Celebrate Family Day with FITMOM Durham!

Experience Family Day with FITMOM Durham!

Join us for a free event on Family Day Monday February 20th, 2012

10:30am in Pickering

1:00pm in Oshawa

Current, Past and Future FITMOM Durham Members are invited to participate in our FREE FITMOM+Baby/Bootcamp Class. Moms, Dads, Babies and Toddlers will all have so much fun getting fit together!

You must pre-register for this free event by emailing Jennifer at fitmomdurham@hotmail.com Space is Limited

Light Refreshments Served Post-Workout!!!

FITMOM Durhams' Video Blog

Hello my lovelies!





Congratulations on completing 2 full weeks towards your fitness challenge. Welcome to week #3! As promised, here is the video blog with a 15 minute circuit designed just for busy moms! This is a great routine to do either on its own, or following another activity (like a walk).





Complete each exercise for 1 minute and repeat the entire set 3 times for a total of 15 minutes. If you are new to exercise you may want to do each move for 3o seconds and add time as your fitness improves.





See you next week~





xox

FITMOM Durham Video Blog

On your marks, get set, GO!

On Friday January 20th a group of committed and fabulous women gathered at Beans & Babes Cafe in Oshawa to kick off the 12 week Fitness Event hosted by FITMOM Durham.

There are 15 new moms who will be participating in this health & wellness challenge between January 23-April 13th ,2012.

This past Friday we learned from Kim Corrigan Oliver, from your green baby, about building a healthy mom and baby through diet. For me, it was reassuring to know that overall my diet is well balanced, but trust me, there is room for improvement!

Below you will find a recap of what we learned from Kim. Many moms also took the opportunity to buy her new book and some have even started making the recipes from them and implementing a few of the strategies Kim suggested last week!

Kim's Tips for a Healthy Diet:

• Always eat breakfast! Avoid skipping meals.



• Whenever possible eat whole foods (this means real food, not stuff that comes in a box) including lots of fresh, green, leafy vegetables



• Drink lots of water



• Eat at regular intervals throughout the day (every 3-4 hours)



• Consume good fats (especially DHA) good sources of DHA include fish, cod liver oil, avacados, and chia or flax seeds



• Eat protein at every meal and snack to help keep you satisfied and to stabilize blood sugar & energy levels



• Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables. Aim for a minimum of 6 servings per day. 2 of these servings should be green, leafy vegetables.

Remember that 80% of what you need to do to change your lifestyle from unhealthy to healthy revolves around what you put in your body! When you make healthy food choices you will have more energy, will feel better and it will be easier to implement all of the other positive changes you want to make in your life!

If healthy eating is a new practice for you, then I suggest slowly integrating these choices into your life 1 week and 1 meal at a time, this will help ensure that this becomes a new lifestyle for you and your family. Too many changes too soon have a way of derailing many good intentions. So start slow and you will be more likely to succeed and maintain your new habits.

In health,

Jenn

Commit To Be FIT 12 week Fitness Challenge

What is the Commit to Be FIT Challenge?

Register for classes or personal training
'Like' FITMOM Durham on Facebook
Write 'This year I am going to commit to be fit' on our wall
Commit to exercising 3 times per week for 12 weeks and record your workouts on your FITMOM training log
Once a week spend 20 min doing something to rejuvinate your spirit (meditation, reading, warm bath, connect with a friend etc) and record the activity on your training log

Then:
Join us at Beans & Babes Cafe for our Kick off Date TBC, Stay Tuned~

At the kick off meet wth me to record your starting weight and measurements and discuss what your personal goals are related to fitness

Then have your 'before' portrait photo taken by Alana McClure

Also joining us at the kick off:
Kim Corrigan from Your Green Baby. She will be speaking to us about the importance of nutrition for the new mom and sharing tips on how to be successful in making positive changes to our diet!


Prizes include:
A delux photoshoot and 11X7 portrait from Alana McClure
A $50 gift card from Baby Car Seat Installers
A Gift Certificate to The Spa on King
A 10 visit Play Card from Beans & Babes Cafe
12 weeks later reveal a healthier, revitalized, rejuvinated FITMOM: You!

The top prize will be awarded to the woman who has the highest combined weight loss+inches
All participants who have successfully completed the 36 workouts and the weekly rejuvination activity will be eligible for draw prizes

Tools for success:
Weekly health tips and exercises through our Facebook page
A FITMOM training log to record your efforts and help you see your results
A community of likeminded women working together toward the same goals
Motivation from your FITMOM coach, me!
FITNEWMOM101 Ebook

So what are you waiting for! Sign up today, grab and friend and let's Commit To Be FIT xox

Register with a friend and save 20% off classes

OR

Buy 2 classes/week for 12 weeks and get 2 FREE personal training sessions

Is it safe to train your abdominals during pregnancy?

Yes! Yes! Yes!

Pregnancy is definitely not the time to stop being active. Nor should you ignore the most important muscle group in your body.

In fact, training your core properly during pregnancy will dramatically improve and reduce the instances of lower back pain caused by the natural weight gain of pregnancy and postural changes. A strong core will also improve your ability to effectively push out your baby during delivery. Perhaps most importnatly, training your abdominals during pregnancy will also help you 'bounce back' more quickly after the birth of your baby.

The following exercises are easy and effective ways to strengthen your core during all stages of pregnancy and can also be done by any mom afer birth! These exercises are also known to reduce the lieklihood and/or severity of abdominal separation caused by pregnancy.


Standing Obliques:

With weights relaxed at the side of the body, slowly tilt body sideways while maintaining a strong core and straight body. Focusing on using the opposing side abdominal muscles, slowly pull your erect body back up to the upright starting position.


Trainers Tip: Pull your belly button in towards your spine. Remember to breathe! Repeat 15-20 times/side

Cat/Cow For the Core:

Get onto all fours on a mat or other semi-soft surface. Begin with a flat back with hips and shoulders level, like a tabletop. Using your abdominal muscle contraction to initiate, round your spine into the position of an angry cat and hold for two to three breaths. Slowly release the abdominal contraction and drop your spine in a smooth and gradual motion so that the back enters a mildly swayed position. Hold for three breaths and repeat 10-15 times.

Belly Breathing:

Either sitting cross-legged or standing, place your hands on your belly. Contract the abdominal muscles inward and upwards as if you are imagining four points at your hips and ribs coming together into a point. Hold for 3-5 breaths and then release the abdominals. Repeat 15-20 times

Trainers Tip: Try couting out loud as you hold the transverse in towards your spine. This will help to ensure you are breathing. Relax your shoulders.

10 Holiday Health Tips to keep you focused and on track this season

It's official. The holiday party planning season has begun. The family calender is quickly filling up with lunch dates, potlucks and parties to deck the halls and raise a glass in merryment. This is a busy and stressful time of year, so here are a few tips to keep you feeling fit and fabulous over the festive season!

1. Get moving. Not only will staying active help you to burn off those extra calories consumed at above mentioned parties, but it will also help you burn away the stress that only family gatherings can cause.

2. Eat. Having a snack before you leave for the party will help you curb the temptations to over-induldge. Try fruit, soup or vegetables with hummus to curb hunger pains.

3. Choose your course. If you are like me and crave something sweet at the end of the meal, then try not to overfill your plate with main course dishes. Save room!

4. Satisfied. Not stuffed. The only thing at the table that should be stuffed is the turkey! Moderation is the key.

5. Beware of Holiday Cheer. Alcohol is laden with sugar. When trying to curb the additional weight gain over the holiday season pay close attention to the sneaky calories that are consumed through drink. 1 glass of wine can have upto 130 calories per serving.

6.Non-alchoholic bevarages also pack a punch. A specialty drink can have upto 300 calories. Think twice before loading up on these sweet treats!

7.Refocus. Instead of only concentrating on making and baking holiday treats with the kids, take the opportunity to make crafts, wreaths, holiday decorations or play games.

8. Bring it. When you're asked to add a dish to the pot-luck table ensure your offering is healthy and tasty.

9. Portion control. Choose a smaller plate, don't pile it high. Take the time to enjoy the flavours of the season. When we stop to chew, we feel full faster and more satisfied.

10.Relax, enjoy, have fun. The holidays are about spending time with people you love.

Happy Holidays!

The Power of Friendship

Six years ago I met 3 extraordinary women. I was on the hunt for new friends and I feel so very blessed to have added them into my life. Had it not been for the birth of my oldest son, Ben, we likely would not have met.

I was the first of my friends from university to have a baby so while they were still at work and making strides in their lives with careers and marriage I was making strides in breastfeeding, diaper changes and finger-play songs. My girls and I still made our friendship a priority and our friendship remained very strong even when I was immersed in all things baby. But as good and wonderful as those friendships were (and are) I needed to make some new connections with women who were in the same place I was.

Cue Shawna, Janet and Mary. Shawna and I met while attending Babyville (a free program run by Durham Public Health) and Janet, Mary and I met at the Ontario Early Years Centre. I am not sure exactly how it happened, likely over a discussion related to feeding babies or surviving sleep deprivation but soon the 4 of us were meeting regularly at the Early Years Centre and walking to Tim Horton's post group where we continued chatting, laughing and enjoying each others’ company. These women have enriched my life and made my 1st maternity leave so enjoyable! We had fun every day and we continue to have fun now. Although the timing of our 2nd babies was not completely in synch, we still make the time to connect once a month for dinner and we are getting ready to head up North for our Second Annual Spa Retreat at Blue Mountain.

The friendships I developed with these women were the key to my sanity during my son's 1st year and they continue to be an anchor for me as I raise two boys.

Now my BFF's from university have also added children to their busy lives and their strength, support and emotional investment in our friendship continue to enrich my life.I am so very lucky to have such powerful, strong, smart and supportive friends in my life. Without them, being a mom would be even harder than it is.

So to all my girls who have my back, thank you! You mean the world to me.

I hope that you too are successful in finding some fabulous friends that can support you and cheer you on in your triumphs and trials of motherhood. Life's road bumps are always easier to manage when you've got a friend.