Fitspo: Why “Rocky” gets me pumped up

“ADRIAAAAAAN!”

I love Rocky – it’s a classic. Sylvester Stallone’s performance is flawless, and although IMDb.com classifies the movie as a sports drama, I think it’s a romance.

Rocky’s in love with boxing. He’s in love with Adrian. He fights, both to win the heavyweight championship against Apollo Creed, fights to convince Adrian she’s beautiful and loved, and most of all, he fights for his own sense of self-worth and for respect.

Rocky, looking serious.

 

The movie is inspirational and motivational, and it’s not just the iconic scene where Rocky runs up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art or the music – it’s that Rocky strives to prove to himself and his coach, Mickey, and everyone else, that he isn’t just a “bum”. Rocky Balboa may be uneducated, but he’s kind and loving, and dedicated to self-improvement. It’s a feel-good movie, and a movie everyone can learn from.

After I watched Rocky a few years ago, I felt inspired to get fit and build my confidence. Unfortunately, after I started my program, I quickly lost steam. I meant well, but I wasn’t committed.

This year, I decided it’s time to take a different approach to fitness. So, last week, I did something I haven’t done since the seventh grade – I went through a fitness test. A trainer at my gym had me walk on a treadmill for five minutes and measured my heart rate, tested my flexibility with the “sit and reach” test, tested my upper body strength with chest presses, and evaluated my core strength by counting how many sit-ups I can do in one minute. Then, he measured my BMI, body fat percentage, and took measurements around my calves, thighs, hips, chest, and biceps.

Yesterday, I met again with my trainer to go through the custom program he designed for me that will help me become stronger, fitter, healthier, and build more body confidence.

I know it’s a good program because I could feel the burn, and today, I have that “jelly” muscle feeling. But mostly, I know it’s good because my trainer helped me get comfortable with it, and made sure everything is at my level and makes me feel good.

I’ve traditionally been very concerned about calories and cardio, and it will be tough to change my habits. It will be hard not to wonder how many calories I’ve burned doing dead lifts, but I’m going to do my best to remember this is about getting stronger, and as long as I watch what I eat and eat healthy foods, I can reach my goal.

And when I’m feeling like I can’t do another chin up, I’ll blast Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger, and when I’m feeling the burn in my legs and I’m wobbly on the Bosu, I’ll turn up Bill Conti’s Gonna Fly Now (Rocky’s Theme) to get pumped up. Cuz if there’s one thing I learned from Rocky Balboa it’s to commit and don’t quit.

Now here’s a MONTAGE!

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What are your favourite work out tunes? What inspires you to get up and  move? Leave me a comment.

Auld Lang Syne: Why every day can be like New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day is the first day of a new year. I get it. Out with the old, in with the new. It’s a fresh start.

But so is tomorrow – whether tomorrow is January 1, 2014, or July 21, 2014.

Every day is a day you can choose to do something differently – choose to not eat that Danish for breakfast, choose to sign up for a team or the gym, or to choose to be more positive. You can make a fitness resolution or food resolution any day during the year, just like you can cut your hair and change your look and re-invent yourself any day you want. You don’t need an occasion to make a change – but heck, you should live every day like it’s an occasion.

Clearly, I’m not a New Year’s resolutions kind of gal. I make goals daily, weekly, and monthly. My daily goals include:

1. Being more positive.
2. Doing my best to eat healthy foods.
3. Doing my best to exercise.
4. Doing my best to stop feeling like the number on a scale defines me.
5. Saying “no” to things.
6. Worrying less.

So if you only make one New Year’s resolution this year, maybe make it this one: Resolve that every day is a fresh start to choose to do things differently, special occasion or not, and don’t beat yourself up if you don’t stick to your resolution – just try again tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

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I borrowed my New Year’s wish to you from Neil Gaiman, who wrote the best one I’ve ever read – 

“May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful, and don’t forget to make some art — write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself.” – Neil Gaiman, 2001.

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What are your daily goals or New Year’s resolutions?

Tis the season… To give thanks for restorative justice

You can read my third article on Onashowewin Inc. here.

You can read my fourth and final article on Mediation Services and their volunteer mediators who do victim-offender mediations here.

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American Thanksgiving has passed us by, Hanukah has just ended, and Christmas is coming.

I like to use the holiday season as a time to reflect to on all the things I’m thankful for.

Some of things I’m thankful for are the programs and agencies that are helping people who are in conflict with the law turn their lives around – by repairing their relationships with the victims of their crime and the community, and helping them to understand the effects of their actions. From the restorative justice agency Onashowewin Inc. in Winnipeg, to Mediation Services and their community justice forums (or family group conferences) and victim-offender mediations, there are some great programs in my city helping people.

I’m thankful for the people who so graciously let me interview them and ask them personal questions about their lives and their experience with restorative justice. It can be a very personal and emotional thing to talk about your experience being in conflict with the law and how it has effected your life.

I am proud of Renae Monkman at Just TV, and all of the other youth I met this year, who will be showcasing their work at Just TV’s Annual 2013 Showcase on Dec. 11 at the West End Cultural Centre.

I am proud of the work Onashowewin Inc. is doing with youth and adult offenders in our community.

I am amazed by the work of the volunteer mediators that do family group conferences and victim-offender mediations for Mediation Services.

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I want to thank all of the people who put me in touch with people, let me interview them, gave me advice and guidance, and supported me with my project this year.

Thanks to John Hutton at the John Howard Society of Manitoba and Kate Kehler, acting executive director at the John Howard Society of Manitoba, Dr. Andrew Woolford and Amanda Nelund at the University of Manitoba, and Megan Bowman and Jasmine Dyck from Mediation Services.

Big thanks to Laura Johnson, executive director of Just TV, and Jason Burnstick, youth facilitator at Just TV and community justice worker at Onashowewin, Cora Morgan, executive director at Onashowewin, and Heather Bristow, community justice worker at Onashowewin, as well as Richard Kennett at Mediation Services.

Special thanks to Renae Monkman for being so open, honest, and fearless when it comes to sharing her story. You are an inspiration.

A very big thank you goes out to Noah Erenberg, my editor at the Community News Commons website, because without him, my articles wouldn’t have seen the light of day,  and Joanne Kelly, who put me back on the right track when I was on the wrong one, and my advisor Duncan McMonagle who re-assured me I was on the right track when I wasn’t sure I was.

And of course, thanks to all my friends (especially Adam and Meg) and my family who have supported me while I was writing my articles, and read and shared my articles with their friends. It means a lot to me.

Just TV program keeps kids away from gangs, drugs, crime

For my  second article in my restorative justice series on the Community News Commons website, I look at the Just TV program at the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre in Winnipeg.

The Just TV program helps youth age 16-24 get involved in filmmaking, music, and music video projects that discourage others from getting involved in gangs, drugs, and crime. It’s an empowering, fun program that makes a difference in these youths lives.

I interviewed an awesome girl who has a great talent for story-telling and filmmaking. You can watch her video that she made with Just TV here.

You can read my article here.

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Do you know of any programs that do great things in your community? What did you think of my article? Leave me a comment.

Restorative Justice: Resolving the harms of crime

Almost four years ago, I was a criminology major at the University of Manitoba, and I was picking elective courses when I came across restorative justice.

Restorative justice… What the heck is that? How can justice be “restorative”? Isn’t all justice supposed to be meted out by gavel-slamming judges who gravely intone your sentence? “I herby sentence you to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years!”

That’s like thinking all police detectives are like Olivia Benson and Ice-T on Law & Order: SVU, or that all forensics from a crime scene can be run in a day thanks to the magic of CSI.

Restorative justice is kind of magic, though, when it’s done right.

See, restorative justice (or RJ for short) is a way that victims, offenders, and the community can come together and resolve the harms of a crime. It’s victim-focused, rather than offender-focused. The idea is to bring victims, offenders, and the community together to discuss the harms of the crime, collectively decide on appropriate sanctions, and move forward in rebuilding relationships so that the offender doesn’t re-offend, the victim isn’t scared anymore, and the community is at peace. And unlike a gavel-slamming judge, there are many ways of meting out restorative justice.

For my last year of school in my communications diploma, we had to propose a year-long project. They encouraged us to pick something that we felt passionate about. I picked restorative justice.

I wrote a series of long-form newspaper articles (four in total) about restorative justice in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and the people who volunteer, work for, and use RJ programs.

My series kicked off last week with my first article that begins to explain what restorative justice is. It’s the important set-up to the other three articles that deal with programs in my hometown that are doing some incredible work with victims, offenders, and the community.

If you’d like to read it, you can read it on the Community News Commons website here.

My series will run on the Community News Commons website until the second week of December. A new article will be posted every Monday.

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My next article will be posted on the Community News Commons website on Monday, Nov.  18. The article focuses on a youth whose life has changed thanks to the Just TV program at the Broadway Neighbourhood Centre.

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Have you ever heard of restorative justice before? Leave me a comment.

Stretchin’ out stress

Recently, I’ve re-introduced myself to stretching.

I’m not talking about yoga. I’m talking about good old fashioned sit-and-reach stretches, like the kind you did in junior high school.

I started to realize that walking around in heels every day was making my calves and hips feel tight. I know I should stretch them out every day, especially because I wear heels, but I just didn’t think it would make a difference.

It actually made a huge difference – and as an added bonus it made my back feel better!

Stretching like I’m about to hit the soccer field feels good. I stretch every day now because it’s a great way to release tension.

Maybe I should take up yoga, too.

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Do you practise yoga? What kind of yoga do you do? Leave me a comment.

The common sense diet – it’s what for supper

Ever feel slow and sluggish? Bloated and grumpy? Think grains and meat, or sugar and dairy have anything to do with it?

A lot of people do.

When it comes to diets or detoxes, those things are the most popular items to cut out. Some diets ask you to cut out those items and then re-introduce them later on, while some recommend you never eat those items again.

I’ve never bought into any diets like the Atkins or Dukan diet, or done any juice detoxes or cleanses. The closest I’ve ever come to doing a diet is cutting out breads because they make me feel awful, and cutting out dairy because I’m lactose intolerant.

I just can’t believe in diets or detoxes. They aren’t backed up by science.

If any of these diets worked, there’d be long-term, double-blind, peer-reviewed studies by qualified doctors that sing their praises. The rate of diabetes and metabolic syndrome and obesity would drastically decrease.

That’s just not the case.

I think the best diet isn’t a cayenne pepper-lemonade-maple-syrup cleanse, or a SlimFast meal replacement shake, or a plate full of kale and carrots. The best diet is the common sense diet.

Find a copy of Canada’s Food Guide and follow it – eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies, lean meats and whole grains. Prepare your meals ahead of time. Keep track of your caloric intake with a food journal, an app, or a website like Sparkpeople.com. Get exercise each day. Don’t over-do it with the sugar and alcohol. Listen to your body, and stop eating when you’re full.

Those tips are obviously easier said than done, but isn’t that the way it is with any diet?

The best part about the common sense diet is that it’s completely free. You don’t have to pay a membership fee or buy a meal plan. You can start tomorrow and start again three days later or next week if you fall off the wagon. It’s simple and straightforward.

The common sense diet – it’s what’s for supper.

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Have you ever tried a diet or a detox? Which one did you try and did it do anything for you? Let me know!

Not paid programming: Podthings podcast

Tired of the same tunes? Bored of news radio?

Try Podthings, a revolutionary new product* that soothes your aching mind**.

*Not sold in stores. Patent pending.

**Results may vary.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Recorded on October 7th, 2013

In a semi-Halloween themed episode, Adam and Erika record their own “basement tapes” – in a more Bob Dylan way than a Columbine killers way. This kicks off a discussion about bullying, the new (probably) Columbine-inspired movie ‘The Dirties’, and the Kevin Smith Movie Club. Adam critiques the Breaking Bad finale (spoiler alert!) and Erika divulges her new goal in life (hint: it involves shooting lasers). The conversation turns to grocery shopping at Dollarama and the greeting card industry. Finally, the pair ponder the strange concept of night clubs for kids, and reminisce about their nerdy high school pasts – from setting up the sock-hop sound systems to joining Reach for the Top.

EP 10: The Basement Tapes – Part 1.

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Like Podthings on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or subscribe on iTunes here.

 

High heels & health: Are stilettos a woman’s best friend or worst enemy?

Stop! Don’t step into those stilettos – science says high heels aren’t good for your health.

Research has shown that the detrimental effects of high heels on a woman’s health can be seen even by the time they turn 25 years old. High heels affect how women walk even barefoot – and it’s not natural.

Wearing high heels can cause deformities like hammertoes and bunions that are painful and may need surgery to fix, or cause unsightly and problematic issues like corns. Among the risks of ankle injuries and damage to your knees, you can also get “pump bump” or suffer nerve pain and numbness in your toes.

So why do women love high heels?

Personally, I love high heels because they make me feel hot.

Heels slim you because they alter your posture  – you stand more upright with your hips pushed forward, which flattens your abdomen  and pushes out your derrière and chest, giving you a very womanly figure. They also give the illusion that your thighs and calves are longer and more toned than they may truly be.

Calf muscles and Achilles tendon be damned, I feel confident in high heels.

I started wearing heels regularly when I worked at a shoe store. One of the store rules was that any female employee on the sales floor had to wear a pair of the brand’s heels during their shift. I worked at the shoe store for two and a half years.

I’ve had hundreds of hours of practise walking in heels at work, and probably a couple hundred more wearing them to events and parties. I’ve worn heels on concrete, cobblestone, linoleum, wood floors, soft grass and in a corn field. I can’t even estimate the number of miles I must have walked in high-heeled shoes.

I’ve also amassed quite the collection of shoes – most of which are high heels. I have kitten heels (a pair that came in very handy when I broke my ankle and had to wear a walking cast that was a couple of inches taller than regular shoes), pumps, and of course, the stiletto heel.

Sex and the City really popularized the stiletto in the 2000s. And although I’ve been out of the shoe-shilling scene for a while, I still see women at bars and restaurants and events wearing the classic shaped shoe.

Stilettos are a sex symbol.

I know high heels aren’t good for my knees, back, hips, or feet. I know the risks and I’ve felt the pain of blisters and swollen toes from a night out in sky-high heels.

I’ve cut down the amount of time I spend wearing heels drastically since I left the shoe store – now, I only wear heels out for special occasions. It’s probably for the best.

I think my feet will thank me later.

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You can see an infographic from the Washington Post of how high heels effect your health here.

You can sign Amy Tuckett’s petition against mandatory heel height policies in restaurants in Manitoba here.

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How do you feel about high heels? Are stilettos a girl’s best friend? Leave me a comment.

Milk was a bad choice: How to enjoy desserts the dairy-free way (& vegan banana “ice cream” recipe)

I love ice cream.

In high school and early university, I worked at an ice cream shop where I scooped two-storey cones of mint chocolate chip and rocky road for customers on the daily.

I’m also lactose intolerant.

Lactose intolerance isn’t a choice – it’s what happens when your body has an inability to digest lactose (milk sugar), or if you don’t have enough of an enzyme (lactase) to break down all the lactose.

If you’re like me and you love ice cream, this is bad news. I can’t drink milk or eat milk products without suffering from the symptoms of what doctors call “gastrointestinal discomfort”.

So what’s an ice-cream-loving, lactose intolerant girl to do?

Eat dairy free desserts!

I love coconut milk ice cream, which often has a rich taste and silky mouthfeel – two of the best parts of ice cream.

Coconut milk ice cream is usually available at health food stores like Vitahealth, or you can make it at home in any flavour you’d like using an ice cream machine. I really enjoyed the curried peanut butter flavour coconut milk ice cream a friend made (this recipe is similar).

If you’re not a fan of coconut, there’s also soy ice cream or soy frozen yogurt. I’ve had Tofutti soy ice cream and enjoyed that, but I also love Tutti Frutti, a self-serve frozen yogurt chain. They serve soy frozen yogurt in yummy flavours like taro and peanut butter banana.  Tutti Frutti is a great place to go for a treat with a friend who isn’t lactose intolerant because they have a wide variety of regular frozen yogurt flavours like toasted marshmallow, birthday cake and red velvet, to pink lemonade and more. (And they have an awesome toppings bar!)

One of my early creations at Tutti Frutti.

One of the things I love to make at home that’s really quick, easy, and healthy when you’re craving ice cream is vegan banana “soft serve”. It doesn’t require many ingredients – unless you want to jazz yours up, of course!

Vegan Banana “Soft Serve” Ice Cream

Ingredients:
2 very ripe bananas

Vanilla extract
Cocoa powder
Cinnamon
Sea salt

Almond, soy, or coconut milk to thin and blend.
Toppings (if you desire).

Peel bananas. Break bananas into chunks and put chunks in a bag or container and freeze for 24 hours. Defrost bananas for 15-20 minutes and blend in a blender until smooth. Add spices of your choice and your milk of choice to thin the mixture. The mixture should be very thick and slide as one unit when you’re pouring it from the blender. If you want more of a “melted” consistency or a milk shake, you can just add more milk until it’s how you like it.

I like to use sweetened almond milk to thin it, and add cocoa powder, cinnamon and a bit of sea salt, too. I also add honey, but then it’s not vegan, so make sure if you’re sharing with vegan friends that you find out if they eat honey.

A “melted” version of vegan banana ice cream in chocolate flavour. I added a bit more almond milk so it was a thinner consistency.

I’ll leave you with this classic scene from Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy that sums up my feelings about milk all the time.

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Recipe adapted from Pinterest. I don’t own the rights to Anchorman, or I’d be very rich.

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Do you have any dairy-free desserts that you love? Share them with me in the comments 🙂