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Friday 29 March 2013

The BEST Diet Out There



 I get messages literally every single day from people asking me to tell them what diet is the best to follow. With so many options out there (i.e., paleo, Weight Watchers, 8 Hour Diet, Dukan, etc), it is not surprising to me that people get overwhelmed when it comes to proper nutrition. Each of these diets uses a different method that promises fast weight loss but how on Earth do you know which diet to follow when there’s so many to choose from?

  
I’ll let you in on an industry secret. The best diet out there is finding one that is sustainable, not restrictive and satisfying. You cannot fully and honestly expect to go through life eating only raw foods or only eating carbohydrates at certain times of the day or only eating salads for every meal (when you hate salads). When you make a decision to eat healthfully, you need to toss out the diet mentality that so many of us are used to prescribing to. You need to switch out those negative thoughts to empowering, positive thoughts. For example, instead of saying, “I can’t have pizza” you could say, “I could have pizza but I choose not to.” BUT, that said, if it is a treat day, by all means, eat that pizza but just remember to be smart about it. Don’t eat an entire large size pizza to yourself.

 A well-balanced diet is absolutely ESSENTIAL to the healthy lifestyle equation. You can go to the gym and work your butt off for an hour every day but if your nutrition doesn’t reflect your goals, you just won’t progress. Believe me on this one. I spent 3.5 years working out hard, but it wasn’t until I really dialled in my nutrition and starting eating the right foods and the “bad” foods in moderation, my body didn’t really make a lot of huge changes. Or, I shouldn’t say that. My body did make changes but my mind didn’t. I have been a chronic yo-yo dieter for almost my whole life. When I started my weight loss journey in 2008, I thought that if I exercised often, I’d be okay to eat the Pilsbury cookie dough in our fridge for snacks every day. This, obviously, isn’t the answer. I would workout hard and eat well probably 60% of the time but the other 40% of the time, I would eat unhealthier foods in excess and then be angry that I wasn’t losing weight. Or I would commit to eating clean but then never let myself have treats which only lead me to binge eventually. It wasn’t until last year when I finally realized that I can still see progress with my fitness journey if I balance eating healthfully with eating the less nutritionally dense foods (i.e., pizza, French fries). 



                A well-balanced diet:
-          Has no restrictions, especially whole food groups or macronutrients
-          Allows everything (YES, even pizza & chocolate), in moderation
-          Is varied as well as flexible (Planned on chicken breasts for supper but feeling more like having eggs? Do it!)
-          Contains foods that you LIKE to eat, not foods you FEEL you HAVE to eat (don’t make yourself eat spinach if you hate spinach!)
-          Includes a lot of water
-          Is imperfect
-          Creates feelings of positivity towards foods
-          Is fulfilling

So, I’m sorry I cannot give you an exact diet plan to follow but I will tell you this: eat healthfully (whole grains, lean protein, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats) 80% of the time and use that 20% to eat those less-nutrient dense foods (see how I didn’t call them ‘junk’ foods or ‘unhealthy’ foods? That creates a negative relationship and we want to AVOID that). I don’t expect you to eat like a fitness model and you don’t have to. You just need to become more aware of what are more nutritionally sound food choices. Do not ever follow a diet that makes you feel like you're missing out on the foods you love. Doing so sets you up for a negative experience and implementing a healthy lifestyle change should be one of the most positive and empowering decisions you make.

Saturday 23 March 2013

How To Blend A Healthier Smoothie





                Not all shakes are created equal. For example, Shakeology differs greatly from your run-of-the-mill protein powder. This article, however, is not about the benefits of Shakeology (although you can read one about that here). This is an article about how to amp up the nutritional value in your average shake (be it a post-workout shake or  Shakeology) to make it even tastier and healthier for you.

                The possibilities for add-ins to your shakes are literally endless. I have so much fun playing around with different additions to my daily Shakeology as well as my post-workout shake.

(source: What Contains Gluten)

                Here are some great ideas for what you can throw into your blender the next time you make your shake:

-          Dates (remove the pit first!)
-          Pureed pumpkin
-          Spinach (sounds weird but trust me on this. It doesn’t add taste to your shake, just a handful of nutrients!)
-          Flaxseeds
-          Nuts
-          Frozen fruit
-          Oats (you can grind them first if you prefer your shakes to be less thick)
-          Honey
-          Cottage cheese
-          Yogurt
-          Other darky leaf greens (i.e., kale – which WILL change the taste of your shake)
-          Extracts (i.e., mint, caramel, butterscotch – use SPARINGLY though! A drop or two will do)
-          Nut butters (peanut butter, cashew butter, almond butter)
-          Cinnamon
-          Instant coffee granules (play around with flavoured versions too!)
-          Avocado
-          Wheat germ
-          Agave nectar
-          Cacao nibs
-          Maple syrup (a drop or two will do)
-          Tofu (adds no flavour!)


You can also change up the flavour of your shake by using a different liquid base. For example:

-          Water
-          Milk
-          Almond milk
-          Flavoured almond milk
-          Coconut milk
-          Juices (be wary of sugar content)
-          Tea
-          Coffee 

Remember, when you’re blending your shakes that the more liquid you put into the blender, the thinner your shake will be. The less liquid, the thicker it’ll be. However, that said, the more ice you put into the blender will also change the consistency of your shake. I prefer mine nice and thick (like a milkshake) so I put in a lot of ice!


What's your favorite shake recipe?

Saturday 2 March 2013

Perfect Protein Powder Pancakes



So I’ve been promising you all my wonderful protein pancake recipe for a few weeks now. And, finally, here it is. But first - a story.

I have been on the lookout for a good protein powder recipe since I found out what the heck protein powder was back in 2008. I must admit, I’ve been turned off by these kind of pancakes for quite some time because I just could not find a recipe that worked. I don ‘t know if I was just a terrible chef a few years ago when I first started trying these  recipes but I have finally found one that not only forms circles that actually look like pancakes, this recipe actually makes them taste good too! I decided to be brave and test out a new recipe a month or two ago and I have made my own tweaks to the it to come up with what you’ll see below. 

The great thing about this recipe is that it’s totally versatile, easy and you probably have all of the ingredients in your fridge or cupboard right now. Get creative with different versions of this recipe and let me know what you’ve come up with!


Chantelle’s Perfect Protein Powder Pancakes 


Ingredients
½ cup oats (I use Quaker quick oats)
1 scoop protein powder (I used Cinnabon Trutein but get creative here. The flavour you use slightly changes the flavour of the pancakes! Play with vanilla, chocolate, cookies and cream, peanut butter, etc)
1 banana, mashed (the riper, the better)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Stevia & cinnamon to taste
¾ c egg whites

Directions
Mix all ingredients together. Pour batter onto pre-heated griddle & cook as you would any regular pancake. Top with fruit of your choice (apples, bananas, blueberries, strawberries) or other toppings you think would be delicious (peanut butter, dark chocolate shavings, etc). 
 
These are amazing. My entire family loves them, even my four-year-old. In fact, she usually eats just as many or more as I do. Let me know your thoughts!

Friday 1 March 2013

Chantelle's P90X2 Transformation & Results



As soon as I heard about the release of the sequel to P90X back in 2011, I knew I had to have the program. I had done P90X in the past and had decent results with it (sadly, no before/after photos) so I was so excited to try the sequel. I began P90X2 at the very end of December in 2011 and completed it in April of 2012.


P90X2 is a totally different ball game than its predecessor. P90X was aimed at fat loss and muscle endurance or muscle growth (depending, I suppose, on what your goals for the program were and what kind of weight you were lifting). P90X2 takes it to the next level. It focuses heavily on functional exercises and a LOT more on core strengthening, balance, agility and exercises that allow participants to perform like an athlete. P90X was a 6-day a week program while P90X2 only required a 5 day a week commitment. Also, the yoga in P90X2? Way better. I couldn’t get myself to do the yoga in P90X but I actually enjoyed the new, shorter yoga DVD in the sequel.

I ended up losing 12 lbs and almost 20 inches off of my body in the three months I was on the program. Check out my before/after photos below.




Would I recommend the P90X2 program to friends and family? Definitely. And I’m not just saying that because I’m a Beachbody coach. Before I became a coach in October 2012, I was just a fitness fanatic looking for a program that would challenge me and get me excited about fitness again. P90X2 did that for me. It was different than any other program I had done in the past and I loved how strong and balanced it made me feel. I recommended this program to friends and family members before I became a coach and I will continue to recommend it !

Click here to learn more about X2!