What does it take?

Lately I have been getting questions like, "what does it take to loose over 20 pounds like you have?", "It must be hard?", "What's the trick?".

Now, don't get me wrong, it's no walk in the park, but that is primarily due to believing we are missing out on something when we are eating whole foods and no crap. That we are missing a TV show when we are taking a walk or going to the gym.

There are no tricks, the only trick that has been going on is the one that the big guys have been playing on us.
Selling us all this crap that is considered food!

Really, I want everyone to know that there is nothing lacking for me. If anything, I have gained appreciation for foods that make my body surge with energy.

Ask yourself, when was the last time you woke up and popped out of bed full of energy? Not to impress, but I do, almost every morning.
The proper fuel & exercise turns your body, mind & soul ON!

I am a believer in energy & if we go into weight loss with a mind set of I'm lacking, it's going to be really hard, & we are working against ourselves, swimming upstream rather than with the flow.

It many sound odd but creating mantras & feeding your mind with the proper fuel is just as important.
So, a few things that I am doing beside the fabulous food plan & workouts have been reading inspiring stories, success oriented articles, listening to music that gives me energy & makes me happy when I need a boost.

Taking in everything to bring my whole being onto the same path. You never know how off you are, till you are on.

So this week I added two 30 minutes jog/walks, listened to Deepak Chopra four times, pulled out some Michael Jackson & dropped 2.2 pounds!

Thanks for reading. I hope this inspires you to create the healthy body you deserve.

Much Love,
Vered.


Total Weight Lost To Date: 22.2 pounds!

Happy May!

I am thrilled to hit a pinnacle of 20 pounds lost this week!

I am 7 weeks away from the 16 week mark.

I have to admit the reasons for going on were starting to fade away.
What I mean by reasons is, what will be the driving force for me behind the next 7 weeks?
I have dropped 20 pounds & I feel really good.
Is this my dream goal? The honest answer is no!

So, I asked my husband to do the famous Dickens Pattern on me.
For those of you who don't know what this is, It is a look at what your future holds for you if you don't achieve your goals (harsh & sad!)
& then a quick switch to how amazing you will fell if all your dreams are realized, (f'n incredible)! Like in the famous story of Scrooge.

Let me tell you, my husband Tom is great at doing it (I mean Dickens Pattern).
I now I have many compelling reasons to drop 30 pounds in the next 7 weeks!

I know most of you are saying that is crazy! That's extreme! But yes, I am looking for extreme results.
So yesterday night I jogged home from work after teaching Zumba!

I am on my way to my goal of being under 14% body fat this summer & nothing will stop me!!

Much Love,
Vered.

ps:If any of you have been dreaming about making life lasting changes in their fitness & health goals contact my hubby tom.motzer@sympatico.ca he is awesome!! He is also a certified Naturopath.

Ultimate Girls Getaway

This blog entry is a dedication to all the incredible women
I met at the Ultimate Girls Getaway at the Chateau Montebello.

I have to admit the tear ducts were very active.
Now, you have to imagine about one hundred
women ready to play hard for a week end.

I was honored to be one of the guest speakers there teaching
women how to rediscover the Goddess within through erotic dancing.

What a blast!

The energy that encompassed this weekend was one of love & connection.
Talk about being in my element!

We danced till dawn, brainstormed, laughed till we cried & shared stories till we cried.
Some of the stories will stay as unwritten ones!!! Hehehehe....

Fun, laughter, learning, great food, dancing, nature walks & very talented
women all coming together & bonding.
New friendships were formed and old ones were deepened.

I was reminded, while I was there, how important it is to spend time away,
with just the girls. Our busy lives no longer allow us to have those 3 hour coffee talks daily.
Nurturing my soul with great conversation, surrounded by intelligent, inspiring,
funny & loving women was exactly what I needed & I didn't even know it.

As I taught my workshop, the energy that was flowing around that room was nothing less than magical.
Each woman allowed that goddess to shine and it was beautiful...

So to all you Goddesses, I want to thank you for letting me into your lives... you have all touched mine!

Much Love,
Vered.

Week 8!

What was most poignant in week 8 was my fabulous weekend away.

I was lucky enough to be part of the line of speakers at The Ultimate Girls Getaway!
An all girls getaway honoring the women we are.

The food there was awesome and sticking to my plan wasn't easy but I did.

So this week 2 pounds down & I'm very happy!

Lately, I have been trying to reduce a bit more of the portions as I loose
more weight. I obviously should not require the same quantities.

I am at 19 pound total and I can't wait till next week where I will break the 20 pound mark!

I tried a new recipe.
Bison stuffed peppers & it was delicious.

Cook your ground bison(or lean veal or turkey) with sliced onions in a pan.
Chop up some garlic & flavor up your meat as you like & throw in some pine nuts.
Try to stay away from salt.
Empty large organic peppers & stuff them with the meat.
Place them standing in the oven for about 30 minutes at 250.

Before serving dabble a bit of flax seed oil on it.
Enjoy with a tossed salad! YUM YUM!!

I would love to hear about how you all are doing, or any recipes you would like to share!

Much love,
Vered

Total Weight Lost To Date: 19 pounds!

Week 7!

Ok this will be a confession!!

I did not do so well this week.....

I dabbled a bit here and there..& ummm in the wrong foods.
I didn't train in the weight room either!
Basically, I made a lot of booboos & it showed on the scale.

I can tell you that I made the same mistakes over & over again last week when I did go off track.
I waited too long without a meal, I tried to do shakes for a whole day & then I wanted to eat my own arm off!!
Some people learn the hard way....yup that's me!

So this week ZERO pounds dropped!

I will keep this short & not so sweet for me, but I am committing to a 4 pound drop next Tuesday to catch up to my goal weight!

(Editor’s Note: Do we really think that’s a good idea. Should we punish ourselves for being human?)

When you see me training hard & sweating at Latitude you'll know why!

Till next weigh in,
Vered.

Total Weight Lost To Date: 17 pounds!

Week 6!

Hello everyone!!
I hope you all had a great holiday week end!!!

I have to say momentum is big now.
It seems to be getting easier & easier to stay on my food plan.

Over the holiday week end I did eat a bit more than usual.
I stayed true to NO sweets, but I ate more in each meal than I have been.
I tried to compensate by sticking to a shake for dinner.

That must have helped because I really thought the scale wouldn't budge this week.

Yet, I dropped 2 pounds this week!

I'm also learning to change the connection of family and food.
For us there always is loooooots of food at family time.
Yes, it will always be there, but I payed more attention to conversation & connection.

As an endomorph, I will always have to pay more attention to food & exercise regime than those ectomorphs.
You know those people that can eat anything & never gain a pound.
Those are ectomorphs. Endomorphs like me put on a pound after the wrong meal.

Yet, we also put on muscle a lot easier too & that helps a lot with weight loss, body shape & overall health.
I am what I am & I am content!

The best thing about my journey so far, is how much I have learned about me, my beliefs, habits & my body.
How it works scientifically. Understanding that weight loss and weight gain is all science.

It is like a big biology experiment for me & it's a lot of fun!!

Live in Health,
Vered.

ps: It's not too late to join in our 16 week transformation program & feel great for summer!!
Your health is one thing you CAN change in your life... what are you waiting for?

Total Weight Lost To Date: 17 pounds!

Week 5!

Getting Lean & Green?

So, today, after 5 Weeks on our program
I am 15 pounds down & very excited!
I dropped 3 pounds this week.

I'm excited because everyone that is on our transformation program is doing amazingly!

As I think about all the benefits besides looking great, feeling & achieving optimal health.
I am always thinking about the greater good of our actions.

Imagine, all these people are changing their families’ eating habits.
Imagine, less stress on all their hearts, lungs & livers!
I know it may be odd to be thinking of this, but really...it's even LESS WASTE! Hehehehehhehe

We are teaching people about organic food benefits & these are all things that affect the beautiful earth we live on in a positive way.

So today it's a high five to everyone on this program for loosing a total of over 50 pounds!

I hope you all realize the chain reaction of good you are creating.

We are all responsible for the energy in this world...
Latitude clients are doing their part!

Keep up the fantastic work. I am proud & honored to be part of your team.

Much Love,
Vered.

Total Weight Lost To Date: 15 pounds!

Week 4!

Hello everyone!!

It's one month in & I am feeling great.
Hmmm, am I starting to sound redundant?

So, today is a bit of a rant about all these "horrible" gimmick diets that some of my clients have been asking me about.

They boast about loosing the same amount of weight as I have except they don't have any food in them!
I'm sure you all know I'm taking about the "cookie diet".

Any of you out there that are on it?

STOOOOOOOOOP!!!!

It is dead food!

These types of diets do nothing to help teach us how to eat properly for life.
Understand that you can loose 12 pounds in a month eating chocolate as well.
It's all based on energy in & energy out.

That is the greatest advantage of the program we have created at Latitude.
It is based on whole foods. Foods that haven't been processed, denatured, & modified from their original form.
We individually design each food plan based on each clients needs & body fat, lean muscle mass & hydration percentages.

So back to me & a little bit of sharing.
Last Sunday I woke up and had a shake and then was out of the house
for over 7 hours with no food! K now for most people no big deal but when you are on a plan and you are feeding your body every 3 hrs for four weeks, there is a crazy feeling that goes on.
You want to killlllll!!!

So my husband suggested to stop at a vegetarian restaurant & have a spinach salad.
Great, so we did! I had some salad & a bit of quinoa.
All of which are carbs, good carbs but carbs none the less.
Well, imediately after that I was ready to eat anything & everything!
Hence my first cheat in 4 weeks happened.....

So here are the lessons to be learned:

NEVER SKIP A MEAL
NEVER EAT A MEAL THAT DOES NOT HAVE PROTEIN IN IT

One of the most important things in weight loss is eating every three hours. Keeping your blood sugar from rising.
No spikes or drops, because that is when the cravings set in & fat is stored.
Last Sunday I was guilty of both those things!!!

Upward & onward!
I trained twice on Monday & am having a great week, I'm back on track!

Thanks for all your sweet encouraging comments. They are a great motivator for me!!

BTW: It's four weeks & I'm twelve pounds down!

Much love,
Vered.

Week 3!

Ok, so I've completed week 3 of my 16 week Transformation!

I have to share with you, as a woman, what I have been feeling.

Last week I jumped on the scale so eagerly, knowing I have been bang on with food & exercise.

"Oh, what, what's that, only two pounds....hmmmm". I have to say I was less than pleased.

The pressure is on and the week before dropped SEVEN!

"Wait, wait a second what's the date?"
I had to back track a bit......
"I'm PMS..."

Yes, I'm sharing all here.
I figure if I'm going to do this we have to understand all systems in the body. Especially for us women!
So last Tuesday I was in full blown premenstrual syndrome.
Good news is that I hardly felt any bloating, no cravings just some tenderness in my chest.
I don't think I was even overly sensitive, (I better ask the people around me about that, hehehe).

So usually I would feel really bloated & hypersensitive & put on four pounds around that time of month,
instead I felt great & dropped two! Ok I digested that & was looking forward to this week.

So, this morning I’m up at 3AM, revved up to get on that scale!
I jump on & .............. ARGGGHHHHHHH two pounds again!

I am sharing all of this with all of you because this is where I & most would drop the ball. It would be, cheat away!
But no, my wise teammate, Katja reminded me, "Hey, hey you’ve lost 11 pounds in 3 weeks & you have your period!"

This all reminds me of the beauty of being a woman.
There are systems in your body that no matter what program you are on, that will present themselves, reminding you, "Don't forget you are a woman."

Ah yes, so I am proud & I am happy about my progress.
I know there will be lesser weeks & greater weeks & I am ready for them.
I am in it for the long haul & this woman, this wonderful feminine body & spirit will push me through those moments that I just feel like giving in as it always has.

So here I go into the fourth week of my journey feeling great & reminded of the woman I am.

Much love,
Vered.

Week 2 is done!

After Week 1 I lost seven pounds. Tuesday I weigh in for week 2.

I have been doing really well. Yesterday was another family birthday with many goodies, yet I wasn't tempted at all.

I am really enjoying all the home cooked meals myself & my hubby are preparing.
I grew up on fresh food. It was always quality above quantity.
There was nothing packaged or frozen. I now understand the importance of that.
My dad used to, and still does, go to at least three or four markets to buy fresh fruits & vegetables. My mom was baking weekly, so we rarely ate anything store bought, nothing canned!

This is essential to health & well being.

Salad was always a part of dinner & fresh fruit was always desert.
My dad even peels the individual grapefruit segments for us!

The amount of preservatives & additives that are in foods now are scary!

So, what I want to share with all of you in todays blog is how touched & grateful I feel for all the support, comments & feedback I have been receiving.

So many of the members at Latitude take time to stop by my office and wish me well. It is so encouraging & helpful. I am definitely driven by, what feels like love to me. I know there will be challenging times ahead, but for now, it seems like my macronutrients are just perfect because they are coupled with energy from my friends, clients & family!

There are a few people who are starting their journey this week.
I want to send you all, you know who you are, lots of will & energy.
What to me has turned out to be so important is the giving to self.
All of you will be taking time to give yourself the best of health & well being & that feels wonderful!

I wish all of you going into your Week One, all the best!!
Like a friend of mine quoted "Yes We Can!"

Going into Week 3 feeling strong.

Vered.


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