kick it to the Carb!

Monday I shared my before pictures for my competition. The grand prize is a trip to Cabo and I am all in for that vacation! Almost eight years ago I started a journey simply to be able to fit in my clothes again. Little did I know that simple journey would change the entire trajectory of my life. My original goal was to be able to wear all my clothes again but after smashing that goal I started to focus on building muscle and getting fit.  I set my next goal to be 19% body fat. Sometimes I get close but I always fall back on old habits and derail my progress. This year I said no more! So I have been focused (minus that New Orleans trip) and I am currently at 23.7% and I am committed to following the 28 Day program with 100% accuracy BUT I also know myself and I know my usual trip ups and so I did what any former crisis communication major would do and brainstormed all of my potential downfalls and what I will do when faced with them. I won't go over all of them because they ...

Building meal plans can be confusing with all the contradictory diet advice out there. There are however six key elements every meal plan should include. Today we are diving deeper into element number five: plants If you remember last week we said we were breaking carbohydrates down into two pieces and last week we went in depth on fiber. This week we are breaking down plants. While essentially they both come from the same source each one has its own importance.  We are going to define a plant based diet not as vegetarian or vegan though those are examples but as a diet that consists of a balance of all plants. Meat and other animal products are part of a balanced, healthy meal plan, but everyone has different dietary needs and personal preferences.  Whatever path you choose you can lead a healthy, active lifestyle with a high performing body with or without animal products. Everyone however, needs plants in their diet. So from here on out when I say plant ba...

Building meal plans can be confusing with all the contradictory diet advice out there. There are however six key elements every meal plan should include. Today we are diving deeper into element number three: Fats. Fats are one of three macronutrients. As you recall we have already gone over one of these three big players in our macro line up: protein.  Fats got a bad wrap a few years back (before everyone decided carbs were bad), but her is a big secret for you and possibly the topic of another blog but all three macronutrients are essential to your health and your bodies optimal performances. Unless you have a medical condition that impacts how your body uses certain things, you doctor can advise you of this. You need fats and each of the other five key elements to nutrition.  Your body needs fats for several reasons including:  Provide energy for the body. Containing 9 calories per gram they have a higher energy punch then either protein or carbohydrates Aid i...

Building meal plans can be confusing with all the contradictory diet advice out there. There are however six key elements every meal plan should include. Today we are diving deeper into element number two: vitamins and minerals Vitamins and minerals are typically referred to as micronutrients. Just like with macronutrients your body needs these to help build, repair and perform at its optimal level. They are your nutritional safety net and help your body perform hundreds of vital functions. Micronutrients help every system in your body perform and can also help prevent disease and disorders including blindness and scurvy. Getting vital micronutrients can also help with creating strong bones, preventing birth defects and healthy teeth. Vitamins are organic compounds that can be broken down by heat, air or acid whereas minerals are inorganic compounds and hold their chemical structure. This just means it is easier for your body to obtain minerals through your diet thanks to soil,...

Protein is an important component of our diet because it helps build our tissue, muscles, skin and hair. It is also the only macronutrient not readily stored in our bodies so getting an adequate amount is important. It is important to note that your protein goals will vary and that some people have conditions that make taking in large amounts of protein dangerous and life threatening so if you start feeling off, fatigued or experience brain fog talk to your doctor immediately. People who are more active may also require more protein as they break down their muscles faster through exercise. The general rule of thumb is .36 grams per pound of body weight for a sedentary person up to 1 gram per pound of body weight for active individuals. I like to make this simpler so if you know your daily calories allowance your day should be broken down into: 40% carbs, 30% Protein and 30% fat. These are simple terms and again some individuals may not be able to ingest these amounts of macronutrie...

A few weeks ago I made the switch from meat eater to my own strange combination of vegetarian, flexitarian, vegan (ish). Honestly I was kind of scared it would wreck all my results and be super hard to hit my protein numbers. I have been pleasantly surprised by the results. The back story. Years ago in high school I was a vegetarian for the all the wrong reasons. I wanted to be skinny and saving animals seemed like a noble cause. I didn't lose any weight but I did eat mostly plant based for five years. I say mostly because I still ate meat on occasion in private but didn't tell anyone. Communities around diets and ways of eating can be very mean if you don't follow the plan exactly and even people who didn't eat how I ate would make comments. *Side note if you do this to people stop. It isn't cool or nice. Let people eat how and what they want without comment because these comments can be damaging and create food and public eating aversions that can be harmful.*...

I remember life before I started my health journey. I was frustrated that working out didn't really do anything to make the weight fall off but I wasn't ready to give up my Taco Bell. I found a solution that worked for me. I started my nutrition program and my coach told me to have one colorful meal with a protein, a carb, a veggie and some good fat. So I had Taco Bell for dinner and followed her plan for my other meals and snacks. After all meat is protein, lettuce and tomato are vegetables, cheese and sour cream are good fats and chips and shells are carbs. Full disclosure this is 100% not what my coach meant when she told me to have a colorful meal but I still lost 30 pounds! Then I was hungry for my next result and I was mentally ready to give up the Taco Bell, go to the grocery store and cook my own food. Jump ahead a few years and I began meal prepping and eating super clean. I lost 10 more pounds. There were a lot of meal fails in this part of my journey. Some ...

I am a creature of habit. When I find something that works I stick to it, partially because I love saving time by just repeating the same thing day in and day out to get the result I want; most people call it consistency I call it efficiency. The key to succeeding at your goal is to set yourself up for success. This means having plans B-Z when plan A goes off track. This means having good choices on hand to grab when you are hungry or busy. Your pantry and fridge are either going to be your greatest asset or your hardest hurdle. Stock them wisely. The great thing about this is that I know what I can keep on hand to fit my goals and set myself up for success so here are some of my staples, some I eat weekly, some are kept on hand incase life happens and I need something quick and easy to grab to avoid that drive through line. Breakfast: I always do protein + a carb for breakfast My staples are: Oats, Kodiak Cakes (frozen is best for those in a hurry), eggs or egg whites, 7 grai...

I may have gone a little overkill for my 30th birthday. I wanted all my favorite things and that included my five favorite cakes. So me, miss healthy eating, ate five cakes at one time spanning three plates. Don't believe me see exhibit A. Birthdays, social events, cookouts etc... always leave those on a "diet" or who are trying to eat better a bit stumped because you want to indulge and have fun but you also don't want to wreck your progress, am I right? Life is about balance and that includes learning how to survive these functions maintaining a balance between having fun and stopping that little bully voice inside you from making you feel bad about your choices. So here are some survival tips for all those fun eating events you have coming up. 1. EARNED meals, not cheat meals because it is NOT cheating if you stayed the course and planned ahead. I plan my earned meals. I take a look at my calendar for the month and see what events I have coming up and if I ...

Do I have your attention?  Good. Because Carbs Aren't Killing You! They aren't making you fat either. I know, I know all the diet advice out there is telling you to cut carbs and you will lose weight. That isn't actually true. Well actually it is true, but not for the reason you think. All weight loss is is a calories deficit, calories in vs calories out. Simply: to lose weight you need to consume less calories than you burn off in a day. You want to know a super easy way to take in less calories a day? Cut out one of the higher calorie food groups and your calories consumed per day goes down. It's great news for those of you trying to lose weight....unless you actually really love bread, pasta and grains or like me if you cut those out of your diet completely your workouts suffer, you're tired all the time, going to the bathroom becomes a struggle and you slight hate life because you are hungry and grumpy all the time.  So what is a car...

It's not me, it's defiantly you! This past week was brutal. I didn't feel well Wednesday morning but figured it was the gyro's I had Tuesday after hiking. Ate my homemade turkey chili Wednesday afternoon for lunch and suddenly my symptoms were worse and I realized for the second time in a little over a month I was sick and it was tied to my food. As any rational person would do I flushed the rest down the garbage disposal and flipped it the bird! Six days later even thinking about eating a bird makes me queasy, it could still be my digestive system trying to recover but being the rational person I am I decided to look into some vegetarian options for meal prep this week. As a previous vegetarian I had some ideas of where to start but don't know why I didn't realize how much time I would save preparing meat alternatives instead of cooking up all those juicy animals! We are talking less than 10 minutes, I have "chicken patties" and some steam-abl...