Morning Routine To Maximize Fat Loss

Morning Routine To Maximize Fat Loss

Where the day starts is where it stays. My mornings used to be a WRECK. Seriously. I’d hit snooze over and over until I created a mad rush scenario. Three-minute shower, throw on whatever clothes I could grab first and rush out the door to work. Swing by Chick-fil-A on the way. Get chicken minis and a huge soda. Hash browns too, obv. I’d be barely awake at work, sucking down diet sodas all day long and wishing for bedtime. No wonder I was depressed and over 300 lbs.

I am an avid reader, especially of non-fiction. I read a lot about successful entrepreneurs, politicians, artists, inventors – you name it. One common thread among almost all of them is a structured morning routine. Sure, some of them are night owls so an early rise isn’t shared among all – but they all seem to value the principle that where the day starts is where it stays.

For most of us, we hit snooze until we are near crisis level – get out of bed or be late. One of the first things we do is check our phone. What drama is waiting in my inbox? What did I miss on Facebook while I was sleeping? We begin our day with potentially negative input – news stories that make us sad or worried, problems at work we can’t yet fix or an unnecessary rush around the house because we kept hitting snooze. We aren’t exactly setting ourselves up for success.

Over the past year I’ve been working to really refine my morning routine. I have to say that I’m AMAZED at what its done for my outlook, my productivity and my motivation. It’s no wonder that some of the most successful, creative, accomplished people in the world swear by their morning routine. In fact, I’ve kind of become a student of many of their routines – researching who does what and why. I’ve played around with the different elements of routines and finally have found what works best for me and my goals. So of course, I figured I’d share it with you!!! This is MY personal strategy for a morning routine that helps me maximize fat loss.

No matter how you choose to start your day, I do encourage you to giving some thought to implementing steps and strategies to always have your day begin on a positive note!

  1. Don’t hit snooze
    Not only are you setting yourself up to be in a rush but you’re also sending a very clear message to your brain that you aren’t excited about this day. Think about how you used to wake up on Christmas morning or on your birthday as a kid. You met the day with enthusiasm. You knew great things were ahead. That creates a tremendously positive vibe that you carry through the day. And really, the extra 7, 10, or 20 minutes of broken sleep interrupted by your alarm isn’t really going to have a meaningful impact on your energy level. Just get up. Greet the day with enthusiasm. Sure, there are times my alarm goes off and I don’t feel like getting up but I quickly think, “Wow, that went by fast” and then swing my feet to the floor and get moving. It’s just that initial activation energy you need!
  2. Positive input first
    I am super careful about the first thoughts or ideas I introduce to my mind in the morning. I used to click on the TV and watch the news while I got ready. I don’t do that anymore. I used to grab my phone and check email and facebook right away. No more. I want to be in control of the thoughts and ideas going into my head first thing. I want positive input first. I believe it sets the stage.
    I begin first with meditation. Anywhere from 10-30 minutes of either guided or free-style meditation helps me to stay in control of my thoughts and emotions each day and reminds me of what’s important (and what’s not).
  3. Plan your day
    I go into every day with a realistic plan. I emphasize the word realistic because I’m a big fan of the saying “He who chases 2 rabbits catches none”. I don’t set 45 goals or tasks for the day. I’ll identify one or 2 big things I want to accomplish for my business and one or two big things I want to do for my health. I get those things done FIRST. I don’t put them off and hem and haw and do other random stuff. I dive in and hit the things I know will move me towards my goals.
  4. Visualize
    Once I know what I want to achieve for the day, I actually VISUALIZE those things happening. This only takes 2-5 minutes but it makes a big difference for me. If my goal is to write a particular piece of content, I visualize myself sitting at my desk and writing effortlessly, producing content I’m excited about. If my goal is a great lower body workout, I visualize the workout – I visualize working with intensity, crushing it, and leaving exhausted and satisfied.
  5. Fuel properly
    This makes a huge difference. If I eat crap in the morning, I feel like crap all day. If I fuel intelligently, I feel amazing. Most of my mornings start with bulletproof coffee. Sometimes I’ll have bacon and eggs but either way I always start my day with healthy fats and often protein. I never begin my day with carbohydrates – that is a personally choice for health, fat loss and hormonal balance and it’s what works for me.

You don’t have to embrace a multi-step morning routine right off the bat but I do encourage you to look at some small changes you can make to improve your outlook and set yourself up for success throughout the day. Do you have a morning routine? What does it look like? I’m curious!

Arguments Against Paleo & Primal

Arguments Against Paleo & Primal

Have you heard the arguments against Paleo or  the Primal way of living? Chances are if you tell people that you’re moving in that direction you’ll come across a few who give you a hard time. Whether you do or you don’t, I wanted to take a minute today to go over the primary arguments against this way of living and eating and address them. They’re all pretty silly!

  1. The lifespan of our Paleolithic ancestors was far shorter than ours now.
    Yes, that is true. Think about it though – they didn’t have 2 story homes, grocery stores and running water. They had to build their own shelter, hunt for food and collect water when they could find it. They also had significant threats to their safety from predators and infection. If they cut themselves, there were no antibiotics. Finally, and most importantly, the Paleolithic lifespan is based on an AVERAGE. There was an extremely high infant mortality rate that brings the average way down. Most Paleolithic adults actually did live well beyond their 60s, but the infant mortality brings the average down to look far lower than the current lifespan in this country.
  2. Paleo/Primal is a high protein diet and that’s not healthy.
    I’d like to see how they define “high protein”. It’s actually not a high protein diet. It is a moderate protein diet emphasizing ample fat intake and eliminating processed carbohydrates, wheat and grains. Excessive protein intake is not recommended and, if you follow Primal principles, you easily avoid excessive intake. Too much protein can create a negative hormonal response. It is, however a high fat diet. High fat consumption reduces the need to eat every few hours which of course our Paleolithic ancestors did not have the luxury of doing.
    I might add to this argument – the Standard American diet is a high JUNK diet. Are you suggesting that’s a better option? Mmmm, yeah, thanks for playing!
  1. It’s not feasible to truly eat the way our ancestors ate.
    Well of course we aren’t encouraging people to go fashion a spear out of sticks and rocks and live out in the woods just like we aren’t encouraging people to sell their cars and home and create lean-to. The focus here isn’t on the exact foods that were available thousands of years ago but rather the types of foods and, more importantly, the nutrients and overall nutritional philosophy that our bodies were designed to thrive on. Focusing on quality ingredients and avoiding toxins to the best extent that we can is the goal.

At the end of the day, there will always be opinions and there will always be naysayers. Very few people throw stones at the folks who frequent McDonalds and grab a packet of PopTarts every day for breakfast but unfortunately, when you make steps to improve your health there will always be people to you that you’re “doing it wrong”. Remember this: focus on how you feel. Live, eat and move in a way that increases your energy, sustains your mood and helps you reach your goals while promoting health and longevity. That’s what matters.

A More Effective Approach to New Years Resolutions That Stick

A More Effective Approach to New Years Resolutions That Stick

Are you thinking about New Years Resolutions? I’m actually gonna try to talk you out of it! Get this: 25% of people abandon their resolutions after just ONE WEEK!! The average person makes the same New Years Resolution 10 times WITHOUT success!!! And 60% of people give up on their resolutions by the 6 month mark.

I’m just gonna go ahead and say that statistically speaking, New Years Resolutions aren’t the best way to set goals. But screw statistics – lets look at our own behavior! I can say that I have NOT achieved the majority of my New Years Resolutions. I have incredible intentions but most of the time I fall short. What about you? Have you made them in the past? Have they worked for you?

One of the big issues I have with New Years Resolutions is the time frame. When you set a goal in January that you have a full year to achieve, there is no sense of urgency. Let’s say the goal is to lose weight. Well who cares if you screw up your diet a few dozen times in January? You know you still have the rest of the year to pull it together, right?

I think goals are SUPER important but I think we tend to make major mistakes when we put them together. Here are some of the mistakes I’ve made in the past and I think they’re pretty common:

  • The time frame is too long – no sense of urgency
  • We set too many goals, making it hard to focus on achieving any one (He who chases two rabbits catches neither, right?)
  • We don’t hold ourselves accountable for our progress
  • We aren’t specific enough
  • We set them and forget them

I don’t know about you, but I love the start of a new year. I love the sense of potential and opportunity – I love the empowering feeling that I can make anything happen. I love knowing that when I look back after another year, I might have totally transformed my life, my relationships, my health, my finances and much more! Or, on the flip side, we could look back and feel frustrated that we haven’t achieved our goals and we’re at the same place we were in a year ago. No bueno. I don’t want that and I don’t want that for you. So I’ve put together a different type of goal setting paradigm that I wanted to share with you so you can set some New Years Resolutions that stick!!

  • Set 12-week goals instead of 12-month goals. This automatically creates a higher sense of urgency and allows you to gauge your progress more easily.
  • Break your 12-week goals down into bite size parts. I like to think of it this way: To achieve this goal in 12-weeks, this is what I’ll have to accomplish in month 1, in month 2 and in month 3.
  • Create weekly targets. Break down your monthly tasks into weekly objectives.
  • Every morning, establish ONE action step you will take to move your towards your weekly objective.
  • Limit your focus. I recommend creating a small number of goals. Consider taking on one financial goal, one career goal, one relationship goal and one health goal. Your categories might look different but I absolutely recommend limiting your goals to 3-4 per 12-week period. And fewer is even better!!!
  • Write them down. Keep them in multiple places.
  • Read your goals every day. Ensure that your mind is focused on what you’re going after.

So here is an example of a 12-week goal and how you might break it down. Let’s say the goal is to lose 20 pounds in 12 weeks. I might break it down like this:

  • Month one: Lose 8 lbs
    • Week 1 target: Write my food intake down every day
    • Week 2 target: Journal to learn which foods increase hunger/cravings
    • Week 3 target: Green veggies with 2 meals
    • Week 4 target: Limit processed foods to 1x/week
  • Month two: Lose 6 lbs
    • Week 1 target: Daily leisure walk
    • Week 2 target: Limit starchy carbs to evening meal
    • Week 3 target: Limit starchy carbs to evening meal
    • Week 4 target: 2 HIIT workouts
  • Month three: Lose 6 lbs
    • Week 1 target: 10 minutes of visualization every morning
    • Week 2 target: 2 weight training workouts
    • Week 3 target: Protein & fat for breakfast
    • Week 4 target: Whole foods only

I would write down my goal of losing 20 pounds in 12 weeks and I’d also write down my goals of losing 8, 6 and 6 pounds each month. I would monitor my progress every week by checking my weight and measurements. I think these types of goals have a MUCH higher chance of success than a goal of “I want to lose 40 pounds in 2015”.

As far as types of goals you can set for other areas of your life, I encourage you to make sure they are measurable. For example, instead of setting a goal that you want to save more money, establish how much money you want to save in 12 weeks and create weekly action steps of how you’re going to do that like eating out less often, getting a less expensive cell phone plan, selling old books & DVDs to a used book store, etc. Establish how much money you plan to save each month during the 12 weeks and create a weekly plan to make that happen.

If your goal is to improve your relationship, set a goal that defines how you’ll measure that progress. You might decide to focus for 1 month on improving communication by changing the way you respond to disagreements or spending more time sharing your thoughts & ideas with your partner. You might choose to focus on spending more time together via date nights or committing to having breakfast together 4 mornings each week. Whatever you goal is, make sure that you have measureable, incremental components so that you are able to evaluate you progress and adjust accordingly.

Here’s to making 2015 an incredible year of health, wealth and self-improvement!!!

My 5 Biggest Weight Loss Mistakes

My 5 Biggest Weight Loss Mistakes

I eff up. Kinda often. I’m totally not perfect. Most of my days don’t go according to plan. In fact, the other day I walked into the grocery store giving myself the mental pep talk “I will not buy any nuts” and walked out of the grocery store with a bag of macadamia nuts. Oh but it gets worse. I was that woman. I opened the bag while still in the store and started eating them while I shopped. Eh, nobody’s perfect.

There is, however, a big difference between my screw ups now and my screw ups when I was over 300 pounds. A few years ago, eating something I didn’t intend to eat would trigger the mindset of “The day is totally shot. I might as well eat ice cream and Doritos and attempt perfection tomorrow”. Seriously guys, I did that allllllll the time. I’ve heard it compared to getting a flat tire so you go ahead and slash the other 3. Yeah, nobody would do that – but when it came to food, one little slip up would convince me to totally go off the rails. That perfect day would never happen and so I’d be perpetually stuck in an overeating cycle. No bueno. That, my friends, is how you get to 300+ lbs.

Back to the macadamia nut story….when I got to my car I kinda laughed at myself for not only buying the very thing I said I wouldn’t but for being so desperate that I started chowing down while I was still in the freaking store! I wasn’t even enjoying them. How can you enjoy anything while pushing a cart and avoiding frustrating people who block the aisle for what seems like an eternity (though is probably less than 20 seconds)? So I fed the birds. Yup. Opened up my car door and dumped the macadamias on the ground. No litter. I don’t litter. Relax.

So I don’t count that as a failure or a big mistake, but I share that only to tell you that we all have off moments. I have, however, made a few major missteps along the way and I wanted to share them with you in case somebody can learn from my speedbumps.

No matter what your journey is, you’re going to make mistakes. No matter how long you’re pursuing a goal, you’ll screw up a few times. What is NOT guaranteed, however, is that you’ll choose to learn from those mistakes. In my opinion, true success comes when we embrace our failures, when we study them and when we use them as tools to help us moving forward. I have no doubt that I’ve made thousands of mistakes. I probably make mistakes on most days! I am in search of them. I journal about them. I try to understand why they happened, how I can avoid them moving forward, and what lessons I can learn from them to make myself even stronger.

Here they are, my 5 biggest weight loss mistakes:

  1. Exercising too much
    I went through a period of time along my journey when I was hitting the gym every single day with SERIOUS intensity. I was working out intensely at the gym for 60-90 minutes and then later in the day I’d run for another hour or more. Yes, I was losing weight but two other things were also happening: I was hungry as hell & I was not allowing my body to recover. I ended up developing severe tendonitis in both of my knees. Some days were so bad that I honestly had trouble walking up the stairs at my house and would go up backwards on my butt (but I STILL would go to the gym AND run). Moron. Plus, that level of activity triggered such intense hunger that there is no question I was eating more. After multiple doctors and friends told me I needed to back off or risk permanent damage to my knees I actually found that I still lost weight at the same pace because I wasn’t eating as much! More is not always more, my friends.
  2. Eating too much protein
    I get a little irritated when I see fitness/health professionals telling their clients that as long as they eat lean protein and veggies they can eat as much as they like. Don’t tell that to a seriously overweight person. We can throw down, k? I was eating 2 or more servings of protein at each meal and having a couple of protein shakes. I was hungry!! One reason I was so hungry was that I was working out too much, but I was also eating protein at the expense of fat. When I started swapping fat for protein I found that my hunger totally disappeared and I didn’t need to eat as much. I still load up on non-starchy veggies like Brussels sprouts, spinach, cabbage & cauliflower but I don’t exceed 1 serving of protein per meal and I always incorporate fat. Excess ANYTHING is a problem – even if its protein. Your body CAN use protein to generate glucose (sugar) and it CAN be stored as fat. Watch out. {Sign you’re eating too much protein? When you drink your protein shakes out of a massive flower vase…ummm…yeah, this happened. More than once}
    2014-07-14 13.00.01
  3. Snacking
    If you are hungry in between meals that is a sign that you’re not fueling your body optimally. I know we have been told to eat every few hours but your body was not designed that way. Do you think our Paleolithic ancestors had the opportunity to stop and much every couple hours? No way. Our bodies are far more efficient than that. Two things happen when you are CONSTANTLY grazing and snacking: you train your body to look for food every couple hours (a la hunger & cravings) and you prevent your body from ever seeking fuel beyond what you provide it. You know how you burn fat? When your body goes in search of fuel when you’re not eating. That’s when its able to tap into your body fat and torch that stuff for energy. Not when there is always a steady supply of carbs/fat/protein coming in through your MOUTH. Remember that your body is constantly communicating with you. If you’re hungry all the time that is a signal that you aren’t choose the best foods at meal time. Try increasing the amount of fiber and dietary fat. See how that feels. If you need a little more, try bumping up your protein. If you want to know more about this check out the blog post I wrote about certain foods that trigger hunger and cravings alllllll the damn time.
  4. Not being consistently accountable
    If I’m not constantly staying accountable, chances are I’ll start to make little concessions here and there. Overall, it’ll look like I’m doing well and staying on track but every day there are one or two little slips I make. These slips DO ADD UP. And if you aren’t paying attention, you’ve packed back on the weight you’ve lost in no time. I went a couple of months like this. I wasn’t wearing fitted clothes so I couldn’t sense that those “skinny” jeans were getting snug. I wasn’t checking my weight. I wasn’t taking my measurements. When I switched to a new gym and new trainer I was shocked to find that I had put some weight on. I was pissed. I was shocked. But honestly, it was no one’s fault but my own because I wasn’t maintaining accountability. This has to be a DAILY practice. Here’s what I do now for accountability: I write down my food EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. If I bite it, I write it. No exceptions. Even if its two peanuts from the little can my husband keeps in the pantry. My strength coach checks my weight EVERY.SINGLE.MONDAY. I hate that part but I know its important to me. I have a pair of pants that are too small and I put them on AT LEAST ONCE EACH WEEK. Even if I know I won’t like the results, I force myself to face reality. Turning away while we make bad decisions is the most dangerous thing we can do. PAY ATTENTION. Be accountable.
  5. Not eating enough fat
    It was probably 18 months into my fat loss journey before I learned how important dietary fat is in my diet. I was really focused on protein and non-starchy vegetables but like I said earlier: I was hungry all the time. I was eating like a trucker. I didn’t understand why I was so famished AND I was spending a ton of money on groceries (because I was eating so much). When I started adding more dietary fat I instantly noticed a change. I had more energy, I was more focused, I had more endurance in my workouts, I was sleeping better and I was waaaaay less hungry. I no longer had to eat double servings of protein and snack throughout the day. It was the single greatest shift I’ve noticed of all the changes I’ve made. Now, I incorporate fats like MCT oil, coconut oil, avocado and ghee into every.single.meal without exception.

Own your mistakes. Embrace them as incredible opportunities to learn and improve. Study them. Ask other people. Write about them. Try new things and see if they work better. If they don’t, that’s not something to be frustrated by, its something to celebrate because you now know more than you did before! Always be learning. Always be assessing. It’s the most powerful tool you have.

GUEST POST: Beginner Workouts!!

GUEST POST: Beginner Workouts!!

I’m super excited to bring you my 2nd ever guest post!! My first guest post was actually my mother (she shared her thoughts on raising an overweight child) and today we’re taking a totally different approach. Today’s guest is a great friend of mine – a woman who inspires me and who constantly teaches me. She’s totally hysterical and 100% genuine – but she’s also a true expert in fitness, movement and creating a fat loss lifestyle. She has her Master’s in Applied Exercise Science with a concentration in Strength and Conditioning, is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and is the beautiful face of The Lean Life with Keri. She has so graciously agreed to share with us her tips for beginner workouts and how to dive in to fitness without spending hours working out! In fact, her approach is not only effective, it doesn’t even require any equipment or a gym membership! She’s even included an actual workout to get you started!!! Without further ado…..Keri Mantie!

Starting a strength-training program can be super intimidating. There are so many different workouts out there, that if you don’t know where to begin, you might not begin at all. But honestly, it just doesn’t have to be that confusing. It doesn’t have to take a huge amount of time, and you don’t even have to belong to a gym to get started! You just have to, well, GET STARTED!

The awesome thing about being a beginner is that you have this HUGE window of adaptation where you will see some serious strength gains, and other awesome results, pretty quickly. This is not only exciting it’s also SUPER motivating, so long as you go about your programming correctly.

One of the biggest mistakes I see women make is starting off with the hardest classes, videos, workouts etc., and they end up getting either injured or burnt out. I am a firm believer in doing the basics, and doing them well. I don’t think it’s smart to do a million squat jumps in a workout if you can’t perform a body weight squat correctly. So, to get you started we’re going to keep things super simple and build all workouts around a small number of SUPER important movements: hip flexion/extension, upper body push/pull and core stability. You are going to do those exercises well before progressing to the next level.

Ideally, you want to begin every workout with some foam rolling and a quick dynamic warm-up. Foam rolling is a great way to massage your tight spots and better prepare you for your warm-up. The dynamic warm-up is a fantastic way to bring your muscles throughout their full range of motion and get them ready for what you are going to do next. It also enhances balance, coordination and gets your heart rate up. Here is an example of what I like to do with clients.

Here’s an example of a Level 1 at home strength training workout:

Day 1 Day 2  
Dynamic Warm-up Dynamic Warm-up
Front Plank / Side Plank:20 ea Bird Dogs 6ea side
1a. Body Weight Squat 1a. DB Bench 2-3 sets 10-12 reps
1b. Standing band Row 1b. 1 Leg RDL 2-3 sets 10-12 reps
2a. Glute Bridge 2a. 1 arm DB Row 2-3 sets 10-12 reps
2b. 45 degree Pushups 2b. Curl to Press 2-3 sets 10-12 reps
2c. Split Squat 2c. Lateral Squat 2-3 sets 10-12 reps

*After you complete your DWU and core work, you will do 1a and 1b back to back for your determined sets and reps, then move on to 2a, 2b, and 2c. Move quickly from one exercise to the next, resting as needed.

Like I mentioned above, as a beginner, you will adapt to your program fairly quickly. So if you are working out at home, you may want to invest in at least one set of dumbbells or a good band so you can progress the intensity of the exercises as you get stronger.

If you are not quite ready to make the investment for at home workout equipment, you can increase the intensity of your workouts a few other ways. You can work at a higher rep range for your body weight exercises (12-20), you can slow down the tempo of your reps (:04 second count down, pause, :01 count up), you can decrease the rest between sets, and finally you can progress to a more difficult version of the exercise. For example, your glute bridge would progress to a single leg glute bridge.

However, when you are doing exercises requiring you to use a weight, you want to make sure that the weight is challenging. Lifting heavy (with good form) in my opinion, is the second most important component to body composition change. The first being nutrition. “Heavy” is a relative term and will be different for each and every one of you. That doesn’t mean that you should be grunting, groaning and heaving your weights around while working out, it just means that you should feel like you did something. Your last 2-3 reps should feel challenging.

I’ve included a brief description of all exercises for you here. If you are uncertain if you are performing them correctly, I encourage you to think about hiring a trainer to teach you proper form on the basics. You don’t need a bunch of sessions, just one or two to make sure you’re building a solid base with good form.

And if this still seems a bit intimidating, just do something! You can get amazing health and fitness results by just moving more. Even a quick dynamic warm-up, thoracic spine mobility and a few core exercises can be very beneficial in addressing some of the common areas women need attention just based on what we spend most of our time doing like sitting, driving, looking at a computer screen etc..

Bottom line is you have to actually enjoy what it is that you do, or else you’ll dread it and eventually stop. Remember that anything is better than nothing!

If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to email me!

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