Tips for Getting Back into Shape

One of the most common New Year’s resolutions people have is to “Get fit”. Who doesn’t want to be healthy and in good shape? The beginning of the year marks a new beginning and as the motto goes, “New Year, New You”.

I’ve been active and healthy for the past couple years but I have to admit that after the holidays, it’s been hard to get back into eating clean and working out again. Mother nature’s gift also welcomed me at the beginning of the year leading me to feel in a bit of a funk. Let’s just say that when I’m on my period, I feel like a panda on a “seafood” diet (see everything and eat it). Other factors that hindered my workout routine include my job and the cold, dark winter days.

Anyways, that’s enough with all the excuses. To get back into shape, you have to get back into the routine of working out and make it a habit. If you’re not feeling up to the task of completing an intense workout, try and do something active to avoid skipping the workout entirely. Even if I’m not in the mood to exercise, I’ll just force myself to start and after the first 15 minutes, the momentum of exercising will keep me going! There will be off days as well, but you have to take it easy on yourself and realize that it’s okay; tomorrow is a new day and it will be better next time. Getting started and developing the habit of including a workout in the day is unfortunately the hard part but once you develop this habit, you’re on your way to becoming a healthier, better version of yourself!

 Some tips I find helpful are as follows;

 1. Set Goals. Eg. Set a goal to be active for at least 20-30 minutes everyday for a month.

 2. Make it Routine. If you don’t workout everyday, make sure you work out on the same days each week, as this will help you develop a routine.

 3. Mark it on Your Calendar. Plan your days ahead of time. For example, yoga class on Saturday, Run 3KM on Sunday, etc.

4. Workout Gear. Have comfy and nice workout attire to wear as it helps you feel good before the workout begins. Set out what you’ll wear the night before so that you see it first thing in the morning and it will act as a reminder to work that body.

5. Make a playlist. Listening to good music can make a difference when working out. I like to listen to random playlists on 8tracks.com which is a website that has millions of playlists created by other people on the web. 


6. Have a Fitness Buddy. Sometimes you need that extra push and having someone remind you to workout helps. You can send messages to each other about how you’ve completed a workout or go to the gym together. You’re also most likely not going to cancel on your friend.

7. Remember the Feeling. Remember how it feels AFTER a workout. Working out relieves stress and makes you feel happy. The results of your mind and body will only be positive.

How do I stay active? I do not have a gym membership so I enjoy doing hot yoga in a studio once in awhile, jogging and biking outdoors and going on my elliptical in my basement. I also really like to do at home workouts by following Youtube videos. 


Below are some of my favourite Youtube channels I highly recommend;

Karena and Katrina - Tone It Up. This HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) video burns so much. I haven't been able to get through the whole video without dying yet but one day hope to!

Adriene Mishler- Yoga. Relax, breathe and stretch out those muscles with her calming yoga videos.

Cassey Ho - POP Pilates. She has so much energy and is so much fun to workout with.

Victoria's Secret Angel Doutzen Kroes and trainer Michael Olajide. 
In this video, they show some cardio and core workout moves that get the heart rate up!

Do you have any tips and tricks on working out? Are you starting to get into shape? Do you have any tips and tricks on working out? Share them below.

2016- Just Another Fresh Start

Happy New Year! Today is January 1st, 2016 and as we ring in the New Year, we have clean slate to start a new chapter in our books. However, I'd have to agree with Bridget Jones that New Year's resolutions should start on January 2nd! 

A quote from The Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding 

"But then I do think New Year's resolutions can't technically be expected to begin on New Year's Day, don't you? Since, because it's an extension of New Year's Eve, smokers are already on a smoking roll and cannot be expected to stop abruptly on the stroke of midnight with so much nicotine in the system. Also dieting on New Year's Day isn't a good idea as you can't eat rationally but really need to be free to consume whatever is necessary, moment by moment, in order to ease your hangover. I think it would be much more sensible if resolutions began generally on January the second."

I created these goals last year but now that I'm looking back on them, I've realized that I still want to do the same things THIS year too. This year, I want to continue to travel, be healthy and continuously learn. I also want to learn to let go of expectations of how I think things should be and make more meaningful connections with the people I meet. 

Have you made any resolutions for 2016? Share them in the comments below!

Much happiness and love for 2016!

-Leeanna 

ON THE ROAD: Enjoy the Journey

This year I’ve learned that not everything goes according to plan. Those who know me may know that I am was such a planner and when things didn’t go the way I wanted it to, I’d get frustrated or disappointed. It took me awhile to learn to let things be and to let things go, but I believe towards the end of the year, I’ve finally realized that there’s a lot I cannot control (as much as I wanted to) and that’s okay.

I would have to say that my boyfriend and brother have influenced me to change my ways of thinking for the better. My boyfriend is not a planner when it comes to events, but likes to have last minute plans. His spontaneous adventures used to freak me out so much as I usually like to have an idea of what I’m doing.

Christmas day was another unplanned adventure with the boyfriend. Out of the blue, he announced that he wanted to go somewhere Christmas weekend.  Now you’ll have to agree with me that most of us just don't get into the car and decide to go on a trip same day right?? Although the planner in me was going a bit crazy, I agreed to the trip. I also don’t think there was enough time to register everything either and the next thing I knew it, we were in the car and on our way. After a couple of stops and naps, and a 4.5ish hour drive later, we ended up in Ottawa, Ontario. As time passed and things registered in my head, I realized that I was actually okay with the whole trip. I was more at ease than I had been before.

The past me would have just said “no” to the trip request because I did not have this planned out and thus, not ready to go, but lately I’ve really questioned, are we ever ready?

Just like travelling from point A to point B, we have a destination and to get to that destination, we look at maps to determine how to get there.  In life, we create goals and plans to achieve those goals but sometimes we have to just have to go with it. There’s always excitement in thinking about where we’ll end up and what we’ll be able to do, but like driving to another city, there are obstacles that we can face. We can continue the journey by taking a detour or stop and go back home. The detour may increase the duration of the drive and delay our destination time, but it’ll still get us there! When gas runs low, we make a stop and refuel the car. What about if the engine stops working? Do we just stop and stay on the side of the road? No, staying stuck where you do not want to be is no good either. Sometimes we get stuck on our journey, but with the right tools and help, we can keep going. En-route to the destination, you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of the full moon, sun setting, and the evergreen trees or concentrate so much on getting to point B that you rush through everything. I say, enjoy the journey, for you will not know how long it will last. Sometimes you just have to “live in the moment”.

I have found that I focused too much on the end result and not the journey. I need to live in the moment more often and let things be when they don’t go according to plan. For this website, I found that I created so many goals for where I wanted my blog to be that I had trouble getting started again! This coming year, I will be blogging more often and just seeing where my blog will go.

-Leeanna