di