Magic is ALWAYS an Illusion: 10 Days to a Fit'N'Feisty 2014

This time of year makes me sick. And, no, it's not just the food. My Facebook newsfeed is spewing with sponsored posts claiming the next "miracle" fat loss program, incredible, rapid weight loss with ZERO lifestyle changes, simple as taking a magic pill, one "simple" trick to finally losing it all after struggling your whole life...how COULD you have missed it? You didn't. Give your head a shake!!

This is a BILLION dollar industry. Think about it... the average America goes on FOUR different weight loss programs or attempts every single year. EVERY YEAR!!! They make BILLIONS making sure you come back for more and we want fast everything without any inconvenience, right? We are limited on time, energy, budget... but I can guarantee you if you REALLY want it, you WILL find a way. Millions find a way to budget for a new iPhone every second week, I know you can make this work. We all have 24 hours in a day.

I've been there! Going in circles, losing the weight, gaining the weight, losing the weight.... so many things work for everyone and you're just broken, right? You could eat salad all day and not lose an ounce, right? Wrong.

You are going about it all wrong. Guaranteed. And that's NOT your fault! We're told Lean Cuisine's are healthy, 1000 calories is reasonable, losing 25lbs in 25 seconds is acceptable, that non-fat anything is healthy and that dieting involves mountains of salad and bland food and EXHAUSTING exercise. It's not EASY to make lifestyle changes and although the effort may seem HUGE and probably is, you're NOT doing it right. Unfortunately, what I learned so very painfully, and finally admitted with deep regret and agony, after years of studying exercise and nutrition science as an obsessive, neurotic hobby and failing over and over, effectively destroying my metabolism following the advice of two different coaches I trusted with my life, I fell to my knees and begged for dieting mercy! Even now, it's second nature to me and it's STILL not easy to lose weight!

Stop kidding yourself. The majority of people are not broken and NO ONE is hopeless beyond measure. If you've beaten your metabolism from years of crash dieting it CAN be fixed. If you've engrained all the wrong "rules" into your skull you CAN reprogram your brain.

The first step is admitting and realizing that what you've been doing is not working. Even if you have no idea why, just admit it. I promise, you won't die.

2014 is going to be POWERFUL!! Join me :)

Chelsea

10 Days to a Successful 2014: Balance

If you're like many, your struggle with balance in everyday life and the holidays are no different. Sure, you allow yourself indulgences but does that REALLY constitute balance? What IS balance?


Here's what I used to do and "thought" I lived balanced. I would enjoy the social occasions but starve myself all day, "saving" my calories for the binge meal to come, knowing that no matter how hard I tried I would still binge so I might as well deprive calories to compensate. Following the holiday or social occasion I would berate myself and feel SO guilty for over-indulging and follow-up with a binge-exercise session to "burn off" the horrendous, sickening amounts of "forbidden" food I'd eaten. Sound a little familiar?


I can tell you what it feels like to be imprisioned in your own mind, inside that diet-mentality, because I was stuck there from age ten until the last year or so, to the point that I needed professional help and intensive in-patient treatment to help me cope with my severely disordered eating. I put off this image that I was so healthy and others would look at my baby-size rabbit salad and lean protein and think of how healthy I was, not realizing that I was DRASTICALLY under-eating, exhausted, freezing from a sluggish metabolism (aka lack of calories and fats in particular), catching every illness the breeze blew by, moody and felt like a horrible mother, wife and daughter. Is that really the price we feel we need to pay to be skinny????



You're doing "well" at socially isolating yourself sometimes, the master of all willpower, strength of a super-human. Then suddenly you lose your marbles and for the life of you can't even keep yourself from eating to the point of near vomiting, you have NO willpower and feel weak, stupid, and useless. This might be a bit extreme but something millions suffer from. Is this how you talk to yourself? I still struggle with this all the time, it's NOT easy to overcome and change that mindset, no matter what any guru tells you. It will probably take years of work and will always be a struggle to some extent, but each struggle brings you closer. Those beliefs are engrained so tightly in our minds from a young age, thanks to all those fancy diet magazines, articles, programs, fads, gimmicks and black and white programs. We're always being told "eat this, not that", this is bad, this is good, no one ever talks about living WITH the food. This mentality is what creates disordered eating and serious eating disorders, low self-esteem and self-worth that is directly tied to the number on the scale and whether or not we're being "good". We're teaching this mentality to our daughters whether we think we are or not.

Think about it logically, is one, two or even three larger meals for ONE week going to cause you to wake up one day 50lbs heavier? No. And just because you have these meals doesn't mean you should throw up your white flag, scream mercy and continue your binge-fest until the New Year when you VOW to grow the willpower of a thousand men overnight and never want to eat that delicious food ever again! Not gunna happen, by the way. WHY does it have to be so black and white? You'll have gained 10lbs easy by the end of Christmas, especially if you normally restrict calories quite a bit, and then you've got an extra 10lbs to lose, that's a lot more exercise punishment and starvation. Sure, it's easy to say you'll never eat it again when you've just had 15 servings but what about when you're starving on your crazy diet in a day or two? It's going to happen faster than you want. You might even be "motivated" enough to stick with it and lose crazy weight for weeks or months but that deprivation is GOING to get to you and when you rebound, the more restrictive you were the WORSE it's going to be.

This IS the nasty, life-leeching, twisted diet mentality we are FED is "normal"! Please, DARE to think for yourself! This is what took me YEARS to realize. I HAD all the knowledge yet struggled deeply every single holiday, social occasion and night out. It's not just once a year, it's all year round, weekly and sometimes daily! I would work to the point of exhaustion in the gym for days afterward, compensating with lower calories, convinced that this was a healthy way because I was avoiding the weight gain and stayed skinny. Let me tell you right now, weight gain is NOT a measure of health, neither is weight loss. I was NOT healthy, either. Skinny, yes, healthy no.


So, what is balance, then? Feeling completely lost and hopeless yet? Wait!
Imagine going to a social event and not having any "forbidden" foods. Imagine the freedom to enjoy indulgences without the feeling of desperation every time you take another bite and can't stop yourself, (last one I SWEAR). Imagine feeling satisfied and full without that sense of panic later on, the next day or next week when it's all over. Imagine genuinely being able to walk away from mountains of junk food or being able to pick just a few items without feeling like you "can't" or "have to", without having to convince yourself you're strong and don't need any of it, meanwhile you go hungry instead out of fear of eating it and spiralling out of control. Imagine KINDNESS toward yourself, understanding that you're human when you DO overindulge (because you will) and not getting your G-string all tied up in a knot about it, not spending hours in the gym the day before and after! Imagine how much stress would be relieved, how much extra time you'd have and how many others things you could put that mental energy toward. Probably hard to imagine!

Balance is NOT complete deprivation and "not needing" the food you grew up with, the food that tugs your soul-strings and creates a feeling of inner-happiness. We are human beings, food is naturally a sense of comfort, particularly in our culture and society in North America. It's everywhere, at every social occasion! We celebrate with it at baby and wedding showers, mourn with it at funerals, ACCEPT it is ALWAYS going to be there and that you CAN enjoy it!

Cheers,
Chelsea

10 Days to a Successful 2014

Day One: Sloooooow Dooooooown

If you're looking for success and have yet to find it perhaps it's time to look at the approach. You can't just sign up for a marathon without a progressive plan. You don't start at 26 miles, do you? We want to explode off the starting line with SO much excitement and passion that we are utterly breathless and wheezing before the end of the first mile. You burn yourself out quickly, possibly even injure yourself if you manage to get further. Sound familiar? Millions of people are doing this, over and over and over. It took me 8 years of this mindset to begin wondering what I was missing. 

Think about it. Is this approach really effective? You've made the decision, you're FINALLY ready to change your life!! You're going to pour EVERYTHING you have into making it happen and you want it to happen FAST to keep you motivated. Your intentions are good, nothing short of pure, soul-burning desire to succeed, whatever the cost! Just hold on! Take a step back, a deep, cleansing breath, relax and start again. It's not a sprint, it's a life-long marathon.

Why Rapid Changes and Quick Fixes Don't Work Long Term

Now don't get me wrong, there is ALWAYS the exception to the rule, the people that have incredible success with fads, gimmicks, hyped up garbage and crazy diet strategies. Those are the ones you see in before and after's but look for the long term results and I bet you will have a hell of a time tracking those down. 

Take it slow. I know you want to get up and go, start that crazy program, spend hours in the gym and drastically reduce your calories. We are North Americans! We are brought up with quick fixes, fast food, convenience. We are ULTRA fast-paced, there is no time for taking ANYTHING slow! To be perfectly honest there are LOADS of programs that will cause weight loss. You can get results on a donut diet but your quality of health and chances of long-term success will be significantly lower and often your quality of health and metabolism suffer dearly. I did this, myself, just a few years ago in under a year. Not only that but this approach creates all kinds of disadvantages you probably weren't aware of. 

Not all Weight Loss is Equal

Rapid weight loss ALWAYS breaks down muscle. This is NOT good and will cause that skinny-fat phenomenon. High body fat and low body weight carries the same risk factors as someone who has the same body fat percentage and is overweight! You'll lack that sexy, toned and healthy shape and be jiggly all over. If you were quite overweight you'll have more issues with excess skin due to the lack of muscle "filling" it out. Especially if you're working the same muscle groups day in and day out, spending long, monotonous days on boring cardio machines and skipping the weights because you don't want to turn into she-hulk. No, you won't wake up looking like a steroid-fiend after a few weeks, months, or even years of lifting. That sort of definition and build takes a ridiculous amount of time, dedication, and highly specific and customized nutrition and training. 

I don't know about you, but I would MUCH rather spend 45 minutes in the gym with a well-balanced diet, eating 2000 calories a day, that isn't making me want to eat my children. I have FAR better things I could be doing with my time and energy than dragging out workouts and dieting to extremes, cutting out multiple food groups and obsessing over numbers. Work out SMARTER, not necessarily harder. 

Where Do We Go From Here?

Logically, if you are overweight and begin at 1000 calories and 2 hours in the gym 5 days a week, what happens when you hit the inevitable plateau? Your only option would be to DECREASE calories or INCREASE workouts, right? What happens if your mega program lacks the rapid results you're aching for? Suddenly it's not worth the effort. Do you think you'll still be motivated to spend 2 hours a day in the gym sweating oceans when your progress stalls for weeks or months? How about when life inevitably happens, the kids get sick, the car breaks down, you have 10 extra responsibilities on your plate, and you suddenly don't have time for such a workout? Do you really want to be eating 800 calories a day to keep seeing progress? If you nix those extensive workouts you can bet you'll see some reversal in progress pretty darn quickly from that hiatus. Even more discouraging!

PLAN and Accept 

I'm telling you, these things happen. It seems every time we set our efforts on something positive that life throws boulders in your path. Every. Single. Time. That's not just you, that's the way it is. That's the way life ALWAYS will be! Don't wait for that to CHANGE. YOU have to be prepared to dodge them, dart around them and, sometimes, accept when things don't go as planned. Because they will NEVER go as planned. 

WHAT SOCIETY HAS BEEN DOING ISN"T WORKING SO STOP DOING IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS!!! If you got results and it didn't last, chances are it's not YOU that is weak, useless and pathetic, lacking the strength and willpower to succeed. It could mean the program was setup poorly to create rapid results with NO attention to long-term results and what creates them. Slow, calculated, sustainable life changes. Are we getting the idea yet? ;)  

Find a Solid Source you can Trust

Is it easy? No. If you want something you CAN achieve it with the RIGHT guidance and direction. Throw away your fads and gimmicks, diet pills, fat burners, wraps, creams, lotions, laxatives, vibration machines, magic drinks and anything else that promises miracle results without real effort because you can bet your ass you will be disappointed in the end, back to your previous weight or more in 2/3 of cases (thanks to burning of all that calorie-burning muscle). There is no magic, no secrets, just science and old fashioned persistence and long-term commitment. No matter what, if you are constantly moving forward, making small changes, you WILL get to your goal. Maybe not in 3 months or even 6 months, maybe not even in 5 years, but you cannot deny that you WILL get there if you continue to learn, grow and keep on keeping on. 

Cheers.

JOIN our 2014 15 Day Flat-Belly Detox or 15 Day Inch Loss Jumpstart challenges starting January 6! Click HERE to learn more on our Facebook Challenge page! 

* Check back in the coming days for Part 2 on discovering what drives you * 

* For more information on nutrition and science-based weight management program visit HealthyStrong * 

Take Off Your Sunglasses!

Yesterday I was listening to an audiobook that echoed within my soul. I could hear the pieces clicking together in my head, finally finding where they were supposed to fit. Suddenly, it all became so vivid and clear, as I removed my purple sunglasses for the first time. WHY is it that How-To programs simply aren't enough, EVEN when the intention, action and sheer determination to succeed are present?

I want to share with you an example that was used in the book entitiled, "If How-To's Were Enough We Would All Be Skinny, Rich and Happy" by Brian Klemmer. In the first Chapter he talks about why How-To's are not enough, why one single guru cannot teach everyone to be skinny, rich and happy.

The success of an individual depends primarily on the sunglasses the eyes are seeing through. If you are born with purple sunglasses you will believe that a white piece of paper is, in fact, purple. If someone tries to tell you the paper is white you would probably call them crazy. White does not even exist in your vocabulary because you have never seen or experienced white, you have only seen purple. You may not even realize you are WEARING those sunglasses unless you were to educate yourself on sunglasses.

So, you hear about sunglasses and are intrigued so you search for more information. Upon finding a solid source your eyes are opened to the fact that you do, indeed, have purple sunglasses on. "How could this be?", you ask. You remove those sunglasses and suddenly the world appears very different than it has until this moment. You see the paper and suddenly it is white. Wow! Had you chosen to never learn about sunglasses you wouldn't have even been willing and open to SEE that sunglasses exist and the way we see and do things can be altered, with the simple KNOWLEDGE that those sunglasses exist. The wonder truly is that we can REMOVE these sunglasses in as little as a few seconds!

If you find yourself stuck in a world of purple, unable to make the changes you so desire, perhaps it is the sunglasses you are wearing. Perhaps it is your CORE beliefs, those unconscious thoughts you were not even aware you had, preventing you from seeing beyond the purple sunglasses. So the answer? Start looking for sunglasses!

What IF you knew you could open your world to all kinds of colors just by LEARNING about the sunglasses. You don't have to accept all of them, but this is exactly why being OPEN to new things and ideas, thoughts can revolutionize your life, help you move forward. There is always new information emerging, never allow yourself to become stagnant by refusing to accept new information. Who knows, it might even change the course of your entire life!

Happy, Healthy Holidays?!?

Happy Holidays!

For most it can’t come soon enough (minus the cost of gifts!). The New Year is coming. Will you be making some resolutions this year?

Over 50% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions and only 20% follow through with them! Top 10 resolutions in 2012 include;

1)   Lose Weight

2)   Get organized

3)   Spend less/save more

4)   Enjoy life to the fullest

5)   Stay fit/healthy

6)   Learn something exciting

7)   Quit smoking

8)   Help someone with their dreams

9)   Fall in love

10) Spend time with family

I don’t think we need to wait for a day to roll around to start making and striving for goals. EVERY single day we have the opportunity to be better, why should it be black and white??? Start TODAY making better decisions. I’m not talking about not enjoying the holidays and stressing over calories, weight gain and fat- NO one should be expecting to lose weight over the holidays unless you want to feel miserable, left out and deprived! But does that mean we should go crazy with the holiday goodies because we’re starting the “mother of all diets” on January 1??? NO!!!!

NIX black and white thinking and start focusing on eating MORE quality food like fruits, veggies and lean meats. Don’t focus on what you CAN’T or shouldn’t be having, focus. Make sure you let yourself indulge without the guilt and self-berrating behaviours. Don’t go punishing yourself with excessive exercise or not eating all day in preparation. This is NOT a balanced, happy or healthy lifestyle. This only feeds the issues and compounds them. Trust me. 20 years of experience over here dieting and failing, never achieveing health but often losing lots of weight (and feeling like crap as a result because I didn’t even CARE about health!) 

So go! Enjoy the Holidays, focus on family, friends, what you’re thankful for and what you would like to change in the new year. Enjoy those treats in moderation (tell yourself you’re bad for having any and you can be sure to binge since you’re “never” going to enjoy it again), make sure you’re still getting quality nutrition as much as possible, continue with exercise and healthy active habits and feel the freedom that comes with it!

Here are some specials for December. Please consider supporting small local businesses over the Holidays, you know, the people that work real hard to earn every dollar! Your friend who sells online or from home, the corner shop. KNOW that your dollars are supporting someone else’s Christmas and holiday season instead of some billion dollar box store that considers customer service a kid who isn’t sure nor cares what you’re talking about anyway J  Let me help you create the perfect last minute gifts- the gift of health and incredible quality products that work, have no impact on the environment and that are safe for the whole family!

Cheers!

Live 2014 STRONG!!

Join me in 2014 to become the BEST version of you! 2013 brought a LOT of challenges, lessons learned and personal growth. Not too long ago I was floating in a sea of confusion when it came to supplementing and toxins! It felt overwhelming- where do I even BEGIN?!? It was easier to go about my days with only vague ideas (and in some cases what I took to be true, but without any real, solid scientific evidence) when it came to supplementing. I ate well and assumed I got everything I needed from that food. Perfect? No, but no one is perfect, right? I heard on some doctor show that the cheap prenatals were the same as the name brand prenatals in Walmart so I could save some money, never even KNOWING that vitamins were made THREE different ways and that there was actually some really solid, and clear, evidence that poor quality vitamins can actually do MORE harm than good!

VERY well stated in the Lankmark Study!

  

This study was NOT done by Shaklee! 

Note that in SEVERAL areas supplement users were actually WORSE off taking some other brand of vitamins versus NOTHING at all! There are numerous studies illustrating the dangers of synthetic supplements. Vitamin D2, for example, has been shown toxic at dramatically lower dosages than vitamins D3. Beta-carotene was found to INCREASE lung cancer risk and, if lung cancer was already developing, INCREASE the rate and metastisis of the cancer (spreading). Any study I have seen talking about toxicity concerns have been at either incredibly unrealistic dosages and/or on SYNTHETIC vitamins (those that are MAN made because it is not possible to PATENT a natural vitamin). If you would like more in depth information on quality issues that separate the 3 different ways vitamins are made please contact me to attend a free online or one-on-one seminar. See event schedule attached!

 

Education is ESSENTIAL and has grown into an incredible passion of mine over the last 10 years but I have always neglected MICRO-nutrients (vitamins and minerals), paying close attention to calories, protein, carbs and fats with the assumption that I was doing well.

My body was CLEARLY indicating to me that there were some details missing. Not too long ago I suffered with chronic fatigue, afternoon crashes, poor memory and recall, mental fog and “spacey” feeling, symptoms of thyroid dysfunction, low blood sugar, joint pain, headaches, migraines, often feeling ill, severe PMS and menstruation..the list went on. I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and chronic fatigue syndrome at 19 years old. By definition, both these diagnoses are determined with testing, when all tests come back “normal”. Basically there is no explanation for your symptoms. So you’re either depressed, it’s all in your head or it’s something most doctors don’t have training in or screen for- vitamin deficiencies. Even when these levels are within normal there can be symptoms of SUB-clinical deficiency. “Optimal” levels are determined by population averages. Considering the nation’s average diet, lifestyle, stress, environmental pollutions and lack of activity it’s no wonder that the averages will definitely be below optimal health levels!

The reality is this- malnutrition is an EPIDEMIC. Autoimmune disease is up 500% over the last 10 years ALONE!!! Asthma, ADD/ADHD, autism, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, stroke are ALL increasing! 50% of our children suffer with a CHRONIC illness. 33% of our children are predicted to have SHORTER life spans than their parents. Are you comfortable with this? Do you really think we’re doing, “just fine”? I don’t. And I know for a FACT that there are a LOT of little things we can do to change our fate. From personal experience, yes, but SCIENCE is proving it time and time again. We don’t hear so much about it because prevention doesn’t make the big bucks.

If you’re feeling lost in a sea of confusion then allow me to GUIDE you through it! My passion is in educating, sharing the knowledge so many have difficulty sorting through. I love SCIENCE and helping people sort through the misleading, poorly regulated and outright dishonest world of PRODUCTS. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming! There are never any secrets, I will have something solid to back up what I say so that you know you can walk away with a greater knowledge and understanding of how to navigate supplements of all kinds, food, diets, exercise and toxins. Whether or not you are ready to act on that information is completely individual, but if you want to make changes LEARNING is the BEST tool you can have in your pocket! You ALWAYS choose the speed and depth of learning and action. There are MANY very bad products out there but there are also some good ones and just a very select few actual gems!

** 15 Day 180 JumpStart Challenge begins in January! 

Living with FIRE!

THIS is what I want. Not money or fame but to live with significance. No regrets at the end of my life. A rule I live by is to think if it will really matter to me, on my death bed (if I'm lucky enough to contemplate my life this way before death!), at the end of my life. If the answer isn't a clear yes then I know I can move on, even if it seems difficult to let whatever it is go. 

My primary drive has never really been money. Do I want to travel and live comfortably? Of course I do! But if I'm lucky enough to find success in my search for a greater significance, in helping others grow and discover their own potential, to live their BEST life, then that is nothing but an added bonus. I have been so dark, buried in the crap of life, having been dealt a much more difficult hand in most experiences in my life than most. But it never has and never will keep me down and I find great comfort in KNOWING, very deep down in my soul, that there is a greater purpose for me. I'm not satisfied sitting at home, working, eating, sleeping and playing. I love my family to the ends of the world but I I NEED more in life, for myself AND for them. I want to teach my children understanding in a world full of prejudice and assumptions. I want to teach them to not give up when things get tough in a culture of people that quit when the going gets tough. I want to teach them inner strength, resilience and a hard work ethic, to never settle for anything less than their dreams and to NEVER stop dreaming big (and putting in the effort to achieve them). I want to SHOW them by modelling it myself because children learn what you DO, NOT what you SAY. Look around. Often people's children are a mirror reflection of themselves. Mothers with low self-esteem often raise children with low self-esteem. Mothers who struggle with food addiction often raise children who struggle with food addiction. There are always exceptions to the rule but generally speaking our children will very likely become a more modern version of ourselves. With all the baggage I had (anxiety, severe depression, self harm, disordered eating and incredibly seriously low self-esteem) I KNEW I had to make some changes in the way I was living and thinking. It was time to take responsibility. 

 No, I'm not satisfied with the "normal", with disliking my job, missing important moments with my boys. I need something bigger, to reach MORE people in hopes of changing the life of even just one. 

Each and every hardship has been leading me, redirecting me, to the path I'm meant to be on. Each one serving a purpose, I'm sure. Maybe it just helps me cope but there seems to be a pattern when I think about it! When we live with SIGNIFICANCE success comes along for the ride. When we live without significance or when significance takes a backseat that success is often short-lived or doesn't provide the happiness and satisfaction you seek.