Mina's before: June 2017 and after: March 2018.

1) Introduce Yourself
 
My name is Mina DiPasquale and I am 56 years old. I am under 5'', weight 117lbs and have been happily married for 31 years. I have 2 daughters

2) What made you decide to make a change? Was there a turning point or sudden realization?

My health became an issue that I couldn't ignore any longer. I weighed 129lbs when Simone came on board. That was the heaviest I have weighed in all my years without being pregnant.

My diabetes number was 5.7 so I was really close to getting pre-diabetes. I decided to really attempt to lose weight and lower my number. My oldest daughter is getting married in March and I would like to look slim in my dress.

3) What has been the most challenging?

I find it challenging to lift heavier weights. It's very hard to reduce consuming bread, pasta and ice-cream. Definitely easier in the winter. Also, trying to make healthier choices when I go to restaurants.

4) What was your goal when you started and how much have you accomplished so far?

My goal is to weigh 115lbs and to be tight and toned. I still feel flabby.

5) What advice/tips can you give to others on their weight loss journey?

Don't get obsessed with the number on the scale. Instead, focus on how you feel and how your clothes feel on. 

Try to eat whole foods 95% of the time, leaving you 5% to cheat.

Don't be so hard on yourself. This is a life time goal to always eat healthy and stay fit. 

UPDATE:
Mina is 2lbs away from her goal weight and has reduced her inches throughout her frame, reduced her body fat percentage by 7% and in more in tune with how her body feels.

Mina is one of my rare clients who loves to exercise and does their homework on a consistent basis. Often going above and beyond. I asked her what started it all. This was her response:

                      "I started exercising when I was 18 years old and weighed 90lbs. It started off as a social thing but then I really started enjoying the benefits of it. I slept better, had more energy. I just felt really good! I've been addicted ever since and I'm sure it's what contributed to me losing weight after I had my children.

"I believe that once you get older you start noticing your family history more. I began to think, what is it I have to do to keep it at bay? {In her case, she had a family history of diabetes} I wanted to start off with the healthiest body I could if I had to fight an illness (knock on wood) so at least I would have a fighting chance versus with an unhealthy body."

Thank you so much for all that you have taught me Mina and for being the wonderful person you are! You are more than just a client to me. Let's keep up the great work!

We now live in a world where convenience is everything. It's no different when it comes to our food intake, especially when you have a long busy day ahead of you.

While I still want to emphasize the importance of whole, minimally processed foods, it's not always realistic. This depends on a multitude of factors and when it comes to trying to achieve your health and fitness goals, the easier it is the better!

After discovering that two of my clients frequently shopped at Shoppers Drug Mart, I decided to put this together to help them out and others who are looking for healthier items while still getting that convenience.

Please note that these are not THE healthiest food on the planet. Look at it more as something that will hold you over and provide you with more nutrients versus having none at all or very poor nutrition (e.g a muffin in the morning).

In no particular order, here are 6 healthy foods that you can grab on the go: 

1. VH Steamers
I'm usually not a fan of these frozen meals, but when it's loaded with this many vegetables, it's hard to not add this to the list. It can be a meal replacement and is packed with 20g of protein, Vitamin C & A, Iron and Calcium and ingredients you can actually pronounce. However, be very mindful that these frozen meals often have a high sodium content so be sure to balance that out with what you're consuming throughout the course of the day. 

4. Oatmeal

You can't go wrong with oatmeal, especially the ones in the packets that make it super easy to consume on the go. I like this one from Blue Menu because of the chia seeds added (great Omega 3 & 6) and a low sugar intake. However, feel free to mix it up and choose the one that suits you more. Oatmeal is considered a "smart" carb, meaning it's very nutrient dense. Just be mindful of the ingredients and the sugar content. The more decadent the flavour (e.g chocolate strawberry) the less healthy it will be.

5. Coconut Water
​I've consumed coconut everything all my life, even while experts were claiming it wasn't good for you. Now it's back again and one thing you can find at Shoppers Drug Mart is coconut water. It's hydrating, refreshing, can be taken before, during or after a workout and has more potassium than bananas. Talk about a great recovery drink! Just be sure to stick with the basic and pure coconut water and stay away from the other flavours.

R.Rizvi asked that no pictures of herself be shown.

In this new series, I ask my clients to answer 5 questions about their weight loss journey so they can reflect on how they've changed and provide helpful tips for others.

1) Introduce Yourself
I’m a project management professional in the pharmaceutical industry. As a female in my thirties, I am victim to many different fad diets and my weight fluctuating over the years, especially since I work long hours and travel quite a bit for work. As I get older and more health conscious I am looking to make a positive change to my lifestyle.

2) What made you decide to make a change? Was there a turning point or sudden realization?
I broke my ankle in Oct. 2016 and was in a cast for 6 weeks. I was not able to place any weight on my foot, which meant I spent most of my days lying flat on my back, with my foot up to reduce the swelling.

I was very frustrated by the injury for obvious reasons, but I was also very frustrated that I just happened to be in the worst shape of my life when the injury occurred. As a result, my body wasn’t able to compensate for my broken ankle and I had a very difficult time being mobile.

I struggled with my crutches, not only because they take some getting use to, but also because I was not physically strong enough to walk with them for long periods of time. I couldn’t get up and down the stairs easily, and had to resort to crawling up, which also took a lot of energy. Every movement took a lot of effort and was physically taxing on my body.

I kept thinking if only I had been in better physical shape, the injury would not have been so impactful and taken such a toll. Once I was out of my cast, I really thought I would be able to recover quickly. I soon realized it was going to take me quite a long time to fully recover, and I wanted to do everything I could to expedite the process. This is what prompted me to look into a personal trainer.

 3) What has been the most challenging?
It has been challenging to change my old habits. I have to actively make the time and the effort to fit in my training, and to make my health a priority. I have a very demanding work schedule, and have recently suffered a loss in my family. For these reasons, it is difficult to stay motivated when it feels like there are so many conflicting priorities. Simone has been extremely helpful in keeping me on track. She works with my schedule, and always provides helpful tips. This way I feel I can make small changes over time instead of all at once where it can become overwhelming.

4) What was your goal when you started and how much have you accomplished so far?
When I initially started working out, I wanted to get in shape for a high school reunion. However, due to recent events in my life, I no longer want to do this just to fit into the perfect dress. I am very motivated to actually be fit and healthy and to make this a permanent change to my lifestyle. It has been 3 months since I started working out with Simone and I definitely feel stronger. I think I have a long road ahead of me, but I am proud of what I’ve accomplished so far.

5) What advice/tips can you give to others on their weight loss journey? 
I would recommend not having an “all or nothing” attitude. Forgive yourself if you slip up here and there. Be proud of your small accomplishments throughout the day or week and don’t expect everything to change overnight.

Thanks so much for sharing this with us Rubab. I am so proud of you and everything you have accomplished and reminding yourself that this is a journey, not a destination, will make it that much easier!

​Just kidding. There really is no such thing as an ab diet.

Remember what I said in the last post Abs: The Truth? You can't "spot train" your abs, meaning you can't target a certain muscle group or area of your body to lose weight or gain muscle without affecting other parts of your body. Just like you can't necessarily eat a certain way to target only a certain muscle group, it just doesn't work that way.

Your body changes overall, you don't get to pick and choose where.

While I know many of you were expecting a diet plan and there are many out there for just about anything, you'll notice they all have a common denominator: eating whole, minimally processed foods. 

That's really all it takes. But it's so much easier said than done. So I laid it out step by step for you:

Step 1: Go to the grocery store

• Put a variety of fruits and veggies in your cart that you actually like and enjoy eating
• Put a variety of healthy fats in your cart (e.g avocado, olive oil, butter etc.)
• Lastly, pick up some foods high in protein (e.g lean chicken, Greek yogurt, legumes, nuts and nut butters etc.)

Step 2: Prepare them and eat them in a way that you enjoy

• Buying the healthy ingredients is easy, actually preparing and eating them is where people often struggle
• Make healthy recipes with the ingredients you bought or eat them raw (e.g baby carrots, apples, peanut butter)
• Here are some awesome healthy recipe websites that I often refer to:
  • www.eatingwell.com
  • www.cookinglight.com (it provides the nutritional information for each recipe so that's an extra BONUS!)
  • www.skinnytaste.com
• If you're too lazy to do this and you're staring into your fridge not knowing what to do with the ingredients you have, simply go to Google, type in the food(s) you don't know what to do with, and add "healthy recipe". In most cases something will pop up!
• Remember, you can look for easy and quick recipes or more time consuming ones based on your preference and lifestyle. Eating healthy is only as complicated and difficult as you make it.

Step 3: Limit the amount of processed foods you consume

• This is probably the trickiest part. So instead of going to your cupboard and immediately dumping all the junk food you have, try limiting or reducing one thing at a time
• If you have a can of pop every day, reduce it to 5 days a week and slowly cut back. Once accomplished, move on to the next highly processed food you consume the most and slowly reduce that as well

For those of you still searching for that "diet plan". Here are some foods that help support your belly reduction and allow your abs to show more by fighting off body fat storage, lowering your levels of cortisol and keeping you feeling full longer. Again, it follows the same theme of whole, minimally processed foods:

• Bell peppers
• Brussel Sprouts
• Eggs
• Bananas
• Green tea
• Lean poultry
• Legumes
• Oatmeal
• Apples
• Sweet potatoes
• Blueberries
• Broccoli 

Doing ab exercises is great too, check out my post if you missed it Abs: The Truth.

While this is not a quick solution (be wary of any that say there are), stick with these 3 steps and you'll see results. Combine proper nutrition and exercise and you'll be in for some awesome abs and an awesome overall change in your body composition.