 Stop focusing on weight loss. Focus more on improving your OVERALL HEALTH!! Oh and guess what??? Health and hunger do NOT go hand in hand!!!
If you need to use baby steps, DO IT.....just start somewhere. And for goodness sake, stop dieting!!! Seriously. Don't be afraid to eat. Just start eating real food...actually eating more vegetables than you do processed carbs and sweets. Four+ servings a day is my goal...along with 4+ servings of protein and I weave in good carbs 3-4x a day. Get rid of the 100 calorie packs....the packaged foods that seem healthy but they're simply marketing ploys. Look at LABELS and don’t consume things with tons of sugar all the time. A couple times a week maybe, but those things are TREATS. Drink more water. MOVE your body daily. Think positive thoughts and just focus more on LOVING YOURSELF! There's nothing more painful than seeing someone starving and hangry...killing themselves with exercise they don't enjoy....thinking they can't have treats or the things they love....and giving up after a week or two. There's a better way. I promise.
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 Weight loss and getting healthy is just like driving....if you ever get lost or veer off the road, just make a U-turn and head back in the right direction!!
Makes sense right?? Or would you just light the car on fire and say screw it? The funny thing is, that’s what most people do!!! They “mess up”...and then just throw their hands up in defeat. Don’t be most people. If you ate too much junk yesterday....or drank too much this weekend or skipped your workout...or whatever....just make a U-turn or a course correct today! Here are a few tips!
If you didn't read our bios, in a previous occupation I actually used to work as a golf professional. No, I didn't play on the PGA Tour. I worked at a club, ran golf tournaments, sold merchandise, gave golf lessons and every once in awhile I got to play! People always would tell me how jealous they were of my job, to which I would usually just agree because that was easier. Easier than saying I work ridiculously long hours, never get a weekend off, get paid a shade above minimum wage, and had 300+ "bosses" called members that all wanted something different. But I digress...  This post isn't about my life as a golf pro so much. I got to thinking the other day after listening to someone else talk about selling nutritional products. They made the comment that nutritional products and health products are much easier to sell to the healthy! People that are familiar with things like probiotics, gut health, adaptogens, etc. That kind of sucks if you think about it. The healthy people already do a pretty good job of taking care of themselves so why should they invest more into their health. That got me thinking about my days as a golf pro and how a similar analogy also rang true. It was much easier to sell golf lessons and golf equipment to the more advanced golfers. Four hundred dollars for a new driver, no problem. Five hundred dollars for golf lessons, sure! You can pretty much change this analogy into anything else. I also used to be a craft beer nerd too. Your average Joe wouldn't likely spend $10-20 for a bottle of beer but I didn't blink an eye at that. Why??? I saw the value in the beer!  One of my many beer hauls The golfer sees the value in the lessons. The healthy person sees the value in nutritional products.  One of my many nutritional hauls It all comes down to value... whatever you value that is where you will spend your resources! Since we live in the health world this is a tough predicament to be in and actually quite frustrating. There is nothing more that I would want to do then help people that are morbidly obese lose 100+ pounds. To actually save their lives of people that are in a downward spiral.
What does it take to help a person like that though? It takes that person seeing value in investing in his/her health! Unfortunately it usually takes a rock bottom moment for a person like that make a change. Maybe it is a diabetes diagnosis or a heart attack. When you take away health, it becomes a lot more valuable and you will be more apt work pretty hard to get it back. I know we help a lot of people begin to believe in themselves again and reach a lot of their goals, which is amazing! We won't stop doing that! My hope and prayer is is that just one person will read this and think that their health needs to be valued more! That they are willing to make the investment with their time and money to turn their life around. That obesity and disease doesn't have to be the trajectory that their life is on. If that's you, we would love to hear from you. I know that first step and asking for help can be one of the hardest. Know that we will meet you where you are at and will be by your side through the whole process.  It wouldn't be fall if we didn't throw a pumpkin recipe at you. Since we love pancakes here you go! We've been making a variation of these pancakes for the longest time. However the texture on those other ones just wasn't quite where I would like it when it comes to a pancake. So just a couple little tweaks and we have this new one which I think will be our go to pancake recipe for a quite some time. If you are wondering what the hell the broccoli is doing in the picture, I thought this was a pancake recipe, you aren't the first one to think that is a weird combo. This combo is a great a solution for a number of people that we work with on a regular basis. Two staples that people usually fall short of on a daily basis is protein and veggies. Why not start your day with a healthy dose of both? Why are protein and veggies important? Particularly for people trying to lose weight these two things will likely be your biggest help in seeing measurable progress in a short period of time. By getting adequate protein, 20-40 grams, per meal you will fill yourself with bulk but with lower calories. Same goes for the veggies, due the high fiber in veggies you are adding bulk without adding calories. It's because of this that you are able to eat to the point of being full all while staying in a calorie deficit. If you are curious how much protein and fiber you should specifically be eating head over to our Calorie Calculator page and submit some information and I will get you a customized plan to let you how much of each you should be eating. This will be based on your size, activity level, and your goals. Otherwise enjoy the heck out of these pancakes, we sure did! Macronutrient InformationCalories: 95 Protein: 10.9 g Fat: 4.4 g Carbs: 3.5 g Sugars: 0.9 g Fiber: 1.6 g
Curious what the process of tracking your macronutrients entails. We would like to give you an idea of the process along with the benefits and pitfalls. Video Highlights Counting macros: What is is all about? 0:07 How to you calculate your macro and calorie needs? 1:13 Who is counting macros good for? 5:17 Who isn't it good for? 7:00 Two camps to losing weight... 9:14 Incorporating treats 13:38 Hope that helped you understand tracking macros a little better. There is so much with tracking macros that you just learn through doing. If you feel like you want to start tracking your macros. Head over to our Calorie Calculator, input some personal information then submit the form at the bottom of the page and I will respond with a personalized macro plan for you.
 What is Shift Shop?Shift Shop is Beachbody's latest program that was developed by Chris Downing. The program is geared for anyone looking to get amazing results in 21 days. The program is a combination of agility, plyometric and resistance training that will work your entire body. The program is designed to slowly progress you from shorter less intense workouts that will "ramp up" in intensity but also your results. 
Meet Chris Downing Proven ResultsWant to Try Shift Shop?There are a couple of ways that you can start this program. The first option is to purchase the DVDs. With the DVD package you get a total of 8 workouts, agility markers, and nutrition plan. You can upgrade that package and get the Deluxe kit that also includes a PT sandbag, 3 bonus deluxe workouts. The other option is join Beachbody On Demand and get access to all of the workouts including the deluxe workouts. You can join Beachbody On Demand for free for 14 days, then they have quarterly and yearly memberships also.
There are also usually specials available if you combine the program or Beachbody On Demand membership with either Shakeology or the Beachbody Performance Line of supplements. PLUS... if you purchase any of these options through us you get access to both of us as your health, wellness, and nutrition coaches. Which also gives you access to our exclusive online accountability groups and our private Facebook group with hundreds of other people like you trying to get and stay healthy. If you are curious about more info about whether this program would be a good fit for you, you can comment below or email us and we will get back to you shortly. I've been smacked in the face with this concept a few times in the past month so I took it as a sign that I needed to write and share my thoughts. Is Obesity Contagious? (C) Tobyotter We think of a lot of diseases to be contagious, the flu, a cold, but what about obesity? The American Medical Association back in 2013 actually changed it's stance on obesity and it is now classified as a disease. If you go to the CDC website it actually states that 36.5% of Americans "have" obesity. That word "have" struck me when I read it. Philosophically that is a whole new ball game. Now a person isn't defined by being obese, they "aren't" obese they just "have" it. If you have something you can get rid of it, right??? That's good news! If you have it, does that also mean that you can give it to someone? In 2007 researchers from Harvard published an article in The New England Journal for Medicine, The spread of obesity in a large social network over 32 years, that explains these concepts. Some things that stood out were, if you have a friend that is obese that you would be 57% more likely to obese yourself. The study didn't show that obesity was connected to geographical location. For example if you have a neighbor or coworker that is obese they won't rub off on you as much as someone which you actually have a close relationship. "Obesity is a social disease. And it needs a social cure." - Dr. Mark Hyman I love this line from Mark Hyman, "Obesity is a social disease and it needs a social cure." Unfortunately the population of the United States is heading in the wrong direction. As of 2015 70.7% of Americans over the age of 20 are considered overweight or obese. If 71% of the population had a virus that was slowly killing you every government agency and medical professional would be hysterical in finding a cure. What gives? Why are people complacent about the disease of obesity? I think it comes back to this being a social disease. If you walk down the street or through your office building and 7 in 10 people you walk past are overweight, doesn't that skew your perception of what is normal? Now instead of comparing yourself to the cover model on the magazine, I think people are comparing themselves to the people that are overweight or obese. The thought likely goes through their head either consciously or subconsciously, "Well at least I'm not as fat as that person, so I must not be that bad." Then you have the people that use the genetic excuse as a crutch. The same study mentioned above found out that if a sibling became obese it raised your chances of becoming obese by 40%. So if your friend, that you have no similar genetic information as becomes obese it increases your chances by 57% but a family member only 40%. Wouldn't that suggest that obesity is more of a nurture disease rather than a nature disease? Why does this matter?Being overweight and obese can have serious health consequences. It can lead to things like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, gallstones, cancer and increased joint pain. Not all overweight people will develop these diseases or will report negative biomarkers but it does raise your risk. There is also a direct correlation to how overweight a person is and their activity level. So once you get trapped in the cycle of being overweight it becomes more and more difficult to lose weight. Your activity goes down, you burn fewer calories, you pack on more weight. What do we do?First thing I think we need to start treating being overweight or obese as a disease that needs treatment. It can't just be the way a person is... It can't be something we ignore thinking it is just a benign condition without consequences. What actions do we need to take? I believe as individuals we need to support people where they are at! Whether they are fit and lean or morbidly obese, we need to be there for a friends, family, and neighbors. We need to be encouragers! We can't wait for someone else to take action, you need to be the one! The one that gets moving! The one that cuts out a lot of the junk food! The one that eats more veggies! Do it with joy! Be contagious with your healthy behaviors! That's why I love so much what we do! We get to be those influencers! More importantly we try to encourage others to pay it forward, to pass along what they learn and share with the people they care about. We need to be interjectors of positivity and health into the cycle that people get stuck in. If you feel like you are stuck, find people that are going to lift you up and believe in you. Find someone that won't let you fail, aka stop!  Lastly, as a society we have become overweight and obese! It will only be as a society that we can solve this problem. We need to reset that trajectory that our country's health is on currently. Health can and needs to become more contagious than obesity! If you are ready to help be part of the change, share this post, reach out to a friend in need, or reach out to a friend that can help you!
 If you've followed us for a while you know we aren't big fans of counting calories. It's not that we don't think they matter because they do 100% when it comes to weight loss. The thing that people get confused about though is just doing straight up math with calories in versus calories out and if those numbers tip a certain direction your weight will also change. Your metabolism is a bit more complicated than what your fitbit tells you that you burned during your exercise session that day and what My Fitness Pal tells you that you consumed. What's our approach then to help people lose weight! It comes down to nutrient density and calorie density. Our bodies are pretty intelligent and for most people they know when to stop eating in order to maintain our weight. The thing that happens when people eat processed foods, the triggers that tell us to stop eating don't get tripped. The other way that these triggers don't go off is when we consume food at a fast pace! So our approach is to consume high quality, whole foods at a slow pace and stop when you are close to being full and you will likely lose weight. If you are trying to maintain, then you eat to being full. Yeah there is certainly some nuance that can come into play around macronutrients and timing but for the most part this strategy works. This is where the question of, what weighs more... a pound of broccoli or a pound of nachos? Let's breakdown this comparison:
I took the challenge myself of eating both a pound of nachos and pound of broccoli in one sitting. Let's just say it was an interesting experience. Overall both "meals" filled me up equally and the rate at which I ate definitely slowed down towards the end of both.
I mentioned it was an interesting experience... what that means is I actually became physically ill by consuming one whole pound of broccoli. My stomach and GI tract just couldn't handle processing that amount of broccoli. The nachos, no problem... I was eating again in a few hours. Why this happened I don't know the exact answer. Fiber content maybe, but I've consumed 11 grams of fiber in one sitting before this. Vitamin or mineral overdose, possible but not probable. If you have an answer let me know, I'm curious. To put things in perspective a bit on whether or not this is a lot of food. The average American eats between 3 and 5 pounds of food per day, we will call it 4 on average. So, a one pound meal probably isn't that unusual. To break things down a bit further, the average American consumes around 2,700 calories per day. So doing a little math the average pound of food that an American consumes is around 675 calories (2,700 calories divided by 4 pounds of food). Based on the nutrition facts, you can see that broccoli falls WELL below that average and the nachos a fair amount above that number. Can you see how eating whole foods and especially non starchy veggies can help a person consume fewer calories? The reason a lot of diets fail I believe is because our body is naturally satiated by a certain poundage of food. If all you are doing is eating smaller portions of your current foods your body is going to crave more food to fill itself up. I wrote up a whole other post on this topic, Are You Smoking Shorter Cigarettes to Get Healthy? If you aren't filling your body with a certain poundage of food you either need to resort to some incredible willpower or you will likely binge a time or two. If your goal is weight loss and you don't want to micromanage every gram of food that goes into your body here's what we would recommend:
Believe it or not, this is actually a problem for some people out there. For others, they approach cutting calories the right way. I wanted to share what happens to a person when they subject themselves to a calorie deficit! It can be a good thing or it can lead to some long term issues.  So How Do You Avoid the Pitfalls of Being In a Calorie Deficit?First thing would be to make sure you are getting an abundance of nutrients! This will happen through eating nutrient dense foods, mainly vegetables! Calorie for calorie veggies rank at the top of almost all the nutrient density scales. We also love Shakeology for this fact too. It is loaded with nutrition but not a lot of calories! Second, make sure you are doing some resistance training! In a study published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition two groups were put on calorie deficit diets. One group strictly did aerobic style exercise 4 times per week and one group did resistance training 3 times per week. The aerobic group lost a total of 37 pounds of which 27 pounds was from fat and 10 pounds of muscle. The resistance training group lost a total of 32 pounds but lost ZERO pounds of muscle. The aerobic group's Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) decreased by 210 calories daily whereas the resistance training group increaesed their BMR by 63 calories. Even though weight loss seemed to be more effective by doing aerobic exercise strictly by total weight loss, long term weight loss will be more difficult for that group due to their lower BMR and body composition. LIFT WEIGHTS!!! Lastly, manage your stress and energy! If you have low energy levels, don't just drive through Starbucks, eat something! This is also another reason why we love whole foods! Quality proteins, fats and carbs will sustain your energy longer with less energy crashes than highly processed foods. Stress Less!!! Get adequate sleep is a great place to start here. Also work smarter not harder when it comes to exercise. Doing an hour plus of exercise daily causes a lot of stress, science has shown that 30 minutes 4-5 times per week is enough see substantial results. Meditation and finding some quiet time is also a great way to recenter and slow down. On top of cutting out stressful things, find some activities that bring you joy! Time with family, hikes in nature, playing a sport. Whatever it is build up your good vibes bank account to help you push through those stressful times. Hope those tips help!!!  I know we haven't done many book reviews on our blog in the past. Recently we were approached by a "book tour" company and they asked if we would read and review Darin Olien's book Superlife. I first read this book back when it came out back in 2015! I was even fortunate to get to meet Darin and hear some stories behind the book. Turns out he grew up about an hour from where I did. Apparently kids from small farm towns in rural Minnesota can have a career in nutrition!  When I was approached to share Darin's message I was all for it. The principles he teaches in the book are also some of the fundamentals of living a healthy life and always good to revisit myself. Darin breaks out these fundamentals into what he refers to the 5 Life Forces. Life Force 1: Nutrition This is at the core of being healthy. His basic approach revolves around eating whole foods in abundance and variety. Eating this way will ensure that you are satiated with micronutrients that all too often we lack. Being a vegan himself he isn't a huge proponent of eating animal products but is ok if people chose to eat animal products as long as they are high quality and occasionally eaten. With nutrition he also stresses the importance of keeping your gut healthy! This is something I strongly advocate for as well and think can be a real game changer for a lot of people. For most people that looks like... cutting out processed foods, adding foods/supplements rich in probiotics and prebiotics, and probably supplementing with some digestive enzymes. Life Force 2: Hydration Water... something so basic but something that so many people fail to consume. As humans, we are water! Roughly 2/3 of our bodyweight is water. It does everything from provide pathways to carry raw materials around our body to insulate us and keep us warm or cool. Let's just say it's super important! Darin provides some great tips to upgrade the quality of your water also in the book. Life Force 3: Oxygenation Oxygen - it's critical to life and something that gets overlooked in regards to health. Darin quotes a couple of studies that talk about how cancer thrives in low oxygen situations and dies off in oxygen rich environments. Pretty amazing stuff! Increasing oxygen ties back into life forces 1 and 2. Whole food plants contain more oxygen than processed, packaged foods. Getting adequate water also increases the amount oxygen that enters our bodies. Combine that with some intentional deep belly breathing and you are really improving your oxygenation. Life Force 4: Alkalization This life force is one that is definitely overlooked and understudied. Darin and I maybe differ slightly on this point. Some of the research that I've done and read suggests that it is highly unlikely your body will become more acidic based on what we eat. The pro-alkaline movement tends to look at the acid levels of a person's urine which looks at what is excreted versus the pH of a person's blood and cellular fluid. My opinion here is the jury is still out, but I would agree with Darin in that a diet high in plant based foods will improve your overall health. Life Force 5: Detoxification Darin is a big believer in the process of detoxing the body. He points out the constant stress that our bodies are under from everything in our environment to what we consume. Our bodies have normal detox pathways but they get backlogged when we consume low quality foods and are exposed to chemicals in our environment. His advice to handle all of this, focus on the first 4 life forces and your detox system will be able to handle the workload. Darin, finishes the book with some recipes and final thoughts on how you can implement the 5 Life Forces into your current life.
I'm a big fan of Darin's approach to health and this book does an excellent job in getting people to think a little differently about their health. It's not all about being reactionary and trying to take care of yourself after you get sick. It's about doing things that produce vitality in your life and keep disease at bay. If you are looking to up your health game I highly recommend this book to give you a solid baseline of information. It's hard to find someone that doesn't like chocolate. In our online accountability groups that we run we are always talking to people about how and what kinds of chocolate can be a part of a healthy diet. Yeah there is a way and we will get to that. When the candy industry got their hands on the delicious cocoa bean they figured out a way to take a superfood and turn it into something super dangerous. They stretch the cocoa powder so far and add so much milk and sugar to their concoctions that chocolate as most people know it becomes a sweet treat. That is where the danger comes in to play. Sugar is addictive. (1) Consuming it leads to consuming more of it and your tastes begin to become altered. The amount of sugar it takes to sense "sweet" increases. (2) This all equates to you needing tremendous amounts of willpower to control the quantity of eating these types of food. Guess what... that's a losing battle! I mentioned above that the cocoa bean is a superfood! Let's talk about that and how you can choose chocolate that improves your health and doesn't lead to the damaging effects of consuming the candy industry's version of chocolate. 7 Health Benefits of Consuming Chocolate1. Nutrient Dense - Chocolate from a micronutrient standpoint is very dense. It provides a large amount of iron, magnesium, manganese, and copper. It also provides potassium, zinc and selenium. The fiber content of dark chocolate is one of the best benefits of consuming it. Fiber is a missing piece is a lot of people's diets and important for the health of your gut and blood sugar. 2. Controls Blood Sugar - One of the secret ingredients in chocolate that doesn't show up on a nutrition label is a phytonutrient called flavanol, particularly epicatechin. This compound has been shown to improve a person's insulin sensitivity. Therefore making your insulin work more effeciently and regulate blood sugar better. 3. Lowers Blood Pressure - Staying on the flavanol theme, this amazing little phytonutrient also increases the levels of nitric oxide in the blood which relaxes your blood vessels and therefore lowers blood pressure. (3) 4. Source of Antioxidants - You've maybe heard of the ORAC rating, it is a way to measure the antioxidant power of different compounds. Guess where chocolate lands when measured... yup you guessed it is right at the top of the list with some other amazing foods. Antioxidants are important, especially in whole food form, to regulate the levels of free radicals in our bodies. The less free radical damage that occurs in our bodies the lower overall inflammation throughout our body and increased health. (4) 5. Improves Cholesterol - Dark chocolate has been shown to increase the amount of "good" HDL cholesterol. It has also been shown to limit the amount of LDL cholesterol that oxidizes. This is due to the previous point about it being a powerful antioxidant. LDL cholesterol isn't inherently bad, our bodies actually need more of it than HDL. The problems with cholesterol arise when the ratio of HDL/LDL gets out of whack and/or it becomes oxidized and therefore inflamatory. (5) 6. Improve Brain Function - Better brain??? Yes please! Dark chocolate can improve brain function from a couple different aspects. First, blood flow, as mentioned above dark chocolate and it's powerful flavanols help with overall cardiovascular health and therefore better blood flow. A couple other powerful components in dark chocolate include theobromine and caffiene. These compounds are stimiulants that have both been shown to improve brain function. (6) 7. Improved Skin - Those same flavanols that we've talked about also help with protecting your skin from UV rays. This doesn't mean you should just lather up with melted dark chocolate instead of sunscreen, but it's fun to know that that treat you have can help in this area too. (7) Hopefully I've made a case for why and how chocolate can be can considered a health food. Don't stop here though and go grab the nearest Hershey bar thinking you are improving your health. Let's talk about how you can select chocolate that actually improves your health and doesn't harm you. Selecting the Right Kind of ChocolateThe candy industry has a pretty good hold on chocolate production. This past summer we made a stop in Hershey, PA to check out Chocolate World!  Chocolate World should probably be renamed Sugar World. By weight I'm guessing a standard Hershey bar contains more sugar than cocoa. We had to search pretty hard to find some true dark chocolate in the big Hershey store. Even the dark chocolate we found was less than desirable according to what I consider healthy. Here is a simple equation that I created that you can use determine whether or not the chocolate you are eating is health food and will provide all the benefits listed above, somewhere in the middle, or straight up candy and the negative effects outweigh the benefits.  In general the higher the percentage of cacao the healthier the chocolate. In order to get into that moderately healthy category you should be looking for at least 60% cacao but most likely you will need 70%. Once you start getting over 80% that is typically when your chocolate starts becoming health food. One thing to close with is that consuming chocolate can improve your health if you choose the right kind but it is also a calorie dense food since most of it's calories come from fat. Don't take this information as an opportunity to go hog wild on dark chocolate thinking that because it is healthy it can't affect your weight. A typical chocolate treat for us is usually 2 squares from a dark chocolate bar or about 1/2 of what a serving size is supposed to be according to the packaging. This is enough to give us the health benefits along with our chocolate fix without consuming a huge amount of calories. We hope this information helps you understand chocolate a bit more and how it can and should be part of a healthy diet. We encourage you to share it if you think it is something your friends need to hear. 1. Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake
2. Reduced dietary intake of simple sugars alters perceived sweet taste intensity but not perceived pleasantness. 3. How do dietary flavanols improve vascular function? A position paper. 4. The total antioxidant content of more than 3100 foods, beverages, spices, herbs and supplements used worldwide 5. Plasma LDL and HDL cholesterol and oxidized LDL concentrations are altered in normo- and hypercholesterolemic humans after intake of different levels of cocoa powder. 6. The effect of flavanol-rich cocoa on the fMRI response to a cognitive task in healthy young people. 7. Long-term ingestion of high flavanol cocoa provides photoprotection against UV-induced erythema and improves skin condition in women.  {3 Day Refresh Results!!} We're a bit behind on blog posts since I did the 3 Day Refresh at the end of July and I'm just now writing this blog. Major apologies...but moving on :) Long story short: I actually liked this cleanse!! I loved the food I got to eat, the shakes were delicious and it helped me drink more water...which is always a struggle of mine. It's going on sale November 10th and I think I may purchase it again and do it again! It's way more fun to do it with other people so if you're interested, shoot us an email. I totally FAILED at taking "before" pictures before I started...I was kicking myself by the 2nd day because I know that pictures are the best way to measure progress!!! DARNIT!! So I grabbed some progress pics that Dan took of me back on June 13...those are on the left and the right were taken on the last day of the 3 Day Refresh. All in all I'm super pleased with the whole experience....except for one day. I decided to workout with Dan and did 22 min hardcorps...I was completely fine during the workout but around 5pm I got dizzy and cranky...so I ate a little something (not on the plan) and felt much better!! My goal was NOT weight loss. It was to try the program out because I'd never done it, give myself a little cleanse after the 4th of July and just being too lenient with snacks, alcohol and treats. ➡️ I ended up losing 3.2 lbs and 1.5 inches...kinda crazy! I loved the simplicity of the meal plan and the vanilla fresh protein shakes...and that I still got to drink my beloved Shakeology 😜 The dinner recipes were so tasty and just like we cook anyway so it wasn't a huge change. I didn't follow the plan exactly to a T because I didn't give up coffee...but I limited it to only 1 cup a day and switched to water the rest of the day. By the end, I was excited to have carb and wine again...but it was only 3 days! Totally doable...and I felt FABULOUS at the end! 
If you started reading this post you either figured out that I was talking about metaphorical cigarettes or you are an actual cigarette smoker. If you are a smoker, my advice would be to stop. But this post isn't for you, so let's talk about that metaphor I'm referring to in the title.
Shorter cigarettes in the health world basically means eating less bad things. I wish I could take credit for thinking of this comparison but I heard this idea from Jonathon Bailor. He's Mr. Analogy/Metaphor when it comes to taking complicated health stuff and comparing it so the average Joe can relate. Instead of eating a cheap hot dog on a white bun you opt for the nitrate free hot dog on the whole wheat bun. Instead of the Hidden Valley ranch dressing you choose Newman's low fat something. Instead of white rice with your stir fry, you use brown. Instead of old school mayo, you use a paleo mayo you find on Pinterest. Personally we see so many take this approach to upgrading their food in our online groups. Here's the thing, making swaps for less "bad" things will only make you sick and fat...slower. In order to truly get healthy, the food you eat needs to heal your body. I often talk about 3 categories of food:
The million dollar question is: What foods fall into the 3 category and how much of them do I need to eat? This category is mainly non-starchy veggies. A few other things that I would throw in there would be anti-inflammatory fats like olive oil and coconut oil. Also foods that are rich in Omega 3 fats like chia seeds, flax seeds, fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and mackerel that come from quality sources. I've held off mentioning fruit because a lot of times people can overdo the fruit thing. It's not unhealthy and if you eat a variety in the right amounts, it can be really good for you. Eating 5 bananas a day isn't going to help your health. Eating a banana, some blueberries and an apple will help most people. For more on my thoughts on Fruits and Veggies check out this post, "Eat Your Fruits and Veggies," Why That's Bad Advice. Quantity... If you've followed us for any length of time you know that we aren't calorie counters. Our general rule of thumb is to eat when you are hungry and stop when you are full. This philosophy works incredibly well if you are eating a majority of your foods from Category 3 and some foods from Category 2 and minimal from Category 1. Basically what that would look like would be a plate that is comprised of 1/2-2/3 of things from Category 3, then the rest of your plate could be a protein source, chicken, steak or a vegetarian carb/protein source like beans or quinoa. Your veggies could be cooked in or topped with a healthy fat. It could be a salad with TONS of greens, topped with more veggies, then some nuts or seeds and some sort of protein source and a dressing made from healthy fats and vinegars or citrus. It's really that simple, do that over and over and you will get healthier and lose weight. There isn't some magic pill or powder you need. It's whole food nutrition! It's not about eating less bad stuff, it's about eating more good stuff. p.s. I realize that last line could be contradictory with our belief in Shakeology....please note that Shakeology IS whole food nutrition!! Shoot us an email if you want to know more about it! 
This post is more about how you eat than what you eat. The fact is that so many people when they start up a diet or try to lose weight put an emphasis on what foods to eat and not eat. The advice that is often touted is eat more veggies and skip the sugar, which is great advice. What if looking at your food or smelling your food could help? How about chewing your food more, yeah there is science behind that one! How about breathing while you eat? Lastly and probably most importantly, thinking about how the food you just ate made you feel. All of this begins with some mental preparation. Changing your mind first is one of the key things you can do make lasting change that is ultimately rewarding and not a fleeting accomplishment.
I would love to take you through the list above and offer up a few tips on how I think you can change your mindset to go from a dieter to a mindful eater. Willpower vs. Trust
I've met a number of people that just try to will their way to losing weight. They fight cravings, HARD!!! They overthink their plans and work out elaborate schemes that someone claims is the cure all. They are constantly having to think about their next step, their next meal or lack of one. Versus... Someone that trusts the process. A mindful eater won't micromanage the scale or measurements. Remember that advice about eat more veggies and less sugar, yeah that's about as complicated as it needs to be and a mindful eater won't overcomplicate things.
We've got a whole separate post solely dedicated to Why Willpower Doesn't Work if you want to check it out. Cultural Conformity vs. Individual Empowerment
This one could be applied to any area of our society today from politics, dieting, religion, you name it. Society is always looking to group people together. If you are a healthy eater than you need to eat "X, Y, and Z." If you are unhealthy than you eat this. My advice here is, if anyone ever says they have the perfect diet or way to eat, run the other way! We are learning that there is no one size fits all diet out there. Food intolerances are on the rise and with that brings a very individualized food landscape where you need to determine what works best for you. This happens through experimenting and really listening to your body cues... which brings us to the next topic.
External Cues vs. Internal Cues
This ties back to the previous in that we allow society to dictate what we should look like and feel like. Rather than look to a number on the scale or measurements, focus on how you feel. Do you feel stronger? Do you have more energy? Is your digestion better? Focusing on the external stuff is a losing proposition, so don't go there!
Weight Loss vs. Health Enhancement
I'm sure I heard this somewhere else but my saying is... "Weight loss is a side effect of being healthy, not the other way around!" Can you lose weight without getting healthy, absolutely, but it likely won't be long term or if it is it will cause stress mentally and physically on you. Put the emphasis on healthy first. Rather than worrying about calories consumed, worry about nutrients consumed! Nutrient deficiencies can cause everything from weight gain, fatigue, to chronic disease.
Avoidance vs. Acceptance
To me this is all about owning your decisions and actions. You are the one that ultimately is responsible. I see this in people all the time in our groups, they come up with an excuse for every situation on why they couldn't exercise or find healthy food to eat. I get that these things happen but the mindful person will be aware of it and accept the decisions then move on. It's not someone else's fault, it's not even their own fault. Excuses and guilt are extremely heavy anchors that will keep you from making progress. Own it and move on!
Rigid vs. Integration
Dieters have lists, eat this not that. Things are off limits! Whereas the person that is successful long term will figure out a way to "integrate" new foods into their current diet. This process takes longer but what happens is those good and healthy foods begin to crowd out the not so healthy foods. Over time you are eating super healthy food that make you feel awesome. Integrate don't discriminate!
Counting Calories vs. Quality Calories
I could write a whole book on this topic, thankfully someone else has, The Calorie Myth by Jonathon Bailor. I've summed some of his work up in this blog post, Stop Eating Less and Exercising More. The idea is here is your body doesn't do math that well so trying to control calories in to calories out just won't work. Your body is really good at finding a healthy weight if you give it the nutrition it needs. Focus on nutrient dense food that is prepared in a delicious way.
Restrictive vs. Flexible
If I tell you that you can't have something, what does your mind immediately do? "I WANT THAT THING!" Being ultra rigid in your food choices won't serve you. It will likely lead to binging when our willpower muscle is worn out. We promote and encourage people to have some treats when they are trying to lose weight. Life is meant to be enjoyed, be conscious of your treats, plan them out and savor every last bite.
Deprivation vs. Fulfillment
Being "hangry" is a thing! If the plan you are on encourages a level of hunger, skip it. Instead eat to the point of being fulfilled but not full. This will likely require you to slow down when you eat and chew your food a little more. Eating nutrient dense food and protein with every meal will also help when it comes to hunger.
Quick Fix vs. Lifestyle
I know lifestyle change is kind of a buzz word out there right now but it is because it is exactly what needs to happen and what does happen when people change in a healthy way, a mindful way. Let's talk about the "quick fix" for a second. It usually revolves calorie restriction and over-exercising. Right there it goes against everything I've mentioned so far without even explaining how the physiological changes won't stick because of the methods. That's why coming at it from a lifestyle change where you integrate new foods in slowly, eat to fulfillment, focus on health and give yourself time to change or reach weight loss goals.
Fight Food vs. Celebrate Food
I love this one because so many people look at food as the enemy, it's calories and calories make you fat. If you focus on the quality of food you eat, then food becomes nutrients not calories. It's something to enjoy in abundance and not tiptoe around. Also along with this comes the actual act of eating. We've become a fast food nation even if you aren't actually eating McDonald's or Burger King. When was the last time you slowed down to look at your food, to smell your food. I mean really smell it like you see judges do on crazy cooking shows. Lastly do you chew your food, not chomp and swallow. Chewing is huge when it comes to breaking down food so that we can absorb the nutrients in it. It is also the point where our DNA starts interacting with the food that will eventually become cells in our body. Slow down, enjoy your food it's more than something to fill you up it's something that gives you life.
We hope this helps you connect to your food and your actual act of eating more. Did something speak to you? What's one area where you need to focus your attention?
I am super passionate about helping women believe in themselves again and have HOPE. So often we (as women) use food to fill voids in our lives without even knowing it. We use it to help us cope when the stress gets to be too much...or maybe we even restrict ourselves from it because it's the one thing that we can control.
That's the thing....Our souls crave something more than food, and yet we keep trying to fill it with junk that won't satisfy us!! So often I see people wanting to make changes to their lives but as soon as they start to make progress they let LIFE and all it's messiness get in the way and derail their plans. I want to help people see that it's not about perfection...it's about perseverance...and running the race even though it's hard because HE created us to lean on HIM and not try to do it all on our own! I want people to STOP striving for something the "world" tells us we need...we don't need to be skinny...we don't need to have a six pack or defined legs or a nice booty. We need to be healthy, happy and we need to have HOPE. If it's really hard for you to open your eyes every day and have hope...I'd encourage you to start your day with GRATITUDE. It'll change your outlook, I promise!! One of the main goals I have as a Team Beachbody Coach is to help everyone we work with to become "FullyFit"...it's the name of our team of coaches because we want to help people create change from the inside out. I believe in health but I think to truly be living a FULL life you have to focus on every aspect of your life and sometimes that means going deep into our souls and getting to the dirty stuff...and not being afraid to dig our hands in. Which is why the next accountability group I'm running will focus on digging deeper into that stuff :) We'll be reading through the book Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst and focusing on getting our heads wrapped around good nutrition. This does not mean restricting yourself or focusing on all the things you can't have. It means completely changing your viewpoint on food...to look at it as something that can HEAL our bodies and something that FUELS our bodies! I can't wait!! CLICK HERE for more information about the group. I have to cut off registration at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, 1/14/16.
When you don't feel like proofing a blog post, you just talk! So you get to deal with my "umm's" and "and's", hope you don't mind. I also want to start doing some more video messaging so hopefully these will get better.
Let us know your thoughts? Do you cook? How has it changed your life?
I wrote up another blog post not long long ago about the concept of ambivalence. The idea that you can hold contradictory desires in your head at the same time. If you are overweight, I'm guessing this is the conversation in your head. It would be nice to lose some weight and fit into some old clothes but... I just don't have the time or energy to tackle something new right now. My job is busy, the kids are crazy with activities and life, and I just love french fries way too much. Plus I'm not that out shape.
You've maybe tried a diet or exercise program or gym membership but as soon as you start going with that, you look in the rearview mirror and you think how comfortable you were before, and how hard this is now. The change doesn't seem as sexy anymore and you revert back. Then things get bad enough again where changing some things seems like a good idea... and.... Am I close??? 
That was my thinking at the time of my before picture. I had those voices inside my head. I didn't think I was that out of shape, and to be honest, compared to some I wasn't. I thought I was doing a decent job of working out eating. I didn't wake up one morning and all of a sudden I weighed 25 lbs more than I should. NO... those pounds crept on slowly through all of those little decisions I was making or not making. I had already set the cruise control on the way to Diabetesville in the land of Obesedom.
Does any of that sound like where you are at with your health journey? Do you struggle with those same doubts and hesitations? It's ok, those are natural. Here's the awesome thing, you can change! For me I finally said enough was enough I surrendered myself to a process to get healthier and fit. It was hard! I didn't like it! That process pushed me to get uncomfortable. It taught me to relearn a lot of things when it came to diet and exercise.
It's been a 3 year journey since that before photo! I'm proud to say I haven't put the weight back on like so many statistics say should have happened. The only thing I can give credit to for that is being held accountable for my decisions. Yeah I not only coach people how to make changes, I'm doing the work too. I'm constantly learning and growing in this journey. That's what makes it fun for me.
3 Tips to Get Control of the Voices in Your Head
With that I would love to extend a couple invitations to you if you want to start moving through these steps. First off, if you are ready to surrender your current lifestyle and habits and start rebuilding some new ones, Laura and I have an online accountability group that starts on Monday, November 30th. Being a part of one of these groups was the process that started my transformation. This will be a 5 week group on Facebook where you will get nutritional advice, daily motivation, a community that will support you, and a chance to win some prizes. Serious what do you have to lose? Why not hit the New Year running? Secondly, if you know that you won't stay committed by just wading into this fitness and health thing. Or maybe you've done a couple groups with us but just haven't quite felt that real motivation to change. If you know it will take the pressure of people looking up to you to truly commit. Why not jump in the deep end and give this coaching thing a try? Oh and don't worry the deep end isn't that deep. We make sure to help you get started right so that you can be successful with your weight loss and your business. That's the best of both worlds right, get healthy and make some money! If you would like to know more about coaching, shoot us an email, we would love to chat. 
Here's the thing friends. Health doesn't necessarily come easy in the society we live in today. We are constantly bombarded with temptations of food that will make you sick and fat. You likely go to a job that encourages you to sit in a chair for 8+ hours a day on top of sitting in a car both ways. You come home exhausted from poor food choices and lack of movement and that leads to more poor food choices, then it's taking care of the kids, then you are really wiped out, so you settle in front of the TV for the night. Then you get to do all that again the next day.
When it comes to health, YOU HAVE TO PAY!!! You have to do some tough things at some point. If you are under 50, those things might be:
So ask yourself how much sacrifice are you willing to make today so you don't have to deal with those things later in life? If you've already made some of these sacrifices, we would love to hear what they were and how you created healthy habits around them. Your ideas will help others out, so we encourage you to share. Thanks friends! 
I usually try to avoid telling people what not to do and what not to eat. I've learned that we all still have an inner teenager inside of us, so when you say don't do "X" that is exactly what they tend to do. With that in mind... how about I say "I strongly encourage you to avoid a few things to live at an optimal level of health and vitality." Sounds a little less painful, right? So what are these things?
Sugar, Wheat, and Dairy. Or as someone smarter than me coined the term, The 3 White Devils. If I were to tell you that tomorrow you can't eat any of those things, what's your initial response? Would you have cravings, bouts of moodiness, bad temper, poor focus, a feeling of being depressed and empty, frustration, anger, bitterness and resentment? Did you answer yes to any of those? If so, thanks for being honest! But now the bad news...you might have a food addiction, because that list of symptoms were copied and pasted from a website (1) on chemical dependency and the symptoms that someone faces when going through that. Rather than checking into rehab tomorrow we hope to have a better solution for you, but first I want to break down how these things could be harming you. Sugar
Out of the three foods mentioned this is the no brainer to most people. If you don't know yet that sugar is bad for you, I'm glad we could be the ones to let you know this groundbreaking news. Every once in awhile I do come across some blog post that claims sugar is a good thing and we need it to function. I would agree with that to some degree although there is some growing science to suggest organs like our brain can actually be fueled by ketones from fat rather than glucose from carbohydrates. I'll let the experts figure that one out.
The major issue with sugar is it's ABUNDANT use in nearly all processed foods. Food manufacturers have tried to sneak this little devil past us by calling it a whole host of things besides simply sugar. In fact, if I ever do buy something that is processed and contains sugar, I actually prefer the label to just say "sugar." Here is a simple list of other names of sugar that you will find on food labels. I am really excited for the new nutrition label to come out where they actually have to tell us how many grams of added sugar are in the items we are purchasing. I'm sure they will figure out a way around it but it's a step in the right direction. Basically that was the long way for me to tell you it is everywhere. Now why is it bad that it is everywhere? There are numerous things and some of them are well above my knowledge level. I'll stick to a few basics. The first one: blood sugar disregulation. When we consume lots of sugar, especially in the absence of protein and fiber, our blood sugar will spike. This leads to a spike in insulin, a hormone secreted by our pancreas. Insulin basically acts as an usher. Glucose, the form of sugar in our blood, is like the drunk fan stumbling up and down the stairs looking for his seat at a sporting event. If he stays in the blood (stairs) he will certainly cause harm. Insulin kindly tells glucose to have a seat. Glucose has a few different options on where it can sit, thankfully. The majority of glucose will be stored in either the liver, muscles, or fat tissue. You may have heard of fatty liver before? That is basically when your liver becomes engulfed in too much sugar and packs on some pounds. Some sugar storage in the liver is necessary but we've taken it way too far. Next up, muscles...this actually is one good spot for sugar to hang out. When stored in muscle tissue it gets converted to glycogen which is fuel for our muscles. These seats don't open up all that often though, unless you are doing a lot of high intensity exercise or heavy lifting. Lastly, fat tissue is the place where sugar tends to get shipped off to. These are the cheap seats, there's always more room here. You can maybe make the connection, if we don't exercise and deplete our muscle glycogen, yet consume high amounts of sugar and carbohydrate bad things happen. We damage our livers. We increase the size of our fat cells. We slowly build up a tolerance to insulin which leads to Type 2 diabetes and obesity...Bad news!!! On top of all of that sugar, it has also been shown to be highly addictive, pro-inflammatory, and the source of the worst kind of cholesterol, VLDL. I'm glad we are all on the same page now... Sugar is BAD!!! Wheat
When we talk about wheat we really mean flour since nobody eats just straight wheat, it gets processed into different flours, maybe enriched, then turned into so many food times at the grocery store. Once flour gets into the body it actually acts very similar to sugar. We are talking about both white and whole wheat too. Yes, whole wheat is a better option because of the higher fiber content but both have similar side effects on your blood sugar and gut issues. Here is a crazy stat for you: the glycemic index of a piece of white or whole wheat bread is actually higher than 2 teaspoons of straight table sugar. Glycemic index is the measure of how fast a certain food will raise your blood sugar. That just blows my mind that bread will actually be soaked up into our blood faster than actual sugar. NOT good!
The other issue with flour is that buzzword...Gluten. This is a huge topic right now in the health world. The science is still really new on this topic so it is hard to trust all of it. Here's what I've learned and what I believe most would accept as fact: wheat that is harvested today is a lot different than wheat that was harvested 50-60 years ago. This mainly has happened because of hybridization of wheat and has thus increased the size of the gluten protein in wheat. More fertilizers are also used on wheat today than in the past. More products containing wheat are on our grocery store shelves. Here is where the science gets a little murky. Gluten, according to some research, has been shown to cause issues in ALL individuals. Basically what this research has shown is that the gluten protein essentially punches a hole through your intestinal wall and gets into your bloodstream. Your body's immune system then has to neutralize these proteins that shouldn't be in our body and that is what leads to inflammation throughout our bodies and autoimmune diseases. Some people's guts heal quickly and they can continue to consume wheat products while more and more people are having adverse reactions. If you want to read about how I suddenly become gluten intolerant, I recently wrote about that and you can read that article, Gluten, I Used to Love It! Now I'm Allergic! Here's my take on wheat! It provides very little nutritional value yet substantial carbohydrates and calories. Let's be honest, wheat isn't going to make you healthier and based on the trending science it will likely make you more sick. In case you are wondering about the fiber in whole wheat products, that can be easily taken care of by eating more vegetables. Calorie for calorie veggies win in the fiber contest! People today have wheat-centric diets. Everything needs to be on a bun, bread, or noodle...and I think we need to reassess why that is! To me even if you don't have any sensitivities to gluten, I believe any wheat based products should be consumed very sparingly due to their poor nutritional value. Dairy
Oh man, I know I'm going to rub some people the wrong way with this section. Let me try to guess what you are thinking... "I can't give up my cheese!" Was I close? Did you know that cheese actually has similar addictive effects on the body as opiate drugs like Vicodin and Oxycotin. (2) That's just crazy, but I get it! I'm still addicted to it. I know my body doesn't do well with dairy yet the only thing I indulge in from time to time is cheese. It is just so good! Can you relate?
So other than the drug like effect on ourselves, why else is dairy potentially harmful? The main thing is a majority of people can't digest one of the main proteins in dairy, lactose. The % of people varies quite a bit depending on your ethnicity but when you average them all out, 60%+ are intolerant to lactose. (3) Nearly 2/3 of the world population can't process dairy, yet many still do. Talk about digestive distress! Let's dumb down the human species to that of an animal for a second, for some it's not that far of a stretch. All baby mammals consume the milk from their mother. Fact! All mammals other than humans stop drinking milk after a weaning phase. Fact! Why do humans think we have some super mammal properties that we can do something that the entire animal kingdom has learned doesn't work for their species? So not only do humans continue to drink milk past infancy, they drink milk from a completely different mammal!!! Sounds kind of weird when you lay it out that way, doesn't it? Outside of the intolerance issue, another aspect of dairy that is troublesome is the quality of the dairy most people consume. You've probably all heard the line, "You are what you eat!" When it comes to animal products like dairy you have to take that a step further, "You are what you eat ate!" In the case of cow's milk dairy, whatever that cow consumed, you are consuming. That can be things like genetically modified corn and soy. These things are given to fatten cows up faster and increase milk supply, essentially making them metabollically sick. Another thing dairy cows are often given is a substance called rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone) or sometimes called rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin). This is a synthetic hormone that increases the milk supply of cows. Once again you are what you eat ate! These hormones have been linked to a host of health issues in both cows and humans. (4) My challenge for you would be to test your tolerance for dairy by doing an elimination diet. Take it out for 1 week, maybe 2 then reintroduce it. Do you feel any digestive distress? Gas? Bloating? I believe there is a huge population out there going through life eating foods that cause issues, but they have no idea what they should feel like so they just accept their current health as the status quo. Don't be that person! What Can I Eat Then???
Our goal here isn't to scare you into becoming orthorexic and fear all food. We know that for a majority or people out there life can't go on without pizza, cookies and cheese and that's ok. We hope that if you read this post, you'll take a look at the percentage of your food that is coming from these 3 food items and scale them back. Most people would benefit from limiting these foods and be healthier, happier and probably skinnier.
If you still need more convincing on why these things are problematic we are hosting an online support/educational group on this topic. If you are interested in learning about finding alternatives to these items we will also be touching on that in our free free 5 Day Group. The group starts on Monday, September 28th. It will be setup on Facebook, so you will need an account. In this group we will provide information about healthy swaps, recipes, see if you are sensitive to any of these things and share a little more science on why you should limit these foods. If you are interested in joining us just follow this link and fill out the form.
1) http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/addiction/signs-of-addiction.php
2) http://greatist.com/health/cheese-addictive 3) http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/2009-08-30-lactose-intolerance_N.htm 4) https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/factsheet/what-research-shows/ 
We have always known that KNOWING where our food comes from is really important...but it was still cheaper to get 2 dozen organic eggs from Costco. Just being honest here!! Sue me.
BUT, when a friend of ours (Sara) said she raises chickens and sells their eggs I knew we had to get on her list. We eat SO. MANY. EGGS. Seriously. It's ridiculous. We go through about 6-8 eggs per day. Yes. SO. MANY. Haha!! We love them though and so does Eli, so we have them for breakfast pretty much every morning. As soon as Sara's chickens started laying eggs she messaged us (this last weekend) and said she'd bring 2 dozen to church the next morning and I kinda jumped for joy. My older sister, Sara (as well....weird)....raised chickens for a short time in Colorado so we had tried pasture raised chicken eggs before and they were SO good. Here's a picture of me holding one of her chickens a few years ago:
However...do you know WHY it's important to know where your eggs came from and what those chickens ate? To quote one of our favorite podcasts, The Model Health Show
"You are what you eat ate."
By that we mean any animal product you're putting into you body, you're also ingesting whatever THEY ATE as well. So choose your animal sources wisely!
Sara's chickens are pastured...meaning they have full access to outdoor area that is fenced for their safety. This is much different from "free range" which simply means according to the USDA the chickens have "access" to the outdoors for at least 50% of their lives. ALSO, don't mistake "Cage free" for being all that great...if they came from a big factory farm those chickens were probably just cooped up in a barn with a thousand other chickens...not technically in a cage per se...but not roaming free and able to eat whatever they want. "Cage free" and "Free range" aren't necessarily better...even though we all get misled by the terms sometimes. I know I did!! That's why knowing where your eggs come from (if you have that ability) is really important. Click here for a great article explaining more about this. Sara's chickens are fed non GMO feed with no soy and it's basically organic...just not certified organic yet because she gets it from farmers that are in the process of organic certification. Her chickens also get fresh fruit and veggies all the time and they add kefir, whey etc...when available! They also forage and eat bugs and weeds in their pasture and they sometimes reserve feed until the end of the day to force them to forage more which means they get more variety in their diet! Genius! That's why the yolks are so yellow (see picture below). Here are a few pictures of her beautiful chickens and her toddler terrorizing a few of them...or maybe they're terrorizing her, I can't tell!
And now the big reveal...we wanted to do a side by side comparison of the organic Costco eggs and Sara's pasture eggs...check it out. Can you tell which is which?? We won't leave you hanging...the one on the left is the pasture raised egg and the one on the right is the organic, cage free egg from Costco.
Egg from a pastured chicken (left) versus a store bought organic egg (right).
SO...if you don't have the option to pay a little more for quality eggs...that's fine!! I just challenge you to think about the foods that you eat ALOT of on a daily basis and think about slowly starting to swap IN a higher quality version!! Your health will thank you in the long run!!
We wanted to respond to the video that got massive attention last week. We don't even want to link to it but if you are so inclined to watch it you can find it by typing "Dear Fat People" into a Google search. The person that created the video is a comedian so you should take everything she says with a grain of salt. That said her basic premise was if we shame "fat people" enough that they will feel so bad that they decide to change. Makes perfect sense, right??? If someone is in enough pain, they will clearly choose to do something different. The problem with her argument lies in the physiological component to being overweight. She clearly has no training in anything and she just thinks that if people eat less and exercise more, presto change-o they become skinny.
Just to be clear, we should probably just blatantly say it out front, shaming people is an absolutely horrible way of treating people and it does NOT get results. This video also brings up the the topic that goes viral every other month or so of #loveyourself and "body positive" blogs that are out there. This is always a tricky subject to us especially since we are in the business of helping people get healthy and lose weight. This is where we want to dive in a little deeper...along with giving you a strategy to navigate your own health and weight loss. Within the "body positive" movement there is a theme of loving yourself for who you are whether you are fat or skinny. No matter your shape or size you should be ok with that and embrace who you are, #loveyourself. We totally agree with this...but what if we asked ourselves this: "Can you love yourself for who you are, and still try to improve yourself?"
The question itself is contradictory in nature. Why do you need to change if you love who you are? This is where some people in the "body positive" movement lose us. They take that thought and solely stick to the love yourself side of it. Thinking "I'm good enough the way I am and I don't need to improve". (For a little more reading on change and being "good enough" you can check out another post of ours where we talk about that exact topic, The "Good Enough" Principle - Ambivalence!) There are some in that movement that are certainly trying to improve their body composition and health. There are also people tucked away in a shack in Mississippi that are oblivious to all of this, they are "fat" and just don't care. I safely say that because those people probably don't have the internet and will never read this!
The graphic below is really helpful in helping distinguish where you might fall in your own personal health. We know that these categories aren't perfect and you may find some overlap in your current situation. We believe that everyone should be on an active journey to improve themselves AND that you can and should love where you are at currently. In fact we think in order to move forward in your health and fitness it has to be done out of love for yourself and wanting the best for yourself. In order to do that you need to take a good assessment of where you currently are though. Ask anyone that has navigated using a map and compass, the most important thing to know is to know your current location. That means getting honest with yourself and asking some tough questions...
This graphic and our descriptions might also help you understand that not all "skinny" and "fat" people will be in the same categories. Often times skinny healthy people just assume all overweight people are lazy and uneducated. Also skinny people are often thought to be healthy solely based on their body size, which we know isn't true. We breakdown these categories a little more below to bring clarity to these stereotypes. 
So before we dive into each of these descriptions you should know why we chose Aware and Willing as the category headings and what they mean. By saying aware, we mean that people that fall into this category are knowledgeable with what it takes to be healthy. The science of what it takes to be healthy is constantly changing and there is new information coming out all the time. People in this category follow that information and know what it takes to improve their health and/or lose weight. By saying willing, we refer to the people that make an effort to do what they think or know is right.
Aware & Willing
They are "aware" of what it actually takes to be healthy and are "willing" to prioritize the things it takes to improve their health. It is because of this that this section of people are generally in good physical shape and generally healthy. This group doesn't have to be physically fit, but more importantly actively working towards improving their current situation. They actively seek out the latest in health trends and science to see what works best for them. They have made a commitment to their health and may even work in the industry.
Aware & Unwilling
This group is "aware" of what they need to do to improve their current health situation but have yet to make it a priority in their daily habits. There is a sense of ambivalence. They know why they should change and the benefits. They even know what they need to do in order to create a change. However they have a pull to keep things as they are. Change is hard. They may not have the support system in place that will support them if they start making changes. They may have a stubborn husband that enjoys his pizza and pasta, or coworkers that frequently go out for happy hour. They may feel they will be outcast by these people if they start making different decisions.
This group will likely not make a change until their health begins to affect something that they currently find a bigger priority. An example would be a mother with a toddler or young children that values time with her family above all else. Her kids are constantly wearing her out with all of their activities to the point where she can't keep up anymore. That may be the breaking point for her where she decides she needs to get in better shape. Unaware & Willing
This group makes up the biggest group of people from my experience. They all want to be healthy and even go to the effort of eating what they think is healthy food and working out in a way they think will improve their health but may or may not be seeing results. This group reminds us of the saying, "Work smarter, not harder!" This group hasn't quite figured that out yet.
Common things we hear from people that would fall into this category are;
This group of people, as stated in the chart, will likely cook a lot of homemade meals..but those meals will likely be comprised of packaged goods and will be heavy on the starches and unhealthy fats and low in protein. If we could sum this group up in one thought it would be... We eat "healthy" cereal for breakfast group. How do people move out of this group? It mainly comes through education from credible and current sources to formulate a plan that's going to work for them. The key there is individualized plan because what works for one doesn't work for all. One of the most common things we see here is with running. Often times runners are inherently skinny. We can say that because we both were former runners and both were skinny prior to starting our running careers. People from this group see skinny runners and think that running must have made them skinny, therefore they should run to get skinny. This would be like saying playing basketball makes you tall. Yes, running will work for some but it isn't the best way to lose weight in a healthy way for a majority of people. If you fall into this group and are curious about some resources that we have used to learn more about nutrition and exercise, we would love to share some of those with you. Just comment below or send us an email. Unaware & Unwilling
This group unfortunately makes up a decent percentage of our population. People in this group tend to have never done any research into health or nutrition other than what a doctor or the media may have told them. They may know that certain things like sugar and fast food are bad for them but fail to connect what they are eating to how they FEEL and their overall health. They may know exercise is important but their knowledge of what to do might be rooted in what they did in junior high gym class 30 years ago. The fate of people in this group usually tends to be more grim than positive. These people will likely battle chronic disease throughout their lifetime and will likely struggle with being overweight.
Thankfully people in this group can reverse the course they are on. It usually takes a friend or family member to intervene. Unfortunately it might take a health issue to force people to change. If you know someone in this group, reach out to them let them know you care and love them for who they are right now as they are! Where Are You Right Now?
The reason we wanted to write this post was because we want to share a BETTER strategy for losing weight than shaming someone. With that, we also want to put the focus on HEALTH because skinny doesn't mean healthy and carrying a little extra weight doesn't mean unhealthy. We do believe that we should all love, yet acknowledge where we are with our health, and actively be trying to improve upon it.
This world is going to bombard us with toxic things that harm our body and deteriorate our health. We will also face toxic things mentally that will try to break our will, lessen our belief in ourselves, and crush our dreams. That is why we need to constantly be working to improve our current situation because we just don't know what might try to trip us up next. If this post inspired you to make a change we would love to hear from you. If you need someone to just talk with about your current situation we are here for you!! 
So I know I've alluded to it in a few posts and told some close friends but I wanted share with you all something that I've had to deal with this past year. I share it because I'm sure there is someone out there that is going through the same thing and I hope this message gets to you to help you relieve your suffering.
The thing that I've been dealing with is I am now gluten intolerant and most likely have celiac disease. I really don't want to start eating gluten again to get the formal diagnosis. I explain later how I came to this conclusion. I share this picture because just last September I wrote up a the post on our Facebook page talking about the hype behind giving up gluten. You can see that post here. At this point my knowledge of gluten was decent. However I knew very little about gluten sensitivities and celiac disease just straight manifesting out of thin air. That's basically what happened to me!!! The fully story... In late December I started noticing a rash on my underarms and down my upper arms. Given the location I thought it was maybe an interaction with my deodorant, so switched that up, nothing changed. I then thought maybe it was a soap or detergent, so switched those up, nothing happened. I then took out some foods, gluten, dairy, and soy. I did that for about a week and nothing happened at the end of a week. So I went back to eating the way I had. I should say that I wasn't eating a lot of gluten at this point, a little bread maybe once or twice a week, and I would have a beer maybe 4-5 times a week. After I did all of that trial and error I basically went back to "normal" stuff. That is when things got really bad. The rash spread to my face, back, chest and even into my legs. At that point I was extremely uncomfortable so I went to the dermatologist. They took a biopsy of the rash and prescribed some steroid cream to help calm down the rash. The biopsy didn't show anything, which was both good and bad. Good that I didn't have cancer or some other serious disease but bad in that I still didn't know what was causing the rash. I then did an environmental allergy test with the dermatologist. When I went in to get the patches removed, there was only one thing that I was allergic to and that didn't make any sense that that would be the cause. This was roughly mid February and I was still eating my normal diet. At this appointment the dermatologist wanted to prescribe me an oral steroid to help with the rash but I told her that I didn't want to take it. I didn't want to kill the rash, I wanted to figure out what was causing it. She was a little shocked that I would turn down drugs that would help with my symptoms. At this point she told me that only 10% of people ever figure what causes rashes like this! Wow!!! I could tell I pushed a button of hers, oh well! I left the office that day and was pretty upset! I was mad at the dermatologist that her main intent was to treat my symptoms. I was upset that 90% of people that have rashes like me go through life not knowing what causes it and likely take prescription medicine to manage symptoms. It made me all the more determined to figure it out. At this point I started having conversations with Laura's sister who was also struggling with similar issues as me. She was a little further along in the process of figuring out what was causing her symptoms and she was pretty certain that she had what is called dermatitis herpetaformis or DH. Simply put, celiac disease but a version that shows up through the skin and not the gut. It was right around April 1st that bit the bullet and cut out all gluten, including beer. I remained free and clear of gluten until the end of May. During that time my rash completely disappeared. That is when I reintroduced it! Of course I chose to use beer as my gluten source! Essentially what I had done was an elimination provocation diet. The results were a little confusing to me. I got together with some of my beer drinking buddies on a Saturday night. Sunday came and went and nothing happened. Same with Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I thought I was in clear! Then Thursday evening I broke out. I thought it was a little strange from a timing standpoint so I chose to test it again. This time I waited 3 weeks to "clear out" my system then did it again. Unfortunately I had the same outbreak with the same timing. I had my answer! I went from someone that had no symptoms of any gluten sensitivity to being allergic basically overnight. Strange, right? Now that I've started learning more about gluten and how it interacts with our bodies, it isn't so strange. Gluten is a harmful substance to everybody. Yeah you read that right, everybody. Some people can process it and not be "harmed" while others hit a breaking point and there body just says enough is enough. You might think that is pretty extreme to say that gluten is harmful to everyone. You might think it doesn't affect me. We consume toxins everyday in our foods and through things in our environment like our cleaning supplies and the air we breath. Our bodies do an incredibly good job of processing these toxins and eliminating them from our bodies. Eliminating these toxins creates stress in our body. If you start piling on too much stress at some point your body will be overwhelmed and break down. Doing my research about what causes DH, they often say it comes in 30+ year olds usually after a stressful situation in their lives. I'm blaming Eli our son, love you buddy but you've definitely increased the stress level in the house. As I stated earlier, my goal is for a light bulb to go off in someone's head and make the connection between the food you eat and chronic symptoms that you might be fighting. For some that may be rashes, headaches, achy joints, digestion issues, brain fog, fatigue and the list could go on. I would encourage you to think about the foods that you are eating. Pay attention to when symptoms get bad and what foods you ate recently. Don't discount the power of the things you put into your body! People don't think twice about medicine that they ingest affecting how they feel. I would argue food is just as powerful to both heal and hurt you. If you want to chat more about how to structure an elimination diet I would love to talk with you. You can email me here. Or if you just want to take it upon yourself I highly recommend the book, The Elimination Diet by Tom Maltere.
So this is a topic that comes up a ton for us in our Challenge Groups and some of our coach's challenge groups so I wanted to just put together a video on the subject of Calorie Deficit Diets.
There is so much bad information out there about how to lose weight. Unfortunately the magazines and talking heads out there preach an unhealthy way of losing weight, cut calories, whether that be through appetite suppression pills or powders or just by telling people to be hungry all the time. So this is my effort to raise the volume on the other side and I would argue the healthy way to burn fat. I probably don't have to argue that point since there is science to back me up. If this message resonates with you please share it so that your friends might hear it and understand that there is a better and healthier way to lose weight. We can't change everyone's mindset on this but hopefully we can at least start building some curiosity in a few people's minds.
Written by Danielle Lochow with Take Charge Fitness
***IF THIS POST HELPS YOU, LIKE IT!! IF YOU THINK IT WOULD HELP A FRIEND, SHARE IT!!***
Now that I have all that shouting out of the way allow me to present to you these photos. I've been doing a LOT of thinking lately about calories and pounds and maintaining weight and how my own journey with fitness and food and weight has evolved over time. These are pics from every day this week. As you can see, I weighed in different each time I stepped on the scale. My weight fluctuated five entire pounds within a couple days. Why is this??? Did I gain? Did I then lose? And then gain again? If you struggle with trying to make the scale come up with that one special number, please know that your weight will change based on...
And any other number of things. It is physically impossible to gain five pounds in a day or two. It's also impossible to gain it in a WEEK. Why do I share this? Because I know that for some people this relationship with the scale is a negative thing. It has a negative impact on their life. When I decided I wanted to lose weight I strictly counted calories. I tracked my calories religiously in MFP (My Fitness Pal). I weighed every Friday morning and when I got to record a loss it was FABULOUS. It was working!! For the first time in my life this weight loss thing was working. I eventually met my weight loss goal when I saw that number I wanted to see. And then I knew that I could keep tracking calories and keep weighing that number. Understand that when I was religiously tracking, I didn't always necessarily care WHAT the calories came from. 400 calories from a salad was the same to me as 400 calories from a sandwich cookie. I learned very quickly that tracking to only net around 1500 calories (that's what mfp says a person of my height and weight should eat to maintain) was kind of unsustainable. And I hadn't figured out yet that fluctuation in weight is NORMAL. So it was making me crazy. If I went a couple hundred calories over one day, and weighed a half pound heavier the next day, I thought I knew exactly why. Too many calories. So dumb guys. So dumb. Eventually I got plugged in with a great fitness community online and started learning about how to clean up my diet. I leaned that the quality of food is important and that even if something is higher in calories it doesn't mean it's unhealthy, or that it will make me gain weight. And I learned that if I do see a "gain" it's probably any number of things my body is doing that has nothing to do with a couple hundred "extra" calories. I weigh myself randomly. Sometimes it's once a month, other times it's every day for a week but gaining confidence in my diet and my habits, growing in my physical strength and understanding more about how bodies work gives me SUCH FREEDOM AND PEACE. I am not married to my special number. I admit to being interested to seeing how it fluctuates and know why it does, but it cannot and will not ever bother me like it once did because I have confidence and faith in my daily habits! Bottom line is this: your number does not have to define you. No one sees a number when they look at you. When you follow a lifestyle that is rich in healthy, nourishing foods, regular exercise and movement, and you are surrounded by people who encourage you to live your best life every day...you will not need to stress about maintaining weight. People always say that maintaining weight is harder than losing it, and that may be true but ONLY if you are looking at it as though once you hit your number you all of a sudden want to go back to bad habits that got you heavier in the first place. When you are COMMITTED to living healthy, your healthy weight will find you. And you will be FREE of your number. If you like what you've read we encourage you to follow Danielle on Facebook at Take Charge Fitness or you can email her directly. Our next online fitness and accountability group is forming and starts on August 10th!! If you're wanting to make healthy, lasting changes...this is the place for you. We know that changing habits is hard so these groups are a safe place for you to get tips, inspiration, nutrition advice, support and encouragement!! Let us know if you're intrigued and want to learn more! The best way to get a hold of us is to shoot us an EMAIL. |
The Cook & The CoachHealthy is a LIFESTYLE. 
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