By Victoria Joanna Bailey  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

We’re right in the middle of summer and there’s no better time or season to live in the moment and stop to smell the roses.  Literally.  We should all take more time to live in the present and enjoy our lives, even when the flowers aren’t in bloom, but let’s use this season to remind us just how important it is to live in the “right now”.

As driven, ambitious, independent and career-oriented women, I know this is easier said than done.  We spend our entire lives moving from one goal to the next and rarely stop long enough to acknowledge and enjoy our successes.   As 20- and 30-something’s it’s particularly challenging.  This is the time in our lives where we build our futures and have a long list of accomplishments we feel we must achieve in order to feel complete – get: married, pregnant, buy a home, promoted, into the dress size we’ve always wanted… the list goes on.

While ambition and hard work can serve us well helping us to create the life we want, we need to be conscious of our tendency to live in the future at the expense of experiencing the present.   As women, we are hard on ourselves at the best of times and so when we are always focused on the “thing” we haven’t yet achieved we are literally “missing out” on our lives.  We may have a wonderful relationship or job or friends, but we often focus on the one thing that is missing.   As a result, we aren’t as happy as we could be.  We aren’t at peace.

This doesn’t mean that we give up on our goals, but rather, we give up on our self-imposed timelines of when we think things should happen.  We stop rushing for the finish line and enjoy the journey. 

When we can see that growth is the fuel of life, we realize that growth is never ending.  There will always be the next thing that we want to attempt, achieve and attain; but in the meantime, we need to also be fully present living the life we have.  When we live in the future or the past, we are stuck in our heads.  We create anxiety, fear, and sadness, even depression.   By choosing to live in the present, we open ourselves up to experiencing our emotions.  We create space for intuition, joy and happiness to fill our lives. 

A wonderful thing happens as a result; time becomes less of an issue.  The things we think we still need become a little less urgent.  Ironically enough, we achieve the feeling of happiness and fulfillment that we’ve been chasing.  When we focus on the good things in our life rather than what we have yet to achieve, we are able to live in the moment and fall in love with our life… right now, which is the only moment that matters.

By Victoria Joanna Bailey  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

Ever since I can remember I’ve been determined to find my purpose and live a meaningful life.  I wasn’t satisfied with finding the right job or career, I needed to feel that whatever I was doing, I was meant to do.  I wanted to feel inspired and alive and most of all, authentic.

So I did what anyone seeking fulfillment would do…. I went to University to get a business degree, with a major in Accounting.   Okay, so in hindsight, it is painfully obvious that I was not on the right path.  However, as a 20 year old with the pressure and desire to succeed, you do what you have been raised to do, and for me, I was raised to do well in school, get an education and climb the corporate ladder.

After 10 years of job changes, career counselors, aptitude tests and well meaning advice from friends and family, I finally figured it out.  I stopped using my head and started using my heart.  There’s a saying that goes something like “You can’t solve a problem with the same thinking that created it.”   I realized, if my head got me to where I was, I would need to find another way, another form of guidance and decision-making.

What I have learned since those confusing early 20’s is that purpose and inspiration come from a deeper place, a place of connection with Self, with intuition, with something bigger. 

Living an inspired life requires courage, commitment and faith.  No one has the magic formula, so here are a few tips to get you moving in the direction of your dreams.

Tap into your intuition.  This is your internal guidance system.  Learn to trust your inner voice.  Meditate, journal, learn to pay attention to the way your intuition communicates with you – often this will first happen in hindsight and eventually you will be able to trust that voice and listen to it in the moment.

Have faith.  Set your intention, take action, but then surrender your ideas of how things “should’ happen.  Having faith means that you believe you are on the right track even in absence of evidence in your immediate reality.

Follow your bliss.  Your passions are the clues and guideposts to your unique purpose and path.  The word desire means “of the spirit” – your dreams are your roadmap to create an inspired life.   

Get outside of your head.  You may need to move beyond rationale, fear-based, logical thinking.  Not everything will make sense.  Our mental chatter is often based on other people’s fears and opinions that we’ve unconsciously absorbed. 

Get ready to leap.  If you wait for guarantees, you will never take action.  Your ability to leap will depend on how often you practice steps 1 through 4.  

By Victoria Joanna  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

Are you aware of your own power to change your life this instant?  Consider this, no matter what is happening in your life right now, you have the power to change your experiences. 

As a coach, my primary goal is to empower my clients with the tools necessary to create the results they want. One of the first steps in the process is understanding that you can choose how you feel, act and react to any circumstance or situation.  The power to choose comes from increasing one’s self-awareness.

My experience has shown that this is not always an easy concept to embrace.  This is especially true when we’re in a situation where we believe that someone, or something, needs to change in order for a particular area in our life to get better.   Hearing that it’s all up to us can often create resistance, defensiveness and anger.  We often perceive our circumstances as being caused by external factors.   While that is partially true, how we choose to react to them and the action we take or don’t take, is truly what has the largest impact on our experience. 

Part of the reason it’s initially difficult for us to think this way is that we tend to confuse choice and accountability with blame and responsibility.  We are not to “blame” for our circumstances nor are we “responsible” for everything that happens; but we do have “choice” and are “accountable” for our actions, perceptions and beliefs about what happens.

Many of us have been conditioned to see things from a certain perspective, as a result we wait for circumstances to change around us and until they do, we feel trapped, paralyzed and frustrated.  Our workload takes over our lives, our boss doesn’t provide enough support, our husband isn’t attentive or we just don’t have enough time to take care of our health.  We see all of these things as being beyond our control.  To the extent that we do so, we are powerless to change them.

Remember Gandhi’s famous quote “be the change you wish to see in the world.”  It resonates with so many people because it’s fundamentally true.  Change happens from within and begins with us.

When we start to see our life in this way, we will no longer be a victim of our circumstances and other people’s actions.  We will see that we have much more power than we realized and change is easier than it appears.   We don’t need to wait for permission to live a happier and more fulfilling life.

If you’re not used to seeing life from this perspective it can be a little tough to get started.  Here is an exercise you can do to begin changing your perspective.

Step 1:  Take something that is currently happening where you feel as if you don’t have the power to change it.  Write out the issue:  “I wish I could (or I wish I had, etc)… but I can’t or am unable to do so because…”

Step 2:  Make a list of all of the alternative choices/actions you would have available if nothing was standing in your way.

Step 3:  Now beside each choice or action, write down the reason you think it’s not a viable option for you at this time.

Step 4: For each of the objections you gave above, think of at least three reasons why that objection may not be 100% true.  This is the hard part.  You want to be right and you may be convinced these things are standing in your way.  Challenge yourself, if only hypothetically, to see your situation from different perspectives.  Remember….it can be partially true, but not 100%.  Just try to see that there might be a different way to see the situation.

Step 5:  Assuming that in step four you managed to convince yourself (or at least become open to the possibility) that your objections aren’t 100% true, looking at all of the reasons you’ve listed, ask yourself what might really be standing in the way of you making a different choice.  Is it fear, procrastination, self-doubt, lack of motivation?  Be honest with yourself.  Through this process you begin to shed light on your unconscious emotions and by gaining more understanding and self-awareness you will be able to make a different choice.

By Victoria Joanna  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

Are you waiting for a new job, a new relationship, a new group of like-minded friends, a mentor, or maybe just new “stuff”…furniture, clothes or a great pair of shoes?

Sometimes in the process of wanting, visualizing, planning and doing, we can forget one very important detail – making space for something new to come into our lives. 

Consider what happens in nature.  Since as humans we are part of nature, it’s reasonable to assume we follow similar universal laws.   Centuries ago, it was stated that “Nature abhors a vacuum.”  What this means is that in nature, when a space is created, it has to eventually be filled.   For example, when you make a hole in the sand, eventually the tide washes over it and fills it back up.  It doesn’t stay hollow for long.

A less scientific way to think about it, is to imagine that our busy and over-crowded lives are like hands that are full.  We hold out our hands waiting to receive what we want, but they are too full to accept anything new.

So how can we apply this to our life?  If our lives and schedules are packed, our closets full and our minds cluttered there is literally no “space” for anything new.  In order to receive whatever thing, relationship or opportunity we desire, we must first decide what we are willing to put down, so that our hands are open to receive. 

The act of creating space signals that we are ready for change.  The reason it is often so difficult is that space can be equated with emptiness; emptiness equals fear, loneliness and uncertainty.  Some of our biggest fears are that of being alone, of failing and of making mistakes.   Making space then, is not only a physical or mental clearing, but also a statement of faith and hope.

If you’re not quite certain how to do this, below are some common examples of goals and the things you might consider doing to create space for them in your life:

For a new wardrobe:  clean out your closets and donate all of the clothes, shoes, and purses you no longer wear. More tips here: http://prettysavvy.ca/the-spirit-of-simplicity/

For a new relationship:  if you’re in a relationship, first you must admit it’s not working and decide whether you are ready to move on.  Only you can know if you are holding on because you think it can be saved, or because you’re afraid to be alone.  If you’re not in a relationship, make a space for it in your mind and your heart – don’t fill every waking moment with “busy work”, take time to connect with your vision.  If you’re closed, defensive, aloof or always preoccupied, you’re blocking it from coming to you.

For a new circle of friends:  if you’ve outgrown you’re friendships and want to be around more like-minded people who have the same goals and interests as you do, you must first make space for those relationships to occur.  Decide which friendships no long serve you and reduce the amount of time you spend with toxic people.  It may feel a little lonely at first, but that is temporary.  When you create the space, new friendships will flow into your life.

For a new career or job:  reduce the amount of time that your current job occupies in your life, both mentally and physically.  Work a little less overtime on evenings and weekends and replace that time visualizing, researching and contemplating your ideal job.   What you focus on expands, so if you spend 100% of your time living and breathing your current job, it’s unlikely that you will be able to create the space for a new opportunity to enter into your life. 

For a healthy body:  evaluate where you can create space in your schedule – reduce the number of nights you stay late at the office, replace one night of going out drinking and eating, eliminate one night of TV watching, remove junk foods from your kitchen.  Taking these steps first creates the space for healthy habits…otherwise you’re just trying to fit them in to a lifestyle already crammed with errands, obligations…and potato chips.

Whatever it is that you are waiting for to come into your life, just remember the analogy of the beach.  Dig the whole first, then wait for the wave to come in with fresh new sand.  Have faith in knowing that it won’t be empty for long.

By Victoria Joanna  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

This may sound strange and even contradictory coming from a nutritionist, but here’s something to consider: The secret to a healthy mind and body is about so much more than food!  In fact, there are times when our best intentions can actually create more harm than good.

If you’re like me, or one of the many women I work with, we tend to be a little hard on ourselves.  Okay, A LOT hard on ourselves.  Perfectionism runs rampant among us, along with that, a good dose of self-judgment, self-criticism and a case of the “not good enough’s”.  When we add nutrition to the mix, it’s just another area where we can’t seem to get it together.  Whether we are trying to lose weight or simply be healthier, food can bring out our tendency to strive for perfection.

Many of us have gone to extremes with all sorts of weight loss plans.  In my case, I’ve tried different diets, dangerous supplements and strict exercise regimes. When I thought I had “figured it out” and moved into a healthier approach, I turned to veganism, detoxification, elimination diets and endless nutritional protocols that involved regimented dietary programs as well as supplements and herbs.

I’m not suggesting these natural approaches aren’t a better option.  I myself follow a diet that is mainly dairy and gluten free, low in animal products, and continue to maintain my health by seeing a naturopath and taking supplements regularly.  

The challenge is the stress, judgment and negative thought patterns we create when we set our standards too high, and can’t live up to them.  This can result in more negative energy and harm within our bodies, than the so-called “bad” foods we eat.  Stress has been shown to have more negative affects on our health than almost any other single factor.  Our mental state, including how we think and feel about ourselves, affects our physiology.  This spills out into our jobs and relationships. 

I am not advocating that we all go and eat a Big Mac.  I would never suggest that any junk food or fast food is a healthy option, or even a moderately health option.  But we need to find a happy medium that works for us, our lifestyle and our priorities.  There are definitely strategies and ways to eat healthy and feel great, while prioritizing our family, career and friendships.

If you find yourself continuously changing how you eat; searching for the “right” way to eat; stressing, worrying and feeling badly over not doing it “right”; and constantly planning/prepping/cooking your meals, you may need to stop and re-evaluate if what you’re doing is causing more harm than good.  How and what we eat should not be our full-time job (unless maybe it is your full-time job).

Ultimately the decision is ours.  Most of us already have a lot on our plates and we do a great job putting pressure on ourselves.  It’s my sincere hope that food does not become another source of pressure. Food is supposed to fuel our life, not become our life.

Be wearing of playing the comparison game and feeling we have to live up to an imposed healthy ideal.  Not only may what we see not be what it seems, but ultimately, it just may not be right for us.  

If you think you may be in this situation, take the challenge of seeing it as an opportunity for growth and learning.  Every one of our challenges is meant to teach us something more about ourselves. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

What is the internal dialogue I have when I am not following the nutrition “rules” I have laid out for myself?  What do I say to myself?

How do I feel most of the time when it comes to my diet and nutrition? (am I worrying, planning, restricting, binging, regretting)

Do I ever feel guilty about the food I eat?

Is food another area in my life where I tell myself I’m not good enough

What would happen if I eased up on my “rules”?  How would I feel?

What could I focus on if food was not always on my mind?

By Victoria Joanna  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

No matter what you call it, we all have it.  Intuition, our inner guide, the wise voice, gut feeling, sixth sense.  It’s an internal compass that tells us when we are on track and when we have to reconsider our direction.

Yet even with this gift of inner guidance many of us find ourselves in financial situations, romantic relationships, friendships, or careers that are not making us happy.   If we’re born with a compass, why do we get off track?  Shouldn’t we innately know how to use it?

What fun would life be if it came with a set of instructions right?  It took me almost 30 years to discover that I have an inner compass, let alone learn how to use it.  But I promise, once we learn to tap into it, our life is never the same.   

So how do we access our inner compass?  It’s through our emotions.  Simple enough, yet many of us have never been taught how to properly process and feel our feelings.   Sure, we can describe them through words – angry, sad, irritated, happy, depressed etc., but we have challenges when we are asked to describe the physical sensation of anger, sadness, shame, happiness, joy, or hope, particularly the negative emotions, because they are uncomfortable.

We’ve been taught to numb our feelings.   When we feel discomfort we do our best to ignore it – we have a drink to “relax” or “take the edge of”, watch hours of television in the evenings to “unwind”, eat sugary or fattening foods because they “make us feel good”, engage in a little “retail therapy” and distract ourselves with blackberries, iPhones, Facebook and Twitter to the point where we never have to be present with ourselves, our thoughts or our uncomfortable feelings.

Going back to childhood, if we experienced any sort of pain our parents tended to want to take it away.  Our parents may have helped us deal with pain with distractions such as ice-cream cones, TV shows, changing the subject or even minimizing our reaction to our hurting.   Over time we learn the best thing to do when we are upset is to move on.  How many of us were encouraged to sit with the feeling, to describe what is going on in our bodies, to get to know the sensations and try to figure out what is making us feel that way?

Have you ever thought about the way you feel when you are sad, lonely, angry or scared?  Think about the butterflies in your stomach, the tightness in your chest, the lump in your throat.   Not a great feeling right?  Who can blame us for wanting it to be over as quickly as possible.  Unfortunately our compass cannot speak to us with words, even our thoughts are often confused with “that crazy voice in the back of my head”.    So it sends us physical signals through our emotions.  The key is paying attention.

How do we read our compass?  We stay present and experience our emotions as they happen.  Be patient as this takes time.  We’ve spent a lifetime ignoring our feelings so these automatic reactions and habits don’t transform over night.  After some practice, listening to our bodies in every situation will become as natural as breathing.  We will no longer have to question if we are on the right track, we’ll know it.  Every time.

Reading your compass.

The next time you find yourself getting home a little tired, irritated, angry or upset…. BEFORE you reach for your usual “fix” (ice cream, cookies, remote control, glass of wine, credit card, etc), do the following:

Sit in a quiet place and notice your mood.  Attempt to name the emotion.

Think about how it feels in your body.  Where do you feel it? What does it feel like?

Let yourself feel the physical sensations of the emotion and notice your reaction to it.  Is it uncomfortable?  Is it difficult to sit with?  You may notice that as you initially pay attention the emotion gets bigger and then eventually subsides.  That is the key, to feel the emotion, let the energy move through you and out of you.

The other important part is to look for what that emotion might be trying to tell you.  If you are upset, scared or irritated, what could that be related to in your life?  Does your body want to tell you something?  Is there some challenge/person you have been ignoring that you know you need to deal with?  Is there something you are currently doing which you know is wrong for you but you’re not sure how to stop? 

The answers may not be obvious right away, especially if you are just starting to learn how to interpret these physical messages.  Continue to pay attention.

By Victoria Joanna  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

Continuation from: Spring Clean Your Life Part 1

Today we continue with our spring cleaning tasks as we take inventory in the remaining areas of our life:

RELATIONSHIPS

Toxic relationships drain our energy, it’s that simple.  Don’t underestimate how much they can affect your mood, physical energy and overall zest for life.  Overtime, they can also affect your self esteem.

This is probably one of the least pleasant areas to “spring clean”, but it’s one of the most important.  None of us want to see our friends and family as having a negative influence in our life, but if they are holding us back from being truly happy and fulfilled, we need to take a hard look at the role they play in our lives.

We all know people like this, I  call them “energy vampires”.  After a few hours with them or an exchange over the telephone, you’re left with that “not so great feeling”.  You often can’t put your finger on it, but all of a sudden your energy is lower, your mood is different, you may feel less excited about a specific area of your life after having talked to them about it.  You’re left with an uneasy, questioning feeling and not quite sure what went wrong.  Or perhaps you do.  Their effect on you is obviously negative. 

Your relationships have the single greatest influence on your results in life.  Consider this – our lives tend to reflect the average of the 5 people we spend most of our time with – whether that be financial, physical, psychological, lifestyle etc.   In order to ensure you live a happy and fulfilling life, you need to be honest with yourself and take a look at the relationships that may not be right for you, or which you may have outgrown.  You can’t expect your friends and family to change, but you can respect your own journey and take responsibility for your own actions.  It’s not always easy or necessary to cut people out of our life completely, but make a conscious decision as to the amount of time you are willing to devote to those toxic relationships.

 JOB / CAREER

This area may require a more subtle approach.  If this is an area that you feel needs some work, you likely won’t be able to do anything too drastic right away.  However, if your job or career has been making you unhappy, it may be time to at least turn your attention to this area of your life.   We spend more time at work then we do with our family and friends, and for many of us, our professional life has a big impact on our identity and self esteem.

The first step is identifying what the issues are for you.   Are you questioning if you are in the right field?  Do you feel a strong urge to pursue your passions, to make a bigger contribution? Are you experiencing conflicts in the workplace, with your boss or co-workers?  Are you struggling with deciding where to go next in your career?  Are you running your own business and experiencing challenges in getting to the next level?  Are you feeling out of balance? Has your work schedule completely taken over your life?

Getting clear is the first step.  Next, make a list of the things which you can influence and change versus what is out of your control.  The solution may be more straightforward, or it may require outside help from a coach, mentor or recruiter.  Either way, you won’t know until you do a little mental spring cleaning to figure out the challenge first. 

Use the excitement and energy of this season as your momentum.  It’s important that you don’t neglect spring cleaning your life, but at the same time, don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to overhaul everything at once. 

Chances are, there are one or two specific areas where you know you have been meaning to create change – focus on those areas this year.  As you remove the clutter and toxic elements from your life you will begin to notice a shift in how you feel.   You will be amazed at how much these benefits will spill over into other areas of your life.  That’s the beauty of human nature, everything about us in interconnected. 

Follow your intuition, you already know where to begin.

Happy cleaning!

By Victoria Joanna  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

Well the great news is….Spring is just around the corner!  The bad news is…so is spring cleaning.

This year, don’t look at spring cleaning as a necessarily evil, a mundane and time-consuming task of getting the house, yard, closets etc prepped and ready for the summer. Instead, choose to see spring cleaning as an opportunity to lighten, simplify and create space in all areas of your life.  It’s not limited to just the house and yard, look at your body, mind, relationships, job, current routine, diet and lifestyle.

The truth is, toxicity and clutter come in all shapes and sizes.  Sometimes the toxicity in your life is not so obvious.  In many cases, old and outdated habits, lifestyle choices and friends can cause just as much if not more harm and mental clutter than a moldy basement or dusty attic.  In much the same way that we feel better when we have cleaned out our homes, we feel the same lightness when we let go of those things in our life that no longer serve our highest good.

So this year, I encourage you to look a little differently at your traditional spring cleaning list.  And if you tend to skip this right of passage altogether…DON’T!  Do not underestimate the positive physical, psychological, and energetic effects that this can have on your life.

Not sure where to start?  Here are a few suggestions for where to look and what to look for:

HOUSE AND HOME:

Go through each room in your house, especially the ones you spend the most time in (bedroom, den, living room, kitchen, home office)

Ask yourself the following questions: how do I feel when I am in this room?  Does it give me the feeling of comfort, relaxation, inspiration, clarity, or functionality that I would hope to have from this room?  Is there too much clutter, either visible or stuffed into drawers and closets? Have I been “meaning to” get new furniture for this room for quite some time? Do I have a lot of old items that I never use? (if you have not used, worn, or opened something in more than 2 years either throw it out, or pack it in storage)

You may not be able to do this for every room, but choose one or two that are important to you, where you spend a lot of time or already know you have been meaning to create some larger changes or that give you the most stress when you think about them

CAR:

Whether it’s your home or the back seat of your car, clutter in our outward life often indicates clutter in our internal life.  If you’re one of those people that’s always rushing, late, frazzled or looking for things, take a look at how you’ve organized your life.  Take charge of the outward chaos and you will begin to think and feel differently.  A good place to start is the car.

Remove any garbage from your car (backseat and trunk) and leave only the essentials.  Your car is not a kitchen or a home office and therefore shouldn’t look like one.

PHYSICAL BODY:

The state of our physical body deeply affects our psychological state, both how we think and how we feel.  If we do not exercise and overload our body with processed foods and chemicals, we cannot expect to feel energized, inspired and alive.  Over time, we feel drained.  Many of us experience common symptoms such as headaches, insomnia, irritability, and difficulty concentrating and don’t even realize they are connected to our diet and lifestyle choices.

You don’t need to change your eating habits all at once.  During your spring cleaning period, just commit to a 2 to 4 week “cleanse”.  This does not have to involve drastic fasting and popping tons of pills.  Simply “clean up” your diet for this period of time – eliminate fast food, processed foods, canned foods, white flour, white sugar, red meat and if possible, caffeine and alcohol (if that’s not doable, start with reducing your caffeine intake to one black coffee per day, and one to two glasses of red wine per week).  At the same time, increase your water intake to a minimum of 2 to 2.5 litres per day and eat more fresh fruits and vegetables.  This alone will give your body a “break”, especially your liver, which is responsible for processing all toxins from your body (talk about an over-worked organ!).

Take some time to evaluate these areas and we’ll tackle the remaining areas in the next article.

Happy cleaning!

Spring Clean Your Life Part 2

By Victoria Joanna  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

By now, I’m sure everyone has heard about the importance of starting your day with a good breakfast.  Even so, this is still the meal among many of my clients for which I see the most room for improvement.  Given that it is such an important factor in setting up how you will feel the rest of the day, I thought the message is worth repeating.

The most common mistakes I see (outside of skipping breakfast altogether!) is not eating enough, eating too much sugar (this includes fruit) or eating too many carbohydrates.  The key is to have a balanced breakfast that includes a proper serving of protein so that your blood sugar is balanced and remains steady throughout the day.

We’re all incredibly busy and morning is one of the most hectic times of the day.  But I promise you, once you experience the benefits of a proper breakfast you will be changed for life!  While it may be tempting to grab a coffee and maybe a banana on the way out the door, remember that by not getting the right combination of nutrients at breakfast, you are more likely to get tried mid-morning and mid-afternoon as a result, and very likely to eat more at dinner.

Consider these benefits of balanced blood sugar levels: prolonged and sustained energy, reduced cravings, reduced risk of weight gain and obesity, reduced risk of diabetes and metabolic syndrome, improved hormone balance, immunity, concentration and mood.  Sounds good doesn’t it?  It’s definitely worth the extra effort in the morning!

You don’t need to make anything fancy or overly complicated.  It’s funny that when I give people examples of a healthy breakfast, they often feel they have few options and are afraid of getting bored.  Let’s face it…. Having a bagel with cream cheese or muffin and coffee for breakfast every single day isn’t exactly adventurous, yet many of us do this every day without thinking twice.  Instead, find two or maybe 3 healthy breakfast options that work with your lifestyle and alternate them throughout the week. 

The best breakfast choices include a combination of low glycemic complex carbohydrates, lean protein and healthy fats.  Avoid foods that are high glycemic and high in sugar or contain processed grains such as sugared cereals, white bread, bagels, muffins, croissants, etc.

Here are fast and easy breakfast ideas:

Warm and Hearty Oatmeal

-          Best options are slow-cooking or steel cut oats

-          Add 1 scoop of vanilla protein (once it’s cooked) for a better glycemic balance

-          Add 1 tbsp ground flaxseed to maximize fiber intake

-          Add a few chopped almonds/walnuts for added crunch, protein and healthy fats

**Quick tip: if you prefer to have your breakfast at work and don’t want to eat cold oatmeal (I highly don’t recommend micro-waving your food), I usually suggest buying Instant Organic Oatmeal packets (make sure they are organic), adding the flaxseed, protein and nuts and packing it in a container.  Once you get to work, you can just add water and enjoy.  While instant isn’t the ideal option, by adding the flaxseeds you are still getting your fiber and this breakfast is much better for you than muffins, bagels or fruit alone.

Protein & Fruit Smoothie

-          your choice of frozen fruit (1 cup total)

-          1 serving of vanilla whey protein powder (rice, soy or vegan protein powders are also an option if you have a sensitive digestive system)

-          1 cup of 1% organic milk (or dairy alternative such as almond or rice milk)

-          1 tbsp of ground flaxseeds

Eggs

-          use 1 whole egg + 2 egg whites

-          scrambled, hard-boiled or omelette with choice of vegetables

-          add 1 slice of whole grain bread

Really in a hurry?

-          Grab 1 slice of whole grain or sprouted bread

-          1 tbsp of natural nut butter (almond is a great choice for the calcium content)

-          1 small fruit

If you’re currently crunched for time in the mornings and can’t imagine making breakfast, here’s a tip: prepare your ingredients or make your meal the night before, or get up 10 minutes early (that’s all it takes!).  Taking that extra 10-15 minutes is worth it.  You and your health are worth it.  It will set you up for a great day so you can be at your best for your career, your friends and your family.

By Victoria Joanna  BBA, CNP, RNCP http://www.victoriajoanna.com/

So it’s January.  After a month of feasting and partying, many of us find ourselves with a few extra pounds to lose.   It’s amazing how quickly those calories can add up from a few (or a lot) extra chips, dip, drinks and desserts!

This is probably the single busiest month for the fitness and diet industry.  Before you embark on yet another diet or strict eating regime, consider doing something different this year.  Statistics show that over 95% of people who diet will gain the weight back.  That’s a big number.  Something is clearly not working with this approach.  It may get results in the short-term, but it’s not sustainable and often not healthy.

A healthy approach to weight loss focuses on eating habits that will help you shed unwanted pounds, gradually and permanently, without deprivation.  Most importantly, it focuses on building up your health so that you have more than just weight loss, you feel more energized, have better sleep, and a glowing complexion.  Who doesn’t want that?

So whether you have 5lbs to lose or 50lbs, here are 3 tips to get you on the road to permanent weight loss:

Watch your portions.  While drastic low calorie diets and deprivation don’t work, it’s important to be mindful of portion sizes.  Ultimately weight loss occurs when you burn more calories than you take in, so if you overeat (even on healthy food) it will be difficult to lose weight.  From a health standpoint, eating the right portions supports our digestion and prevents us from feeling tired and bloated by giving our body too much food to process at one time.   Remember that a serving of rice is approx 1/2cup to 1cup, that’s a lot less than those “rice bowls” that are served at many healthy and vegetarian restaurants.  Instead, you can fill up on low calorie, nutrient dense vegetables, and limit your grains and protein to proper sizes.

Eat the “real” stuff.  I can’t stress this enough.  When we eat processed “low fat”, “non fat”, “no carb”, “no sugar” frankenfoods, they have a detrimental impact on our health and our metabolism.  Not only are they full of chemicals, which our body has to process by expending extra energy; they are not recognized by our body’s natural signals.  This means that the hormones that trigger our hunger and satiety response are not working optimally to control our appetite – we end up craving more and eating more.  To compound the problem, these foods are usually lacking the vitamins, minerals, fiber and healthy fats which our body needs to function optimally, making it even harder to lose weight.

Stop eating by 7:30pm.  This is a tough one for most people, especially given our lifestyles.  But it is also one of the most important components of weight loss as well as optimal health.  The goal is to finish eating at least 2-3 hours before you go to sleep.  This allows your body enough time to digest the food and burn the calories before you become still for the next 7-9 hours.   As hard as this may be to do, it is one of the quickest ways to notice a change in your weight and it is also extremely healthy.  You don’t want undigested food sitting in your stomach while you are sleeping.  Try it for a week and notice how much lighter you feel and how much easier it is to wake up in the morning without feeling tired and groggy.

Just by implementing these three steps, you will notice a difference in your weight and energy level.  Since you are not starving yourself or eliminating carbohydrates completely, you are far more likely to maintain these habits are therefore create a permanent healthy lifestyle.