Weight Loss

 Years of research, and searching for "the answer" when we all know what we need to be doing..basically eating whole/pure foods and cardio with resistance training. If I spent more energy in my workouts as I did in researching the newest diet I would have been in shows a long while ago. I realize it takes ALOT of patience..patience of 3-6 months to see results when following everything like the bible, and now I see why so many people give up. Everyone knows how to lose weight, but they just look for other ways, loop holes, websites, pills, and diets, but we end up feeling the exact same. This process took me a while because I kept getting side tracked with all those ideas instead of fully commiting to eating clean and going to the gym forcing myself to put on a heavy sweat, whether it was in cardio classes, boxing classes, step classes (with heavy weights), heavy weight lifting, HIIT training or circuit training. My collar bones started popping out month after month, then my face looked thinner, then came a flatter looking stomach. I am still in the process of losing more body fat througth nutrition and working out. Help yourself by visiting http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm to figure out how many calories you need in a day. Try to burn 500 calories per day, 3500 per week, which equals one pound. Eating tons of Protein and healthy fats will help you lose the pounds, and keeping carbs reasonably low. Paleo diet helped me understand clean eating and the effects food have on your body

                                           ...Merry Christmas

 

 

CLEAN FOODS

Protein: lean meats, fish, eggs, cottage cheese, Yves veggie meals, egg whites etc…

Carbs: oats, rye bread, yam, brown rice, veggies, fruit, whole grains etc…

Fats: Avocados, nuts, seeds, olive oil etc…

-NO sugar, Limited dairy, NO processed

-still confused on what to eat? Keep it simple and only eat things you can kill or grow

-Count your calories AND know your Macro ratios per meal (protein/carbs/fat) are your carb grams too high? Protein too low?

-Drink close to a Gallon of water a day…approx. 16 cups

-Go to the gym and lift HEAVY weights, the more muscle you have the more calories you burn. Each pound of muscle burns approx. 70 calories, and you will NOT “bulk up” ladies…women simply do not have enough testosterone to get bulky looking unless they go to extremes . You should be doing about 3-4 sets of 8-10 reps, with 10 being difficult to complete.

-Don’t focus on your body weight…instead buy a scale that measures body fat percentage and focus on that number once a week same morning after waking up.

-If you become lazy and just decide you don’t feel like going to the gym for a while…sure that’s ok, but do NOT become lazy about what goes into your mouth…stick to the clean eating so you are at least doing half the job…nutrition is 80% of your results. Eat every 2-3 hours to keeps your metabolism high and running with your macronutrients (protein/carb/fat).

-Nutrition is very significant as a clean diet will shape your body, while working out burns calories, and builds muscle.

-After lifting go for a 30 min jog OR do some HIIT training (high intensity interval training) and sprint every other minute for no more than 20 minutes on a treadmill, and feel the burn.

I am not a nutritionist, and I am not a Personal Trainer. I am a young woman who played sports at a national level then had an accident where I lost all motivation, and self-esteem, and gained 40lbs. I couldn’t walk on the beach without chafing my legs, and I hated being the bigger friend. I couldn’t suck my belly in anymore or feel comfortable in my tight gym shirts. I thought to myself “god, wouldn’t it be nice to wear jean shorts with a bikini top, not a muffin top!”, and I thought “that girl is so lucky to have a body like that”, but no that girl is not just simply “lucky” she worked hard for her body, and stuck to a clean diet, and is walking around proud of it like the rest of us wish we could, and we can. There is no such thing as fat genes just fat jeans, so stop making excuses. You have seen millions of healthy transformation photos on the internet about girls who lost it all in 6 months or a year, so why can’t you? You have to really want it, and if time is your excuse then plan days to make your healthy meals (Sunday you can cook for 3 day’s worth of meals, and then Wednesday you can cook for the rest of the week) do you want to stay heavy with this one life you were given? Do you want to keep looking at photos and seeing a blob of a body instead of a shapely one?Do you want to keep avoiding mirrors or wishing you were her? Start now, what’s there to lose? Only weight. The main thing is to give it TIME…it takes time to lose weight just like it gradually takes time to gain it, and it’s hard to notice at times because it’s so gradual, but if you take the easy way out such as diets or simply not eating then your health will become a major issue, and your body will not end up tight and shapely, but instead...skinnyfat.

Ecuador

 Ecuador was quite the adventure...these pictures were taken in Mindo where we endured a 3 hour hike up and down some of the steepest sloped iv ever seen, but it was one heck of a work out. My cabin also had a disfunctional mosquitto net over my bunkie, and I ended up snuggling up to my roomie.

 Rafting through the Mindo river was an awesome experience and it was very important to keep your feet up as the rocks would catch them!

 This mini gondala was pretty freaky as the cords started rubbing together causing alot of friction and smoke, not the nicest thing to see while your suspended hundreds of feet in the air.

 The forests were extremely lush and green, gorgeous!

                                      Venturing up a massive rock for some amazing scenery!

 These market children wake up every morning at 4am and work until 6pm or later, and most of them would show up in their uniforms at the age of 3. These kids dont get a chance at an education, and in Ecuador you must pass a 150 question test to advance to kindergarden, rediculous.

                                                                               
                                                                      BUG BITES!!

This little guy had a spark in his eye, and he loved playing with all the toys we provided for him, and im glad I was able to share those moments with him.

          This sweet little girl was fascinated by my hair, and I was fascinated by her smile, beautiful.

 As a volunteer we provided the market children with crafts and reading and writing to further develop their skills and give them the opportunity to go to school and develop and grow with other children as they age. Teaching the children skills such as reading and drawing was a challenge as there was a language barrier, but with proper guidance and leading by example we were able to watch the children learn and perform, which gave me the "proud mom" feeling.

 Yes those are cooked bananas, and are they ever delicious! most street vendors have the exact same items for sale, and this is how they make a living....makes you think twice the next time you complain about your job. The Ecuadorians sit out there all day begging for you to buy their food and work their buts off to attract one single person, and sell it for the burried change we never notice.

                                                 yes..yes...it is toadstool and spiderman

                         Having some fun with the Saskatoon girls, and pro activating our faces haha

        Some love and cuddling is all they needed as their parents did not see that as being a priority

 The kids loved playing Octopus, which was a childhood game I absolutely loved, and I wasnt the only one!

            We finally found a pizza joint at South Americas biggest market, and we were loving it!

 This is the part of the program where we educate the children about common animals, and words. A simple drawing on a piece of paper with some old markers can go a long way.

 This was a little boy who had peed his pants and had a unpleasent odour coming from his body, and he was forced to wait until his mother was ready to take him back, which was very sad.

 After a long ride on the gondala we reached the top of the mountain, and found a horseback ride adventure place, where we rode up the side of a mountain on very steep hills that I wasnt sure if I could even climb myself, nevermind the horse!

 In the background there is a statue up on the hill which represents the guardian angel of the city Quito, and others say it is the angel of the apocalypse.

                                                        you will see thise everywhere!

 Downtown Quito at the square, where most events are held, and where all the police seem to be

 This is your typical Ecuadorian family, and were generous enough to allow us to capture a photo

 This would look abandoned to any visitor, but this house had residents, and that is what they called home.

 South Americas largest market, and was it ever big! most vendors consisted of the same items but we were after the Alpaka stands where they were rich in items, and they were crazy cheap to buy as Alpakas are everywhere.

            I called this little girl Miley Cyrus as she had the same cute dimples with a gorgeous smile.

 This  was a photo from my room looking out my window at one of the few schools in my neighbourhood.

                                                                   Ecuador police!

 Going down some intense rapids in our little tubes! that was extremely fun and I would recommend it to any visitor!!

           Deep fried bread with peas and chicken in the middle with a unknown flavour of soup!

 Took a day off and went to a hott springs spa and the water was extremely hott! but the scenery was breath taking!

                       This mountain made me want to go snowboarding so bad! beautiful!

                           The house on the corner with the adorable dog on the front lawn

 The shack on the right was a very old mans house who owned a bunch of sheep, and pigs but he lived hundreds of meters down the steep hill, and right beside what they call "upper class" houses

               The taxis were considered standing on the back of a pick up truck, and I was loving it!

                                          The view from the gondala going up the mountain

 Lifes to short to stay sheltered in your home, and not explore the planet you were put on, and to reach out a helping hand.