5 Rules to Follow to Start Shedding Pounds!

These are 5 rules from some that I picked up over the years. Following these rules helped me to lose 20lbs over the last year. These are the most effective when used simultaneously, I lost 1-2lbs a week when following these rules consistently with regular physical activity.

This is not a temporary crash diet. These are habits that should stay with you as part of a healthy lifestyle. These rules will help you when you are trying to achieve a calorie deficit (which is the only way to lose weight) but you don't have to feel hungry doing it!

1. Water is your primary beverage.

Stop drinking juice, milk, and pop. Drink water instead, this can save you hundreds of calories a day.

Black coffee and tea won’t do much harm to your weight loss. They are nearly calorie free when you don’t add dairy or sugars and the caffeine in these will even help you to work out harder by temporarily boosting your energy. Have a cup of black coffee or tea 30 minutes before your workout. Moderation is key because caffeine is a diuretic, which will dehydrate you.

Thirst can be confused for hunger, so keep a reusable water bottle with you at all times and sip regularly throughout the day. Drink a cup of water when you feel hungry. The water may satisfy the thirst you mistake for hunger and if it is truly hunger, then it will help with portion control when you follow it up with a meal or snack. You will already feel a little more full from drinking that water beforehand. 

According to Dr. Oz, rye bread is better than other breads at absorbing water in the belly, which will make you feel full longer.

2. No white bread. No white rice or pasta. No refined sugar. No simple carbs.

The reason for this is simple. Simple carbohydrates found in foods like white bread, pasta and products with added sugars digest quickly and boost your blood sugar levels. If you are digesting food quickly, you will have to work that much harder to use up that energy before it is stored as fat. If it is digested quickly, you will feel hungry sooner. 

Simple carbs boost your blood sugar levels and when they crash you will feel like you are starving. 

Opt for complex carbohydrates found in whole grain breads and pasta (not whole wheat), quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal, starchy vegetables and fruit.

Click here for a list of foods that contain complex carbohydrates.

High-fibre foods are complex carbohydrates. Fibre will keep you feeling full.

Click here for a list of foods that are high in fibre.

3. Use calories like money.

Foods that are processed (would you find anything like it in nature? If not, it's processed), fatty or high in sugar are calorie dense. If you are trying to achieve a calorie deficit; say you burn 2,000 calories in a typical day, and you would like to have a deficit of 500 calories (this is the amount it takes for me to lose 1-2 pounds a week but everybody is different), you will have to consume 1,500 calories in a day to achieve that goal. 

Now, you can choose to get to that number with less than three McDonald's Big Macs, but if you are going to meet your calorie deficit goals that's all you will eat for that day. 3 measly burgers. There will be many hours you will go without food and you will feel like you're starving and you are more likely to binge.

A better scenario is to understand that calories are like money. Do you want to spend them all in one place? Or enjoy many things throughout the day? Case in point, you are looking for something quick and crunchy to snack on and you have two choices: 

85 grams of sugar snap peas at a cost of only 35 calories, OR

28 grams of chips at a cost of 150 calories. 

If you choose foods that are low in calorie density, you will have more calories to "spend" on other foods throughout the day. You can meet your calorie deficit goals without letting yourself go hungry. Making food choices like these will often lead to better nutrition as well.

Switch to non-fat dairy, lean meats like roast poultry and fish, and egg whites for fewer calories.

Bake, boil, or steam instead of frying. Fat is very calorie dense.

Calorie Count is a powerful tool to help you log food and count calories. I've been using the app for a few years now and it has helped to me to understand more about the calories and nutrition in what I eat, and what portion control really is. Calorie Count has a great online community, you can post or read daily food journals and look at what other people are eating that makes their diets so successful (or not!). It also helps to invest in a food scale if you're really serious. 

4. Sweat once a day.

I saw this on a lululemon bag once. I took it to heart. If you can bring yourself to sweat through physical activity once a day, you're already winning against the you that would have gone the entire day with a dry brow. I'm not even going to tell you how to exercise here, the logic behind this is simple. Sweat for at least 20 minutes a day, and you will see a leaner you. A quick jog will go a long way (no pun intended!).

Hate to sweat? I did too, but think about it this way.

5. Use less, also known as portion control.

Studies have shown sugar is more addictive than cocaine. Yes, you read that correctly. In a perfect world we would cut refined sugar out of our diet completely, but for those of us that can't we can at least practice using less. If you usually use two spoonfuls of sugar on your oatmeal, try using one. It will take some time to adjust to the new taste, but after 3 weeks of consistently using that one spoonful, you will wonder how you ever thought so much sugar was necessary.

The same goes for portion control. Make your portions smaller than you're used to. A few neat tricks to help you feel satisfied with smaller portions is to use smaller plates or utensils, a teaspoon for your soup instead of a tablespoon. This will make your portion look larger, and smaller utensils force you to eat it slower.

It takes 20 minutes for your brain to realize that your stomach is being filled with food. You may be satiated far sooner than your brain realizes, so eat slowly and give it some time to figure out that you don't need that second helping.

That being said, eat half your dinner and pack away the rest for later. Smaller meals spread throughout the day will keep you from feeling hungry.

Your meals should roughly look like the photo below. Notice how half of what is on here is vegetables, which are made up of complex carbs and are high in fibre which will keep you feeling full. Vegetables are also low in calorie density, which is good if you're like me and you love to eat.

Healthy Quinoa Egg Hash Breakfast Recipe

I came up with this one morning when I was trying to use up whatever I had in the fridge and it turned out just right. This is quick, easy and super healthy! It's high in fibre, iron, and protein. It's low-fat and low sodium. This would taste great served with diced chicken breast. I usually enjoy it on its own for breakfast or lunch. Serves 2-4.

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 Cups water

3/4 Cup quinoa

2 Cups baby spinach

1/4 Cup chopped white or yellow onion

Half of a tomato

Half of a red bell pepper

4 large eggs

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Dash of thyme
Dash of salt and pepper

1/4 Cup low-fat cheddar or marble cheese

You will need:

Sauce pan

Large non-stick skillet

Grater

1. Bring water to a boil. Set heat to medium, add quinoa and stir occasionally. Move on to steps 2-4 while you wait for the quinoa to cook.

2. Chop spinach finely.

  3. Dice onion, red bell pepper and tomato.

4. Separate egg whites and set aside. (Click here to learn how to separate egg whites)

5. Once all the water is absorbed into the quinoa, remove heat and fluff with a fork.

5. Heat a large nonstick skillet on medium heat then add 2 tablespoons of olive oil.

 6. Toss in the onions and sauté for 30 seconds. 

7. Add the red bell pepper and tomatoes and sauté for 2 minutes.

8. Add the spinach and stir into the mixture.

9. Add egg whites, stirring constantly until the egg is scrambled and cooked. 

10. Stir in the cooked quinoa, thyme and salt and pepper. Grate light cheese over the pan and stir until mixed thoroughly.

12. Remove from heat and serve. Enjoy!

10 College Survival Tips (for the Chronic Procrastinator)

1. Stop eating out. Period. 

Face it, you can no longer afford it. You will save a fortune, like enough to make an extra credit card payment every month. Consider buying frozen pizza instead of ordering delivery.

2. Make use of your locker and stuff it with snacks. 

Always remember to eat. There's nothing worse than being in class when you can't concentrate because of your rumbling stomach.

Instant oatmeal can be consumed without utensils. Now includes fibre!

Pour one or two packets of instant oatmeal into your coffee thermos (or re-use your paper coffee cup if you've already violated tip number 1), fill it all the way up with hot water. The goal here is to make it soupy, and not thick like oatmeal is usually consumed. Hot water can be found using the water tap on the front of a coffee maker, like you might find at your school cafeteria. You can drink your oatmeal sans utensils on-the-go, and it will look like you are sipping a regular cup of Joe. Make sure to give the thing a swirl every couple of sips or most of your oatmeal will settle at the bottom.

3. Wearing a watch is essential. 

Set the time on your watch, phone and computer 5 minutes ahead and swear to yourself it's accurate. When rushing around you won't have time to remember it's wrong. You'll be pleasantly surprised and impressed with yourself when you walk into class on-time because you hurried harder than you would have if you had been using the correct time.

You need to know the time when you're in college, you will be expected to meet tight deadlines. Pulling a smartphone out of your pocket or purse won't cut it when you're in a hurry.

Siri, what time is it?

4. Catch the early bus.

It goes without saying that there are such things as delayed or sometimes early service, construction zones, detours and "Sorry, Bus Full" instances, and plain ol' "I missed the bus." days. Do yourself a favour and catch the early bus. If you are really early you can catch up on some reading, review your study notes for the morning's test, take your time sipping a nice java or go to the gym.

5. Sticky tabs are your best friend.

Save time when searching through textbooks, binders or notebooks by using sticky tabs to mark those frequently used pages or chapters you have to read. Write on the tab with a ball point pen before pulling it out of the dispenser.

6. Have an "IN" folder with you at all times.

Whatever you use to tote around your paperwork, include an "IN" folder IN it (lol). A folder is a quick way to file what you receive in class without turning your attention away from what's being talked about. It will save you from crumpled and/or lost assignment handouts at the bottom of your bag and make it easy to see what assignments you currently have. Remove completed material from the "IN" folder and archive it in your binder or file folder under the corresponding class subject. 

I highly suggest labelled dividers for each subject.

I ran out of funny things to say because there is nothing funny about how full this folder is in my binder right now...

7. Prepare for the next day.

Plan your outfit, make your lunch and snacks, pack your bag, and charge your laptop and phone. This will shorten your morning routine and allow you to add precious minutes of sleep. DON'T hit your snooze alarm, falling back asleep cues your body to begin the next sleep cycle, adding sleepy hormones to your morning that you could have done without. Charge your laptop and phone every night. A good idea is to have your laptop packed, with the charging cable connecting it to the A/C outlet in the wall. Then all you have to do is unplug,  stuff the cable in a side pocket and you're good to go.

I have no idea why I'm awake right now.

8. Cook once, eat twice.

When you get around to cooking meals, make meals that can be eaten as leftovers. Quinoa, veggies roasted, sauteed or boiled al dente, rice, pasta, chilli, soups, chopped chicken breast. Make enough for 3-4 servings then pack servings in separated, stackable containers or ziplock freezer baggies. Pro tip: freeze the baggies flat. Take one with you for lunch, or toss one in the microwave for dinner. 

Wrong. There's no frozen pizza.

9. Do jumping jacks when you read.

If you've ever used reading as a device to fall asleep, do not be surprised when you struggle to stay awake during long reading sessions when it comes to class material. You need to train your brain to understand that reading time is awake time. Perhaps you need to read while sitting in a dining chair instead of your favourite recliner for a while, you can't be too comfortable if staying awake is a problem. When you feel yourself drifting off, get up and walk around the room, make coffee, or do jumping jacks. Eventually, you will override that old tendency to fall asleep.

10. Wake up at the same time every day, even on weekends!

Set a three-hour window for yourself. The beginning of that window will be the earliest you ever need to wake up during the school year, like for your earliest class or the opening shift at your job. The end of that window is the latest you will ever be allowed to sleep in, like on weekends.

For example, wake up at 6am for Monday's early class, wake up at 9am on Saturday no matter how late you stayed up Friday. You really shouldn't be staying up later than 3am as a student. The occasional all-nighter might be necessary to finish a project but that can usually be avoided with better time management skills.

From experience, working as a bartender or server until 2am while going to school with an 80-100% coarseload is not a good idea. Trade the -tender in bartender for an -ista in BARISTA and you'll find something that fits into your sleep schedule. Instead, BE A CUSTOMER at the bars, clubs or restaurants where you can build and maintain your friendships, which is honestly way more fun than working there.

Aboriginal People's Choice Music Awards - A Night of Artists, Community and Support

I attended the Aboriginal People’s Choice Music Awards (APCMA's) for the first time last night when I found out last minute that a friend had a few extra tickets to share, it was an impulse decision I do not regret. 

The live televised event was hosted at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg. While some moments of applause were cued for the sake of the audiences at home, the enthusiasm fuelling it was genuine. The exuberant cheers and whistles seemed to me to a message to the talent that would have said, "We love what you're doing, we're here to support you."

Inez Jasper
Image credit: Karolina Turek

I was delighted to see contemporary acts such as singer and entrepreneur Iceis Rain performing her empowering and addictive rock song “The Queen” and pop artist Inez Jasper who brought "Dancin' on the Run" to the stage with choreographed back up dancers to accompany.

Manitoba Premiere Greg Selinger introduced the award for Aboriginal Entertainer of the Year. I'd like to say thank you, Mr. Selinger for taking such an upstanding role in the event and supporting our indigenous artists. 

In attendance were artists from as far south as Ecuador and as far north as Russia on the other side of the meridian. Local talent was also abound, the stadium seats spotted with Manitoba Indigenous celebrities and political figures.

My favourite part about the Indigenous community is that success loves to breed success. An indigenous artist who performs on stage with massive sound equipment, studio lights, a live broadcast team and a roaring audience, may be your friend’s cousin, uncle, sister or even a once shy high school classmate. On the edge of your social and family network you hear of a rising star, one who might smile at you in a crowd or even dance with you for a moment at the party after the concert, it reminds you that these local celebrities are people you might walk past any day on the street. Realizing this tears down the wall that divides you from making your own personal success story a reality as well. These celebrity figures are real people too. 

I want to see the continued success of indigenous art and to carry on the mutual support I've seen shared with one another. It was support like this that Leonard Sumner, the winner of APCMA's Best New Artist for 2014, recalled during his after party performance hosted at The Pyramid Cabaret. The crowd exploded upon hearing his name on the list of nominees for Best Folk/Acoustic CD, even though he didn't win the category, he said the moment made it, "one of the most memorable nights of my life."

Leonard Sumner - Image credit: http://rezpoetry.com/

Dancin' on the Run Official Music Video: