Category Archives: Fitness & Health

May 15 2013
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I (almost) met Bethenny Frankel

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Good morning Loves,

Well, I am back from my trip to New York City and as always I am a little bit sad. NYC is such a great city and I am always sad to leave. I try to visit NYC as often as my schedule – and my budget – permits because there is just so much to do and no two trips are ever the same.

What is the one city that you just can’t live without?

This time I went to NYC for SELF Workout in the Park.  It was a full day fitness event with classes by Crunch gym and lots and lots of healthy living swag.  In between yoga, dance and sexy stretching classes I snacked on salads and enjoyed a facial and massage from Garnier.  I came home with Victoria’s Secret workout gear, snacks from and of course the new issue of SELF magazine.

My favourite workout was the 90’s dance cardio routine with 2 Fly. These two white girls can really work it out – and to Bell Biv Devoe.  It was the perfect end to an awesome day at SELF Workout in the Park.

What was the best part of SELF Workout in the Park?

Bethenny Frankel made a guest appearance and for the entire 45 seconds of her speech I was in total awe.  Technically I have never met Bethenny, but for some reason I feel like I know her. I have watched Bethenny grow her business from being on The Apprentice with Martha Stewart to having it all with Bethenny Ever After. Personal Confession: I never liked this Jason either!

Bethenny’s signature brand Skinnygirl Daily had a booth at the event and the lovely ladies in red were handing out energizing snacks. It was great to actually see her in person and hear her speak.  Just in case you are wondering – Yes! She is really THAT skinny in real life.

PS – Bethenny if you are reading this (LOL) I am not a crazy stalker, I am just a huge fan!

Check out some pics from my day at SELF Workout in the Park:

 

 

Love Always,

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Apr 5 2013
9 replies

Sweat it out: $50 iTrain gift card giveaway

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Good morning Loves and happy Friday.  We have a great giveaway for you today so let’s get into it.

If you read My Diary on a regular basis (and I’m sure you all do LOL) you know that I have adapted a healthy living attitude by cooking at home and working out on a regular basis.  I have thrown myself into several fitness communities and I even pick up a running magazine whenever I am in my local bookstore.

I am currently training for my first 5k run and next month I am attending SELF Workout in the Park in New York City – if you are going let me know and maybe we can take a class together.  I have to tell you that working out has done great things for my mental state, and it’s a huge stress relief.

Have you ever tried an audio workout?

In my recent Beauty Box 5 I received a gift card to iTrain.com and I am going to give it away to one lucky reader.  iTrain is a website that lets you download workouts onto your computer and into your iPod.  I downloaded an iTread workout that guides me along a moderate run on the treadmill and also an iSculpt ballet workout.

I have to admit at first I wasn’t sure that I would like exercising with an audio workout, but it was surprisingly effective.  I still prefer to workout with DVDs, but if you need motivation to keep running or if you are in a situation – like a hotel room – where you don’t have access to your normal workout routine then iTrain is a great alternative.

Enter below for your chance to win a $50 iTrain gift card, that’s good for 5-10 workout downloads into your iPod. Good luck to everyone who enters.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Mar 4 2013
4 replies

Look Like a Lady. Sweat Like a Boss.

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Ellie Gym
Good Morning Loves.  It’s Monday morning and it’s time for a personal confession, I know it’s early but bear with me for a moment because we have a little something-something for you too.

I want to workout, I actually want to spend my day’s only working out, losing weight and getting fit but sometimes (actually most of the time) I lack the motivation to get off my butt and get moving.  I definitely feel better after I workout but getting started can be difficult.

Ellie RunSo how do I keep motivated?

I honestly believe that cute workout outfits are the foundation of every good workout because when you look good you feel good and when you feel good you will be happy and when you are happy you will have the motivation to get moving.  Right?

We usually think that we have to be in old sweats when we workout and we always assume that we are going to look sweaty and gross while doing it, but that is just not true.  No one says that we have to be ugly while working out, after all a little sweat never hurt nobody.  My secret to keeping motivated is to always look good and have fun when I workout.

Where can you find cute workout outfits for cheap?

I know that workout outfits can be very expensive and I for one can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars on workout clothes.  I am always looking for creative – aka cost efficient ways to workout.  I recently discovered the world of Ellie and my workout wardrobe has never been the same.

The ladies at Ellie are all about looking good. They want to help keep you motivated to keep working out. How do they do this? With cute workout outfits of course! Ellie offers complete quality workout outfits for discount prices.  You can get a complete workout outfit – that’s a top and a bottom – for only $49.95 and shipping is included.

- Ellie is offering all My Diary Entry readers 20% off their first workout outfit -

Ellie YogaI have 2 complete workout outfits from Ellie which include grey leggings, black capri’s and two tank tops and I totally love them. They absorb my sweat to keep me looking cute, they are flexible so I can stretch comfortably during yoga and they are trendy so that I look good when I workout in the park.  Visit their website, chose your outfit and get 20% off…it’s that easy.

So now that your new workout outfit is in the mail and on its way to you (because I assume you went to the Ellie website and ordered a cute workout outfit) let me tell you why I love working out.

3 reasons why I love working out:

1. It keeps you warm. We all know that working out regularly can help our health but there are other benefits too. This winter was especially cold and my motivation for working out this winter was to keep warm.

2. It helps you sleep. I like to workout after dinner because then I can take a warm shower and go to bed.  Burning off all my extra energy has really helped me sleep deeper and longer every night.

3. It’s really good for your skin.  I don’t think sweat is gross, I love sweating because it clears out my pores and gives my skin a J.Lo-esque glow. It takes a bit to get me going but once I start working out I’m like bring on the sweat!

Why do you love working out?

Love Always,

Photos by Ellie.com

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Feb 22 2013
6 replies

Friday Faves: My favourite healthy snacks

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I am not going to lie – I love snacking.  I like to snack in the morning, I like to snack in the afternoon and sometimes I even like to snack before bed.  I know it’s not good for my health but sometimes I just really like going to bed with a full belly.

As you know I am trying to live a healthier lifestyle by exercising on a regular basis and making healthy food choices, well let me tell you that snacking definitely gets in the way of my newfound healthy habits.

I don’t know what it is about snacking but it’s comforting. I have already given up eating pizza and I have cut down on my sugar and sweets to accommodate my healthy lifestyle, I didn’t want to give up snacking too.

The key to not making too many snacking sacrifices and still watching my daily calorie intake is to find healthy, yet satisfying, snacks to eat.  If a new habit is too much of a change or too much of an effort I definitely won’t stick to it.  So I had to find a middle ground and still snack.

Can you guess what snacks I love to eat?

Bananas.  I love to start my day with a banana.  Bananas are both filling and sweet; they provide the perfect kick start to a day. If bananas aren’t your fruit of preference then any fruit will do because it will fill your belly and satisfy your sugar cravings or sugar void.

 

 

English Muffins. I love bread, there I said it.  I am just not that girl who can live on protein shakes and salad. English muffins have less carbs and fewer calories than bagels, but they are just as filling.  For an extra little snack kick try flavoured English muffins or slather your plain English muffin with jam or peanut butter…slather it with anything but Cheese Whiz.

 

Snack Bars. I don’t always have time to sit down in the morning and have a bowl of cereal; actually I never have time to do that.  I am the girl who prefers to sleep for an extra 15 minutes and grab breakfast on the go.  Sleeping is the best part of my day and I don’t want to give that up but I don’t want to be hungry either, so I eat a snack bar.

My favourite snack bars right now are Probars because they come in a variety of flavours. Visit their website and enter the code BLOGGER at checkout to get 40% off your entire order.

What is your favourite healthy snack?

 Michelle loves snacking on grapes.

 Marysa loves cheese and crackers

 Elizabeth’s favourite snack is sugar snap peas.

 Jenn loves snacking on pirate’s booty….UM what is this???

Check out more of our readers favourite snacks here.

Photo by Brett Jordan

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Feb 1 2013
6 replies

Friday Faves: 3 Killer Thigh Workouts

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It’s Friday people!  Today I am writing to you with a lot of good news and I can’t wait to share so let’s get right into it.

1. I am happy to say that today marks the end of another great week at my new job, so that’s always good news.

2. I received my first book review from a fellow blogger and here is what As Green from Always the Planner has to say:

“I found A Better You to be a quick and very motivational read.  Tahnya Kristina gives you a ton of tips on how to get started and how to stay motivated.”

3. If you follow me on Twitter then you know that I have been looking for a killer thigh workout and after some love from my Tweeps I found 3 great thigh workouts.  Can you say HELLO Short Shorts!  Check them out and let me know which one is your fave.

- Hot Legs Sexy Butt Workout from BodyRock.tv – this is a killer workout.  It’s not fun because it’s hard work but you will feel great when you finish.  Actually that’s not true you will be sore but your thighs will thank you later.  Set 10 minutes aside, workout your thighs and then take a long warm bubble bath. PS – the motivation to get through this tough workout is to have a killer body like the girl in the video. Do this workout and you will look like that ——————————->>>>

- My Thighs are Dying! from Blogilates – this was the first workout that I tried and I liked it.  Cassy from Blogilates is fun and full of energy; she incorporates music with her at home workouts so that you have fun while working out.  This is not my all time favourite thigh workout but it’s not a bad way to spend 15 minutes.

- Gangnam Style Squat Challenge from Blogilates – I originally tried this workout because the music is fun and anything with a little bit of dancing can’t be so bad. I love this intense quick workout because I can always find 5 minutes in my day to blast away my thighs – especially while I dance to Gangnam Style.

4. Last but definitely not least, here are some of my favourite posts this week from my blogging friends:

- Daisy @ Add Vodka – Job Hopping & Generational Differences in Opinions About Careers (this is a fitting post considering the fact that I just left my decade long career and found my dream job)

- Rachel @ Running Rachel – Do You Give Your All? (really sit down and think about that for a moment. What did you set out to accomplish today? Did you put forth your best effort?)

- Carrie @ Careful Cents - Monthly Progress Report: Time to Make a Change (it is never too late to make changes in our lives and I honestly believe that. At 32 years old I finally decided that I didn’t want to be unhappy anymore and I started making changes.  You can read all about it in my new book)

Love Always.

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Jan 28 2013
7 replies

3 Things People Never Tell You About Losing Weight

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With the New Year among us it’s time to set our resolutions and it’s time to start working on improving our lives, or at least improving some aspects of our lives. I love the New Year because it’s a fresh start and it’s a chance for a new me.  I usually start working on improving myself in October when my birthday comes around and in January I go into full force with my New Year’s resolutions.

Since October I have been trying to change my lazy lifestyle for a healthier lifestyle.  I purchased new yoga and workout DVDs, I purchased cute new workout clothes and I am trying to make an effort to track my calorie intake and workout at least 3 times a week.  I am loving my new healthy lifestyle because I have more energy and I am also noticing a change in my body shape.  But let me tell you it hasn’t all been as pleasant as a walk in the park.

The end result of being cute, skinny and healthy is worth the effort but the actual process of eating an apple when you really want to eat French fries is not always a happy time. I definitely encourage everyone who wants to get healthy to change their eating and workout regularly, but at the same time I don’t want you to have any misconceptions about trying to live a healthier life.

The ugly truth about trying to lose weight

There will be tears.  Whenever you see a weight loss commercial on television for a new diet regime or a new piece of exercise equipment you always see the person after they have lost the weight and they always have a smile on their face.  Sure, it’s easy to do a happy dance when you lost 25 pounds; but what you don’t see is the process of trying to lose weight.  Those weight loss commercials never show you the tears, they never talk about the times that you went to bed hungry and the times that you wanted to eat a hamburger but instead you ate a salad.  Those are the tough times of the weight loss process.

It can be expensive.  The key to losing weight is to change your daily habits from healthy grocery shopping to counting your calories. You should not want to maintain your current lifestyle and try to lose weight at the same time, if you really want to lose weight you will have to make some changes.  In order to lose weight you have to burn more calories in a day than you take in, there are two ways to do this – eat less or workout more.

You will be hungry.  During the first few weeks of weight loss you will be hungry.  Snacking on fruits, veggies and nuts will help eliminate some of the hunger but until your body adjusts to your new healthy eating you will be hungry.  But don’t worry your body will adjust, after a couple of weeks your stomach will shrink and you will start feeling full with less food.  Substituting sugary foods and foods with a high amount of carbohydrates will help you lose weight faster.

Love Always.

Photo by NikkiL

 

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Jan 22 2013
1 reply

Body Media Fit Review and Discount Code

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One of my personal goals this year is to lose 25 pounds in 6 months.  Actually the weight isn’t as important as feeling good.  If I lost enough weight to be a little bit leaner, a tiny bit smaller and feel a little bit better about myself I would be happy.

Why you should be counting your calories

So how can a person lose weight? Well that’s easy by burning off more calories than we take in whether that is by eating less or exercising on a more regular basis. Now the question is how do you know how many calories you are taking in and burning off each and every day? Once again the answer is easy, with Body Media Fit.

Body Media is an interactive armband that tracks your calories burned on a daily basis, counts your steps taken every day and monitors your personal weight loss goals based on your own abilities, fitness levels, commitments and preferences.

The Activity Manager gives you personal notifications and tracks your personal daily bests such as how long you did vigorous activity in any given day and the amount of time you slept in a day. Oh yes Body Media acknowledges that getting enough sleep is an important part of getting healthy. Body Media Fit has been featured on television shows such as The Biggest Loser and Live with Kelly and Michael.

The kind people at Body Media were generous enough to send over a free membership and armband to help me get started living a healthier lifestyle.  I loved using Body Media Fit to track my calories because I like to see that I am burning more calories every day than I am taking in.

I entered the foods I eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner online and Body Media Fit did the rest. Weight loss is easy when we know what we are doing and Body Media helped me get a healthy education.

3 Healthy Tips that I learned from tracking my calories:

If you want to lose weight you should burn 500 more calories a day than they take in

We should take at least 10,000 steps per day

A healthy person needs a solid 8 hours of sleep every night

Get Your Own Body Media Fit Today

Visit Body Media today and enter the code MYDIARY15 to get 15% off your entire order.

This offer is valid until January 31, 2013.

Love Always.

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Jan 21 2013
7 replies

Today I am going to feel better about myself

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(Cheers to feeling better about ourselves!)

Good Morning! I hope you all had a relaxing weekend, I sure did.  It was very cold here in Montreal this weekend so I stayed inside and watched movies for two days.  It was quite lovely.  One of my New Year’s resolutions is to start liking the way I look and to start thinking about myself in a positive manner.

Losing weight from diet and exercise takes some time (but I will eventually get there) and not liking yourself is not motivating. So I have found some tricks to start liking myself while I am on the path to loving myself.

Use these tips to start feeling skinnier and better about yourself today:

Stand up straight.  Looking at the ground and slouching your shoulders is extremely bad for your posture and on top of that it makes you look fat. When you slouch forward your stomach also slouches, so stand up straight and keep your belly and your back flat.

Drink lots of water. On top of the health benefits (such as hydrated glowing skin and flushing out the toxins in your body) that come with drinking lots of water everyday it also helps you lose weight and feel good.  Keeping your belly full of water will make you eat less because it tricks your body into thinking that you are full.  I am definitely not saying to skip meals and only drink water, but keeping our bodies hydrated throughout the day is a great way to curve our appetite.

Stretch every single day.  When we move around we always feel better, or at least I do.  But unfortunately I don’t have the time or the motivation to workout every single day.  Actually in all honestly my personal goal is to workout 3 times a week and every other week workout 4 times a week.  Like many people I don’t have time to workout every day, however I do have 10 minutes to dedicate to stretching.  After I put on my pyjamas and before I hop into bed I take 10 minutes to stretch out my entire body from head to toe.  It’s relaxing and it makes me feel great.  Stretching doesn’t burn a lot of calories but it makes me feel better and that’s what 2013 is all about.

Always look cute.  When we feel bad about ourselves it’s easy to want to stay in our oversized sweatpants so that we don’t see our true body form. But this is not helping your motivation. When we look good we feel good so for your personal happiness start looking good. No matter what you do make sure your hair is cute and your outfit is matchy-matchy, even if you are just going to get your mail make sure that you look cute and feel good about yourself.

Keep mints on you at all times. This is a simple mental trick; if your breath always feels fresh like you just brushed your teeth you will not want to put food into it.  It’s as simple as that! Just think about it for a minute…how many times have you said no thank you to a bite of food because you just brushed your teeth or because you just popped a piece of gum into your mouth? The answer is probably every single time, so keep mints (or minty gum) on you at all times.

If you want to find other great tips on how to feel better about yourself and finding personal happiness in your life, your career, with your money and with your health be sure to grab a copy of my new book “A Better You: We don’t have to be the best but we can all be better.”  It is now available on Amazon Kindle.

Love Always.

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Dec 20 2012
7 replies

Get Healthy With These Small Changes

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In an effort to get healthy I have been making positive changes in my eating habits and trying to workout on a regular basis.  It would be a major understatement to say that this lifestyle change has been an adjustment in my life.  My personal motto used to be “There is nothing that a medium pizza and a bag of Reese Pieces can’t fix.” Now my personal motto is “Put down the pizza and walk away.”

I have traded in my medium pizzas for well proportioned meals and I have swapped the Reese Pieces for snack sized protein bars. I am making small changes in my life but they seem to be having a big impact. I feel lighter, smaller and I have more energy. I am enjoying my new healthy life and I look forward to the end result (aka losing 20 lbs by April 1, 2013).

Use these small changes to get healthy and be happy:

1. Drink More Water. You will feel full and it helps flush out the toxins in your body.

2. Exercise 3 Times a Week. Even if you only exercise for 30 minutes, it’s better than nothing.

3. Make your Workout Fun. Dancing and Zumba are fun workouts that burn a lot of calories.

4. Eat Smaller Portions. Get smaller plates, order a kids meal, do whatever it takes.

5. Eat Healthy Snacks.  Snack on fruit, nuts and protein bars, trust me your belly will be full.

6. Don’t Forget the Fruits and Veggies. Try to eat veggies with your lunch and dinner, have some fruit for dessert.

7. Have a Cheat Day. Treat yourself in moderation once a week, only 1 chocolate chip cookie.

8. Stretch on a Daily Basis.  Every day stretch out your limbs and your stress with some Yoga.

9. It’s Normal That You Are Hungry. Your body will adjust after a week or two, just ignore your belly grumbles.

10. Celebrate Your sSccess. Buy yourself something nice, don’t celebrate with food.

Love Always,

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Dec 3 2012
11 replies

I am not starving, but I am hungry and getting healthy

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My new workout plan and healthy eating regime has not been very fun, but it has been very effective.  Since I started making positive (and healthy) changes in my life over a month ago I have lost five pounds and I feel great.  I know it’s a small step towards my ultimate goal of losing 25 pounds, but at least it’s a step in the right direction.

Most of my weight loss to date can be attributed to changing my eating habits.  I absolutely love food, I have never been one of those girls who can drink a shake for breakfast, eat a salad for lunch, and drink another shake for dinner.  I need to actually eat food (otherwise I become a very unpleasant and un-ladylike young lady) and I like snacking throughout the day.

I am a vegetarian and because I don’t really eat a lot of foods with substance my body burns my food very quickly. I have to constantly eat throughout the day in order to keep my blood sugar up and avoid passing out.

Change How You Think About Food

I made the decision to change my eating habits because I want to lose weight, no one else, just me. I have tried other diets in the past but over the years I have learned that it’s not the actual food that matters, it’s how I think about food that really counts.

Whenever you want to make changes in your life you most likely won’t succeed if you try to change “cold turkey”.  The key to a successful change is to make changes gradually so that your new lifestyle doesn’t disrupt your current lifestyle.  For some people extreme measures can lead to success, but not for me.  I do not adapt well to change (that is not on my resume) and therefore I need to tippy toe into the water before I dive in.

I have started to think about food as a way to fuel my body to get through the day instead of as delicious treats that I need to have in order to be happy.  I used to go to sleep thinking about what I was going to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner the next day.  If I had a bad meal I would let it ruin my entire day and this can be a very dangerous habit. When you really want something you are more likely to over indulge in it aka overeat or binge.

Eating Healthy Tips

My personal challenge has been trying to find a balance between having a full belly and making healthy food choices. I have cut down my daily calorie intake and I have also cut down on the amount of sugar and carbohydrates that I eat on a daily basis.  The key to eating healthy is to change your food choices not necessarily your eating habits. Try these food substitutions to help you decrease your calorie intake:

Saying no to a bagel and yes to an English muffin  = 100 calories saved

Eating oatmeal instead of a sugary breakfast cereal = 50 calories saved

When You Look Good You Feel Good

My ultimate goal is to be pretty but there is nothing cute about being sweaty with your hair in a messy ponytail. I don’t want to feel like a fat slob when I go to the gym so I invested in some really cute workout clothes and cute headbands. I need headbands because I recently cut bangs and they drive me crazy when they are hanging in my face.

I am saving a lot of money on gym memberships by working out at home so I decided to spend some money and buy some new workout clothes.  However as a financial professional and a girl on a budget I wouldn’t let myself go one a workout clothes shopping spree, especially since no one else is going to see me in the clothes because i workout at home.  I surfed the web until I found a company called PV Body who offers premium workout clothes at discounted prices, you can order $150 of workout clothes for only $40. As an added bonus they are currently offering 20% off of all orders. Now I am on my way to being beautiful on the outside as well as on the inside (tear drop?).PBBody

How I Keep Motivated

My reasons for wanting to lose weight are purely superficial. I want to be skinny because I think that it will make me pretty.  I want to be pretty because as a former chubby child I feel that being skinny equals being pretty. I want o be pretty because I think that it will make me happy.

Of course I am old enough to know that this is not true, but it’s what I think.  So there you have it, my personal weight loss formula is Skinny=Pretty=Happy and this is my motivation to stick to my new healthy eating lifestyle and lose weight.

Love Always,

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