Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Showing posts with label health. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
FOOD for Thought and my FUTURE
Over the past year my brain and body have undergone a dramatic transformation. I have fed my brain an abundance of knowledge within the Holistic Nutrition field. I have studied, researched, completed courses, read, experimented and tested countless new nutrition and wellness approaches. My body has gone from an outwardly appearing healthy individual who was filled with toxins and imbalances, into a rejuvenated and balanced body both inside and out. I have begun taking on new clients to look deep into the root causes of their health status and have formulated logical and realistic health prescriptions and action plans to educate them on making better choices for their unique personal wellness journeys.
Along the way I have altered my approach to fitness, nutrition, lifestyle habits, emotional perception and the way in which I go about my day. I have also changed the way I help people around the world, the philosophies I hold and my methods of delivery. The more I learn the more confident I am that there is so much more to nutrition and health then we ever thought was possible. As I am entering my seventeenth year within the health and fitness industry I am confident in saying that I will continue to learn and grow as a person and professional for the rest of my days on earth.
This new chapter of my life is a wonderfully exciting one and feels like the perfect puzzle piece to my already acquired knowledge through my massage therapy degree, personal training specialization, team building management and personal athletic accomplishments.
Over the past year I have found peace within myself and a more positive and laid back approach to life. I have learned that balance between mind, body, and spirit is essential for everyday living. I have learned that being within the moment is extremely important and challenging. Personal relationships have been nurtured and even more importantly I have learned that being aware and grateful are two very important ingredients to any recipe. During stressful times it is always challenging to remember to live each day like it was your last, but I have made a point to never leave words unspoken.
Some of you may laugh at this last sentence and that is probably because you know me well. I have always been one to speak my mind and I am reassuring you that my mother can vouch for that. I have been punished, ousted, ostracized, dumped, fired, threatened and almost thrown in jail for my wild ability to stand up for what I feel is right and to blow whistles when I think it is appropriate. There are times when I am sure that I should have kept my big trap shut, but most of the time I am proud of my ability to do speak out. My personal belief is that life is too short to beat around the bush and to just tackle situations by getting to the root of the problem. I suppose that is why I choose the Holistic Nutrition field and decided to leave Dietetics and traditional medicine to others (yes that was my loud mouth again).
As this journey has unfolded I have uncovered some of the most disturbing information I have ever seen. There have been many days when I would come home and drop into bed crying at some of the disgusting ways man (mankind) has destroyed the earth and one another. I have almost turned away from the health and wellness industry a few times thinking that it is a lost cause. I have asked myself daily “how can one person change a world that is so damaged and distorted”. For a few hours I give up and then I see more governments, companies, and money hungry people take advantage of people that do not know any better. I read hundreds of studies produced by scientists, the traditional medical professionals, major worldwide corporations, and holistic practitioners to obtain all points of view on a specific subject. I then go back to science and relate the information to each specific situation to see if it aligns with my philosophies. Nine times out of ten I see humans destroying humans because of the need for money or power (one in the same from what I can see) and I see a world filled with not only toxic environments and food supplies but toxic people.
In amongst the dreary situation we are all faced with at the moment I also see a glimmer of hope. I take pleasure in seeing smiles on the faces of people who are uplifted by information and knowledge that I share. I am gracious to the people that take time to express their gratitude, but more importantly I feel as though the world can be changed when I see the extreme changes a person can make simply by adopting the recommendations that we implement. I have seen major diseases heal, severe allergies dissipate, infertile couples conceive, pre-mature babies develop, pregnant mothers thrive, and athletes achieve the unthinkable. So in essence as long as I continue to see positive changes in the world then I am able to continue to fight the “bad guys”.
With all of the posts, recipes and knowledge that I share I hope that you too can “share” and educate yourselves and friends further on how our food, lifestyle, environment, activity and stress levels are determining how healthy you are!
In health and love,
~Jenny B
www.jennybfit.ca
jenny@jennybfit.ca
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Transition Time: PART I
F word #1 FAMILY
A few weeks ago I asked my sister, brother-in-law (FBIL), mother and soul mate (Goat) what they would say are 3 words that best described me.
This is what they said:
Mother: Witty, beautiful and sarcastic
Sis: Creative, driven and funny
FBIL: Funny, opinionated and warm-hearted
Goat: Funny, funnier, funniest
I cannot helped but think three things; one my sister should have rearranged her answers in order to be more accurate, two FBIL, mom and Goat are SMRT people and lastly I feel a lot of pressure to suddenly fill a comedic role through my blog. Regardless I just wanted to share a little bit about myself, or at least how my FAMILY views me!
F word #2 FOOD
Over the past few months I have been in experimental mode and the kitchen has been my laboratory (insert evil laugh here). Poor FAMILY you might say, but generally I think most of my experiments usually turn out alright. If the family doesn’t like the FOOD then the racoons certainly enjoy it! November was cookie month and I had 6 recipes to try out in hopes of having 3 winners for Christmas time. Luckily our household has a high cookie tolerance and I am not too fond of them myself. After the dough was rolled, cut out, baked and tasted the clear cut winners were the gingerbread rounds with butter cream icing in the middle. These tasty treats (WHAT I had to try a few) were re-named cheeseburgers due to the soft butter cream centres being rolled in Christmas sprinkles which were sandwiched together by soft brown gingerbread wafers which resembled hamburger buns. After 4 batches I am pretty certain I found the perfect recipe.
On to the more productive FOOD experiment details. I have been testing out and educating myself on the intricacies of the PALEO diet and how to combine PALEO approved foods to make menu worthy creations. I am fairly knowledgeable on the high fat, no gluten, grain and high protein diet as throughout my 2011 contest season I was primary on a fat loading / ketosis program. What is new to me is that the Paleo diet does not eliminate natural sugars from fruit. This is a new concept for my body and is perhaps a great balance for a long term nutrition plan for many people. This is why I have a few lab rats (ok they are people) I know on the diet and I am monitoring them in regards to performance, energy levels, fat loss, muscle gains and overall opinions on how easy the program is to follow. I will keep you up to date on my findings. As a health and fitness consultant I find that it is integral for me to not only test new nutrition approaches on myself but others as well. Constant learning and brain building!
Here are my two new favourite Paleo approved foods and my findings.
1. The almighty Bacon Wrapped Date
Let’s just say that there is nothing like that salty rich exterior and the warm sweetness of the date. The first time I made them it was obvious that the type of date you use is VERY important. Medjool dates are the only ones I would use; keep those sticky dates in the cupboard for this one. That means you Lee! Soak those small skewers in water for a good 20 minutes before stabbing that plump date (take the bloody pit out lazy) wrapped in bacon. Of course I am always trying to make food better so after the first attempt I thought that it needed a little crunch. Round two proved that the almond stuffed date (just replace the pit with an almond) made a big difference. I still think it can be improved upon so next time I will be putting some forbidden goat cheese in the date just to see what it will be like. I personally think it will be epic!
2. Almond Cashew Jamberry Bars
I have only made these once and if I hurry home there may still be one in the freezer for me to eat, and if Skippy (Goats youngest daughter) likes them then they have to be good. They are a mixture of lemon juice, blackberries, raspberry and honey spread on top of a thick layer of crushed almonds, cashews and pure maple syrup. I still have doubts on how this can possibly be good for you and I will be altering the recipe to make them more solid and replace the maple syrup and honey with a few other ingredients. The maple syrup and honey are apparently allowed in small doses on the Paleo diet. Heck if these are allowed then this program is looking more and more feasible as the clock ticks.
You might be able to tell that FOOD is a real passion of mine and I could probably talk about it for an eternity, so I should really quite while I am ahead.
F word #3 FITNESS
Yes, I did kind of leave you hanging on the last blog. Sorry but I had to create some kind of anticipation and bribing you with food wasn’t going to be possible via the net. As I stated in my last entry I decided not to get up on stage and compete in 2012.
Over the past year my sister has gotten involved in crossfit. She is the most hardcore women you will ever know and has done some of the most insane sports, events and workouts known to woman/man. After hearing about her crossfit journey over the past year I started to become more and more intrigued. In September my sister came to visit me and I did my first crossfit WOD (workout of the day). For those of you that are wondering what crossfit is I suggest you take a look at a few YouTube videos and try to keep your jaw closed when watching them. Each WOD has a name and this particular one was nasty. His name was Tabata and I will never forget him. The WOD was 8 sets of 20 second reps with 10 seconds of rest in between each set. We started with air squats (the air seemed heavier than usual that day) and by the sixth set I am sure I looked at my sister with evil eyes and asked her WTF she was trying to do to me.
You see I have never been one for cardio of any kind. In fact I would bargain with my coach and do anything I had to (within reason) do in order to always avoid cardio. When ever anyone asked me how much cardio I did when I prepared for a figure competition I would mumble the answer under my breath so they could never hear me. The average person does over 1.5 hours of cardio minimum a day for about 8 weeks leading up to a show. Personally I have never done more than an hour a day for more than 2 weeks. I never saw the point because it always tore down the muscle I worked so hard to get.
So fast forward to me attempting to complete this “so called WOD” with my “so called sister” who was supposed to love me, not try to kill me (there is my sarcasm as my mother would say). Once the squats were done we moved on to pull-ups and then sauntered over to the box jumps (evil things) and then ended with some sit-ups. Now this workout was tough but I had done tough workouts before. The next morning I walked with a limp and stiffened up like a board and can still remember that day like it was yesterday. As I limped around the house I knew that this was a sport I wanted to dig a little deeper into.
In November I gathered up enough courage to sign up for the set of fundamentals classes at Altitude Crossfit in Burlington. I knew that if I was going to get involved in a new sport that I would need a mentor, a community to support and push me and a facility in which to train in (and perhaps an ambulance nearby). Those classes almost killed me and I know that I will have to train 10 times harder than most in order to progress because I have never trained my cardiovascular system. I also have a wrist and thumb injury that requires me to alter a few exercises in order to get the WODs done. I do what I have to do in order to getter done!
So this is my new journey, a journey on a brand new path, unexplored by my body. My priorities are no longer getting as lean or as symmetrical as I can. My priorities and goals are doing a 180 and are geared towards building my strength, developing my techniques, and getting these lungs and this heart a moving!
I use to say that if I was ever being chased by someone that there was a 99% chance that I would just turn around and try to talk my way out of the situation instead of attempting to run. I have never run a mile without stopping in my life. This new journey I am embarking upon is frightening and there will be good days and there will be bad. This journey is not unlike any other goal that each one of us has. I believe that dreams are goals without a plan, a roadmap, a true belief and desire to achieve them. If you believe, have a little faith and have the proper tools to achieve your goals then anything is possible. So my dream begins……………….
A few weeks ago I asked my sister, brother-in-law (FBIL), mother and soul mate (Goat) what they would say are 3 words that best described me.
This is what they said:
Mother: Witty, beautiful and sarcastic
Sis: Creative, driven and funny
FBIL: Funny, opinionated and warm-hearted
Goat: Funny, funnier, funniest
I cannot helped but think three things; one my sister should have rearranged her answers in order to be more accurate, two FBIL, mom and Goat are SMRT people and lastly I feel a lot of pressure to suddenly fill a comedic role through my blog. Regardless I just wanted to share a little bit about myself, or at least how my FAMILY views me!
F word #2 FOOD
Over the past few months I have been in experimental mode and the kitchen has been my laboratory (insert evil laugh here). Poor FAMILY you might say, but generally I think most of my experiments usually turn out alright. If the family doesn’t like the FOOD then the racoons certainly enjoy it! November was cookie month and I had 6 recipes to try out in hopes of having 3 winners for Christmas time. Luckily our household has a high cookie tolerance and I am not too fond of them myself. After the dough was rolled, cut out, baked and tasted the clear cut winners were the gingerbread rounds with butter cream icing in the middle. These tasty treats (WHAT I had to try a few) were re-named cheeseburgers due to the soft butter cream centres being rolled in Christmas sprinkles which were sandwiched together by soft brown gingerbread wafers which resembled hamburger buns. After 4 batches I am pretty certain I found the perfect recipe.
On to the more productive FOOD experiment details. I have been testing out and educating myself on the intricacies of the PALEO diet and how to combine PALEO approved foods to make menu worthy creations. I am fairly knowledgeable on the high fat, no gluten, grain and high protein diet as throughout my 2011 contest season I was primary on a fat loading / ketosis program. What is new to me is that the Paleo diet does not eliminate natural sugars from fruit. This is a new concept for my body and is perhaps a great balance for a long term nutrition plan for many people. This is why I have a few lab rats (ok they are people) I know on the diet and I am monitoring them in regards to performance, energy levels, fat loss, muscle gains and overall opinions on how easy the program is to follow. I will keep you up to date on my findings. As a health and fitness consultant I find that it is integral for me to not only test new nutrition approaches on myself but others as well. Constant learning and brain building!
Here are my two new favourite Paleo approved foods and my findings.
1. The almighty Bacon Wrapped Date
Let’s just say that there is nothing like that salty rich exterior and the warm sweetness of the date. The first time I made them it was obvious that the type of date you use is VERY important. Medjool dates are the only ones I would use; keep those sticky dates in the cupboard for this one. That means you Lee! Soak those small skewers in water for a good 20 minutes before stabbing that plump date (take the bloody pit out lazy) wrapped in bacon. Of course I am always trying to make food better so after the first attempt I thought that it needed a little crunch. Round two proved that the almond stuffed date (just replace the pit with an almond) made a big difference. I still think it can be improved upon so next time I will be putting some forbidden goat cheese in the date just to see what it will be like. I personally think it will be epic!
2. Almond Cashew Jamberry Bars
I have only made these once and if I hurry home there may still be one in the freezer for me to eat, and if Skippy (Goats youngest daughter) likes them then they have to be good. They are a mixture of lemon juice, blackberries, raspberry and honey spread on top of a thick layer of crushed almonds, cashews and pure maple syrup. I still have doubts on how this can possibly be good for you and I will be altering the recipe to make them more solid and replace the maple syrup and honey with a few other ingredients. The maple syrup and honey are apparently allowed in small doses on the Paleo diet. Heck if these are allowed then this program is looking more and more feasible as the clock ticks.
You might be able to tell that FOOD is a real passion of mine and I could probably talk about it for an eternity, so I should really quite while I am ahead.
F word #3 FITNESS
Yes, I did kind of leave you hanging on the last blog. Sorry but I had to create some kind of anticipation and bribing you with food wasn’t going to be possible via the net. As I stated in my last entry I decided not to get up on stage and compete in 2012.
Over the past year my sister has gotten involved in crossfit. She is the most hardcore women you will ever know and has done some of the most insane sports, events and workouts known to woman/man. After hearing about her crossfit journey over the past year I started to become more and more intrigued. In September my sister came to visit me and I did my first crossfit WOD (workout of the day). For those of you that are wondering what crossfit is I suggest you take a look at a few YouTube videos and try to keep your jaw closed when watching them. Each WOD has a name and this particular one was nasty. His name was Tabata and I will never forget him. The WOD was 8 sets of 20 second reps with 10 seconds of rest in between each set. We started with air squats (the air seemed heavier than usual that day) and by the sixth set I am sure I looked at my sister with evil eyes and asked her WTF she was trying to do to me.
You see I have never been one for cardio of any kind. In fact I would bargain with my coach and do anything I had to (within reason) do in order to always avoid cardio. When ever anyone asked me how much cardio I did when I prepared for a figure competition I would mumble the answer under my breath so they could never hear me. The average person does over 1.5 hours of cardio minimum a day for about 8 weeks leading up to a show. Personally I have never done more than an hour a day for more than 2 weeks. I never saw the point because it always tore down the muscle I worked so hard to get.
So fast forward to me attempting to complete this “so called WOD” with my “so called sister” who was supposed to love me, not try to kill me (there is my sarcasm as my mother would say). Once the squats were done we moved on to pull-ups and then sauntered over to the box jumps (evil things) and then ended with some sit-ups. Now this workout was tough but I had done tough workouts before. The next morning I walked with a limp and stiffened up like a board and can still remember that day like it was yesterday. As I limped around the house I knew that this was a sport I wanted to dig a little deeper into.
In November I gathered up enough courage to sign up for the set of fundamentals classes at Altitude Crossfit in Burlington. I knew that if I was going to get involved in a new sport that I would need a mentor, a community to support and push me and a facility in which to train in (and perhaps an ambulance nearby). Those classes almost killed me and I know that I will have to train 10 times harder than most in order to progress because I have never trained my cardiovascular system. I also have a wrist and thumb injury that requires me to alter a few exercises in order to get the WODs done. I do what I have to do in order to getter done!
So this is my new journey, a journey on a brand new path, unexplored by my body. My priorities are no longer getting as lean or as symmetrical as I can. My priorities and goals are doing a 180 and are geared towards building my strength, developing my techniques, and getting these lungs and this heart a moving!
I use to say that if I was ever being chased by someone that there was a 99% chance that I would just turn around and try to talk my way out of the situation instead of attempting to run. I have never run a mile without stopping in my life. This new journey I am embarking upon is frightening and there will be good days and there will be bad. This journey is not unlike any other goal that each one of us has. I believe that dreams are goals without a plan, a roadmap, a true belief and desire to achieve them. If you believe, have a little faith and have the proper tools to achieve your goals then anything is possible. So my dream begins……………….
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