Self Care Simplified

How can you keep up with your workouts during the holidays so you stay fit and strong? On this episode, we're chatting all about when you get thrown off your normal rhythm and can't seem to find the time to workout. Don't make these workout mistakes this season: putting workouts on hold til the new year, not utilizing "maintenance mode" tactics, forgetting what's non-negotiable for you, and not having an arsenal of quick, bodyweight-only workouts to utilize. Let's stay in the game this season!

What if this holiday season was different? What if we made a handful of better decisions and purposefully avoided some common mistakes this season? On this episode, we're tackling 8 common nutrition and mindset mistakes we make during the holidays, from mindless overeating to not employing the "sample technique" or the "half your plate veggies" technique.Let's examine the things that lead us to that point of holiday misery and see if there is a way to be healthy but not have a lame holiday season!

I know that one of your deepest desires is to not have anything negative to say about your body...to be wonderfully content, and grateful, and actually like your body. The good news is that it's possible, and you don't even have to wait until you reach your goals! On this episode, Scott and I discuss the 3 Big Negative Thought Patterns and the 9 Strategies for getting past them. You're going to be equipped with mindset tools and you'll feel hopeful that you can actually like your body after all. 

We all crave to be supported, especially by the ones we love, but we don't often get this luxury. Usually, we're trying to make healthy choices in an environment that may not be very conducive to our success. Often, our own home and family members can feel like the biggest obstacles standing between us and our goals. ("Why do they keep bringing home cookies?!") And not only that, but we truly desire for our family members to jump on board and make the same healthy changes with us! Isn't that ideal?? 

How does your menstrual cycle affect your eating habits, your hunger, and your cravings? How does it affect your ability to workout hard and get the most from your training sessions? And how does it affect your mood and enthusiasm? The truth is that your menstrual cycle can impact just about everything, so it's foolish to ignore it and not plan for it effectively. On this episode, we're going to chat all about your menstrual cycle. You'll get tons of DETAILS!!!

Let's have an honest conversation about candy, sugar, and all sorts of sweet treats! It's helpful if we can enter the holidays with a good knowledge base to help influence our choices about treats. On this episode, Scott and I are going to discuss: the short- and long-term dangers of eating a diet high in sugar; how much sugar is too much; and becoming more aware of the hidden sugars we eat every day. We'll also specifically tackle strategies for handling Halloween candy and other holiday treats!

How can we become more consistent with our eating and exercise habits? Clearly, consistency is crucial for achieving our goals. If we approach our "consistency" from the perspective of “faithfulness”, we can see that it's as much a maturity of personal character as much as it's about habit choices. We'll also talk about having the "all-or-nothing" or perfectionism mindset, setting realistic expectations, creating backup plans, predicting the curveballs, and having layers of accountability.

Are weight loss plateaus inevitable and predictable? Can we avoid them? And what's the best way to bust through a plateau? That's what we're talking all about on today's episode! With plateaus, we’re usually referring to a stall out in body composition changes, even when our habits are still on point. In this episode, it's all about the metabolism, the concept of "calories-in-calories-out", metabolic compensation. Plus! Strategies for busting through a plateau if you suspect it's occurring.

You asked, I'll answer! This entire episode is dedicated to answering all of your questions about exercise, nutrition, and the balance and interplay of these things in our lives. We're going to talk all about carbs, fasting, bad knees, being sedentary, running, how to be more consistent and setting a good example for our kids. The scope of topics we're covering on today's episode is incredible! 

Get a behind-the-scenes look at what a professional's own workouts actually look like! I'm going to pull you into my workout space and show you how I lay out my own personal workouts, what my week of workouts look like, and how long I train. I'll reveal my complete training history (including a random, terrible triathlon!), and even all the injuries that I've battled. We'll chat about yoga, running, weightlifting, goal setting, and so much more! 

Today's episode is all about "cheat meals", splurging, and how to find balance so you can still see results and be healthy. If you struggle with "trigger" foods or have a hard time going overboard when you stray from your healthy eating habits, this episode is exactly what you need. You're going to learn splurging is important, how to stop labeling foods as "bad", what exactly constitutes a splurge, and how to have more self control with splurges so they don't derail you.

“Working out and eating healthy isn’t supposed to make you cry.” We've been told that self care, exercise, and good nutrition is strictly physical...just surface-level actions and behaviors. But then why are so many of us emotionally falling apart in the middle of a workout? Whether the feelings we have are sorrow, anger, a sense of being overwhelmed, or pure rage, the fact remains: it's completely normal to come face to face with some pretty big emotions during a workout. 

We’ve all done it: eating because we're stressed out or mindlessly shoving food in our mouths. You completely recognize that these behaviors aren’t ideal. Mindless munching and eating under stress can completely sabotage any forward movement toward your physical goals, not to mention your emotional and spiritual health, too. But how can you stop self-sabotaging?

This is going to be a marvelously relaxing, life-giving and hope-filled episode...don't miss this! If you want to be strong, healthy, maintain a good body composition, and feel your absolute best, it's nearly impossible if you don't manage your stress well. This episode is PART 2 of Stress Reality Check. On this episode, we're taking a closer, more specific look at some effective strategies that you can begin using today that will significantly ratchet down your body's stress response.

"What's a balloon got to do with it?" I bet you've been really hoping we'd talk about your core one of these days! Our midsections are usually our "trouble areas", whether it's because we carry too much weight there or because we have weak core muscles that are wreaking havoc on the way our bodies feel. On this episode, we're doing a thorough overview of your core... top to bottom, inside to out. We'll even touch on Diastasis Recti and my least favorite core exercises that exist.