Go Fit Gals – Blog

Eat Clean. Train Dirty.


Leave a comment

It’s Not Easy Being Green.

Green veggies have a bad rap.

No, seriously. Kids don’t like them and adults wont eat them. Smother them in cheese sauce and maybe they’ll make the dinner menu. Sigh, it’s not easy being green.

What gives?

Green veggies are a powerful nutrient for your body. The leafy green veggies are the greatest source of nutrients where veggies are concerned. This is the reason why we ask you to eat them so often, why we eat them daily and why we incorporate them into our 6-Week Shape Up, Go-Fit 21 and 3 Day Reset Plans :) .  The beautiful thing about veggies is they are low in calories and high in nutrients. This leaves your body feeling great, and looking great.

IMG_3640Brussel Sprouts are one of our favourite comfort foods and if you don’t like them, you haven’t tried them our way yet! Brussel Sprouts are nearly half protein and loaded with nutrients. They are high in Vitamin A & C, folic acid and fibre as well as containing iron, potassium, calcium, sulfur, phosphorus and magnesium. Umm, hello!

Here are a couple of tips for cooking Brussel Sprouts:

a) buy them all the same size so they cook evenly

b) either cut them in half or score the bottom with an “x” so they steam from the inside

c) never bake your veggies until burnt, that kills the nutrients. Cook them until bright in colour and slightly softened

Why not try this recipe and give this tasty veggie a chance?

Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

If you’re a Member of the Go Fit Gals Community than check your inbox! We’ve already sent you a printable copy of this delicious recipe.

We want to hear from you! Tell us what your favourite green veggie is. ;)


Leave a comment

6 Steps to Better Sleep

6 Tips to better sleep

They say that about 45% of the world’s population isn’t getting enough sleep (discoveryhealth.com). This is not a great statistic. Not only does this lack of shut-eye play havoc with our only our ability to function on a day-to-day basis, but it also affects hundreds of our genes – and not for the better.

CBC News reported that sleep deprivation affects the cells within our body involved with inflammation, immunity and the cells’ response to stress. Decrease your body’s ability to fight inflammation and you are welcoming a whole host of diseases, from high cholesterol to heart disease and certain cancers.

No Sleep = Weight Gain
Lack of sleep can also be blamed for the widening of our waistlines. When the body is sleep-deprived, it dramatically affects the two hormones (leptin and gherlin) responsible for making us feel full, thereby triggering the brain (and hence the stomach) with the message that we are hungry.

Sleeplessness also makes us insulin-resistant, which in turn puts our bodies in a fat-storing mode instead of fat-burning mode.

How Much Sleep Do You Need?
What is the ideal amount of sleep? According to the National Sleep Foundation, that all depends on your age.

  • School-age children (5-10 years) should be getting 10-11 hours of shut-eye
  • Teens (10-17 years) need 8.5-9.25 hours a night
  •  Adults 7-9 hours

Try these 6 tips that experts recommend to help you fall to sleep suffer from a mild case of sleep-deficiency.

1. Exercise.
It’s no surprise that a personal trainer is telling you to exercise, but now science is telling us that it can help us sleep better too.

A new poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation revealed that people who reported exercising vigorously were almost twice as likely to say that had slept well.

It was also noted that there was no ill effect on the participant’s ability to fall asleep – even with those who exercised close to bedtime – throwing out the old conventional wisdom that exercising in the evening will only stimulate you and keep you up.

2. Stay away from electronic devices.

Stay away from your computer and any other electronic device (like a laptop or iPad) for at least an hour before bedtime. The light in computer screens actually stimulates our brains and messes with our circadian rhythm.

3. Same time, everyday.

Go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Don’t think that you can store sleep by sleeping in on the weekend and sleeping less on the weeknights. This messes with our melatonin production, which in turn will make it harder to fall asleep.

4. Taper your sleep.

Try the less is more plan and taper your sleep by keeping your wake-up time constant, but go to bed one hour later. After two weeks, add back the time in half hour increments. A lot of sleep clinics use this technique on their patients and find 25 percent success rate within one to two weeks.

5. Keep it cool or warm.

Your body sleeps better when comfortable, so make sure that your bedroom is either cool enough or warm enough for you. According to WebMD.com, when you go to sleep your body tries to maintain your set point for body temperature – the temperature your brain is trying to meet. If you are too hot, or too cold, the body struggles trying to make this set point and, in turn, you lose sleep.

6. Natural sleep aids.

Some natural and alternative sleeping aids that you can try are:

Melatonin

  • Our body produces melatonin and secretes it on a daily, regular rhythm. This rhythm can get messed up, though, especially with jet lag and insomnia. When ingested for a few evenings melatonin can help to reset the body’s circadian rhythm and get you back to sleep.

Magnesium

  • This mineral plays a key role with sleep regulation.  When purchasing aim to buy calcium citrate. This is one of the most digestible forms of magnesium and available at most health food stores.

Valerian

  • This medicinal herb can have a sedating affect and help you fall asleep. However, it can take a few weeks and it does interact with certain medications so make sure that you consult with your doctor before taking.

5-HTP

  • 5-HTP is a chemical compound that is naturally produced in your body to make serotonin (our “happy” hormone), and it is also a by-product of the amino acid L-tryptophan. The same amino acid found in turkey, and the same turkey dinner that makes you want to snooze for the rest of your Thanksgiving evening.

GABA

  • GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) is a chemical in the brain that counteracts with another chemical in the brain that keeps us alert. When purchasing GABA ensure that you only buy natural GABA supplements. Synthetic supplements do not cross the brain barrier and are therefore ineffective.


Leave a comment

Opt for the Outdoors! Workout Wednesday

It’s another Workout Wednesday and today we say get yourself outdoors with this fat-blasting program! All you need is a park bench, a mat and the wish to train dirty.

Opt for the Outdoors!

And, for you Short & Sweet Challengers this is your challenge for today.
Have fun & don’t forget to share your experience with us on Facebook, Twitter or take a picture of yourself doing the workout and upload it onto Instagram!

GFG Members:
Your PDF and video are in your In-Box.

If you aren’t a member, but would love to have access to our PDFs of our
Workout Wednesdays, all you have to do is be willing to commit to 6 weeks or 21 days
and be ready for a healthier you at the end.
________________________________________________

By the way, have you seen our newly revamped, absolutely amazing, kick-ass website yet?
www.gofitgals.com  We could be a little biased, but we think it rocks!


1 Comment

Lemons – The Rock Stars of the Clean Eating World

Add Lemon and Water

Welcome to Week 2 of the Short & Sweet Challenge.

We have read your posts on Facebook, Twitter and seen all the amazing photos on Instagram and we are amazed!

Everyone has embraced this challenge and are already starting to feel the changes that these small, daily healthy habits can do for your body.

We are super proud of you!

But, don’t stop yet. We still have 2 more weeks left.

So, keep posting on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram,
because your posts not only warm our hearts they also help to inspire others!

Today’s Don’t Sweat It Monday is all about lemons and why we have asked you to add lemon in your water every morning.
Check out the reasons why lemons are the rock stars of the clean eating world!

And, you know what else is a rock star?
Our new website… just saying.
www.gofitgals.com


Leave a comment

Stop complaining. Start eating.

Eat your breakfast.

(And welcome to Day 5 of the Short and Sweet Challenge #shortandsweet)

Yeah, we sound like everyone else. We understand. But hear us out.

We often stress the importance of fasting your body for 12 hours at night. Just like you need sleep to re-energize for the next day, so does the rest of your body. By allowing your body 12 hours of rest it has the opportunity to finish digesting any hard-to-process foods and re-energize itself to be efficient and effective for the upcoming day.

When we eat breakfast within 30-60 minutes of waking up we are “breaking the fast”. Think of it as getting the perfect amount of sleep and, because of that, you end up having the most productive day ever! That’s what it’s like when you give your body 12 hours of fasting, then break it with a healthy breakfast. You rev up your metabolism  and get it fired up for the whole day.

Now are you complaining?

So, before you consider us a broken record, think about the importance of what we are saying. This is as big to your health, and weight loss, as drinking enough water.

And because we have such top-notch Short and Sweet Challenge Sponsors (#shortandsweet) we decided to create a breakfast recipe for you using Vega (@VegaVancouver @VegaTeam) and Coach’s Oats (@CoachOats). Talk about winning!

Awesome Apple Oatmeal Bake

Now, go eat some breakfast! (and tell us what you think :) )

Click here for your PDF printable recipe


Leave a comment

Workout Wednesday – Super Sexy Legs

Super Sexy Legs

Welcome Short & Sweet participants!

Welcome friends & welcome to some Super Sexy Legs.

Short & Sweet participants We hope that you are having fun with your daily healthy habits and don’t forget to converse with us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Your posts not only warm our hearts – they could also be the inspiration someone else in the community needs to keep going.

So, let’s all motivate, encourage and embrace each other!

Enjoy today’s challenge – my Super Sexy Leg workout.

GFG Members:
Your PDF and video are in your In-Box.

If you aren’t a member, but would love to have access to our PDFs of our
Workout Wednesdays, all you have to do is be willing to commit to 6 weeks or 21 days
and be ready for a healthier you at the end.

The choice is yours.
www.gofitgals.com

This week’s Workout Wednesday is all about getting those legs toned and super sexy. Only some dumbbells and a chair (or weight bench) are needed.

Happy Sweat!


Leave a comment

Day 1 Of the Short & Sweet Challenge!

PhoTobin Photography
First off – welcome to Day 1 of the Short & Sweet Challenge!

We are so excited that you joined.

For the next 21 days you are going to be kicking some bad habits to the curb and replacing them with some amazing healthy ones.

You will finish this Challenge feeling (and looking) better than when you began – we promise.

So, don’t forget to:

- Read your Short & Sweet Guide everyday for the day’s daily habit

- Join us for our first ever Tweet Chat on Wed, May 22 from 7:30-8:00pm (PST) #ShortandSweet

- Converse with us and the rest of our community on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram

- Follow our amazing sponsors

- At the end of the 3 weeks send us a picture, that shows us how the Short & Sweet Challenge kept you motivated to eat clean & train dirty. The most original pics will win some cool prizes (from our amazing sponsors)

- And, don’t forget – show some GFG love and add our logo in your final pic.
______________________________________________________________

Now, today’s Don’t Sweat It Monday is very special to us.

It is a the behind-the-scenes footage of our photo shoot with PhoTobin Photography and a sneak peek at the Grand Prize for our Short & Sweet Challenge.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,725 other followers