Shame

I don't watch TV, so it was news to me that Dove has changed their campaign to apparently insinuate that any body shape is fine. Even, so I'm told, to make thin unpopular.

Don't get me wrong - I am all for accepting that most women are size 14 or larger, and debunking the myth that thin thighs and large breasts is the only look going.

BUT. 

But this backlash is going too far. Instead of finding ways to clean up our health, we are instead working around our fat, making it okay. We build bigger seats, use vanity sizing (calling a size 16 a size 12), and now I hear that there is such a thing as 'skinny shaming'. Girls and women with normal bodies are being attacked for NOT being fat!

Besides the backwardness of this, my concern is about the health of our young women. Type 2 diabetes is no longer called adult-onset because 10 year olds are developing it. Obesity in youth is a huge issue, and I know from experience that they are setting themselves up for either a lifetime of fighting the fat, like myself, or a miserable, unhealthy existence topped off by a horrible, painful death.

I don't know how to get an entire continent off sugar. But I do know this - we have to do something soon or we will certainly start to see children dying before their parents. And it's preventable!

Water Babies

I went for my first outdoor swim on Monday night, and it was fabulous. The water was warm, it was sunny and I could watch my shadow swimming on the bottom of the pool. 

I never understand people who say they don't like to swim. The way I figure it, we crawled out of the ocean eons ago, but I feel drawn to water because something about it is comforting. 

We spend the 9 months after conception in amniotic fluid, which is basically sea water. An infant dropped in a pool not only knows how to swim, but how to hold it's breath. Our tears are also like sea water. 

So, as much as I believe we are meant to walk since we evolved to be bipedal, I also believe we still have the innate ability to swim. And what could be better? A refreshing, zero impact workout that works the whole body and the cardiovascular system.

So go and get wet!

Adapt-able

Sorry it's been awhile - my cat had an operation to remove his eye, so I've been preoccupied. He's fine - thanks for asking - but it made me think about how we can adapt.

I used to see a guy in my neighbourhood riding a bike with one leg. I think that's cool. And then you have quadriplegic artists who paint by mouth and myriad other examples of people who have adapted to pretty serious 'disabilities'. 

The difference is mental. Cats don't care if they look different - all they care about is can they still do what they want and if not, how can they find a new way? People need to think this way as well. If we focus on what we ARE able to do, we'll accomplish much more than worrying about what we can't do.

Carb Up

For all my previous competitions, I've done the whole carb-cutting thing. It works, but then...

Both Alex and I agree that there seems to be a rebound effect that causes not only some pretty major weight gain, but also an imbalance in hormones that leads to all sorts of other crazy side effects.  You also feel like crap and look depleted and stringy. 

I now know that for me, just eating clean and working hard is the way to go. Before my first show ever, I was 10% body fat before I carbed down, and looked far better a week after the show!

So, when a new client who wants to train for the stage voiced her concerns about the diet, I was able to confidently assure her not to worry. 

If you need more proof, just look at how many people have gained all their weight back and then some almost immediately after doing the Atkins' diet... 

Moderation, I hate to say it, is the way to go. 

Mother

Happy Mother's Day! I don't have children, but I do enjoy nurturing my cats and the people I care about. I think we all have a little mother in us. Let's all take care of each other - that is the point of life!

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

In any relationship, there may come a time to end it. As a personal trainer, I have found that people are too squeamish to say they're going to move on, either to another trainer or something else completely. They say 'I want to keep seeing you, I'll call you' or some such variation, and then they don't. Any personal trainer worth their salt will not take it personally (pun-ny!) if a client is simply honest. 

The same applies in other relationships. It may be uncomfortable at the time, but it is much kinder to tell the person you're ending it. That way, you're off the hook and the other person isn't left wondering. In the long run, being honest is just better.

Too Much of a Good Thing

There are a couple of women at my gym whom I have noticed working out every day, and for up to three hours. 

This is not only unnecessary, but actually detrimental. Unless you consume carbs and protein during the workout, you go into a catabolic (muscle breakdown) state after an hour or so. It also doesn't work to do the same workout every day - the body is too smart, and it adapts.

If the goal is to burn fat, the best way to do it is to do weights to build some muscle, and at another time, some intense cardio that uses the muscles you've built. 

I can't believe I'm giving this away, but there it is. You're welcome.