Ingredients

Salad

• 1 small cucumber, cubed
• 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
• small bunch of parsley, chopped
• 1-2 spring onions, thinly chopped olive oil

For the bowl

• 7-8 olives
• 1/3 cup chickpeas, canned, rinsed & drained
• 2 tbsp hummus
• 1 tbsp tzatziki
• 2-3 tbsp quinoa, cooked
• black pepper, freshly ground

How to make it

Step 1
Wash the vegetables, chop them, place in a mixing bowl.

Step 2
Add olive oil, vinegar, and salt to taste.

Step 3
Assemble your bowl: Salad, rinsed and drained chickpeas, the olives, quinoa. In the middle/on top: 2 tbsp hummus and 1 tbsp tzatziki + freshly ground black pepper.

2. Eat Breakfast. There are COUNTLESS benefits to eating breakfast, but most important, eating breakfast gives you energy and cognitive function for your productive day ahead

3. Stretch. Stretching first thing in the morning can be as good as your morning cup of coffee. It wakes up your muscles, allowing for full mobility and range which will help muscle function and develop good muscle structure.

4. Drink Water. Drinking 16oz of water with lemon first thing when you wake up kick starts your metabolism, hydrates you and helps flush the toxins out of your body.

By Amanda Robar, Premium PT & BootCamps

For most of us, summer becomes a difficult time to stay on track with our fitness goals. There are a lot of BBQs, pool parties, camping trips or family outings.

Many people even give up altogether over the summer and tell themselves, “I will start back up in September”. We see this all the time at our facility; clients wanting to downgrade their Personal Training Membership or pause their account over the summer.

Here are some helpful tips on how to stay on track over the summer so that you are not starting from square one again in September. Taking time off every summer only leads to a vicious cycle of losing and gaining weight. This can get very discouraging and can cause us to lose motivation altogether.

Remember that consistency is the key to staying on track!

Healthy Food Options: Make sure there are healthier options at gatherings, and if there aren’t, bring some food with you, such as chicken to throw on the BBQ instead of having hamburgers and hot dogs. You could also bring a healthy salad, or a veggie platter. Stick to your protein and veggies during the BBQ, and try to limit the amount of carbs.

Social Cocktails: Many of us like to have drinks at social events. A few good options for alcoholic beverages, with fewer calories, sugar and carbs, are: vodka with soda water and lime, or a small amount of wine and with a carbonated, flavoured water. These options keep the calories and sugar-intake low and wont make you feel deprived. Try to avoid the sugary coolers, beer, and sugary juice mixes.

Keep Exercising: We all need exercise in our lives for its many health benefits. Summer should be the best time to stay on track with exercise. We have longer days with more sunlight, and beautiful weather which means you can exercise outdoors. There are so many options to choose from: biking, hiking, walking, jogging, swimming, skipping, and even doing body weight exercises outdoors such as lunges, squats, push ups, sit ups, planks, and more.

Join a group BootCamp: Joining a local BootCamp is one of the most affordable and effective ways to reach your fitness goals in a group atmosphere. You will have the direction and workout from a Certified Personal Trainer, a diet plan and the coaching you may need along the way, and you can meet other like-minded individuals.

Most importantly, Don’t Stop: Keep moving forward toward your goals and don’t let the summer season hold you back from becoming the best version of you. Once summer is over, you will be happy that you are not starting from square one!

For more information, please contact us at (905) 392-0708 

Try Out Amanda Fat Burning, Body Sculpting, Full Body Work Out.

You can do this work out anywhere you like using your own body weight.

Complete each exercise in a row with no breaks. After each full circuit (10 exercises) Take a 30 second-1 Minute rest.

1) Air Squats

2) Push ups

3) Alternating lunges

4) High plank opposite shoulder taps

5) Jump squats

6) Tricep dips or push ups

7) Mountain Climbers

8) Plank

9) Burpee

10) Leg Lifts or Reverse Crunches

11) Bonus exercise if you have the space- Sprint for 30 seconds as fast as you can before taking your rest.

Try to complete this 3 times per week to stay in shape over the summer and keep up with your fitness regiment.

Remember to do a full body stretch after completing the work out while your muscles are still warm.

If you have any questions regarding these exercises or how to stay fit over the summer, feel free to fill out one of our contact forms or contact us at (905) 392-0708.

Have a wonderful and healthy summer!

Enjoy these healthy No bake- Protein Balls

• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1/2 cup natural nut butter
• 1/3 cup honey or agave
• 1/2 cup flaxseed (optional)
• 1 scoop chocolate protein powder

Combine all ingredients together. Roll into ball. Chill in the fridge. Enjoy!!!

Sugar has no benefit to our health and it is very counterproductive if we are consuming sugary foods or food products while trying to lose weight or build lean muscle mass.

Sugar is actually very addictive to many people. It has been said that sugar actually releases the same endorphins from the brain as a shot of morphine does. Does that not sound scary to you??

When we consume a diet full or starches, carbohydrates, or sugars, our blood sugar is consistently spiking and dropping back down. This causes long-term health risks.

Some of these health risks are

1) Weight gain

2) Contributor to disease such as diabetes

3) Elevated blood pressure

There are many different types of sugar that are hidden in food products and most people wouldn’t recognize them as sugar.

Some of those sugars are: glucose, fructose, dextrose, galactose, sucrose, maltose and lactose.

Carbohydrates are also considered sugar which is why you should always stick to slow releasing carbohydrates as opposed to fast acting carbohydrates.

Slow releasing carbs: Non starchy vegetables, low in sugar fruits (stay away from the tropical fruits), sweet potatos, oatmeal, steel cut oats, and quinoa, and nuts or nut butters.

Fast acting carbs: White rice, White bread, White pasta, white potato, cereal, liquid drinks or juices, and higher in sugar fruits (tropical fruits)

Always try to stick to slow releasing carbs to prevent insulin spikes throughout the day. Fast acing carb is great to have post work out or if you are trying to bulk up/gain weight.

Fruit is also sugar and we still have to be careful how much fruit we eat throughout the day. Many people load up on fruit believing it is healthy for them and will help them lose weight when the reality is, it can actually do the opposite.

Always stick to fruits lower on the glycemic index. Try to eat them earlier in the day. Fruit is still a carbohydrate and is still full of sugar. The only benefit to them is the vitamins inside the fruit which we can get from other sources as well.

Below this article is a detailed fruit chart with the carbs and sugar content in some fruits you may be consuming.

You should try sticking to a diet high in protein, healthy fats, and low in slow releasing carbs.

Depression and sadness would creep into your life causing you to want to quit working so hard. To soothe your worries and soften the blow of the scale, perhaps a family member, friend, personal trainer, or doctor told you that you shouldn’t freak out because the scale is showing that there has been a gain in muscle and that “muscle weighs more than fat.” Maybe you relaxed after hearing this. Maybe you were skeptical of this comment.

In the fitness world, the statement, “muscle weighs more than fat” is habitually tossed back and forth. In the context of fitness and recording body weight numbers on scales, the statement “muscle weighs more than fat” does not hold much weight. It just does not make sense because one pound is one pound.

The truth is that when placed on a scale, one pound of fat is going to weigh the same as one pound of muscle – just like one pound of bricks is going to weigh the same as one pound of feathers. Where the confusion comes in is that muscle and fat differ in density (muscle is about 18% more dense than fat) and one pound of muscle occupies less space (volume) than one pound of fat.

So yes, muscle seems to weigh more because there is a difference in the volume between the two. When a cubic inch of muscle and a cubic inch of fat are measured, the cubic inch of muscle will weigh more. As you add compact muscle mass to the body, body weight may increase. However, pound for pound, muscle and fat weigh the same and when tracking progress of a fitness program, it is very important to look at all markers of improvement, and not just the numbers on the scale.

By looking at the photo, you can see that five pounds of muscle (pictured on right) is going to take up less space in the body and be a lot less “lumpy” under your skin and in between your organs than the same weight in fat (shown on left).  In fact, the difference can be quite dramatic. I would much rather have five pounds of smooth, lean, dense muscle tissue inside of my body than five pounds of amorphous, bulky, gelatinous fat, and I am guessing you would too!  Besides being more compact in the body, there are also many health advantages to increased muscle mass.

Benefits of having more lean muscle mass   

Having more muscle mass in your body will:

• Create a leaner physique
• Reduce your risk of injury
• Increase strength, stability, power and endurance
• Improve balance and mobility
• Improve the way you feel about yourself
• Increase energy and vitality
• Improve athletic performance
• Create metabolic reserve in times of traumas such as (car accidents and burns)
• Increase your metabolic efficiency
• Improve insulin sensitivity and improve blood glucose control

These are just some of the many advantages of having more lean muscle mass.  Let’s focus on the last two benefits listed:  “Increase your metabolic efficiency” and “Improve insulin sensitivity and improve glucose control.”

Increase your metabolic efficiency

Each pound of fat that your body stores represents 3,500 calories of unused energy. In order to lose one pound, you have to create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories by either consuming 3,500 less calories over a period of time than your body needs or by doing 3,500 calories worth of exercise.

By increasing your lean muscle mass through resistance and body weight training, you will help your body burn more calories.  One pound of muscle will burn slightly more calories at rest than one pound of fat tissue at rest.

Make sure to fit those resistance training work outs in!!!

• 
1 large onion, cut into 10 wedges
• 
1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into squares
• 
2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil
• 
1 1/2 lb (675 g) skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
• 
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 
2 teaspoons (10 ml) chili powder
• 
2 teaspoons (10 ml) curry powder
• 
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground turmeric
• 
1 can (398 ml/14 oz) coconut milk
• 
1 tablespoon (15 ml) honey

Salt and pepper

PREPARATION

• In a large skillet over high heat, sauté the onion and bell pepper in the oil until soft and gold-coloured. Add the chicken, garlic and spices. Sauté for about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the coconut milk and honey. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes. Adjust the seasoning.

Serve with steamed vegetables

10 HEALTHY FOODS TO BRING TO A HOLIDAY SOCIAL OR PARTY

1) Veggies with low fat dip, salsa or guacamole.
2) Whole wheat pita chips with low fat dip or salsa
3) Mixed unsalted natural nuts
4) Fruit platter
5) Bruschetta on whole wheat bread or on a flat pita bread
6) Lettuce wraps
7) Healthy deviled eggs (made with avocado rather than mayo)
8) Whole wheat crackers with light crème cheese and cucumber
9) Lean ground chicken/turkey balls with a healthy tomato sauce
10) Shrimp with shrimp sauce (not battered or fried)

A creamy apple pie flavor, the yogurt adds a tart flavor that accents the crisp sweet cinnamon-apple garnish perfectly

Vegan, makes 2 servings.

½ cup pure apple juice, not from concentrate

1 cup vanilla soy yogurt

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup ice

garnish sliced apples and cinnamon

Blend until smooth. Pour. Garnish. Serve.