21 Day Fix Extreme - My Experience

Back in the spring, I was really excited for the release of 21 Day Fix Extreme. Many of my fellow coaches and challengers had done the original 21 Day Fix and LOVED it, and I thought this would prove to be an awesome new challenge for me. It boasted:

• 30 minute workouts, each with weights and/or a resistance band
• variety in the workouts - plyo, upper body, lower body, pilates, cardio & yoga
• modifier for every exercise
• food plan, complete with portion controlled rainbow-coloured containers
• opportunity to get shredded 

I was super stoked to do this program and had a group of gals all set to do it with me...

And then I got the godzilla flu. I was out of commission for 10 days complete with fever, no appetite, lethargy, weakness and fainting. It was AWFUL!! It took me awhile to get back into the swing of things and I definitely wasn't in shape to do the program (Heck, I couldn't even get out of BED for 10 days, let alone do jumping jacks with weights!!)

After I regained my strength and my health, I got back into working out daily. I did many of the 21 Day Fix Extreme workouts and dabbled in the program, but never completed the full 21 consecutively and NEVER embarked on the meal plan. 

Why?

Back in 2006 when I first decided to lose weight I counted points, which at the time was a glorified way of counting calories. It did a great job of helping me learn about portion and was instrumental in me losing 35 lbs, but it also created an obsession with numbers.

Be it points or the number on the scale, I was a wee bit obsessed and not always in a positive, helpful way. A lot changed - I learned more about healthy eating and real food.

I was diagnosed with Crohn's Disease and went gluten & dairy free.

I lost more weight in an unhealthy way after my break up then gained it all back + more. But I remained obsessed with numbers and the scale until I stopped counting points and banished the scale. I found freedom in not weighing myself and viewing all food as choices, rather than good or bad foods that had a number attached.

In doing so, I found a balance with healthy eating and finding those goods feelings inside myself - not based on any number. So I was resistant to try using the containers because I didn't want to feel restricted / inhabited / confined to numbers again.

In the 21 Day Fix system, the containers help with portions, focusing on whole foods and gives you a system to follow (each colour represents a food group). You count the number of each container you have each day, but those are the only numbers to follow. Watching my challengers and fellow coaches follow this plan and have super results was incredibly inspiring and I also wanted to really understand the program. Yah, I could read about and learn everything there was to know - but that's very different than actually DOING!

With all of the traveling I did this summer, I also had let a lot of treats creep into my daily routine. Treats are great and delicious - but they should actually be a treat, not a daily occurrence. 

So with all of that in mind, I declared that I was going ALL IN in October, committing to a full 21 days of the program and giving the containers a go. 

I loved all the variety in the workouts. There are 7 different workouts that you're doing, so over 3 weeks you only do each workout 3 times. I really enjoyed seeing myself get stronger each time I did a workout - be it with heavier weights, the ability to do more reps, use better form or not have to modify. I started out with 3, 5 and 10 lbs weights. I'm about ready to retire the 3's and need to pick up some 8's!! 

I find Autumn to be very motivating (and am also motivated by the handsome, bearded men in the workout - hah!!) She is fierce, but not scary. I want to work harder because of the things that she says!!

I committed to the meal plan last week and found a few interesting things:

• Planning is key- I knew that going in and do like to have a meal plan each week, but ensuring that you get the correct number of containers each day definitely requires some thoughtfulness and planning. If you have everything on hand, and can make a few big things to help you get through the week, you're golden!
• There are so many snacks - I'm not usually a snacker, but in order to get in all of my containers for the day I was required to change that, which was actually awesome! My energy levels were stable and I felt like I was eating so much food. I also tried out a bunch of new, fun snack recipes and will be incorporating them into my routine. 

• I didn't feel restricted - I enjoyed having a plan to follow and I didn't feel like I was depriving myself because there was so much food. Counting containers didn't freak me out like I was worried it might and it was great to have a goal to work towards. 
• More protein please - the meal plan forced me to focus on protein, which was a good thing! I was having protein at most meals and incorporating it into my snacks as well, which was great. 
• Let's change things up a bit - I tried some new recipes that I really enjoyed. I made a bunch from the Fixate Cookbook and some from the 21DFX meal plan book. I haven't talked about this on the blog yet, but I started eating meat again back in the spring (it was part of my recovery after I was sick...) I'm focused on eating ethical meat from quality sources, and still eating a predominantly plant-based diet that is gluten & dairy free. It's been an interesting transition for sure, but I feel amazing. Cooking with meat is still foreign to me, so it's been good to try some new recipes and find new favourites. 

Some of my favourite meals included: Shakeology smoothies in the morning, big salads with tofu, hummus & lots of veggies, chili, taco salad, cashew & oat hot cakes and eggs with veggies & goat cheese. 

Some of my favourite snacks were: sliced fruit with nut butter, plain (goat) yogurt with fruit & seeds, pumpkin muffins and pumpkin energy bites. 

I'm proud to report that on Sunday I finished Day 21 of the program and did a week of the container system. And as a result, I dropped 6 inches - not bad for 3 weeks!! I didn't take my own advice and didn't do progress photos -- I need to find a spot in my new house to take them! 

I am proud to have completed all 21 days and am looking forward to more workouts with Autumn come the new year! I am going to be using more of the 21 Day Fix recipes (and continuing to play with the Fixate cookbook) and I think I will follow the meal plan hardcore again come January. 

If this sounds like a program you would like to try (either Extreme or the original) I would love to have you join me in one of our upcoming challenge groups! You can do anything for 21 days! 30 minutes a day at home + colour coded containers + support?? Totally manageable - and I'd be with you every step of the way! 

Where are my fellow 21 Day Fix-ers at? What is your favourite workout? Do you have a favourite 21 Day Fix approved recipe?

Weekend Adventures

This weekend I had a lot of 'me' time and I feel like it was well deserved. July was an amazing month, but boy was it busy! After Fringe, I was basically in the city for less than a week. I took off to Nashville for an incredible experience at Summit, came home for 4 days and then got back on a plane to go to Alberta for 10 days. I'll be blogging more about both of those trips -- I can't wait to share all that I learned / saw / did / experienced - ahhhh!!

My weekend started off with a super fun party in the east end of the city to celebrate the first birthday of the Confidential Musical Theatre Project. I've had the pleasure of performing in 2 shows with this company and both have helped me grow as a performer! It's an exhilarating (and terrifying) experience that I think every actor should pursue. I got to sing "I Still Believe in Love" from They're Playing Our Song and broadcasted it live on Periscope (you can follow me @ashleydtl to catch those sorts of things!) It was an awesome night and I had a blast connecting with fellow performers and reflecting on all that has happened in a year!

The rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing. Since I moved to the west end of Toronto (after being an east ender for a loooong time) I've been discovering all sorts of great places in my hood to substitute all of my old haunts. I decided to explore Roncesvalles on Saturday as I was looking for a dress to wear to a wedding in September.

Most of my wardrobe comes from Damzels and I had wanted to visit the west end location for some time - it did not disappoint! I found myself trying on countless dresses and had to choose between a bunch of dresses for the wedding. I found a beautiful green dress to wear and also grabbed a sweet bamboo t-shirt that is so soft! I love the service when I go to Damzels and always leave happy.

Since it was a 'me' day, I treated myself to a quickie mani at The Ten Spot and enjoyed some huevos rancheros for brunch at The Ace. 

In between brunching & my manicure, I checked out all sorts of neat little stores on Roncesvalles and had a lovely afternoon! I picked up some awesome cards at Scout and coveted some beautiful jewelry and handbags at Frock. After I nearly walked all the way down to Queen Street, I walked back up to where I had parked my bicycle and biked to the Junction in the sunshine to get a cupcake at Bunners.

Peaches and cream? Heck, yes!

It was a perfect day to be out on my bicycle and walking in the sunshine, exploring different neighbourhoods that are close to me. I maybe capped all of that off with a nap - that's what weekends are for, right?!

How was your weekend? Do you have any favourite spots in the west end of Toronto?

Fringe 2015

I have to say that Fringe is always one of my favourite times of year - it's kind of like Christmas for actors. You stay out late, see old friends and rush from venue to venue taking in as many shows as your schedule will allow - I love it! With nearly 150 shows happening right now, there truly is something for everyone and a week into the Fringe I am feeling oh-so-inspired.

I started off by seeing People Suck for its opening night last Wednesday which was a great way to kick off the festival! The premise is simple - sometimes people suck - and the cast delivered that message through some very funny songs and physical humour. There was a Gilbert & Sullivan-esque number about grammar that I found especially enjoyable and revelled in all the different ways that people can be terrible. My friend Megan (who I connected with YEARS ago through a message board back in the day) co-wrote and starred in the show and it made me so proud to see her shine! They've been getting great reviews and have had a few sold out shows, which is all kinds of awesome!!

I knew that I would spend most of Saturday engaging in Fringe activities, but I didn't anticipate pushing through 11 hours of musical adventures! I spent the early part of my day in the Annex Theatre, being inspired once again by mega talented friends in Adventures of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl with Rebecca Perry and Starry Notions with Ryan G. Hinds. Rebecca has been all over the Fringe circuit over the last couple of years and is about to embark on an incredible adventure to Edinburgh for their Fringe. She is so talented and works like crazy - it's just so great to see. Before Fringe I had seen glimpses of performances by Ryan G. Hinds, but never a full show -- gah, I was missing out! He is so charismatic, hilarious and rocks glitter lips like it's nobody's business. His show gave me feelings in my eyes and I was captivated by his performance (and especially loved his homage to Disney villain, Ursula)

I spent my afternoon enjoying time with friends, having snacks and got to see Rounding the Bend and I'm Right Here before the day was done. I loved hearing wonderful female harmonies performed by a very talented cast in Rounding the Bend and was reminded of the impact that social media has on our lives in I'm Right Here. Four shows felt like a pretty solid day and I had the chance to see lots of lovely friends in the Fringe tent that evening. 

On Sunday I saw Summerland and I loved every second. 

With a cast of 100 students, this show reminded me of why I decided to go to musical theatre college. I had tears in my eyes for most of the 90 minutes and probably could have easily watched 90 minutes more. So much raw talent. Awesome musical arrangements. Beautiful dancing. A magical story. So special. I was a bit of a wreck at the end of the show and have sung its praises to anyone who will listen since Sunday afternoon. Part of what I love about the Fringe is that for $10 you can be treated to an epic piece of theatre and entertainment that transports you to another world for a moment in your life. I would go see it again in a heartbeat just to feel all the feelings again. Sum-mer-land. 

I also had the pleasure of seeing Sword Play: A Play of Swords on Sunday night. It was the perfect way to end the weekend with a lot of laughing and memories of my very first Nintendo back in the 80's. 

My Fringe adventures will continue this week! Now that word of mouth is spreading and many reviews have come out, I've narrowed down my picks and booked advance tickets to a few shows. I can't wait to see Morro and Jasp Do Puberty (they're always fab), The Orchid and the Crow (Daniel Tobias is an outstanding performer and it will be great to see him in a very different kind of show) and The Dinner Table which is a site-specific show with only 12 audience members and some of the city's best storytellers + dinner. 

There is still time to get out and see some incredible theatre and party it up in the Fringe tent! Follow along with the #FringeTO hashtag and enjoy some of the amazing talent that is gracing stages all over Toronto this week!! 

Getting Settled into my New Space

It's been a month of change for me with a shiny new job and new home! I moved in with Corbin on May 1st and I've spent the month getting comfy in my new digs. It's certainly a change for me as I had been in my previous home for the last 5 years (with a variety of roommates) AND my new place is in the west end of Toronto.

If you're familiar with Toronto, you know that there is a pretty strong divide between the east and west ends with Yonge Street being the dividing line. While I'm fond of both sides, I am an east ender at heart! I was born at Toronto East General, went to Earl Haig Public School, Westwood Junior High and East York Collegiate and then resided in Greektown/Riverdale for the last 8 consecutive years. I can basically do a tour of "Ashley Gibson, This is Your Life" whilst walking around the east side. That being said, there are lots of great things about where I'm living now and I'm making the adjustment. I love my 15-20 minute bike ride to work on the mornings I'm in the office/kitchen and there's lots of cute places around here that I'm quickly falling in love with. I'm planning to write a couple of posts on my fave spots from my old neighbourhood and then some of my new discoveries.

Part of moving into my new space has been adjusting to my new room. It's about half the size of my old room and has ZERO closet space. I did a whole lot of purging (with some very successful trips to Kind Exchange, Goodwill and Re: Reading) and the experience has encouraged me to work on being more of a minimalist. My previous room had been furnished, so with Lindsay's help I embarked on an Ikea adventure for some pieces to furnish my new space. I'm really happy with the pieces that I found - they're practical and fit the aesthetic I wanted for the room.

With Corbin's help, there was a bit of Tetris to determine the best configuration of my new room and I'm really happy with how it all worked out! I've got a great workspace for the days I work from home or want to sit and blog. I've also got enough space to do my workouts, which makes my life a lot easier! Corbin and I painted last weekend which included a lovely bright white on the walls, a new coat of paint for my bookcase to match the room and some bright sunshine-y yellow on the inside of the bookcase as well as some cubbies for storage. I'm so thankful for everything Corbin has done to help me get settled - he is such an incredible partner and (now) housemate!

With all the furniture in place and (nearly) everything unpacked, it's become time to add finishing touches to add some pizazz to the room. In a serendipitous moment, I received a message from the folks at Minted, highlighting their art marketplace. Minted carries an awesome selection of art (and other pretty things) by artists from all over the world. Artists submit their work and are entered into monthly art and design competitions where the Minted-goers help curate their selection.

I've spent more time than I'd like to admit browsing Minted's selection of artwork! There's a beautiful selection of art, photography and typography. On some prints, you can change the colours to suit the palate you're working with, which is a neat feature. I like that you can easily mark your favourites on your profile and also had fun playing with different configurations of pieces on my pin boards.

(Ohmigosh - the penguin!!)

To make life easy, there's also a variety of frame options that you can pair with your print to make sure you get it right up on your wall! Shipping to Canada for a framed print looks like it might be a bit steep, but if you're in the States the ground shipping option for framed prints doesn't look too bad. Unframed prints up to 16" x 20" come in mailers with protective pads to prevent bending and larger unframed prints are shipped in tubes with various shipping options.

Because of the number of artists who contribute to the marketplace, there really is something for everyone. Every time I see something that I think is my ABSOLUTE favourite, I find something else that changes my mind! I also like that you can easily choose which size you'd like the print in - it makes it super easy to find things that fit into your space, exactly the want you would want them.

Moving into a new space is exciting and I'm doing my best to take the time to make it 'just so'; I spend enough time in there, so I better love it! I'm excited to choose some gorgeous prints, frame 'em and get them up on my bare walls to really complete the room. Picking out art seems like such a grown up thing to do, but I'm happy to have a sweet resource to choose prints from and I'm looking forward to the end result!

This is a sponsored post brought to you by Minted. All opinions are my own, especially my fondness for all things yellow and that penguin print. 

Ditching the Limiting Beliefs

"I'm not good with money"

This is how I've viewed myself for a really long time. Maybe even my my whole adult life.

Growing up we didn't have a tonne of money, but my parents made sure I didn't go without. I got my first job at 17, and instead of saving my money, I used it for lunches, clothing and fun. I felt entitled to spend it however I chose since I was the one earning it. I acquired my first major debt at 19 when I took out a student line of credit and a student loan to put myself through musical theatre school. I got my credit card towards the end of musical theatre school. And when I got my first "grown up" job following college, I still didn't place my focus on budgeting, saving or paying down my debt; I continued to do whatever I wanted with my money.

Over the years I've continued to pay down my credit line and student loan slowly, but have managed to rack up my fair share of credit card debt. Up until last year, even when I was working jobs that paid me well, I still didn't take the time to learn more about budgeting or saving and wrote it off to "I can do what I want with my money" and "I'm just not good with it".

The limiting beliefs we have about ourselves can be paralyzing. You may not even realize that you have them. Are there thoughts you have about yourself on a regular basis that are holding you back? Do you find yourself making flippant comments about a certain personality trait or quality? Are there certain qualities you admire in others and deep down inside you wish you possessed?

Your limiting beliefs could be related to any number of things:

• Money & personal finances ("I'm not good with money")
• Health & fitness ("I'll never lose weight" "I'm not motivated")
• Trust & relationships ("I've been betrayed before so I can't trust" "I'll be single forever")
• Success ("I'll never be successful" "I fail at everything" "I don't deserve to be successful")
• Time & resources ("I don't have enough time" "I'm too busy")
• Procrastination ("I never finish things" "I'm just a lazy person")
• Being enough ("I'm not good/smart/thin/young/wealthy enough")

These beliefs that we hold about ourselves are the things standing in the way of achieving success. Once we start believing something, our choices and actions follow and your limiting belief has the ability to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The amazing thing about life is that we get to make choices. And while it can be difficult to re-program our brains and our thoughts, it can be done and we can leave those limiting beliefs in the dust behind us. 

5 Ways to Ditch Your Limiting Beliefs

1. Start by determining what's holding you back - maybe it's something from the list above or maybe it's something different entirely. Once you start to recognize patterns in your thoughts you can move forward in addressing and challenging them.
   
2. Don't be afraid to ask for help - it can be super scary to ask for help in any area of our lives, but especially the ones that may be holding us back. But it's okay, and it's totally a good thing. Asking for help will look differently for different people. It might mean seeing a counsellor or therapist to work through some of your "stuff". Maybe it's hiring an advisor or coach to help guide you. It could even be finding a book / blog post / podcast to start steering you in a new direction. Whatever the help, it's out there and you deserve to utilize it.
   
3. Find a new mantra - turn that limiting belief around into something positive and say it 'til you mean it. Repeat it to yourself daily. Initially you might find this new mantra laughable because it's the exact opposite of what you've believed for perhaps as long as you can remember - and that's okay. The saying "fake it til you make it" applies here; give yourself some time to get to know your new mantra and really adopt it as your own. Watch what follows.
   
4. Make a plan and run with it - once you've turned your limiting belief on its head, set some shiny, new goals and make them happen! Ridding yourself of the things that have been holding you back can be very freeing and can open up a multitude of new doors. Open them and just go.
   
5. Trust that you are enough - because you are. 

When you can leave your limiting beliefs in the past, you can open yourself up to a world of possibility, positivity and new adventures. It's certainly not easy, but it's worth it - what do you have to lose?

Yesterday I met with a financial advisor. When he asked me about my goals, I said "I want to work on finally dealing with my debts. I want to work towards saving and having a reserve. I'd like to learn how to budget. I want to work on being a grown up". For me, this was a HUGE step in leaving my limiting belief in the past and working with a new attitude of abundance and positivity in this area. I left with some extra pep in my step and excitement about the future, and that's a pretty awesome way to feel. 

If you are looking for help to overcome your limiting beliefs relating to healthy eating, fitness and setting goals, I'm looking for 8 people to join me in a group beginning on Monday June 8, 2015. I'm so excited to be offering this group. We're going to tackle clean eating, incorporating exercise and goal setting with 3 weeks of daily assignments, incredible workouts, meal planning tips, videos and resources. I'm also offering an amazing personal development book as a special bonus from me to those who reserve their spot before Friday May 22. You can grab your application here.