From the time when we were labelled as ‘hunters’ and ‘gatherers’, women have traditionally been the caregivers in society.

Most of us instinctively have that nurturing desire – we want to take care of those that we love. And at one time, when women mainly stayed home and men mainly went to work, that might have been okay.

But times have changed. Women now hold jobs (some because they want to but many because they have to). We have active families, with kids needing to get off to school in the morning and then rushed to dance class or soccer practise in the evening. And our parents are living longer with some requiring care as they age; a task that often falls to their daughters (or daughters-in-law). 

Between work, family, cooking and cleaning, where is the time to take care of ourselves?? Often, it just isn’t there; or, when there is time, we feel guilty because it feels SELFISH!

A friend of mine told me about a recent airplane trip he was on, where the plane suddenly began a rapid decent and the oxygen masks were deployed. Scary stuff!!! And if you have ever been on a plane, you know that the safety instructions clearly state that if the oxygen mask drops, you are to put your own mask on BEFORE you try to help others (including your children).

These instructions fly in the face of our natural instinct to help others first.

In my friend’s story, he tells of watching a family sitting in front of him on the plane, with two small children. As you can imagine, it wasn’t easy keeping oxygen masks on those squiggling little ones, but the parents managed because they had stopped to put their own masks on first! 

The only way that they were able to care for their family was to make sure they had taken care of themselves!

Being SELFISH is the new SELFLESS.

Whether that means quiet time to relax in a bubble bath with a good book, changing our diet so that we eat better, getting out daily for a walk, or putting our oxygen mask on first, if we don’t take care of ourselves then we cannot properly take care of others.

I know from working with clients on changing the nutritional components of their diet that they have reported better sleep, more energy, happier moods – all elements that aid in providing better care, not only for themselves but for those that they love! When they have put THEIR health first, they become better caregivers for others.

If you want to know more about how I do that, click the link to my website https://livingvibrantly.ca/ and book a free discovery call with me.

In the meantime, put your own oxygen mask on first!

I generally do not eat sugar… period!

The boss brings donuts to the office – I can walk past them; dessert is on the menu – not tempted; pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving – not interested.

But those little chocolate bars that get handed out a Halloween – man, those get me every time!

I think it might be because that typically is the ONLY time chocolate is in the house; or it might be because they are so tiny! How bad could eating just one be??? Except of course, that one tiny chocolate bar can lead to five in a heartbeat!

This Halloween was no exception. We bought way more candy that we needed, and I was left with two boxes of it. One box was packets of sour patch candies that I can’t even stomach the thought of eating, but the other box was full of those little, itty, bitty chocolate bars! 

After all the kids had gone, why not have one or two of them?? 

And so, I conducted an experiment by indulging is a couple. I paid attention to the taste, so sweet! The first one was yummy, but then I noticed that it was almost too sweet, sickly sweet to be exact, and there was a film left in my mouth. And then I noticed that the chocolate tasted more like sugar than chocolate – because after all this was probably the cheapest and worst made chocolate there could be, right?

Later, I had difficulty falling asleep and tossed and turned all night. As I was struggling, I KNEW it was because I had added in more sugar to my body that I would probably get in a month!

We tend to think of sugar as a treat, but the reality is that sugar has been added to pretty much every type of food we buy, not just chocolate bars. There are only 10 companies in the world that control all of the world’s food brands, and the reality is that the sweeter a food tastes, the better it sells. 

At one time, sugar was used only for special occasions, but at the rate that we are consuming sugar today, sugar is no longer a “treat”. And the food industry has labelled so many of the foods full of sugar as “healthy” – fruit flavoured yogurt has more sugar, ounce for ounce, then Coca-Cola; we buy fruit chews for our children’s school lunches which are NOT made from fruit; and we have replaced sugary soft drinks with sugary sports and energy drinks which are becoming a key part of today’s obesity epidemic among youth.

The World Health Organization reports that there are over 420 million people with Type 2 diabetes – a number that just keeps rising. 

Now I’m not saying that you should cut out all sugar, all of the time. But, if you can keep most of your food as healthy and wholesome choices, and reduce the sugar and the highly processed carb foods you are intaking to a more occasional basis, then that is a great first step.

Sugar is NEVER going to make you feel at your best or motivate you to have a great day. However less sugar WILL get you more energy, more productivity, better sleep; all things that will help to make you the best version of you that you can be! Reducing sugar and highly processed carb foods from your diet could change your life!

I know this because I see it all the time in the clients that I’ve helped to change the nutritional components of their diet. If you want to know how I do that, click the link to my website https://livingvibrantly.ca/ and book a free discovery call with me. 

In the meantime, read the labels of the foods you are buying and see if you can reduce the amount of sugar you are eating.

My luggage has been lost by the airline! It’s a traveller’s greatest fear!

You are standing by the luggage carousel, desperately searching for your luggage, watching intently as each piece goes by, the fear building moment by moment, until you finally spot your bag and breath a sigh of relief. Everyone goes through it! Please God, make sure my luggage was on the same plane as I was!!

Recently, I went on vacation and after a very early morning wake up call, over 12 hours of flight time, several hours on layover and two time zones later, we landed in Tahiti. For us, it was 2:30 am!! We were tired, hungry and anxious to start our vacation! We eagerly waited to grab our luggage so that we could get out of the airport, grab a bite to eat, probably an adult beverage or two and finally relax!

Pieces of luggage came down the conveyor belt, but not one belonged to us! You know that feeling as your stress level starts to rise and you keep praying that the next piece of luggage will be yours?? The next piece will be ours… nope, well the next piece will be ours… nope!  That was me!

Eventually we discovered that not only was our luggage not on the plane, it had actually never left Toronto!!

We now belonged to that exclusive group of travellers who have had to deal with lost luggage!

Panic, disbelief, stress, anger – these were the emotions that I initially experienced.

How could our luggage have been left behind? What was I going to wear? My vacation was ruined before it even started!!

But as I worked through it, I realized that this was part of the adventure, I had enough to manage, and heck, there are worse places in the world to be without luggage! I started to focus on the things that I was grateful for, rather than the things that had gone wrong.  That brought about an attitude shift, stress level down, emotional stress decreasing…. 

Now, my husband and I pack strategically – both pieces of luggage have items of clothing for each of us, in case one gets lost (which doesn’t help when they BOTH get lost, I get it!). But, we also include items in our carry on bags, like bathing suits, and some extra clothing to get us through a day or two. 

For this particular trip, I had already been considering managing with just carry on bags, so I had actually packed items such as pj’s and dinner clothes, that I might not otherwise have packed. We had travel toothbrushes and I had my make up (thank goodness!!), spare underwear, shoes and extra shorts and tshirts. Not nearly enough to last a week, but not too bad!!

The catch was… we were on a cruise. So even when (or if) the luggage showed up, it somehow had to catch up to us. And since the luggage was still in Toronto, it was going to be at LEAST two days.

Here’s what I learned living from without luggage:

Laugh, or you will cry! It just got to be funny as we reached for items that, oh yeah, were in our checked bags! Grab the sunscreen – nope, it’s in our luggage (which we don’t have!); want to wear a specific dress for dinner, yeah it’s still in Toronto! It became a game and we laughed whenever we could. We also looked for the positives – like not lugging two large suitcases through the airport, or not having to unpack! Life got simpler really fast!

Overall, we have too much stuff! When I was contemplating packing only in a carry on, one of my fellow travellers said he couldn’t do it because he needed the variety. Well, what I discovered was that we have too much variety at times! For the first few days, I was managing on two dinner outfits, one bathing suit and two shorts/t-shirts combos quite nicely. Yes, we washed out our underwear nightly, but once our luggage did show up (after FIVE days), I realized that finally having more options just made decision making more difficult. There is something to be said for just making it simple – Steve Jobs wore black every day, because he didn’t want to waste time considering which outfit to wear. 

Enjoy the experience! We were in one of the most beautiful parts of the world, a place we had never been and might never return to. Who cares what you are wearing??? And who cares if you are wearing the same thing as yesterday?? Soak in the views, the meals, the friendships! Don’t let lack of a specific outfit ruin the moment! My Facebook posts included beautiful shots of the area, AND a few jokes about having no luggage – we had fun with it!

Vacations are meant for relaxation, so relax! Do your due diligence and contact the air line and whomever else needs to be notified, but then LET IT GO! Shop if you have to for a few items.  This will be a great story to tell, so make sure you are going to enjoy telling it (over and over). This means you need to let go of the anger and stress!

I CAN travel with a carry on only! If I had packed a little better, I probably would not have even needed to shop for the few things that I had missed. My next vacation will be without checked luggage and I can’t wait to experience the freedom that comes with that. 

For me, it was all about focussing on gratitude – we were in Tahiti after all, on a cruise ship where I didn’t need to cook a meal or make a bed, with my husband, who I was so glad was at my side, and with wonderful friends (who had sunscreen to share!). 

As a nutrition coach, you will often see me post about Food Freedom. Well, I’ve now discovered a new freedom – Travel Freedom and I can’t wait to do it again.

A few weeks ago, I saw the word JOMO used in a text conversation for the very first time.  And I hate to admit it, but I had no idea what it meant!

I’m the first to admit that I am not always up on what’s trending; or on the latest catchphrases; or the latest fashion. So I’m certain that the term JOMO has probably been around far longer than just a few weeks, but I have been oblivious!

And it’s like never noticing the number of yellow cars on the road until you purchase a yellow car. Then suddenly you see just how many yellow cars are being driven. 

Once I had seen JOMO once, it popped up in any number of texts and posts. 

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that I had to Google it!!

We all know what FOMO is – the fear of missing out. 

Have you ever felt obligated to go to an event even if you didn’t want to? That’s FOMO

Did you ever answer a phone call dreading speaking to the person on the other end? That’s FOMO

Do you start your day or end your day by checking your social media feeds or your e-mail? That’s FOMO

It’s that fear of being left out of something – social invitations, job opportunities, fun stuff. It’s that inability to turn your phone off in case you miss out on something “important” or refusing to turn down an event or party invitation in case you stop getting those invitations by not going this ONE time.

As humans, it is instinctual to want to belong. In the past, if we were ostracized from the tribe, we probably would have died – not being able to protect ourselves, not being able to feed ourselves, not being able to shelter ourselves. And in today’s more modern world, we want companionship and connectedness, it’s good for our mental health. 

Unfortunately, FOMO can be more than just an unpleasant feeling. It can come with its own set of anxieties or feelings of guilt and can lead to us getting worn down and exhausted.

JOMO is the opposite a FOMO. JOMO is the joy of missing out. This is enlightening and super cool!

I believe that every now and then we need to stop – stop saying yes to everything, stop making ourselves available 24/7, stop running ourselves to the edge of exhaustion because we are afraid we might miss out.

JOMO allows us to reconnect with ourselves. It’s about setting boundaries and accepting that its OK to say no, its OK to not attend every event, its OK to not read every email, text or answer every phone call. But JOMO is more than just saying no; it’s also saying yes to doing things that meet OUR needs. It’s about understanding our needs and wants and embracing the activities that energize us rather than drain us.

Embracing and practising JOMO allows us to:

– Say no from time to time, especially when saying yes might have a more negative impact on your life;

– Disconnect from our devices on occasion – not a bad idea to turn the world off every once in a while

– Be intentional with our time by scheduling in things that are important to us, and that we enjoy doing, whether that is going to the gym for a workout, having a coffee with a friend or enjoying some quiet time working on a jigsaw puzzle, and

– Live in the present and experience what real life is! 

Embracing JOMO doesn’t mean become a recluse or avoiding social events altogether. It’s about finding a balance and make choices that are in line with your goals and values. Remember that FOMO is normal, it natural to feel it at times, but it’s also important to recognize when it’s becoming unhealthy. 

I have some interesting things planned for myself for 2023; things that will keep me busy at times. But this year, you will also see me practicing JOMO as well.

I have to admit that I have a problem. Actually, what I really have is a rule. 

And that rule is, if it’s free, then take it!

And for the most part, many of us also have that rule right?

I mean, when someone offers free concert tickets, or sporting event tickets, then we take them – no brainer!!  And how many ballots do we fill out in hopes of getting a free prize?

A few years ago, my husband and I were out for a drive on a Sunday morning, when we drove by a house (not far from where we lived) that had two bright pink tub chairs out on the lawn, by the road – obviously the owner was looking to get rid of them. And as we drove by, we both commented on how cool those chairs looked. But even though they were FREE, we did not stop.

However, during the course of the day, we regularly brought those chairs up – they looked nice, they would have gone great on our back deck, etc. That night, at dinner, we had guests over. AND we brought up the chairs AGAIN! As our guests headed home, they turned and said – go back and get those chairs!!

By this point it was dark and drizzling rain, but off we went – confident that the chairs would be gone. But no!! There they were! Out of the truck we jumped and as quickly as we could, lifted the chairs into the back. I felt that we were sneaking in the dead of night, hoping no one would see us – we had become on of THOSE people!

We have loved those chairs! If I had seen an advertisement for those chairs, I would not have gone to get them, but they were FREE! My rule, right??

Rules are simply shortcuts to decision making. When you have a rule, then the brain does not need to spend any time debating what to do; does not need to waste time or resources – it simply follows that rule. And when someone is offering you free tickets to something, that’s a good thing!

But when that something FREE is not all that good for you, then it can become more of a negative thing.

Take my rule around free food – if you offer me a cupcake (for free) then I’ll take it. That’s the rule!

I learned that I had this rule around free food one day as I was walking into the kitchen at work for lunch. I had brought a magnificent lunch – leftover steak from the night before, some veggies and a small salad. I couldn’t wait to dig in. As I walked into the room, the smell of pizza being warmed in the oven hit me like a ton of bricks! 

Now, I’m not a big fan of day-old pizza, and I’m definitely not eating pizza warmed up in a microwave… but pizza being crisped up in the oven??? That’s a different story!! 

And then I was offered some! Oh heaven!!!  But wait, I had a lunch… I did not need pizza! And so began a dialogue in my head – take it, no don’t, you don’t need it; but it smells delicious, you have a lunch; well you could save this lunch for tomorrow, DONE!

Free food – who knew that my rule about things that are free also extended to food?? 

In my journey to better health and vitality, that was one of those eye opening moments! 

Learning, understanding and then questioning my food rules has played a huge role in redefining my relationship with food, and in fact, what I consider to be food. And since then, I have become more conscious about what I am putting in my mouth, including those things that are free. 

On a recent cold and damp morning, I decided to go to Starbucks for a warm tea. As I approached the barista at the drive through window, she not only handed me my tea, but offered me a FREE chocolatey concoction. with lots of whip cream on top. So yummy looking! Apparently they had an extra that they needed to give away.

Before I could even think, I heard myself saying “no thanks” and off I drove! Wait a minute…. Did I just break my rule?? Did I just turn down free food??

That was another eye-opening moment!

I am no longer allowing my rules to define me, to hijack me. It’s no longer about things being free, but about freedom itself! And I can live with that!

When it comes to nutrition, it’s essential to embrace a diverse and colorful diet. Imagine a plate adorned with an array of vibrant hues, resembling a rainbow. Each color represents a unique set of nutrients and health benefits that can contribute to your overall well-being. Here’s why you should aim to eat foods that are the colors of the rainbow.

1. Nutrient Powerhouses: Different colors in fruits and vegetables stem from specific phytochemicals, natural compounds that promote good health. For instance, red foods like tomatoes and watermelons are rich in lycopene, which has been linked to a reduced risk of certain cancers. Orange and yellow foods such as carrots and sweet potatoes contain beta-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, essential for vision and immune function. Green foods like spinach and broccoli provide an abundance of chlorophyll, vitamins, and minerals. Blue and purple foods such as blueberries and eggplants contain anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants associated with heart health and brain function.
2. Antioxidant Boost: The colors found in fruits and vegetables are a visible sign of their antioxidant content. Antioxidants help protect your body from harmful molecules called free radicals, which can cause cellular damage and contribute to chronic diseases. By consuming a rainbow of colors, you ensure a wide range of antioxidants that work synergistically to keep your cells healthy.
3. Vital Vitamins and Minerals: Each color group brings a unique set of vitamins and minerals to the table. By diversifying your plate, you broaden your nutrient intake, supporting various bodily functions. For example, yellow foods are rich in vitamin C, essential for collagen production and immune function. Green leafy vegetables provide an abundance of folate, a crucial nutrient for cell growth and development. Including a variety of colors in your diet ensures you cover your nutritional bases and optimize your health.
4. Fiber-Rich Fare: A colorful plate often signifies a fiber-rich meal. Fiber plays a vital role in maintaining a healthy digestive system, promoting satiety, and regulating blood sugar levels. Different colors of fruits and vegetables offer an assortment of fiber types, promoting gut health and overall well-being.
5. Taste Sensations: Eating a range of colors not only enhances your nutritional intake but also adds excitement to your meals. Variety in colors means variety in flavors, textures, and culinary experiences. Exploring different tastes can make healthy eating enjoyable and sustainable, increasing the likelihood of sticking to a balanced diet in the long run.
6. Disease Prevention: A colorful diet has been associated with a reduced risk of chronic diseases, including heart disease, certain cancers, and age-related macular degeneration. The diverse array of phytochemicals found in colorful foods work together to combat inflammation, neutralize harmful compounds, and support various body systems. By consuming the rainbow, you invest in your long-term health and well-being.

To incorporate the colors of the rainbow into your diet, aim to have a mix of vegetables in each meal. Create visually appealing and flavorful combinations by experimenting with different recipes and cooking methods. Opt for seasonal produce to ensure maximum freshness and nutrient content.

Remember, it’s not about consuming one particular color but rather embracing the entire spectrum. By filling your plate with a rainbow of natural hues, you provide your body with an abundance of essential nutrients, antioxidants, and health benefits. So, let the colors guide you towards a healthier and more vibrant life.

Are you tired of spending hours at the gym, sweating buckets on the treadmill, and feeling like you are not making any progress towards your weight loss goal?

Or have you spent a ton of money on treadmills, rowing machines or other fancy equipment, that is really just being used to hang your laundry??

The idea of exercise has become synonymous with losing weight. 

We spend money on gym memberships, join sports leagues or purchase expensive home gym equipment thinking that this is the thing that is going to get those pounds off!   And then we find that no matter how much time we devote to working out, we still don’t see any results, or, if you are like me, you discover that you really don’t enjoy exercising, and now you’ve wasted a whole lot of money!

Would you believe me if I told you that you CAN lose weight without spending hours sweating it out on a treadmill, or enduring intense HIIT workouts?

It’s true! 

In this video I share my story of struggling with the IDEA of exercise and my unsuccessful attempts at various stages in my life to be more active, leaving me feeling unhappy and dissatisfied.

And yet, I was able to turn that all around, and today  seven years after completing the WildFit 90 day challenge, I am not only 3 dress sizes smaller, but I’m actually more active than ever!

Watch the video to find out how!

And hey, if the idea of joining my next 90 Day WildFit Challenge is appealing because you also want to lose weight without exercise, I’m starting a new program soon!

Get on the waitlist here: