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10 Small Things You Can Do Right NOW To Get Healthy

Style Crush is very excited to introduce our first ever guest blogger! We understand first hand the demands of work and home, and the hopes of carving out some time in the week for yourself. Regular exercise and healthy eating can seem impossible and easily slips to the bottom of your to do list. That is why we asked our good friend and personal trainer Laurie Belvedere to share with you with some quick tips that will help keep your healthy living goals on track!

If you've lost your way with your personal health goals, you are not alone. Instead of getting frustrated, try doing one new thing a day to help get closer to a better you (can't you hear her voice deep down inside of you?). Whatever those goals are, they will not be accomplished without some hard work and persistence (but you knew that already). Don't waste another day, the time will pass regardless! Make NOW your happiest and healthiest time of your life! 

Laurie's Quick Tips!

Set small realistic goals and put them in writing, or better yet, tell a friend. Accountability is everything. Check in with each other and offer support when the other stumbles. Sometimes a quick text exchange can curb the strongest of cravings.

Make note of why you are setting those particular goals. Keep your eye on the prize, whether it's an event you need a special dress for or an upcoming vacation. Once you're well on your way you won't want to stop.

If you fall off course, forgive yourself and start back at it. If you're looking for perfection, you WILL fail. It took you a long time to gain the weight, give yourself time to lose it. Remember, lose the weight slowly and it will stay off longer.

Don't let a small cheat discourage your progress or carry over into a weekend/week of indulgence. The worst idea ever is to start your diet / get back on track "tomorrow". That just opens the flood gates to keep indulging. Instead, take note of what made you falter and promise to choose better at your next meal.

Record your food, you will be surprised at all the little extras you sneak in. Commit to writing down what you eat for 3-5 days. You will be shocked once you see a list of all the little nibbles you take in throughout the day. You might even see a pattern (ie. you eat more at night or when making lunches for the kids). Once you know your weaknesses, you can take steps to correct them. If you have a smartphone, download calorie counting apps such as My Fitness Pal. You set your goal, enter what you eat and it will keep track of your calories and progress. They add up fast!

Eat as clean as possible, load up on veggies, lean meats and fish. It's hard with a busy lifestyle, but even small changes will go a long way. Make sure you add veggies to your lunch and dinner. And instead of frying, try steaming and adding some fresh herbs to taste. Switch up your white rice for some quinoa (keen-wa). It's not as scary as it sounds and tastes great! You can even try it with your pasta sauce in lieu of noodles.

Stick with whole grain carbs. Start small and challenge yourself to try one new whole grain food a week. Instead of a bagel for breakfast, have oatmeal (not the instant kind) with berries. Replace the white bun sandwich at lunch with 100% whole wheat bread. Instead of a potato side at dinner, give beans a try. A chickpea or black bean salad will complement any dish. There are endless recipes online, or ask a friend. Everyone should know one good healthy side dish.

Stay away from processed foods. If it comes in a package, box, bag or tub, it's probably not going to help you reach your goal. You've had cake before and you will have cake again. Just not right now.

Drink tons of water. Try to keep a reusable water bottle with you at all times. When you're having a moment of weakness, a good chug will help make your belly full. And the craving will pass, I promise. And it will do wonders for your skin too.

Eat small meals every few hours. Don't let yourself get too hungry, otherwise chances are you will eat too much at your next meal. Have an apple and some peanut butter, or carrots and hummus in between lunch and dinner. It will keep you more satisfied than a bag of chips or chocolate bar. Keep a small bag of nuts in your car, purse or office drawer for emergencies.

  

Laurie is the owner of RYP Fitness, a small intimate fitness studio in Mississauga. She is a certified personal trainer, happy wife, and super busy mother of three active boys and one equally active German Sheppard puppy! Laurie is offering a FREE personal training session for your first visit. Grab a friend and don't miss out on this great deal! Visit www.rypfitness.ca to book your spot (and tell them Style Crush sent you)!

Fashion Trends for 2015 (from a scrappy 8 year old)

Are you tired of being told what you SHOULD be wearing this season by the billion dollar fashion industry? Try being told by an 8 year old…

1. Who isn't wearing pink knee socks this season? Nobody, that's who.

2. If my outfit doesn’t make me stare in a mirror for long periods of time, it's dead to me. 

3. Walking is so last season. Get with the times and find your own human Uber to get you around.

4. If you think being 8 is without its stresses, think again. A sleep mask at night helps me get ready for the next grueling day of mocking my sister, manipulating my dad and being a constant reminder to my mother that she could be balancing family-work life a little better. 

5. Listen, some people need to be taught how to pose. Some, like me, don’t. #BornWithIt

6. I’m usually dead on with starting fashion trends. Sometimes I get it wrong. Sometimes.

7. Straight teeth, and teeth in general, are on the "What's Out" list this year. Knew I'd be on trend.

8. Subtlety is not my forte. Deal.

"Remember people, if you're not posing in a mirror, what are mirrors for?"
~ Charli, 8

Don’t you remember being brand obsessed? (yup, I’m still brand obsessed)

If you grew up in the 80s, or even worse, went to high school in the 80s, you were probably obsessed with having Tretorns, a Beaver Canoe hoodie, you wore 2 Polo shirts at a time (collars up, no doubt) and you’d be happy with anything from Cotton Ginny. Why? Because everyone was obsessed with these brands. And at that age, mostly everyone (except the trailblazers listening to the Smiths with a safety pin in their ear) wanted to fit it, blend in, and just be like everyone else.

Since there’s nothing new under the sun, why do we expect anything different from our own kids? I remember those days, laying out my girls’ outfits the night before school, my own creations I carefully thought out (and by thought out I mean whatever was clean). All those great hand me downs, like the skirts with the bows, the tops with the lace, who cared? Certainly not my oblivious children. But oh, oh how things were going to change. 

I KNEW IT WAS COMING

I will always remember that dreaded day, picking up my then 8 year old from the weekend spent with her “older” cousin. As soon as we were alone, she looked at me (bows and lace staring at me, while mocking her), and said “Ya, I think I want an Ivivva top”. My heart either skipped a beat or I choked on my tongue, can’t quite remember which. But there it was, cat out of bag, Pandora’s Box ajar. There was no going back, now that she “knew”. Knew there were great brands out there, wonderful brands that you couldn’t live without. Brands we snuck into the house to avoid our husbands saying “don’t you have like 50 pairs of those already?”. It was her time. Everyone can remember their first time, when they “knew”.

But now that us 80s kids have grown up and have our own families, and all that comes with it: mortgages, car payments, bills (did I mention bills?), buying clothes for our kids can be quite stressful and a strain on the pocket book. And there seems to be an unspoken sentiment among parents today to encourage our kids to be independent, cultivate their own style, wear what makes them happy. I find this utter nonsense since kids change their style as fast as they can download an app, or get tired of something within the same week of falling in love with it, or grow so fast pants turn to capris overnight. What’s a parent to do? I find it hard to justify buying the expensive brand name clothes that cost a little extra when I know they'll be tossed aside before I even get the Visa bill!

I GIVE IN...SOMETIMES

But I get it. It’s soooo hard, when you’re attracted to the more “desirable” brands, I mean…who isn’t? And I get that my kids want the Ivivva wardrobe and the Hunter boots, I really do. I remember being 12, pleading with my mother to let me keep the $100 Polo jacket I bought with my paper route money (she made me return it by the by…and good for her, $100 back then is like $1,000 now). But if I can just remember, for even a minute, what it was like to want that Polo jacket (did I even realize a men’s small wasn’t flattering for a 12 year old girl? Why did we wear everything so big back then?). Anyway, at the end of the day, I can certainly empathize with my kids a bit. I do treat them to those overpriced “must haves” once in a while. Sometimes, my husband’s move is to make them pay half for the odd piece, he thinks it will instill value and appreciation for the finer things in life. And maybe, just maybe, it won’t end up, in a ball, on their bedroom floor. A girl can dream.

Andrea

Geez...is it spring yet?

With only a few days of winter left, I can honestly say that I am so done. Not interested anymore. I don’t want to be freezing cold to the bone all the time anymore. I don’t want to wear 8 layers of clothing just to go outside. My hair is full of static, my skin is dry, and I feel like crying every time it starts snowing again. Coming from a family that enjoys skiing, believe me, these feeling give me a lot of guilt. I am definitely the fair weather skier in our house. 

We can’t say it hasn’t been exciting, I mean frost quakes, polar vortex, extreme cold alerts, snow fall warnings…what more could we ask for! I loved driving white-knuckled all the way up north in white-out conditions.  It was so fun staying up all night with my shaking child explaining repeatedly that the loud bangs were frost quakes, not our house being robbed. I am not sure if working from home has made dealing with winter better or worse? It has given me the opportunity to hide in my basement office, staying warm, drinking tea in my cozy slippers all day. Can’t complain about that, right?

Other than those drives back and forth to school and the kid’s activities, it feels like I haven’t been out of the house or seen anyone in my neighbourhood forever. Do I even have the same neighbours? Did they move? Someone does live there because they keep shoveling my driveway (thanks by the way). I definitely owe them a bottle of wine…whoever they are.  And fashion? Forget about it. Besides realizing that my winter jacket and boots did not deliver what they promised, with respect to keeping me warm in minus 30 weather, I gave up trying to look good. Covered from head to toe, and who cares if it all matches? No one knows it me anyway. And they certainly can’t tell I haven’t had my highlights done in months, or that I haven’t been going to those boot camps I promised myself I would attend.  

So here we are. Days away from the official beginning of spring.  My hair appointment is booked and I am exuding positive energy! I think everyone is ready. We all deserve these upcoming sunny, warm days. Even a little rain will be ok. People are still happy in the rain, they even made a song about singing in the rain. And spring fashions…love it! Great jackets and skirts, beautiful colours and patterns. I even get to bust out my wide leg jeans again! Yes, they are back! Spring means new beginnings. Hang on everyone. It’s almost here! 

Julie

Working From Home VS Not

Has your partner ever said to you “you’re lucky that I ________”? As in, “You’re lucky that I cook ya know, most husbands don’t”. Really? That day, my husband came home (and as always I was sitting at my computer, with nothing made for dinner, or even prepped) and said that, to me. For a brief moment, I admit, I did feel bad. I mean, I work from home, couldn’t I have started something? At least pulled out a cutting board and a knife to create an air…an intention…something? For the brief time our eyes were locked, the last 10 years of my life flashed before me. Side note: Our whole marriage, before and after kids, he has cooked. He is a great cook, even went to George Brown for culinary. He owns a butcher shop in Muskoka for the love of God…I mean, this guy LOVES to cook and eat. So it has just evolved over time that he is the family chef. So why say this to me now? With our eyes locked, him looking tired from working all day and having to come home to make dinner; me, looking tired from working (albeit at the kitchen table) all day, and having no culinary talent whatsoever…we were locked in a dead zone. Each thinking the other had it good. Then it hit me. He has no idea what he’s talking about! Then the last 10 years started to bubble up from my chest to my throat, out my mouth. As his eyes look away, I started. Here’s how the rest of the convo went:

I realize you cook, and I love that. You wouldn’t last a day if I did the cooking. And what if you didn’t do the cooking, would you just come home from work and sit on the couch and watch TV? Do you even realize the things that YOU are lucky that I do? For instance, ever notice how there’s always toilet paper on the roll? Or toothpaste in your drawer? Or how there’s food in the fridge for you to make dinner? Crazy how the girls (our daughters) got a dental checkup, physical and their eyes checked this year. Who made those appointments? Ever fill out a school form? Volunteer on that school visit to the mayor’s office? Have you ever bought one, ONE! birthday present, Easter egg, Valentines gift, stocking stuffer? Do you ever change the kitchen hand towel, or the espresso machine filter? Do you even know baseboards need to be dusted? Or that the fish’s water needs to be changed? Have you ever waited 1.5 hours for your eldest to finish gymnastics, or wake up at 6am to register for the coveted swim lesson times? Do you even know when the kids need new underwear, knapsacks, even a haircut? DO YOU KNOW SHEETS NEED TO BE WASHED???

God. I could go on and on and on. It’s actually cathartic to write about it. If you have been nodding your head this whole time, you know EXACTLY what I’m talking about. Working from home somehow makes it seem that you can fit in all the regular house/family stuff “in between” working. It’s sooo not the case. At this point, I’m ready to go work in the shed, ya know, so I’m not technically “working from home”. Sigh. 


Andrea

The Sochi Winter games are OVER…Boo!

It’s always a little sad when the Olympics are over. Those 2 weeks they’re on is like having your favourite show on, 24/7. No matter when you get home, what time you wake up, if you can’t sleep…it don’t matta! Even if you don’t like tobogganing, or is it luge? Wait, skeleton…er…bobsledding? Whatever they call it, you still watch. Just on the off chance that someone splits their skin tight suit open. Oh my, did you see it? People thought it happened at Sochi but it was actually the World Championships in Switzerland, 2010. British bobsleigh rider, Gillian Cooke, was stretching before she pushed off and split her pants, in the rear, wide open. Like, not a small split, but her full buttocks were there for the world to see. I was going to put a youtube link but thought against it. Your first inclination is to laugh (come on, how can you not?), but then the embarrassment, for her, settles in. Oh my god, if that was me, I would die. But I haven’t been working out every day, for more than half my life. At least her butt looked good, right? Could have been worse. Could have been me.

The other moments you watch for is all the cute, in shape athletes…geez, they are all mostly cute, right? Why is that? Could it be all that exercise and fresh air just makes the infrastructure of your face fall into place? Or does it go against the law of nature to have such a hard body without a face to match? Who knows. But think of the monkey business going on in that Olympic village where they all stay. They are all so disciplined, but come on, I’m sure they fall off the wagon at some point. Even if they don’t, it’s nice to think they do…having killer parties with their killer bodies…all without inhibition as they probably won’t see these people again (not until another 4 years and by then the monkey business shame will have worn off). A girl can dream.

But my fondest memory of the whole games was skier Hubertus von Hohenloche. First off, he represents Mexico (he was born in Mexico city). With a name like that who would suspect he WASN’T from Mexico? Whatever. Second, they call him Prince. But the outfit. Did you see the OUTFIT? It’s designed to look like a matador outfit (or is that mariachi?)! I call them “outfits”, heh heh. Like my neighbour’s a cop and I call his uniform an “outfit”…makes me chuckle every time. Can you imagine THAT meeting of the minds? Where him and his coaches are sitting around the table, debating the suit…do we put lightning bolts, bold colours, stripes? Cut to “Prince” where he says “No. Matador. Yes, definitely matador”. God love him.  

Andrea