We all work so hard during the week. And once Friday night rolls around, we just want to put on our sweatpants, sit on the couch, and be a vegetable – not eat vegetables. We are worn down from all the adulting that we do during the week, that all we want to do on the weekend is NOT be responsible. Weekends tend to be a bit more relaxed. We typically have more time, so we want to sleep in, hang out with friends, have fun & not have to think about our diet. Well, unless you have kiddos who are in soccer, baseball, basketball, go to birthday parties, and other activities. In that case, weekends aren’t such a relaxing time O.o When we finally get through the week, we feel like we deserve a treat – and one of those treats is to not think about it. So, there are a Read More . . .
The Messy Middle
Who’s sick of their fitness routine? This is statistically the part of starting a fitness routine where you’re ready to throw in the towel. Maybe you slept in, maybe you got invited to happy hour & decided that you’d go to the gym after, but didn’t because, um, margaritas (true story!)… It’s all normal! Totally normal. This is just the messy middle. That frustrating period of time when you can’t see the end goal to save your life and everything feels overwhelming. Everything in life has a messy middle. Everything. In the beginning, working out and experimenting with new healthy recipes is fun. “We’re going to get a six pack and my a** is going to look amazing in my jeans and we can totally live on salads sprinkled with lemon juice and this will be so awesome!” In the end, working out and eating well is REALLY fun! “Yawn, Read More . . .
How to Comeback After an Injury
“Youth is Wasted on the Young” – George Bernard Shaw When I was in my 30’s, I was strong. I would work out with heavy weight, my strength training schedule was carefully planned and followed, and about every 12 weeks, I would dutifully take a week off from training, to give my body a break, and ensure that I wasn’t over-training. After the self-imposed week off from training, I would pick right back up where I left off, and move on with the rest of my training schedule. Then, something ‘magical’ happened: I turned 40. Everything changed. After I turned 40, if I took a week off for a vacation, or just because my body needed a break, Oh. My. GOD! The Soreness! For Days! See, beginner exercisers wonder when the soreness is going to get easier. And the answer to that is: if you’re consistent, your body should get Read More . . .
4 Ways to Reboot your Resolution
One of the biggest complaints I get from my clients is that they lack motivation and accountability when it comes to consistently working out and eating healthier. And I have to tell you, it’s tough. With so many demands on our time and attention, carving out a little time for ourselves seems to be an ever increasing battle, and sometimes, all we want to do is drink a glass of wine & veg out. But before we delve into how to get on board with being motivated to do whatever it is that you’re wanting to be more consistent with, Its important to ask the question, “Do you really want to do this?” And a few variations… Do you really want to do this? If you don’t have the passion for wanting to eat well, or exercise regularly, you’re not going to do it. And if you don’t really believe that Read More . . .
Letting Go
I have always been a control freak. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always tried to manipulate the situation so that it would turn out as I had expected it to. Looking back, its a bit embarrassing thinking about how I strong-armed my in a few situations. One example I recall was when I first moved to Austin, Texas, and my dad came to visit me. There’s a restaurant near us that serves amazing tex-mex food. One of their specialties is Chicken Fried Steak. So, for anyone who is unfamiliar with what Chicken Fried Steak is, it’s a steak that has been breaded & deep-fried – like you would do to fried chicken – and then covered in cream gravy. I hadn’t had it. It was waay too unhealthy for me to even try. But everyone raved about how good it was. And because everyone else liked it, Read More . . .
What if calories didn’t exist?
Is it possible to separate calories burned from calories consumed? I know that it seems like a weird question when diet and exercise are inextricably linked. We hear it all of the time: Eat Less, Move More! Clearly we know that the calories in versus calories out equation is true (to a certain degree). So, if you eat more calories than you burn, you should gain weight; and if you burn more calories than you eat, you should lose weight. But the advice of Eat Less Move More is flawed for much of the population. Sure – it might be true for folks who are neither active, nor paying any attention to their diet. But when you’re already active and restricting calories, and plateaued, that advice doesn’t work anymore. But yet, we’ve bound eating and moving together as if one cannot exist without the other. When we overeat, we immediately Read More . . .
The solution for your #1 struggle
Overwhelmingly, the thing that I hear over and over again, is ‘Elizabeth, I want to work out (or eat healthy, or go to bed on time), but when it comes to actually doing it, I just don’t. I don’t feel like doing it.’ I can totally relate to this. In the light of day, I have the best intentions to eat vegetables all day, go for long walks, and lift heavy things, but when it comes to actually doing it, I have a hard time motivating. This time of year can be especially difficult: it’s getting darker earlier; there is so much going on, it can seem easier to just say ‘eff it! I’ll start new in January!’; it’s cold – which breeds hibernation, and starchy comfort food. Its not surprising that motivation is the thing that folks struggle with. We think that we need more information – so we go out and by books, Read More . . .
Your Future-Self Thinks Your Body is AMAZING!
I recently volunteered to host a screening for a movie about women’s body image. It started innocently enough; I heard about the movie; it sounded great! But it wasn’t being shown in general theaters. The only way to see it was if someone volunteered to host a screening. I hopped on to the web to see if it was showing anywhere locally, and it was, but it was a bit of a drive – which was a bummer. I didn’t want to do it. So I got all mopey for about 2 minutes, until I decided that I could host a screening! I knew enough women around town who were interested in their health – why couldn’t I do it?!? The movie Embrace is great! It covers a huge breadth of topics that all influence women’s body image – and the media, societal, and other messages that we receive about Read More . . .
The Gift I’m Giving Myself for the Holidays
It wasn’t long after Gary & I got married that we started questioning the tradition of gift giving for the holidays. Because we don’t live close to our families, it was difficult to stay up do date on what everyone was into, and notice what they needed. When you’re physically around someone frequently, you notice what things are getting worn, or if a gadget or subscription to a service would make their lives easier. But we really didn’t have that since we live over 2000 miles away from our nearest relative. So, unless we were able to pick up through a conversation that Dad needed a new drill, or visiting that Mom’s bake wear was really in need of an upgrade, we – like many others – would ask for a list. And since our families visited us less frequently, they’d ask us for a list too. The problem that Read More . . .
4 Surefire Strategies to Not Gain Weight During the Holidays
We are now full blown into the holiday season. OMG! I can’t count the number of Black Friday sales emails I’ve gotten! And it’s interesting. Isn’t it? Because every year, I say, ‘Not me. Nope. I’m not going to overeat, or drink too much alcohol. I’ll get enough sleep, and keep to my workout schedule. I’m not going to succumb to the holiday season weight gain.’ And yet, every year, I find my kitchen teeming with holiday goodies (which is totally weird since I don’t really bake), rich winter foods, and wine. Lots of wine. And when food is around and available to you, you eat it. It’s just a fact. I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve heard from so many of you that, like me, you’ve had this same mindset in previous years too – the holidays aren’t going to get me. And yet they do. So, Read More . . .
You’re Invited: Embrace – A movie about body image
Body image – we don’t really like to talk about it, and yet, we all feel like crap about ours. The beauty, fashion, and fitness industries count on the message that we aren’t good enough without this product that they are trying to sell us. Over the course of the past few years, there’s been a rise in the body image movement. Proponents of this movement state that no matter what your size, you should be happy with your body. You shouldn’t hide or live in shame if you don’t identify with the narrow definition that are portrayed in the images we see, that really only represent a small percentage of women – what color we are, shape and size. Opponents of the body acceptance movement fear that if we are happy with our body, then that means that I won’t be driven to be healthy, eat nutritious food, or exercise. Somehow, they attest Read More . . .
Are plateaus your body’s braking system?
Losing weight is hard. But keeping it off seems to be even more difficult. When I started my weight loss journey, I was resolved to not become one of the statistics of folks who would regain their lost weight back. I had decided that I couldn’t afford to regain my lost weight. It was going to stick. That doesn’t mean that the road to my success was linear. I certainly had set backs, I did a lot of stupid things (and learned from them – you can read ALLLL about them here In the 7 Mistakes I made during my weight loss journey & the fixes to prevent you from doing the same). I emptied my wallet to buy supplements; I scoured every magazine to find my magic bullet (there isn’t any). I was tenacious. And for about 10 years, it was what I was singularly focused on – my weight. It really Read More . . .
6 Basic Movement Patterns
We all have exercises that we like, and therefore do a lot; and there are exercises that we dislike, and don’t do, unless we’re forced. I have them too. We tend to gravitate towards those bodyparts that we enjoy training, and steer clear from those that we don’t. The problem with doing the same exercises over and over again (and not doing others ever) is that you risk injury. When one group of muscles is significantly stronger than another group, you will move differently than if your muscles are balanced in strength. Strong muscles pull on other muscles in the body, and weaker muscles stretch out. An example of that might be if you have weak lower back, the stronger muscles in the glutes and hamstrings will pull on your lower back muscles. That could pull your pelvis out of alignment, and cause pain not only in your lower back, but also Read More . . .
Eat the Freakin Banana
So, here’s the scene: It’s after dinner, and you want something. A banana. But you don’t eat it. Because you heard that it’s got a lot of starch in it. And sugar. And they can also have a lot of calories! And all of that is bad to have before you go to bed. So you eat a handful of almonds. Because even though they can be higher in calories, at least they don’t have any starch or sugar. And that’s good because you’ve heard that at least it won’t raise your blood sugar before bed. But the almonds don’t really hit the spot. So you find some fat free Greek yogurt. And you put a touch of honey in it to sweeten it a little. But that’s okay because you read that you should always eat carbohydrates with protein – because protein slows down the spike in blood sugar. And Read More . . .
Should you hire an overweight personal trainer?
There are hundreds upon hundreds of personal trainers in your city – let alone the US or the world. Have you ever had one? How did you pick him/her? What do you look for when you hire a personal trainer? Certification? Years of experience? Did you stalk her, watch her train other clients to see how she interacted with them? Or did you select her because of her body? Choosing a trainer based on looks is a bad idea. Deciding on a trainer based solely on appearance is as bad of an idea as picking a life partner out of a magazine. I don’t need to explain that. Do I? Most people have a disconnect about what a trainer can do for them. They hire a trainer with the idea that they’re going to lose weight and look toned, and so they hire a trainer who has the body style that they, themselves, desire. There Read More . . .
How many carbs do you need to eat?
Carbs! Such a controversial subject in today’s national conversation about nutrition and proper diet! It’s so confusing. Eat carbs or don’t eat carbs? Which carbs are good? Which carbs are bad? (hint: there are no bad foods. There may be more or less nutritious foods, but none are good or bad.) Okay so let’s break this whole carb thing down. What is a carb? We get our calories from Protein, Fat and Carbohydrates (these are called macronutrients). If we divide macronutrients into two vveeeerrrry broad groups, we have things that grow out of the ground (plants), and things that had a mother (animals). Carbohydrates come from plants, and protein mostly comes from animals. Fat can be found in both plants and animals. Good Carbs & Bad Carbs? First. Carbs really run the specturm in terms of nutrition (aka: nutrient density). Nutrient density is the term you want to think about Read More . . .
Why the scale isn’t a good tool for weight loss
When clients come to me saying that they want to lose weight, I understand what they mean. If I were to be snarky, I could say, ‘oh, you want to lose 10 lbs? Let’s just chop off your right arm. Would that make you happy?’ …but that probably wouldn’t make a good first impression now, would it? When folks say that they want to lose weight, what they mean is that they want to lose body fat. We want to look ‘toned’ – like our muscles are flexing even when we’re sitting on the couch. The degree of muscularity desired, however is different depending on the individual, and what they perceive to be an ideal physique. What’s counter-intuitive, though is we say that we want to lose weight, even though we want to lose fat, but we’re measuring that success with a tool that only measures our gravitational pull to the earth – the scale. Read More . . .
Why goals might not get you to your goal
There are no shortage of memes about goals. “A goal without a plan is just a wish” “Set your goals high, and don’t stop until you get there” “Goals that are not written down are just wishes” Aaaah! They’re endless! Not only were goals a huge part of my early success with my weight, but they were a cornerstone of my health coaching business for a long time. I would teach folks about SMART Goals. How to create them, and help them through the process. But I’ve changed my attitude about goals. I don’t think they’re necessary anymore. I have a client who’s daughter is one of the most disciplined kids that I know. Every year, she’d create New Years Resolutions, and actually complete them! I Know! Who does that?!? I think they were tests of her willpower. When she was in high-school, she created a New Years Resolution to perform Read More . . .
Why You Should Make New Years Resolutions in September.
Although I realize that January is the beginning of the calendar year, and folks like to make health resolutions at that time of the year, but I think it’s a terrible idea. It’s no wonder that by Superbowl weekend, most resolutions are broken and forgotten. There are many reasons why resolutions go by the wayside: often times they’re vague (I’m going to get healthy!), or overambitious (I’m going to start running every day – even though I haven’t run a mile in 5 years), or there’s just no real planning behind the resolution (HOW are you going to get healthy? What steps are you going to take to accomplish that?). When looking at people’s behaviors and what factors make them change their habits, researchers discovered that many folks changed their habits after a major life event. They didn’t even realize that they were doing it. But when their life changed due to Read More . . .
Why am I so much sore-er now that I’ve turned 40?
People tell you that it’s going to happen but you don’t ever think it’s going to happen to you. Why is that? Why do we think that somehow our body is a special snowflake, impervious to the effects of aging? I remember hearing my sisters talking about how ‘everything changed’ once they turned 40. And clearly, I knew that some stuff was going to happen – that I’d get wrinkles, generally just look older, that where I stored fat might change, and I’d heard that it was more difficult to lose body fat as we age. But nothing really prepared me for how freakin’ sore I would be after I would take a week off from working out. Pre-40 As I think about my younger self, I’m reminded of the quote, “Youth is wasted on the young.” I’m jealous of the days that I used to be able to strength Read More . . .