This is my Mamavation post for Monday, September 6, 2010.

Hey everyone!

Mamavation Monday

My week was great – work was super busy, but I still took my lunch hour to exercise because it always helps me to feel less stressed out and better able to focus on my work. I packed my lunches, planned our family dinners etc… Unfortunately I didn’t get in as much walking as I would have liked due to work, a midwife appointment, solo-parenting and visits by out-of-town guests. But alas – that only makes for one baddish week and I’m now at 443km in my 500km by birth goal (still 7-9 weeks to go!).

So here’s a summary of what I accomplished:
Monday: Worked out with my awesome trainer at lunch.
Tuesday: Couldn’t workout at lunch because I was conducting an all day site visit for a tender I’ve issued at work.
Wednesday: Did my Walk and Tone mp3 Workout
Thursday: No workout because I had to use my lunch for my midwife appointment.
Friday: Worked out with my awesome trainer at lunch.
Saturday: Walked 2k with my dog – we would have walked further but the clouds and rain opened up on us.
Sunday: Do my Walk and Tone mp3 Workout Had unexpected out of town guests, so i spent an hour running around to clean the house before they arrived.

This week I’m off work and staycationing with my family. Apparently I won’t be online much this week… because as I type this my 5 yo, Sierra, is begging to use my laptop to play Starfall.com. I apologize in advance for that. I’ve loaded the house up with healthy, nutritious snacks and food, so I hope that I can resist my hubby’s urging to eat fast food. Being active could also be a challenge – I tend to be an all-or-nothing gal but I got my new EAS Active More Workouts from being last week’s Sista of The Week, so I hope I can kick my hubby off of his TV long enough for me to get a workout or three in.

Congrats to this week’s Sista of the Week: @gretablau from the blog “Middle Aged Jock” (I LOVE her blog name!!). This week’s blogging carnival is sponsored by Chefs Requsted. Chefs Requested is an official sponsor of the Mamavation campaign and sends their perfectly portioned steaks to the Mamavation Moms.

Have a great week everyone!!

Related posts:

1. Motivation Monday: Monday, August 30, 2010
2. Motivation Monday: August 16, 2010

This post is from Fitness Cheerleader. Please visit the original post if you would like to join the discussion.

© Janice Smith for Fitness Cheerleader, 2010. | Permalink

This week’s Guest Post is from: Scott of Online Fitness Information Center (@scottgofit).  He’s a fitness enthusiast, husband and father of 2.  In this post he shares the eight benefits of drinking water.

(If you would like to guest blog, then check out my guidelines here.)

8 Benefits of drinking water

If you, or somone you know, constantly feels fatigued, hungry, or are dealing with chronic headaches. This could be the easiest, and yet most effective remedy for you. Our culture today seems to promote drinking everything except water. Water is practically free. I guess maybe that is why.

Some may justify that there is enough water contained in our coffee, or beer, or soda to get our full servings for the day. “C’mon Man!” Simply replacing that diet soda with water will affect your hunger pattern for the better, help you feel energized longer (no crash), and actually quench your thirst!

Consider these 8 benefits of drinking water:

1- Weight Loss. Replaces high calorie drinks like juice, alcohol, and worse yet, soda (diet soda has many drawbacks, too, dealing with hunger issues and chemicals). Water acts as an appetite suppressant, as often when we think we are hungry, we are actually thirsty (dehydrated). Water has no fat, no calories, no sugar, and no carbs. Drink plenty to help with your weight loss program.

2- Energy. Dehydration steals your energy and makes you feel tired. Prolonged dehydration leads to fatigue, weakness, and dizziness. Infuse your body with plenty of water to feel lively and awake during the day.

3- Headaches. Water can play an important role in being one of the key reasons why people have chronic headaches. For some it could be the only cure they need. A simple, clean, good hydration habit…practically free!

4- Healthy Skin. Helps replace dull, pasty, dry looking skin with a healthy glow. Like giving water to a dehydrated plant or tree, watch your external appearance improve over a relatively short time.

5- Digestion. Our body requires a good amount of water to digest food properly. It can cure stomach acid problems. Along with fiber, can also help deal with constipation. Again, often a result of dehydration.

6- Cleansing. Water helps flush your body from toxins and other unwanted waste products.

7- Reduce Cancer Risk. Drinking the proper amount of water can help reduce the risk of several forms of cancer. Particularly colon and bladder cancer among others.

8- Better Exercise. Being dehydrated can reduce your perfomance significantly. Fitness exercise requires additional water so be sure to hydrate before, during, and after working out. This is especially true if you are using sports supplements.

Drinking enough water is simply a habit. As is not drinking enough water. Water filters are a great way to go. Bottled water can be convenient. Drinking water and driving is perfectly legal ; . ) Throughout your day, whether you are thirsty or not, keep taking several swigs. In fact, if you feel thirsty, you are already at dehydration levels. So this round is on the house. Have a drink…and another…on me. GoFit!

No related posts.

This post is from Fitness Cheerleader. Please visit the original post if you would like to join the discussion.

© Janice Smith for Fitness Cheerleader, 2010. | Permalink

This is my Mamavation post for Monday, August 30, 2010.

Hey everyone!

Mamavation Monday

My week was a really good one. I created a meal plan for our dinners this week and stuck with it – which means we only ate fast food 1 time this week! Work was busy – yay! Almost too busy but that’s ok, I LOVE being busy. I worked out with my trainer twice, and did my Walk and Tone mp3 twice – once a male co-worker came with me and did the workout with his hand weights. It was pretty cool ’cause he said his arms were burning afterwards! He’s training for a half-marathon in September, but needed an activity to stay active on an “active rest day”. I had a hard time walking and carrying on a conversation at the pace we were walking.

I’m now at 437km towards my 500km by birth goal. I have 8-10 weeks left, and if I continue the 8-12km/week pace, I’ll get there! Yay!

So here’s this week’s workout “plan”.
Monday: Work out with my awesome trainer at lunch.
Tuesday: Do my Walk and Tone mp3 Workout
Wednesday: Do my Walk and Tone mp3 Workout
Thursday: No workout because I have to use my lunch for my midwife appointment.
Friday: Work out with my awesome trainer at lunch.
Saturday: Rest day.
Sunday: Do my Walk and Tone mp3 Workout

OH! And all of my AWESOME Mamavation Sista’s nominated me, little ol’ me, to be the Sista of the week! Thank you so much ladies! I find the sistahood so motivating – I’ve really had a HUGE turnaround in my personal life since becoming active with mamavation. I feel so alive!! Being active to lead by example has really made this pregnancy the best ever! Normally my back is killing me by this time, and I have no energy, but not this time! I have tons of energy and I’m no where close to gaining the 40-50 lbs I did with my other two. I probably could lay on the couch and do nothing for the next 8-10 weeks and still not gain it. Though, as you may have figured out, that would drive me absolutely insane!

PS – I’ve got some great giveaways for you this week:
1. My Walk & Tone mp3 Workout (Go enter!)
2. Anti Monkey Butt Powder
3. The Rattles “Rattle On” CD

Related posts:

1. Motivation Monday: August 16, 2010
2. Motivation Monday: August 9, 2010

This post is from Fitness Cheerleader. Please visit the original post if you would like to join the discussion.

© Janice Smith for Fitness Cheerleader, 2010. | Permalink

One of the toughest things I’ve encountered as a parent is planning my kids’ birthday parties. Should I hire an entertainer? What should I serve? How do I keep the party healthy? Etc… With a backyard pool it doesn’t make sense for us to go anywhere for a party, so I host cooking/pool parties! Here are some of the things we make:

1. Fruit kebobs – cut up some fruit (pineapple, grapes, strawberries, bananas etc) and give each kid a stick to slide the fruit on.

Make-your-own-fruit-kebobs

2. Veggie kebobs – cut up some veggies (onion, green, red & yellow peppers, cherry tomatoes etc) and give each kid a stick to slide the fruit on. Brush each stick with oil and grill on the BBQ.

3. Make your own mini pizza – pizza sauce, shredded cheese, various veggies, pepperoni, ham etc.. Give each kid a whole wheat greek style pita and let them create! Then pop the pizza’s in the oven long enough to melt the cheese.

Make-your-own-pizza

4. Make your own smoothies – yogourt, ice, fruit – let each kid decide what fruit they want and blend. If the kids are older, let them press the blender button.

5. Make your own frozen yogourt sundae (this is a great alternative to a cake). Vanilla frozen yogourt topped with strawberries, bananas, and chocolate – yum!

6. Chocolate fondue – dip fruit in melted chocolate, I find that the good Belgian chocolate from Bulk Barn w
works well. (This isn’t the healthiest option on my list, but it at least gets them to eat some fruit).

My daughters are 5 and 3 and they love these! Not only have these activities kept them and their friends entertained, but they also encouraged them to eat healthier foods. Two birthday problems solved at once!

Related posts:

1. Motivation Monday: June 28, 2010
2. Tips For Preventing Holiday Weight Gain

This post is from Fitness Cheerleader. Please visit the original post if you would like to join the discussion.

© Janice Smith for Fitness Cheerleader, 2010. | Permalink

This is my Mamavation post for Monday, August 23, 2010.

Hey everyone!

Mamavation Monday

How was your week? My week was pretty good – I was motivated for most of the week, but found the lack of routine on the weekend hard to overcome, which may have had something to do with the rain… Rain that we desperately needed! My eating was ok, but I bet I could make a better effort to get my fruits & veggies in. Oh! and my midwife called – my fatigue is due to low iron (again!). So I’m now on a double dose of SpaTone. I must say that it’s been helping – Yay! (Something to consider if you’re feeling run down).

This week I only logged 8km of walking towards my 500 by birth goal, which means I’m at now 429 KM.

Monday: Worked out with my awesome trainer at lunch.
Tuesday: Did my Walk and Tone mp3 Workout – my arms were killing me the next morning! (walked 4k)Ran 5k.
Wednesday: Worked out with my awesome trainer at lunch.
Thursday: No workout because I had a prenatal massage!
Friday: Did my Walk and Tone mp3 Workout – my arms were killing me on Saturday morning! (walked 4k)
Saturday: Rest day.
Sunday: Rest day.

Next week I hope to workout twice with my personal trainer and do 3-4 walks. I’ll also start week # 1 of the Inner Mean Girl Cleanse – it’s a 6 week cleanse/coaching program designed to help think more positively – I’m really looking forward to it, and would love for you to join me in it.

Congrats to this week’s Sista: ShawneeH!

PS – I’ve got some great giveaways for you this week:
1. Walk & Tone mp3 Workout
2. Anti Monkey Butt Powder
3. The Rattles “Rattle On” CD

Related posts:

1. Motivation Monday: Monday, August 30, 2010
2. Motivation Monday: August 16, 2010

This post is from Fitness Cheerleader. Please visit the original post if you would like to join the discussion.

© Janice Smith for Fitness Cheerleader, 2010. | Permalink

Wow!  Can you believe that Valentine’s Day is only 3 days away?  Have you given much thought to how you’re going to spoil your significant other?

I’m going to treat my hubby with a nice nutritious treat: Chocolate dipped strawberries!  Yes!  This is a nutritious treat and here’s why:

CHOCOLATE
There is now increasing evidence that chocolate can be part of a healthy diet – and that it may even offer some specific health benefits!  Here’s a rundown on some of the latest research in support of chocolate’s health benefits:

• Heart Disease - A study published in the March 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that of more than 34,000 post-menopausal women who consumed the most flavonoid-rich food, 22 per cent had a lower risk of developing coronary heart disease. Chocolate was ranked as one of the top flavonoid-rich foods associated with a protective effect, along with bran, red wine, grapefruit and strawberries.
  These findings support previous research published in 2006 in the Archive of Internal Medicine, which found men who consumed high amounts of cocoa products (2.3 grams or more per day) had a 50 per cent lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, compared with men with the lowest consumption.
• Blood pressure and cholesterol – In a study published in the July 4, 2007, edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers found that a little bit of dark chocolate may help lower your blood pressure. German researchers followed two groups of people with untreated high blood pressure for 18 weeks. Half got a bit of dark chocolate every day while the other half received white chocolate. In the end, those eating the dark chocolate saw a drop in their blood pressure and there was no change for group that ate white chocolate.
• Psychological well-being- Heart health isn’t the only thing with a link to chocolate. A 2007 study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that men who preferred chocolate to other types of candy had a lower body mass index and waist circumference than men who did not eat chocolate. Chocolate lovers also experienced more feelings of happiness and better psychological well-being. (This is great news for my running/bloggy friend Jon in Michigan who is well know for his chocolate addiction).

I recommend that you opt for dark chocolate for optimum health benefits, as it has the most flavonoids.  Also, consider organic or “fair-trade” dark chocolate  to further make your treat guilt-free

STRAWBERRIES
We all know strawberries are delicious, but like chocolate, they are also nutritious, and ideally should be a part of everyone’s daily diet. You’ll enjoy some health advantages by eating strawberries regularly, and the best part is strawberries are one of the most delicious fruits!  Strawberries contain a range of nutrients, with vitamin C heading the group. They also contain significant levels of phytonutrients and antioxidants, which fight free radicals. These antioxidant properties are believed to be linked to what makes the strawberry bright red.
In addition to vitamin C, strawberries also provide an excellent source of vitamin K and manganese, as well as folic acid, potassium, riboflavin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, copper, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids.

There ya have it – for a healthy Valentine’s Day treat DIP YOUR CHOCOLATE IN STRAWBERRIES!! Have a great Valentine’s Day friends!

PS – Have you entered my SADE “Soldier of Love” CD Giveaway yet?

Related posts:

1. Feeling Down? These 5 Foods Can Help
2. What’s More Important – Your Hair or Your Health?

Are you an emotional eater?

Here are some examples:

• Instead of a slice of apple pie (350 cal/14g fat), try having a baked apple (100 cal/0g fat)
• Instead of a brownie (227 cal/9g fat) try having ½ a cup of fat-free chocolate pudding (130 cal/ 0g fat)
• Instead of a donut (310 cal/19g fat) try a low fat muffin (160 cal/2g fat)

MORE TIPS:

• Think before you eat. Give yourself 15 minutes before you reach for the home made chocolate chip cookies or your favourite potato chips.
• Write it down. Keeping a journal of your negative feelings and noting the circumstances when you reach for food (other than hunger) can help you identify your triggers. Writing allows you to express your emotions privately.
• Avoid temptation. Don’t carry change for the vending machine, and ignore those office donuts and treats.
• Understand how food comforts you. Some treats, such as chocolate, cause your body to release small amounts of mood-boosting hormones. Over time, you may come to associate a particular food with feeling better.
• Exercise. Staying fit will help you handle stressful situations better. And unlike comfort foods, exercise BURNS rather than adds calories.

Remember folks, changing habits takes time, so be patient with yourself. Have a great day!

Related posts:

1. How Much do You Need to Eat to Lose Weight?
2. Tips For Preventing Holiday Weight Gain

This post is from Fitness Cheerleader. Please visit the original post if you would like to join the discussion.

© Janice Smith for Fitness Cheerleader, 2010. | Permalink

This is my Mamavation post for Monday, August 16, 2010.

Hey everyone!

Mamavation Monday

Guess what? I’ve officially entered the third trimester!!! I can’t believe that in 9-12 weeks (my first two were early) I’ll be the mom of THREE kids!! Holy smokes! Where has this year gone?

I’ve had a busy week, but have managed to stay active and log 13 more km’s towards my goal of 500 km by the time this kiddo is born. I’m now at 421 km – on track to reach my goal! Yay! My eating is starting to really get wonky ’cause I’m so HUNGRY!! I need to make sure I load up more fruits and veggies in the fridge, and make sure I bring a pile to work with me – that way I won’t be tempted by the endless supply of cakes, cookies etc… that always seems to be present.

On Thursday I had my first 3rd trimester midwife appointment – everything is going well, my belly is measuring 28 wks, my blood pressure is back up a bit (this is nice because it was super low 84/56), and she took a blood sample to test my iron levels. I’ve been tired lately and we’re not sure if it’s the exercise, low iron, or just 3rd trimester fatigue.

Here’s what I managed to fit in this week:

Monday: I attended a communications course, so I missed my regular Boot Camp fitness class, so instead I ran 4k.
Tuesday: Ran 5k.
Wednesday: Work out with my awesome trainer at lunch
Thursday: No workout because I had my first 3rd Trimester midwife appointment!
Friday: Did my Walk and Tone mp3 Workout – my arms were killing me on Saturday morning! (walked 4k)
Saturday: Rest day
Sunday: Super hot day so I spent an hour swimming with the kids and pretending to be a “shark”.

This week I’ll cut out the running – it’s hurting my symphysis pubis (pelvis) way too much, so instead I’ll do my Walk and Tone mp3 three times, and workout with my trainer twice.

Have a great week everyone!!

PS – Congrats to Kimberly of Christlikemommy (aka @christlikemommy) on being Mamavation Sista of the Week!!

Related posts:

1. Motivation Monday: August 9, 2010
2. Motivation Monday: Monday, August 30, 2010

This post is from Fitness Cheerleader. Please visit the original post if you would like to join the discussion.

© Janice Smith for Fitness Cheerleader, 2010. | Permalink

Hey gang!  How’s your Tuesday going?  Have you been eating healthy today?

Do you keep a food journal?

Did you know that many studies have shown that people who keep a food journal eat healthier and consume less colories?  People who eat healthier live LONGER too!  You could keep a paper-based food journal, but will that capture how many calories, vitamins and nutrients you’ve consumed? 

Ahhh – that’s where the internet comes in! One thing I love about the internet is the plethora of online tools to help motivate us to get active, lose weight and to eat healthy.  Here’s a list of online food journals that I urge you to check out

Loseit.com – This one is my personal favourite because it has a FREE iPhone application that goes with it so I can record my food offline throughout the day on my iPod Touch (or on an iPhone) that I use as a PDA.  When I get home from work I can sync my journal on our home wireless network.  I like it because it also emails me an excel spreadsheet of my journal that I import into Google docs so I can share it with you in my Motivation Monday post.  The site can also send out a tweet on your behalf to your followers regarding your progress to keep you accountable. 

SparkPeople – This site also has an iPhone application that syncs with the website that is available from the iTunes store for $1.99.  The journal can be shared within the SparkPeople Community to keep you accontable with your online friends and cheerleaders.  I’m not sure if you can update your SparkPeople iPhone Journal when in off-line mode (ie: on an iPod Touch not connected to wifi)

Livestrong – This site is the brain-child of my celebrity boyfriend Lance Armstrong (known around my house as Lancie).  It also has an iPhone/iPod application available for download for FREE from the iTunes store.  Livestrong is great because it also has a lot of information regarding how to kick that nasty smoking habit.

My Pyramid – This site is from the US Department of Agriculture.  Instead of focussing on the daily RDA of vitamins and nutrients, it focusses on whether or not you eat by the US Food Pyramid.  It lets you know if you’re short on fruits,  veggies, proteins or grains.  This is great because it takes the guess work out of it, ‘cause really – who on earth knows what foods can provide you with the vitamin A you may be deficient in? This site does not have a iPhone App.

Fit Day – This is a geat food journal because of all of the customized reports you can run from it.  You can set your fitness and weightloss goals and it will tell you how many more calories you can consume to meet those goals.  It has a downloadable desktop software, however I’m unaware of what added benefits that would have over the Free online version. 

Tweet What You Eat – This is a great site if you don’t have an iPhone or iPod Touch but have a blackberry or other phone that you have set up to send updates to twitter from.  I love being able to update my journal on the go, rather than having to log onto a website at the end of the day to record from a paper record what I’ve eaten. Basically you register at www.tweetwhatyoueat.com with your twitter account and then send direct messages (DM) to TWYE with the food that you’ve eaten.  i.e.: D TWYE Banana  Tweet what you eat then automatically updates your food journal for you including the number of calories! 

This brings me to this week’s Poll Question:  Do You Use A Food Journal? 

PS – If I’ve missed any you can use my CONTACT FORM to let me know and I’ll be happy to add it to the list

Related posts:

1. How Much do You Need to Eat to Lose Weight?
2. Losing Weight With Twitter

This post is from Fitness Cheerleader. Please visit the original post if you would like to join the discussion.

© Janice Smith for Fitness Cheerleader, 2010. | Permalink

I’ve now decided to take Fitness Cheerleader to a new level and start selling workout mp3’s. Last week I recorded my first walk and tone workout mp3 that is set to 90’s dance music. Through voice commands, my voice leads you through an upper body strengthening program while you walk. Why? Combining strength moves with cardio allows you to burn more calories in the same amount of time, and building muscle causes you to burn more calories at rest. Win-win! (You can read more about the workout in my article: How to Shred Fat Faster By Walking). In the future I plan to add an 80’s Dance Music version, and a learn-to-run 5K program to offer to you.

I’ve now have uploaded my first mp3 (Fitness Cheerleader’s Walk and Tone mp3 Workout) to Fitness Cheerleader and have made it available for purchase. Several friends have already downloaded it, tried it, and have reviewed it publicly on their blogs. And guess what? They LOVE IT! Here’s what Scarlett had to say about it:

Today I tried this mp3 out for the first time and WOW! I feel incredible. It can be done outside or on a treadmill. For you pedometer wearers, I reset mine right before I began the workout and got almost 3,400 steps! This was just me walking around my house. I probably wasn’t covering as much ground as I would outside, so I would say I could get almost 4,000 if I were outside and not sick! The music is 90?s dance music, which brings back so many memories and gets me moving. In addition, my 4 year old son got out his 2 pound weights and walked with me. He LOVED the music – particularly the “Move it, Move it” song. I can already tell my arms are going to be a little sore tomorrow! Thanks, Fitness Cheerleader!

Chelle also liked it, and gave me some honest criticism about my voice overs, which I’m in the process of fixing and will send a replacement copy to everyone who’s downloaded it:

I did this workout on my treadmill but it could easily be done outside. You do need some weights. I used my 3lb weights and started walking. I had to smile when the music started, it is dance music from the 90?s, I felt so young and it also reminded what I was working towards! So I knew the tunes, then Janice encourages and guides you through each exercise. The MP3 is 40 minutes and I was totally burning once I got going. My arms are sore today! I also realized I need to pay more attention to my triceps, ouch!

I’ll even be doing the workout myself as I progress through the last 10-13 weeks of this pregnancy, and will continue to do it as a gentle post-natal workout (I’ll probably walk with baby asleep in an infant carrier or sling).

I really hope you’ll try my mp3 workout – it’s a great way to be healthy, build strength and tone your arms while walking. It’s safe enough to be done as a pre or post-natal workout, and is a great activity to do on off days or while recovering from injuries.

I’m having a special introductory sale on the Fitness Cheerleader Walk and Tone mp3 Workout! Right now you can get it for $3.99 – LESS than a trip to Starbucks! (use coupon code LAUNCH, for a limited time, regularly $4.99).

(If you are a subscriber to my Fitness Cheerleader newsletter you are automatically entered to win a copy – I’ll be giving away one copy every month for the next couple of months!)

Mom On The Run - My life is a marathon, not a track meet...