Tips of the Month- Getting Hearty Healthy

Heart Healthy= Being Consistent

Taking care of that love-muscle will ensure that you have the health, energy and capacity to give your love to others. Despite what you may believe, supporting your heart health is easier than you think.

Yes, there are risk factors that increase the chance for heart disease: smoking, consuming unhealthy diet, being overweight/ obese, high stress levels, high blood pressure and diabetes.

However, lucky for you, [almost] all of these factors can be mediated with CONSISTENT exercise.Exercise has been shown to help get to and maintain a healthy weight, lower blood pressure and stress levels (there’s nothing like Medball Slams after a long day at work!), regulate blood-glucose…. And SO.MUCH.MORE.

And it gets even better: the Public Health Agency of Canada states that you only have to be active 2.5 hours EACH WEEK to see the benefits of exercising.

They recommend focusing on vigorous aerobic activities, but, in the end, you just need to find something active that you ENJOY, and you’ll find it easy to keep it up. <3

Check out these sources for more heart-healthy tips from our government agencies:

https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/heart-disease-heart-health.html

http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/hp-ps/hl-mvs/pa-ap/07paap-eng.php

https://www.ontario.ca/page/support-quit-smoking

Grab a workout buddy

Working out with someone is not only more enjoyable, but it can actually improve the workout quality and overall motivation-- which can be especially important for those days when you really don’t feel like exercising, but showed up at the gym anyway. Having to meet up with someone will keep you accountable and more committed to your workout plan (remember, consistency is key to achieving your goals!).

Plus, we can all agree, doing those love-hate exercises like burpees are so much more fun when there’s someone struggling-- errr-- working hard with you!

That’s why we’re having a “Love-you-Buddy” week at TriForce from February 14-19th, 2017. Grab your Valentine/ partner/ family member/ friend and bring them out all week for FREE.

Because those that move together, stay together… and, as we discussed above, those that move consistently, get results!

Pick one habit to work on

Did you make some nutrition resolutions this year? How are they going?

Many people try to go “cold turkey”, and jump ship from what they’ve been eating to completely what they think they should be eating-- or for one of those fad diets.. You know, the ones where you eat nothing but celery and peanut butter for 14 days, or just drink smoothies?

As you’ve probably discovered, fad diets or going cold turkey may have short-term success, but, more often than not, quickly regress back to your starting point with feelings of guilt and shame.

Eating should never be a chore or come with feelings of deprivation and guilt.

One of the ways that we make long-lasting changes with our members is to make singular, small changes at a time. Once that new habit is part of the routine, we pick another thing to work on… and again and again. We keep this process up until we’ve found a “diet” that is nourishing and natural to each person.

So, instead of trying to make February the “January 2.0” and hop on the fad-diet bandwagon, why don’t you pick one habit to change? Here are some examples:

• Drink a large glass of water as soon as you get up in the morning

• Add one piece of fruit to your day

• Add some veggies to two meals

• Prep your work-week lunches on Sunday to reduce the amount of times you eat out

• Eat half a bagel with a piece of fruit or handful of nuts, instead of a whole bagel

• Swap out the cream cheese on the bagel for a nut butter

• Swap out one of your many coffees a day for a glass of water

Moral of the story: start small to end BIG :)