The Victoria Health Show 2012 was a HIT -  thanks to the sponsors, speakers, exhibitors, and all attendees!

The 2-day event was held at the Victoria Conference Center and brought in over 10 000 attendees. With a larger variety of exhibitors than ever before, attendees were thrilled at the diverse range of products and services to meet their lifestyle needs, from natural food products, energy bars and supplements, to book signings, ballroom dancing, massages, and more!

Genuine Health sampling delicious and nutritious superfood smoothies

Lifestyle Market making it easy for attendees to buy the samples they love

Planet Organic giving out healthy samples of all kinds

Suede Hills serving local, organic products and giving out free pH test strips

                   Ballroom Dancing                                                 Sam Graci Book Signing

The speakers brought important insight to health and wellness, allowing the show to be as educational and informative as possible. Here is a clip from Sam Graci’s keynote seminar:

The Victoria Health Show also gave away door prizes, before and after the event.

Grand Prize draw winners of Honeymoon Bay Lodge & Resort and Preferred Nutrition have also been selected. The winners are:
A weekend for 2 at Honeymoon Bay Lodge & Resort to: Shannon MacDonald

Gift Basket from Preferred Nutrition to: Jocelyn Taitt & Diane Jensen

Here is what sponsor Preferred Nutrition had to say about the show:

View more Victoria Health Show photos

The next Health Show will be taking place in Calgary on March 17 & 18, 2012 at Stampede Park. To find out more about how you can “ Look YOUNGER , Be SEXIER,  Feel BETTER…..Than You’ve Ever Felt Before!”, visit TheHealthShows.Com

You can stay in touch with The Health Shows on their Facebook and Twitter @thehealthshows

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First in Canada iPhone App to scan healthy foods CarrotLines was launched June 1st. The app was received quite well by the media and general public. The app is currently being demoed at local stores and so check out our calendar.

More info at CarrotLines.com

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Lately, I missed blogging, so there. I just wrote this quickly…

 People ask me about weight loss, diet, and the intricate myth of becoming and staying healthy. It is true: there is no secret and by now our ears have redundantly heard what we need to do. At this information age, there is no lack of information. Rather, my theory is that everyone has barriers to getting into a healthy lifestyle. Unless one identifies those and finds practical solutions, it ain’t gonna happen. Remember, starting is the hardest and momentum is key. We all (most?) have limited resources: time, energy, and money.

My theory also states that a healthy lifestyle has five pillars:

1.       Self/Motivation: You need to understand why you want to become healthier. There has to be a catalyzer and an ability to understand WHY you are unhealthy (or not as healthy as you want to be) in the first place. Spend the time digging into it. Analysis here is good.

2.       Mental: You need to develop focus, self discipline and strength to fight those “I don’t feel like working out” moments and more.

3.       Food: An understanding that it’s not only about what you eat, but also when, where, why, and how (LOTS’ time will be spent here). Healthy also needs to be “within” a budget, calories and $.

4.       Fitness: Whether it is a workout machine out of an infomercial or a walk with a friend, you NEED to find the right routine that works for YOU. Every magazine will have pages dedicated to strength training workouts, but truth is, less and simple is more. As most of us work on a desk sitting all day, you need to find creative “functional” ways to engage your metabolism every day. It can be taking the stairs, walking to the bus stop/home, taking a walk around lunch etc.

5.       Support: Not everyone can afford to surround themselves with a personal trainer and healthy chef. BUT you can choose positive people who can support you throughout this journey. They can also serve as your workout buddy, inspirational figure etc.

More to come…

Check out some of my past articles at: http://healthyvancouver.org/blog/?page_id=10

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Check out a new website that has launched just in time to help us with our New Years Fitness Resolutions. Nadeenboman.com is a one stop shop for those of us trying to improve our health and appearance.

You may recognize Nadeen as the vivacious co-host of Slice Network’s reality TV shows ‘Bulging Brides’ and ‘The Last Ten Pounds Bootcamp’. She has changed the lives of hundreds by driving them to their reach their fitness and health goals. Now, with her website Boman hopes to provide deeper insights into nutrition, practical advice on how to initiate and manage personal change.

Through the site, Boman and her team of nutritionists deliver personally customized meal plans (not software generated meal plans) .The Meal Plans are designed by hand and address physical measurements, food preferences, lifestyle, goals, and the best part… they even accommodate vices!

To kick off the New Year, Nadeen offers her advice on how to stick to our New Years Nutrition Resolutions:  Visit www.nadeenboman.com for more. 

1. EAT! Getting healthy isn’t about cutting out all the food you love. You’ll be shocked at the foods your can eat as part of a nutritional plan. For example, beef jerky is thought to be unhealthy meat loaded with preservatives. In actuality beef jerky can be a healthy, high protein snack. All natural brand beef jerky is available as a chemical-free option, and lean, grass-fed beef has been shown to contain the same healthy omega-3 fats found in fish!

2. Spice it up Resolve to increase your tolerance for spice. Hot Peppers (jalapeno and cayenne) speed up your metabolism by temporarily stimulating the release of stress hormones that cause your body to burn more calories. Lean meats are also good metabolic boosters as they require more energy to digest than other foods.
3. Ladies: Start Talking Don’t just scribble your resolutions down and hide them away, instead tell your friends, your family, anyone who will listen that you are on a mission to get healthy. Women benefit more from telling everyone they know what they are going to do. That’s very telling!

4. Guys: Break out the bubbly and celebrate Typically, men see increased success rates if they set reward milestones. Each month set a celebration target doing something you love with the people you love; it will keep you on target.
5. Don’t follow the January herd to the  gym 29% of people resolve  to go to the

gym more each year. If you don’t already like going to the gym, that probably isn’t going to change - especially in January when machines and classes will be crowded, and prices will be at their peak.  Instead, resolve to do more of an activity you already love. Set a goal to do more hiking, walking to the mall, or dancing! The key is to look forward to the activities that will keep your heart rate up and you burning calories without even realizing it.   

6. Focus Concentrate on eating less cakes and let Bono worry about world peace. Too many people make new years resolutions that are unrealistic and end up floundering after 3 proud days of abstinence. It’s likely that one of the old favourites are applicable to you: Drink less (25% of people stick to this), enjoy life more (35%), go to the gym more (29%), quit smoking (24%), loose weight (28%), or be more organized (27%). Simply pick a resolution that’s within your reach and give it your all…you may be surprised how hard it is to shake bad habits.

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As a student, I used to eat the Tuna Subway Sandwich thinking it was my “healthy” option there - till I realized few years back that NOT every sandwich is 6 grams of Fat or less.

Today, one of my colleagues here was enjoying one, before I ruined it by telling her that it was 530 Calories and 31 Grams of Fat! (Lots’ of hidden Mayo in the tuna…) Sorry Lisa…(who originally thought 200 calories!)

 By the way, most fast foods are required to post nutritional information online – or just Google it!

Wanna check your calories on the go?

Go to: www.calorieking.com/mobile (free)

Source: www.caloriecount.com

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Apple is working on a digital lifestyle fitness software…

“The regimen would then be synced to an iPhone or iPod touch, allowing the user to step through their predefined workout and track their progress while at the gym. In one of the four filings, Apple also suggests a number of hardware-based companion products consisting of sensors for real-time feedback, in addition to raising the possibility that future iPhones and iPod touch’s would include their own assortment of built-in sensors.”

Check out the article. Courtesy of one of my professors; thank you Ian!

I think it’s great that technology is meeting health “on the go”

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So tonight, Paul focused on emotional eating ( in which he also includes boredom, stress eating etc.) One way or another, I think we can all relate to that, and he shows some quick techniques to redirect the stress that makes you want to eat towards relaxation.

I have two comments for this episode. First, I believe in preventative stress therapy, which would include an endorphin rich work out regimen, then a balanced state: emotional, intellectual, and physical as a foundation. I think if you have both, chances of being stressed “on the spot” and turning to food diminish, and if you do cave, I am sure his techniques work for some as well as meditation or breathing techniques for others. ( I like to step away and take a deep breath)

Then, the fact he says that you can eat anything with a strong focus on portion size (by eating consciously) - I feel that once people acquire the self-control, they should be taught proper balanced nutrition and fitness, because it’s not just about being “thin” but more about being “healthy”

I might be a bit harsh on him - but I think his philosophies are, in general, very sound for helping someone gain momentum and strength in a weight loss battle - and then, it’s a lot easier to focus on other things, as above.

That’s my take on it - give me yours!

Check out: http://tlc.com/thin

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I watched the new show by Paul McKenna on TLC last Sunday, and it seems that, although simplistic, he does address important aspects of self-control and weight loss that others have failed to.  His four pillars in the first session were:

• Eat when you’re hungry (duh?)
• Eat slowly to enjoy the food (chew your food at least 20 times)
• Eat Consciously (i.e. don’t get distracted by TV, reading etc. b/c you’ll eat more)
• Stop when you’re full (ex. don’t have to finish your plate)

Link to Youtube Video of excerpt

It’s on again today, Happy Easter everyone.

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Losing weight and getting healthier top the charts of resolutions…what do you specifically intend to do, and most importantly how will you sustain it?

Post, Share, Inspire…

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http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/features/vitalsigns/index.html

“Metro Vancouver has one of the most active populations in Canada. However, rates of physical inactivity are decreasing, and between 2003 and 2005 rates of overweight individuals increased”

What do you think are current barriers to Health & Wellness in the City? And how could we overcome those?

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