Good and Bad Fats

Interesting illustrations on good and bad fats.  They've put together in a fun & informative way to look at good & bad fats.

http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/FatsAndOils/MeettheFats/Meet-the-Fats_UCM_304495_Article.jsp

Men who love chocolate have lower stroke risk: study

I just had a square of dark chocolate after I read this;-). Everything in moderation;)

Men who love chocolate have lower stroke risk: study

No wonder our perception of beauty is distorted

This is such a powerful video...we all know this is what happens in the fashion/beauty industry, yet still we get so hooked up into having to look a certain way.

Check it out now - only just over a minute long...
http://youtu.be/iYhCn0jf46U

Child Obesity

This is sad.  We see more and more children all over the world are becoming obese.  In China,  chubby kids were used to be assumed from a wealthy family not that long ago.  Now child obesity becomes a real issue, even in China. 

I'd like to share this article with my readers.  Although it only refers to United States, but I think it applies to everywhere.

http://www.trim-kids.net/Obesity.html

10 ways to boost your metabolism

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/empowered-health/health/7130135/story.html?tab=PHOT

Enjoy the present

I went to Van Dusen Garden for a picnic lunch yesterday, and really enjoyed the garden without the hustle and bustle of a city life.

It's important for us to take the time, get close to the nature and enjoy the present.  Often time,  we get so bogged down with the weight of life that we forget the stillness and the beauty of life itself.  Let's all take a moment, take a deep breath and enjoy what's around us.

We went to Seattle for a two day trip and really love this vibrant city. We wondered around in Pike market and really took in the various cuisines and cultures.

LIfe is like coffee

I received this post today, and would like to share that with you.  I especially resonate with the following:  The happiest people don't have the best of everything.  They just make the best of everything.

http://www.flickspire.com/m/iaaw/LifeIsLikeCoffee

Politician and Personal Trainer

Very rarely, you would link a politician with a workout freak, but it turns out Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's pick for his running mate, was a personal trainer before, and has been a regular workout guy. I think it is great for a nation and the world to have role models like Paul and Obama to start to set an example and turn the whole obesity trend around! Plus I am sure P90X is grateful to his endorsement;-).
Paul Ryan's workout: Is P90X for you?

Stress Management

Today is the London Olympic closing ceremony.  While I was watching various competitions,  I often thought about what a tremendous stress an athlete carried before and during the game.  The fate is determined within minutes during 16 days of competitions after four years of endless training.  Often time, the athletes only had one shot of their life.  We can certainly learn from these great athletes on how to manage stress in our daily life.

One thing that stands out with Olympic athletes is their ability to focus on their task and tune out other things.  Imagine if you had to chair a staff meeting with 70,000 observers and 20 million T.V. watchers. 

When faced with difficult tasks, we need to ensure that other things are not intruding on our thoughts.  I call it shutting down all the chatters in your brain. 

Canadian based colorie tracking database

If one of your fitness goals is weight loss, tracking and managing what you eat is crucial. A lot of time it is especial hard for my clients north of the border due to the lack of resources until I found this. Check it out! We finally have a Canadian based calorie tracking database or shall we call fatabase;-).

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/empowered-health/Fatabase/5847849/story.html

Client Story

I have been training one of my clients for 3 weeks now, and she was borderline obese when we first met.  We set up a goal to get her out of the obese level in a month.

Yesterday when I first greeted her,  she was upset.  She told me she weighted herself in the morning, and the weight didn't seem to come off.  She had been crying for an hour, plus it was her birthday.  My heart sank when I heard that.  As a personal trainer,  I hate to see my clients get discouraged.  I suggested to do a weight in and find out her body fat level.  It turned out that she reduced her body fat by 2% in 3 weeks.  That is significant!  So she is out of the obese level plus reduced her waist line by 3.5".  She was so happy after hearing the news, and admitted that she did notice the waist change and energy boost.

The reason I shared this story is to demonstrate that people often get so caught up with the scale that they often dismiss all the other positive signs after they change to a healthier lifestyle.

If you lead an active life, you can indulge in this once in a while;-).   I always tell my clients that I exercise because I love to eat and I do eat whatever I want, but I am also aware of the consequences.

Prescription to exercise

A while ago,  I asked one of the family doctors in a walk-in clinic whether he ever asked a patient to exercise, and he said not once in his 20 years of service.  That is so shocking to me as I see many need to exercise every time I am on the street.  When can our medical service be more preventive instead of trying to cover the symptom?

Prescription to a Gym Membership

Today is BC Day,  relatively quiet compared to yesterday.  Yesterday,  we went to the Vancouver Pride Parade and saw some amazing floats.  We danced salsa at Robson Square and enjoyed a pitch of Sangria on Richards.

Amazing firework photo from John Maschak published in Vancouver Sun. It was a sunny hot day yesterday and there were so many activities in downtown Vancouver. We ended a beautiful day with a spectacular firework from Italy. Now I am going to the Vancouver Pride parade shortly. More to come!

"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them." ~ Walt Disney

What a fantastic firework display from Brazil yesterday during our Honda Celebration of Light event in our famous English Bay!  It was a really nice way of ending a busy day!

Join the Olympic Spirit!

Five Olympic secrets for weight loss success