Tag Archives: Maruchy Lachance

The Ugly Side of Instant Weight Loss Results

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

I realize I harp a great deal on the sensibilities of achieving a healthy and fit body by adopting better eating and exercise habits.  Like you, I am subjected to constant advertising and word-of-mouth systems that promise to reduce your weight and have you super model fit in record time. The temptation for immediate results is tempting to all of us. Whether you want to make a million dollars overnight or develop an enviable figure, the idea of having it happen quickly has led many to discover that you can achieve it just as fast as you lose it.

The downfall to ‘instant’ is that you skip all the important steps that will help you sustain your achievement. Like many overnight millionaires, many are in ruins after just a short time of receiving their wealth. The same is true with quick weight loss. When you dive into the pool of ‘instant’ you are robbed of the discipline and experience necessary to maintain your results. Adopting a weight management system that helps you lose weight gradually will give you the tools necessary to reduce your caloric intake,  the necessary amount and type of exercise and the education you need to take control of your immediate and long-term fitness goals. (more…)

Making Time for Your Health

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

Most people will tell you the reason they are not eating healthy and exercising is because they do not have enough time. I completely understand this reason, because it was not that long ago that I was using it too.

Of course, I had to scratch that off the list when my now 89-year-old mother was quick to debunk my excuse. Back in her day she did laundry and dishes by hand, she cared for my brother and even managed to operate a secretarial school and still she boasts that she had nothing but time on her hands. (more…)

The Only Resolution You Need for 2024

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

2024 is almost here and many of my friends are discussing their resolutions for the upcoming year. Surprisingly enough, not all the resolutions are about food and fitness. Some are just about changing the things in their lives that are no longer serving them.  One of my friends confidently announced that in 2024, the now empty-nester would take all her energy to reinvent herself. “There are so many things I’ve always wanted to be, and now I’m going to give them all a go. Succeed or fail, it doesn’t matter, I’m throwing it out there and see what sticks!”

It’s that attitude that I encourage all of us to embrace, regardless of what your resolution might be. One of the problems that sideline so many of us is that we become consumed with the “results.” Although the results are important, they are not the sum of it all.

Like my friend that is joyfully embarking on this journey, she understands that she is going to give it her all, regardless of the results. When it comes to weight and fitness, giving it your all is about putting yourself first. Slowing down to make the right choices that will fuel and firm your body while also enjoying stronger bones, improved mood and countless other benefits you are not associating with a bikini body! By removing the pressure of meeting a certain goal by a certain time, you can really enjoy the journey and arrive at the most natural and long lasting results. (more…)

The Perks of Fitness with a Cause

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

Last weekend I ran my second half marathon. It was 13.1 miles of pavement and four bridges on a windy day in Miami Beach. The running joke (no pun intended) in the race circuit is that it’s not so much the 13 miles but the 0.1 that will get you. Truer words had never been spoken.

The entire race was physically challenging, but what I wasn’t expecting was the emotional wave that almost toppled me. This race was in support of St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. So every few miles you would see a team of people, pushing a large stroller with a child with a shiny bald head and grin, clearly fighting and winning their battle against cancer. (more…)

A Fitness Wake Up Call

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

At some point in our lives we all reach a place where we need someone to step up and be the voice of reason and hand us the cold hard facts. I call these selfless and courageous individuals our Agents of Reality. They step into our comfort zone and confront us kindly and gently with truths that will benefit us in the long run.

Shortly after having my son I packed on the pounds. Because my weight gain was so sudden I genuinely didn’t see the change in the mirror. In spite of my clothes not fitting at all, I still did not see the physical change. Although physically the signs were there, my brain still had not registered the change. (more…)

Beat Stress Through Fitness

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

At least once a week I find myself suggesting to friends to exercise and/or change their diet in order to manage or control a current issue in their lives.

While at a party someone overheard me encouraging a recently divorced mother of two to take up running to fight off all the stress in her life. About an hour later I was approached by the bystander and complimented on my suggestion because instead of fueling her flame of misery or blowing sunshine in her face, I gave her a tangible tool that will help her alleviate some of the problems she is dealing with. This conversation got me thinking about all the other benefits that moderate exercise can do for us. (more…)

Strength Training Your Mind

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

In order to have a strong back you need to strengthen your abs. For strong knees, you should work out your thighs. And while these muscle groups are important for a healthy and strong body, you can’t forget to build up your mind.

Nothing will stop a successful fitness streak quicker than a dink in your self-esteem. It can begin innocently enough. Perhaps you discovered you put on a few extra pounds, or you aren’t feeling as motivated on your trip to the gym or your dash out the door.

Your mind is the key to staying on track in spite of all the challenges life will throw your way and by working out your self-esteem you will insure a healthier body and mind! (more…)

The Importance of a Healthy Balance

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

Not quite a year ago my now 89-year-old mother was hospitalized because she became disoriented. After several tests we were told she had ingested so much water that she depleted her body of potassium and sodium. When she finally came out of it and we told her what landed her otherwise healthy self in the hospital her first reaction was, “I overdosed on water? It’s water!”

Water is a wonderful and necessary thing, but when over-ingested it can lead to serious problems in people of all ages and physical health. What this event reinforced for me was the need for balance. My mother had done just fine drinking water her entire 88 years of life, but when she heard a report on television that seniors don’t get enough liquids she over did it. (more…)

Fitness for Busy People: Making the Best of Down Time

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

My husband worked at a fast food chain while in high school. To this day he quotes one of the things his manager used to say to the staff during down time: “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.”

This quote has taken on a life of it’s own in our home but it is not about cleaning as much as it is about being physically active.

Many of us work long days, then get home and our second shift begins with helping with homework, showers, and making dinner. By the time we’re done we’re so exhausted that all we want to do is unplug in front of the television and eventually roll into bed in preparation to begin the routine again the next day. (more…)

Change Makes Exercise Fun

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

At a dinner party recently I hit upon a conversation with a friend who is an avid runner. I had been finding it a bit challenging to stay on track with my running schedule. After discussing it for a few minutes he paused and asked me if I was having fun. Faced with that question I soon realized that my favorite exercise felt more like a chore lately. Instead of looking forward to my morning run, I had begun to procrastinate before finally lacing up and heading out. The fun was gone.

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Key to Fitness Success is Sustainability

Maruchy Lachance is president of Running Ninja!, a lifestyle brand for runners by runners. Running Ninja! offers a wide variety of apparel and gifts for runners to keep you happy and inspired while you’re on the run.

Like most of us, I have a pretty long list of things I wish I’d known when I was younger. Lessons that would have saved me lots of time, aggravation and money. As I’ve gotten older I have managed to make the list smaller by only keeping the items that have the most impact. One of those items is “sustainability.”

Sustainability forces you to look at the big picture, not just what your desired outcome should be. It demands that you implement changes to your current lifestyle in order to achieve your goals. The curious thing is that it forces you to examine every single step so you are assured they are realistic and manageable in order for you to see your desired results.

Sometimes we fail because in spite of how strong our will and resolve are, we have chosen methods that are not realistic for us.  The best example I can share is these quick weight loss systems that encourage you to simply drink a shake, or eat a cookie. As intelligent individuals we clearly see the flaw in this system, but our emotional side overrules logic and suddenly we are spending money and time on this promise of weight loss. (more…)