Did you know!? There are around 40 trillion bacteria in your body… most of which are found in your gut. Collectively, they are known as your gut microbiome, and they’re incredibly important for our overall health.

The gastrointestinal system is your main “portal” for taking in and processing nutrients, and it also serves as a communication center and disease fighter for your body. Many recent studies have shown that a disrupted microbiome can lead to numerous chronic diseases. From your nervous and immune systems to your mental health and digestive function, a healthy gut plays a crucial role in your overall well-being.  

Here are some of the top tips for a healthy gut, that can also help to reduce gastrointestinal and stomach problems:

• Eat a healthy diet – consume a diverse range of mostly fresh, unprocessed, whole foods. This includes plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes and beans, as well as a variety of protein sources.
• Eat smaller, more frequent meals to not overwhelm...

It is easy to lose sight of our health and well-being over the holiday season, trust me, I know!  It seems that over the next few months there will be so many temptations at every turn. Christmas parties and dinners, time off work, potentially a vacation or time away from your own home routine, and not to mention the endless to-do list, with limited time for ourselves. You may be thinking that the holiday season is a write-off for your health and you'll get back on track in the new year - but, if you change your mindset and set yourself some parameters it doesn’t have to be that way. Listen up - you can still indulge, eat great food and have a lot of fun! Here are some helpful tips that you can use to create healthy guidelines around the holiday season: 

Stay active - keep up your workout routine, modify it if needed, but ensure you keep moving. I recommend getting your movement in early in the day to ensure it's done before any holiday commitments start.

Limit alcohol consumption - ...

You know you need to get on track with your overall health and well-being, but it can be hard to know where to start... You’ve tried before, and it hasn’t been sustainable for whatever reason and you are hesitant to try again. You just can’t seem to find the time or motivation to exercise, meal prep, or sign up for support. Does all of this sound familiar? So, how do you get yourself into the mindset you know you need to be in to succeed, and then maintain motivation?

The first step is to figure out your why. Think about what the change(s) are that you need to make - if you're constantly feeling stressed and tired, it's balance you need. If you are having digestive issues, you should focus on making some positive changes to your diet. If you want to run a 5km next summer but haven’t run in years, it's time to start a step at a time. Whatever your goal, you need to understand your why behind the changes you need and want to make.

Once you have figured your why out, incorporate actions...

Do you struggle with building lean muscle? This is quite common for many people, even when they feel like they are exercising and eating properly. With a few tweaks here and there, let’s set you on the right path to get the muscle you have been working so hard towards! 

Building lean muscle is a combination of these three things:

#1 Proper Nutrition

#2 Strength Training

#3 Recovery

To effectively build muscle, it is important to prioritize consuming adequate protein, consistent resistance training and allowing for sufficient rest and recovery. Follow these tips and you will get to where you want to be in no time:

Increase your training frequency - while working out twice a week is great for maintenance, if you are working to build lean muscle, increase your training frequency to 4-5 times per week.

Add variety - try doing some lower-rep (8-12 rep sets) strength work as well higher-rep (20-30 rep sets) strength endurance work.

Focus on big lifts - squats, deadlifts, overhead pre...

What is Total Health and why is it so important? Total Health takes into account all aspects of your well-being: emotional & physical health, sleep, relationships, financial stability and nutrition. To feel and perform at your best in all areas of your life, you should be working to create a healthy balance between all of these factors. I know for many of us, this can seem like a challenging and overwhelming task. Our lives have become so busy, that we can struggle to prioritize ourselves above others. 

I am here to say that making yourself a priority should be at the top of your goal list. When you feel good, the rest really can fall into place nicely - being able to show up for others, being present in the important moments, and having more  energy for the people and things you enjoy most.

How do you achieve this? I recommend taking an inventory of yourself - make a list of these factors, the ones you are feeling good about and the ones that need improvement. Of the areas you are f...

What is the connection between hormones and weight loss? A very good question! My goal here is to provide you with a high level overview, so you can start to think about what this connection means for you and your own personal health journey.

What are hormones and what do they do for us? They are chemical messengers that regulate processes in our bodies. We naturally produce about 50 different types of hormones. The hormones leptin and insulin, sex hormones and growth hormone influence our appetite, metabolism, and body fat distribution.

Our hormone levels are always changing - hour to hour, day to day, and over the course of time. There are however, certain health conditions that can interfere with your hormones and cause hormonal imbalance.

What role do hormones play when it comes to our weight? Hormonal imbalance affects your body in numerous ways. One of the most common symptoms is weight problems. Having a hormonal imbalance can cause weight gain or make it hard to lose weight,...

As the weather warms up, staying hydrated is very important! Your hydration affects both your mental and physical health, so you will want to be sure that your fluid intake is enough to help you stay feeling your best. If you work outside, or exercise and get a lot of physical activity, you probably need more than if you weren’t doing these things. 

Knowing the why behind the things we are required to do, like drinking lots of water, can be helpful to get us to actually do the things we should be doing! In order for your cells, tissues, and organs to work properly, they need water. Water gets rid of wastes through urination, perspiration and bowel movements, keeps your temperature normal, lubricates and cushions joints and protects sensitive tissues. 

I know it can be a struggle to get enough fluids on the best of days, let alone the extra amount we need when it is hot. I’ve rounded up some simple and effective ways to help you keep up your hydration so you can feel your best all sum...

Summer is just around the corner! Vacations? Camping? Patio Drinks..!?! Yes, Yes and Yes!!! You’ve worked hard all winter, and you don’t have to let yourself go off track during the summer, as tempting as it may be. 

A lot of people have this "all or nothing" mindset where they think that now that it’s warmer out, they can push aside some of the good habits and routines they established over the winter months. 

I am here to say to does not have to be this way! You can still have a drink, go on vacation, all while still getting your movement in and eating properly. It’s called balance!

Here are my top tips to help you achieve this balance, all while enjoying everything the summer months have to offer!

1. Plan ahead - pack healthy snacks, research places to eat and menus in advance, schedule in meal prep and exercise like it’s an appointment so you will stick to it! 

2. Stay hydrated - drink lots and lots of water! Always remembering your refillable bottle when you are leaving the h...

Do you need to shake up your routines to integrate the healthier lifestyle you are striving for in your daily life? I often hear from people that they’re striving to improve their sleep, nutrition and hydration, add more movement into their day and try meditation to focus on the present. With a little bit of work and the willingness to switch things up a bit, you will find you can do this with ease, fairly quickly! 

Integrating what you are striving for into your normal daily routine will help make it seem like you aren’t creating extra things to do.

Here are my top tips:

1. Set your priorities. What are the self-care routines that you need most in your life? Make a list of your must do’s daily and weekly that are non-negotiable. Start small, you do not have to conquer it all at once.

2. Create routines. Once you have set your priorities, create yourself a realistic schedule that can act as a routine and something you can stick to. Set the time aside, and schedule it into the calen...

Take a moment and think about what being healthy ideally looks like to you. So many people have the common misconception that healthy is just about working out all the time and eating only healthy foods. But really, your health is related to so many aspects of what makes up a person - sleep, relationships, movement, nourishing food, hydration, rest, having goals, your outlook on life; a lot about how you feel on the inside, not just what you look like on the outside. 

Are your grand plans of focusing on you and your overall health  falling a bit flat as we have eased into 2023? Working with a health coach is a great way to benefit from accountability and start making steps in the right direction to meet the goals you set out for yourself, even the ones you don’t know you have yet!

What is a Health Coach?

A health coach is an accountability partner who is there to support, motivate and encourage you on your journey. They are a consistent person who will help you take your healt...