TOO MANY COCKTAILS ON THE PATIO CHALLENGE (or how to fit into that little Black Dress by Christmas)

I always knew I would start another blog, but I never ever thought it would be like this. Yes, it would be about food, great food, gourmet food, entertaining, wine, recipes! You see, I LOVE food. Come on.......a blog about fitness, Personal Training, nutrition and eating clean.....get real!  Well, I guess I did  get real! 

As some of you know, I quit Dentistry last August after 28 years!  I went back to school to do something I felt very passionate about........I became a Personal Trainer.  When one door closes, another opens or should I say many doors are opening!  Tomorrow I start as Manager and Personal Trainer at FITXPRESS......a gym in Burnaby.

My last post was a picture of me at the end of August and how I felt when I saw it.  Please read it.  It was this picture that made me decide to create this CHALLENGE for you all.

Why the title? 

It was a beautiful summer and i'm sure most of you, like me, had way too many cocktails (in my case, wine!) on the patio with all those BBQ's.  Not to mention ice cold beer and nachos.  All my hard work in school, learning and training about fitness and nutrition went out the door.  I saw that picture and the next day I tweaked my diet (cutting out all alcohol) eating 4-5 small, well balanced meals a day and getting back into my fitness routine.  I dropped 9 lbs in just 3 weeks!

I  have a lot of knowledge and background on eating clean and nutrition (food allergies have taught me all that).  Coupled with my fitness background, I feel I am more than qualified to lead you towards the BEST YOU EVER.

A PHOTO, ALL IT TOOK WAS A PHOTO

This picture was taken on the last day of my teaching Boot Camp this summer and I was not happy with myself when I saw it!  See that red arrow?  Yes, it is pointing to.....yes, Robyn has a Muffin Top!  I know it might not be significant to others, in fact a few people have made comments in that direction but to me and my health it is.

Did you know that if your waist-to-hip-ratio or Girth as it is called is > than, you are considered prone to Heart Disease? 

And I call myself a Personal Trainer? The very next day, I tweaked my diet and exercise and in just 3 short weeks I was able to dropped 9 lbs and tone up. I must practice what I teach! So follow along with me as I give practical advise on nutrition and exercise to achieve your goals! 

What will it be to get you to change?  A photo of yourself?  Difficulty going up and down the stairs or walking a hill?  How about wanting to keep up with your children or Grandkids?  Living a dream of doing a Walking Tour in Europe next year?

Tell me your goals and what it took to motivate you to follow me along on this journey?  

Who's up for the Challenge?

live love laugh

The Personal Stuff! (or the boring stuff) Part 2

Ok, I'm ready to finish this story!  Coffee is at hand!

Fast forward 4 years and i'm single again.  I mentioned earlier that as kids we used to ice skate all the time and I missed it!  So I decided to take up Adult Figure Skating!!  I was loving it and learning all sorts of new tricks.  One day I was practising over and over again my spin.......you know, the one legged kind where your body is parallel to the ground.  I was getting good and I guess I got too cocky and tried it again.........not a good idea!

You guessed it!  I broke my leg in the most Canadian way possible.........ice skating!  And this was no simple break but a spiral fracture in 3 places.  Basically I was f***ed!  Surgery and 8 months off work before I could walk properly again.....and that was with a limp :-(

The doctors were concerned with how easily I broke my leg, so I had a bone scan and at the early age of 34 I had the beginnings of Osteoporosis! All those years of no weight bearing exercises  and the lack of dairy, because I was allergic to it, caught up with me.

The Personal Stuff! (or the boring stuff) Part 1

When i was first asked if I was going to do a blog to go along with my Personal Training business, I said yes, I was thinking about it.  

You see, I wondered if I would have the time to contribute on a regular basis to a blog.  I mean, I was already maintaining 2 Facebook Pages, trying to get Zhoosh fitness by design off the ground and I had already started a new venture with my sister back in the spring.  Something completely different than a career in the Fitness Industry.  Added to all this, I have just started a new job as Manager and Personal Trainer of a fitness gym in Burnaby.  I am still in training and will take over as Manager of this gym on the 24th of this month!

Then it was suggested that I add a personal touch to start off this blog, something that would engage it's readers, a background on my own struggle to become the person that I am today.  To reach out and inspire the "normal" people, the every day people who struggle along with the rest of us, trying to balance life, work, children, relationships and anything else that falls in our way to lead a healthy, productive lifestyle!

So here goes the boring back ground......