I am delighted to share this post, as it came from a request by Petros Martynyuk of ETB Fit, a sports nutrition-based lifestyle business. ETB stands for Eat The Bear (love it)! Petros wanted to reach out to me after reading my “Not a Typical Before and After Fitness Journey” post that shows the time and dedication I put into reaching your mental and physical goals. With my experiences, ETB Fit wanted to gain some insight into my fitness routine and what fuels my workouts.
As a Registered Psychologist that specializes in Holistic Nutritional Psychology, I am extremely passionate and enthusiastic as heck about inspiring others to empower themselves in health. I help people end their struggle with food and body and transform themselves from the inside-out mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually (i.e., tapping into the mind-body wisdom), so that people can finally feel in control of food and love their body, no matter what shape and size they are! I’m also honoured to be a Fitset Ambassador because I share the same values they do in making fitness accessible, affordable and fun!
My company name is Holistic Body Love and my tag line is: Be Empowered. Transform. Love your Body…Forever.
As I started to blog this post, I decided to take the fun a little further (‘cuz that’s how I roll!) I’ve include some photos of my fitness adventures throughout the years!
So….here goes!!! But first…a disclaimer!
Disclaimer: Please note that this is a personal plan that works for me specifically, and it is not meant to diagnose or treat individuals. We are each individually unique, and what may work for my body, may not work for your body. Please consult your health care practitioner, Doctor, Nutritionist/ Dietician for further advice on nutritional and exercise guidance.
I’m going to blog in Q & A interview style:
ETB: What foods do you eat pre workout?
Roz: I prefer to work out in the morning, so I will have my go-to oatmeal with protein powder (usually vegan, so that it is cookie dough consistency), and throw in natural crunchy peanut butter (by now, my regular readers know I’m a Peanut butter-holic) 😉 Sometimes I’ll have chia seeds and PB2 instead of my peanut butter to switch up the healthy fat source. I will throw in a little Tri-Pow Greens (which makes my oatmeal green! Fun!), and sometimes mix it up by throwing in cocoa powder, powdered greens, or unsweetened shredded coconut. I’m a texture kind of gal, so I really love thick, crunchy/chewy foods.
If it’s mid day or evening that I work out, I will fuel with a high protein and carb snack, such as my own greek yogurt cheesecake concoction, OR a Protein Bar (homemade or one that has natural ingredients). I love naturally sweet foods (but not too sweet). I prefer not to eat white sugar as it creates energy slumps for me, and makes me bloated easily. I prefer to use natural sweeteners like xylitol, stevia, greens powders in my baked goods. So I make sure I have a balance of lean protein and healthy carbs.
And… I eat as mindfully as possible (i.e., I pay make sure my mind and body are in a relaxed state and I’m paying attention to what I’m eating so that it aids in proper digestion and assimilation of meals). After all, I went through all the effort to create a delicious meal, it’s important to honor it! 😉
Sometimes this IS difficult to do, especially with my 1 and 3 year old children around, but I just do my best! I don’t recommend aiming for perfection anymore because I’ve learned that it doesn’t exist! 😉
ETB: What music do you listen to during your workout?
Roz: Most of the time, I prefer to not wear headphones since the gym or fitness class usually has music playing. I personally prefer to be able to connect with people around me, even if it’s only a brief “hi”, as I enjoy chatting with others to have that sense of community- this energizes me (but that’s because I’m naturally an extrovert, as you can probably tell)! But it is important to limit the talking as I have a limited amount of time to work out!
If i’m doing outdoors in nature or doing the stairs in the River Valley, I still prefer no music, as I love to hear the sound around me – the trees swaying, the sound of my feet hitting the soft trail ground, the birds chirping (yep, I am serious!). And I like to say hi to people that I pass 🙂
BUT, if I am running in my neighbourhood (where there’s houses), then I would prefer to listen to music. Anything upbeat and uplifting by Beyonce, Shakira, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry, Britney Spears, Missy Elliot, Rhianna, Maroon 5 makes me wanna keep running (or dancing)! 😉
ETB: How do you switch up certain routines daily/weekly to stay motivated?
Roz: Easy! I’m part of Fitset, which is a unlimited one pass to multiple local boutique studios and gyms in my city. So I can choose what I want to do depending on my mood. My constant is going to Krav Maga (Isreali Martial Arts) once a week.
Dave (my Krav Maga instructor) getting elbowed by Michelle (my classmate), and I’m not doing anything krav maga related. LOL!
I usually love kickboxing at 9Round, cross fit at Spark Sport Conditioning, spin at Tru Ride, full body and TRX workouts at Pure Wellness Studio and bootcamp classes at Southside Conditioning Club.
Tire flipping at Bootcamp with Southside Conditioning Club! (2014)
There are so many more classes I haven’t tried yet under my Fitset pass that I’m wanting to go to! When I want to focus purely on lifting heavy, I will go to my local gym. I also like to go to yoga.
Above: My hubby and I doing couples yoga class together (2011)
On vacation, my husband and I will strap the kids on our backs and go hiking in the mountains. In the summer, we’ll go hiking up and down stairs in the River Valley and we will run, bike or rollerblade with them in the Chariot (for those of you that aren’t familiar, a Chariot is an amazing stroller that you can run, bike, cross country ski with- as pictured below).
Hiking Mt. Daniel on the Sunshine Coast in BC with our babes! (2014)
Just about to head out for a rollerblade workout around the neighbourhood with my babes (2014).
Sometimes I like to make fitness goals for myself or sign up for fun fitness events, such as Color Me Rad, or Warrior Dash. 🙂
Color Me Rad (2012)
Just completed The Warrior Dash in BC. Our baby, Everest, doesn’t look impressed! (2012)
Oh, and I took a few dance classes (with absolutely NO dance background at all!!!)
Posing with hubby in my Madonna Costume for Tap Dancing (2010). Yes I know, those cones are dangerous! 😉
Belly dancing with my bestie (2012)
As you can see I love mixing it up, I think working out should be FUN!
And when I definitely take at least 2 rest days a week. I’m in and out of the workout in an hour – movement or exercise should be part of your day, but not your life (unless you’re a professional athlete of course)!
ETB: What do you eat or do after your workout to make sure you got the most out of your workout?
Roz: Within 45 minutes post workout, I will usually make a smoothie that includes protein powder, frozen fruit (i love cherries), L-Glutamine (to help with muscle soreness), TriPow Greens, kale/spinach/mixed greens and if I’m in a real chocolatey mood, I’ll throw in cocoa powder in there. I love to make it ice cream consistency, so I don’t add a lot of liquid. I drink lots of water before and afterwards the PWO meal.
I find it’s really important to fuel my body with fast acting carbs and high protein after a workout to make the most of it. Carbs will drive the protein into the muscles that have been broken down during working out, so that as the muscles are repairing/rebuilding, the protein will help it in this process.
You can check out more of my smoothie recipes in my recipe section.
Of course I try to savour my smoothie by eating it mindfully. I just don’t like to put protein powder in a shaker cup and down it in 1 second. But if I’m short on time, I will do that and eat a banana – this is definitely NOT my preference! I love the process of eating! This definitely doesn’t satisfy that process!
Typically I will eat a balanced meal of lean proteins, healthy carbs, veggies, and healthy fats within the hour (or the next time I’m hungry again, but that usually is within the hour).
Question: Since you eat so healthy and are so active, do you still have abs post baby?
Roz: If by abs you mean a visible stomach muscle like this photo taken in 2010 here…
…HECK NO! I might have a 4 pack when I flex really hard, but I’ve got a cute lower mama-belly that I’m SUPER proud of and LOVE, with beautiful tiger stripes to prove how amazing my body is to create 2 beautiful and healthy children! I even wrote about it in this post here “My Post-Baby Body: Add curves, fat, stretch marks…and LOVE“. AND visible abs didn’t guarantee anything, at least for me, except staying stuck in “anxious around food” mode just so I could have a flat belly. No thanks anymore!! Even though I don’t have visible abs anymore, I still have a strong core that helps me do functional activities, like lift my kids and carry lots of groceries (sometimes at the same time!!), move heavy furniture (like i did this weekend during my house move!), deadlift and squat with heavy weights, and have great posture just to name a few things my body can do! 😉
I struggled with body image issues for almost a decade (even though I had an athletic build) and my stomach was the part about me that I absolutely HATED the most. So, after much self-work, even though I’m a lot softer and curvier today, what really matters the most is that I love my body no matter what shape or size it is. I am healthy and happy in mind and body.
I had to diet crazy hard (and not in a healthy way) to get a super flat stomach like this picture, taken in 2008 after my body building show:
…and you know what?! I was so crazy anxious, brain fogged, hangry (that’s hungry + angry), hormone imbalanced, and lethargic in getting the physique above…I wasn’t truly happy and free in my relationship with food and my body as I am in the body that I have today!
Me today, rocking some softer feminine curves in this romper, and a “I don’t care how much I weigh” attitude! 😉
I want to thank ETB Fit for asking me to write this post. I personally have not tried their products, but am definitely interested as they pride themselves on offering “some of the markets cleanest and best pre workout available” (according to ETB Fit). I’m all about eating as natural as possible so that my body knows how to process the ingredient properly.
Full disclosure: I make no money from ETB Fit for writing this post nor am I being endorsed by any of the links I’ve mentioned. I also make no money from Fitset. I am just crazy happy to share my fitness adventures and the resources we have here in Edmonton (the various studios and our beautiful outdoors such as the River Valley), in hopes of inspiring others to respect and love their bodies from the inside-out, and be the healthiest version they can be.
For those in Edmonton and Calgary who are interested in checking out Fitset, please use code “rosalyn” to get 20% off your first month!
If you are in the local and surrounding area of Edmonton, I will be running my body image group called “Transform & Deepen Your Relationship with Food & Your Body” in October 2015. Check it out here for further details. Space is filling up!
For those of you who are not in or around my hometown, I will be bringing you this fabulous body image program to the online world VERY soon (i.e., later this year!!) Stay tuned! You can subscribe to my mailing list to get updates of when this is happening! 🙂
In my course, I have taken many of the tools that have helped me and my own clients in my private practice heal in their relationship with food and body image. I’m very proud of creating this program, and it has successfully ran for 3 years straight. This is the 8th live group I will be facilitating in October. This is a holistic, positive psychology approach to helping you end your struggle with food and your body. I’ve designed it for every woman, no matter what shape or size. It’s a personal development course to help you deepen your relationship with your Self. 🙂 Here is the link again to my live upcoming “Transform & Deepen Your Relationship with Food and Your Body” group!
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