Oh now I get it ... accountability

Loving and holding each other accountable

As Kelly and I have mentioned we are recently married.  Our first year of marriage has been pretty good, every day we grow together and love each other a little more.  Yesterday, we had a discussion regarding eating meat.  I was feeling a bit despondent about it and I shared that with Kelly.  We talked for a bit about my despondency and then Kelly said something that was extremely important for me to hear:

"If we don't ask each other questions, and hold each other accountable, who will? It's our job."

I have forgotten her exact words, but it is essentially what Kelly shared with me.  For me it was a turning point in the conversation.  That statement is also key to fitness.  Sometimes we need someone to help push us along. 

Every Wednesday I am awake at 4:30 AM to teach a 5:30 AM class, usually I go home immediately afterwards.  Today, though, I did something different.  I worked out. I spent 30 minutes doing today's workout.  I also asked my coach, Jamie Fiddler @ Crossfit Renegade, to help keep me accountable on doing a workout Wednesday mornings.  

As my coach Jamie keeps me accountable at the gym, Kelly keeps me accountable when I am at home.  What I eat, where I eat, and how much extra exercise I do all are managed with the feedback I receive from Kelly. Together, as our married team, we help make each other into better people.

 Who can keep you accountable to your fitness goals?

The #1 Exercise for Weight Loss and Wellness

Our society has become so convenient that we hardly need to MOVE! We are not far from the characters in the movie Wall-e, floating around in comfy chairs with a screen in our face and a soda in our hand. 

With this context in mind, what is the #1 exercise for weight loss and wellness? I have great news...it is whatever physical activity YOU LOVE! 

I can tell you what exercises burn the most calories and sculpt leaner, longer muscles but you are more likely to stick with something you enjoy! 

I love CrossFit and Yoga, what
do you love?

If you love baking, get your bake on: walk to get your groceries, stand in the kitchen, and use the power of your own body and a wooden spoon to mix the ingredients. Burn calories while doing what you love! 

Think about what you love and do it! If you don't know know what activity will be your "perfect match" it's time to go in search of it! I love yoga and CrossFit, and because I love it, I keep going. Finding what you love will help you too. 

Spinning, swimming, biking, water running, trail running, hiking, step class, pilates, snowboarding, skiing, squash, hiking, snowshoeing, the selection is endless! 

Live what you love!  
  

4 reasons why it's hard to lose weight (that you never think of)

Losing weight is a tough task; "baby weight," "freshman 10," desk weight," or whatever you call it, it just does not come off easily.  Here are FOUR reasons why it is so hard that we often overlook.  

1. Stress!  
Put simply: stress produces cortisol, a stress hormone, and that hormone produces fat.  All that anxiety about what you can and cannot eat or what you ate that you shouldn't have, adds to your difficulty in losing weight.  We already have enough stress in our lives, so try to make stress relief (whatever it may be for you) a priority and if you are stressing about food decisions, try to let it go. 

2. Caloric Density vs. Nutritional Density.  
Consider 2 meals. First, a Big Mac which has 702 calories (this isn't even including the fries and drink!). Second, a homemade chicken salad with dressing,  a side of fruit and a small whole wheat bun with butter which can have as few as 400 calories.  Which do you think will fill you up more?  The first has high caloric density and the second has high nutritional density. The big mac just gives calories while the salad will fill you up more and give you vital nutrients.  The Big Mac and all it's calories would be great if you were running two long distance marathons the next day, but for regular life, not so much.

3. Attitude.   
Often times attitude gets in the way of losing weight.  People sometimes approach weight loss as if it is a war on their body. Their inner voice is like a drill sergeant in attack mode telling them to work harder, eat less, and that they are not good enough.  What a stressful state to be in!  When you feel yourself slipping into the war mentality try to shift your thinking towards gratitude and compassion. Let the little voice in your head appreciate the changes you have made. Think about the gifts these changes have provided. Focus on what you have and WILL accomplish. The more you force yourself to think this way the more the war inside you will disappear. 

4.  Taste buds.  
You know what tastes delicious? salt and fat, sweet and fat, spicy and salty... any combination of those flavours makes your taste buds go crazy.  Those flavours by themselves are uninteresting and hard to stomach.  Ever tried to drink canola oil?  Or eat rock salt?  If you haven't I am telling you, it is terrible.  By combining multiple flavours, like most processed foods, you create an addiction to the combination of flavours.  Not to say that it is bad to combine salt and fat, we just need to be aware that sometimes the desire to eat more has less to do with being hungry and more to do with wanting that mix of flavours to pass through your lips.  To raise your awareness next time you are out, excuse yourself when you have eaten half of your meal and and brush your teeth or rinse out your mouth.  Your desire to eat more will likely diminish and you will feel fresh.

One-minute workouts for achieving your goals

Kyle O - sure looks like he is achieving
his fitness goals!

Now that school has started I am only able to get to my gym three days a week. For me, this is not enough; I like to workout four to six days a week.  There is a simple solution: quick home workouts. At home, everyone has access to the most sophisticated workout machine: their bodies.

Quick home workouts are not only great when you can't get to your gym but they can also play a major role in achieving goals. 

Kyle O, our friend and an action coach, recently showed us his improvements in his toes-to-bar exercise (an exercise where you hang from a bar and bring your toes up to the bar). He credits his improvement to a daily toes-to-bar practice; he has added toes-to-bar to his everyday activities, doing up to 50 a day!   

Exercises you can add to your day to achieve your goals include:

• Push ups to improve upper body strength
• try adding 5 a day!
• Lunges and Squats to improve lower body strength
• try adding 20 a day
• Planks and sit ups (of any type!) to improve core strength
• try adding a 1 minute plank or 20 sit ups!
• Burpees to improve overall body strength and heart functioning
• try adding 10 a day!

So let us know: What is your goal and what can you add to your day to achieve it?

Picture courtesy of KC PHOTO

Escaping Technostress!

Technostress in action

In this day and age always being connected is simply a part of our lives.  Whether it's email, text or chat, we are always on, always available, and feel obligated to respond quickly. The feeling of anxiety that results from this constant connectedness is called technostress, a common ailment in our society. 

Kelly and I are quite guilty of this self imposed connectedness. Our smart phones are never far from our fingertips and our wandering eyes. Text messages easily interrupt conversations and the latest youtube video often distracts us from daily tasks. 

Having reflected on the feelings of anxiety that these little machines can invoke, we have decided to disconnect a few times per week. Walks to the grocery store, sushi dates, and some quiet house-time are cell phone-free. 
As Richard Carlson (author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...) says: "Life isn't an emergency," your text messages, emails, and all the other joys that the internet provides, will still be there once you have done what you are doing. In most cases it is not an emergency. 

So disconnect from the rest of the outside world and spend some time with each other, take a moment to breath, and remember "life is not an emergency."

Baby Steps to the Super Spartan!

I am currently sitting on our couch with knots in my stomach. We are leaving any minute for Squamish and the Super Spartan Race. Tomorrow at 11am, Andrew and I will be running through mud, fire, and other obstacles for 8+ miles (12km)! 

There are 3 versions of the Spartan obstacle races, the Spartan Sprint - 5 miles, the Super Spartan - 8 miles and the Spartan Beast - 12 + miles. If you do all three of those, FAST, you can then move on to the Death Race - 24 hours of mayhem! The idea is that you work your way up, no one is expected to wake up and be ready for the Beast. And Andrew and I have a long way to go before we will ever, if ever, be ready for the Death Race! 

Similarly, creating a sustainable, healthy lifestyle is a continuous journey, you meet certain milestones and keep on going.  

Since we started writing this blog I've had many conversations with friends and family regarding their health and fitness journey. One friend shared that she had stopped regularly buying pop for her household. What an amazing step along her journey! It's these small manageable changes that accumulate and effortlessly transform our lives. 

So start manageable, you don't need to jump into the Beast today! 
 
Wish us luck, we're out the door now!!! 

No Newlywed 10! Tips for Clean Eating

Clean eating is an important component of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Eat LOTS of vegetables, fruit, healthy fats and proteins. Avoid pre-packaged foods, refined sugars and refined grains. In general, try to eat food that is as close to it's natural form as possible. 

Often, this is easier said than done! With busy schedules finding the time to prepare clean meals can be a challenge. We're struggling with Andrew (our main chef) back at school!

Our solution? Make lots of food Sunday night. Package it all up in serving size containers so we can just grab-and-go throughout the week. Here's a sample of an Ebbers' Sunday night cooking session.

In the Oven: 

Spaghetti Squash and Pork Chops or which ever meat is on sale at our butcher.

On the stove:

Quinoa and Meat Sauce with as many vegetables as possible, using old vegetables and grating the ones we know are good for us but don't like - even broccoli stems! 

Cleaned, chopped and ready to use:

Herb Salad Mix, Baby Carrots, Grapes, Melon, Nuts, Broccoli and Cauliflower.

With this prepared, we can throw together:

• Spaghetti squash pasta
• Salads (I like to add quinoa and salsa to my salads)
• Quinoa stir fry
• Pork chops with steamed broccoli and cauliflower
• Meat sauce with veggies on the side
• Fruit, vegetables, and nuts for snacks

Remember changing eating habits doesn't happen overnight. The more clean food you eat the less "other" food you eat. Praise yourself and your partner for successes and let go of your slip ups :)

Wanderlust Festival: Ms. Ebbers' perspective

Last weekend Andrew and I went to Whistler for Wanderlust, a yoga music festival and so much more! I came home feeling inspired, full of gratitude, and sore! Now, before I completely expose myself for the flower-child I truly am…let me share highlights of this festival for me.

1. Doing AcroYoga! A mixture of acrobatics and yoga and is a so much fun to do with your partner. Stretch out and get in to some crazy positions and balances. I was bubbling with excitement and pride when we got into the throne pose (see left)!  

2. Being in Whistler! It is a beautiful backdrop with great restaurants, night-life, shopping, and people watching. Add love, yoga, music, smiles, and performers to the village and it is a magical place to be!

3. Yoga classes taught by inspiring local and international instructors. There were all types of classes, with options for beginners to advanced; one class we were hugging, dancing, and shaking to top-40 and house music and the next we were doing breath work and meditating to hypnotic live music.

4. Yoga with 2000 people guided by Seane Corne and Michael Franti. One of my friends aptly described it as a yoga flash mob, moving and breathing in unison with 2000 people! Seane Corne's socially conscious words brought tears of awareness, joy and love to more eyes than just mine! And the session wrapped up with 2000 people singing along with Michael Franti and telling their neighbours "I love you, I love you, I LOVE YOU."

5. Sharing one of my biggest passions with my husband! 

For Andrew's take on Wanderlust check out our next post.

Defining yourself as a healthy active INDIVIDUAL

Being married for just under 3 months my friends still warn me of the “newlywed ten” or the “first year fourteen,” they say that even I will gain weight and let myself go now that I am married.  

My first 10k race in 2008
8 months after I started running

But fitness and health are part of my identity, of who I am as an individual, and I will not lose that as I build my identity as a husband. 

I spent a great deal of my adult life single or dating, I was motivated to keep up my appearances, I was driven to keep myself busy and entertained, and I had the freedom to cook meals that served ME -no one else.  I spent my time rock climbing, rollerblading, killing WODs at CrossFit, and researching new paleo meals. 

Fitness and living well have become a part of who I am, and it can become a part of WHO YOU ARE too! 

Begin by adding something active to your life once a week. When I first got into fitness I started with running, it’s cheap and you can do it whenever is convenient for you.

Start off with a 5-10 minute warm up, increasing your intensity from easy to power walking pace.  Then jog for 1 minute and power walk for 5 minutes -repeat three times for a total of 18 minutes.  Wrap up with a 5 -10 minute cool down decreasing your intensity from power to easy walking. 

This is a great way to start and will only take about 30 minutes! Eventually you can try building up to a five-kilometer run, and guess what, you’ve already taken the first step to becoming an active healthy individual!

Why Women should lift heavy (and why partners should encourage it!)

I was talking to my mum the other day - who btw is a major inspiration! She's 50 something, had a heart attack just over a year ago and has worked her body (and heart) back into better shape than ever! 

Her new goal is to "tighten things up" (what woman doesn't want that!?). I told her to continue focusing on her strength training and to use heavier weights...she asked why. This is why. Strength training with heavier weights:

This pretty red kettle bell is 32 kilos or 70
pounds! A little heavy for me but I
can lift it! 

1. Burns more fat and calories than traditional cardiovascular training. This is because your metabolism is fired up for many hours after your training session.
2. Results in more muscle definition and tone. 2-5 pound weights do not challenge the muscles enough to produce noticeable results. 
3. Helps strengthen and protect your bones against osteoporosis. Similar to muscle, bones increase in strength and density with weight training and impact. 
4. Increases strength and functional ability! Allowing you to live without assistance to lift groceries, move your couch, open a pickle jar, etc. Giving you freedom and empowerment!
5. Helps protect your joints and prevent injuries. Joints rely on surrounding muscles for balance, stability and protection.  

Now husbands, the weight room is an intimidating place for many women. If your wife feels this way, accompany her there! If you are both unfamiliar with your local weight room, ask for a tour. As a weight room attendant at Port Moody Recreation Centre, I can tell you we love showing people around!

And finally women, you will not get bulky giant muscles from lifting heavier weights! Mostly because:

1. Women do not naturally have enough testosterone
2. People in general do not eat the large amounts of protein required
3. We do not train nearly hard or heavy enough.

Women in the muscle building magazines train and diet extremely rigorously to look the way they do, it does not happen accidentally. 


My mum's already increased her weights from 4 to 8 pounds...what about you?!

Picture Courtesy of amy leigh PHOTOGRAPHY

Thinking about health on vacation

Thoughtful words at Yoga Soleil
in my new CrossFit Sumner shirt 

Andrew and I are currently on a mini vacation...well we are in Sumner, Washington. I am vacationing while Andrew completes his CrossFit certification (Go Andrew! He's gonna be a kick-ass coach, look out for him!). 

With all this time on my hands I got to thinking about holidays. We all have vacations where we come home feeling like we need another - exhausted, bloated, and maybe slightly guilty for how we have treated our body.  I am determined to come home from this mini-vacay feeling rested, healthy and positive! 

So instead of sleeping until noon and spending FULL days lazing about I checked out CrossFit Sumner and Yoga Soleil...THEN spent guilt-free days in savasana (yogi for laying on my back), reading at the beach, and pampering myself! 

Andrew and I have also stocked our mini fridge so we can keep up our Paleo/clean eating for breakfast and lunch which, similarly allows us to have delicious guilt-free dinners (and desserts!). 

So take the time to do something active on your vacation, get it done in the morning before the temptation of the afternoon siesta derails you and remember your post vacation self will thank you for your new holiday habits!   

In sickness

Andrew here, I am sitting in my family doctor's office.  I am here to check in with him about an accident I was in in June 2011 - I was hit by a car while riding my bike home from my gym.  A piece of the bone of my foot was torn from my tibia at the tendon.  Or at least that is my understanding. 

I was off of my feet for four months.  I was distraught.  I felt like I was gaining weight (I wasn't) and that I was losing muscle mass (I was).  Then Kelly made some suggestions about some alternative exercises that I could do, we started doing very low impact water aerobics and swimming.  Limping to each destination and drowning short women in my waves.

It was very helpful for me to have my wife to show me new forms of physical activity.  It kept my spirits up and acted as a bridge until I was able to get back to my normal fitness routine. 

It is important to support and encourage your partner in difficult times of change, your support can prevents the Marriage 15!

NO Newlywed 10: Tip #2

Work out together. Work harder. Challenge one another.

Andrew and I have been training separately for the Super Spartan Race. I created a plan and some kick-ass work outs to get my body prepared for the race (check out My Favourite below). I was really pushing myself to my edge, my limits, my body’s capacity – well that’s what I thought until I invited Andrew to join me one evening.

The work out that we did that night (My Favourite) was generally taking me 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete. When I did it chasing Andrew’s long legs and explosive movements it took 53 minutes! Partner rivalry is a fun and easy way to push through your limits and reach new goals! Add a post work out meal and you’ve fit in a date night too ;)

My Favourite: Training for the Super Spartan

Measure 800m from your home base (use google maps), you want to find somewhere that you can perform lunges, push-ups, squats, pull ups and burpees (a park is ideal).

The Work Out:

Round 1

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges (10 on each leg) - run back to your home base (option: if your home base is home and you have access to stairs run up and down them once) 

Round 2

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges and 20 push-ups - run back to your home base  (option: stairs)

Round 3

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges, 20 push-ups and 20 squats- run back to your home base (option: stairs)

Round 4

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges, 20 push-ups, 20 squats and 20 pull ups - run back to your home base (option: stairs)

Round 5

Run to your 800m mark - do 20 lunges, 20 push-ups, 20 squats, 20 pull ups and 10 burpees - run back to your home base (option: stairs)

Walk to cool down and then stretch.

Congratulations you just completed a 5 mile run (8km), 100 lunges, 80 push-ups, 60 squats, 40 pull ups and 10 burpees!

To build on this add more rounds and more exercises – I’m going to work my way up to 8 rounds/miles! 

Photo Courtesy of: amy leigh PHOTOGRAPHY

Kelly Back Again with No Newlywed 10: Tip #1

We all want to look great on our wedding day...OK we all want to look better than great on our wedding day, we want to look fit, happy, healthy, and beautiful. This is great motivation for us to skip the dessert and fit in the gym. However, once the big day is over many people start to fit in the dessert and skip the gym.

Without my and Andrew's wedding day looming to give us extra motivation we decided to plan something new to motivate us! We signed up for the Super Spartan Race, an 8+ mile obstacle race in September 2012! We are training and preparing to kick butt in this race.

So chat with your partner about what WILL MOTIVATE YOU (as a couple) and make it happen! Maybe it's a 10k run? Triathlon? Beach trip? Kayaking or Hiking Adventure? and start training! 

Report your progress to each other, train together, encourage, support, and HOLD ONE ANOTHER ACCOUNTABLE! Start some good habits together that will last a lifetime! 

Picture courtesy of amy leigh PHOTOGRAPHY 

photomomentsbyamy@gmail.com

A Post Wedding Commitment

Allow me to introduce myself, Kelly...Ebbers, formally Kelly Davies, Kelly D. or KD! I am a youth worker, fitness instructor/enthusiast and as of June 9, 2012, Andrew's wife! 


Andrew and I started this blog so we could share our post-wedding-fitness tips...How can you avoid the "Newly Wed Ten" (when a newly-married person gains 10 lbs soon after the wedding, often not working out and eating too much, similar to the term "freshman 15" for first year college students, Urban Dictionary).

We'll be posting pics shortly and are making a public commitment that this is what we will look and feel like (if not better!) on our one year anniversary. We are committed to creating a shared identity as husband and wife that is healthy, active and balanced.

I look forward to sharing our tips for the "No Newlywed 10" (when a newly-married person gains ZERO lbs soon after the wedding and throughout their married life!) and I would love to hear how you've supported one another too!   

Todays workout

Today I did Grace.  A fast workout consisting of 30 Clean and Jerks.  It is one of my favourite workouts, but today I was not feeling it.  I felt slow and awkward.  I had a 3:11 for time when I finished it, which is okay, but nowhere near my time of 2:43.

My form was terrible and I felt weak.  I know I mentioned that already but it was a poor workout for me.  I think I just wanted to get home with my lady.  She just returned from her stag and will be busy with wedding stuff all week.  We get married on Saturday!  So scary and exciting at the same time.

I have lost five pounds since the summer has begun, and I feel pretty good about my physique.  All I need is a haircut and I will look great for the wedding.

Eating too many snacks

I love snacks.

Particularly candy.

When I am at school, I rarely eat anything but paleo foods.  Veggies, meat and fats are the staples of my life.  Yet, when I return to work...I love nothing more than to snack on a few LiveWires or wine gums, or whatever else is sitting there.

Today, though.  I made a resolve and kept to it, one minute at a time.  More real food at work, so there will be less snacking on fake food.

I just read a great article by Nell Stephenson one her blog the Paleoista that talked about snacking.  I think I need to take her advice and focus more.  Check it out here.

Quite a cool site.  Fun to read.

Working Hard

Kelly and I have been trying hard to keep up to date on our pre-marriage fitness goals.  Life is getting in the way, though.  Our wedding is on June 9th, which is only a few weeks away.  I am currently under-employed and need to get some more work.

On a positive note, the lack of employment means I can hit Crossfit Renegade a few more times this week.  I will be shadowing Jamie and Mary-Ellen this evening and am looking forward to the workout today.  Skinning the cat is one of my favourite movements.

Kelly has missed the gym, but has enjoyed the few days of relaxation.  She is looking forward to getting back into it in a couple of days.  She would like to try a new Crossfit gym that is closer to our home.  Crossfit Pacific.

Recommended eating strategy of the week:
Eat when hungry.  Eat small amounts of food, wait then eat more if you need.  You will become full faster this way.  Rich Froning only eats as he needs.  He is ripped.

Post #1

Kelly and I are getting married on June 9th 2012.

We are both into fitness. We both do Crossfit and she does yoga (the plan is for me to join in on that part). We both eat by the Paleo Template and are excited for our new life together. We are not rich, so our plans is to be simple and honest the whole way through.

Anyway, we wanted to share this with people so we can grow our community of like-minded individuals.

-Andrew