Over the past year an a half, I've been trying to master the balance between sticking to proper eating and allowing myself a treat now and then.  I find personally that giving myself a "binge weekend" usually leads to an off week where I tend to have a harder time sticking to my diet.  That being said, if I don't give a little, then what is the point of even living.  Maybe a little bit dramatic, but you get my point. I've made it pretty clear all along that I love food.  I have a big appetite and I enjoy cooking and of course anything with bread, pasta or cheeses- I am in!  I do enjoy my veggies and eating properly does make me feel better.  I find if I have a week or weekend where I eat like crap, I start to feel like crap and I actually crave healthy foods again. I feel like I have ironed out some of the kinks when it comes to my diet, but I am far from perfect.  Some days I go from, "I don't want a cookie" to "I ate the whole box of Oreos...

Since I have hurt my knees, I get asked quite a bit "are you still training and working out?"  For some people it is out of general curiosity; and for others, the question comes with a tone of voice that says, "you're an idiot!" In all honesty, in some ways my training regime has changed a lot and in others it hasn't.  For example, cardio- I can't run, but I can use the spin bike and I am cleared to do stairs for the time being.  I absolutely loathe swimming lengths in a pool, so that is not something I will willingly partake in.  I used to use grappling a lot for cardio, but that really isn't much of an option at this point.  So the form that I do cardio has changed a lot, but I still get it done! For my regular workouts, I have been able to do upper body and core stuff as usual.  Some things were difficult at first, like planks or anything requiring me to have straight legs.  Now that I have most of my leg extension back, I can do almost any exe...

I thought  I'd write about what to do when you want to give up- written by someone who wanted to give up, which is me.  But first, the background story! I've had a bit of a frustrating past couple weeks  and fell a bit off the "bandwagon" purely just because of it. A few weeks ago, I got the phone call I've been waiting for 6 months.  It was the surgeon's office asking if I could possibly work out getting my knee surgery done on the 23rd of this month.  It only gave me 17 days notice, but I took it.  For the next couple days, I was on cloud nine!  I was super excited to get the surgery and to get going with physio and back on the healing train.  I've been really happy about how my knee has been feeling latel; no pain, working out has been going well and I was lifting more than ever!  The occasional time I would turn too quickly, I could feel the joint slide a bit; but that was a very minor issue. That Wednesday a couple days after the p...

It's been some time since I started going to the gym consistently and completely overhauled my entire lifestyle.  I've learned so much along the way about myself, gym life, working out, etc.  I remember when I first started I was so intimidated by the gym and I have definitely learned some great lessons along the way. I also was thinking of if I could go back and give "past me" any tips about what to expect, what would I say.  So I thought I'd write a list and put it out for everyone. Here is my list of fitness truths and tips for any woman (or person) starting at the gym. 1.  Gyms aren't really that intimidating.       I used to hate going into the weight room.  It always kind of smelled like a dude and it was daunting not really knowing how or what equipment to use.  After I forced myself into it and did more research, I found it actually isn't scary after all.  Unless you're trying to beat a big powerlifting guy to the benc...

A few weeks ago, I was talking with some co-workers about our individual fitness routines.  This prompted one of them to ask everyone, "When were you at your fitness peak?"  One of my coworkers said before her Mexico trip earlier this year, one said when they were in university playing on the hockey and soccer teams.  For myself, I answered, "Well, right now.  I am currently in the best shape I've been." She was a bit surprised at my answer, and asked if even with my knee, I am currently in the best shape I've ever been.  My answer is still yes, and I will explain why. I've been at varying degrees of fit all my life.  In high school, I was in gym class every day and on the basketball team.  I was constantly running, all the time!  Even then, I was still strong, but I've never had the muscle mass I do now.  I also never ate as healthy as I do now.  When I was in high school, I lived by I could eat whatever I wanted, because I...

I am not exactly what someone would call a beauty expert by any means.  I am not girly enough of a girl to have makeup how-to's or hair tutorials.  That being said, I do try to take care of my skin as much as possible, in hopes I can keep it as healthy and age well! I've been told many times that I have nice skin.  To me, its a big compliment, especially when I am not wearing makeup.  I have noticed since I started taking my health seriously, my skin has improved greatly! So here are my personal rules or things I do to take care of my skin. 1.  I eat lots of veggies and cut out the crap!       We all know that eating healthy is great for keeping a healthy body weight as well as upkeep of our internal organs.  Remember that your skin is also an organ, therefore it also benefits from healthy eating.  There aren't a whole lot of studies that I could find on a direct link between food and skin damage, but the general consensus is that ...

We had a busy weekend filled with Ju Jitsu and family time. Friday was our usual, teaching kids class and training; then Saturday we went to a Ju Jitsu seminar at KP that was put on by mine and Ernie's Sensei, Joseph. Joe was our Sensei who brought us up to black belt level and now we instruct what he taught us.  It was awesome this past Saturday to have so many of our martial arts family members come out to learn some of what he taught us over the years.  I felt like it was a great refresher to practice drills and moves we've forgotten about or haven't worked on lately. One of my favorite things we worked a lot on was doing lots of throws!  When I was a younger martial artist, I hated drilling throws.  They were difficult for me, I could never get the timing right or I was too small to be able to move a person around enough to knock them off balance.  I never really did realize the importance of being able to do a great take down or a throw until I got olde...