You know what you could or should do to improve health markers, see better gym performance, recover better, &/or change your body composition. Right?!

Do you understand what you are saying when you say, “I want a 6-pack!”?⁣

There is no single answer to the question of how to live a healthy lifestyle. Every person's needs vary, and what works for one person might not work for another. However, there are some basic steps that everyone can take to improve their health and wellbeing. Here are some key points of living a healthy lifestyle, while providing some tips on how to make it work for you.

Self care is a beautiful thing. It’s a need-to-do, not a nice-to-do.

But, are you tackling self care in the most effective way?

The holidays are a time of joy, family, friends, and traditions. But for many, they can also be a time of stress, anxiety, and overindulgence. If you’re looking to survive the holidays without saying f*ck it, here are a few tips.

I just returned from an ah-maze-ing vacation to Hawaii (The Big Island) with my bestie of over 30 years! We saw all the sights, did hikes on volcano rims, wanders through rain forests, enjoyed visits from sea turtles, & beautiful sunsets. And, lots of relaxing times with good conversation.

The burning question...did I track while I was away?

Self-doubt is a common experience that can prevent us from reaching our full potential. However, with a growth mindset approach, we can overcome self-doubt and become our best selves.

You may hear nutrition coaches talking about “maintenance,” or “sitting in maintenance,” or “ finding what your maintenance is.” And, you may find yourself wondering what that actually means.

Here we go again - switching gears after the most normal summer we have had since the summer of 2019. Back to school, back to fall and winter activities. A change in routines.

DYK: one of the best times to start something new is during a period of time when everything is in flux? True story! The tossing around of day-to-day life turns off auto-pilot, giving you the opportunity to do things differently than you did before. Since many of the things you used to do before are no longer happening, you’re in the midst of being forced to create new habits. Your brain is actually more awake and aware, which gives you the ability to be deliberate about the new actions you need to take in your new environment.

HOPING means you feel a lack of control. Setting GOALS and choosing actions, habits, and behaviors that reflect those intentions puts you in the driver’s seat.

On a regular basis, I talk my clients away from throwing in the towel on their goals.

Whenever we want to create some change in our lives, we cannot expect that it will happen by magic. We need to take action to create the change we want to see. And, we must understand that the path from A to B will not go smoothly. There will be obstacles.

The question then becomes: do we use those obstacles to halt progress, or do we use those obstacles to create opportunities for learning that hold us in good stead moving forward? In order to create learning opportunities and action, a helpful exercise might be to use the WOOP Framework.

Common question. And, a reasonable one, given that society has us believing that the number on the scale is the be-all-end-all, and is tied strongly to our worth as human beings.

You’ve probably heard of SMART goals. But, what are SMARTER goals, and how can SMARTER goals help you with goal setting?

I recently listened to a podcast with a nutrition coach who self-described as “someone who doesn’t have the body of a nutrition coach.” She isn’t shredded, and although she is going through a fat loss phase right now, that hasn’t been her focus of late, so she is walking around a few pounds heavier than what some would say is appropriate for someone who guides others through fat loss and body re-composition. She spent part of the podcast discussing how some people will choose their coach - nutrition and fitness - based on body type.

A daily priority of mine was taught to me by my maternal grandmother: “Every day, do something for yourself, something for someone else, and something for your brain.” So, I constantly look for ways to learn new things, and improve on old ones.

Not long ago, I took a course from Sam Miller Science in which we learned about an exercise called “Drains & Charges.” It has to do with recognizing and accounting for the amount of stress we experience daily.

DYK: there is a continuum for processed foods? And, not all processed foods are bad for you?

TL;DR: Not all processed foods are toxic, as social media may have you believe. Any food that undergoes some kind of processing is a processed food. Cheddar cheese is a processed food…but so is Cheez Whiz.

Anyone out there going through a rough time? Yep - I feel you!

I understand that you are hurting, stressed, frustrated, feeling uncertain, anxious, discouraged. If you’re not feeling any of these today, chances are, you’ve felt these things at some point, and/or will feel these things at some time in the future.

As a nutrition and lifestyle coach, I often hear, “I just don’t have the motivation.” And, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and during every holiday season, those feelings are amplified AF!

But, what if I told you it’s not actually motivation that you’re looking for? Stick with me here…

You may have heard this before: the voice you hear most often is the voice inside your own head; choose your words wisely.

Or: if the words you speak to yourself were projected over a loudspeaker, would you be proud to hear what they say?