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When Nutrition Became Important to Me, Elizabeth Windover
I planned to attend Fanshawe College for Architectural Technology because I wanted to have my own Design and Build company for custom residential and I knew that I needed to understand the entire construction process.
My dad had his own renovation business when I was younger so I learned a lot about how to build things. I even helped when he renovated our own home. I was about 9 years old at the time and assisted with most of it: from framing and dry walling, all the way to roofing. So I figured the next thing I needed to learn was how to properly draw blueprints, called drafting. My plan to go to college took longer then I had originally intended, but I eventually graduated from high school and off to college I went.
While I was going to Fanshawe I had a very busy schedule with classes and homework, and I even worked full time hours at a truck stop during my first year. I did a lot of walking when I was at Fanshawe. I parked several blocks away and walked to and from the school almost everyday; sometimes managed to catch the bus at the right time, but not often.
My first co-op term was in Ottawa and I was able to rent a room that was a short bus ride away, so I left my vehicle behind and ended up walking almost everywhere I went. Most weekends were spent dancing the night away at a club with my friends or people I met.
When I returned to classes I was still doing a lot of walking. I no longer was working so I had some time to go to Seikido classes. For quite awhile a typical day consisted of:
5:00am get up, shower, breakfast
6:00am drive to my parking spot
7:00am walk to Fanshawe
8:00-3:00 class (throughout the day walk from one side of Fanshawe to the other and back for classes,
lunch and school work)
4:00pm walk to my parking spot
5:00pm drive to Seikido dojo and eat supper
6:00-8:30 participate and help teach Seikido classes
9:00pm drive home to eat more supper
10:00-1:00 more school work until to tired
Just thinking about it now makes me exhausted to remember how hard I worked everyday. I wasn’t able to go to Seikido classes every night because I needed to do well in school.
My second co-op term was in London, so then I was able to go to every Seikido class that I wanted to. For several months that meant 5 or 6 days every week. During the summer it was down to 3 or 4 classes a week. There were lots of things I did at that co-op that prevented me from sitting in a chair all day, and I’m glad.
In the fall I returned to classes at Fanshawe. I needed to reduce the number of Seikido classes to make sure my school work was done, the farther in you get the harder the work load. But I was still doing a lot of walking around that school, and this time I was taking my laptop with me everyday.
My final co-op term was also in London, but I was finally working in an Architects office doing drafting! Unfortunately, that meant I did a lot of sitting in a chair at a computer almost all day. I was able to go to more Seikido classes again, back up to 5 days every week, but it wasn’t enough.
I started to notice that some of my pants were getting tight and hard to put on. I learned at a young age that muscle weighs more than fat, or a pound of fat has more volume than a pound of muscle, so my weight was never much of an issue for me. But I had never had any trouble with my pants being too tight!
After several months I had finally had enough; when I had to ask my mom for help to pull down my pants to go to the bathroom, how embarrassing. So I went with my aunt to Herbal One. There I learned that it’s not just how much you exercise or eat that makes the difference, it also matters when you eat compared to when you exercise.
See I was still eating that same bagel and egg sandwich with meat and cheese for breakfast that I was eating when I went to school. But I wasn’t doing all that walking during the day; I was sitting in a chair at a computer. So that bagel, which counts as 4 slices of bread, was going to my hips instead of being used as energy. Man, does that make a big difference!!
What I didn’t like about Herbal One was that they were so focussed on weight and supplements, particularly selling their products. But I did learn a lot about nutrition that I had never thought about before. Things like serving size and comparing products. I did lose weight, but most importantly, my pants fit again, yeah!!
That was when I started paying attention to nutrition and thinking about when I ate what compared to when I was active or not. Since then I have learned even more about fitness and nutrition from taking the ‘Health, Fitness & Nutrition Consultant’ program at Everest College. I learned more about how the body uses food to fuel us everyday.
Active Abundance does not push weight loss or short term diets. To attain a healthier life and improved body composition (body figure). We focus on long term changes to everyday eating habits by taking small steps to substitute healthier options that you’ll actually eat.
Always remember to take it one day at a time, we don’t get “fat” overnight so we won’t get “fit” overnight either. And nutrition alone will not get you “fit”, the only way to build muscles is the use them. Physical activity is a key component to having a healthier life and improved body composition.
My dad had his own renovation business when I was younger so I learned a lot about how to build things. I even helped when he renovated our own home. I was about 9 years old at the time and assisted with most of it: from framing and dry walling, all the way to roofing. So I figured the next thing I needed to learn was how to properly draw blueprints, called drafting. My plan to go to college took longer then I had originally intended, but I eventually graduated from high school and off to college I went.
While I was going to Fanshawe I had a very busy schedule with classes and homework, and I even worked full time hours at a truck stop during my first year. I did a lot of walking when I was at Fanshawe. I parked several blocks away and walked to and from the school almost everyday; sometimes managed to catch the bus at the right time, but not often.
My first co-op term was in Ottawa and I was able to rent a room that was a short bus ride away, so I left my vehicle behind and ended up walking almost everywhere I went. Most weekends were spent dancing the night away at a club with my friends or people I met.
When I returned to classes I was still doing a lot of walking. I no longer was working so I had some time to go to Seikido classes. For quite awhile a typical day consisted of:
5:00am get up, shower, breakfast
6:00am drive to my parking spot
7:00am walk to Fanshawe
8:00-3:00 class (throughout the day walk from one side of Fanshawe to the other and back for classes,
lunch and school work)
4:00pm walk to my parking spot
5:00pm drive to Seikido dojo and eat supper
6:00-8:30 participate and help teach Seikido classes
9:00pm drive home to eat more supper
10:00-1:00 more school work until to tired
Just thinking about it now makes me exhausted to remember how hard I worked everyday. I wasn’t able to go to Seikido classes every night because I needed to do well in school.
My second co-op term was in London, so then I was able to go to every Seikido class that I wanted to. For several months that meant 5 or 6 days every week. During the summer it was down to 3 or 4 classes a week. There were lots of things I did at that co-op that prevented me from sitting in a chair all day, and I’m glad.
In the fall I returned to classes at Fanshawe. I needed to reduce the number of Seikido classes to make sure my school work was done, the farther in you get the harder the work load. But I was still doing a lot of walking around that school, and this time I was taking my laptop with me everyday.
My final co-op term was also in London, but I was finally working in an Architects office doing drafting! Unfortunately, that meant I did a lot of sitting in a chair at a computer almost all day. I was able to go to more Seikido classes again, back up to 5 days every week, but it wasn’t enough.
I started to notice that some of my pants were getting tight and hard to put on. I learned at a young age that muscle weighs more than fat, or a pound of fat has more volume than a pound of muscle, so my weight was never much of an issue for me. But I had never had any trouble with my pants being too tight!
After several months I had finally had enough; when I had to ask my mom for help to pull down my pants to go to the bathroom, how embarrassing. So I went with my aunt to Herbal One. There I learned that it’s not just how much you exercise or eat that makes the difference, it also matters when you eat compared to when you exercise.
See I was still eating that same bagel and egg sandwich with meat and cheese for breakfast that I was eating when I went to school. But I wasn’t doing all that walking during the day; I was sitting in a chair at a computer. So that bagel, which counts as 4 slices of bread, was going to my hips instead of being used as energy. Man, does that make a big difference!!
What I didn’t like about Herbal One was that they were so focussed on weight and supplements, particularly selling their products. But I did learn a lot about nutrition that I had never thought about before. Things like serving size and comparing products. I did lose weight, but most importantly, my pants fit again, yeah!!
That was when I started paying attention to nutrition and thinking about when I ate what compared to when I was active or not. Since then I have learned even more about fitness and nutrition from taking the ‘Health, Fitness & Nutrition Consultant’ program at Everest College. I learned more about how the body uses food to fuel us everyday.
Active Abundance does not push weight loss or short term diets. To attain a healthier life and improved body composition (body figure). We focus on long term changes to everyday eating habits by taking small steps to substitute healthier options that you’ll actually eat.
Always remember to take it one day at a time, we don’t get “fat” overnight so we won’t get “fit” overnight either. And nutrition alone will not get you “fit”, the only way to build muscles is the use them. Physical activity is a key component to having a healthier life and improved body composition.
Active Abundance takes great satisfaction in providing unique services
~ martial arts based fitness and nutrition based wellness ~
that improve the health and wellbeing of participants
~ martial arts based fitness and nutrition based wellness ~
that improve the health and wellbeing of participants
