Tip 1: Setting realistic expectations and goals.

Why set yourself up to fail? If you have never actually weighed your “target” weight in your adult life, why set this as your goal? If it’s taken you 20 years to put on your excess pounds, it’s going to take some time to take it off. Set realistic goals within realistic timelines while following a realistic nutrition and exercise plan that works for you.

Tip 2: Get Professional Help and an Individualized Plan

Do you know how many calories you need and what macronutrient ratios your foods should be in for weight loss or gain? Do you know how to shop, prepare and plan these meals? Do you have a fitness routine that’s set up for your individual needs and body type? I am amazed at how much money people are willing to invest in generic videos, books and online exercise/weight loss programs only to be unsatisfied with their results.

Use that money to invest in an educated professional that can tailor an individual action plan for you, based on your needs. Seek out a Registered Dietitian and a certified personal trainer or physiologist.

Tip 3: Planning Makes Perfect

Planning time in your day for nutrition and exercise is pivotal for weight loss success. Get creative and make nutrition and exercise fit in your busy day. Don’t have time to hit the gym for cardio? Consider bike commuting. Use 45mins of your lunch hour to grab a fitness class or take a stroll. Plan grocery shopping into your PDA. Shop for healthy foods just to stock at work and use Sunday to prep and freeze meals for the week.

Tip 4: Consistency and Monitoring

Results will follow a consistent effort. Proper attention to your diet and exercise must occur the majority of the time, at least 5-6 days per week. Your dream body will not be built in a day.

I am a believer in quantitative, consistent monitoring on a regular basis. Whether it’s weighing yourself, taking pictures, using a measuring tape, monitoring your blood work or blood pressure, implementing a more formal body composition measurement technique (like skinfolds), or trying on a pair of “goal pants”, have an objective measure to track your progress.

Tip 5: Staying Motivated

Likely the hardest thing to manage! Think about the reasons why you want to achieve this goal and write them down. Post them on the fridge or visit them when you are having a rough day. Some people are motivated by inspirational quotes, pictures or even seeing a life coach.

I believe success follows someone who positively reinforces themselves versus beating themselves up for making mistakes. If you miss a workout or eat a cookie, big deal – dust it off, don’t worry about it and most importantly – get back on the horse!

Photo: ggvic under Creative Commons

1.   Pre-race meal – It is recommended that endurance athletes eat two to three hours before any race. Choose foods high in carbohydrates and low in fat. Fat takes longer to digest and may lead to discomfort if eaten close to strenuous activity. Examples of good pre-race meals:

• Cereal, milk, fruit, toast
• Yogurt, bagel, fruit
• Toast, egg, milk
• Small portion of pasta with tomato sauce
• Soup, sandwich with lean meat, milk

2.   Carbohydrates – As you run, you use up the glycogen in your body. Depleted glycogen stores lead to reduce endurance, fatigue and exhaustion and delayed recovery. Eating carbohydrates is the only way to maintain and refill muscle glycogen stores, getting you ready for your next training run. Athletes should be replenishing their glycogen stores after 60 minutes of strenuous exercise by eating or drinking foods and beverages high in carbohydrates. Examples of foods high in carbohydrates, which are good to eat during exercise:

• Banana
• Bagel
• Granola bar
• Dried fruit

3.   Hydrate – Fluid’s most important role during activity is regulating body temperature. We sweat to remove heat generated by active muscles. Heavy and prolonged sweating can lead to dehydration,which is a major cause of fatigue and poor performance, as well as delaying recovery after exercise. The recommended daily fluid intake or woman is nine cups (2.2L) and 13 cups (3L) for men, and that’s before additional fluid needs due to activity and/or warm weather.  Be sure to hydrate before, during and after exercise.

4.   Protein – Protein builds, repairs and maintains muscle tissue. While those involved in endurance or strength training have an increased requirement for protein, you’ll be covered if you follow Canada’s Food Guide. Eating Well with Canada’s Food Guide has generous allowances for protein that covers even the highest protein needs.

Sources of protein include:

• Lean meat, fish, poultry
• Milk, cheese, eggs
• Legumes, grains, nuts, seeds

5.    Post race – Refueling after exercise, ideally within the first 30 minutes, is key in helping your body recover and prepare for the next workout or competition. Research shows that a beverage containing both carbohydrates and protein, and in an ideal ratio as found in chocolate milk, can be more effective at increasing next-workout performance than a conventional carbohydrate only sports drink. Chocolate milk includes the right mix of protein and carbohydrates to repair and refuel exhausted muscles, plus it is almost 90 percent water and contains electrolytes, such as potassium and sodium, to rehydrate and help replenish what’s lost in sweat.

6 New Sports in 2014:

• Women’s ski jumping
• Ski halfpipe for men and women
• Biathlon mixed relay
• Luge team relay
• figure skating team

It is great to see that new competitive sports are being added and pushing athletes to perform at new levels. “The inclusion of these events on the Olympic Winter Games programme is sure to be appreciated by athletes and sports fans alike,” said IOC President Jacques Rogge in a release. “These are exciting, entertaining events that perfectly complement the existing events on the sports programme, bring added appeal and increase the number of women participating at the Games.

We look forward to seeing these new sports in 2014!

Click here to read more

The 3 main foot types are illustrated here and will help you in deciphering your own foot type.

Three Foot Types

1. Normal Arch

This is ideally, where you would like to be as it says that your feet distribute the weight and pressure most evenly and correctly. There is a distinctive, visible curve along the inside of your foot connecting the heel and toe.

What running shoe?

Choose a stability running shoe with a semi-curved shape. This type of shoe will be a good balance of cushioned support while not overly-constricting the natural motion of your foot.

2. High Arch

High arches mean that the outside of the heel hits the ground first and does not transfer any of the impact inward. The outside of the foot takes the brunt of the impact and may cause pain or injury.

What running shoe?

Choose a cushioned shoe with a curved shape. This type of shoe will allow your foot to roll inward and essentially absorb the shock. A curved shape will naturally encourage your foot to have a more evenly, balanced stance. 

3. Flat Arch (flat foot)

A flat foot means that a large area of the bottom of your feet come in contact with the ground when you walk or run. This also means that you are likely to roll too far inward which can lead to injuries if not wearing a shoe to correct this.

What running shoe?

Choose a motion-control shoe with a straight shape. This will prevent your foot from rolling too far and will provide more, much needed, structure to your motion. This is a more rigid, controlled style of shoe.

This year, Clara Hughes has made it clear that Cycling BC is not a force to be meddled with. After the Stage 2, 24km Hutch’s Bicycles Skyliner Time Trial, Hughes took home the yellow jersey by outrunning her opponent Kristin Armstrong by 20 seconds. The two highly decorated cyclists continue on their path towards the 2012 Olympics.

Jasmine Glaesser also continued to ascend in the women’s ranks by placing in 18th overall, just 40 seconds behind the first place U-24 leader Rushlee Buchannan of New Zealand. Glaesser is still confident that she can make up time in the remaining three stages of the race.

The Cycling BC team is expecting a difficult run today and will do whatever they can to keep Hughes wearing yellow until the final kilometer has been ridden.

Check out the Stage 2 Hutch’s Bicycles Skyliner Time Trial results

See more from Cycling BC at www.cyclingbc.net

Here’s a glimpse at Rob Fagan’s interview:

Check out Carle Brenneman’s interview and Coach Anthony Findlay’s interview on our YouTube Channel

Volleyball

Benefits:

Calories Burned:

Play volleyball to burn calories and benefit from allover body toning. Only 50 minutes of playing beach Volleyball can burn up to 500 calories!

Tennis

Benefits:

• Improve your balance through all the twisting, turning and quick reactionary moves
• Mobility, agility, and strength are key skills developed through Tennis
• With high-intensity points for shorts periods means endurance will be peaked

Calories Burned:

During doubles, players can expect to burn approximately 330 calories per hour. Most doubles matches take from 60 to 90 minutes to complete.

Please note that calories burned depends on your gender, body weight, the intensity and whether the game is on cement, grass or sand.

Check out the Vancouver Parks and Recreation Board’s website to find out more details on courts and beaches close to you.

Benefits of Hiking

1) It’s Free!

We are fortunate to live in such a beautiful city that provides us with a natural playground. It is not always necessary for us to go to the gym, do an expensive bootcamp, or buy any more sports gear, we can now go hiking which is completely free. Save your money for lunch on a patio somewhere afterwards and enjoy yourself, without spending a bundle.

2) Complete in Every Way

Hiking is not only great for your body, but also for you mind! The focus on nature allows you to tune into yourself as well as your surroundings. The fresh air during hiking provides a rejuvenating and motivating atmosphere for your workout which involves body, mind and soul. Throughout the week, many of us are bombarded with the stresses of work, it is important to take a break and recharge in a positive way.

3) All inclusive

The more the merrier!  Take a friend, your partner or your dog along to enjoy the hike with you. There are a range of trails that are good for everyone’s physical level and it’s a great opportunity to catch up with a friend.

Where to Hike

1) Two Canyon Loop

Learn more here: www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/lynn-loop

2) Lighthouse Park

Learn more here: www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/lighthouse-park

3) Quarry Rock

Learn more here: www.vancouvertrails.com/trails/quarry-rock

4) Goldstream Provincial Park

Learn more here: http://www.britishcolumbia.com/parks/?id=432

5) Juan de Fuca Marine Trail

Learn more here: http://www.britishcolumbia.com/parks/?id=600

Read more on great trails to check out at VancouverTrails.com or www.britishcolumbia.com/ParksAndTrails

Mountain bike rider Evan Guthrie described the conditions at the Baie-St-Paul Canada Cup, saying “it was a great style course that suited BC riders with the steep climbs, and tight and technical singletrack.” He also mentioned that as the day went on, conditions changed drastically with major rains making the course very “slick and muddy.” However the team remained excited because for a group that trains in BC, the conditions could not have been better. Guthrie finished the race in 5^th place, which puts him as the 2^nd ranked Under-23 rider for upcoming selections.

The Cycling BC Junior XC group headed over to Hardwood Hills, Ontario after the Baie-Saint-Paul race to participate in a local XC competition that included some of the same trails that race 3 of the Canada Cup will be on. As rider Amanda Wakeline said, it “was good cause it allowed us extra time to familiarize ourselves with some of the race course trails”.

Jasmin Glaesser described the UCI road race in Gooik, Belgium as “a definite improvement from our experience in Holland.” Apart from the gruelling 132 kilometer track that only saw 61 finishers out of 130, “it installed confidence in the BC crew here that despite the gap of inexperience we still have to overcome, our European counterparts are human too… and invincibility is not a standard attribute.” Out of the 5 BC athletes that participated, 3 of them finished the race – an exceptional outcome considering the demanding nature of the track.

Though it’s still the beginning of the season, the riders are getting well under way. They seem inspired and are looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead. As Jasmin Glaesser told us, “I am reveling in the experience and looking forward to emerging a stronger and more capable rider.”

We wish the Cycling BC team lots of luck in their upcoming competitions!

The ride begins the morning of Saturday, June 18th, 2011 in Vancouver with a motivating Opening Ceremony before riders kick off  the first leg of the course. After camping overnight, the enduring  journey will end on Sunday afternoon in Seattle.

The Ride To Conquer Cancer originally started in Toronto and has now grown to several cities across Canada. Vancouver has embraced the event while growing in numbers and popularity every year. The Canadian RTCC races combined raised more than 16.1 million dollars in 2010. The cause is something everyone can get behind and taking part in this race is a great challenge that is good for you and something you can be proud of!

There is still time to register and fundraise for this event so if you are interested in contributing to making this event even better this year, check out the official website.

Find out more at the Ride To Conquer Cancer website

Twitter: @TheBCRide

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BCRide