Welcome To The NewGoal Of Fitness: Balance

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WORDS BY MONA BUTLERPHOTOGRAPHY BY TREVOR TSOI

- 71 - July 2021

The fitness and nutrition industries have long suffered a problem: the continuing existence of one-size-fits-all, the smaller-the-better mentality. For as long as anyone can remember, the point of exercise has been thinness and how to get there the fastest way possible. Thanks to personal trainers like Micaela however, a healthier version of these quick-fix filled industries is emerging.

Micaela’s journey first began as an epiphany during a rough patch. Inactive and likely depressed, she found herself in need of a change. A client at Micaela’s sales job took her for a tour of the gym she owned and it sparked a complete 180. “I learned how to exercise. I learned how to run. I learned how to eat better. I started to feel better mentally. I felt accomplished, and for the first time in a long time - I felt confident.”

Her lifestyle change didn’t stop there either. Eventually, her new lifestyle needed to evolve. In the beginning, she began exercising with aesthetics in mind, mainly because -like most- she did not know any other benefits. But her motivations have since rounded themselves out. Aesthetics are a lovely bonus, no one can deny that, but it’s no longer her main source of motivation. It’s no secret that the fitness industry is fraught with unhealthy and unsustainable diet and exercise extremes that leave most people worse than when they started. Having fallen into those extremes and realizing their dangers, and saying enough is enough, Micaela found balance, rediscovered the joy of working out, and the joy of food once again, “There is

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pressure in the fitness industry, as a female, to look like you could grace the cover of a fitness magazine every day. So, when I was younger and still just starting, I placed these unrealistic expectations on myself. I finally got to the point where I realized no matter how much weight I lost, it was never going to be good enough.”

In the spirit of these beliefs, there’s something found on most trainers’ websites and social media that you will rarely find on hers: Before and After photos. Having pages of client pictures, in Micaela’s mind, is hardly a way to measure the success and skill of a trainer. Weight loss isn’t bad, but thinness isn’t an indicator of success when there are countless other benefits and successes of training to be celebrated! It’s this desire to celebrate fitness without the weight loss obsession that sparked ‘Love Your Bod’. “Many of the other online programs that already existed were all about ‘beach bodies’ or ‘bikini bodies’ and to me, I just didn’t like the insinuations the marketing was making - that every woman’s goal should be to look like a bikini model. Not to mention, some of these programs were leading people toward disordered eating behaviours and unhealthy exercise habits.”

Having an online training platform has enabled Micaela to reach more people than she ever could in person. Micaela can say, without a hint of exaggeration, that her message of balanced exercise and nutrition has gone global. “I recently had an email from a woman in Bulgaria, and I just thought, how cool is that that I am training someone all the way in Bulgaria!”

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MICAELA’S TOP FIVES

Top 5 Indulgences

Corona beer

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Potato chips drizzled with hot saucePizza (shoutout to High Dough!)

Chips and guacamoleRibeye steak with all the toppings!

Top 5 Healthy Choices

Smart Pop PC frozen fudge bars

• are so thick & creamy!)

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5% Greek yogurt (the high fat keeps you full for longer & they

Baby carrots with hummusSliced Cucumbers with lime juice and tajin (it’s a Mexicanthing I grew up with!)

Micaela’s Tips for Sticking with It

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Don’t be “all or nothing”. 20 minutes of exercise is better thanno exercise. Eating one healthy meal a day is better than nohealthy meals per day

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Focus on the positive changes, and just forget about it whenyou fall off the wagon. Aim for 2-3 sessions per week, andfocus on incorporating healthy foods into your diet. If youmess up, no big deal - tomorrow is a new day

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Don’t wait until Monday to begin - all we have is the presentday, and each new one can be a fresh start.

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