Last night, my 2 year old, Natalie, was up from 2am-6am straight and just wouldn’t settle. Even when I’d leave her be, she’d still keep me awake between her crying, loud singing, fake sneezing (“Ahhh, ahhh, CHOO!!”) and chattering. I know, every child is different – my first one slept through the night by 3 months and I have friends whose kids started even earlier. Natalie, though, has a habit of waking up and crying 2-3 times/night, 5-6 nights/week. The point? After another night like this, I’m really tired and I’d much rather spend the morning on the couch than drag myself to the gym. So what do I do?

First I fuel my body with a good breakfast (oatmeal with dried fruit or some whole grain toast with a bit of peanut butter are favourites).

Then I remind myself of this: even if I feel like I could only function at 20% at the gym, at least I will have worked out. If I stay home and sit on the couch, I gave 0%. In other words, anything is better than nothing, so even if I’m dragging, I’m still moving, burning calories and building muscle, even if it’s at a slower pace than if I were well rested. Let’s face it, if I only worked out when I felt 100%, it would rarely happen.

The beautiful reality is, as soon as I walk through

Read More »

Newbody is an exclusive GoodLife Group EXercise program created by our very own Mo Hagan. It’s low impact, easy-to-follow and combines cardio conditioning with light hand-held weights. It re-defines your body (heart and muscles too) and makes you feel empowered.

Here are 10 things to expect at your first Newbody class, courtesy of Mo:
1. You will sweat (and burn calories)!
2. You will be on your feet, moving to music the entire class, adding healthy steps to your day and you will feel more energized afterwards.
3. You will get a total body workout.
4. You will feel muscles that you did not think you even had.
5. You may mix up your right foot from your left but you will be able to follow and feel successful by the end of class.

Read More »

Last May, I hadn’t been feeling very well and knew something was terribly wrong. My daughter-in-law’s mom hadn’t been well either, and I didn’t want to concern my family more with my dizziness and irregular heartbeat, so I kept quiet.

When my husband and I went to the grocery store I had to sit down right on the floor because I almost passed out, but I thought I was just tired. My family kept asking me to eat healthier and start going to the gym. I said I don’t like to sweat and that I was fine.

The next day I was at work and I took a spell. My heart was flipping all over the place and I thought I was having a heart attack. I almost blacked out. They took me out of my workplace and into an ambulance.

Read More »

Manage your life heart fully this month by being ‘heart smart’

FACT – Heart attacks are preventable and people can live a long life free of heart disease, even past 90 years of age, if they choose to manage their health heart fully. Heart disease is the number one killer of women in Canada. Men you are closely following behind with this disease so pay close attention. It’s estimated that 37,000 Canadian women will die from this disease in 2012. And while it used to be thought that women had different heart disease symptoms than men, that’s not actually true according to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Chest discomfort, such as pressure, squeezing, burning and/or pain, discomfort in the neck, jaw, shoulder, arm and/or back, shortness of breath, sweating, nausea and light headedness are your classic heart attack symptoms.

Read More »

Written by Christina, GoodLife Member

It all started with my yearly New Year’s resolution to lose weight and get healthy once and for all. We’re all familiar with that drill right? So, in early January I found myself heading off to join Weight Watchers, yet again. This too has been a yearly tradition for most of my adult life.

I am a 47 year old mother and have spent most of my life battling my weight.
I, unfortunately, come from a gene pool of heavier, mostly sedentary people, where food has

Christina – Afteralways been the focus of family gatherings. Like many young girls I became aware of my appearance at an early age and went on my first diet when I was in grade 7. I enjoy food, tend to be an emotional eater and have never been particularly fond of exercising. Primarily concerned with how I looked I began my life of unsuccessful yo-yo dieting in an attempt to get that swim suit model body which God had somehow forgotten to grant me.

Read More »