making the world yummier, one mummy at a time

personal trainer diary

I am officially a celebrity trainer.

I have trained CEOs, competitive athletes, dancers, actors, gradeschoolers and lots and lots of beautiful, wonderful men and women.  I have trained or consulted with the odd celebrity – famous or infamous (one clinic I worked at had to usher in Conrad Black with an orchestration that rivaled the Secret Service) – during my years in clubs and clinics.  Now I am flying solo with Fit Family and it’s no big surprise the only security

yummy mummy & fit family client, Erica Ehm

clearances I see are my occasional trips in or out of Pearson Airport…

Until now.

Okay, she may not be followed by her own team of hired thugs, but if you grew up (or were in any way in touch with pop culture) in Canada in the 1980s or 1990s, you’ve heard of Erica Ehm.  Erica was the very first female MuchMusic host and has since spun a web of media and cultural accomplishments, speaking and appearing in TV, film, radio, print and online.  If, like me, you had the unfortunate luck of growing up in small-town Saskatchewan, where the cable channels don’t run as high as MuchMusic, you might know her in her most recent incarnation as the original Yummy Mummy.  Erica’s brainchild, yummymummyclub.ca, was a great source of distraction and amusement for me during my pregnancy and maternity leave.  I don’t get much free time to play on the internet anymore but I subscribe to the Yummy Mummy blogs so I have a constant source of fun in my e-mail inbox.  A few months ago, perusing the various articles and blogs on the Yummy Mummy site, I thought: I need to e-mail this woman.

So I did.  To my surprise, she e-mailed me back.  Erica doesn’t just pretend to be a down-to-earth everywoman.  She is a down-to-earth everywoman.  She’s just a down-to-earth everywoman with a face that most of Canada can recognize.  We did the everywoman thing: we had some S-bucks and got to know each other.  Erica needed a trainer and I was eager to help.

We began training together last week in her gorgeous old home in midtown.  Like many of us, Erica’s house is full of toys and books, kindergarten drawings and stacks of papers to be filed.  She is a bona fide workaholic.  Five minutes in Erica’s presence and I feel like a lazy sack of bones.  She probably accomplishes more in a day than I do in a week.  But all that accomplishing means Erica isn’t as active as she used to be.  That’s where Fit Family comes in.  In addition to her usual yoga and jogging repertoire, Erica and I have embarked on an adventure of strength training and core conditioning.

If you’ve got a couple of dumbbells and a few square feet of space, you can follow the same routine Erica does: check out her new at-home routine on her blog, Erica Ehm: Exposed. As always, ask questions first, shoot later.  For help modifying this routine or if you have questions about any of the exercises, chat live with me on the Fit Family website before you get started on your own.

Stay tuned for more news on Erica’s progress.  And – hey – if you know any other celebrities, send them my way…

The Baby Fat Diet: Book Review

the baby fat diet

reviews & resources

A few weeks ago, I was asked to read and review the postpartum weight-loss manual, The Baby Fat Diet.  So…

It’s pretty good!

The book is written by two dietitians, Monica Bearden, RD. and Shara Aaron, MS, RD, both moms themselves who have battled the baby bulge we all dread. What really makes this book worth reading is not the letters after the authors’ names.  It’s the letters that are absent: EM.  These two ladies are Experienced Mommies and the greatest value of the Baby Fat Diet comes not from scientific studies, extensive meal plans or detailed nutritional information but from the two authors’ firsthand experience as mothers.  Interviews with other mothers at various points of the postpartum timeline helped the authors to fill in the gaps and create a survival guide of weight-loss strategies that is realistic and useful.

Now, there are a lot of maternal, prenatal and postpartum nutrition manuals out there.  There are also a fair number of weight loss and fitness books geared toward expectant and new moms.  So why this one?

The Baby Fat Diet is humourous, simply written and broken into 35 tiny chapters meant to be consumed (pardon the pun) a bit at a time and not necessarily in order, to accomodate the busy pace of motherhood.  This format does make for some repetition and simplification which might not hold the attention of a reader who intends to finish the book, cover-to-cover, in a few sittings or a reader with any significant prior knowledge of nutrition.  Depending on your level of knowledge and your attention span, the book’s format might be a pro or a con.

One great feature are the sections at the end of each chapter in which the reader can record her thoughts and plans based on the preceding chapter’s theme.  You might be asked to write down three things you will do to improve the whole family’s eating habits this week.  Or you might simply need to decide on two organic fruits or vegetables which you will substitute for traditionally farmed and chemically ridden produce.  If you’re like me, you’ll love interacting with the book by filling in these sections and taking the authors’ advice from theory to reality by planning to implement their strategies in your own daily life.  For the woman who needs more specific guidance, the Baby Fat Diet includes shopping lists and meal plans based on the authors’ principles.

I wholeheartedly endorse this book for any mom, expectant or in the throes of parenting, who desires a basic nutrition primer with realistic advice and a sensible, healthy approach.  You won’t find many rigid rules in the Baby Fat Diet – and when you do, such as when the authors recommend you not eat at all after dinner, you’ll find along with the rule some sensible methods by which to break the rule, such as sticking with fruits and vegetables or gradually weaning yourself off your nighttime snacks.

I like rules, but the teenager in me loves knowing I can get around them when I need to.

The Baby Fat Diet is available on Amazon.com.

Check out The Baby Fat Diet on the web for more information about the authors, the book or to read the Baby Fat Diet blog.

making something from nothing

personal trainer diary

Some weeks, even I struggle to get to the gym.  A bad week for me might mean I only get three workouts in, sandwiched between clients, my daughter’s nap schedule and my attempts to keep our home clean enough to at least stave off visits from Child Protection Services.  A normal week usually finds me at the gym five days, with walking, hiking, shopping, playing and housecleaning filling in my off days but still keeping me off my rear end and on my feet, as a human being was intended to do (If we were meant to sit all day, my butt wouldn’t be numb after an hour of commuting…).

Three days in the gym is my complete and utter bare-ass minimum.  Hmmm… an awful lot of buttock references today… A three-day week means I’ve either been sick or incredibly busy.  It happens from time to time.  To get to the gym three days for a thorough workout might be a success in the week of one of my clients.  For me, the problem with a three-day week is this: three days in the gym means four days NOT in the gym.  And I never like to have the balance of my life tipped toward being less active.  Four days means that at least I have challenged my body most days of the week.  While the body doesn’t really function on the Julian calendar, we measure our days in chunks of seven and I am at my most comfortable when I have made my body work on four to six of those seven days.

I almost didn’t make it this morning.  I rarely schedule an appointment for mid-morning for the plain and simple, selfish fact that I go to the gym in the mid-morning with my daughter (or without if she is with her caregiver) almost every single weekday.  But, ladies, you’ll sympathize when I explain that I have been battling two inches of dark roots for a while here and the only time I could get in to see my lovely stylist, the amazing Jake Surette from House of Glamma, was 10:30 this morning.  I had to be home at 10:00 a.m. to greet my wonderful sister so she could watch the little monkey while I was Glammarized.  So what’s a girl with wretched hair to do?  I packed up that kid at ten minutes to nine and booted off to the gym practically to greet the lovely childcare attendants as they opened.  I dumped her in the childcare room with her snack, hit the treadmill as fast as I could and ran a quick 5K (that’s about a half-hour jog at 6 miles per hour, for those of you who are wondering).  I was back out the door just forty minutes after I arrived.  Strength training?  No.  Sauna?  No.  Shower?  No.  Sweat?  Definitely.

I only got a cardio workout.  I didn’t have a nice, leisurely stretch and sauna.  I still haven’t showered, as I write this, nearly five hours after completing that workout.  Not every workout can be perfect.  Sometimes you might only have twenty minutes to do some calisthenics in your living room.  Maybe you will only be able to lace up your sneakers and walk home from work instead of taking transit or driving.  You might think you have “no” time.  But time is relative, and you can make something from nothing.  You can be active most days of the week and you can make it fit your schedule if you really are committed to keeping your body fit and healthy.

Tomorrow will be workout number four this week and all is right with the world.

reality check: talk test

reviews & resources

So you’ve set the time aside to get to the gym, you’re parked, changed, watered and ready to go.  Now what?  If you’re going to spend the time at the gym, make sure it counts.  There is such a thing as exercising too hard or too much, but most of us are not at risk of doing so…witness the countless gym-goers catching up on the latest celebrity tabloid or highlights from last night’s hockey game as they “work out.”  The truth is, what most of us fall victim to is exercising at too low an intensity to produce the desired effects.

If you want to lose fat, tone muscle and improve your cardiovascular health, you must push your body.  Not to its absolute limits, but far enough to make it a bit uncomfortable.  When your body gets uncomfortable, it pays attention.  The body does not like to play games that it can’t win.  It is, in short, a poor loser.  If you put your body in the position of doing something out of its comfort zone, it will respond in two ways.  First, it will pay you back with some sore muscles the following day.  Then, as it repairs those muscles, it will grow stronger and fitter to better cope with the next workout.  You have to stay one step ahead of that body of yours if you hope for change.

One of the simplest ways of ensuring you are challenging yourself enough is to do the Talk Test.  The Talk Test is as solid a method as any, and it requires no equipment or professional help.  Simply say something.  If you are too short of breath to speak even a sentence, slow down and lower the intensity.  If, on the other hand, you can easily carry on a conversation, kick it into gear because you’re not working hard enough to reap the rewards you seek.  You should be somewhat challenged to talk when you are exercising in your target heart rate zone, needing more breaths than you would normally but experiencing no shallow breathing, dizziness, pain or nausea.  As you get fitter, you will find you can talk more easily doing the same exercises that used to make you short of breath.  When that happens, it’s time to add some variety to your cardio program or step up the intensity to get yourself back to your target zone.

It’s your reality check.  Don’t waste your work out time.

multiple choice resolutions

what’s in the news

Happy New Year!

Make 2009 your healthiest year yet!

35% of us don’t make our resolutions until well into January. Perhaps we need time to clear our heads of all the sparkling wine, fruitcake and turkey that’s clogged it over the past couple of weeks. Perhaps we simply need some inspiration! Here, for your perusal, are 25 fantastic health and wellness resolutions you can make for 2009…

1. Quit Smoking. Don’t be afraid of gaining a few pounds. Jump start your fitness routine at the same time and you’ll not only stay slim, studies show you’ll actually be more likely to stay smoke-free if you exercise regularly.
2. Take Up a Team Sport.
3. Learn to Dance.
4. Walk More. Most of us walk only half of the recommended 10, 000 steps per day.  Add in a 30-60 minute daily walk to hit 10, 000.
5. Participate in a Charity Race. Check out the Canada Running Series for upcoming races and walks of all lengths and for all causes.
6. Whittle Your Waist.  Waist circumferences of over 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men are strong indicators of abdominal obesity and risk factors for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and other disorders.
7. Strengthen Your Core. Back pain, a lower belly “pooch” and bad balance are all signs of underdeveloped core.  Try the Plank to improve core strength.
8. Stretch.
9. Try Yoga.
10. Get Regular Massages.
11. Take the Stairs.
12. Cycle to Work.
13. Take a Fitness Class. Activities that challenge your brain not only keep you interested, they burn tons of calories!
14. Sign Up for a Mini-Triathlon. Go to Trisport Canada for information on upcoming “mini-sprint” & full triathlons.
15. Go to the Doctor for Your Annual Physical.
16. Speak with a Dietitian or Holistic Nutritionist.
17. Eat Regularly. Leaving more than 4 hours between meals/snacks has been shown to lower your metabolism!  Eat small, frequent meals.
18. Strength Train Twice per Week.
19. Drink More Water. 2.5 L per day for women and 3 L per day for men (more in extreme heat) will keep your body running at its peak.
20. Lose 10% of Your Weight. Experts say the average person could improve her fitness level and health by losing 5-10% of her weight.
21. Eat Breakfast.
22. Show Your Children a Good Time.
23. Eat Dinner at Home.
24. Stop Reading Beauty Magazines.
25. Train Your Heart Three Times per Week. That’s all it takes to help stave off heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other disorders.