Form and Function Pilates

Back from a  month away in Muskoka. Must say, working out outdoors was the best. We had mats set up on the dock, surrounded by the lake, trees, sky, it was fantastic!

Now that I’m back and booked solid I’m going to have to find the time to maintain my workouts. But it’ll be worth it. Looking forward to connecting with all my clients again.

Well, it’s not the easiest diet to follow in that I cannot schedule 4 meals a day spaced 4 hours apart, simply because of my busy schedule. I just can’t excuse myself during a client’s private session to say, “sorry, I need to have a meal now”. However, I did modify it to fit into my schedule. Had 3 meals a day, and did snack after work, prior to dinner (about 2 hrs before).

Continued making good choices for meals: oatmeal for breakfast, usually with fresh or frozen berries, or applesauce and cinamon (yum); salads and soups, or soup and a hot entree for lunch (lean protein and veggies, small amount of carbs); and a similar meal for dinner.

I am proud to say I lost 2 inches from my waist, and another 2 inches from my hips, and sadly another inch from my bust, which in my opinion I couldn’t spare

So, in my opinion this diet does work, even when modified. I think the trick is in incorporating those MUFAs, and obviously eating a well-balanced diet in moderation.

I’ve learned to snack on pumpkin and sesame seeds, and to ensure that I have at least 3 servings of MUFAs every day!

I would recommend this diet to anyone wishing to target belly fat specifically.

Have cheated! Yesterday and today, made bad choices for my afternoon snacks. Today I caved and had a cheese croissant at Tim Horton’s when I stopped to get the kids some donuts as a special after school treat. Lesson learned: Don’t indulge your kids in foods you wouldn’t put into your own mouth when trying to stick to a diet. Share a healthy smoothy with them instead!

Anyhow, I am happy that I’ve made healthy choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner over the past week. Breakfast usually consists of a bowl of oatmeal, fresh berries and a cup of coffee. My MUFA serving is either nuts, seeds or Flax oil. Lunch has been a soup and salad, or a salad and a hot entree made up of a protein serving and a vegetable serving, and water. And dinner will include a lean protein such as fish, chicken, beef or shrimp, vegetables (and I load up on these) and a carb such as rice, gluten-free pasta (though not often), or potatoes. It’s serving sizes that I’m still finding challenging. I love my food and I have to learn to stop at “contentment” and not keep going because I’m enjoying the meal so much!

Working on it.

So glad to be off the 4-Day Anti-Bloat Jumpstart. I’m looking forward to choosing my own meals, cooking some real foods with lots of flavour, and not starving on quick meals that seem lacking in flavour. Did loose 1 inch off the waistline, but I think it was bloat, not fat; hence the “anti-bloat” name of the program .

Had a healthy piece of chicken breast for lunch, accompanied by a serving of ratatouille and a sliced tomato salad sprinkled with goat cheese. Now this is yummy eating. Did forget to bring MUFA’s with me to work (big oops), so will make it up at dinnertime. It’s going to take some extra planning to pack my MUFA’s with me for when I’m at work. Thinking of marketing small serving size packs to go of various nuts, seeds, olives, oil, maybe some guacamole, and dark chocolate to make it easy for people to incorporate their MUFAs into their every meal or snack. Something to think about…

If you’re following along on your own Flat Belly Diet, I wish you success. The weekend is upon us. Enjoy, but make healthy choices!

OK, so today was easier than yesterday, but it’s not over…

Started with the Day 4 breakfast in the 4-day Anti-Bloat. Thought I’d enjoy a hot breakfast more than cold cereal. That instant Cream of Wheat though is gross. I couldn’t even finish it. I think I had less than half. Had a couple of prunes (dried plums), and the sunflower seeds. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel hungry until 11:30. Again, was booked with a client at the time, so had to wait until 12:30 to eat lunch.

Lunch was a string cheese, a small can of tuna, and instead of the cooked carrots, I ate the tuna on a bed of arugula with some balsamic vinegar and olive oil, and had a small cup of pureed soup of cooked root vegetables.

Prepared the Sassy Water today, and I really like that. I could definitely drink this all the time. Much more satisfying and refreshing than plain water, and that might be what helped me hang in there until lunch today.

For my 4:30 snack, substituted the pineapple smoothie with another string cheese, a tablespoon of pumpkin seeds and a small can of  peaches (apparently canned fruit are easier to digest than raw ones, so even though I prefer raw, I stuck with their suggestion for the 4-day Anti-Bloat). Still wish I could eat more, but dinner time is coming soon.

Off to prepare dinner.

This is so much harder than I thought!!!  Just dying for the 4 Day Anti-Bloat Jumpstart to be over with already. I think (at least at this point I do) that the actual Flat Belly Diet will be do-able, but this 4 day 12,000 calorie a day plan is not so easy.

Had the breakfast just as the book recommends: 1 cup of unsweetened cornflakes, 1 cup of lactose-free low-fat milk (too much in my opinion), 1/2 cup of applesauce (yuk), 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds (liked those), and a cup of water (didn’t have time to prepare the Sassy Water, and so I drank plain. Have to prepare my Sassy Water for tomorrow tonight).

What I missed most this morning was my cup of coffee, and a hot breakfast; I’m not fond of cold cereal and milk. That’s why I think I’ll do better in the 28 day portion of the diet: I’ll have choice as to what I can eat.

Since breakfast was at 6 a.m. I was very hungry by 10 a.m. However, since I was booked with clients until 11:15, I had no choice but to go longer than the 4 hour between meals rule. I was starving by then and devoured my lunch. Mind you, I couldn’t stomach the thought of eating a whole pint of grape tomatoes, so I managed a little less than half the pint and the turkey and cheese string. That’s another thing, cheese strings are for my 5 year old. I’d rather be eating a serving of really good quality cheese instead, but I’m trying to stick to the menu.

Have to confess though, I did not hold out. I knew I wouldn’t be able to make it to snack time. My only break was between 12 and 12:30, and then I wouldn’t be able to eat again until 4 when I got home, so I caved and had 2 baby bok choi steamed and a very small piece of salmon (about 2 or 3 ounces) downstairs at the staff cafeteria. Felt much more satiated after that.

At 4:30 had my blueberry smoothie and pumpkin seeds. By 6:30 though, when I was preparing dinner, couldn’t wait to sit and eat. I was starving! Had a hard time sticking to the portions for the fish and potatoes. Kept eyeing my family’s dinner and wanting to go back for seconds, but came downstairs to blog instead.

So there! I lived through the first day, though not having stuck to the rules 100%.

I admire those of you who have, and are, and wish to develop your will power (and a smaller appetite, as portion control is my weakness).

Good luck to those of you doing it with me. Just 3 more days to get through for the anti-bloat program. I think the idea is to probably shrink the stomach and apetite so that once the 28 day program begins, it seems like a feast! Hope so.

If you are in the Toronto area, you can take a class with me, either in a group or privately with or without apparatus.

Here’s how:

If you are a member of the Granite Club, either join one of my specialty Pilates group classes, or contact me directly at 647-302-9221 to book a private mat or reformer session.

If you are not a Granite Club member, you can have a private reformer and/or mat session at my house. I also make house calls for private mat instruction. Call 647-302-9221 to book.

I will be embarking on the 32 day Flat Belly Diet soon. Looking for fellow dieters to join me to form a support group. If interested, let me know and I’ll pick a start date. Feel free to look at their website at www.flatbellydiet.com for more information on this diet.

Pilates can take care of sculpting, strengthening and toning your core muscles, and your entire body. However, these tight muscles can sometimes be hidden by belly fat, which we accumulate for various reasons. This type of belly fat can be deadly, and exercise alone cannot target it. If this is the case for you, join me on the Flat Belly Diet. The secret of this diet is what you get to eat with your regular meals: nuts and seeds, olives, expeller-pressed oils, avocadoes and dark chocolate! One serving of these with each of your 4 (yes, four!) 400-calories meals a day (that’s a total of 1600 calories a day) promises to help you lose up to 15 lbs in 32 days!

I’m excited about starting this diet. Looking forward to having some company

If you want to see results with your Pilates practice, stick with it. Joseph Pilates, the late pioneer of the method, has been famously quoted as saying “In 10 sessions you will feel a difference, in 20 sessions you will see a difference, and in 30 sessions you will be on your way to having a new body”.

When done on a consistent basis, Pilates will realign, rebalance and redefine your body. The key is consistency. So, commit to your Pilates sessions. Try to incorporate at least one weekly Pilates private session or mat group class into your schedule. If budget allows, do more. Once you are body-aware and know how to execute the exercises correctly, add on more sessions by doing exercises at home, either by following a DVD or by doing a cusotmized mat program.

Don’t give up