EDITOR’S HEALTH & FITNESS ADVICE

GRACE TOBY Contributing editor

WITH SUMMER TRAVEL ON THE AGENDA, don’t put your health and fitness goals on ice. Instead, follow some of our favourite on-thego hacks for sweating, sleeping and snacking better.

SWEAT Schedule workout sessions and stretching. Pack a pair of runners and a resistance band. Book a hotel with a gym or complimentary bikes and yoga mats.

SLEEP Sleep guru Arianna Huffington always travels with her snooze gear, which includes noise-cancelling headphones. To lessen jet lag, book a morning flight if you’re heading east and an afternoon flight if you’re going west.

SNACK Pack an empty water bottle and nuts. A 2013 study found that 35 roasted almonds is the magic number for keeping you satiated. Safe travels!

TEST KITCHEN TIP

Add raw almonds to a skillet over medium-high heat. Keep them moving until they’re lightly browned and fragrant.

LOOK GREAT AT ANY AGE

Simone De La Rue (right), the 42-year-old owner of Body by Simone, the popular dance-cardio method with studios in L.A. and New York, and celebrity trainer to Chrissy Teigen and Sandra Bullock, recently made a pit stop in Toronto. After taking one of her signature high-energy dance classes, we chatted about the power of dance, the importance of girl squads and her latest workout DVD.

TOP, $17, AND LEGGINGS, $30, WINNERS.CA.

JUST DANCE

Body by Simone Dance Cardio (DVD, $27; stream, $20 per month).

• A dance-based workout is the hottest exercise trend right

now: “I’m so happy that dance is becoming highly recognized as a workout,” says De La Rue. “The beauty about dance is it hits the whole body and engages your core and tones. It relies on coordination and learning chore o graphy, which makes it mentally stimulating. There’s also a spiritual and creative component, allowing you to be expressive with your own take on the moves. I love that it hits those three elements: mental, physical and spiritual.”

• Dance is a great way to bond with other women and feel

empowered: De La Rue tries to create an environment that’s ego-free. “I think the class structure and the ‘girlfriend workout’— a group of women exercising together without any judgment— is becoming big again,” she says. “It’s motiv ating because people tend to feed off one another’s energy.”

• Torch calories and

have fun: In an hour, you can burn between 400 and 600 calories.

• How to get motivated:

“I definitely think a cute outfit helps.”

• It’s an easy workout you can do at home:

“It doesn’t require any equipment. Put on your favourite playlist and carve out an area in the garden or move some furniture. Encourage your kids to join!”

NUTRITION BULLETIN

GOT YOGURT?

New research suggests that eating yogurt daily leads to stronger bones in older adults. The study tracked men and women aged 60 and older and found that those who ate yogurt every day had up to a four percent increase in bone density. Along with calcium and B vitamins, you’ll get a dose of protein.

one serving:

¾ cup

GOOD EATS Raw Raw

The raw food trend has migrated to the energy bar aisle, and we’re digging the less-is-more organic approach from the Canadian-based company Nagi (Polish for “naked”). The stripped-down energy bars are gluten-, soy- and dairy-free and come in five unique flavours, including Lemon Goji and Apple Cinnamon. Our fave? Chocolate Quinoa Coconut. Nagi Raw Organic Chocolate Quinoa Coconut Bar, $4, eatnagi.com.

MEDITATE IN MINUTES

WORK OUT YOUR MIND

Buddhists have tapped into the calming powers of meditation for thousands of years, but only recently has it hit the mainstream— and your main screen. Headspace, the app founded by a former monk, offers guided meditations on sleep, motivation and overall health that are as short as 10 minutes.

TRIED & TRUE6 tips to get— & stay— motivated

Let’s face it—motivation isn’t easy or we’d all be our ideal weights, our fridges would be stocked with kale and we’d get more than enough beauty sleep. So how can we boost the drive to get physically and emotionally fit? We went to the experts to find out.

BY LISA VAN DE GEYN

sk Dianne Stott to rank her level of motivation when it comes to her health and wellness on a A scale of one (motivational mess) to 10 (motivational master) and she admits she’s a solid three. “I once hired a personal trainer, figuring I’d feel motivated to get fit,” she says. “Then, after working out, I’d ruin all my hard work by eating ice cream. I never did use up my personaltraining sessions, and I’m too embarrassed to go back.”

Dianne, 51, says she struggles to stay motivated long enough to get her physical and emotional health in order—and there’s a pretty clear reason why: The Uxbridge, Ont., resident puts the needs of her husband and son before her own, always using up her time and energy on others. “I feel guilty if I don’t cook meals, do laundry and show up at my son’s hockey games. I go, go, go—so I’m drained when it comes to time for me.”

External reasons abound, sure, but we can thank our motivation—or the lack thereof—for hitting up the drive-through and skipping the gym in favour of the couch. Dr. Shimi Kang, a psychiatrist and clinical associate professor at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, explains motivation like this: “It’s the internal signal that drives us to take action.” And a big part of that internal signal is dopamine, a key neurotransmitter in our brains. (This helps control the brain’s reward centre; it regulates our emotional responses and lets us not only see rewards but also take action to get those incentives.) A study published in the journal Neuron in 2012 found that dopamine is released in conjunction with us getting a reward, boosting our motivation to repeat our actions. “Our biology motiv ates us to do things that are good for our health via dopamine,” says Dr. Kang. “When we get a hit of it—after a workout, making a healthy meal or helping someone—it gives us a sense of well-being and pleasure, and it sends a signal to our brains to do whatever we did again.”

The thing is, though, “the brain is like a fingerprint, so what motivates one person doesn’t motivate another,” says Dr. Kang. If that’s the case, what ultimately keeps us motivated? The good news is that, no matter what boosts your dopamine levels, there are universal ways to increase your drive, reach your goals and stay deter- mined. Here are six expert-approved ways to do so.

1SET FREQUENT SMALL GOALS Evidence suggests that we’re not wired to keep our eyes on a long- term prize. “We respond a lot more readily to immediate rewards,” says Anne Wilson, a social psychology professor who studies motivation at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ont. “That’s why chocolate cake—rewarding yourself in the moment—can distract you from longer goals where the rewards are in the distant future.” To get past it, set up several little milestones on your path toward a certain goal. “This allows you to stop and enjoy successes along the way, which can sustain motivation,” says Wilson.

So, instead of skipping exercise altogether because you can’t commit to an hour at the gym, take baby steps. While the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology says that adults should aim for at least 150 minutes of exercise a week, it also says it’s perfectly acceptable to break that time down into 10-minute workouts done more frequently. What’s more, according to research published last year from the University Hospital of Saint-Étienne in France, walking for just 15 minutes a day was associated with a 22-percent lower risk of death in people over 60. Then, think about the benefits you instantly receive by going on that walk: lower stress, increased energy and better sleep. “Focusing on immediate benefits may be what gets you off the couch when the temptation of Netflix beckons,” says Wilson.

2START WITH A CLEAN SLATE We’ve all likely used this one: I’ll start my diet on Monday. “Fresh starts can help give people that initial boost of motivation needed to start pursuing a goal,” says Wilson. “This can include symbolic transition days like New Year’s or a birthday, but we encounter smaller opportunities for a fresh start regularly, say, the start of each month or even each week.” The trick with fresh starts is to use them as a first step toward a goal and to avoid the potential pitfalls. “There’s a risk of using fresh starts as a licence to procrastinate the goal and indulge now,” she says. “For example, if you start your healthy-eating plan on Monday and find your motivation waning by Thursday, you might be tempted to give up on the week, indulge in pizza, chips and ice cream all weekend, promising yourself to start again next Monday.” Wilson says this cycle will lead to a spiral of success and failure. Maximize your chance of success by combining a fresh start with setting achievable milestones and coming up with contingency plans so you don’t slip. 3TRASH THE NEGATIVE SELF-TALK You’ll probably derail your moti v ation if you engage in bad-mouthing yourself. “Sometimes, people do it to motivate themselves, imagining that some harsh criticism about their failures or laziness will push them to take action,” explains Wilson. “That strategy is more likely to contribute to low self-worth and shame.” Boost your motivation by pretending you’re encouraging a friend to overcome his or her challenges. “It wouldn’t include a barrage of criticism but, rather, encouragement and understanding. Practising self-compassion can be very effective for dealing with setbacks and helps motivate further improvement,” she says.

If you find that little voice creeping in, understand it’s a temporary derailment and try a mantra, suggests Dr. Kang. “Helpful mantras have two parts: to validate the negative thought or experience and to focus on the positive outcome.” Here’s a mantra you can use: “I’m having a minor/major setback, but I’m not giving up. It will all work out. I will eventually get there.” Rinse and repeat.

4DROP UNREALISTIC GOALS Pursuing an unattainable target—losing 50 pounds before your high school reunion next month or entirely cutting out wine— won’t do you any favours. Here’s why: Unrealistic intentions reinforce negative belief patterns, says Dr. Kang. So, when you set weight-loss goals that you’re highly unlikely to reach, for instance, this is what you’ll end up telling yourself when you don’t meet your mark: “I’ll never do it. It’s too hard. Things don’t work out for me.” This thinking won’t get you anywhere, says Dr. Kang, and, in fact, instead of boosting your drive, these damaging feelings could have adverse effects on the progress you’ve already made.

OUR EDITORS SHARE SIX HABITS

OF HAPPIER, HEALTHIER AND MORE PRODUCTIVE PEOPLE AT canadianliving.com/besthabits. 5 WORK ON WILLPOWER It took a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis five years ago for Hina P. Ansari to motivate herself to get healthy. The Toronto-based 47-year-old admits to never setting aside time for a fitness regimen and eating a less-thannutritious diet on a less-than-ideal schedule. “I went through the gym phase years ago. I went twice and that was it,” she says. “It wasn’t until I realized that I had no choice but to work out that my motivation kicked in. There’s nothing like the dreadful thought that you may end up in a wheelchair to motivate you to move your butt.” So Hina found the willpower to enrol in solo Pilates sessions. After two years, her confidence level rose and she tried group classes. “I saw results. My leg was stronger and I no longer needed a brace to help me walk.”

“Our willpower is the effort we put in to stay on task, avoid temptations and persist at a difficult goal,” says Wilson. The important point here is that believing you have willpower can change your assumptions about when your motivation is ultimately going to fizzle out.

6JOIN FORCES As long as we’re pursuing goals with others who are motivated, we’ll benefit and stay determined. “For example, if you work out with a friend who is a more habitual exerciser, that person can be a role model by sharing strategies she uses to stay on track and overcome obstacles, and she can make you more accountable,” explains Wilson. You’re less likely to hit snooze if you know your work out partner will be left waiting for you. A study published in 2011 in Psychology of Sport and Exercise found that people were more likely to work up a sweat if their romantic partners exercised with them; the same was true when it came to working out with their best friends. The only caveat? They had to feel like those friends were cheering them on. (The researchers found this support was especially true for women.)

Happy Travels

Whether your penchant is for city streets and skylines or for drinks on the dock at the lake, the desire for a summer getaway is part of Canadians’ DNA. Wherever your wanderlust takes you this month, we hope you make it an adventure to remember.