Recently, I had lunch with an old friend who also happens to work as a personal trainer. She was my first fitness trainer in Toronto and she helped me achieve great results. As we caught up, I found it so motivating to speak to someone who has such positive energy and who is so passionate about health and wellness.

Looking in her fridge was so impressive, it was packed full of veggies, fruits, egg whites and whole grains. It was naturally very low glycemic and designed for healthy living. As we talked about her diet she suggested that I start training with her again and enter a fitness bikini competition she was planning on entering.

I remember thinking if she had asked me to do this 2 years ago when I had 6 pack abs I would have jumped at the offer! While I still consider myself healthy today, I knew that I was not in the shape I once was and somehow the competition seemed so much more daunting than it would have once been. While it was not something I felt I could do at that time, I thought about how amazing it is to surround yourself with people who enjoy a healthy lifestyle and who can motivate you to do the same.

I walked away from our lunch feeling motivated to once again take my health to the next level, strive to eat even cleaner, and to increase my work out schedule. Thinking about the competition, I knew with her guidance and clean eating that anything is possible.

In the next few days after our meeting, I wondered about the keys to a successful wellness program. As I looked at my background, I realized no matter what my health goal was I always had the best results when I partnered with a buddy.

There is something about having a friend doing something at the same time as you that is very motivating. You do not have to live in the same home, you just have encourage each other, share tips and yes, sometimes gripe about the things you are finding challenging.

Most importantly you have someone you are accountable to on your journey. This is why programs like Weight Watchers work, you have support and accountability. In my early 30’s when I found myself 40 lbs over weight, I started on my health journey and I did it with my mother. Had it not been for her I could have found myself 80-100 lbs overweight today. Instead, I got her involved in the process and she lost 20 lbs, I lost 40 lbs and have kept it off.

What was our secret? Following a simple system:

• eating well
• exercising often
• being accountable to each other

I feel the power of my success went one step further, I not only shared the journey with my mother, I shared it with my friends and with my co-workers. To my surprise as I spoke about my wellness journey many others spoke up to tell me that they had once lost 20, 40, 80+ lbs. The support I received was phenomenal but most of all it was motivating and made me believe, if they can do it, I can do it too!

Guess what? I did!

The changes that came with my weight loss were incredible. I not only lost weight but my confidence grew along with an amazing support system. I found myself exercising harder than I ever had in my life. I joined a gym and got a personal trainer. Once again, the power of two!

She helped me take my new look and take it to a whole new fitness level. Due to my new discovered confidence in my athletic ability, I found a Running Room and started to train for marathons. Never in my life did I think I would run a marathon. I not only ran one marathon, I ran several, but do you want to know why? Because I had a support system cheering me on and I had others running with me encouraging me every step of the way.

My tip for today is no matter what your health plan is, find a friend to go on the path with you. Perhaps you are struggling to lose that 5, 10, or maybe even 30 pounds plus. Maybe you hate to exercise alone but have a ton of fun doing it with a friend. Perhaps you just want to eat clean and need someone to share tips and recipes. Whatever your wellness goal is grow your support system. Find someone who wants to make the same lifestyle changes as you and work together!

You will be amazed by the results you can achieve together. If you want to take the power of two a step further, tell your family about what you are doing, and get them on board and excited about the changes you want to make. This will not only be a great gift for you, it could be a great gift for others in your life who want to make changes but do not know how or do not want to go it alone. One thing I’m sure of is, with support you increase your chances for success!

As you embark on your wellness journey remember the Power of Two, find a friend and have fun with your new healthy lifestyle…together!

Kelly McElrea is a passionate Wellness Educator and Business coach with a zeal for helping people to reach the health and wealth they aspire to achieve. She specializes in health at the cellular level and has a proven system to help people boost their energy, cut cravings and look and feel amazing! Website: http://www.kellymcelrea.usana.com/.

My practice revolves around creating your own food plan that honors your unique bio-individuality. However, detoxing one’s body from the harmful effects of sugar requires a structured program, support, accountability and a system. Therefore I developed a program that walks my client through the process of letting go of sugar while enjoying delicious healthy meals.

The Knock Out Sugar program allows you to release up to 10 pounds in 2 weeks eating 5 healthy meals.

These meals will stabilize your hormones and purge all the sugar and processing by-products from your body while adding delicious, good-for-you food. You will feel lighter, the brain fog disappears and your energy will skyrocket!

The Knock Out Sugar program has 9 Steps. Please note that when you follow these steps, you may suffer from fatigue, irritability and a slight headache. Be excited; your body is actively releasing the sugar from your system. Those symptoms will subside after a couple of days and be replaced with clarity, energy and weigh loss!

9 Steps to Knocking Out Sugar:

1. Take out the sugar.
Excess sugar causes our insulin to ride the roller coaster and as a result our body holds onto fat. By taking out all sugar we are forcing our body to stabilize our insulin levels and then increase the fire within our fat-burning furnace.

2. Cut out the grains.
Grains, even whole, produce sugar when they are being digested, thus keeping the grains out will heal our insulin levels

3. Up the Vegetables.
These miracle foods will fill you up with fiber, provide you with vital vitamins and minerals and since they contain carbohydrates, give you energy.

4. Eat hormone free protein.
Hormone-free proteins feed our muscles and assists with mental clarity and energy. However, if we eat protein that has been injected with hormones we only add more hormones to our body and thus, our healing will stall.

5. Drink H20.
This healing elixir will detox your body.

6. Be picky with your fruits.
Even though fruits are natural, many types will wreak havoc on our insulin levels. Granny smith apples and berries are great fruity choices to be used in smoothies or for a snack.

7. Eat nature made as opposed to man-made.
Although box foods are convenient they are hurting our health. Work towards eating less man-made food and shop the perimeter of the grocery store.

8. Up the fat (healthy fats).
Our bodies need good fats in order to burn fat. Olive oil, grapeseed oil, coconut oil, avocadoes, nuts, seeds are great sources of healthy fats. Use coconut oil and grapeseed oil for high heat cooking since olive oil will become rancid when used in high-heat environments.

9. Cook and Prepare in advance.
The path to weight loss goes through the kitchen. When I facilitate my Knock Out Sugar Group programs, I demonstrate step by step how to cook and prepare foods in advance without spending all day in the kitchen. When you do some advanced prepping and preparing you will have healthy food readily available and less likely to make unhealthy choices.

Knock Out Sugar could save your life. Studies have shown that sugar is a major cause of heart disease, cancer and obesity. Sugar is also the cause the epidemic of Type 2 Diabetes. Letting go of sugar will take some effort, but your heart, your health and your waistline will thank you.

Maureen Wielansky helps women over 40 release the weight that has been holding them captive. She uses her 9 Step F.I.T. System to customize a plan that works with her clients’ unique body chemistries and lifestyle. Are you ready to take action and transform your body and your life? Then visit http://www.myknockoutbody.com/ and download your Action Guide to Unlocking your Knockout Body in 7 days.

5 Things That Can Skew The Truth

By Shawna Hamilton – 

You wouldn’t be a woman if you’ve never had a scale meltdown! You know these times, we hug it when it reads favorably and we cry and curse it when it doesn’t. But I’m here to tell you that the number staring back at you may not be quite right. Depending on a variety of factors that have absolutely nothing to do with body fat or even the scales accuracy, your body weight can vary by several pounds from one day to the next!

In fact, experts agree that your body fat percentage and your physical measurements rather than your weight, provide a more accurate picture of your health. So before you panic over what the scale is telling you, keep it mind that it’s just a number ladies and it WILL yo-yo daily and here are 5 reasons why!

1)      You have clothes on ( ADDS up to 5-6lbs)

This may seem like a no-brainer but most people weigh in with either all of their whole outfit on, or with their sneakers on at the gym, or their bathrobes at home. So take it off! As stripping down to your bare essentials can subtract up to 5-6lbs and really tip the scale in the “right” direction for you! But if you must, I recommend that you weigh yourself at the same time ONCE a week, in the morning, bare and after you use the washroom!

2)      You just finished an extra sweaty cardio class (SUBTRACTS up to 4-5lbs)

When your body works out at a high intensity, most of the calories burned are from glycogen (a form of carbohydrate that is stored in our muscle). The depletion of this high energy fuel can prove a dramatic shift in weight. But please don’t mistake this drop in pounds as a drop in body fat! The magical weight loss you are experiencing is just water. But hey, if that new scale number keeps you motivated to do it again, you have my vote! J

3)      You drank a huge bottle of water just before you got on the scale (ADDS up to 2lbs)

As you know, water has no calories, so it certainly can’t cause fat gain, but a liter or more of water weighs more than 2lbs. Most small shifts in body weight are due to fluctuating water levels in the body. So the full two pounds will show on the scale during the first few minutes after you drink it, then eventually deplete via perspiration, breathing and other bodily functions and your weight will at that point, inch back down accordingly. So it never hurts to hit the loo before hopping onto the scale!

4)      You had a few drinks last night (SUBTRACTS 3-5lbs)

Alcohol depletes your body of water. Alcohol also irritates the digestive system and can cause diarrhea. This diuretic/laxative combination makes some women look and feel leaner the day after. But while the scale drops, be rest assured that it won’t for long. Your weight will bounce back to normal once you replenish your fluids!

5)      You had a “light” lunch (ADDS up to 2-3lbs)

Often the healthiest meals are the heaviest in terms of weight. Filling, diet friendly foods such as broth based soups and/or salads loaded with veggies are full of fiber and water. Now, these both have zero calories, but add bulk to your plate and therefore, for a brief time, your stomach. So eating these can cause a short term rise in the scale number even though they actually help you lose weight over time. Interesting isn’t it? That’s why the scale is but a number, nothing to plan your life around. Eating healthfully comes first and matters most. So please don’t discourage yourselves from eating these fine foods. Just remember that once you do, depending on your digestion rate, the added weight of a large but diet-friendly lunch won’t stick with you longer than 12-24 hours! So never fear! J

Stay tuned for another 5 reasons to throw your scale away! They are on their way to you soon!

In the meantime, keep up the great work with your fitness routine, eat smartly and choose a winning attitude! You look wonderful!

Drop me a line! I’d love to hear from you! Shawna L. Hamilton B.A.,BKin.,H.D

Shawna is an experienced Professional Trainer, Nutrition Consultant and Homeopathic Doctor. She is the proud owner and operator of her successful mobile health and fitness business “On The Move.” Shawna is married and lives with her husband and 3 dogs in Toronto, Ont

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