Category: healthy

March 13, 2017

My 100 Pound Weight Loss Journey: Healthy Food At Its Core

On April 27th of last year, I decided my life needed to change. I was obese, unhealthy, had high blood pressure and my mental health was suffering for this. I knew that I needed to make a change and I had to make it quickly. But where to start? For me this was simple: my diet.

The pictures above were taken roughly nine months apart from each other. When I took the one on the left I was just about to participate in the Race Around the Bay with my sister. Looking back at it now, I am still in shock at that picture – I never realized how big I was. I knew I fell in the obese category but I still thought I was okay. Mentally, I did not see that girl in the picture. But my weight was affecting other aspects of my life: playing with my kids, going on rides with my family, am I going to fit in that chair and the constant worrying about whether my clothes would fit.

When I started my weight loss journey, the first and most important aspect of my life that I changed was my diet. When people ask me even today how I did it, I always tell them that diet was the number one contributor to my weight loss. Now when I say diet, I don’t mean that I followed a fad diet – I mean that I ate smarter, made myself accountable and stopped beating myself up for poor choices. After coming across the Dietprobe site, I realised I needed to substitute unhealthy choices for healthier choices and learned more about nutrition. While I knew the basics, I was by far no expert and meeting with several dietitians really helped me to examine the choices I was making and how to make better choices.

The top changes that I made in my life were:

I set myself a calorie and nutrient goal in My Fitness Pal on my phone and stuck with recording my daily intake every day. I record every item of food I eat – it is incredible how quickly calories add up when you start paying attention to what you eat and what your body really needs. I also included nutrient goals for carbohydrates, protein and fats. Your body needs a balanced diet and it is so important that you are giving your body the fuel it needs.
Food is fuel! Your body needs all the good food it can get so make each bite count. Cut out all processed foods and sugar. This included all white grains, juices, pop and caffeine (I now drink decaf coffee every day). I never cut out carbohydrates (and I think this is a very bad idea) but I made better choices by using whole grains and quinoa.
I drink a lot more water now. My water bottle is always by my side and you can use water enhancers or lemons to sweeten the taste of the water.
For personal reasons, when I started my journey I was a vegetarian. Because of my iron levels dropping I had to re-introduce meat back into my diet in the form of beef. I still don’t eat chicken, pork or fish for personal reasons. Protein is very important in your diet and you need to ensure you are eating enough whether it be vegetarian or not.

The most difficult times during this journey was eating out. You are still going to want to go out with your friends to restaurants, buy take out or order in. The trick is to make healthier decisions in where you go and what you purchase.

The Chopped Leaf is an excellent option for dining in, ordering in and take out. They offer high quality nutritional food that leaves you feeling full and good (not that bloated, I am going to regret this when I enter it in my calorie counter and in the morning feeling). They pride themselves on offering their customers high quality, fresh ingredients. They offer a wide range of products from whole bowls, salads, soups and they even have a kids menu. My personal favourite is the whole bowl number two which comes with spinach, chickpeas, roasted pecans, sun-dried cranberries, carrots, cucumbers, goddess sauce and warm basmati rice. The bowl was divine, a delicious blend of sweet with the cranberries and crunchy with the vegetables. The goddess sauce, I can’t even begin to explain how delicious that was. The bowl was the perfect size for lunch or dinner and filled me right up. The service was friendly, quick and brought right over to our table.

To introduce you to their fabulous line of nutritious and clean food, The Chopped Leaf is offering you a free chef inspired salad! Just download the coupon here and head into the Dundas and Appleby store before March 31st, 2017 for some delicious (and free) chef inspired tastiness. Even if you are on a weight loss journey like mine, you don’t have to sacrifice eating out when you can have nutritional, delicious food found at The Chopped Leaf.

Make sure to follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get inspired to make healthier choices and life a healthy lifestyle (not to mention the amazing photos that will leave you hungry!).

How has changing your diet affected your life? What do you look for when choosing restaurants to dine in or take out from?

Disclosure: I was compensated for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

October 27, 2016

Keeping On Top of Constipation During the Festive Season #OwnTheThrone

Fall is my favourite time of the year, from the colours to the return of hearty stews and soups to warm drinks on the porch watching the kids capture the last hours of sunlight…and even to the beginning of the crazy holiday party season. There is so much to celebrate and be thankful for!! The only pitfall of the cooler weather is that sometimes we aren’t staying as active as we were in the summer (who wants to get out of bed early in this cooler weather or when it’s still dark outside??) and the holiday season itself brings with it a new set of stomach struggles if we tend to indulge in too many sweets and drinks.

I am sure many of you can relate to or even suffer from digestive issues over the fall and winter season. It usually kicks off at Thanksgiving dinner where we tend to indulge far too much and trust me I get it. Our family is Italian-Canadian and holiday dinners are usually overboard with turkey, chicken, pastas, potatoes, vegetables and far too many sweets and cakes. It can be so hard to resist at times. For me it is my Father’s cooking that does me in every year – I will devour any and all of his food in sight regardless of whether I am hungry or not (I miss his cooking so much!). After Thanksgiving is over, then the holiday season really starts warming up and before you know it you are indulging far too much and not being as active at the gym and outdoors. Some of us are more prone to digestive issues and constipation and for other individuals stomach problems can begin without them even noticing – especially when we are really busy just getting through day-to- day life.

Hopefully you recognize the signs of constipation before the pain and discomfort become severe – look for signs your bowel movements are not as regular as they usually are, or are more painful. It is so important to pay attention to your body and bowel movements and I can’t stress this enough. Recognize the signals your body is giving you and when you need to – reach out for help. I know that for many of us, we don’t like to talk about constipation and bowel movements and this may be embarrassing to discuss with your friends or spouse, but at the end of the day it’s just poop! As many as one in four Canadians are suffering from symptoms of constipation, so talking to a friend or spouse for advice can be really helpful. They will know exactly what you are going through and can give you some of their own tips and tricks to help deal with constipation when it happens and hopefully prevent it from happening again.

In the last year, I have noticed that my body responds differently to certain foods and I found myself suffering from constipation after surgery a couple of months ago. To be fair, I was warned that the medications could cause constipation but I never really listened to the side effects when the pharmacist dispensed them to me (I’ve never had constipation problems before so I thought why would I now?). But sure enough, it happened to me and I ignored the signs for three days until I was in severe pain. For me these tricks helped me immensely:

Increase your fibre intake in your meals. I started to record my food in My Fitness Pal and found that I was not reaching my 25gms of fibre goal daily. I had to increase my intake of vegetables, healthy grains and fruits to ensure I was reaching this goal. Recording my food was key to knowing what I was eating as it can be easy to lie to yourself when mentally recording food.
Increase your water intake – this is so important! Aim for at least eight to ten glasses of water a day. If you are not a fan of plain water, add some lemon, frozen fruit or water enhancers.
Make sure you get in 30 minutes of physical activity a day, whether you walk after work around the block, walk on your lunch breaks or go to a gym. It can be hard to get motivated to get moving outside in the cooler weather but it is so important for your physical and mental wellbeing, so make sure you take this time out just for you.

Sometimes even when following all of these tips, you can still find yourself suffering from constipation symptoms. The pain can get really bad quickly, so make sure you seek out relief sooner rather than later. Dulcolax, a gentle overnight laxative, will help get your bowels moving during the night and give you some much needed relief in the morning. You take one to two tablets before bed and they begin to work in six to twelve hours. The tablets work overnight to soften your stools, allowing your bowels to move easier in the morning. Which is a great relief from the pain that I know many of you may have experienced when suffering from constipation.

Constipation is never fun to deal with, but it is so important to know that you are not alone and so many others have struggled through the same symptoms. While it is important to ensure your diet is high in fibre, that you are consuming enough water and keeping active, you should always have a back- up plan in mind in case constipation does occur. Taking Dulcolax will help you #OwnTheThrone. To find out more information and to keep up to date with all the latest news, check out Dulcolax’s website.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, all opinions expressed are my own.

August 24, 2015

Week Two Update: Onward and Upwards With My Healthy Living Goals!

My second week turned out a lot better than my first week with regards to my goals, for which I am quite proud of. My daily routine became much easier to stick to (thankfully) and I have begun to notice some differences with how I feel mentally (not so foggy brained) and my stomach feels lighter and not so heavy feeling. This has made attaining my goals that much easier to accomplish.

So here is how I did with last week’s goals:

1-2 pound weight loss. I maintained my weight but did not lose anything extra.
~~Continue to maintain my vegetarian diet with a meal plan~~ This is becoming easier and easier!
~~Yoga fours times this week.~~ Honestly, yoga has become my favourite new form of exercise. It leaves me feeling so refreshed from head to toe.
~~Daily evening meditation.~~
~~Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge with a fitness calendar.~~ I posted my calendar on the fridge so now I have no excuses! I go through each day highlighting what I have completed.
~~Two litres of water a day~~
~~10,000 steps minimum a day.~~ I did it!! I am so proud of myself – all week I reached a minimum of 10,000 steps.
~~Daily morning detox~~ tea I am using Purgo teatox which I love.

This week’s goals:

1-2 pound weight loss.
Yoga four times this week.
Daily evening meditation.
Daily squat, lunge, push up, crunch and plank challenge.
Two litres of water a day.
11,000 steps a day (got to up my goal a bit!).
Two 3km walks.

Here is my big surprise: I am taking part in the Canaccord Genuity Great Camp Adventure Walk on September 26th! I am officially ‘in training’ mode as my team-mate would like to complete the 10km walk. You will find more out on my upcoming walk for this great cause this week.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway to win a $50 Shoppers Drug Mart gift card!

August 17, 2015

Check In One: The Good and The Bad on My Healthy Start

My first week is officially done in my healthy lifestyle challenge and I had quite a few ups and downs. While I am not 100% happy with how well I committed to it, I can’t look back but only forward as tomorrow is always a new day. I need to focus on my overall health and well being and each positive and healthy step forward is a win for me.

So here is the breakdown:

Last week’s goals:

~~2 pound weight loss.~~ Completed!! Woohoo!!
~~Follow my vegetarian diet with a meal plan.~~ I stuck to this like glue and while I wish I had some additional emotional support for this change I am happy with how I feel and I am sure my loved ones will too over time.
Yoga four times a week. I managed to complete my yoga practice twice this week and it made me feel so good! I love how my body feels so relaxed afterwards and this will be something I will do more of.
~~Daily evening meditation.~~ While I did complete this in the bath (the only time I am given absolute and complete silence) it still felt good to just quiet my mind and focus on nothing.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge. I actually kind of forgot about this one so this week I am going to make a fitness calendar to keep myself on track!
Run daily for five minutes (I am starting out here!!). Does chasing after kids at soccer count??
~~Stay hydrated with eight glasses of water a day.~~ This is the part I loved the most and left me feeling less bloated.
10,000 step minimum a day. Oops, not even close! I was very bad last week while on vacation!

This week’s goal:

1-2 pound weight loss
Continue to maintain my vegetarian diet with a meal plan.
Yoga fours times this week.
Daily evening meditation.
Daily squat, lunge, push up and crunch challenge with a fitness calendar.
Two litres of water a day.
10,000 steps minimum a day.
Daily morning detox tea.

Make sure you check out my initial post on my healthy start and enter to win a giveaway to focus on your healthy start!

August 17, 2015

Natural Detox with Purgo Teatox to Feel Better and Re-Balance Your Body

Since one of the areas I wanted to re-focus and examine is what I am eating and change-up my diet, I thought it would be a pretty great idea to kick this off with a detox. But where to start? I have seen many ‘detox’ diets online but these are not for me. I could not stick to a liquid diet nor would I be able to do so and have energy for work and the boys. What I was looking for was that something that could help heal my gut that would be easy to follow and not be too restrictive.

I was on Twitter when I came across Purgo Teatox on Twitter. After heading over to their website, I read the incredible story that founded the Purgo Tea and realized I had a lot in common with Ben. Over the last couple of years, I have been neglecting my health, making poor choices and constantly remained stressed. Some days my stomach hurt and other days I just had poor energy levels. I was not myself but did not know where to start. I started by removing gluten from my diet but even this alone was not enough. I needed something natural to help heal my gut from the inside out.

Purgo Tea is a two tea system that works by using all natural tea formulas to cleanse, detoxify and balance your body. It comes in either a fourteen day plan or a twenty-eight day plan.

The Morning Detox is had to drink every morning before you consume food or coffee. The Morning Detox contains: sencha, goji, dandelion, lemon grass, hibiscus, chamomile, acai and ginseng. It has a pleasant taste (better than some of the other herbal teas I have tried) with a slightly pink/red colour to it. I added the tiniest amount of honey to sweeten it up but the hardest part was remembering to have my cup before I had my coffee. For some reason I had such a hard time with this! Purgo Tea recommends using a calendar to help remember to drink this first which I found beneficial for me in remembering to brew my tea first.

The Evening Cleanse is made every other night and works to help relieve bloating naturally and effectively. The Evening Cleanse is made up of Locust plant, sencha, key lime, lotus leaf, cassla see, pu’reh, oolong and chamomile. I found this was extremely effective at cleansing my body but I usually saw the results the night after which was nice because other natural cleansers can be quite painful and immediate. I found the tea relaxing and semi sweet with no need to add anything extra in.

Purgo Tea encourages you to follow these four steps: drink your morning detox tea, eat nourishing food, exercise for at least thirty minutes and drink your evening cleanse. I love that Purgo Tea encourages you to live healthy and nourish your body instead of starving it or restricting it. While I did not lose extra weight on the detox, I felt better inside and out, less bloated and my stomach felt lighter (if you have ever suffered from food sensitivities I am sure you know what I mean!).

You can find more about Purgo Tea on their website, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Orders can be placed on their website and shipping is free in Canada.

Have you tried a tea detox before? What are your experiences and what do you look for?

Disclosure: I received a fourteen day trial of the above mentioned products free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.