SSC Fitness Kelowna

What to Eat for a Healthy Gut ⁉️

Try this: Aim for at 30 different plants every week—not necessarily 30 vegetables, but plants of all kinds. Nuts count. Seeds count. Herbs and spices count. Whole grains count. Even coffee counts. Each one has something interesting to offer to the gut biome. Your Grandmother was right! The point isn’t restriction, it’s the opposite, we want to give the enormous variety of microbes inside us an equally varied menu for the most optimal results

That’s what the world's leading microbiome scientists are recommending.

The goal isn't dietary perfection. It's diversity.

Photo taken on a Blue sky day a couple of weeks ago.

But today the Air Quality is 114 🙄 💨

An Air Quality Index (AQI) of 114 or more is not ideal for heavy exercise like hiking or mountain biking. It falls into the "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups" range, meaning fine particulate matter (PM2.5) can irritate your lungs and airways when you are breathing hard on climbs.

Unfortunately, it’s the reality of summer in the Okanagan.

Risks and Recommendations
• Heavy exercise multiplies the amount of pollutants you inhale by 10 to 20 times as your breathing rate spikes.
• If you have asthma, allergies, or a heart/lung condition, you should skip the outdoor ride entirely.
• If you choose to hike or ride, opinions are mixed; some healthy hikers and riders keep sessions short and light, while resources recommend treating an AQI of 101–150 as a time to move indoors for your exercise.

When to Stop
Listen to your body and cut the ride short if you experience:
• Throat scratchiness or irritation
• Chest tightness or wheezing
• Unusual shortness of breath or headaches

I am ALL for getting outdoors as much as possible, but when the air looks and feels like this please be smart and keep yourself safe.

Want better sleep??

Legs up the wall for just 10-15 mins before bed is one of the best things to relieve inflammation. It supports lymphatic drainage, helps digestion, lowers stress, releases those tight shoulders and almost always improves sleep.

Cleanse your face, get your most nourishing skincare skincare going and get into your comfiest PJ’s. Dim the lights and focus on breathing deeply, big deep belly breath with a slow exhale.
Ahhhhh she simple and absolutely worth trying.

Sunday morning question for you…

When you picture yourself five years from now, what do you hope there is more of in your life?

More energy?
More strength?
More adventure?
More peace?
More confidence?
More time with the people you love?

I’ve been thinking about this myself lately
not just what I want to accomplish,
but how I actually want my life to feel.

So today I’m curious:

What do you want more of in the next chapter?

Mine includes a whole lot more travel & adventure. 💜

Longevity isn't about chasing more years. It's about making those years stronger, sharper, and more enjoyable. What you do now matters!!

What’s quick, easy and growing in the garden right now??

Cabbage and zucchini are popping up now, do try this delicious Asian inspired ground chicken/turkey bowls.
Served in little cabbage bowls instead of a burrito shell.

1 pound of ground chicken or turkey or lean beef or Bison, pick your fave.
1/2 white onion, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 grated carrot.
2 to 3 cabbage leaves, chopped up and thrown in/3 or 4 for the “cups”
Half a zucchini, diced
One large chunk of ginger, grated
Three cloves of garlic, grated or minced
1/4 cup of soy sauce,
2 tablespoons of lime juice,
2 tablespoons of sweet chili paste and a splash of sesame oil

Cook it all up in the skillet, serve in the little cabbage cups

Yum —and takes about 10 minutes!

# ‼️

Aging is not the problem. Neglect is.

Decline doesn't just happen. It starts at 40, picks up speed at 50, and hits you like a truck at 60

So let’s to do something about it.

Here are the 7 things I recommend to my clients to keep them strong, capable, and independent into their 70’s + 80’s

1️⃣ Strength Training
→ 2-3x 45-60 min full body sessions per week. Squat, lunge, hinge, push, pull, carry. Challenge your balance as well as stability while you’re at it.
→ Muscle is the organ of aging. Lose it and everything else declines.

2️⃣ Cardio Training
→ One challenging interval session per week. Maybe it’s a short steep hike, might be mountain biking or it may be intervals on your home stair stepper/treadmill or rower. The session is short and intense.
→ A strong heart is the best predictor of long-term survival. And although moderate steady state cardio is good, we need to amp things up at least once/week for optimal results.

3️⃣ Daily Walking Target
→ 8,000 steps minimum. Lowers inflammation, improves insulin sensitivity, keeps weight in check. It doesn’t matter if you break the sessions up—-just get your steps in everyday.

4️⃣ Protein First
→ Chicken, beef, eggs, fish, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese….
→ If you are not getting enough protein, it’s pretty challenging to build more muscle. Protein, healthy fats and fibre rich complex carbs spread throughout the day balance blood sugar, hormones and mood.

5️⃣ Sleep Discipline
→ The 3-2-1 method. No food 3hrs before bed. No work related emails etc 2 hrs before bed. No screens 1hr before.
→ Sleep is where you recover, repair, and regulate those hormones.

6️⃣ Consistency Over Intensity
→ You don't need 2 hours at a time in the gym. You need reasonable effort more often, which is something you can sustain for decades.
→ The human who trains 3 times a week for 20 years beats the one who burns out after a couple of months

7️⃣ Stress Regulation
→ Deep breathing, try 4x4 box breathing daily. 4 second inhale, pause for 4, exhale for 4. Do this 4-5 times and see how much better you feel.
→ Chronic stress accelerates aging faster than almost anything. Take the Yoga class, learn to check in, slow down and breathe

Italian Lemon Garlic Pasta

Perfect for the Weekend 😋
�•12 ounces spaghetti or another long pasta�•4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil�•2 cloves garlic grated or minced�•1 spicy red chili chopped – or red pepper flakes
•1 large lemon the grated zest and the juice (about 4 tablespoons)
•1 cup reserved cooking pasta water scoop it out just before draining the pasta *Tip, cook the pasta in a smaller amount of water for a “starchier” reserve water.
½ cup parsley chopped
½ cup grated parmesan or more to taste
½ teaspoon salt + black pepper to taste

* Cook Pasta: Boil 12 ounces spaghettiin salted water, 2 minutes less than package time.�
* Make Sauce: Sauté 2 cloves garlic, grated lemon zest, and 1 spicy red chiliin 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oilon low heat for 30–60 seconds.�
* Add Lemon Juice: Turn off heat and stir in the juice from 1 large lemon.�
* Combine: Save 2 cups pasta water. Drain pasta, add to skillet with 1 cup reserved cooking pasta water. Cook 1 minute while stirring to release starch and make it creamy.�
* Finish: Turn off heat. Stir in ½ cup parsley and ½ cup grated parmesan. Adjust salt and add more water if dry.�
* Serve hot: topped with lemon zest. Light, creamy, and full of flavor!

Egg Bites —so good!
A simple recipe you can make at home for a fraction of the cost, just like Starbucks but way less 💰

High Protein Egg Bites

4 Large Free Range Eggs 🥚
1 cups of egg whites🥚
1/2 cup raw spinach 🍃 chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes 🍅 sliced in 1/2
1/2 cup mushrooms 🍄 chopped
2 -3 tbs feta cheese 🧀 crumbled
1/4 tsp sea salt (optional)
Fresh black pepper
Finely chopped hot pepper 🌶️ (optional)

•Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
•Spray 8 portion cupcake tin with non stick spray or grease with a light coat of butter
•Cook mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach in a skillet.
•Divide veggies into the 8 cupcake cups.
•Pour egg whites into each cupcake cup.
•Sprinkle feta cheese equally on top.
•Sprinkle salt + pepper on top.
•Add the hot peppers (optional)
•Bake for 20 minutes (350 degrees)

Movement Matters.
Muscles Matter.

Your muscles are the single biggest place your body stores away blood sugar. They're like a sponge, and the more you use them, the more they soak up.

When a muscle contracts, it pulls glucose straight out of your bloodstream, and it can do this without needing much insulin at all. That matters, because in insulin resistance your usual door for clearing sugar is jammed. Working muscle opens a second door that doesn't depend on insulin. Every time you use those big leg and glute muscles, you're clearing sugar through the back way in.

This is why a morning walk sets your day up so well. This is also why a short walk after eating works, and why keeping strength on your frame matters.

More muscle means a bigger sponge. Less muscle means sugar has fewer places to go and lingers in your blood.

So start slowly. A walk after meals, standing off and on through the day, add in some resistance work ….all these will go further than you'd think.