Panorama Recreation Centre and the Peninsula News Review’s Wedding Warrior contestants are getting into shape. Our warriors: Meghan Porteous, Maria Furmek, Gaye McLeod, Lynne Potts and Susan McAdam have all made the commitment to change their lives for the better by getting started on a healthier way of life.
Michelle Bourgeois’ 20 years experience working in a hospital health care setting inspired her to take a proactive approach to health and longevity. She has been actively involved in fitness since 1987, and has extensive experience instructing group fitness and 10k run clinics. She uses weight training as a method to sculpt and reshape the body. Along with being a BCRPA Registered Personal Trainer, Bourgeois is also a Certified Sport Nutrition Advisor, which enables her to educate clients on the benefits of solid, science-based nutrition.
“Ideally, it is best to focus on losing body fat and maintaining muscle,” said Bourgeois. “Several ladies in the group lost more body fat than weight. This is ideal as it means that not only have they lost body fat, but they have put on muscle which will result in an increased metabolism. The result is clothes fitting more comfortably, or having to go down a size or two, and a leaner shapelier body.”
Joanne Lomax’s fitness journey began as a competitive runner, culminating in the marathon distance. Through her experiences she learned the importance of total body fitness and this motivated her to become a BCRPA Registered Personal Trainer.
“The Wedding Warriors group has done amazingly well,” said Lomax. “All of them have made huge gains in their physical health but just as important to me as a trainer, is to see how they have all improved their mental attitude toward fitness and life in general. Often, how much better we feel with a regular exercise program is sometimes lost in the more obvious improvement in our physical ability. These ladies all look so comfortable in the gym and just as important, they are enjoying it and having fun with it.”
Along with regular exercise both trainers believe good nutrition is key to living a better, healthier life.
“My top nutrition tips would be get the ‘white garbage’ out of your diet as much as possible,” said Bourgeois. “Replace the cookies, cakes, bagels, pop, and junk with sugar in it with healthy carbohydrates like vegetables, fruit, and healthy grains.
“Watch your portion sizes. Portion sizes have doubled or even tripled in the past 20 years and so have the average North American’s body fat levels. Keep your portions small and your food healthy and aim to eat a small meal or snack every three to four hours.
“Ensure you are getting enough lean protein in your diet every day. Insufficient protein intake results in muscle loss which drastically reduces your metabolism. Body fat levels then increase, energy levels decrease, your immune system and hormone levels can be compromised.”
“Really be aware of the hidden fats in a lot of pre-packaged foods that we find in the grocery store,” advised Lomax. “Even something like a granola bar can sometimes be loaded with fat, disguised by confusing wording and language on the box. Eat clean, real food. Try shopping only on the outside aisles of the grocery store, where the best food choices are found.
“Also, I think that sharing meals with people can sometimes cause us to perhaps eat things that we normally wouldn’t. Life events like birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas etc. can all cause us to eat more, but I always tell people not to sabotage the hard work they have done by eating differently with special occasions. It is okay to indulge occasionally provided we get back on track as soon as possible. In our society, we associate celebration with food, we need to learn how to deal with that appropriately.”
As for fitness, the two have plenty of great ideas to share.
“Find an activity that you like and do it better and regularly,” said Lomax. “Fitness should not be torture, it should make you feel good as well as look good. Also, joining a small group of people of similar age and interest is great for keeping you motivated and progressing forward. The Fit for Life classes at Panorama are great classes where like-minded people can learn and make it a regular event. Sometimes, if we attempt to go to the gym on our own, we can more easily find reasons to not go some days. A small group like the Wedding Warriors makes it easier, because of the camaraderie among the participants. It definitely helps you stay the course.”
“Schedule your workouts into your week ahead of time and do not allow anything to derail these appointments with yourself,” said Bourgeois. “You are worth it. Train with intensity. When you go to the gym or workout on your own, break a sweat and work hard. When you push yourself slightly beyond what you have done before, you will continue to get stronger and leaner.”