It is kind of like going home for me in a way.  I worked on campas about 17 years ago…could it be true.  That was before my days of running and fitness.  It was before I became a personal trainer and before I ran the Boston Marathon.

I real feel like it is a priviledge for me to return to campus and hopefully motivate and encourage the staff and faculty to make fitness a part of their everyday life.

Congratulations to Trinity Western University, to realizing the importance of fitness for their employees and allowing them to participate during their lunch breaks.  I am really looked forward to a great response and to working with people at TWU to work towards their fitness goals.

Congratulations to everyone who completed the first 2010 session and way to go with your great results.  This past session had our ‘biggest loser’ ever.  Great job Teresa with a whopping 8.8 pound weight loss in the 4 weeks.

It is not too late to sign up for the next session.  It starts on Monday, February 15.  Register online or email me with your decision.  You too could be on your way to winning the gold.

BreakOut, Enjoy Life, Get Fit

Carol

Trust you all had a great weekend and of course stayed active.  I was up in Tulameen this weekend with husband Paul and friends T & G.  We had a great weekend of snowmobiling (I only flew off the sled once this trip), playing cards, walking, a 2 mile run and building snowmen.  Well OK, I was the only one that built the snowmen.  The first one was up in the mountains at the ‘play area’ and her name was ‘Annie’.  The second, ‘Buba’, was in the backyard of T & G’s cabin, waiting to use the outhouse.  The third, ‘Carol’,  was on a beautiful hill way up on the far side of Rabbit Mountain.  She had a spectacular view and was of course really cute :-).  OK, we have Annie, Buba and Carol…do you see a pattern.  My goal is to try and get a snowman built for every letter of the alphabet.  On the way back down on the snowmobiles, during one of our rests ‘Denis’ was starting to take shape.   He was going to be a tiny thing…probably about a foot high at best, but as fate would have it, he was knocked over by a flying snowmobile helmet.  Not to worry, his pieces found a home ‘inside the helmet’.  Who’s laughing now?

Please help me reach my goal.  If you build a snowman, give him/her a name and take a picture and email it to me,   I will post them on my website and let you know what letter we are on.  Hope we get snow soon, or you could always head to the hills.  Great way to stay active, right?  Try and find some ‘young’ friends to help.

Remember you can sign up anytime for the February boot camp session that starts February 15.  BreakOut of your old habits and routines, enjoy live and get fit.

Here we are into week 2 of BreakOut Boot Camp.  Great attendance and enthusiasm as this group is working towards a happy, healthy, active lifestyle.  Remember it is never too late to join, I am happy to prorate the fees, so you have no excuse.

The pink stripe in my hair is in honor of Carmen, my friend that has breast cancer.  We love ya Carm.  The cutie to my right is my daughter Pam.

Remember an active lifestyle is something you can work on every day.  BreakOut of your old habits and routines, get fit and enjoy life.

If you didn’t get around to signing up yet…do not fear it is never too late.  You can join at any time during the session and I will prorate your fees.  Give me a or email, or even drop in on boot camp evening and we will sign you up.

During first session we went over some of the health benefits to exercising regularly:

• o   20-50% lower risk of cardiovascular and coronary heart disease – which are responsible for 1/3 of deaths
• o   30% - 50% lower risk of colon cancer
• o   20% lower risk of breast cancer
• o   Reduces risk of type 2 diabetes by 50%
• o   Effective treatment for hypertension (high blood pressure) and in prevention of
• o   Can prevent and even reverse osteoporosis by 1% per year
• o  
• o   Helps build and maintain healthy bones, muscles and joints…improves stamina

All this and you will feel better, have more energy, lose weight, fit into your clothes better, tone up muscles and just feel better about yourself.  So why is it you haven’t signed up??

Start today and take the first step.  See you at Boot Camp.

Go to the online registration page and fill in the paperwork.  You can pay with the convenience of Paypal or just bring your payment to the first session.

Remember, if you can’t make 3 days a week, you have the option of 2 or even 1.  I will prorate the fees for you.  You can even mix and match the time spots.  I am doing everything I can to help you make it happen…now it is your turn.

So often I hear “I can’t do it now, maybe tomorrow.  So often ‘tomorrow’ never comes, so let today be your tomorrow and just do it!

Hope you have been active over the holidays.  I am planning on running the Historic Half Marathon next month with a bunch of family and friends, so today was my 11 mile run.  It was great, especially since I beat the rain.

Hoping to do some snowmobiling this weekend with friends and then home for boot camp on Monday.  See you there.

c

So, have you been thinking about making some New Year’s Resolutions?  Here is a copy of the article I wrote for the Langley Advance online column. 

BreakOut Resolutions for 2010

I know, I know, we aren’t even through the holidays yet and you want me to think about making New Year’s Resolutions.  Well, there is no time like the present. Start planning now to have a healthier year and by January you will be pumped and ready to go.  So often people start out the New Year right, but unfortunately it isn’t long before we get back into our old routine and exercise goes right out the window. 

So, let’s talk about some ways to make exercise ‘fun’ and thereby make it a part of our lifestyle, rather than something we ‘have to do’.

The most important thing is to change our attitude.  If you have the wrong attitude about fitness, you are setting yourself up for failure.  Don’t think of exercise as a punishment for being bad and something that is impossible to keep up.  

Rather it is your break in a busy day to take time for yourself.  It is the time when you can give your mind a rest and focus on ‘you’.  It is something that will give you more energy, improve your mood and improve your quality of life.

Your next steps are to plan, commit and ‘don’t cancel’.  Motivation doesn’t come easy, so make your plan and commit to it.  If you are exercising on your own or joining a class, write it down and COMMIT to making every class for 1 month… DO NOT CANCEL…and after the month you will be amazed at how good you feel.  Even the most committed exercisers has days they just don’t feel like it, know you will have to work on this every day. 

Tell people of your plan and you will feel more accountable.  ‘Hey, I signed up for 1 month of Bootcamp and I am going to make all 12 classes.  I am so excited to see and feel the results!’  It’s going to be pretty hard to miss when everyone knows what you are doing, isn’t it?  It is amazing how you can push yourself when you know people are watching. Even better, find a partner to do an activity with you.  If you know they will be there at noon to go for that run or pick you up for that class, you will be less likely to put it off.

Find something that you love.  If you love to swim, join a swim club.  If you are a team player, sign up for a group sporting activity, if you love to run, join a running group.  If you participate in things you enjoy it will keep you interested and excited.  Don’t be afraid to mix it up, you may be surprised at what you enjoy.

So I encourage you all, make 2010 the year you will Break Out of your old habits and routines, enjoy life and get fit!

 Here in the Laviolette household we have had a wonderful time with family and friends and have one more Christmas dinner tonight.  Trust you have enjoyed the beautiful outdoors as this sunny weather gives many opportunities for activity.  Dress up nice and warm and go for that hike through the trails, you will be amazed at what you find.  When out with some friends the other day hiking and geocaching we found this amazing frost growing out of the end of a stick…it almost looked like hair.  Very cool.

 Well as usual running is part of what we do here.  There is 7 of us, friends and family training to do the Historic Half Marathon in Fort Langley in February, so are working on our training program every week.  Last week I was doing ‘hill repeats’ to strengthen my legs and today 5 of us are going out for a 9 mile run.  Great day for it!  Yesterday was a great day at Hemlock Valley skiing with some of the family and then home to a quick workout at the gym and a relaxing hot tub.  What a day!

 Enjoy your day, find something fun to do with family and friends and remember:  BreakOut of your old habits and routines, Enjoy Life and Get Fit!

As many of you know I believe you can eat what you want…in moderation.  Remember to get in your exercise over the holidays and you will be OK.  If you have been checking the Langley Advance recently I have had a few articles on how to keep the pounds off over the holidays.  Here is the most recent: 

Holiday Parties not Holiday Pounds

‘Tis the season!  Yes it’s true, Christmas is just around the corner and so are the parties, pot lucks and in many cases extra pounds.   What can we do?   

Whether the urge to overeat comes from the temptation of extra food and treats over the holidays, emotional eating, or the decrease in physical activity, let’s look at some helpful tips to consider helping you fully enjoy the holiday season without gaining weight.

1. Include some type of physical activity every day, especially aerobic activity like a brisk walk, jog or swimming.  It can relieve stress, regulate appetite and burn off extra calories.
2. Eat a light snack like a piece of fruit or small yoghurt before going to a holiday party.  You won’t arrive famished and be tempted to eat the higher fat and calorie foods.  Don’t fall prey to the habit of not eating all day so you can “enjoy the party”.
3. When you arrive, pour yourself a big glass of water, mingle with the crowd and drink it all down.  It is an effective way to help you feel full and will make a difference in the amount of food you eat.
4. Bring a healthy food to the pot luck.  Google ‘Healthy Party Foods’ and be amazed at the choices you have.
5. If you don’t love it, don’t eat it.  You don’t need to try everything that your host prepares.  Pick out your absolute favorites and then pile on the vegetables; they are filling and good for you.
6. Avoid recreational eating.  At parties we tend to eat…and keep eating, long after we are full as the ‘social’ thing to do.  Make a conscious plan to take one plate of the foods you really like.  Eat slowly and enjoy every bite.  After you are done, ‘move away from the table’, pop a mint or stick of gum in your mouth and get a glass of water to sip on.
7. Inform others of your goals and then you are committed.  Say something like ‘This food looks amazing.  I’m trying to watch my weight this holiday season, so I am going to enjoy one plate, but if you see me go back for more…kick my butt!’  People will respect that and there is no way you could go back now with everyone watching.
8. Choose beverages wisely.  Although this is typically the time to celebrate with alcoholic beverages my suggestion is to have the majority of them be the non alcoholic variety.  These empty calories add up quickly.  Watch for the extra calories in soda, fruit punch and eggnog as well.
9. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they’re serving rum balls…just kidding…a little holiday humor is good for the soul.

Enjoy the holidays everyone and remember…breakout of the old habits and routines, enjoy life and get fit!

A big thanks to Michelle for looking after the Thursday night and Friday morning boot camps for me.  You are the best!

Only two more weeks of boot camps before we take a break over the Christmas holidays.  Have a great weekend and Break Out, Enjoy Life and Get Fit.