ONE NUTTY FROZEN BANANA TREAT! 

1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup pecans
1 tsp canola oil (divided)
Sprinkle of cinnamon
1/4 cup almond meal
4 Tablespoons of almond butter
2 tsp of Agave
1 tsp vanilla
Sea Salt-a couple turns on the grinder

Take your sliced almonds and pecans and put them on a cookie sheet. Mix around with about 1 tsp of canola oil and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Roast at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Put these toasted nuts into a food processor and give them a good chop.

Pour this into a mixing bowl and add the almond meal. In a separate small bowl combine the almond butter, agave, vanilla, salt and the remainder 2 tsp’s of oil. Microwave for about 15 seconds…just to get the almond butter softened up so you are able to mix it all together. Add this creamy mixture to the nuts and almond meal, and stir until a crumbly mixture form.

Place peeled banana on a piece of foil, take some of the mixture and firmly press it around the banana. Finally, gently covered the banana with the foil and popped it into the freezer for about 30 minutes.

Slice and serve!

THE TEN POUND DOWN JOINS THE CBC MILLION POUND CHALLENGE!!!!

Live Right Now, created by CBC, is challenging all Canadians to a million pound challenge in 2011.  I encourage anyone who has been thinking about losing a few pounds to click on the site and join the quest for a healthier Canada.


Visit: http://www.cbc.ca/liverightnow/group.html?id=478


It's easy, you can follow along with us and help our group grow!

STATS CANADA REPORTS ONLY 15% OF CANADIANS GET ENOUGH WEEKLY PHYSICAL EXERCISE

According to a new study, only a fraction of Canadians meet the minimum standard of weekly exercise. Stats Canada says only 15% of people achieve the proper exercise, and that number falls to 7% for Canadians between the ages of 5 and 17. International and proposed Canadian guidelines recommend adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity a week in order to have health benefits. The bracket of younger Canadians should have at least 60 minutes of activity each day. http://www.durhamradionews.com/

HOW DO I GET RID OF MY BELLY FAT?  

Sandy from North Vancouver say's she's done everything from sit ups, to crunches and leg lifts to tone up and shed that extra fat layer around her mid section.  Though muscle toning will elevate your metabolism thus burning more calories the best way to reduce that layer of fat is through cardiovascular execises.  "Spot reducing" is a myth, the body will not just use the fat stored around the muscles you are working.  If you want to successfully reduce those stored calories then get on a bike, go for a power walk or have a swim. Be sure to focus on the fat burning zone which is a 65% of your maximum heart rate (HR). Use this simple formula to figure it out  {220 - ( age )  x .65 = the target HR}.  Then take a 10 second heart beat count times it by 6 to determine what level of exertion you are working at. Another method to determine if your body is primarily burning stored fat is to check your breathing.  If you're breathing too much your not burning fat.  And of course your diet is important and though they say "a calorie in is a calorie out", there's reasonable evidence suggesting that certain foods make better choices for weight loss.  Please review the "Low GI Diet" blog below for more information.

Here are some great abdominal toning exercises from http://www.fatlossworkoutsguide.com/  (click image to enlarge)
                                                                                                                               

   

   

JOIN THE CHALLENGE 2011

This is going to be a fantastic TPD Weight Loss Challenge with 12 exercise sessions (2X/week), a diet workshop, online support and prizes from Lady Sport, Mercedes Benz, The Garden Health, Body Plus...to name a few.  Registration begins Feb 7th and we have had 2 sold out events so don't miss this one. 

All activities can be motified to suit every fitness level, attend what you can and all participants are eligible to win a prize. 

A pledge sign up sheet will be posted on the TPD display board to raise money for the BCSPCA

Good Luck Everyone!