what is lifestyle fitness

Lifestyle Fitness

Billions of dollars are spent every year on “diets”. The more dollars that are spent on diets, the more out of shape our society becomes. Diet has become a 4 letter word. “Diets” do not work…Period. We will learn to use the word diet the way it was originally intended.
My rule of thumb for detecting a 4 letter diet is….if it has a name….it is a “diet”. Ex: Zone, Atkins, . The other indicator is if it makes unrealistic headlines like “lose 10 pounds before prom”, or “Beach Bunny Bodies……” yeah…it is a recipe for disaster.

Lifestyles evolve for a plethora of complicated reasons. Changing one’s lifestyle is a difficult challenge, because your lifestyle evolved because it “works” for you………or does it really work? It might seem it works for you time and convenience wise…but is it really working for your health? Lets remember, without our health….what is the point of everything else!

You are ultimately in control of choosing a healthier lifestyle. I am the expert in fitness, who becomes your cheerleader leading you to better lifestyle choices. You will take the lead in designing lifestyle modification and behavior change programs. I will individualize your path to match your interests, goals, needs, time constraints and demands. Again I reiterate, diets do not work, exercise alone is not enough. The one and only answer is a lifelong commitment to overall lifestyle change. I know this sounds intimidating! What I do is show you how to “weave” these new healthier habits into you, eliminate the old destructive habits, and fall in love with the new you. We will put the old you and the new you in balance.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, released a statistic a few years ago which still resonates within me. 80% of cases of disease out there have a major lifestyle component. In other words, we can’t just throw or hands up in the air and cry ”its out of my control!” On the contrary much of “it” is in our control.

There is a medical phrase out there that has been adopted by the media and of course been twisted. It is the “metabolic syndrome”. The media has made this sound like a complicated new disease that we have to be careful no to catch….again….taking the onus out of our hands and placing in the “beyond our control” realm. Not true. Metabolic syndrome simply summarized refers to a group of metabolic risk factors (high blood pressure, poor blood circulation, low HDL, High LDL, insulin resistance, high triglycerides) that put people at higher risk for diabetes and heart disease and certain cancers…. The biggest killers of our population. The best way to minimize the risk factors of metabolic syndrome are achieving a healthy weight, don’t smoke, physical activity and a healthy diet…who would have thought! In other words, there are so many choices we can make in our lifestyle. We are not helpless!Genetics is not a destiny!

Than there is the issue of our body image. Wow, this is a seriously big issue for most women. It just depends on how much we let it totally consume our every action and moment. Low self-esteem may develop if "ideal" body standards are not met and may result in size misperceptions, faulty beliefs about shape and negative feelings about one's body. An increase in dieting behaviour is associated with depression, decreased sell-confidence, increased feelings of anxiety, feelings of unattractiveness and persistent concern about weight

• People with negative body image describe:
o dissatisfaction with their physical appearance
o belief that their appearance is being scrutinized and evaluated by others
o excessive importance given to physical appearance in how they evaluate themselves
o distressing preoccupation with their body
o feelings of shame and or embarrassment
• Positive body image describes:
o self-confidence, energy, vitality and positive self-appraisal
o feelings of attractiveness and beauty
o trust and respect for one's body
o freedom of expression with one's body not dependent on weight

We live in the instant generation. There is no such thing as waiting or patience. We need it now. Being in my business, I really resent when I walk by the magazines and I see articles on front covers that read “flat abs in 4 weeks”, or “10 foods to make you skinny”, or “tight buns in minutes”. People spend fortunes on these magazines, follow the routine, and guess what? Their abs are not flat, they are not skinny, and their buns are no tighter! What a shocker! The reader is feeling inadequate because it didn’t work, she starts beating herself up, gives up on exercise and consoles herself with a tub of ice cream!

This instant gratification mentality is absolutely impossible with our bodies. Fitness is an ongoing commitment to clean eating, active lifestyle and making careful, mindful decisions as to what we put in our bodies. Fitness is about what WE do to ourselves. We have to take control and responsibility.

-We must learn to prepare our own food…….skip the fast/prepared food. It was NOT prepared with your well being in mind! Get over it!

-We must learn to correctly read labels. Just because the advertising/marketing folks said “it’s healthy and transfat free” doesn’t mean it is a good choice for you”. These guys are paid good money to suck you in!

-Fitness takes time. There are no magical 10 minute workout to give you a bikini body overnight. They lied! They only cared about selling magazines.

I am sorry to deflate your fantasies, but the only one who can shape your body is you. Let’s first learn the true benchmarks for measuring fitness, and move toward them. Let’s put you in control of yourself. No whining, yeah it’s not fair, now get over it, and let’s do it! As your fitness coach, I will show you how!

Take Charge - Take ownership of yourself. We are not helpless victims of the environment or bad genes. There is plenty we can all do to steer our destiny. Adopting a healthier lifestyle will ultimately be much more fun, rewarding & remember ....the best wealth is health. Take the reins, and become the best you!

Please visit my corporate site:
www.TorontoCorporateHealthandFitnessCoach.com

Skinny Fat Syndrome

BEWARE!

Skinny Fat Syndrome is very REAL! If someone appears to be slim or is at a “healthy” body weight - it does NOT mean they are fit. The body’s fat/muscle ratio can be far too high. Traditional assessors such as body weight & BMI do NOT differentiate between fat mass and muscle mass - so they are very misleading. Getting your body fat% assessed professionally is important to your health. Those with SFS are still at risk for metabolic syndrome. Even though you might fit into those skinny jeans - proper diet & exercise, including resistance training are critical to your health!