Abby

After three solid attempts loading my thoughts on this topic, IG gave me the hint that it was a matter to take to the blog.

So let’s smash some bullshit myths out there.

#1: Muscle weighs more than fat. WRONG, 1 pound is 1 pound. The difference in 1 pound of fat vs one pound of muscle is the shape it takes on our bodies. If you don’t believe me measure one pound of chicken and one pound of apples, they will weight the same but look very different.

#2: Fat turns to muscle. No, no it doesn’t. Through training and the loss of fat, you may start to notice your muscle mass, but there is no way to magically turn your fat to muscle. 

#3: Muscle Toning. There is no such thing as “toning” your either building muscle or decreasing fat. You look more defined because you are losing the body fat covering your muscles. But let’s not forget we have to weight train to build muscles. 

#4: Lifting weights will make you bulky. Wrong and right. Your training style and nutrition will determine the look your after. If you want to look like a bodybuilder you’re going to need to train like one. If you want to be fit and less defined you can carry a higher body fat percentage. Some athletes yes are blessed with genes that allow them to carry a natural physic of being lean while choosing a method that wouldn’t otherwise make them look so shredded. 

Why would you want to lift weights? Well, have you considered how your body will look if you decrease your body fat but don’t have muscle holding your skin up? Your bones will hold your skin up. Also if you’re working towards looking fit you have to have muscle shape under your skin when that body fat goes away. Doing hours and hours of cardio will not build your muscles you need to add weight training into your programs.

The best part about having muscles, you get to eat more food! Having a healthy muscle mass combined with a healthy body fat percentage will allow you to eat more calories! Building muscle requires more calories! This is why it’s equally important for you to be eating a good amount of protein if your working at decreasing body fat and building muscle!

But in the end, no, lifting weights doesn’t automatically make you bulky. 

Well, guys, 2018 is coming to a quick end. This is about the time of year everyone has this attitude of screw it. I don’t know why? Maybe its the weather change, maybe it’s the stress of the holidays and money, or maybe its because you realized you haven’t stuck to your “new year new you” plan. There is a lot I Love about being in the fitness industry but there is a lot that I HATE about it. The marketing towards quick fixes and bullshit supplements, the cheap programs that leave you hanging, the promises of template diets. It drives me all crazy because by the time you actually pull the trigger and get to me you are so lost that we spend more time talking about why those horrible things didn’t work just to try to find you a glimpse of hope!

Nutrition is work, hands down one of the biggest commitments you’ll make to yourself. You cant eat crappy and drink a magic potion and get all your dreams. Nutrition is 24 hours a day! 

We have about 7 weeks until we ring in the New Year! So let’s figure out what that means! 7 weeks is 49 days, let’s say you have 2 holidays parties and 2 Christmas’s and one new year’s party. Worst case that is 5 days… 5/49 Days is about 10%. Therefore you still have 90% chance to be successful! Not so bad hey! So instead of taking those 5 days and using them to sabotage your other 42 days look forward to those days and realize you can still work towards your goals. Some hints and tips for those of you who want to stay close to your nutrition plans.

#1. Don’t starve yourself all day to FILL up on Christmas dinners. Eat normal, low-fat foods lower carbs, But still eat so that once you do have dinner you will have plenty of calories left over to consume. 

#2. Enjoy your wine and your dessert but just keep it under control. If you want to try a couple of desserts, take half the serving of each one, it’ll be enough for your sweet tooth and you’ll feel much better for it

#3. Equal amounts of alcohol and water. For every drink have a glass of water. This will help you not get loaded for one but for the next, it will help with the breakdown of alcohol and getting it out of your system.

#4. Keep things positive. Chances are your family or friends will see you acting a bit different and they will ask you and ask you and ASK you why you’re doing what you’re doing. You don’t owe them anything but it’s also easy to say things as simple as, I have been working with a nutrition coach for the past _____ months and it’s been great. Leave it at that. If you start going into all the things your working on and starting if off negative, your family will be very quick to tell you, You don’t need to lose weight, have more, drink more… etc… then they will wake up feeling great and you’ll wake up mad that you let someone else influence you.

#5. Enjoy a day or 5 off completely. If you are having issues of letting go on the few days a year to indulge and not stress, we need to work on that. Counting macros is great, it’s a healthy way for us to make sure we are getting enough food, Obsessing about it during the holidays is not okay! Having my clients all at a point for the ability to have a couple unlogged days is awesome!! Everyone comes back refreshed and reset.

Don’t throw away next 7 weeks. Keep trucking, because 2019 is right around the corner and you don’t want to live the past year over again. 

We have all been there, we decide tomorrow is the day, “I’m going to go to the gym (or workout) EVERY DAY and eat healthy”.

That is a very bold move cotton. Let’s go over what that is really going to look like. Your going to work out everyday for a couple weeks, be sore, be tired, and your frustrated because Oh my god, you are not down 20lbs yet, and your super pissed so you eat a pizza, some ice-cream and crush a whole bottle of wine because that’s going to help. 

Let’s try this other option.

I am going to work out three times this week, and I’m going to eat healthy Monday-Friday for the next two months and then regroup.

What sounds more manageable and easier to maintain?? DUH option 2!! Option 2 is going to get you started, get you moving and get you on a diet that’s pretty decent. If your goals are big you’re going to have to move from this plan to something a bit more tailored to your goals but instead of trying to flick a switch and make the MOST drastic change of your life you have now eased yourself in.

I have been in the fitness industry for ten years. I have coached THOUSANDS of hours and worked with hundreds of clients and I can honestly say those who start with option 2 are still going. Those who do option 1… well they are repeating the cycle for the hundredth time.

I’m thrilled you’re ready to start and get going, but I want to see that motivation day after day year after year. Going “hard” and burning out will only leave you feeling frustrated and hopeless. Don’t bite off more then you can chew!

Believe it or not, you can workout 3-4 times a week and have great results! You can eat clean 80% of the time and get great results! It doesn’t help to try and sprint the marathon, you’ll lose every time.

With January quickly approaching and your thoughts will be shifted towards goals for the next year, think it through and create a plan you can manage! 

About a month ago I decided to take a DNA power test. I had read some reviews and had noticed on social media some fellow CrossFit athletes had taken it and have been pretty vocal about the information and how it has helped them. I decided I wanted to try it before I would recommend it to my clients and friends. I am a huge believer in trying things out for myself. I have tried every diet and “fad” because I want to see what it’s all about. Recently I thought I may be a bit insulin resistant and went keto for a few weeks and was very happy to have carbs back. After taking my hormone specialist course and reading a bunch of symptoms and issues I replaced my cosmetics, plastics, and toxins. Four years ago I also did some hormonal testing and have been sticking to my supplements religiously to ensure that I would fix the damage I had done to my body. So here is why I took this test and if you should.

Number one reason. I was curious. Through extensive research, for myself and my clients, I was able to pinpoint a lot of these “ideas” but I wanted to see it on paper so I didn’t feel like a crazy person. One recently was caffeine. My caffeine consumption was very high, I wasn’t sleeping well and my high functioning anxiety was out of control. I cut caffeine for the month of August and most of September (Cold turkey) and my sleep got better and my HF anxiety is much better. I have introduced a small amount back in. What did my tests indicate? I digest caffeine perfectly fine, so well that the effects are minimal therefore I could have a tendency to increase the volume to “feel” the effect. It was suggested that I keep consumption low and the same daily. Cool hey.

Another great one was my reaction to bitter tasting foods, I don’t really react meaning if I’m going to consume dark chocolate or salty foods it will take higher volumes to satisfy the craving when I consume them. This is totally true! It’s funny because I never realized it until Matt and I were chatting about that result.

Energy, I suffer big time from feeling tired all the time. It’s one of the main reasons I have made some big decisions this year about stepping back from the gym. It was interesting to see that I would need more Vitamins B’s then I am currently taking. So low in fact, it was suggested I go for more testing.

It confirmed that it is very easy for me to become stronger and muscular easier. I have always known this.  I am able to break down all major macros properly however starchy carbs can contribute to weight gain on the midsection. Remember my 800g veggies challenge this was why I started it, I had been feeling sluggish and not as lean and when I looked in my food logs I realized I wasn’t doing a great job of eating veggies and fruit.

The list goes on. For me, I have goals and I am willing to work hard for them but I want to make sure I’m going in the direction to reach those goals. I have no major takeaways from this test because like mentioned through working with Mike and my own certifications and research I have been on the right path but it does feel good to know I am not guessing anymore and I have the evidence in front of me. If you are someone who has tried everything and things aren’t working you may want to take the test too. If your trying to do it on your own without a certified nutrition coach this could be a great way for you to start or if you’re like me and want to see what’s uptake it. 

As much as it briefly touches on hormones this would not replace the Dutch test or blood panels you would get from your Doctors and labs. It also does not provide a food list of food sensitives so if your dealing with those issues your still going to need to go and get a food sensitivity test or go through a round of the elimination diet and see what you can sort out.

This test is just another tool to have in the toolbox, don’t forget you still have to use it and the information provided needs to be implemented and NONE of the information will be a quick fix. It can be a very important step in bridging the gap. 

Earlier this week I took a poll asking about whether or not you thought you had a good relationship with food. I wasn’t surprised at all for many to say yes and by the end of the ongoing videos, your vote has changed. While I wanted surprised I truly felt sad for you. I feel disgusted that we have allowed ourselves to hide our feelings, fears, and insecurities with food. We hide behind eating a treat and drinking alcohol instead of dealing with what is really going on with our lives. I am sad for you, and I want to help.

Your first step. Admit you have somethings you need to work out. Maybe your stressed because you feel the weight of running the house and kids, maybe you feel stressed because your working on top of that, maybe it’s because you have lost every good friend you had because you couldn’t juggle a high executive position and a social life without feeling like you’d need to sleep for a week. So you’ve picked food. I get it. I think we have all eaten our stresses away, for the time being, but how about this time, you don’t? What if this time you told your spouse you need a bit more help. You look into cutting back on some other expenses to have you toilets cleaned once a week for you. Look at hiring an assistant or delegating more responsibilities to someone who can do them too. Either way, find a solution that’s not at the bottom of a bottle or chip bag. 

Do you binge and then feel guilty? This one happens a lot to individuals who eat a very very strict diet and are constantly being told what they can’t eat. It’s like telling a child they can’t have ice cream or a cookie, they want it more, they obsess until they get it. We are very similar. The second you can’t have something you want it! For me, this happened when I was pregnant. Before I became pregnant I never drank but then when I couldn’t MAN I used to smell Matt’s wine glasses and curse him. Silly hey! But now here I am again able to drink whenever and I could give two shits. Anyways, back to you, so you created this OMG moment about what it would be like to have a pizza and ice cream and three bottles of wine and Chinese food and then next thing you know you have eaten a week’s worth of calories and after that stomach ache goes away you now feel guilty. You feel embarrassed and ashamed when really you should have an “omg I’m not doing that again because it hurt my belly” no other reason. All of those foods are fine once in a while so if you love them to enjoy them once in a while, guilt-free.

Ladies… are you replacing sex with food? You laugh but it happens. You’re not in the mood to shave your legs and put in the effort, so you sneak to the pantry for chocolate or sugar trying to get that quick feel good insulin spike and bedtime crash. Instead well, skip the pantry and shave your legs!

Learn the language. Eating carbs won’t make you “fat”. Eating uncontrolled amounts of calories, consisting of highly processed, high sugar, wheat, pasta, and pastries can contribute however fruits and vegetables are carbs too and last I checked eating mass amounts of veggies hasn’t made anyone fat. Knowing that you can have a balanced diet of carbs consisting of veggies fruits, starch, and minimally processed sugar will give you enough energy and give you a great body composition. 

Mindful eating. Everything you put into your body is a reflection of the life you want. Enjoying good whole foods 90% of the time and enjoying those other treat type foods 10% of the time will set you up for a long life of happy balance! Your mind is a very powerful weapon again your cravings, mood swings and everything else life throws at you. Create positive self-talk, learn the difference between eating for survival and eating for emotions. Balance your sleep, water and stress and I guarantee your relationship with food will become much better! 

Thanksgiving is right around the corner, the decisions of staying on track or completely falling off the wagon. Here’s the real question, why does it have to be one or the other? Hear me out. Holidays are the number one excuse, I mean “reason” we fall apart. We have created these ideas of holidays of overindulging in foods, desserts, and booze. We use them as our reason to fall apart. Here’s my suggestion. Have a plan, execute that plan and remain in control. I find that based on the way my family cooks it is quite easy to stay on my nutrition plan. Really by the time you eat turkey or ham, some poetess and veggies the only real damage will be the fat you consume. Normally things are cooked with extra butter or the salads come with the dressings already on them. Are you ready for that? Here are my tips and tricks.

#1: Don’t go to dinner starving. It’s that simple, “saving” your calories generally ends if WAY over consuming in ALL foods, you won’t stop because you have built this meal up and then you have starved yourself waiting for it.

#2: Drink lots of water and eat smaller Normal meals. Making sure your properly hydrated to help keep bloat, and proper hydration before you consume some alcohol will make you feel full, happy and prevent you from over-consuming booze. Eating small low-calorie meals, less fat and less starch leading up to dinner will give you room for the extra calories. 

#3: Fill your plate with LOTS of protein, LOTS of veggies and choose small amounts of the foods you enjoy but know aren’t the best choices. This way you can have a nice yummy taste of the things you love without the guilt of eating too much.

#4: Enjoy dessert and wine but set a limit. Half a piece of the pie, one glass of wine. Believe it or not, holidays are still fun and enjoyable without getting buzzed and eating everything under the sun.

#5: Be thankful. Be thankful for your family and friends and the time you have to share with them. It is not about the food and the booze, socializing is about socializing. You can still enjoy one another company without a wine glass in your hand. 

While I preach balance time and time again this is no different. Enjoy the things you want to just make sure you’re not flying off the deep end because of its a Holiday. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Weddings, birthdays anniversary they are all about the meaning of the holiday Not the food, and not the booze. Ask yourself, if you HAVE to have booze and certain foods to have fun, you make actually have an addiction that you should seek help with. We can all joke about how booze helps deal with some crazy families but at the end of the day be sure your in control. 

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone. We all have so much to be thankful for. 

Is it normal for your body to look different throughout the year? What are realistic expectations from month to month and heck even morning to night?? Well, let’s take a quick five and chat about that.

One of the main reasons I started Vital was I was straight up sick of all the bullshit fad diets and “online coaches” making bank off leading clients down a dark road of eating less than 1200 cals, and promising a life full of results. More and more women are dealing with hormonal issues early in their 20’s and then dealing with infertility in there 30’s. We are at an all-time high in obesity rates in children. This shit needs to stop. You pop onto Instragam and you see a skinny girl with 100K followers and shit still isn’t being fixed but based on her short-term programs promises you take the bait. I get it your desperate to change. We all want change. We all Want to look and feel our best. I can say that from my own experiences with eating 1200 cals and working out 2-3 hours a day and ending up dealing with a pile of problems. The best thing I ever did was hire my coach. Anyways let’s get back to it.

So you have started your journey and things are going great. Now your measure of going great could be from biofeedback or weight loss or maybe both. But let’s focus on the weight loss side of things today. So you are looking better and feeling better. But your not COMPLETELY shredded yet, so you still cutting and life is getting a bit ugly and lonely. If you have a responsible coach they have well prepped you for no eating out no booze, no cheats, they have your six pack in mind since that is what YOU told them yours after. However the harsh reality has set in, is this maintainable? All the girls are Instagram keep their six packs all year. Is this a lie. Sometimes yes sometimes no. 

Being extremely lean comes at a cost. Sometimes the cost is too high for some. For some to be shredded it does mean low calories and lots of steady state cardio. It means passing up on parties and eating out, and if that’s your goal that’s okay. For some it’s genetic and once they have reached their goal they reversed up and their bodies are thrilled. This usually happens with individuals who get a lot of sleep and are well disciplined with food choices and have minimal stress. So where do you fit? 

From season to season with the proper periodization of your nutrition, it is VERY NORMAL to have months where your more shredded than others. As many of you know from reading past blogs you cannot LIVE in fat loss calories. You have to come out and rebalance and for some, that means a bit of weight gain back and stabilizing off before you can head back into it. Does this mean your plan doesn’t work?? Absolutely not! It means your body is fighting stressors that are affecting your results. Hormones, sleep, stress, water, maybe sickness. All of these things contribute to your body composition. It is totally normal to fluctuate weight through your nutrition having months where you are more shredded and months where your abs aren’t visible but you are still lean.

This of your day. When you wake up you are shredded. Your abs are visible and you feel amazing, By the end of the day full of food, water, and inflammation from your stressors, your body might not look as lean as the morning. This is completely normal! Think about your monthly friend! While you may be working towards a pain-free period I am sure there was a time where you knew you were going to be getting your period because of the water weight you held onto. Same same, it’s not “real” weight but it does affect the way we look.

I am just as guilty as anyone as wanting all day all season rock hard abs but this last year has been like the rest of my clients! I went through an awesome cut reversed out, gained a couple pounds back and switched to performance and lost my abs but performed great at canniest, took my diet break and now I am back cutting. This is NORMAL this should happen if you are an athlete chasing two goals. Your mind is what matters. Understanding what to expect and what’s realistic to maintain will go ALONG way in embossing the different phases of your nutrition program. Stop comparing yourself to the images you see, friends you train with. Everyone is so different and you have no idea how long they have been laying the groundwork to have year-round abs. Are you willing to give up your stressful career that you love so you can have a six pack? Are you willing to give up date night? If your not that’s okay, just set yourself up for understanding what a REALISTIC body image goal is for you! 

Earlier this week I posted about heading over to Shelley’s to meal plan, grocery shop and then prep some of her meals for the week. We had a lot of fun and it got me to thinking about how important meal planning is. Here are my top five reasons I think you should take the time to sit down and plan!

#1: It provides you with your grocery list and you will actually buy fewer groceries. Having that very specific list will keep you on task of what you are needing for your meals vs buying everything and not knowing what to do with it all. 

#2: Less food will be wasted. By having your sheet on your fridge and buying only the groceries you need for recipes or meals that week you will have less go bad. Instead of buying every fruit and every veggie, this can help you to rotate through your flavors based on the meals you have chosen.

#3: It allows you to have a couple of quick and ready to go options! This week on Shelley’s menu she mentioned they bought half a beef so they have a lot of ground beef so we bought the supplies for Mexican rice bowls. Everything can be prepped and really easy to through into one container and be out the door. Also buying frozen beef burger and turkey burgers are her other option for having something quick!

#4: It cuts down your time. Instead of thinking oh man, What are we having for dinner you have everything you need, and you won’t have to waste time with an extra stop at the grocery store or catch your self-eating out because your running late and don’t know what you make. On your busy or late evenings having planned that crock pot dinner will keep you organized.

#5: It can allow you to meal prep without taking your weekend to meal prep. This works for individuals who have the time to cook supper daily. Cooking extra prepares your lunch, and now its as quick as weigh measure and log the night before and you are one step ahead for the next day.

Planning your meals doesn’t have to take hours on end, in fact for Shelley and I to sit down and plan her 5 meals, 2 snack ideas for the week, make her grocery list, and go through her fridge and pantry it took us less than an hour. Creating that template takes all the guess work out of the week and not eating the same thing for five days will keep her successful. While cooking a few items we prepped some of her other items to keep her time minimal for the rest of the week. It may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but just like anything the more you do it the faster you will become at it!