After 1 year of thoughtful reading and questioning in Get TriFIT's Dive Deep Program, this diagram, to me sums up our relationship with ourselves and our struggles simultaneously.

The input into this closed loop system can either negatively or positively impact us from our thoughts, our moods, our hormone balance, our physical health and more.

Every thought we have is a chemical reaction. I read this in "Biohack Your Brain" and I cannot let go of the idea. Every thought we have is not miraculous or unique, it is simply a chemical reaction of millions of chemical reactions in our body.

These reactions are shaped by the food we eat, the things we drink and how we move our body. It is all tightly, intricately woven and it's why everyone struggles at some point. It's why there is no one cookie cutter solution.

Instead, I believe the key is an awakening to our thoughts that helps us choose wisely. In turn, it leads to results that make us more resilient; which fortify us against our own worst chemical reactions (thoughts).

It is why we all are Imperfectly Perfect.

It is also why we need a big toolbox with a vast range of tools. Why we must be willing to change out old tools for new ones and must always open our toolbox with grace and acceptance.

Even masters know they need good tools.

If you are always on the go, then you need to start adding smoothies to your daily routine. Here's why?

Being busy and always on the go with the kids means take out. We pack snacks for the kids to take to practice. We feed them a quick dinner before the game or practice but we NEVER feed ourselves. The result ... take out.

Which turns into guilt. Then a sense of failure. And THEN ... we decide Fuck IT! And go all in on breaking our habits because ... why not?

Packing a smoothie on the go is a sure fire way to stay on track, feel in control and handle any sweet cravings at the same time.

Being busy is a great legit excuse to break the habit but it doesn't have to be. Smoothies are my way of ensuring no matter what, no matter how sideways my day goes I have: 4-5 servings of veg, 2-3 servings of fruit, 1 full serving of protein and 2 servings of fat.

In other words, I'm more than half way to my daily goals in ONE smoothie shaker!!

Every smoothie you enjoy for the rest of the challenge add a bonus point to the protein section of your tracker.

Share a recipe to the Get Social Page on the website earn a special ballot for a very special prize!

My go to smoothie products are linked HERE and if you want to save an extra 35-50% off comment below and I'll send you a coupon

In a nutshell (hahaha ... couldn't resist) ... MCT, also know as a medium chain triglycerides

And coconuts are packed with MCTs!

Why MCT's?

1. Well, they are easier to absorb and utilized ... so less likely to be stored as fat

2. reduce cholesterol

3. can suppress the appetite

4. in the brain, MCT's become ketones which neurons use as fuel when glucose isn't available

5. fight age-related inflammation

6. improve cerebral circulation

Essentially, our brains LOVE MCT's

A great way to add MCT to your daily routine is add 1 tbsp to your smoothie or coffee. You can also use coconut oil for cooking.

1 tbsp of coconut oil is 1 serving of healthy fats

I talked a bit about how our gut can grow/maintain healthy or bad gut bacteria, and ​what we eat nurtures or starves the bacteria.

Highly processed sugary foods feed the bad bacteria in our gut. The result is our body produces less serotonin​​ because the bad bacteria pushes out the healthy bacteria that does produce serotonin.

The bad bacteria also enhances our cravings for sugar - they feed off of sugar! Part of the reason for eliminating processed foods completely for 30 days is to help reset the bacteria in our gut. That's the beautiful part, the flora or gut bacteria in our stomachs changes all the time based on what we eat and drink.


In other words you can ReSET your health over and over again!! Just like your fitness practice, you can continue to improve bit by bit. I named this nutrition program ReSET for this very reason. This, like HIITing play, is an imperfectly perfect lifestyle. Are you going to eat "imperfect meals?" YES!!! But do you have the skills and self knowledge to realize one meal doesn't destroy your hard work. Life is about living. Just like missing a workout doesn't undo all your progress.

The key is learning habits you can sustain and when you find you've drifted away from your goals or ideals you can simply ReSET back to where you want to be.​​​​​​ ​

Each of these emails​​ can be printed and added to your workbook to further enhance your recipe selection and knowledge.

KNOWLEDGE IS POWERFUL.

Understanding the why behind food choices makes it easier to choose well and easier to give oneself grace when we deviate. If you want to live a long, healthy vibrant life it is absolutely important to nourish and move your body daily. My hope and ambition is for you to see food as a tool to optimize your health, your alertness, your cognitive function and your energy. Most importantly your mental health is directly related to what you eat and how you move.

Just like our planet, our body's systems are intricately related and every single one is fuelled and maintained by what we eat and how we move. When we do both well .... MAGIC!

~ Amy, your coach and trainer
​

Ps. Eat your whole grains​​​​

Raspberry Kombucha Smoothie
For the Raspberry Layer

• 1 cup frozen raspberry (thawed)

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds

For the Kombucha Layer

• 1/2 cup kombucha

• 1-1/2 cups oat milk

• 1 tablespoon rolled oats

• 1 tablespoon almond butter

• 1 banana (peeled, chopped)

• 2 scoops of Arbonne vanilla protein powder
  

Instructions

• Add the raspberries into a medium bowl and mash with a fork.

• Sprinkle in the chia seeds, then mix to incorporate.

• Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the chia seeds to absorb the liquid and turn the mixture into jelly.

• Meanwhile, prepare the kombucha smoothie by adding the ingredients into a blender and processing to get a smooth, creamy liquid.

• Divide the raspberry chia jelly into two serving glasses. Then pour the kombucha smoothie evenly over the top.

• Mix and serve.

The human gut is an amazing piece of work. It is the only organ to boast its own independent nervous system, an intricate network of 100 million neurons embedded in the gut wall.

The 100 trillion microbes that make up the GI tract are critical to health. Gut bacteria regulates digestion and metabolism. Gut Bacteria extract and make vitamins and other nutrients from food that you eat. They program the body's immune system.

Tweaking the balance between beneficial and disease-causing bacteria in the gut can alter brain chemistry.

The brain can also change the gut microbiome, changing behaviour. Studies shown that psychological stress suppresses beneficial bacteria, which causes increased feelings of anxiousness.

The relationship between our physical and mental health is intricately tied to how we move our body and what we eat - DAILY. When we learn how to maximize both we can significantly improve how we feel!!

We MUST stop thinking about nutrition and fitness as a function of weight loss and start thinking about it as a critical piece of our mental and physical health. We are what we eat and we are what we do!!

How can we positively change our gut bacteria? I'm going share tips with you over the next few days.



Source: https://www.apa.org/monitor/2012/09/gut-feeling

This Salad is a huge HIIT of healthy fats!

Packed with healthy fats, protein and carbs it's the perfect 3X salad
1 cup of cooked farro
1 cup cooked quinoa​​​​
2 cans of chick peas
1 red pepper cubed
1 green pepper cubed
1 zucchini cubed
1 bag of frozed shrimp cooked
1/2 cup of cilantro
salt and pepper to taste
drizzle olive oil
2 limes squeezed
Toss the ingredients together and serve with 1/2 an avocado and sprinkle 1 tbsp of hemp seeds​​​​​​​​​​

No, you don't have to fly like superman but you do have to set a timer to see how long you can hold a plank for. This is this week's fitness challenge.

Set your phone camera up to record and when you hit record the timer begins. When you break, hit stop and you have your video recording for the plank challenge. Either send it to me or screen shot how with the timer showing how long you help your plank.

For every minute you hold you get an extra bonus points.

1min ~ 1 bonus point

2min ~ 2 bonus point

3min ~ 3 bonus point

etc

I'll post my plank challenge at the end of the day.

Get OUTSIDE!

Either take your workout outside or go for a 30 min walk or run. Every time you either take your workout outside or go for a 30 min walk you earn a bonus point on your tracker. You can earn up to 21 bonus points this week in fitness alone!

1 point for your TriFIT workout

1 bonus point if you do your workout out side

1 bonus point if you go for a 30 min walk