Walking is one of those great equalizers. Most able-bodied people can walk for exercise, even if they are limited by conditions, injuries, or a lack of fitness to walking alone. Walking provides fantastic toning for the lower body and builds cardiovascular endurance with minimal pressure on your joints. And most people LOVE walking! Walking gets you places, keeps you fit, and entertains you.

It's soup season! Nothing is more soul-satisfying and comforting than a hot bowl of soup, and soup can quell your appetite faster than most foods, for fewer calories, because of its high liquid content. This creamy (but low-calorie) cauliflower soup is a great make-ahead idea for a Sunday afternoon, to provide you with figure-friendly lunches all week. It's also easy to make-ahead and serve as a rich but not too filling appetizer for a dinner party. A garnish of finely chopped crispy bacon & parsely would put it over the top.

Thanksgiving. A statutory holiday for belts. Dig out your stretchiest waistband and most flattering top. It's turkey time.

I've always been a bit of a runner. Well, since adulthood, anyway. As a child I didn't participate in any track and field or running-heavy sports, so running came later in life as a fitness-oriented activity. I've run varying amounts for 15 years and I really enjoy it.

If this doesn’t scare you, nothing will. In fact, if this doesn’t make you squeamish, you should probably consider approaching Quentin Tarantino for an assistant’s position.

Most of my clients drink water during our sessions. I have one client who starts her day with a half-cranberry-half-water with a scoop of fibre supplement. Another client always has a jug of water and a half cup of black coffee for sipping. Me? Personally, I’m a water gal. Cold.

Ouch! My legs hurt today! It's not every day that my own Belly Bootcamp classes hit me so hard I'm actually sore for a day or two...but it happens sometimes when I've crafted a particularly effective combination of exercises to target a specific part of the body.

If you haven't already heard, this September, Erica, the YMC team, and I will be running the RBC Run For The Kids in support of Sunnybrook Family Navigation Project to aid families of children with mental health issues.

Everyone starts somewhere. Even a couch potato can run a 5k.

As a trainer I hear the question “Am I fit enough to do this?” or “What if I can’t do it all?”

Sometimes, getting started is the hardest part.

Admitting you need some coaching or advice can be a difficult practice in humility, and once you’ve realized you need support the challenge is in finding the right resource — coach, support group, book, program — to get you to where you need to be.

This winter I found myself faced with a family dinner party and no ingredients for a dessert, and whipped up these two-ingredient wonders on the fly. Not only did the kiddos gorge, the "gromups" (as Sweaty Kid #2 calls us) enjoyed a couple as well, with our post-dinner coffees. Okay, okay, there may also have been post-dinner Grappa...

So you don't like running. Or maybe you've got a knee that just won't tolerate pounding the pavement anymore. Can walking help you get fit and keep you healthy? What sort of walking is best? How long do you have to walk to lose weight and keep your heart healthy?

Ah, the Man Gift.

The other day I was demonstrating some of the great exercises we do in our prenatal/postnatal Belly Bootcamp classes and a young mom asked,

“I had a c-section so I don’t have to do kegels, right?”

“Wrong,” I had to answer, but I could understand the attraction of a kegel-free life. 

I remember the day formula arrived at my door. I was still pregnant and a delivery came from Nestle. Maybe you've received it too? A backpack, insulated to keep my formula cold when I was on the go, and a sample can of infant formula, plus some sort of "literature"... and I'm using the term very loosely. My first reaction... "How did they know I was pregnant? Did I sign up for this?" My next reaction... "I don't need this." I always planned to breastfeed. But the tin went in the cupboard. Because, well, it was free...

I am going to teach you how to run right now. With no program, no instructor, no iPhone app. 

If you've always felt like you need to run in order to get in shape, you're not alone. Running is fantastic exercise, and runners tend to be very romantic about their favourite pastime, but it's not for everyone. It takes time to build up to running and when it doesn't go smoothly in the first attempt, many would-be runners give up.

At Belly Bootcamp we start to hear a chorus of very similar requests around this time of year.

They go something like this: "When does stroller fitness start?"..."When do we move outside?"...."Can we start outside earlier this year?"...

So you've got an hour in the gym and need to kill two birds with one stone. Should you do cardio before weights, or do weights before cardio? 

These Banana Oat Muffins are a snack you and your kids will agree on! We've been eating them for years, and now the Sweaty Kids and I do it together—it's a great muffin recipe for kids as there are several wet ingredients to be measured and quantities don't have to be precise. Great for a breakfast muffin with some protein on the side (cheese, yogurt or eggs, maybe...?).

Good news if you're getting tired of sex with an agenda... If you and your hubby have struggled to conceive, there could be hope in the form of lifestyle changes! A study published this week in the British Journal of Sports Medicine reports that otherwise healthy young men who watch more than 20 hours of TV per week have almost half the sperm count of men who watch very little TV.