The Cancer.

So, I have Breast Cancer. Turns out that is a thing that can actually happen to you, at the age of 33, seemingly out of nowhere. As I sit here and type my first blog post on the subject, it still feels incredibly strange that this is happening. It doesn’t feel real. And by that I mean exactly what it sounds like… it simply doesn’t feel like it’s happening to me.

I’ve had a bilateral mastectomy, with partial reconstruction – my body is forever changed – plus I have chemotherapy – what most would consider to be the scariest and worst medical treatment out there – currently running through my bloodstream – and it still doesn’t feel real. I’m in a place where every day I just do what I have to do what’s next, and then I wake up again the next day and do whatever is next again. I’ve been calling it business as usual, except I have a new usual.

The new usual consists of me making it my full time job to do everything I can to get me out of this situation, in the best shape possible. Visits to the hospital and clinics are now a part of my job, taking medication on a meticulous schedule is now a part of my job, arranging for childcare, taking care of administrative crap, dealing with insurance companies, home nursing and managing my symptoms are now all just a part of my full time job.

I’ve definitely had better gigs in my day, but never a more important one. So here I am, making the best of a difficult situation, taking it all one day at a time and focusing on maintaining a positive mindset through and through. That’s my plan, that’s my job, and this is my life.

Your Workout: Timed hiit circuit, no equipment (video link)

Time this circuit! 30 seconds of each move.

8 moves , 20 minutes total. Take as little breaks as possible!

Up Down Plank

Butt 100’s – Curl back

Butt 100’s – Pulse

Butt 100’s – Side knee up

Butt 100’s – Curl back (other side)

Butt 100’s – Pulse (other side)

Butt 100’s – Side knee up (other side)

Triceps dip pulses

Your workout: Exercise band & crunches

Need a quick way to get a workout in while you’re at home, travelling for work or on vacation? You can pick up an exercise band from most major retailers for around $10. It’s easy to change the resistance by simply making the band longer or shorter with a wide or narrow stance, or by gripping the band in different places. Practice controlled movements, slowing it down to make sure you feel each repetition of each exercise properly.

Sequence 1: Do 15 reps of each exercise, repeat sequence 3 times.

Body weight squats

Side step shuffle (step on the band, push out to the side)

Standing bent shoulder fly

Forward leaning triceps kick back extension

 

Sequence 2: Do 15 reps of each exercise, repeat sequence 3 times.

Alternating forward lunges

Forward straight arm shoulder fly

Sitting narrow row

Standing bicep curls

 

Sequence 3: Ab crunches 4 ways. Do 20 repetitions of each exercise.

Twist crunch to one side, twist crunch to the other side, regular forward crunch, reverse leg up crunch.

Change your focus, change your life!

When it comes to making long term lifestyle changes we always seem to focus on what we should stop doing – do less of, ‘fixing bad habits’ and ‘bad behaviour’ and deciding that you can’t be successful unless you change who you are. Not true, and it doesn’t have to be complicated either. Let’s change what the focus is – let’s have a happier, more enjoyable transition to a healthier lifestyle. Here is how you do it:

Focus on what you should be adding to your life, do not focus on what you’re taking away. For example, add a daily workout or three workouts a week. Not only do you get the benefits from the exercise, but you have less time to do less healthy things like watch tv, eat out, etc.

Focus on what nutrition you could add to your daily diet, do not focus on what you should stop eating. For example, if you make sure you eat a huge salad everyday, have a nutritious smoothie as an afternoon snack, and eat all the vegetables in your fridge before they go bad – you will realize you’ve run out of time to have less nutritious food, or that you don’t want it since you’re on a good eating ‘streak’.

Finally, this is the most important point. Focus on what you’re gaining from a healthier lifestyle, do not focus on what you’re giving up. You are going to be gaining confidence, strength, better health, less sickness, more energy, save money, have more fun, wear whatever you want, and be happier. Do not focus on not being able to hit the drive thru, eat your favorite foods, losing time on the couch with the tv… You get the picture.

Healthy living is a balanced cycle. Jump in, put your healthy habits in motion and you’ll feel the desire to keep it up after you begin seeing – but more importantly feeling – the results! The healthier you eat, and the more you exercise – the less you’ll want to eat unhealthy and skip your workouts. That’s all it takes, that’s how people become those ‘fit-people’. It’s just a few simple steps and the momentum can be unstoppable.

What do you want for yourself?

Just do it. Today. Don’t hesitate.

Hesitation holds us back from so much. We didn’t speak up in a meeting, we don’t ask our partners for what we want, we don’t decide on that gym membership, we’ll get to grocery shopping another day… It is seriously a major issue when it comes to making change – and that is because change is uncomfortable, and our brain and body hates being uncomfortable! So, we hesitate. I’ll worry about it later, next time, tomorrow… and another year passes and you’re right where you don’t want to be… still.

It’s time for you to realize that all you need to do is make the decision to make a change. DECIDE that what you have always wanted is important enough that you won’t hesitate anymore and you’ll begin to take action in order to make it happen.

Here, I’ll tell you exactly what to do RIGHT NOW. It’s not hard.

THROW away all the junk food in your house. Today.

Join the gym, Bootcamp, Yoga studio, get a personal trainer. Jump online right after you read this. Do your research, don’t stop until you figure out how you want to do it. Then do it. Seriously. Or go for a run, immediately. Follow it up with push ups and squats – exercise is technically free if you want it to be.

Go grocery shopping. Don’t go hungry, and bring a list for the meals you want to prepare in the next few days. Throw away nothing, you can’t eat out if you have food at home that will go to waste. Eat at home as much as you can.

Find motivation. A support group online (Facebook, blogs, communities…), your friends, colleagues, anyone. Or hop onto Pinterest, all those motivational quotes can really help sometimes. Choose your favorites and put them somewhere you’ll see them all the time.

Pick a goal. A vacation, an outfit, an event – a hard deadline, and objective will make it much easier to reach. Don’t pick something too far away, make it in the near future and important enough that you’ll really care.

You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Close your eyes and imagine it, really imagine it.

THERE IS NOTHING STOPPING YOU, but you. Don’t get in your way. Change is what makes life exciting. Just decide.

 

 

 

 

 

10 OF MY FAV HEALTHY FOOD SWAPS

We all love to eat food. And often our favorite meals aren’t exactly super good for you. So, in order to make eating healthy not suck, I like to swap out certain ingredients in each meal to create a healthier version of it. Here are some of my favorite healthy food swaps!

SWAP pasta noodles for ZUCHINNI SPIRALS          …………… SWAP tortilla shells for LETTUCE WRAPS

SWAP rice noodles for SHIRATAKI NOODLES         …………… SWAP hamburger buns for PORTABELLO MUSHROOM CAPS

SWAP crackers for APPLE SLICES                                ………….. SWAP juice for FRUIT & VEG INFUSED WATER

SWAP bread crumbs for GROUND ALMONDS          ………….. SWAP mashed potatoes for MASHED CAULIFLOWER

SWAP French fries for BAKED ZUCCHINI FRIES    …………… SWAP spaghetti noodles for SPAGHETTI SQUASH

These changes will do wonders for your weight loss and healthy eating goals, plus a major benefit is that you can eat more! THAT is something I’ve always been willing to get behind, you should try too!