Monthly Archives: January 2009

Finding Your Purpose

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Why do we spend so much time thinking, breathing, learning and focusing on our health? What keeps remotivating us each year to set specific health goals, like losing weight or exercising more consistently?

Part of it is that we have enough knowledge to know that being overweight, or eating too many fats or sugars will increase our risk factors for developing chronic disease.  Or, some of you may have had a health scare like high cholesterol or a heart attack that motivates us to make changes.

For most of us we feel that improving our health is going to get us something specific. This could be more confidence, more energy, the ability to exercise, travel or play with your kids or grandkids. The truth is, your health is a vehicle to achieving what is most important to you in life.

The way to be successful in achieving the health you deserve is to first decide where you want to be and set specific goals about how and when you are going to get there.

The second step is to define why you need to do this, or what is driving you to make this happen.  For some of you the driving force may be that being at an optimal weight will give you the confidence to find a new job, or join a dance class. For others, it may be that at a lower weight you will be more flexible, have more energy and have an easier time getting around to play with your kids.  Whatever the reason,  we need to determine what it is that excites you, what makes you feel alive and in the those tough moments what you are going to focus on to remotivate you to exercise or eat well.

So, what I would like you to do is visualize yourself in the body you deserve. What is your optimal weight? Get in the body of you at your optimal weight…see it, and believe it!

In this state, I would like you to write down all of the ways that your life is going to be different in this new body. How will you feel? How will your confidence be? What will your energy be like? What will your health be like? What will you be able to experience?

I would like you to write down exactly how you are going to feel in this body, and be specific. When you are done brainstorming, I would like you to rank these in priority of which reasons make you feel most inspired.  Once you have these, I would like you to post these beside your goals and read these everyday.

Example – Jane Smith  130lbs  (current weight 175lbs)

1. At 130lbs, I have the confidence to go and interview for my dream job
2. At 130lbs, I feel more attractive and sexy
3. At 130lbs, I have the confidence to learn to salsa dance
4. At 130lbs, I have more energy, and be able to get down and play with my children

If you notice, all of these statements are in the present tense. Write this as if you are already in this body – feel how it would feel, and get excited!

It is important that you focus on what you want, and where you are going. When you do this, you are going to be more committed and your brain is going to see the possibilities and find a way to make this happen. It is also going to be much easier for you to stay on track and avoid temptation when you know exactly what you want, and where you are going.

Get inspired, you deserve it!!!

The Best Things in Life Are FREE

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I spent my holidays in Florida this year where the warm temperatures gave me the opportunity to get outside and run.  This routine of running daily allowed me to jump-start my New Year’s resolution of incorporating more movement into my day.  Running is nothing new to me, but it had been a long time since I’d been on a regular running routine.

Feeling energized after returning home I was motivated to continue running, but found the cold outdoor temperatures too much to bear.  Although I have access to a treadmill at my office/clinic, I remembered enjoying my experience of running on the track at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex a couple years ago and decided to give it a shot again.

Not only did I find refuge from the cold, but the track at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex is FREE to the public most of the week, making it easier to find time that fit my schedule.  I made a running schedule, writing down the days and times I would go to the track, knowing I would be more likely to succeed in carrying out my resolution if I scheduled it into my weekly routine (see The Power of Goal Setting- Commit to a Better You).

Wow, a FREE and warm place to run, but my experience at the track extended far beyond that…

It was inspiring to see people, lots of people, people of every size, shape and age all on a healthy mission to GET MOVING!  And whether they knew it or not they were doing wonders for their body composition (see What is Body Composition?).  There were a group of woman walking together catching up, moms walking with their babies in strollers, and a senior couple walking hand in hand as they circled the track with a brisk walk.  The more experienced runners were taking fast powerful strides around the track, while others were incorporating walking sticks to give the upper body more of a workout.

My favourite group on that first visit was a dad and his young daughter (who was around 7 years old) running around the track together.  Everyone was moving to their own beat, transferring energy and inspiration to their fellow track visitors!  It was the energy of the track full of people that I really enjoyed.  It was wonderful to see so many people of vast levels of fitness and age making time to give their body the power of movement!

I encourage you to come check it out!  A FREE indoor track is the perfect opportunity to overcome the barrier of cold winter weather that may be keeping you from getting active.  There is no obligation to join, and no need to invest in a membership – it’s FREE!  If you’re just starting, or thinking of starting, a regular exercise routine and don’t have access to a treadmill (or even if you do), come out to the track for a walk or run and enjoy being inspired by fellow track visitors!

Here are some ideas to get you to the track…

  1. Instead of meeting a friend at Starbucks for a coffee suggest going to the track for a brisk walk while you catch up.
  2. You can ask your husband or wife to join you for an entertaining night on the track, and keep yourself motivated by making dates with different people throughout the week!
  3. Or, you can go on your own and get lost in the music of your iPod like I do!  Strollers are welcome, so feel free to bring your kids or grandkids!

A few important tips:

  1. Slower movers stay to the left and those of you with speed keep to the right, which keeps the flow of traffic smooth.
  2. It is over a rink so you need to be dressed appropriately (But note, there are no gushing winds and the temperature is always the same, so you know what to expect!).
  3. If you warm up pretty fast while running a sweater or running jacket is plenty of clothing to keep you warm.
  4. You can always store your coat or boots on the bleachers, so don’t be afraid to bring extra layer.
  5. And there are also a few lockers and washrooms available for changing if needed.

Remember it’s FREE! And open for hours that will suit most anyone’s busy schedule.

Below is a list of FREE tracks and schedules in the KW area:

Waterloo Memorial Recreational Complex RIM Sports Complex Activa Sports Complex
Address 100 Father David Bauer, Waterloo (corner of Caroline St. and Erb St.) 2001 University Avenue, Waterloo Lennox Lewis Way, Kitchener (Cortland and Homer Watson, behind Peter Hallman Ball Park)
Phone Number 519-886-1177 519-884-5363

ext. 221

 519-741-2699
Hours of FREE Track Time Monday – Friday

6:00 am – 5:00 pm

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Saturday & Sunday

6:00 am – 8:00 am

8:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Hours are subject to change due to scheduled Hockey Games.

Paid track time available on weekends from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm

 Walking Loop only

Monday – Sunday

6:00 am – Midnight

 Track open daily

6:00 am – 11:00 pm

If you know of any other free indoor track facilities please email us and we will pass along the information!

What is Body Composition?

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We have all heard the claims… “lose 10lbs in one week” or “I lost 60lbs in 2 months”.

While it is possible that this can happen, the reality is this is not healthy and it rarely leads to a loss in actual body fat. The bigger question is…what are these people losing?

In this society we seem to be only concerned about weight. One of our main recognized markers for health is the BMI or body mass index. This index measures a persons height against weight and while this is a great general marker, it doesn’t take into account a persons body composition.

We are facing an epidemic in our society called sarcopenic obesity, another name for skinny fat people. These are the people that look “thin” but when they are measured, they have a higher proportion of body fat compared to lean muscle tissue, or an altered body composition.

Body composition refers to the proportion of fat and fat-free mass in the body. Those with a higher proportion of fat-free mass to a lower proportion of body fat have a healthy body composition. This is a true measure of health, as excess body fat increases your risk factors for conditions such as high cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.

Since muscle is the main source of protein, during illness the body uses this lean tissue for the production of antibodies, wound healing and white blood cell production. Low amounts of lean muscle tissue has been associated with accelerated aging (J Nutr 127:990S-991S (1997)) and a higher incidence of illness in aging populations (J Amer Diet Assoc 2002;102(7):944-955). In addition, fat burns 70 times fewer calories than muscle tissue so in terms of keeping weight off it is important that the weight we do lose is body fat.

So, to answer the question…with most rapid weight loss programs the majority of the weight that people lose is lean muscle tissue and water and small amount of fat. We can see that while weight is important, it is even more important to make sure that your body composition is changing.

To assess this aspect of health, our clinic uses a combination of weight, BMI, waist and hip measurements and BioImpedence Analysis (BIA). BIA is a science that was originally developed for monitoring patients after surgery in a hospital setting. The Practitioner will connect leads to your hands and feet and pass a low voltage electrical current through your body. This may sound alarming, but it is safe and painless, and provides your Practitioner with insight into aspects of your health such as how much fat and muscle that you have in your body. This science has even been used in several missions to space, to monitor the changes to the astronaut’s body composition.

For our health, lets take our total focus off weight and place it on getting your body composition to a healthy ratio.

The Power of Goal Setting — Commit to a Better You

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Happy New Year!!

The start of a new year is always marked with possibility, resolutions and healthy habits.  I believe that people truly start out with the best of intentions, and while some succeed…most end up falling back into their old habits before the end of the month. We can see this if you walk into any health club in January and will have a hard time finding a treadmill while 6 weeks later it is more barren than the Sahara dessert.

So, why is it that people’s good intentions sometimes aren’t enough?

In 1979 there was a study conducted on students in the Harvard MBA program. The students were asked, “Have you set clear, written goals for your future and made plans to accomplish them?” Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals, but they were not in writing; and a whopping 84 percent had no specific goals at all.
Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings, while somewhat predictable, were nonetheless astonishing. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning, on average, twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning, on average, ten times as much as the other 97 percent put together.

In spite of such proof of success, most people don’t have clear, measurable, time-bounded goals that they work toward.

What Can You Do?

When I ask people if they have weight loss or health goals, many do but just like the study shows very few of them ever write them down. For most people this is actually a scary process…if I write them down it means I actually have to do something about them. This is exactly the point…writing goals down makes your nervous system and physiology engaged and makes you more committed to achieving them.

It is also important what language you use. A statement such as “I am going to try and lose about 5 lbs” is very open and frankly “wishwashy”.  It means that you are going to put something down because you feel like you should, but you are not going to make it too concrete so there is nothing holding you accountable to attaining it.

What if you were to switch that goal to “ I MUST lose 5 lbs by the end of January.” And..what if you read this goal every morning, and also came up with 3 action steps as to how you are going to do this.  Which goal is going to make you more inspired?

The second step to this is that everyone needs someone to be accountable to. This may be a friend, family member…but more often this is a professional that will push you to new limits and encourage you to set higher standards.

Your Action Plan

Do this for yourself, make 2009 the year for lasting change…your deserve it!!

  1. Write 2 goals using positive and encouraging language that commits you to moving forward. For example: “I MUST lose “x” pounds by “x” date”
  2. Set a short term and long term goal (I would set the long term one for the end of 2009), write or print them out and post this in an area where you and everyone else can see your level on commitment.
  3. Read this every day, and become excited about the person you are committing to becoming!!!

Welcome to my new and improved website!

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Hi Everyone,

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you like the redesign on my website!

If you notice any issues, or have any comments on how to improve my site, please pass them along using the Contact page (you’ll find the link in the top row of tabs) or leave me a comment below!

I’ll be posting blog posts on a regular basis now to keep you up to date with the latest and greatest Naturopathic information. I’ll still be creating newsletters on a regular basis as well.

Stay Vibrant!

Robin.