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Grocery Shopping Guidelines

3/15/2018

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Nutrition Tip with Lindsay Mustard, CNP

I hear it time and time again, "healthy eating is too expensive, I don't have the time, I don't know what to buy.." We sound like broken records in between our mouthfuls of chips and burgers that we're eating. 

Eating healthy doesn't have to be hard, we choose to make it hard! ​

When I go to a clients house to teach them how to meal prep, they're blown away by what we can get done in a measly 60 minutes. Set aside some time for yourself every week and dedicate it to being your food prep time for the week. 
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Start with whichever items need to either be roasted or baked, get those in the oven first and then move onto recipes that require the stovetop. I make granola, baked chicken and cookies for clients, while those are baking, I'll make chicken burgers and cook them in a frying pan on the stove. While the stovetop items are cooking on low, move on to any item and or recipe that needs to be soaked - chia seed pudding or overnight oats for example. The last prepping priority is anything that requires washing or chopping, such as your fruits and vegetables. 

Follow the grocery shopping guide below to know what to spend the bulk of your money on and what your food priorities should be. 

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1. Buy fresh fruits and vegetables over frozen (except frozen fruit for smoothies!).

​2. Shop the perimeter of the grocery aisle. You'll notice that all of the commonly bought items such as milk, eggs and meat are all on the perimeter, that's because grocery stores want to expose you to as many products as possible as you shop.

3. Stay out of the danger zones. The only middle aisles you should be going down is the spice, condiment and healthy snack food aisles. The rest of the items offered are essentially filler foods with no nutritional value and a shelf life longer than your lifespan.  

4. Shop with a list and stick to it. Write down the exact quantities of food that you need for the week and don't get distracted by what's on sale or food items you get bonus points for buying. 


5. Buy a few days before ripe. I like to buy two sets of some fruits and vegetables, avocados and bananas are two finicky fruits that will either ripen fast or take weeks.  I recommend purchasing some bananas that are on the greener side while the second set should be ready to eat. Same goes for avocados, buy one that is entirely ripe and one that should take a few days (you'll know because it will be as hard as a rock). 

6. Buy in season! Vegetables especially will go on sale based on the season. Base your vegetable purchases around what items are commonly on sale during specific months (i.e.: squashes in the winter, greens in the summer), and you'll not only save money, but the food will taste far fresher 
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COACHES TIPS FOR OVERCOMING BACK INJURIES

3/9/2018

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COACHES TIPS

​So you've been struck by a back injury. You've been training hard for the past year making significant gains and progress, then all of a sudden injury strikes. Here are some great tips for dealing with a back injury.
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What do you do when injury strikes? We've asked a few of our coaches for their best tips on how to manage and overcome back injuries without sacrificing progress. 

Tip 1 - Get back to basics

​An injury is an opportunity for growth. Work on whatever strict movements you can. Build up that strength. If your back is the issue, focus on core and clean up foundational movements and technique. You'll come back stronger as a result.
​- Coach Evelyn
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Tip 2 - Keep moving and listen to your body

Take some time to evaluate your situation. Start by eliminating all movements that you know are painful or out-of-bounds as this will not promote healing. I believe that continuing to workout in whatever shape/form you can, will shorten recovery time as long as it is done in a safe and pain-free manner (a lot of this is trial and error). Once you've figured out what you can do, pick something that you'd like to improve on or view as a weakness and dedicate time (2x a week) to get better at it. With a back injury, this will leave pressing and some gymnastics strength movements on the table for you, two areas that CrossFitters can all spend more time on and see benefits across many areas.
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 You should get very comfortable with changing the workout of the day in some part (if not entirely) on a day-to-day basis as there is nothing wrong with that. My recommendation would be to come to the coach with suggestions that you have identified as things you want to work on, this will help :) They will fill in the gaps and ensure you are getting as close to the desired stimulus as possible. Keep your head up, get excited about your new areas of focus and celebrate your progress and new PRs while you heal up.
- Coach Mark

Tip 3 - Focus on the progress

Focus all your attention on the other areas of training (including nutrition and sleep and mobility) as well as other movements that don't cause pain. Feeling good about progress in other areas can help distract from the negative focus on what feels lost at the time. Having a strong mental game in this situation can make a significant difference on the journey to recovery.
 - Coach Jayme
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Tip 4 - Identify any imbalances

As well as this being an opportunity to put some time into those strict gymnastics movements, upper body strengthening, and unloaded spinal movements (such as lunges), it's also an excellent opportunity to assess imbalance and build a proper foundation for future training. More times than not, our back injuries are as a result of repeatedly training with non-ideal movement patterns and/or hip/knee/ankle mobility limitations or imbalances. Take this time to identify these potential imbalances (or just tightness), and/or motor pattern issues (e.g., knees caving in during squatting), then start working to correct/balance these issues. This will help avoid problems in the future and allow you to continue training with good forward progress for life!
- Coach Adam
We hope you find these tips helpful, and as always we are here to help in any way we can. Our Coaches are always open to working with you to ensure you have the safest, most efficient, and fun workout possible. If you have any questions or concerns regarding an injury or setback, please do not hesitate to speak with one of our coaches. 

Happy Training!
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Are You Getting Enough Protein?

3/5/2018

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A salad is not complete without protein

By Lindsay Mustard, CNP
​A common mistake that I see a lot of my clients making is under eating on protein. The most important macronutrient that we need to support our metabolism, muscle mass and to provide a sustained source of energy for our bodies throughout the day. 
​I recently visited my Aunt in Toronto where we made the most delicious salad I have had to date. We used a base of romaine lettuce and added yellow bell pepper, carrot, broccoli, green onions and pistachios for a crunch, olives and sundried tomatoes to bring a bit of saltiness to the dish and topped it all off with a healthy caesar dressing made from lemon juice and olive oil. 
​It was hands down the tastiest salad I have ever had, but I wasn't satisfied. Why? Because there was no protein! When I asked her what we should add to it for protein source she suggested feta cheese - although that would've taken the salad to the next level, it wasn't exactly what I had in mind. 
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​Next time you sit down to enjoy a hearty salad, make sure that you have a healthy source of protein to pair with it. By adding a bit of chicken, tuna, salmon or plant-based source of protein such as hemp hearts, it will keep you fuller for longer and keep your sugar cravings at bay until your next meal. 
​Use the diagram below to learn about each macronutrient and which of them overlap and serve as two sources. I encourage you to ensure that you have a pure source of protein at each meal and a healthy source of fat with every meal and snack. 

Happy munching! 
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