When possible, I don’t eat before my workouts. I do 95% of my workouts about 10-12 hours into an overnight fast.
The exception is when I’m really hungry. If I’m really hungry and feel that not eating will negatively impact my workout intensity, I’ll have a small snack that won’t impact my blood sugar. I don’t want my body using sugar to fuel my workouts; I want it using fat.
If you’d rather listen to this blog than read it, please click here.
If I’m super hungry, I might have a small handful of almonds or a half packet of coconut butter.
Otherwise, I eat an early dinner (I’m almost always done eating before 7pm on weekdays) and I don’t eat again until sometime between 10am & noon.
In addition to not eating before my workout, I try not to eat within 90 minutes after my workout. Said another way, I won’t eat until at least 90 minutes after my workout ends.
We’ve learned from the body building world that getting in protein and/or carbs right after a workout is super important for muscle growth & recovery. I’ll agree that it’s important for muscle growth. Kinda.
But here’s what happens when we eat right after a workout: we blunt the catabolic process of the activity. Remember, fat loss is catabolic. It represents a break down process – breaking down body fat to fuel the body.
Exercise is also catabolic. Exercise doesn’t grow muscle tissue, it stresses it. It creates micro tears. It’s catabolic.
Eating is anabolic.
When fat loss is the goal, we want that catabolic process of a workout to run it’s course completely before switching into an anabolic state (created by eating).
For that reason, I allow at least 90 minutes following a workout before I eat. That’s my general rule.
With this wonderful fall weather, I’ve been craving more warm meals & drinks than cool. As I brought home a venti Americano after my workout today, I thought I’d mix it up and make it something yummy.
A fall coffee treat – why not?
I almost always order my coffee black. Today was no exception.
But a combination of feeling too lazy to cook and wanting a treat led me to pull out my blender for a coffee inspired “lunch”.
I poured my hot Americano into my Vitamix and then added:
I’ll be in a hotel next weekend for ASCEND & I’m totally bringing my blender to make some of this to power me through those long days!
I got most of these ingredients through Thrive Market and if you give them a try, make sure you go through the URL thrivemarket.com/primalpotential so you save an extra 25% & get free shipping on your first order plus a free 30-day trial membership!
…
I thought today’s workout would be a gimme. It looked pretty easy on paper but holy smokes it caught me by surprise! My legs were exhausted & my lungs were burning in just the 2nd round!
“Saved by the Bell”
5 Rounds:
21 Air Squats
15/10 Calorie Bike
9 Alternating Dumbbell Snatches
What a great week of workouts!
On the food front:
You guys already know what I had for brunch! I know many of you probably feel like my coffee treat isn’t much of a meal, but it’s actually a legit amount of fat. More importantly, it works for me. It probably wouldn’t have worked for a me a couple years ago, but it does now, and that’s all that matters.
I’ve worked hard over a period of years to really improve my metabolic efficiency and part of that means I’m less hungry and have longer stretches of time between my meals.
Ultimately, the only thing that matters is what works for you & makes you feel amazing. Keep in mind that as you improve the quality of fuel you give your body, change your body composition and increase your fitness, your hunger and fuel demands will also change & adjust.
For dinner I had a huge bowl of brussels sprouts with soft boiled eggs and bacon mixed in. Oh, and a little goat cheese, too!
Enjoy your weekend & have a Happy Halloween! I’m going to be Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I’m pretty pumped about my red wig!
I’m not much of a cook. I keep my meals super simple, fast & easy. I don’t play around too much with spices because I’m cheap. True story. I don’t want to pay $8 for a spice I’m going to use 10 times a year.
But really, it’s about keeping it easy. Complex meals and time-consuming recipes just don’t flow with my personality and lifestyle.
For fat loss friendly eating to be sustainable for me, it’s gotta be easy. (I’ve done a few episodes on my fave fat loss foods as well as budget friendly options that you can check out here, here and here.)
It also has to be delicious. I won’t feel psychologically satisfied by a can of tuna.
My standards are simple: I eat foods I love that love me back. If I’m making it myself, it has to be simple, quick & easy.
This recipe tests the bounds of simple & fast because it requires a little bit of prep work (about 10 minutes) and bakes for 30 minutes.
On the flip side, it’s crazy delicious, can be made with zero dishes (major time saver on clean up) and only has 4 ingredients.
When I was 350+ lbs, I used to love eating sugar & starch while watching football. Pizza, Mexican food, cookies, you name it.
I still love watching football, I definitely enjoy a good meal while watching a game, but I don’t want to feel terrible afterwards.
So, while settling in for an evening of football yesterday, I decided I’d take the 10 minutes to prep something different that felt special.
I put the entire process on my Instagram story so make sure you’re following me here & here so you don’t miss anything that doesn’t make it to the blog.
I choose chicken thighs because they taste better, are cheaper, are a great blend of fat & protein and they’re much more forgiving when cooking. Chicken breasts dry out very easily; thighs don’t.
The kitchen gadget I mentioned is a mallet. I used it to flatten out the chicken.
Here’s what you’re going to need:
Boneless, skinless chicken thighs
Baby spinach
Goat cheese
Prosciutto
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (F).
On a piece of wax or parchment paper, use the mallet to flatten out the chicken.
Layer a few spinach leaves, prosciutto & goat cheese on each piece of chicken. I pressed the cheese down with my fingers to make it more of a spread for easier rolling.
Using your hands, roll up each piece of chicken and place seam-side down on either a baking dish or a piece of aluminum foil. I used aluminum foil because a) I hate dishes but more importantly b) I don’t have a baking dish of any kind. I told you I don’t cook much.
I didn’t tie them or use toothpicks, they stayed together just fine being placed seam-side down. I think it helps that I didn’t overfill them.
Bake for 30 minutes or until cooked through. Bake time will vary based on how much stuffing you add and on the size of your thighs…the chicken thighs.
They were SO good! I’m having the leftovers tonight!
Please don’t ask me what the serving size is. Any serving size depends on you. It depends on what else you’re eating at that meal, what else you’ve eaten that day, your size, your goals, your activity level, etc.
…
I didn’t want to go to the gym this morning. It’s Fat Loss Fast Track launch week and my hands are totally full with work stuff but I know that’s when the workouts matter most. Here’s what it looked like for me:
AMRAP 15
55 power cleans
55 ring rows
55 cal bike
55 burpees
I really don’t like ring rows but they were the best option today with my shoulder still being super irritated. I felt 10x better after the workout than I did before, so that’s a win!
On the food front:
After my workout I had my cabbage salad with 1/2 as much cabbage as normal, 4 slices of bacon, 2 eggs, a handful of walnuts and some Primal Kitchen Chipotle lime mayo.
A few hours later I was stoked to find that I got my shipment from Bulletproof coffee! They recently started selling ready-to-drink bottles of bulletproof coffee so I was psyched to try it! They have 4 flavors and I tried the original as the others have added sugar or artificial sweeteners. I think I liked it, but not as much as I like Picnik butter coffee.
I snacked on some macadamia nuts with the bp coffee and felt super satisfied.
For dinner I’m having the leftover chicken thighs from last night and a small spinach salad.
Really feeling great about my choices today!
Make it a great day! You always have the power to make the rest of your day the best of your day!
I’m pretty excited to share with you some of my favorite fat loss foods because I recently found a way to get them for less!
I’m a huge fan of saving money. I believe in the idea that it’s not about how much money you make but rather about how much money you keep.
Prior to losing weight, I paid off about $130,000 in student loans and personal debt and since then, even with a divorce and starting a business, I have remained debt free.
The little things add up and in today’s episode I’m sharing my top fat loss foods that I don’t want to live without and how I’m saving money on them.
The folks over at Thrive Market emailed me a few weeks ago to suggest I shop for some of my fat loss friendly groceries on their site.
I won’t lie: my first response was “Thanks, I’m good. I get great deals and free shipping on Amazon.”
Fortunately, they persisted. They told me their prices were lower than Amazon’s and their membership fee was less AND they were willing to give me & my listeners a free 30 day trial, 25% off our first order and free shipping on that first order!
Below is my list of things I’m loving from Thrive Market and I detail in today’s episode how these prices compare to some retailers and Amazon.
In October 2019, our relationship with Thrive Market changed. They decided to put their marketing dollars in avenues outside of podcasting but we still think they’re a good choice if you’re looking to save money on health & personal care products.
Tune in to today’s episode to hear why I love and how I use:
The other day I had a powerful interaction with someone in my Primal Potential Masters Club. She loves food (I do too) and she’s struggling with a feeling of “missing out” if & when she’s trying to eat less.
How do you love food & still lose weight? I promise it’s possible…
She knows she is probably eating too much but the idea of eating less creates a real uneasiness for her.
She called it fear. Whatever it is for you, it can feel like tension, deprivation, fear of missing out or lack. Today we’re going to dive into solutions for those fears.
Big shout out to this super special client for being open to me sharing some of our exchange.
**This episode is explicit for language and content beginning around the 25+ minute mark**
Guys, I had a fat loss breakthrough. I’ve shared that 2017 is my a push year for my fat loss goals and I was totally dialed in with food & fitness. Unfortunately, I was overlooking a few critical factors that could make or break my success.
I believe strongly that understanding & optimizing blood sugar and insulin is critical for lasting fat loss. I have been so focused on eating and working out in a way that does so. However, I hadn’t considered how non-food factors might be impacting my blood sugar.
In today’s episode, I’m sharing my fat loss breakthrough and what I’ll be doing to understand how stress, sleep, workouts and food sensitivities are impacting my blood sugar and insulin responses.
Random side note: Want to join tonight’s webinar about the spring Fat Loss Fast Track? It’s at 8pm ET on Thursday March 23rd. Click here to grab your spot.
