Are you making these mistakes and hurting your hormones?

Are you making these mistakes and hurting your hormones?

Overexercising. When you push your body to its limits with intense workouts and neglect proper nutrition, your hormones can take a nosedive. Especially estrogen. This rollercoaster can mess with your bone health, fertility and overall health and well-being.

Undereating. When you are not fueling your body adequately, it goes into survival mode, slowing down your metabolism and reducing the production of essential hormones, like estrogen. This hormonal disruption can lead to mood swings, irregular periods and sometimes hair loss.

Not getting enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can disrupt the delicate dance of hormones responsible for appetite control and fat metabolism, making it tougher for you to make healthy choices and burn fat efficiently.

I work with women in the FASTer Way program who come to me after years of making the same mistakes that I did. They learn to exercise the right amount, eat the right amount and prioritize rest so that they can transform their bodies and ignite happy hormones. The FASTer Way program app is the First and Only fitness app clinically proven to burn fat, build muscle and improve overall health and fitness.

Why Leg Day Treats?

One of the most favorite aspects of the FASTer Way program is the “Leg Day Treat.” 

In the FASTer Way, we don’t believe in deprivation. That’s why we have a food cycle designed to allow us to enjoy our favorite treats on Leg Day, totally guilt-free. We work out a large muscle group, our legs, which results in a ramped up metabolism, turning our bodies into fat-burning machines all day long.

Leg Day strength training includes some of the more challenging movements of all the strength-based workouts, and the legs and glutes are among the largest muscle groups in the body. Challenging yourself in heavy strength training with the largest muscle groups means you’re likely burning more calories on Leg Day than on other strength days.

Most people who try a diet or “fat loss lifestyle” don’t stick with it for the long-term because it’s too restrictive and doesn’t teach them HOW to incorporate occasional treats. We learn how to still eat a treat and how honesty in that freedom is important. It's not a diet of deprivation, but a lifestyle where you eat mindfully and with purpose.

It is important to note that we participate in a treat MEAL...not a cheat DAY.  Going off course for an entire day can quickly unravel some of your hard earned work; however, a treat meal is unlikely to do so. A treat meal serves a couple of purposes. It can trick your body and turn your metabolism up a notch. Plus it gives you a mental release from feeling like you have to be "perfect" all the time.

Some people find the idea of “treats” to be particularly triggering and they have a hard time stopping at one treat or an appropriately portioned treat. Please understand that building in foods made of discretionary calories is entirely voluntary and I encourage you to make the best decision for you and your wellness journey.

How do you incorporate treats or do you avoid them?

The Low Carb Biscuit You'll Want to Make ALL THE TIME!

You guys!!!! If you like biscuits, keep reading...

You HAVE to make this Low Carb Biscuit from Better with Emily. It took me less than 5 minutes to create this yumminess -> in the microwave!

Sometimes on low carb days in the FASTer Way lifestyle, I still crave bread type foods: pasta, toast, crackers, muffins, BISCUITS!

I made a savory breakfast sandwich out of mine -> egg with ham, Applegate chicken sausage patty and a bit of hummus, but you can also make it into a sweet treat, like my co-coach Renee did. 

Here’s how you do it:

3 Tbsp Almond Flour
½ Tbsp Coconut flour
2 Tbsp Melted Coconut Oil
1 Egg
½ tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Salt (couple dashes)

Melt the coconut oil.
Add the egg and mix together.
Add dry ingredients.

Add it to your small dish and put in the microwave for 80-ish seconds. To check for doneness, the top should bounce back after you touch it. I like to split the mixture into two ramekins (I got a set of 6 on Amazon), but you can also cut it in half when it's done.

Now, plop it upside down on a plate (might need to loosen with a knife) and create your very own delicious creation.

Save this post for later and be sure to let me know if you try this recipe for yourself!

Want to know more about the FASTer Way lifestyle? My next group is starting soon! Learn more here: FASTer Way with Amy Caine.

My Favorite Way to Eat Crispbread from Trader Joe's

Recently, my friend Renee set me up with some of her favorite products from Trader Joe's. We don't have one in Hawaii, shocking right? We think so. But honestly, we've never lived near a Trader Joe's and only popped into one for the gluten free Pumpkin Pancake Mix a couple of times. 

Anyway, Renee came to Oahu for the FASTer Way virtual conference and brought me some Crispbread.

My favorite way to eat crispbread from Trader Joe's is a combo of avocado, coconut yogurt and salmon. This meal is perfect on low carb days because it has tons of protein, fiber and healthy fats.

I like to mash my avocado and use it as a spread. Avocado is a great source of fiber and healthy fats. If you are not a fan of avocado, I highly recommend mashing it up and blending it into your food. Works for me!

I like to add vanilla coconut yogurt which boosts my heathy fats and drops a little sweetness to this combo. Then I top my crispbread with a generous portion of salmon - a great source of protein and healthy fats.

Another delicious option is to spread a bit of Kite Hill cream cheese with chives (or any dairy free cream cheese) and top it with salmon. Tuna would work, too. Soooo delicious!

If you are a FASTer Way client or just follow a low carb diet, Crispbread is amazing on low carb days. It has lots of protein, healthy fats and fiber. These are all of the things we want on low carb days!

Are you a crispbread fan? How do you like to eat yours?

Supersets with Tempo and a Booty Challenge

Today was our first strength training day following the new programming for July: Supersets with Tempo. We are going to be focusing on doing two exercises at a time back-to-back. One will be straight reps and the second we will vary the speed to increase the time under tension, aka max out the muscles!

I was really liking the mixed pyramid sets we were doing in June, but I know that in order to see change, we have to mix things up. That is why I love being in FASTer Way VIP. I get the perks of a personal trainer without the price!

This month we are also doing a Booty Challenge. So a couple of days a week we get bonus content to build our lower body strength. Today was day 2 and let me just say that things were on fire!

After my workout I did a cool down walk. It was a stunning day here in Hawaii with great trade winds, so I took advantage and headed toward the Lanikai Monument. This monument marks the entrance to the Lanikai neighborhood. 

The monument is my turn around spot, but I like to walk down the hill to the lava rocks and take in the view first. If you follow my Instagram stories you will see that I am here a lot! mrC and I love to sit and enjoy the breeze while looking for turtles. We came here almost everyday when the beach was closed at the beginning of the COVID quarantine.

I just love looking at the amazing view of Kailua Beach and the Kailua blue water from here. We truly are blessed to have this as our playground.

One reason I love this walk, is because it is all sidewalks and walking paths from our apartment (unless we take a side street which has very little traffic). The walking/bike path goes right through Kailua Beach park.

I spent the rest of my day working a little, chatting with my Functional Medicine Practitioner and eating! BreakFAST was one of my favorites: egg, tuna, avocado and hummus on gluten free, dairy free toast. The bread is made locally here on Oahu and is the best GF bread I've ever had.

While I was working, I had a 3 pound turkey breast cooking in the crockpot, so dinner was turkey breast, steamed broccoli and sweet potato chips. Turkey is my new chicken!

I got a bit of a game plan from the FMP today to help with my gut health and cortisol spikes. More on that in my next post.

Do you mix up your strength training workout programming or does someone do it for you?