Reverse diets may also be helpful if you’ve been eating a deficit for a long period of time and want to get an idea for what your current maintenance calorie needs are.  It can be beneficial to slowly increase calories to make sure you’re keeping the habits you established while in your calorie deficit, rather than just considering the end of your deficit to be a signal to just stop being mindful of your nutrition altogether. Chances are that your ideal maintenance nutrition doesn’t look much different than your deficit nutrition – just slightly larger meals and a little extra flexibility.

In the throes of the holiday season, it’s easy to push your nutrition goals to the side and tell yourself you’ll gear up to tackle those big goals in the New Year. But in the spirit of flexible nutrition, we find that this is the perfect time to work on building important skills around eating and making food choices as well as improving your relationship with food.

The holidays are a time of twinkling lights, cheerful gatherings, and copious amounts of joy-- and sometimes, stress. Consequently, you've probably found yourself frazzled amidst the festivities, wishing things were as simple as a Hallmark Christmas movie. Despite the hustle, bustle, and festivities muscle, there are a few ways you can help avoid the typical holiday burnout and still prioritize yourself.

We are in the midst of what is typically the busiest, most travel-prone, food-centric time of the year. So for my frequent flier clients AND the majority of the population at this time, most of our normal “controls” aren’t quite able to happen. Food choices look different, we may not have access to a gym, and we may be enjoying more meals out or savoring more of the foods that only come around this time of year. These higher variable times don’t have to add stress to our lives! One of my favorite parts of coaching is helping clients see that there is no “on or off track,” no matter where they are or how many variables are at work in their lives. 

Batch prepping refers to cooking large quantities of food ahead of time so that you can easily throw together a meal when it’s time to pack your lunch for the day or feed your family for dinner. When batch prepping, we can think less about the specific meals we are going to eat for the week, and more about creating the building blocks of those meals. This also makes grocery shopping and any meal planning you may do much easier!

As we say goodbye to warmer months and head into seasons of shorter days and colder temperatures, it is common for those shifts to translate into some seasonal gloom. We feel the impacts of less perceived time in the day and less sunlight, and we may initially feel a bit less motivated in the way of our normal health habits. During these colder months when we may find ourselves with a less zeal for prioritizing our nutrition, getting those workouts in or staying mindful of our sleep and stress management, we can meet our bodies and brains where they are at and create winter action plans that still support us feeling our best and in flexible ways.

Y’all, I LOVE oatmeal. It’s something I could eat for multiple meals a day because I love it that much. This week’s recipe is my go-to version of oatmeal and I love it because it’s protein-packed, sweet and nutritious. It’s something I can eat before or after a workout and sometimes I enjoy it at dinner when I don’t feel like having something savory or cooking (it was a life-saver when I was pregnant!) I hope you like it as much as I do!

When I started tracking macros years ago, I avoided certain foods. Rice was one choice that I tended to avoid. Consequently, sushi ended up being a close follow. When I stopped fear-mongering certain foods and sought to embark on flexibility, I reintegrated rice and enjoyed sushi again. And I'm going to encourage you to do the same. So grab your chopsticks, and let's roll, queens.   

Eating out is an important part of our lifestyle, but when it comes to work lunches, social events with friends, and family dinners, it often feels like we need to compromise our nutrition goals in order to enjoy a meal out. It doesn’t have to be that way! Today’s post will help you find strategies that will keep you on track in situations that are not totally in your control. It’s chock full of our best tips and tricks for how to approach eating out while tracking your macros or simply working towards your specific nutrition goals.

Many of our clients are busy individuals working full-time jobs, managing their time with kids and family and traveling, so time is of the essence. That’s why we continue to create easy, no-hassle recipes from easy pantry staples and frozen foods so that you can work towards your nutrition goals while still spending your time doing the things you love. This week’s recipe is no different and a really great one for easy meal prep with hearty servings.

Minerals. Where do they come from? They have existed in the planet we inhabit since its creation, filling our soil, rocks and water from dust that long rained down on us from exploding supernovas. Yep, exploding stars. They are elemental in form and very basic units and our bodies are infused with them everywhere. They are essential to us from the moment we are conceived in the womb, from the moment cells begin to divide and a heart begins to beat.

Tracking calories has been largely utilized for various health and physique-related goals, and it is a tool we use often with our clients to help bring awareness to our eating habits. When it comes to tracking our macronutrients or calories, one of the first (and often overwhelming) steps is finding a tracking app that suits your needs. There are many apps out there that track the calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients in the foods we eat. Today we’re going to talk about the two most popular, MyFitnessPal and Cronometer.

The goal of this post is to share with you some of our favorites but, more importantly, give you some ideas of how you can use these pre-made, ready to go foods to simplify the process of feeding your body and, ideally, save some time while you’re at it.

When you want something noodle-y and Asian inspired to be a vehicle for your veggies, a cold ramen noodle salad checks all the boxes. This recipe can also serve as a base for numerous additional protein, veggie, and seasoning options. The sky’s the limit!

As nutrition coaches, we have the privilege of building close relationships with our clients as we help guide them toward their goals - be those related to aesthetics or fat loss goals, performance goals, or goals of optimal health. Along the way, as we work on building a better relationship with food and our habits, we get to share parts of our stories that are relevant to our coaching styles. We’re taking time this year to share more about us, our nutrition journeys and transformations, our road to becoming nutrition coaches and educators, and the amazing clients we have the privilege of working with. 

During pregnancy, our nutrition is so important as we’re feeding ourselves and sharing our nutrients with baby! This easy, high protein, vitamin packed recipe is a perfect pregnancy snack and only takes a few minutes to make.

There is so much nuance in talking about the topic of a calorie deficit. From navigating a deficit in a sustainable way to recognizing if your body is even ready for a deficit, there are so many different factors to consider.

Gut health is an emerging field still being researched. For optimal gut microbiome, focus on diverse whole foods, managing stress, and lifestyle over hype around extreme diets or supplements. Work with qualified professionals for individualized gut health guidance, not unqualified online influencers peddling unproven hacks.