Good style is paired best with a healthy body & mind

Although we do agree that amping up your wardrobe can be an immediate confidence booster, we believe that the source of long-term happiness & ultimate sexiness is a healthy mind & body (in addition to great style).  Because feeling good on the inside and looking good on the outside go together like wine & cheese, we've put together a list of things we think will help make you feel your absolute BEST, from the inside out!

"The source of long term happiness & ultimate sexiness is a healthy body & mind (in addition to great style)."

Get your greens. The easiest and most efficient way to increase your intake of greens is to get on the green smoothie/juice train. Because juicing can be messy, time consuming and expensive (if you’re not an experienced juicehead), we suggest going out and purchasing a NutriBullet (not to be confused with a Magic Bullet). For about $100.00, the NutriBullet is a quick & easy way to make smoothies. I’d argue it is comparable to the VitaMix (which runs for ~$600.00) - not only do you save money, it takes up significantly less counter space.

For recipe click here. 

Add chia seeds to your diet. These tiny little seeds are packed with nutrients. Add a tablespoon to your green smoothies or sprinkle on your toast and you will reap the following benefits:

• They are packed with more omega 3’s per ounce than salmon, at 5 grams/ounce.
  
  
• They absorb 12x their weight, forming a jelly-like coating around the seed. This natural miracle helps you feel full and thus can help reduce your caloric intake.
  
  
• They contain 27% of your daily recommended phosphorus intake. Phosphorus helps repair body tissue and speeds up cell recovery - if you are weight training, this is essential!
  
  
• Per ounce, chia seeds contain  ~50% of your recommended daily fibre intake

Click here for a smoothie recipe that includes greens & chia seeds and tastes delicious!

Cut out all of the bad stuff! Here is a list of things you should try to avoid/eliminate.

• Fake sugar – basically anything that is ‘sweet’ and calorie free is not good for you.
  
  
• Non-fat food. Unless it is naturally non-fat (fruits & veggies), stay away from it. Majority of the time, these types of food have a more negative effect on your body than if you were to just eat the full-fat equivalent.
  
  
• White food. White bread, sugar, pasta, etc. are not good for you. Let me repeat, these are NOT good for you! If they’re in your house, throw them out. If you walk by them in a grocery store, avoid them.
  
  
• Smoking. If you smoke, you need to quit, ASAP! If you are expecting to find a girl who cares about her body (is fit and pretty), she is going to expect you to care about yours too.

Stay active & switch up your workout routine! With yoga (especially hot yoga) being the #1 choice of workout for women in Calgary, we love when men come add some masculine energy to the room. We understand the first couple classes can be intimidating and may make you feel like you are going to overheat (we promise you won’t), but once you go a few times, you will not only fit right in, you’ll be downward doggin’ beside 30+ pretty girls in tight workout clothes. With the ratio of women to men normally being > 10:1 – the odds are in your favour.

We recommend Hot Shop on 1st St and 13th Ave SW and Hot Yoga on 17th. 

If you don’t dig yoga, give a spin class a try, the ratios are about the same!

If you follow the above suggestions, we are certain your mind, body and confidence will improve to levels you never thought possible!  If you fall of the wagon, get right back on!

- Ensemble Style Calgary