FWTFL Chocolate Coconut Fat Bombs

On low carb days, people often think about and focus on consuming meats, poultry, fish and veggies. There is room for smart treats though, too. 

Since our carb intake is reduced, to make up for those calories and hit our daily goal, we must increase and consume healthy fats. If you are craving something sweet and chocolatey, try this yummy recipe on your next low carb day.

FWTFL Chocolate Coconut Fat Bombs

Ingredients

• 6 T coconut Oil

• 3 T PB

• 3 T cocoa

• 2 T stevia

Instructions:

Melt the coconut oil in a saucepan.

Add the other ingredients and mix well. Do not boil.

Pour into molds and freeze until solid.

Pop out of molds and store in the freezer or refrigerator.

Nutrition (varies per ingredient brands): 1 candy approx. 88 cals / 9.1g fat / 1.1g net carbs / 0.9g protein

They make a great sweet treat on low carb day, especially after a high intensity workout!

Eating Healthy: It Doesn't Have to Be All or Nothing

Today I want to talk to you about eating healthy and how it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

When people start thinking about changing their habits to lose weight or get healthy, they sometimes follow methods or trends that will make it hard to be successful.

People often think of eating healthy as one of these:

• Cutting calories or following a calorie deficit
• Giving up fun, favorite foods -> like donuts, pizza, wine
• Eating boring, bland and plain food day after day
• Following rigid rules that interfere with everyday life

None of that is healthy! 

Eating healthy means:

• Confidently eating the right amount food for you and your goals. Fueling your body properly, not under-eating, so that it performs optimally. Consuming the right amount of macronutrients to build muscle and increase your metabolism to burn fat effectively.
• Eating with intent and planning those fun, favorite foods. Choosing foods in a thoughtful way so that it fits your macros (known as if it fits your macros, IIFYM, method). Not eliminating certain foods or food groups forever is healthier because it is more realistic. It creates a healthy mindset about food.
• Enjoying a variety of delicious whole food from every macronutrient. Fruits, veggies, meat, poultry 
• Focusing on progress, not perfection. Making healthy choices one day at a time. Learning how to deal with struggles and push past them to reach goals. Figuring out how healthy eating can be a lifestyle, that's not perfect, but still healthy.

These are some of the things that you will focus on when you join my FASTer Way to Fat Loss® tribe. We will focus on how to make eating healthy work for you and your lifestyle LONG TERM.

My next round starts soon. Click here to learn more and to register! I would love to help you reach your health and fitness goals!

My 10 Day Detox: 5 Things I Learned

In the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program we emphasize the importance of whole food nutrition and trying to be gluten and dairy free. The point is to stay away from processed foods as much as possible because a lot of those foods contain ingredients that are unhealthy. I do the best I can.

In an effort to clean up my food act, I joined the January 10 Day Detox with the FWTFL VIP community.  For 10 days I would be thinking about whole foods, clean foods, organic foods. The goal was to reset my body by giving it a break from foods that are known to have a heavier toxic load or prevent the natural detoxification process. Yes, even coaches needed a little motivation and support!

That meant giving up some of my favorite things like apple cinnamon rice cakes with peanut butter and jelly, eggs, cheese, meat and caffeine! My heart literally sank a little while I was reading the What to Eat (what to avoid) list. Instead of changing my mind (which honestly crossed my mind) I went into plan and prep mode -> with the help of mrC.

Here's How the 10 Day Detox Worked: 

Day 1: 24 hour water fast

We do these once a month in VIP, so this was pretty routine. We started our fasting clock at our last meal the night before and broke our fast at dinner the next day. mrC met me for dinner at one of our favorite restaurants and I broke my fast with grilled salmon, mashed potatoes, veggies and a COKE ZERO! No guilt here. I'm all about what you can, when you can and progress not perfection.

Days 2-9: FWTFL food cycle and What to Eat list

Eating according to my regular food cycle was not as hard as I thought it would be without processed foods. Our two low carb days were the biggest challenge for me because so many of my go-to items were on the avoid list: eggs, peanuts, peanut butter, sliced turkey breast from the deli. Both days I failed to hit my macro goals, but I wasn't hungry. 

What I Learned:

1. New recipes to try with foods I already enjoy. I'm a creature of habit, so the detox helped me get a little more creative with my food choices. Although, I did eat the new things repeatedly! I made this sauce  (dairy free) for my shredded chicken and quinoa -> it was seriously SO GOOD!

Coconut chicken and quinoa

2. I managed to live without my go-to foods much better than I expected! I don't "need" the foods that were eliminated and hopefully will limit the amount I bring back to my menu. Day 6 was my one off day...I was under calories (again) and there were GF cheese crackers in the apartment. I caved and had a pretty big snack after dinner. But I didn't crash and burn. I was right back on track the next day!

3. Food prep is the key to success when doing a detox! Preparing large batches of chicken breast, quinoa, sweet potato chips, broccoli and stuffed peppers made it insanely easy to mix and match my meals. 

4. I like my caffeine. I tried to limited myself to one cup of coffee in the morning and 1 glass of Coke Zero. Some days this worked, some days it didn't. 

5. A detox is about more than what you eat. We examined all the ways that toxins can invade our lifestyle such as through cleaning products, makeup, toiletries and more. I've already purchased some BeautyCounter products, and I found deodorant and shampoo at the American store. 

I'm excited that I made it the whole ten days with only one big slip. I definitely felt more energized in the afternoons and many days I slept later than I have in years. My goal is to continue to limit the amount of processed foods we eat and keep looking at ways to lessen the toxins we bring into our lives.

PS - This detox was offered as part of the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® VIP membership and is one of the things that made me fall in love with the program before becoming a coach. We are given the chance to learn even more about healthy living to supplement what we learned in the six-week program and follow-up. The FASTer Way is about helping people THRIVE when creating a healthy lifestyle. To learn more about my next round, click here.

Have you ever done a whole foods detox?

Cape Cod Summer 2018 - Week 2

This post is loooong overdue! Between travel, becoming a FASTer Way to Fat Loss® coach and spraining my ankle, it got lost in the chaos. Anyway, because I love to look back at our time with the kids at the beach, I'm finally finishing the post!

The glorious weather continued to bless us all through our second week in North Falmouth. Vacations are always so relaxing, but also seem to fly by. I love the way we blend new adventures, down time and exercise, but my favorite thing is just seeing all of us together again!

Interval Training: 
I took full advantage of the cool mornings to do my workouts outside on the driveway. Even on vacation, it feels good to move my muscles and sweat a little. mrC joined me every day and by the time we finished, at least one kid would join us for a cool down walk.

Strength Training: 
I'm so glad that we had the Fit Simplify bands so we could keep up with our strength days. They seriously were so convenient! Side note: I did accidentally break the yellow band pictured below, but FS replaced it!

Wednesday evening we checked out Cape Cod Winery. This place was pretty amazing ---> beautiful outdoor space, live music and a great vibe from the owners. It's a work in progress and we plan to return again next year to see the updates.

On Thursday we continued our summer tradition of hanging out with Fancy Nancy's family. Her family is so cute and always feed us the best food! This year Dev got to join us.

Active Recovery:
We spent our final rest day on a bike ride to West Falmouth. We stopped in a local market for a beverage and sat on the front patio chatting and enjoying every single second we had left together.

Every year we have a great Cape Cod vacation and writing this very late post has me already looking forward to our next one!!

What is FASTer Way To FASTer Way to Fat Loss®? - Carb Cycling

This is my second post in the What is FASTer Way to Fat Loss®? series. Last time I discussed online bootcamps. Today I want to talk about one of strategies we practice.

FASTer Way to Fat Loss® - Carb Cycling

Carb cycling is when we alter our carb intake to prevent stalls in fat loss and keep our metabolism revved up.

We alter our carb intake by cycling low carb days and regular carb days. Low carb days mean we restrict our carb intake. Regular carb days are the days we get the recommended 50% of our diet from carbs.

The cycle encourages the body to burn fat instead of sugar but prevents your energy levels from dropping. Natural fat burning can occur on low carb days because the body is forced to reach into fat stores for energy. When carbs are reintroduced, the body refuels and rebuilds its energy stores. The carbs are then used to promote the growth of lean fat burning muscles.

Carb cycling works for everyone, but especially women and men who have been eating clean, eating healthy, but have hit a plateau. Cycling carbs gives all the benefits of a low carb diet without risking burn out or malfunctioning of our thyroid.

Carb cycling is a cutting edge strategy used in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program. As a coach, I can teach you how to strategically pair your workouts to see the best results.

Learn more about my next round here.

Coming up, I will discuss the elements of intermittent fasting and how it used in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program.