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Is It Menopause? Perimenopause? The Symptoms and 4 Nutrition Tips

Is It Menopause? Perimenopause? The Symptoms and 4 Nutrition Tips

by | Jul 31, 2023 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

“I feel like my hormones have been super out of whack.”

“It’s freaking frustrating I’m gaining weight around my middle! I’ve never gained fat there before!”

“I just don’t have energy to do anything and my sleep has been HORRIBLE!”

“I don’t know what’s going on with me!”

“But…I’m too young for menopause!”

The struggles and symptoms we often blame on menopause can start over a decade before as our hormone levels begin to change with PERIMENOPAUSE.

That’s why I want to share some common symptoms of perimenopause and how you can best manage them with 4 nutritional tips.

Because…

The changes are REAL.

And it can be hard to navigate them and focus on controlling what we can control if we don’t understand why we’re gaining weight, and in different places, feeling demotivated and fatigued, and even struggling with anxiety and self confidence!

What Is Perimenopause And What’s Happening To My Body?

Peri-menopause has earned the nickname “midlife puberty.” 

This is because of the hormone fluctuations and emotional and physical rollercoaster it can feel like we’re on. 

While we think of menopause as something that most often starts in our 50s, perimenopause can start as early as our late 30s although most often it will start in our 40s.

It can last anywhere from 2-10 years. 

Perimenopause is truly a transition not just an “event.”

And while it can feel like our bodies are starting to go berserk, this is the PERFECT opportunity to learn how to manage the changes we see with menopause so we can learn how to adjust our nutrition to match what our body will need moving forward.

Perimenopause hits everyone differently and there are a wide range of symptoms we can experience. Basically all the good stuff about having your period and going menopause:

PMS
Sleep disturbances
Hot flashes
GI disturbances
Food cravings
Joint pain
Menstrual irregularities
Longer cycles
Missed cycles
Heavy cycles
Mood disturbances
Depression
Fatigue
Mental Fogginess
Decreased libido
Weight gain (even shifts in where fat is stored)
Water retention

Exciting, right?

NO…it’s really not…

BUT while we can’t prevent this hormonal change from occurring, we can make some dietary changes to help us manage these symptoms as best as possible. 

The more informed we are about what is going on and what actions we can take, the more we can make sure we’re adjusting our fueling and training to see results and be lean and strong at any and every age.

And while you may be feeling down right now, and that may be due to the hormonal changes, yes this can impact our anxiety levels, confidence and even body image, we have to remember that 1% improvements add up. 

The more we focus on making the changes that can benefit us the healthier we will be no matter what.

Studies have actually been conducted as well to show the impact our MINDSET has on aging.

It was found that women who were more comfortable with aging and didn’t find it shameful actually suffered less from perimenopausal symptoms. 

So MINDSET MATTERS!

Of course it is easier said than done to change our mindset about things that make us feel down but the more we can stay focused on the habit changes we can make the better.

So what are 4 nutritional changes you can make to help manage those symptoms of perimenopause?

#1: Drink More Water

Increasing your water intake during perimenopause is key.

Estrogen and progesterone influence your body’s hydration levels, and when the two are fluctuating dramatically during perimenopause, increasing your water intake can be helpful as you may find even your skin is drier.

Making sure you are hydrated can help you manage hot flashes, reduce GI disturbances to keep you regular and reduce gas and bloating and even reduce fatigue.

It can even help you avoid the dreaded menopausal weight gain and lose weight while retaining lean muscle.

We often ignore the importance of hydration for fat loss but the body needs water to burn fat.

So not only is staying hydrated key to better lipolysis or fat loss, but it also improves your workouts and helps us maintain our lean muscle, which promotes more optimal body composition. 

When cells aren’t properly hydrated, they break down protein more quickly and build muscle more slowly.

This can hinder us from seeing the full benefits of our training. 

Not to mention dehydration can lead to us fatiguing more quickly with our training so we aren’t able to work at our full capacity to see results!

While it is often recommended to get 50% of your body weight in ounces, I’d recommend at least 70% of your body weight in ounces during perimenopause.

This higher intake can address these hormonal changes and also help especially if you’re training hard, increasing your protein and trying to lose weight!

#2: Love Your Fats. Focus On Omega-3s

During perimenopause, our estrogen levels drop which can not only impact where we start to store fat, leading to more belly fat being gained even if we never used to gain around our middle, but it can also mean we become more insulin resistant. 

This doesn’t mean we should just demonize carbs and cut them all out.

But it does mean that a higher fat and protein macro breakdown may help us lose weight more efficiently.

Just be conscious not to overly restrict carbs if you are an endurance athlete or training super intensely. 

Those carbs help fuel our training and preserve our lean muscle mass, which is key as it does become harder to build and retain lean muscle as we get older! 

But focusing on getting more healthy fats in our diet is key, specifically focusing on increasing our Omega-3 intake. 

Increasing our omega-3 intake can help reduce hot flashes, especially night sweats, to improve our sleep, improve our mood, reduce anxiety, and even help with GI system disturbances like constipation by reducing inflammation.

The anti-inflammatory benefits of omega-3s can also help reduce joint inflammation and pain and improve our recovery while also helping us see better fat loss results. 

Because estrogen levels drop, inflammation increases in the body which is why many women going through perimenopause can start to deal with chronic inflammation to some degree.

This inflammation can impact not only our body but also our mind.

Reducing inflammation can help eliminate brain fog and improve our mood and cognition.

Inflammation can also make it harder for us to lose weight as our hormones fluctuate so make sure to get in enough omega-3s by including foods like salmon, tuna, herring, mackerel, trout, walnuts, macadamia nuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds is key! 

And even consider a supplement during this time if you need the boost!

#3: Don’t Fear Fruits

Often when we lower our carb intake, we cut out fruits. 

We may have even heard that we should avoid fruits for weight loss because of the sugars.

But there are some key fruits we want to include during perimenopause that can help us manage the symptoms and even stay full and fueled. 

Fruits are a great way to get a diversity of micros, enzymes, and fiber while serving as a carb source that can be very filling and satisfying even curbing our cravings for sweets.

Consider including fruits like berries, kiwis and even pineapple. 

Berries are a great source of antioxidants and lower in carbs. They also are a high water content food, which can help us stay hydrated and increase our water intake without us even having to drink more water! 

Kiwis are great if you are suffering from GI issues such as constipation. 

Their water balance and the enzyme they contain actinidin help get things moving. Plus, they are a good source of fiber. 

They are also rich in Vitamin K which can help keep our bones healthy, which is extra important as we go through the hormonal changes of perimenopause.

Pineapple is another key fruit to help you reduce hot flashes and help with bloating. 

Pineapple contains bromelain – a protein-digesting enzyme that can relieve an upset stomach and digestive issues, which is extra helpful if you are increasing your protein during perimenopause to help with body recomp and to lose that stubborn belly fat! 

The final fruit I want to mention is a juice.

While I’m not usually a fan of juice because it is easy to over consume a ton of sugar and calories when we drink it, tart cherry juice can be super key if you are struggling to get quality sleep. 

It naturally contains tryptophan which is required for the body to produce melatonin, and it also does have naturally-occurring melatonin as well magnesium and potassium to improve the quality of your sleep naturally. 

Its antioxidant properties can also help reduce inflammation and improve your muscle recovery.

#4: Focus On Those Amino Acids. Especially Tryptophan And Leucine

Increasing your protein intake during perimenopause is key.

We are less able to utilize protein as efficiently as we get older, which means we need to increase our intake to support our training and help us build and retain lean muscle.

We want to do everything we can during perimenopause to focus on muscle as it not only keeps our metabolism healthy and prevents the slowdown we often associate with age and menopause, resulting in weight gain, but it also keeps our bones healthy and strong and helps us stay functionally stronger till our final day on this planet! 

But not only do you want to focus on getting about 1 gram per pound of bodyweight (you can use your goal bodyweight if you are working to lose weight or if you are overweight), you also specifically want to make sure you’re getting more tryptophan and leucine.

Tryptophan can help improve the quality of our sleep as well as our mood because it is involved in the production of melatonin and serotonin. 

A few great sources of tryptophan are turkey, chicken, tofu, milk, and pumpkin seeds. 

Leucine is also key for us to focus on during perimenopause to improve our protein synthesis and muscle gains.

Leucine taken in something like a BCAA or branched chain amino acid supplement can be a very calorie efficient way to get more of this essential amino acid. 

In combination with isoleucine and valine, BCAAs can help counter some of the central nervous system fatigue and brain fog that are common symptoms of perimenopause.

It also keeps amino acids we get from complete protein sources circulating and a higher level in our blood to work with the other foods we’re eating to stimulate better muscle protein synthesis.

But whether you do supplement or focus on increasing your protein overall, do not fear protein! It can really help you stay leaner and stronger through this phase!

The key thing to remember as you go through these hormonal fluctuations is that things will balance out.

This is a phase and one that will have ups and downs.

The more we track what we are doing to see how things are impacting us, the better off we will be.

Tracking our food especially during this time allows us to make changes to meet our body where it is at right now.

It can help us identify foods that may not work for us as well any more and even know how to best create the calorie intake and portions we need to stay lean and fueled while feeling our best. 

So as you implement these tips, track how you feel to see what works best for you!

Ready to learn how to address what your body needs NOW to see the results you deserve?

Schedule a coaching consultation today to feel your most fabulous!

STUDIES:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12150226/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4901052/

How To Increase Metabolism At Any Age (6 Tips)

How To Increase Metabolism At Any Age (6 Tips)

by | Jul 23, 2023 | Blog, Diet, Workouts

Our metabolism does slow down as we get older.

But so much of the metabolic slowdown that we blame on age is actually due to lifestyle factors we can CHANGE adding up.

We have to remember that nothing works forever.

And often what we “got away with” even when we are younger is now coming back to haunt us.

As our body and lifestyle evolves, we’ve got to adjust how we fuel and train.

That’s why I’m going to share 6 tips to help boost your metabolism to lose fat at any and every age.

First, Focus On Hydration. 

Many of us know we should drink more water. 

But the struggle is real to actually change this habit.

Not only is it confusing to know how much water to drink but it’s hard to stop yourself during the day to get water when it isn’t already a part of your routine or you’re not really thirsty for it. 

However, proper hydration becomes more important as we get older and even start the hormonal changes of perimenopause.

Especially if you’re training hard, you want to consider consuming MORE than the general recommendation of 50% of your bodyweight in ounces.

You want to even shoot for 70% of your bodyweight in ounces of water consumed every day.

While you may find setting out a filled water bottle by the coffee maker helpful to remind you to drink water even as you make your coffee, you can also improve your hydration levels by consuming more high water content foods over the course of the day. 

To help you hit this amount and stay hydrated, don’t just only focus on drinking more water, as key as that is.

Make a salad of cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes and lettuce – all high water content foods. 

Add berries to your oatmeal for breakfast to improve your hydration to start your day. 

Or try melons in your cottage cheese as a protein rich snack to stay hydrated. 

But focus not only on ways to drink more water but even improve your hydration through fruits and vegetables that also pack in the micronutrients to your diet as well!

Second, Eat 30-40 Grams Of Protein Per Meal. 

Increasing your protein is key.

And while most of us have heard we can only consume 20-30 grams of protein at one sitting, this just isn’t the case. 

While 20-30 grams may be the max we need to specifically utilize to build muscle from one sitting, this is also based on studies of protein supplements. 

The other macros consumed at a meal will impact the rate of digestion, slowing the process even to better let us utilize more at a time.

Not to mention as we get older, we are less able to utilize protein as efficiently, meaning we need more to see the same results. 

That’s why increasing our intake to 30-40 grams per meal, especially in our post workout meal can be super beneficial.

The harder you train, the more you want to focus on a higher protein intake to make sure you’re able to repair and recover more efficiently from your training. 

If we aren’t able to recover and rebuild properly, we may see our hard work in the gym not pay off the way we’d like in terms of strength gains and muscle growth, which can impact our metabolic health. 

And protein is not only key because of its muscle building benefits but also because it keeps us feeling fuller if we are in a calorie deficit to lose weight. 

This can make sticking to our nutritional plan easier long-term which allows consistency and time to work their results magic.

Plus, protein has a higher thermic effect than the other macros, meaning your body burns more calories to digest and utilize it for other bodily functions and to keep the tissues of your body strong and healthy.

It’s also important to find your food quality balance.

I’m a big believer in working in the foods you love. 

I love having a rice krispie treat or Reese peanut butter cup or ice cream as dessert.

And I will plan these things in first when I want them.

I also think we too often sabotage ourselves with this clean eating pressure where we feel we can’t have things we enjoy and eliminate foods arbitrarily that aren’t even necessarily an intolerance we personally struggle with. 

BUT we do need to find a balance.

Quality fuel helps our body function best. And we always want to seek to balance enjoying life and functioning optimally! 

We need those essential micronutrients to not only feel our best and stay healthy, but even to keep our metabolic rate higher and help us lose fat. 

A few micronutrients you may want to focus on more if you are working to lose fat and rev that metabolism are choline, magnesium, vitamin D, selenium and zinc. 

Choline is involved in the process of lipolysis, or fat loss, helping to break down fat into smaller pieces to be burned as energy. 

Eggs, beef, red potatoes and kidney beans are all great sources to include. 

Magnesium is involved in nearly everything, but when it comes to fat loss and metabolism, it helps control insulin and glucose, which both impact fat storage. 

It also can help with water retention and bloating, especially as you are increasing protein and making other dietary changes. 

Pumpkins, chia seeds, almonds and spinach are all great sources of magnesium.

Vitamin D is also key to include although harder to boost through our food consumption.

Even if we try to get out in the sun daily, as we get older we want to make sure we are boosting our intake even with a supplement. 

Studies have shown that low levels of vitamin D are linked to higher rates of overweight and obesity.

And both selenium and zinc are key for proper thyroid functioning. Impaired thyroid function will lead to a slower metabolic rate.

To increase your intake of selenium include foods like brazil nuts, yellowfin tuna and halibut and to increase zinc consider oysters, pumpkin seeds, pork loin or even oats. 

While I’ve talked about 3 key nutritional tips, the best results happen when our diet and our workouts work together.

That’s why you can’t ignore the importance of your training for your metabolic health. 

When designing your workouts, stop just doing body part splits.

(Looking for workouts designed strategically to help you reach your goals? Check out my Dynamic Strength App!)

Design progressions that Work Your Upper And Lower Body In The Same Workout. 

Full-body workouts or anterior/posterior splits can be beneficial if you are looking to keep your metabolism healthy as you get older without having to spend hours in the gym 6 days a week. 

Not only are these workouts more efficient, but you will target multiple big muscle groups each and every workout to more effectively build muscle while also burning more calories per session.

While I never like to focus on training as just a time to burn more calories, this extra calorie burn because you’re working more big muscles per session to build more muscle isn’t a bad added bonus! 

And by doing these splits, you can also increase your training frequency for each area over the week.

Training a body part 2-3 times per week over simply doing more for an area in a single session may help you see better muscle gains. 

That training frequency for especially hard to grow areas of 2-3 times per week has shown to yield the best results.

It can also help you train the area at a higher intensity each session, performing a higher overall quality of work, as too often we simply include more training volume in a workout that becomes wasted as we fatigue over the session. 

So consider designing workouts that allow you to target different areas every workout while hitting both big muscle groups in your upper and lower body each session!

The next training tip is to Focus On Low Reps And Heavy Weights. 

Too often we turn to more cardio or metabolic workouts when we want to lose fat. They make us feel out of breath and like we worked hard. 

But muscle is what stokes that metabolic fire.

To build that muscle we need heavy loads and progression in movements that challenges our muscles to tear them down so they have to rebuild stronger.

This is why you want to work down in reps and up in weights during your training.

And while using a diversity of rep ranges is ideal, do not ignore that maximal strength rep range of 1-5 reps even if muscle hypertrophy and fat loss is your goal. 

Increasing our strength allows us to then move more weight overall during our training, resulting in better muscle gains.

So while you may have heard that 6-12 reps is best for muscle hypertrophy and you do want to include this rep range, working lower in reps with even heavier loads will ultimately make you stronger to lift more for those exercises done in the 6-12 rep range.

Consider including a single heavy compound lift at the start of your workout for 4-5 rounds of 3-5 reps, resting 3-5 minutes between rounds. 

Follow that up with other compound accessory exercises in the 6-12 rep range to target specific muscle groups you’ve already started fatiguing with that first lift! 

The final tip is to Sprint More.

That high intensity interval work is so key to our conditioning and metabolic health. It is a great way to burn calories in an efficient way as well.

And if you perform short intervals of work of even just 10-20 seconds with 3-5 times the rest, you can really train speed. 

Just don’t get caught up on doing a bazillion rounds.

You don’t want to feel beat down from these short sessions. Less is more. Think even just 8-10 rounds of sprints. 

Go all out and fully recover. You want to train speed which means not doing a work interval again until you’ve recovered.

When you include sprints in this way, not only can you help keep your metabolic rate higher, even increasing your calorie burn after the sessions, but you’ll help improve your mind-body connection to even get more out of your lifting. 

This explosive power work helps you more efficiently recruit muscles which can lead to better strength gains.

These short intense bursts also help us see better results from our other workouts because they improve our conditioning and therefore our ability to recover more quickly between rounds of work. 

Better recovery means better quality of work during our training!

Using these 6 tips you can improve your metabolic health to lose fat at any and every age. 

Just remember the best results happen when our diet and our workouts work together!

How To Get Abs (For the First Time)

How To Get Abs (For the First Time)

by | Jun 6, 2023 | Blog, Diet

So you want to see your abs…Here’s what you need to know.

I’m going to tell you right now that often the first time you attempt to get leanlean
the process is often more difficult than you’d expect.

There are going to be mistakes, frustrations and it’s going to take a lot longer than you’d like because your body will fight against you.

Our body, just like our minds, doesn’t like change and will resist it.

Sounds fabulous, right?!

But honestly, as much as we like to try not to focus on the negative,

I think it is key we face the obstacles and struggles going in so we are prepared for them.

Too often we try to ignore that there will be challenges and that ultimately sets us up for failure.

So I want to share 5 things to be aware of in the process of trying to reach a new level of leanness you’ve never achieved before so you can be prepared to stick with the process!

But before I dive into those tips, I just want to remind you of the importance of MACROS for body recomp.

Macros matter most when we are really trying to lose that last little bit and do everything we can to preserve our lean muscle mass while losing fat. 

You need to focus on increasing your protein, but you also can’t fear carbs the more active you are. 

Your body will need the instant fuel.

And by cycling macros every couple of weeks, you can also help give yourself a wider diversity of foods, maintain a better hormonal balance and even MENTALLY feel more in control and motivated to keep moving forward because you have little mini “end dates” and points at which you know you get a little shift! 

Now, here are 5 things you need to know about getting abs for the first time…

#1: Realize you may feel like you look worse before you look better.

Often the areas we most want to change are the LAST to go. 

And often in the process of even losing off of other areas, the areas we want to change that haven’t look BIGGER and worse.

Not to mention, fat loss and body recomp are a slow process. Especially toward the end, results can feel like they aren’t happening when things are building and changing.

This is why it is key we use more than the scale. 

Use pictures of a ton of different angles NOT just the areas you want to lose so you can see fat coming off of other places.

Use measurements to track changes. 

And then even focus on tracking your consistency so you can trust in the process.

But realize that things will be coming off at a snails pace and you may even at times look SOFTER in the process.

You may have times where the scale doesn’t change…doesn’t change…doesn’t change…then BAM! It drops dramatically.

It wasn’t just the eating right around it that did it. 

You’d probably been losing fat slowly over time.

However, you didn’t lose until you dropped the water weight being stored in your fat cells. 

Which may have even been why you looked SOFTER for a bit!

One common time you can look softer is if you have been slightly lower carb. 

YUP!

So often we fear carbs BUT you can sometimes need to add them in to lose water weight. 

This phenomenon is known as the Whoosh Effect. And while the science on it is limited, it is something we’ve seen happen time and time again.

The hypothesis as to why this happens goes back to our body not liking to lose weight. 

We each have fat cells and the size of these fat cells change as we gain weight, increasing in size, or lose weight, shrinking in size. 

Fat cells are filled with triglycerides, which will be used as energy for the rest of your body. 

Working out, being in a calorie deficit, all make your body need to call on these stores to fuel. 

You’d think this would mean steady decreases as you draw from these stores during your diet. 

But instead, water is often stored in these fat cells as your body tries to maintain your current weight and avoid depletion of its energy stores. 

They store water to anticipate more fat filling them soon. 

So because of this water storage, your weight plateaus even though you are technically losing fat. 

And often it’s why we can feel like we look extra soft and squishy during the fat loss process at times. We will see this especially around our middle or thighs. It’s why you can hit dead zones where you feel you look WORSE even.

Then BAM! We get that Whoosh Effect and you wake up the next day and your body has let go of the stored water!

And often the cause of this water release comes from kicking our body out of the deficit temporarily so it no longer feels like it is “starving” and in need of holding on to the water weight to keep those fat stores ready to be filled! 

It’s why we may see this release after a cheat meal or day or even a carb refeed where our energy stores are “refilled” even if we still keep ourselves in the overall deficit for the week. 

But it’s why sticking with the process despite not seeing results immediately is so key!

#2: Know your whyS and set a motivational deadline.

The closer you get to your goal, the more cravings will probably have increased and your mind will work against you. 

You’ll want to eat. You’ve been in a long, consistent deficit and there are probably foods you’ve cut out for a period of time because they weren’t easy to work into your macros.

As much as you may think you want abs, well, just getting abs for the sake of…well…getting abs won’t keep you truly motivated for long.

Especially when your friends ask you to go out for happy hour after a long and stressful week. 

But precision is key. 

And especially if you’re pushing yourself to a level of leanness you’ve never been able to achieve before, you’re going to have to be ready to sacrifice. 

That’s why you need not only a why but WHYS and a deadline to keep you motivated.

I’d wanted to achieve a six pack for years before I did.

What finally got me to actually commit was setting a photoshoot, announcing it to all of my clients and wanting to be able to create a nutritional program to help clients no matter their goals. But I felt I couldn’t talk about getting lean if I didn’t personally know the struggles. 

So having that hard photoshoot deadline, public “pressure” and accountability and even a big investment of money in the process, helped me stay consistent when I 100% wanted to quit. 

Thankfully I’ve now learned a ton to make the process easier for myself and clients and even know how to maintain so my set point is lower, BUT that outside accountability and motivation beyond just wanting abs made all the difference.

So give yourself no way to wiggle out of your goal if you want to succeed!

#3: Plan ahead…With EVERYTHING.

You can’t be guesstimating. You can’t not track a bite of food.

You can’t be skipping random workouts or randomly stringing routines together based on how you’re feeling that day. 

You need to have everything planned out. Planning . 

A clear plan of action gives us added accountability and motivation to stay the course. It also allows us to make more accurate adjustments based on how we are progressing. 

It let us see what truly works, and what doesn’t.

Planning ahead also removes a lot of the stress involved in the precision required.

It’s hard in the moment, when you’re hungry or tired or stressed from a long day to figure out what workout to do or what to eat.

Because, often you don’t want to do what you know you should in those situations.

It’s why planning ahead, having meal prep frozen or having fast restaurant go-to options is so key. It takes the thought and guesswork out of it. 

It even takes the stress and emotion and CRAVINGS out of it.

The food is there. You know what you have to eat. 

Even already logging it in your food tracker adds accountability and makes things easier so you aren’t just having to track as you go! 

And by having your workout pre-planned, you are making sure you’re progressing. You’re not just doing what you feel like, as your energy at times may dip as you adjust and tweak ratios and calories. 

It’s easy when we are tired to slack. But everything in your programming needs to work as a cohesive system. Your macros are based on your training and visa versa. So both need to go together.

You can also see if your performance is truly decline because you have that clear progression you repeat to compare and track numbers against.

Data is key to helping you achieve results as efficiently as possible as well! 

#4: Find ways to move more.

By being in an extended deficit to lose that last little bit of stubborn fat, your body is going to find ways to conserve energy.

That means you’re going to naturally fidget less and want to move less. 

You want to be conscious of this and do little things to keep your NEAT or non-exercise activity thermogenesis higher. 

You want to burn more calories during your normal day.

This does NOT mean making your gym sessions longer. It does NOT mean even doing 2-a days. 

It just means being conscious to move more.

Too often we try to train harder or length out our training sessions which actually leads to less results and more metabolic adaptations.

Plus, the quality of these training sessions often decreases and we end up doing a lot of wasted volume we can’t recover from. This actually ends up diminishing our returns. 

Plus when we train harder as we try to cut calories lower, the deficit we are in grows. 

And our body fights that weight loss for survival purposes. 

This trying to do more in our training could actually lead to more metabolic adaptations and muscle loss instead of aiding our weight loss process. 

And I know we often think, well I won’t lift more, I’ll just add in even a quick HIIT training session.

But just recognize, these intense sessions can deplete our glycogen stores and actually sometimes even make us hungrier. Plus they can add more to our fatigue. 

This is why walking can be such a great thing to add in. 

It doesn’t detract from our energy for future training sessions. And it is low intensity so we can do more of it without causing further cravings. 

It can also really assist in fat loss, especially when included after workouts that have targeted our stubborn areas to increase blood flow to those areas and mobilize more fatty acids to be utilized.

So be conscious of when you start to feel like doing less to not fall into the couch but still include some fun activities over the week to move more! 

#5: Progress will feel slow. Your body will fight you.

I know I slightly mentioned this already, but I think it’s key we oversell the negative to ourselves so we stick with things when we want to quit and challenges arise.

We’re almost ready for them if we do make ourselves aware early on.

PLUS, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for the same reason progress is slow…

The longer you’ve been above the weight or leanness level you want to be at, the harder it will be to reach that new point. 

Your body doesn’t like change. It wants to maintain balance and balance to it is where you’ve currently been at, especially if you’ve been at that weight for awhile. 

Your body will do what it can to stay there.

The positive part of this is that, once you get lean and start to transition into maintenance practices, it becomes easier and easier over time to maintain a leaner physique. 

But the initial getting there is often not easy. 

Progress will be slow. And this is actually a good thing.

When we try to see dramatic results, often we aren’t really losing more fat.

Often we are simply losing water weight and glycogen that’s been stored.

Plus, the faster we attempt to lose weight, the more we often lose muscle and not just fat.

Muscle is metabolically more costly to maintain. 

So when our body is in a deficit and looking to conserve energy, it will use muscle as fuel. 

That not only provides the energy it thinks it needs, but it also helps it conserve energy overall. 

So embrace the slow process.

The easiest way to do this is by focusing on those daily habits as goals themselves.

Put your focus on doing what you know will lead to results. Celebrate the consistency in those habits as wins.

That will help you stay focused on the actions that will build toward results.

SUMMARY:

These 5 things are key to be aware when you commit to a program to get abs for the first time.

The process will be slower than you’d like, and your mind and body will fight against you as you seek to achieve something you’ve never done before. 

But remember, maintaining gets EASIER!

Just focus on those daily habits and don’t freak out and do more when results are slow!

Ready to see the results you deserve? Learn more about my 1:1 Coaching:

–> Redefining Strength’s 1:1 Online Coaching

 

How To Get Lean & STAY Lean For Life (6 Tips)

How To Get Lean & STAY Lean For Life (6 Tips)

by | May 28, 2023 | Blog, Diet

Let’s be real here….

You want to be lean and strong to perform your best for the rest of your life.

Falling into old habits is the quickest way to lose your progress.

You need to create a lifestyle built off of habits you can maintain.

That’s why these 6 nutrition rules are key to staying lean and strong for life!

Rule #1: Don’t Ignore Your Gut Health.

Very rarely is gut health the first thing that comes to mind when you think about staying lean.

But if our gut microbiome is healthy, the rest of our body will function optimally. 

It helps reduce inflammation, keeps our metabolic rate higher to burn more fat, and helps reduce cravings.

An increase in “bad” bacteria has been shown to trigger an overproduction of insulin, leading to insulin resistance, which causes your body to stop burning fat and start storing it. 

The more insulin sensitive you are, the more likely it is that you’ll have a leaner body due to insulin’s anabolic properties — replenishing fuel stores while reducing the rate of protein degradation or breakdown.

Taking care of our gut health can actually help us feel fuller and balance our appetite. 

When the bacteria in our gut ferments fiber, it releases leptin which can help suppress appetite and help us feel more satisfied.

Aim to consume 25-30 grams of fiber per day and consume foods rich in probiotics and prebiotics, like yogurt, fermented foods, garlic, potatoes, bananas, and legumes. 

Eating a variety of fruits and vegetables is also important, as research shows that consuming at least 30 different types of plants per week can lead to a stronger and more diverse gut microbiome.

So have some fun with that meal prep over the week for great tasting dishes and a lean, strong body! 

Rule #2: Don’t Diet Forever.

If you’re still thinking of your dietary changes as something you’re doing until x date, you’re never going to actually create lifestyle changes you can maintain long-term.

You can’t maintain habits you hate for long.

If you feel restricted and hungry and deprived, at some point your willpower is going to run out. 

Find new ways to do the minimum if you want to create baseline habits that keep you consistent.

This is how you maintain the results you’ve built.

An easy way to do this is to pick a calorie range and a protein minimum. 

By having these clear guidelines, we can make sure we are allowing 012 – guidelines ourselves to enjoy the foods we love with guidelines to keep us in check! 

Life is unpredictable and there may be times when our priorities change.

It’s okay to reassess and adjust your approach.

Whether you’re juggling a busy work schedule or taking care of a new family, you can still make changes to your nutrition by constantly assessing your priorities and setting boundaries with tracking. 

Rule #3: Fuel Your Training.

Too often we sabotage our long-term success by NOT focusing on our performance while adjusting our nutrition.

We just accept low energy levels and sucky workouts. 

Because let’s face it…if we feel crappy, it impacts our nutrition choices.

Feeling strong and powerful and fast…well… it ROCKS.

If you want to maintain your aesthetic results, you need to make sure you’re fueling to be able to train the way you’d like. 

Properly fueling our training makes it so much easier to maintain our results long term! 

Fueling to build lean muscle is really the secret to being able to look leaner for the rest of our lives! 

You can’t stay in a deficit forever.

Focus on fueling your workouts to make sure you have full energy stores to perform at your best!

And if you’re doing any endurance training do NOT fear carbs! 

They are key even if you went lower carb to initially lose the weight! 

Rule #4: Set Meal Prep Staples.

You need flexibility to enjoy any of the foods you love or go out to eat if you’re in this for the long haul.

The more restricted we feel, the harder it is to stay consistent.

It’s key we have flexibility but If you want to maintain your physique for life, you need to have those meal prep staples always on hand.

Find delicious recipes you love to prep in bulk and freeze. 

Find easy canned goods or frozen foods you can always have to prep in a pinch. 

Create some go-to meals you can eat consistently that are always there for you in a pinch.

Create a few different variations of those meals like a higher and lower carb option so you can make adjustments based on other things you had that day. 

Went out to an unplanned lunch and had more carbs?

Use version B of your taco bowl and make it a taco salad instead!

Have some simple staples you always know you have on hand to make life EASY while keeping you consistent.

Rule #5: Embrace Change

Your priorities in life will shift. Your body is going to change with age

Even your lifestyle and activity level may shift season to season. 

Your routine during the holidays will be different than over the summer. 

Nothing will work forever.

So staying lean and strong for life will mean being open to constantly learning and adjusting.

You wouldn’t do the same workouts forever…so you can’t approach your diet as you’ll do the exact same thing forever either.

Don’t be afraid to adjust your macros or portions over time.

Try new foods and recipes. 

Experiment with including different supplements to help you work toward other goals or even make your lifestyle more convenient during busy days. 

Embrace that you can constantly make changes to find a balance.

Maintaining doesn’t mean you won’t fluctuate or that you won’t set goals to focus on.

It just means you have those boundaries to keep yourself in check and doing the minimum to maintain the hard work you put in to get these results in the first place! 

Rule #6: Put Protein First.

The simpler we keep things, the more sustainable the habits are.

Too many things to focus on splits our attention and with more balls up in the air, it is much easier to drop one when life does it’s best to get in the way.

Maintaining your results is about finding out the minimum you can do.

I like to think of it as a challenge to see how lazy I can get away with being.

Give yourself one focus.

Getting about 30% of your daily calories from protein will keep you dialed in enough to maintain your results.

This puts your focus on whole, natural foods and keeps your metabolism humming.

Paired with a calorie range this makes sure that you’re never getting too far off track even as you work in other foods or travel or enjoy cocktails out with friends. 

It also allows for more flexibility so you don’t constantly feel restricted or like you have too many habits to focus on repeating!

Focus on these 6 simple nutrition rules to stay lean and strong for life and don’t sabotage yourself in constantly overcomplicating things!

For more tips, join my FREE daily newsletter!

Meal Plan To Lose Fat Faster (Without Ruining Your Metabolism)

Meal Plan To Lose Fat Faster (Without Ruining Your Metabolism)

by | May 14, 2023 | Blog, Diet

Wish you could look lean whenever you wanted?

Like always be at your most fabulous for a vacation or big event?

Well I’m going to share how you can actually accomplish this and stay leaner all year around.

The secret is MINI CUTS.

And I’m going to explain what mini cuts are and how you’ll be able to design your own by the end of this video.

What Is A Mini Cut?

Mini cuts are NOT something you do long term.

They are hard.

They are miserable. They aren’t fun. You’ll feel hungry. Your body will be a bit mad.

But the point of them is to kickstart those results.

And to feel extra fabulous for that vacation or event.

To stay lean, you can’t be in a deficit forever.

And, even if you aren’t yet at your goal, if you’ve been dieting for longer, you need to take a break at points.

Because you will hit a plateau or reach a point of diminishing returns.

The longer and stricter we’ve been dieting, the more our body and our mind will fight against us.

That is why at points you have to shift into maintaining your results, even if you aren’t yet fully at your goal. 

During these times you want to increase your calories and focus on more balanced macro ratios.

These are a BREAK for your body and mind but ESSENTIAL if you want to see the full benefit of mini cuts.

By maintaining your results for a time, you create a new set point off of which you can build.

You can then strategically use more intensive deficits and macro breakdowns to achieve amazing results very quickly and get that extra definition whenever you want.

And these strategic deficits and intense macro breakdowns are called mini cuts.

And you’ll only use these strategically for 1-3…4 weeks max.

They are to look extra fabulous for that big event or even to overcome a plateau when you’ve been stuck.

Mini cuts are times where you are going to go to an extreme that you know is NOT sustainable but with a purpose and an exit strategy.

You are doing this built off of those key fundamentals not just doing some shake or detox fast fix.

And because the mini cuts are short, you won’t sabotage your metabolic health or feel restricted for so long you can’t get back on track after!

So…How Do You Set Your Macros And Calories For Your Own Mini Cut?

Yup. You’re going to have to track to really use these mini cuts to your advantage. Precision is key so we don’t lose muscle and focus on that recomp quickly.

We need that data to help us avoid the cut backfiring because we are going to be going to a strategic short-term extreme.

To set your calories, a good starting place is 10x goal bodyweight (which may even be your current bodyweight if you’re already lean).

This number is going to be low.

If you are super active and super lean, you may simply cut 500 off of your usual maintenance if you track consistently.

But you are pushing the most extreme deficit here for a very short term!

Then adjust your protein.

You want your protein intake between 45-50% for this mini cut.

You can then divide the rest between carbs and fat, but the more active you are and the leaner you want to be, the more you will want to keep carbs higher while dropping fat closer to 20%.

Often for a mini cut with clients I recommend something like 45% protein, 35% carbs and 20% fat.

I’ll show you how I would hit this ratio with a full day of eating at 1400 calories.

Full Day Of Eating – 45% protein, 35% carbs, 20% fat at 1400 calories

Pre-Workout:

Because my calories are low and I want to maintain my lean muscle mass, I will often train earlier in the morning after a protein shake and some coffee.

I love this morning routine and find the coffee allows me some time to wake up and gives me a bit of an energy boost while my calories are low.

The protein shake is also key so that I have those amino acids available to help me repair and rebuild from my lifting.

During my workout, I’ll consume my BCAAs.

I find because I’m in an extreme deficit and not getting “enough” of anything, these help me recover faster from my training and protect my lean muscle.

I also am very strategic during these mini cuts to focus my progressions on lifting over cardio.

Post Workout/Breakfast:

After my workout, I’ll head home and have breakfast. I generally make an egg white omelet with smoked salmon as well as oatmeal.

I love using the Everything Bagel seasoning and Melinda’s hot sauce on the omelet.

Because sauces often pack a calorie punch, hot sauces and seasonings will be your best friends to make meals still tasty so you aren’t completely miserable with your calories so low and macros being stricter.

I also love the oatmeal packets that have a bit of flavoring.

If I don’t have one, I may add my own sugar free syrup!

Lunch:

I then have lunch before I get too hungry.

The exact timing may vary based on what I’m doing, but I like to make sure I’m never starving when I next eat or I find it easier to end up wanting to overeat or eat so fast I don’t really taste it.

I also try to drink some tea or water before I eat to feel a bit fuller from the meal.

For lunch, I keep it simple, pan-searing some chicken with some frozen sweet potato chunks and broccoli.

I’ll use some sugar-free bbq sauce on my chicken as well as garlic salt on the potatoes and veggies.

Finding things that give your food flavor is key. Trader joe’s has some amazing seasonings for diversity and there are tons of sugar-free sauces to bring some fun to boring chicken!

Yes, it is more processed BUT because of the low calories and intensive macro ratio, your overall food quality will have to be high with lots of whole natural foods anyway so that 80/20 balance to not make yourself feel extra miserable is key!

And if I’m in a pinch, I often even get the Good And Gather cooked chicken to reheat. Always good to have options for when you’re on the go!

Dinner:

For dinner I love shrimp. They are easy to get frozen and basically have on hand no matter what.

I’ll cook them with rice and a stir-fry vegetable mix.

I’ll add in sesame oil and soy sauce and top off with sriracha because I love the spice and flavor. Adding in some garlic as well can be good to make things tasty.

Bonus if you are a spicy food person as well, capsaicin is a chemical that has been shown to increase the rate at which the body burns calories. So an extra metabolic boost is never bad while adding flavor!

Dessert:

Next is dessert. And yes, even in a cut I need my sweet treat to end the night.

I’ll usually have a greek yogurt and rice cake with peanut butter and fluff.

I often have a few brands of yogurt in the fridge to hit whatever macros and calories I need. And I have pre-planned a few rice cake variations as well.

Always key we have options we can adjust if something does pop up during the day or we are craving something specific!

I also personally have a diet soda with dinner or dessert. I find it extra satisfying and a bit filling when you know you’ve slashed your calories low strategically.

All about finding that balance so you can maintain the aesthetic you want without constantly being on a diet!

SUMMARY:

They aren’t fun. Or easy.

And they are intense.

But they are a short term pain to be able to look the way you want, whenever you want and stay leaner all year around.

Mini cuts are a great option if you need that extra kickstart or want to feel extra fabulous for an event.

Just remember you are using these short-term and strategically.

Make sure to really plan ahead as these calories are low and the macro ratios are intense!

Learn how to create YOUR lifestyle balance…

–>The 3 Phase Strategy Built For Your Body and Your Goals

Why You’re Not LOSING FAT (5 Things No One Tells You About Losing Weight)

Why You’re Not LOSING FAT (5 Things No One Tells You About Losing Weight)

by | Apr 9, 2023 | Blog, Diet, Exercises

You tried on those pants that wouldn’t button…

You stepped on the scale that showed you a number that made you want to hurl it at the wall…

So now…you’ve decided you want to lose weight.

In this video I want to share 5 things no one tells you about losing weight, but I also want to ask you one very important question first…

Is weight loss what you really want?

I ask this question because it’s key we realize that losing weight as fast as possible on the scale may actually be holding us back from seeing the fat loss results we want.

Losing weight faster doesn’t mean losing fat faster.

It actually often means the opposite.

In our desire to see quicker changes on the scale, we go to extremes which are unsustainable and only truly deplete our glycogen stores, causing us to also lose water weight. 

It’s why we may see immediate big drops in our weight.

It’s not fat being lost though.

If we do manage to maintain the extreme measures, we often then also start to lose as much muscle as we do fat.

And while some muscle loss will occur at points in your weight loss journey, you want to do everything possible to maintain as much lean muscle mass as you can!

Which actually brings me to the first thing no one tells you about losing weight…

Macros matter most.

I can feel the angry mob of calorie counters approaching who won’t listen a step further in this video…but hear me out….

Often people say it’s only about calories in vs calories out while saying you can’t build muscle and lose weight at the same time…

Which actually you can do.

But it is this calorie only focus that creates this issue and belief.

Adjusting your macros is key if you want to lose fat and not only retain lean muscle mass but BUILD it. 

Focusing solely on a calorie deficit won’t do this and could lead to more muscle being lost in the weight loss process.

Macros are so key because higher protein diets are the only ones shown to help you not only retain but even GAIN muscle while in a deficit. 

By keeping on more lean muscle as you slim down, you’ll promote more optimal hormone levels and even help keep your metabolic rate higher. 

Muscle requires more energy to be maintained.

And this higher energy expenditure daily will make it easier to ultimately lose more fat!

This focus on retaining lean muscle while trying to lose fat is even more key as we get older because it becomes harder to build and retain lean muscle, which leads to more metabolic adaptations with age. 

And creating an extreme deficit to lose weight quicker as we get older only puts us at greater risk to lose even more muscle!

So if you want to see the best results, you want to focus on those macros to fuel your training and even help yourself gain muscle as you lose fat.

Focusing on hitting that high protein tipping point, consuming 30% of your calories from protein, can help you see better fat loss results while even building muscle through a strategically created deficit based on your macro breakdown. 

The second thing no one tells you about losing weight is something none of us really want to admit…because it stinks.

I mean, who wants to be PATIENT!?

But we need to realize that results will take longer the longer we’ve been at our current weight. 

Think about how long it took for you to get into your current position.

Think about how long you haven’t been at your goal…

Often when we are considering how quickly results happen, we think about the diet we are using or the workouts we are doing.

But we never consider how much our body will fight us to maintain the balance of where it is at currently. 

Our body doesn’t like change.

It feels threatened with change. It’s part of how it protects us to survive.

So the longer you’ve had the weight on, the farther you are from your goal, the longer it will probably take for you to get there. 

Especially if it means hitting a new level of leanness you’ve never achieved before. 

So while you may look at your friend who gained 15 pounds just like you and want your results to happen just as fast, if you’ve had the weight on for a year and they just gained it during the holidays, it is probably going to come off much more quickly for them!

When mapping out your plan, realize that gaining the weight took 10 months so you’re probably not going to see it just all melt off in 10 weeks. 

Recognizing this helps give us perspective when we feel like changes aren’t happening fast enough!

The third thing no one tells you is that repeatable habits should be your focus over doing more. 

When we want to lose weight, we do turn to making habit changes…but often we make massive overhauls to our current lifestyle and habits.

Our focus is on what will get us results FASTEST. 

Not what habits can I actually REPEAT day in and day out. 

Now this doesn’t mean every habit change will feel easy. Most won’t actually feel sustainable to start.

And they won’t be fun.

Tracking your food is not fun. 

Doing the mobility work when you’re in a rush and just want to get to the meat of your workout isn’t fun. 

BUT it can be repeatable if you break things down to meet yourself where you are at.

When making changes to lose weight, start with easy to repeat habits.

Focus on those small daily changes over doing more.

This allows you to build instead of overwhelming yourself so that you give up when you just simply run out of willpower and self control.

These repeatable habits are what lead to DISCIPLINE.

So as much as these may feel small, they may feel even less than “ideal” they will allow you to get consistent. 

And what we do consistently we get good at.

If we consistently do habits that make us gain weight, we will.

If we consistently do habits that help us lose, we will.

So focus on repeatable habits that can help you build a lifestyle and see those results snowball. 

The fourth thing no one tells you, that it is key we recognize to avoid sabotaging ourselves and giving up when results are snowballing…

Is that you’ll often feel like the areas you want to change are the LAST to change. 

And even at points as you’ve made progress losing weight, they look WORSE! 

Stubborn areas are stubborn for a reason.

They often contain more of the stubborn type of fat cell and have less blood flow. 

They are often the places we gain first so will be the LAST we will lose from.

We may see all of these other areas trimming down, but not see any changes really to start from the places we care about. 

Not only is this frustrating but slimming down in some places and not others can make the areas we want to change stand out even more.

But don’t give up.

Giving up is what keeps you from finally losing from those stubborn body parts. 

Often it is pushing through and just sticking with those same old boring habits, not jumping ship in favor of some fad diet, that will finally add up.

And if you are struggling with those stubborn areas and want to learn more about what makes stubborn areas so stubborn, check out my How To Lose Stubborn Fat Video with 3 tips.

Now…The 5th and final thing no one tells you about losing weight is…

What you did to lose the weight will NOT be what you do to maintain it. 

Honestly because the dieting industry is built off of us regaining the weight we’ve lost…

A new fast fix is easier to sell you than maintenance

Maintenance isn’t sexy so it’s never discussed

But maintaining your weight loss is a learned process with its own unique challenges. 

And one of those challenges is actually being ok with a very small increase on the scale as you shift your body and habits from weight loss mode to maintaining mode.

You can’t just keep repeating what you did to lose and stay in a deficit forever, yet you also can’t go back to old habits. 

You’ve got to slowly make adjustments to your macros and calories to increase them to a maintenance level while potentially returning to a more even macro split. 

We have to remember our body, needs and goals are constantly evolving which means our diet and workout habits can’t just stay stagnant.

(At the end I’ve linked out to more free resources!)

If you’ve been only focused on losing weight fast, it’s time to change your approach. Losing weight quickly doesn’t always mean losing fat, and extreme approaches can be harmful.

By focusing on healthy habits, you can achieve lasting results that don’t have to feel overly restrictive.

More Free Resources:

–> 5 Tips To Maintain Your Results

–> 3 Step Fat loss Recipe