kick it to the Carb!

Yesterday was Labor Day for those of us in the United States this holiday celebrates the social and economic achievements of American workers.  If you celebrated yesterday and you are feeling a little rough today here are three tips to help ease you into your Tuesday and get you feeling a bit better. 1. Drink at least 1/2 your body weight in ounces. If you indulged in adult beverages or ate some foods that are higher in sodium today than you are used to you may be feeling a little rough. Added electorylates could also help you feel a tad better, along with some green tea or black coffee for a boost of caffeinated energy without the sugar crash later.  2. Add some protein to each meal or snack (it will help keep your sugar levels stable) and add in some fruits and veggies for their antioxidant punch.  3. Don't beat yourself up for indulging. Life is about balance and one bad day, snack or meal won't wreck your progress. Get back on track today and ...

New Orleans has been on my travel bucket for almost as long as I can remember thanks to Anne Rice and Sherrilyn Kenyon. I mean what 90s goth/punk/alt kid didn't dream of wandering the French Quarter in search of vampires? So when my company announced our conference was in New Orleans I knew I needed to stay a few extra days and take a real vacation in the city I knew I was going to love.  I had three rules for my 10 day getaway, the same three rules I always have when I am traveling.  1. Have at least one nutrient dense, protein shake once per day  2. Hit my protein numbers 3. Drink a gallon of water I hit all my goals, only missing my water intake on one of the days but something about New Orleans did not agree with my body. I spent most of the trip feeling lethargic, dizzy and nauseous. Many of these symptoms stuck with me even after getting home. My best guess is that the combination of food I wasn't used to and the different climate wreaked havo...

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 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 ...