This is one of the busiest times of year at the gym. Many put their health and fitness on hold during the Christmas season. But now we've flipped the calendar to a new year, and decade, and we're ready to get started. Normally fat loss is the number one goal of those going to the gym. After a few weeks of egg nog, short bread and late nights this is worse than it normally would be. With that in mind I want to share with you some of our top fat loss tips. This will give the best chance to shed the holiday pounds and then some. Plus when you put these habits to practice you'll be able to not only lose the weight but keep it off. In no particular order here are our Top Fat Loss Tips for 20202. 1. Sleep 7+ Hours per Night - When we are sleep deprived a couple of hormones get disrupted. Ghrelin, which tells us we are starving, gets amplified. We tend to eat when we aren't needing nutrition. Leptin tells us we are full and we miss this message. So we end up overeating. And if you're someone that struggles with cravings, sleep will help you win this battle. When you are sleep deprived a part of the brain, the amygdala, is stimulated. This is the part of the brain that tells you to have a treat or reward. Additionally the insular cortex which is your will power is suppressed and makes it harder to say no. Lastly, when you're sleep deprived you'll be less likely to pop out of bed for a training session. You won't be able to train as intensely when you're tired. And when you do push it will take you longer to recover. 2. Journal - Maybe...

A common goal of everyone that trains is to be lean. And I don't mean to be skinny. By lean I mean to carry the most amount of muscle mass and the least amount of body fat possible. And this should still allow us to do our regular tasks and activities without lacking fitness or mobility. Sometimes when someone initiates a fitness program the results can be slow in coming. We know we feel better. We have fewer aches and pains. We sleep better at night. And our performance in sports is trending up as well. Yet the scale doesn't budge. If this happens to you we recommend you to buy CBD oil for its many benefits in weight loss and pain reduction. Below are a number of nutritional reasons this may be the case. Meals Eaten Alone When we eat with others there are natural pauses for conversation. We want to hear how the other person's day went. We comment on the flavour and textures of the prepared meal. We put the fork down every now and again to listen and answer. Eating alone leads to eating more quickly. Nutritional quality tends to be lower. Maybe this is because we like to have a treat when no one is watching and won't be judged. Or it could be that when we cook for others, i.e. for children, we feel a responsibility to provide the best nutrition possible. Eating alone also means we could be doing something else while we're eating. Maybe we watch a TV show. Sadly, we used to do this. Maybe we're on our phones. Maybe we read a book. Maybe we try to get some work done at the computer. Regardless of what we do while we're eating it serves as a distraction and leads to mindless...

A couple of things I really like are efficiency and great value. I like it when things are moving forward at a good clip and when the return is better than expected. Who doesn't like that though, right?This is no different than our health and fitness. For most the obstacle to better health and fitness comes down to time and finances. We don't make the time for fitness and exercise and we would rather spend our money on other things.The truth is that the fittest people in the world have the same hours as the rest of us. It's what we give our time to, or don't, that fills up our day.So with that being said I wanted to give you 11 tips to get lean. And the cool part is these things won't cost you an extra dime. Plus as your health improves you'll find you have more time in your day. You see what I did just there, right? Solve one problem and provide a solution for another as well.Anyways on with the tips. Minimize liquid calories - If our goal is to be as lean and healthy as possible we've got to be mindful of the calories we drink. This can be a chai tea in the AM, a coffee with cream and sugar, a store bought smoothie or any of the other ways we can drink calories. The truth is we only need water. Sure a red wine on occasion or a beer at a BBQ isn't going to derail your results completely. Just be aware of what you are drinking. And guess what? When we cut back on your liquid calories we'll find you have an extra $5-10 per day by opting out of the drive-thrus and coffee shops. Eat meals without snacking - Were you ever...

Alright it's time for a pop quiz. And today the question is 'What's the best way nutritionally to achieve a weight loss goal?'Now depending who you talk to the answer will vary. Answers may include: keto low fat intermittent fasting cleanse or detox whole foods raw foods vegetarian vegan IIFYM (aka if it fits your macros) flexible dietingAnd there's more than this to add to the list.Get's kind of confusing doesn't it? Paralysis by analysis comes to mind.Recently a colleague shared a graph on his social media. And it caught my attention and became the foundation for this post.Here's the graph:[caption id="attachment_5560" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Carbohydrate intake and percentage of adults with obesity over time.Here's what the graph shows:One the left vertical axis is carb intake in grams/person/day. The range is from the low 400s to the mid 500s per day.On the right vertical axis is the percentage of adults with obesity.On the horizontal axis is time in years from around  1980 to 2010.Two lines are plotted on the graph. In black we can see the consumption of carbs. And a black line represents the percentage of individuals with obesity.A few observations from this graph include: Carb intake increased steadily from 1980 to 2000. From 2000 to 2010 carb intake has been on the decline. Obesity rates have increased steadily from 1980-2010 The graph is based on a certain population i.e. obese individuals. We don't know anything about the quality of the carbohydrates consumed.This now creates an interesting conversation.First of all, we understand carb intake was reduced. Was caloric intake reduced as well? Or were carb calories replaced with additional protein or fat?I haven't dug into the reference for this graph so can't comment on what else changed with the population. Has nutritional quality decreased? Have activity levels dropped off? Have sleep...

Did you ever have quizzes when you were in school?I'm talking about surprises quizzes that were given without advance notice.[caption id="attachment_5529" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Pop quizzes were a good way to assess how well the class learned the basics.Usually they didn't count much toward your final grade but were important to get a quick pulse on how the class was doing. Did they learn the previous lesson? Can the teacher proceed with more advanced concepts?In other words, does the class understand the basics?Well, guess what it's quiz time!And the question is what is something most people want when it comes to their training but will neglect as well?The answer of course is stretching.And I would guess the reason stretching gets little attention is that it's not as appealing as a good strength or energy system training session.Bodybuilders, power and Olympic lifters all like the pump after a good lift.Aerobic athletes seek out 'the high' they get from a good ride, run, hike or swim.And once we've gotten what we need out of the training session there isn't much interest in stretching. It gets pushed to the side and ignored.But the irony is more and more people identify flexibility and mobility as their goal for training. Maybe they have restricted mobility which impacts their quality of life. For example, maybe a lack of shoulder mobility impairs an individual's ability to sleep at night. They may have nagging low back pain from tight hips and a weak core.So we know what we need but for whatever reason we are reluctant to give stretching and mobility the attention it deserves in our training program.This may be partly due to the fact most people train for a fat loss goal. They train to look better. They train to change the aesthetic which then helps with confidence and...

For many people staying in shape involves playing sports. But the challenge can be that as we enter adulthood there aren't as many opportunities to participate in organized sports. We don't have scheduled practices. We don't play in as many tournaments. We don't go to sports camps in the summer. And basically life gets busy and it's tough to find the time for work, spouse, family and much else including playing on a sports team. So for the gym rat that graduates all of the sports offered during school this can be a recipe for future in-activity, reduced health and weight gain. And so it was especially encouraging to see a friend take control of his health and achieve a great result. [caption id="attachment_5468" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Mike Penninga 4 months ago at 214 lbs. Some of you might know Mike Penninga. Mike has been the pastor at Kelowna Gospel Fellowship for the past nine years. He is a Kelowna boy and has always been involved in and competed in sports. I even recall a client, Mike J, sharing a story about playing men's league basketball when Mike P was still in university in the early 90s. So Mike was always active and never had to worry about his weight or his health. His high level of activity took care of managing his weight and prevented injury. But then he was down to Las Vegas in November. And he stepped on the scale shortly after the trip and wasn't happy with the number. So I had to know besides the number on the scale what else prompted him to get started? And he was honest to admit that vanity played a role. He is on stage in front of his parish. He's the face of the videos they produce. And he sees...

I remember back when we were building our house. We had decided to do a natural rock wall and stairs in our backyard using some huge boulders. When the guy who was going to build the wall showed up and rang the door bell I wasn't sure if I should open the door or call Crime Stoppers.[caption id="attachment_5396" align="aligncenter" width="300"] My reaction when I saw the wall builder show up.But as it turned out he was legit and built a beautiful wall in our backyard.Now as this was during the summer and I was home for the day I offered to help the guy out. Although he had some heavy equipment to move all the boulders around I figured there would be benefit to a  second set of hands.My thoughts were that this guy would probably appreciate the help. And maybe the job would go more smoothly. And if the job took less time because I was helping him maybe it would shave a little of the bill time-wise. Because as some of you know building a home isn't cheap.So I offered to help. And this is what the guy said.'It's 50% more if you watch. Double if you help.'Roger that. Alexandra packed up some food, drinks and a blanket and we headed to the beach.But home build projects aren't the only areas where we might be tempted to lend a hand or DIY (do it yourself). We all know lots of examples where people do their own investing. They take care of their own vehicles. They log on to Web MD to diagnose whatever ails them. And a number of people will look to take after their health and fitness on their own as well.But what kind of results can you get on your own compared to using a coach? Can...

Newsflash! As a society we're becoming more over-weight and more obese. This shouldn't come as news to anyone. And with the current month we've entered a number of people will vow to change behaviours and embark on a fat loss program. They will swear off certain foods. They will commit to training six days per week. They will sign up at the gym where that really fit girl or guy trains. And they may stop in to the new supplement store to talk biochemistry with the kid that works afternoons peddling potions and elixirs of the gods.The unfortunate thing is this won't work.And we know it won't work because it hasn't in the past. And it will repeat again next year when we flip the calendar from December to January.Now it's time to put away the decorations. The fun times end. The company leaves. The parties are over. And we have to face reality and return to work or school. And if we're like the average North American we will have gained seven pounds over the Christmas holidays.And since we all 'know' that exercise burns off the extra holiday weight we embark on this post-holiday health correction.In terms of where we burn our calories, our metabolism, the food we eat and our activity accounts for the total. The table below (1) shows this.[caption id="attachment_5379" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Daily caloric expenditure as a function of metabolism, food and activity.The truth is that physical activity will only account for 10-30% of the calories we burn in a day.Think about that for a minute...physical activity could potentially account for as little as 10% of the calories you burn in a day. And exercise is only a part of this.In the table above the example uses a daily measure of 3500 calories per day. Physical activity could be...

Hey! How’s it going? Its Chris here and I’ve got an amazing success story to share with you. This post is about Barry Chretien’s fitness journey so far. You know Barry, right? Barry works out at OPP in the mornings 4 or 5 times a week and swims laps 3 times a week at the Parkinson Rec Center. He also runs a marketing agency and does volunteer work feeding the homeless as well, so this makes his results even more impressive. Now before I get to telling everything Barry has achieved in the last 9 months I should back up and give you a little background. You see Barry was someone who had a hard time working out consistently, which was not only a physical challenge but a mental one too.  [caption id="attachment_5045" align="aligncenter" width="169"] Barry before starting with Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. [caption id="attachment_5046" align="aligncenter" width="169"] Barry at the start of his journey with OPP.  Maybe you can relate to Barry in sharing these same challenges such as feeling intimidated when he first started at OPP, having chronic pain in both knees due to severe osteoarthritis or something else standing in the way of optimal health. But even though Barry had these challenges before him, he set the goal of getting into the best shape of his life and decided to start working out at OPP in April of 2016. So far he has: Dropped 90 lbs Gained muscle mass Addressed movement compensation so he is moving better than he has in years Reduced and eliminated pain to the point where most days are pain-free Started mountain biking and hiking again Set a goal to complete Mudd Sweat & Tears and to snowboard next season[caption id="attachment_5047" align="aligncenter" width="220"] Barry after 9 months of training at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc and...

Have you ever noticed how the people who have the best physiques tend to share certain traits? For example, they are dedicated to their training. They make sure to capture every training session with a dozen or so selfies and an overuse of hashtags. And they are also meticulous with their meal planning.You know what I mean?You see the pictures on their social media of their Tupperware for the week all neatly arranged and labelled. They make sure to snap a pic of every low-carb, low-sugar treat they have for a cheat meal. And they show us what their groceries look like after coming home from the grocery store.Now as easy as it is to poke fun at these dedicated health nuts, they do get great results. And maybe we can steal a page from their meal prep to reap some of the benefits for ourselves.Below is a step-by-step process for your weekly meal prep.Step 1 - Pick Your ProteinAlmost all of the clients we work with would benefit from an additional dose of protein. For almost every goal, whether it be the endurance athlete, the individual with a physique goal or the bodybuilder, additional protein may not only help it may be essential to achieving the best results.When we think of protein we can look at seafood (shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels, crab, lobster), fish (salmon, halibut, bass, snapper, tuna), meat (look for grass-fed rather than grain-fed options including beef, pork, wild game) chicken ,turkey, eggs and dairy. Opt for grass-fed rather than grain-fed dairy options.  Products here include milk, cottage cheese, yogurt and cheeses.  A couple of comments related to yogurt are that Greek yogurt is one of the healthier options and secondly you should avoid the ‘fruit on the bottom’ styles of yogurt.***Quick aside***There are a number of healthy vegetarian and vegan options...

Hey! How’s it going? It’s Megan here and I’ve got a great success story to share with you. This story is about Louise Fisher and she has realized some amazing results over the last bit with her training. You know Louise, right? She is usually in at the 830 or 930 group classes every day. Louise is very much involved with her business and every other week heads off to Calgary to manage their head office. Besides that she is also a mother of 3, and a grandmother to 2 young boys, which makes the results she has achieved even more impressive. Now before I get to telling you everything Louise has achieved in a short amount of time I should back up and give you the background. You see Louise was someone who came in wanting to lose 10 pounds and tone and strengthen her body. Her friend Annette mentioned the first RYJ program to her and asked if she was interested. She was reluctant to try it as it was outside of her comfort zone and, knew she would have to weigh herself. Maybe you can relate to Louise in sharing these same challenges such as feeling intimidated, stepping outside of your comfort zone with the training, or something else standing in the way of optimal health? “The biggest obstacle I've discovered is myself, I have learned that I can do most of what I set my mind to and if a certain exercise is too hard, or I perceive that it is something I can't do, I look around the gym and find inspiration with the other ladies working through their own hurdles. It's very motivating to work as a group and everyone is very encouraging.”But even though Louise had these challenges before her, she still had the goal...

Recently we've been discussing metabolism, how the body burns calories and things that put the breaks on our metabolism. In this post I'm going to discuss a situation that is not too uncommon among female fitness enthusiasts and may be leaving them frustrated with their weight loss efforts.[caption id="attachment_4117" align="alignleft" width="300"] Cardio: One of the things that makes fat loss harder.Normally I don't like to generalize but this is a unique situation and applies to many. And hopefully for those that recognize themselves when reading the sections below they are able to make some changes in their weight loss efforts and realize better results.The type of person I'm referring to here is one where the following conditions apply:* they have a weight loss goal* they prefer cardiovascular exercise as the preferred means of exercise* they employ a severe caloric restriction in an attempt to lose weight* they have plateaued in their weight loss efforts* they are stressed or are becoming so due to the lack of results they are realizingDoes this sound familiar? I think every gym I have every been a member at over my entire life has at least one if not a few female members that fit this profile to a 't'.You know what I mean? They are the members that are at the gym everyday. And not just everyday but first thing in the morning when it opens. And then maybe again after work when for a second workout.But these workouts aren't intense lifting sessions. And they aren't metabolic circuits. Instead these are purely marathon cardio sessions. These individuals have their machines of choice and always perform the same workout, on the same machine, at the same intensity at the same time of day.Guess what happens as the body gets used to an activity? It gets more...

In the last post I talked about the fact that for optimal health and weight loss we can't simply worry about reducing our sugar intake. As well, we can't simply focus on creating a caloric deficit. Both of these need to be addressed in order for healthy weight loss to occur. [caption id="attachment_4093" align="alignleft" width="300"] A caloric deficit is necessary for weight loss. Because here's the thing...we can all find examples of people who have lost weight on a diet consisting of poor quality nutrition. If you want to read the story of the science teacher who lost 37 pounds in three months eating only McDonalds click here. No one is disputing the fact that creating a caloric deficit will lead to weight loss. But does weight loss always equate to better health? Can you lose weight and become unhealthier in the process? Sure it's easy. Just eat McDonalds every day for 3 months. At the same time if all we are concerned with is reducing our sugar intake we may improve our health as evidenced by having some blood work done however we may lose much less than 37 pounds in 3 months. From the previous post we established that it's not an either-or scenario. We need to reduce our sugar and our calories. We need to worry about our mass and our health. But let's just look at weight loss for the time being. How do we attack weight loss? Well we need to create a caloric deficit. In other words we need to expend more calories than we consume. And as we already mentioned numerous times on this blog our sugar and overall caloric consumption is constantly increasing. And it seems unlikely that any of us are going to find a 25th hour in the day and begin...

So recently on the interwebs there was a bit of discussion on a social network about the importance of sugar in the diet. Actually it was more than just a discussion as some members took to mocking the other side who then responded to blocking the immature commenter from their profile.Now what that is all about was the fact that one group was of the belief that the increased consumption of sugar is the culprit of our deteriorating health i.e. obesity, metabolic syndrome etc. And the other side was dismissing the notion of sugar being responsible and favouring the opinion that increased calories were the root cause of society's declining health.A couple of points on this:1. This isn't religion and we don't need to get overly offended about the position of another individual or group based on what they believe with respect to nutrition.2. The two positions aren't mutually exclusive. Why can't we believe both positions? In other words isn't it possible that we are both eating more calories and eating more sugar today than we ever have in our history? It kind of seems like a silly 80s beer commercial.[caption id="attachment_4085" align="alignleft" width="300"] It doesn't have to be just one.So it is possible for both sides to be right. We are consuming more sugar than we have in our history and we are consuming more calories as well. The solution doesn't have to be one or the other in terms of reducing calories or reducing sugar. The answer should be both.And this is something we have been preaching to our clients for as long as I can remember. Actually I can remember as it was something I learned from an American colleague of mine at a conference in Colorado. You see as soon as I realized Shawn was a registered...

This is Part II of 9 Easy Tips for Portion Control. Click here to read Part I. Other keep reading for the remaining tips. Tip #6 - No TV or Computer[caption id="attachment_3997" align="alignleft" width="300"] Don't eat at the TV or computer Eating alone usually goes hand in hand with watching TV or surfing the internet. As we associate the two activities we can continue eating, or grazing, to match the duration of TV program or as long as we have an internet signal. Plus as we are distracted with the entertainment on the screen we are less likely to perceive the message from our brain telling us we are full. Tip #7 - Share When Eating OutNowadays everyone is all about getting optimal value. 'Check out the features on my new vehicle' 'Look what is included with my all-inclusive vacation' 'I got upgraded to first on my flight' ***can you tell I love travelling?*** If we are so conditioned to want and almost expect the highest of value with any commercial transaction it stands to reason that when we eat out we expect to leave with a full and satisfied belly. Unfortunately even if the food wasn't that  good we are ok with it as long as there was lots of it. When you eat out combine a few of the tips above by drinking water with your meal. You'll probably have a glass or two before your food arrives. Eat the healthiest stuff first by ordering a salad or some other veggie appetizer. And because you won't eat alone you can share a main with your dining partner. This allows you to adhere to many of the rules above and not wreck your portion control when you eat out. Tip #8 - Slow DownRecently when I was in Hawaii I...

Most people that go to a fitness facility go for the purpose of losing weight. It's a means to an end in that they perform their workouts with the hope or expectation of losing weight. If there were some other activity that was shown to be as effective for losing weight as fitness training many would switch activities. However even though many people recognize the benefits of resistance training and energy system workouts towards achieving their goal many fall short. And while there may be extenuating circumstances for a small number of people the truth is that the problem has to do with what happens outside of the gym. In particular the problem lies with their nutrition. More specifically the problem has to do with portion control. I think we can all agree that the problem is one of portion control of non-healthy foods. For most people the problem of obesity doesn't have anything to do with eating too much lean protein, vegetables or water. No instead the problem has to do with portion control of all foods. With that in mind here are 9 Easy Tips for Portion Control. Tip #1 - Smaller Serving PlatesHave you ever noticed that the amount we eat is based on the size of our serving plate? A big bowl means means more cereal, or popcorn or ice cream. A large plate means more rice or pasta. A larger saucer means a bigger sandwich or more room for sides. I don't have the citation at hand but I remember a study which allowed 2 groups of people to eat as much popcorn during a movie as they wanted. The one group had a huge bowl that could never be finished during a 90 minute movie. The other group had a small bowl that could be refilled...

Hey! How’s it going? It’s Megan here and I’ve got a great success story to share with you. This story is about Rick and he has realized some amazing results over the last bit with his training. You know Rick, right? [caption id="attachment_3930" align="alignleft" width="300"] Rick drops 30 lbs, 3% bodyfat and 10 inches. He is usually in at 7am for group and works at Venture Academy. Besides that he is also a husband, an outrigger paddler and works a few different jobs, and that makes the results he has achieved even more impressive. Now before I get to telling everything Rick has achieved in a short amount of time I should back up and give you the background. You see Rick was someone who has always struggled with maintaining a healthy body weight. “I have really experienced the body weight "roller coaster".  At 6'1", I hit 265lbs in 2005 and again reached almost to 260lbs in the summer of 2013.  On the other hand, I was 205lbs at the end of 2006 and held around 215lbs until getting injured in 2010. The first time, before I started running in 2005, it was a visit to "Michelangelo's Restaurant" in Seattle the night before my brother ran the Seattle Marathon.  Essentially, the waiter called me fat.  In retrospect, and especially compared to the three skinny marathoners at the table, he was right.” “My biggest challenge was walking in the door the first time.  I admit I felt intimidated - OPP is a "REAL GYM"!!!  I've done the Y and community center facilities, but that was mostly just circuit machines. Real, high-performance athletes train at OPP and I was nervous. But, the staff has always been very welcoming and helped me overcome my nerves.  Since then, I have faced two challenges.  The first...

Recently I was sharing with a client how one of the most important factors related to how quickly and how much weight someone loses is not their training program. It isn't the sets and the reps. Or the frequency or duration. Or even the type of activity. And I'm not specifically referring to their nutrition. It isn't the ratio of macro-nutrients. Or the total energy consumed. Or the timing of the meals. Or whether they fasted or not. Sure all these matter and play a role in a weight loss strategy. But these efforts can all be wasted if there isn't one key component of a healthy lifestyle already in place. And this key component is sleep. I'm not going to go into detail in this blog about the impact of sleep and fat loss. If you would like to know more, and are interested in which hormones are involved in sleep and fat loss then make sure to comment below and I'll see you the report. But for now let's focus on getting the best sleep possible. And to do this I've broken this up into four categories which are routine, technology, journal and nutrition. Below is a little more detail on each. Condition #1 for Better Sleep - RoutineIn order to get the best sleep you need to establish a sleep routine. For here the analogy to use is putting a baby to sleep. If you do the same things in the same order each day at the same time before bed a baby will not only know to expect sleep is coming but will actually look forward to sleep. Change the order of the things you do and the baby may not sleep. Do these things at a different time and the baby may not sleep. Change the...

Do you have a fitness goal that you've been working towards for a while?If it's a weight loss goal you've probably tried different approaches. You may have tried a new training program. Maybe you switched up your nutritional plan. Perhaps you tried a new supplement to boost your workouts or enhance the fat burning process.And if you're like most people you probably have only so many tweaks you can make to your lifestyle in an attempt to achieve your goal before you just throw in the towel and give up. I mean that's a common theme on the after-noon talk shows isn't it? The attitude that it's not your fault, that you're an amazing person just the way you are and all the other warm & fuzzy psycho babble that is used to justify falling short of your goal.Now don't get wrong here. I understand there are a number of factors that contribute to an individual's propensity to gain weight and subsequent ability to lose it as well. And unless we have a blood and hormone profile to work with it may be quite difficult for some to drop weight without knowing the information that can be collected from such tests.But maybe we're going about this the wrong way?Maybe instead of trying harder we need to relax our efforts a bit.What? How does this make sense? How can relaxing the nutritional and exercise efforts you are making be holding you back from having the lean and healthy physique you would like to have?Look at it this way.A new exercise and fitness routine can be thought of as juggling.Ask someone to reduce the calorie containing beverages they consume and they may be able to handle this. (more on this in a bit)Now ask them to take omega-3 every day, plan and pack...

Hey guys! Megan here again, which can only mean one thing… time for another spotlight on one of our clients here at Okanagan Peak Performance Inc. How many of you have used an illness or an injury as a crutch to get yourself out of going to the gym?  I know there are a few of you out there; because even I have been there in the past.  Well, there is one girl I know that didn’t let anything get in the way of her weight loss.  But I’ll let her take over now to you her story. Take it away Danielle. My name is Danielle Sambrielaz and I graduated from Immaculata Regional High School in Kelowna in 2011. I am currently at the University of British Columbia – Okanagan in my second year. -I’m only 19. I love languages and political science, and I am doing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations with a minor in Spanish literature. I am planning on going on an exchange to Nottingham, England in my third year. I have struggled with weight loss for a long time. I just felt that I could not lose weight! I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer in 2008 and after my surgery I thought my weight would become normal again. That was not the case! I was diagnosed with another medical condition that prevented me from losing weight, but the problem is that losing weight can also cure it! I had tried different types of gyms around Kelowna in the past, but nothing really worked. My mom (Lia) and brother (Gio) started going to this gym called Okanagan Peak Performance Inc., and it sounded very intense. My mom asked me if I wanted to come try the gym out, because my doctor told me I had to lose weight....

I remember growing up and my parents were following one of the low fat diets of the day. One of the ones that comes to mind was the Scarsdale Diet. Anyways this diet, and a number of others, recommended that for the best health we needed to reduce our intake of fat. Particularly saturated fat. And so we stopped eating egg yolks. And we cut back on our consumption of animal fat. Or we eliminated animal products altogether and became vegan or vegetarian. By we I mean society in general and not me personally. What have the results been? Obesity has more than doubled in the USA over the last 20 yers. But about our internal health? Have we become sicker as well? Take a look at the graph below which shows the changes in diabetes over the years. And below we can see the increase in sugar consumption over the past 80 plus years. So fat may not be the culprit we thought it was. Sure it has more than double the energy of carbohydrates and protein. But I've tried to drive home the point that a calorie is not a calorie many times before. Any five year will tell you eating 1 lbs of broccoli is not the same as eating 1 lbs of cotton candy. However many still cling to the belief that a caloric deficit is all that is needed to drop unwanted bodyfat fat. But is sugar really that bad? Consider the following research just coming out. Dr. Cantley, a cell biologist and biochemist, has recently shown that cancer cells have insulin receptors just as muscle, fat and liver cells do. So when we eat sugar these receptors are able to receive the sugar flowing through our blood and supply the energy to grow the tumour. And it appears the...

Here's another post from Dov. In his last post Dov introduced himself and shared his story about how he lost 130 lbs and has managed to keep it off.Below Dov talks about a behaviour that sabotages your results. He's talking about smoking while you are trying to improve your health.But he isn't someone who stands on the sidelines and hurls insults and comments without foundation or understanding. I say that because when I trained Dov he was a smoker. But he made the decision to quit and hasn't looked back.Whether you are a smoker or not, there may be something in your life that is holding you back from attaining the best results possible. Simply substitute whatever that is for you to get the take home message.Dov, the floor is yours....On my last post I mentioned I wanted to discuss some hurdles I had to overcome to achieve significant fat loss; thought it may be true that "losing weight isn't hard", you might be doing some things that make it significantly harder on yourself.SMOKING.If you smoke, and you are working out, just stop working out.If you are sure you cannot quit smoking, do yourself a huge favor, and resign yourself to being a flabby, out of breath, unhealthy person for the rest of your life. There is absolutely no point in attempting to do "cardio" or lift weights, if you smoke.You won't have the oxygen you need to push yourself to any meaningful level.When you work out, the point is that you are putting strain on your muscles so they recover stronger than before. If you cannot generate enough power or sustain enough endurance to perform, you are wasting your time in a serious way. Walking on a treadmill because your lungs cannot supply your poor dying body with enough fuel to...

 Recently I was down to Las Vegas for some meetings, lectures and networking. In between our meetings I had the chance to track down Dr. Peter Osbourne for a quick interview on gluten and celiac disease.In the interview I ask Dr. Osbourne a number of questions including:1. What is gluten?Dr. Osbourne defines gluten as a poison for certain individuals that when they eat it this causes an immune system reaction. This reaction causes a host of problems of up to 140 auto-immune diseases.2. What foods trigger a response or reaction to gluten?Gluten is found primarily in grains such as bread, pasta and cereal.3. Is it possible that some people have celiac disease and may not even know it?Lots of people have gluten sensitivity but have been misdiagnosed and don't know why they are sick. In terms of celiac disease there are an estimated 2 million people that are 'silent celiac' meaning they are asymptomatic and have the disease but won't find out until their fourth decade when the symptoms really start to set in.I ask him a couple more questions but you'll have to watch the video to see what they are.At the end of the interview Dr. Osbourne shares with us his website and facebook fan page. Make sure to watch for this information and contact him for more resources or to inquire about being tested for gluten sensitivity.Are you gluten sensitive?Do you have celiac disease?Do you have reactions to certain foods where the cause hasn't been diagnosed yet?Post your answers in the comments section below.Chrisokanaganpeakperformance.com 'always moving forward'

I remember reading a journal article on this topic a number of years ago. But guess what? The idea is still a good one and the science is still valid so I thought I'd share it with you. So how does this tip work exactly? Well it's a way for you to be able to quickly and effectively control the calorie content of your meals. Because most people don't count calories. And some people even tell you not to read food labels. haha We eat based on portion size, don't we? And the bigger the portion the more we eat. Sure there's one in every crowd who weighs out their food and has a pretty good idea of how much they're eating. But for most of us we don't the equipment, knowledge or time for this. So this makes it pretty hard to know whether a particular meal has more or less calories than what you need. And here's the really cool thing about this tip. It works for everyone! Yeah, that's right. It doesn't matter if your goal is lose a few or a lot of pounds. Or if you're trying to gain a few or a lot of pounds. The concepts in this tip will work for everyone. And it's very easy to follow. So let's get to it already (you're probably thinking, right?) Ok so here are 3 Ways To Automatically Control the Caloric Content of Your Meals. Rule #1 - Add more water Ok here's a nutritional trivia question that 100% of you better get right. How many calories are there in water? If you said 'zero' give yourself a gold star and let's move on. (if you answered anything other than zero I can't help you...sorry) So if we agree that water has no calories then...

I might be contradicting myself here but it's got to be done.'How so?' you might be saying to yourself.Well for a while I was encouraging you to do something nutritionally that I believed was in your best interests. That would give you better results related to weight loss and performance.But maybe I was wrong. (said in a whisper so no one can hear me)What it is that I had you doing was reading food labels. So how can this be a bad thing? Why would I suggest you stop doing so? Well for three reasons.Reason #1 to Stop Reading Food Labels - You are being misledI wouldn't go so far as to saw you are being lied to but consider the following titles on food packages:'made with real sugar''all natural''organic''95% fat free'So how are these titles on packaging misleading? Well there really is no benefit to eating real sugar. It still causes an insulin spike and puts the break on your fat burning.What about 'all-natural' and 'organic'? Well just because something occurs naturally doesn't mean it's healthy and a good idea to put it in your mouth. Heck, in the case of arsenic, it can kill you.And organic, well often times this is marketing-hype imo. If you eat organic for environmental reasons, do organic bananas leave a smaller organic footprint to ship to Canada than regular bananas?Reason #2 To Stop Reading Food Labels - It's less about the caloriesAsk most people what they check when they read a food label and what is the most common answer? Calories. We still believe, incorrectly, that a calorie is a calorie and we simply need to create a deficit or surplus in order to have the best results.The truth is that it's probably more important to consider the quality and timing of your food selections rather than the calorie count....

Over the next few days you're going to see an emphasis on nutrition with respect to the content you receive.Why nutrition?Well because it has such a HUGE impact on the results you achieve. I mean we can put emphasis in our workouts. We can do more resistance-based workouts.And we can also put more efforts on our recovery by doing more stretching, foam rolling, immediate post workout shakes and get adequate sleep at night.But if you want the absolute best bang for your buck and return on investment than nutrition is the best place to start.With that in mind here are The Top 5 Reasons Nutrition Should be Your Emphasis for 2011 Health, Fitness & Performance Goals.Reason #1 - We may eat up to 20 times more than we trainIt's not uncommon these days for people to have their three squares a day, a post workout shake and a snack or two. This works out to 6 meals a day times 7 days and you have 42 meals a week.The average gym goer visits their gym less than 3 days per week. This is the average of people who have gym memberships! Many others get a lot less exercise than this.So if someone were eating 40 plus meals a week and training two times a week it's easy to see where there is huge opportunity to make substantial gains and improvement by modifying their nutritional plan.Reason #2 - We always consumeEven if you're the most serious, dedicated athlete out there, there will still be times when you'll take a day of rest.But most of us aren't professional. Or that serious. Or that motivated.And there will be times when we are sick. Or injured. Or travelling. And therefore not able to train at all.So while the outputs may slow, or stop altogether for brief periods,...

Today was a great morning. Why? Because when I was at the gym for a couple of sessions the gym was hopping.And I don't mean the cardio side of the gym which is normally busy but the weight room side. This brings a smile to my face as it makes me feel the message is starting to get out there to the masses that intense resistance-based workouts is the way to go for weight loss, sports performance or general fitness. Period.While part of the crowd had to do with it being a Monday morning in January it was still encouraging to see a shift in training approaches taking place.So what about the rest of the people there? Why are there still so many cardio kings & queens? Well part of it is mis-information and believing that cardio will yield the best return on their investment. But part of it has to do with intimidation. Or not knowing what load to use.You see many people would rather go to the gym and feel productive by walking/running on the treadmill than to venture over to the weight room side and feel lost.So how can you feel confident and safe when selecting your weights for your training session? Here are 4 rules.Rule #1 On Selecting the Correct Weight - Consider the muscles doing the workIf the first thing you can answer is what part of the body you will be working or what movements you will be performing you will do a better job at choosing the correct weight. For examplen if you were performing a squatting exercise you will be able to handle a heavier load than an exercise for the triceps. Duh, right?You'd be surprised though to see the number of people that use the same dumbbell to squat with and then go straight into a...

Movement is an interesting thing. In some ways it comes naturally to us. Think of a baby on its back wiggling the arms and legs. Eventually with enough effort and momentum the baby will be able get a leg across the body, rotate the hips and flip onto their stomach.But what starts out as an inquisitive exploration of our surroundings can lead to many great abilities in sports and performance. As young kids we are fearless and will do and try just about anything to seek a thrill and have fun.As we get older life gets a little busier and we get a little wiser about the downside of being hell-bent for speed and thrills. Basically all we have to do is experience one injury to curb our thirst for extreme movement and velocity.But that doesn't have to mean sport and movement stops all together. In fact it can't and is essential for our vitality.So we must find that balance between fearlessly attacking a sport or activity with reckless abandom and taking ourselves 'out of the game' completely.And this balance comes with being able to load and unload the forces we experience with movement. And we do this most effectively when we have neuromuscular efficiency (NE). This basically means we get the right muscles to fire, at the right time and in the right plane.Unfortunately success in sport is not as simple as simply having NE because we still need to develop the fitness, strength and power of the relevant muscles. Add to that the demands for reading and reacting to an opponent as well as changing environmental conditions and you can quickly appreciate how skilled high level athletes really are.In order to develop some of the athletic abilities of the pros look to be able to efficiently load and unload the body....

Often times the seasons dictate what we do for exercise. When it is nice outside people tend to move their workouts outdoors and take advantage of the warmer weather. Around here you see more people boating, golfing, biking and doing triathlons.But when the weather gets cold we move indoors and get in more of our gym-based workouts. I'm not saying that's the way it should be, only that's what many around here tend to do.Even though we may move indoors for a lifting workout there are still somethings we can do outdoors and can actually only be done outdoors in the winter. Consider the outdoor skating rink downtown. Or going up to the ski hill. Going snowshoeing, tabogoning or even just going for a run and you can see that cold weather doesn't have to mean all activity stops.If you're going to do some exercise this winter make sure to check out the following video where I give you a number of tips for going outdoors this winter for some activity. Now there was one more tip I didn't cover in the video that I want to share with you. And this has to do with supplementation. If you're in the habit of taking omega-3 (which I think is a great thing by the way) you don't want to jump up your dosage too much during the winter months. Especially if you plan on going up to the hill. Here's why.You see omega-3 has blood thinning properties which is part of the reason it is effective in lowering blood pressure in some. In the winter however the relative humidity is much lower than in the summer.Basically warm air holds more water than cold air. So in the winter our tissues lose water to the environment as we have a higher humidity than the...