Way back in January of this year, I began a series on health and wellness featuring two Leasiders – Carol Townsley and Dave Sparrow. Since many of us may be noticing the summer indulgences showing up around our waistlines about now, I decided to check in with one of our intrepid “guinea pigs,” Carol, to see how she has been doing since our last interview in April. I was excited to hear that she has stayed the course on her path to weight loss and wellness and is feeling better than ever.
The summer months can be a very difficult time to stay on a nutrition and fitness plan. BBQs, vacations, sweet summer cocktails and ice-cold quaffs of chardonnay and beer are temptations that many people just can’t pass up during the hot months.
You often have to work twice as hard to keep the pounds off, and for Carol that was no exception. She knew she had to keep up with her three personal training sessions a week at Inside Out Health & Fitness with Barry Samuel. But because the weather was better and she was feeling lighter and fitter, she added more cardio with two runs a week. Her fitness regimen worked because Carol was able to indulge a little on her week away in London and Brussels with her girlfriends. While on vacay she did make sure she kept up with drinking water and being aware of sugary cocktail consumption. Having her kids away at camp for a few weeks also helped her stay on track. You’re definitely not as likely to partake in summer sweets like ice cream when kids aren’t around.
After almost nine months on a fairly strict exercise and diet plan, Carol has reached a weight that she’s very happy with. She has more energy overall and is very positive about the changes she’s made to achieve a healthier lifestyle.
CAROL’S TOP THREE TIPS FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS:
1. Make a commitment to yourself to exercise as least three hours a week. Make this a priority and don’t waver from it.
2. Change not just what you eat, but WHEN you eat. Carol started eating a larger, healthy breakfast and cut out late night dinners and unhealthy snacking in the evening.
3. Focus on eating lean proteins and vegetables in reasonable portion sizes.
In case you’re wondering what happened with our other “guinea pig”….We caught up briefly with Dave Sparrow, who said he thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from his participation in the series, but as president of ACTRA Canada was very busy with TIFF events at the time of this interview. We wish him all the best and hope to catch up with him in the future.
