How and Why You Should Eat Your Carbs!!

Hey everyone! It’s our second low carb day in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® community which means tomorrow we will be cycling carbs back into our meals. And a lot of people will be excited about that, but they will still struggle to hit their carb goals.

Today I want to share some ideas about how to hit your carb goals and why it is so important.

When we start tracking our food using a food log like MyFitnessPal, we learn that we have probably not been eating enough carbs on a regular basis for a long time. When we start trying to consume the right amount of the right kind of carbs, it’s not easy! Some days it feels impossible!

So first, I want to share some ideas that I use that can help you reach your carb goals on regular macro and low macro days:

1. Plan ahead. Plan your meals in advance to make sure they have all the macronutrients included but especially your carbs if you are having trouble reaching your daily goal. 

2. When you plan, include starchy veggies like sweet potatoes, corn, butternut squash, in your meal planning. Starchy veggies have more carb content than non-starchy veggies.

3. Also, think about adding whole grains like oats, rice, quinoa, whole grain breads, wraps and pasta.These are great options to help you hit your carb goals because they are also rich in fiber which is super good for our digestive process.

4. Eat all the fruit – I save my fruit for regular macros days. I have it in my smoothies, I use it for my snacks. 

5. Finally, I keep cold pressed juices that are fruit and veggie based on hand for the days when I need more carbs, but am just not hungry. Or the days where my original meal plan didn’t happen because we got in late or I didn’t have time to get to the grocery. I find that drinking my carbs is a little easier sometimes.

In the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® community we do not eliminate carbs because we know how important they are to our bodies. We know it is important to consume the right amount of carbs which is why we carb cycle.

Here’s what happens when we don’t eat enough carbs:

1. We have super low energy. We feel exhausted, we hit the wall. Not because we have been super busy or just ran a marathon, but because we’ve run out of fuel and feel like we need a nap half way through our day.

2. We might experience what it known as carb flu – not an actual flu, but similar symptoms like headaches, foggy brain and dizziness. Carbs are important for our brain power!

3. We could create an unhealthy gut and poor digestion because often times when we are low on carbs, we are also low on fiber. This causes bloating, constipation. Carbs with high fiber content also help the healthy bacteria in our guts absorb and process the micronutrients in our body.

4. Being low on carbs can put you in a bad mood. You know the word, hangry? Carbs help produce serotonin, the feel-good brain chemical.

5.You could even develop bad breath! This is caused when the body enters the state of ketosis, chemicals are released when the body burns proteins and fats which cause bad breath. This happens when you eat a low carb diet on a regular basis.

I hope this information was helpful to you! Let me know by leaving a comment and telling me what your favorite carb is! 

If you are interested in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program, click here for more information and to download a FREE guide. My next round starts DEC 31!

Recipe for Enjoying Your Thanksgiving and Staying on Track

Hello everyone! It is already Thursday and in just one week, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving is a special time of year. We enjoy our family and friends, we give thanks and we focus on FOOD! Sometimes that focus is too negative and people start to feel guilty about the thought of indulging in their favorite holiday dishes. 

Today I want to remind you to ENJOY! The world won’t end if you eat too much or drink too much or skip a workout. But I also understand that some of you will still want to find a way to enjoy all the food and stay on track. 

This post is for people who are trying to stay on track during Thanksgiving and are looking for a little guidance. Because there are really two options: go crazy and eat & drink everything and feel GOOD about it (yes good) OR have a plan in place to eat healthy but indulge with moderation and feel GOOD about it!

I never want you to feel guilty about eating!

I already gave you some tips on how to avoid the Holiday 15, so what can you do specifically for Turkey Day? Here’s a recipe for enjoying your Thanksgiving and staying on track:

1. Keep doing Intermittent Fasting - this really helps you control your appetite and prevents over-indulging too much. Prepare for the day by extending your fast by an hour or two on Wednesday. You can also do this as a follow up on Friday. 

2. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. If you’re drinking alcohol, try to follow each drink with a glass of water. 

3. Make calculated choices: Eat your salad and other non-starchy vegetables first. Fill your plate with all the turkey! Save the starchy vegetables and fruit for last.

4. Plan to workout at some point: early on Turkey Day is popular -> in my hometown, I used to run the Thanksgiving Day Race in the morning and enjoy all the yummy food that night. Or make sure you get in that Leg Day workout on Saturday and skip the treat if you over over-indulged on Thursday. You could even do a low carb day on Friday and get in a quick HIIT workout! Just get right back to it!

5. Thoroughly enjoy the foods you love and skip the ones you don’t! Spend you macros on your absolute favorites. Don't waste them!

If you’re already focused on healthy eating and exercising the right amount, you will not derail yourself on one holiday! You can absolutely enjoy your favorite Thanksgiving dishes and stay on track!

My tips incorporate strategies that we use in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program. Learn more here.

I hope you find these tips helpful. If you do I’d love for you to leave a comment below letting me know!

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your dream body!

It's low carb day and that means one of my favorite cardio workouts, but first I wanted to talk a little about motivation.

Yesterday I shared a post on social media that said Rome wasn’t built in a day, but they worked on it every single day!

That’s what I want you to remember when you are working toward your dream body. You have to work on it Every. Single. Day.

I don’t mean you have to work out every single day, but you do have to make choices that will help you get to your goal every single day.

In the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® we emphasize that you if you follow our plan, a combination of straightforward nutrition and effective workouts, you will burn fat FAST. You will see big changes in your body composition FAST.

But it still takes time. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your dream body after just one day of sticking to healthy choices. You have to start and then you have to be consistent.

You have to eat whole foods every day. You have to move every day. You have to engage with others who have a similar goal every day! In other words, you have to work at it every single day until you reach your goal.

They say it takes about 2 months to develop a new habit. If you are consistent for 2 months, you can train your body to burn fat, you can remove all the junk from your body and you can build up the mental grit to make living a healthy lifestyle, like the FASTer Way to Fat Loss®, your new habit!

I hope I’ve motivated you this morning to make healthy choices! Let me know if I have in the comments!

My waitlist is open for my next round of FASTer Way to Fat Loss®. Click here for more info, including FREE guides you can download.

How to Prep for Your Workout

Hey everyone! We are just wrapping up Prep Week around here and my new clients have been testing out the workouts. I’m going to be doing my active recovery day workout soon, but…

I thought I’d talk a little bit about how to prep for your workout to get the best experience.

If you are doing a new workout program (like the FASTer Way to Fat Loss®) for the first time, trying to figure everything out in the beginning can feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. There can be a lot of moving parts and keeping track of it all takes some getting used to. Even if you have been working out on a regular basis, learning a new workout program takes some time.

Here are a few things you can do to prep for your workout to make it go smoothly and so you can get the best experience.

Save the workouts. In FASTer Way to Fat Loss® you receive access to a private portal where all of the workouts are loaded for you. You can print the workouts from your computer, screenshot the workout for each day of the week on your phone, or save the webpage for easy access in your browser. (this is what I do). You will need to look at the workout while you’re doing it, so choose the method that will work best for you. Try them all to see what that is if you need to.

Look ahead. No matter which option you choose to save your workouts, once you do that LOOK AHEAD. First look at the whole week AHEAD of time. Read through the entire week of workouts to make sure you understand the directions. Second the day before, look at the workout for the next day. In the FASTer Way to Fat Loss®, we link to demo videos, look at those too! Look at everything you can. If you see something that is confusing or you don’t understand -> ask your coach ahead of time. In the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® this means posting your question in the daily thread.

Make a plan. When will you work out? Where will you work out? What will you need for the workout, like equipment if you are doing at-home option? What will you want during your workout, like water, a sweat towel, a snack for after -> this is especially useful planning if you are working out at the gym on your lunch break or during your child’s soccer practice.

If you do these things, your workouts will go more smoothly and you will have a better experience. But also remember that if life gets in the way, if the workout is NOT perfect, it’s ok! Remember that it is about progress, not perfection!

I hope you found this information helpful. If you did I’d love for you to leave me a "fist bump" in the comments! 

Registration has officially closed for my FASTer Way to Fat Loss® November round, but you can add your name to my waitlist and reserve your spot in my December round.

You can check out more information on my FASTer Way to Fat Loss® page including FREE guides that you can download and my own FASTer Way to Fat Loss® story.

Keys to Success in Your Fitness Journey

It is PREP WEEK for my LAST group of clients for the year. We just had our first training call this morning and I’m so excited to be working with them through the holidays! They are going to be a fun group.

I am closing registration very soon, so if you want to get in and start your health and wellness journey BEFORE the holidays, you need to jump in right now (register here).

Today I want to talk about the keys to making your fitness journey a success.

Starting something new can be intimidating. For a lot of people, it means stepping outside a very comfortable COMFORT ZONE and risking failure! If you are just starting or are wondering what it takes to be successful in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program, this video is for you.

Here are the things you can do to be successful in any fitness journey, and specifically the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program:

First, you must COMMIT. I’m not talking about just hitting the registration button and handing over your money. But since you did do that, let’s make sure you get your money’s worth! I’m talking about making the program a priority, digging into the materials when you get them (not waiting to the last minute to figure it out), maximizing PREP WEEK as a chance to ease into the program and practice the strategies so that when you get to WEEK 1 you are ready to go. When you fully commit, you will make it, you will succeed.

Second, you must PLAN. At the beginning of the program I ask all of my clients to name one main goal they have for themselves. A goal without a plan is just a wish. Our number one focus in the FASTer Way program is nutrition. To be successful, you have to think ahead. Plan your meals, plan your snacks. Don’t just plan whatyou will eat, but also plan whenyou will eat. Plan time to PLAN ;) 

Third, you need to ENGAGE. In the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® we use accountability groups because the success rate for women goes up when we have a strong support system in place. Staying engaged keeps you focused on your goals, helps you get back to it if you get distracted, validates your feelings as you go through the process because you are not doing it alone! The more you engage in the process and with others in your accountability group, the more success you will have with the program.

Last, STAY POSITIVE.Your journey will be sprinkled with missed workouts, non-functioning equipment, uncooperative time schedules, non-supportive friends and family and even a few “I just don’t feel like it” days. But, if you maintain a positive mindset, you will be so much more successful and so much more likely to pick yourself up and jump back into it the next decision, day, or whatever it is.

When you put these 4 things together, you will have amazing success in the FASTer Way to Fat Loss® program, you will reach your goals and be prepared to make it a lifestyle.

I hope this was helpful for you. I would love for you to let me know in the comments. You can also leave a question if you have one.

For more information on FASTer Way to Fat Loss® ---> check out my page here.