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How I handled my daughter's "come-out" By: Geneviève Beausoleil I'm not a writer and I don't know how other people have dealt with this.  All I can do is tell you my story.  So I guess it would be good to explain how important my reaction was on hearing the news that my daughter is bi, for lack of a better word. When I asked her why she was lashing out at me so much, she responded with the news that she had a girlfriend. I was so confused. I had to ask what that had to do with how she was treating me.  To be honest, the look on her face was priceless and something I will never forget.  She had heard so many stories about "beating the gay out of you" or about kids getting kicked out of the house that she couldn't wrap her head around the fact that she could have been green and it wouldn’t matter to me.  I asked her if she was happy; and when she said yes, I told her "Hakuna Mattata".  She was so relieved that she burst out crying. I held her...

I’m a lesbian. Were words that I felt so terrified to say for most of my life. I remember the first time I felt attracted to another girl. I was around 10 years old and my sister, her friend and I were all playing house. Ironically I had the role of the dad. My sister’s friend and I were lying in my mother’s bed pretending to sleep. And I felt something weird and I knew something wasn’t right because I had the same feeling inside as if I liked a boy. Needless to say, it scared the crap out of me. As I grew up and went through high school. The feelings started getting stronger and stronger. I started to know what it meant but I was still VERY uncomfortable with it. I thought to myself.  How can I like boys and girls at the same time? I felt so confused and so alone because I couldn’t tell anyone in fear of losing all my friends and family. My friends would make gay jokes and say how gross it was and being catholic it was an automatic sin. I continued to hide my feelings and date only bo...

Name: Ashley  Age: 28 From: Brampton Weight loss: 16 lbs What steps did you have to do during your 12 week transformation to change your lifestyle ? A lot of planning ahead, meals to make sure I was always prepared & structuring my day to make sure I could get my exercise in. I found having a plan helped keep me on track. Also a lot of soul searching to help keep my motivation, always reminding myself why I am doing this. What was your goal for the transformation? To loose weight & inches as I have put on over 20lbs in the past year & to learn how to live a healthier lifestyle. How did you feel during the 3 phases? For the most part great, some days were a struggle to have the energy to want to exercise and to have the will power to keep to my eating plan. As the body difference started to come about and I was noticing I was feeling better and clothes were fitting nicer the motiviation came easier, almost like it was an addiction...couldn't wait to go pump som...

Kathryne Small Medias  Age 35 Category SAF Open Bikini Placing: 1st 35 and over & 4th overall What steps did you have to do to your body ready for stage?  To get my body ready for stage, I did exactly what Jill told me to do. Follow my eating plan and do my workouts. It was challenging at times since I was traveling lots during my prep. I had to google the nearest grocery stores and always ask for an extra fridge in my hotel room. In April I was away from home 24 days of the month. My job kept me moving around the states and changing hotel rooms every 3 days. The most important thing that I had to do to get stage ready was stay dedicated and plan ahead. What was your goal for the competition?  My main goal for the competition was to be in the best shape of my life and prove to myself that no matter how much traveling and client dinners I had I could still stick to the plan. How did you feel during your prep for stage? The whole stage prep was an amazing journey that though...

You could say that it all started with a trip to Disney World in Florida a few years ago. The photos from that vacation made me face a very harsh reality: in my pursuit of career excellence I had neglected to take care of myself. I was overweight, tired, stressed, and woke every day with a sense of dread.  After entering and winning an online transformation challenge I decided to take it one step further and try competitive bodybuilding. With the love and support of Jill Bunny and my teammates, I tackled the bikini stage and competed in Toronto. It was a great experience and I was looking forward to doing another show when my body rebelled against me. Although I had challenged myself mentally and physically and felt a sense of triumph, I was still living a stressful and unfulfilling lifestyle. My body shut down, I was injured frequently, and I was constantly tired.   Too stressed out to even workout, my personal trainer introduced me to Fascial Stretch Therapy (FST) and for the fir...

Name: Lauren Brazier  Age: 24 Category: Bikini D (Medium Tall) Competition:  4th Place Bikini Ontario Open Provincials, 1st Place Fit Model Comp Toronto Pro Show What steps did you have to do to your body ready for stage? Physically any prep can be intense, but if you love it then it doesn’t feel like work. For me, I make fitness a lifestyle so when it comes to prepping for a show not a lot changes. I clean up my diet and increase the intensity at the gym. The weeks of prep your life becomes more disciplined and there are many aspects that change, but I love prep, I feel like I’m at “home” with myself and my body so to me prepping makes me happy and I welcome the changes. What was your goal for the competition?  To be honest, going into the Toronto Pro Show I wasn’t expecting to place. I remember leaving my house for the weekend and as I was walking out the door I yelled to my mom jokingly “I’m just aiming to not get last place!” I prepped hard for this show and put a lot of pr...

Name: Frances Lorenzo  Age: 45 Category: Bikini Masters Competition/Placing: Fouad Abiad - 1st place and Overall OPA Ontario Championships - 3rd place What steps did you have to do to get your body ready for stage? When I decided I wanted to compete in a fitness competition I started researching a variety of trainers and programs. I found Jill Bunny and felt that her philosophy was aligned with mine. I started her training and nutrition program and then moved into competition prep. I hit the gym and weights on my own and then enlisted the help of a personal trainer that was highly recommended by Jill. I followed my nutrition plan, ate cleanly and took all my vitamins. Finally, to be stage ready I went to Jill's posing classes and practised my poses daily. What was your goal for the competition? My goal was to develop lean muscle and have definition in my arms and a toned body. The competition was to showcase my results and all I hoped for was not to finish last. I was overwhelmed ...

  Name: Teresa Ryce  Age: 51 Train out of (area): Mississauga, Oakville Twitter: @teresa_ryce Instagram:@teresa.ryce Facebook: teresa.ryce How did you get started in fitness? After celebrating my 40th birthday and looking at my family photos, I decided it was time to focus on my health and to get “in shape”.   I started a nutritional eating program, joined a gym and began my journey to a healthier lifestyle.  Two years ago I was turning 50 and decided that I needed to do something to push myself out of my comfort zone so I entered a Fitness Competition, to my surprise I placed 2nd in the Masters category.  I then decided to do a second one, where I came 4th in the Masters category and 1st in the Grandmasters category, qualifying for the 2015 OPA Provincials. I thoroughly enjoyed the discipline of the training and meeting all the wonderful strong and supportive women throughout the preparation that it sparked a dream I had had off and on for the past few years about beco...

Ingredients: 2 Tbsp Chia Seeds .5tbsp Cacao (less or more depending on your liking) 2 tsp honey 1 cup VERY warm water additional water to add after additional add ons: berries, bananas, coconut flakes, almond butter Method: Combine the chia seeds with the warm water, cacao and honey and mix well Allow the chia seeds to absorb the liquid and swell. You can put a lid on the mixture to keep warm. Will take 3-5 minutes Place additional extras on top and add in the additional 1/4-1/2 extra water for a more liquid consistency