Last spring I did a 5-day fast with my good friend ELA from On Air with Ella. I did it out of curiosity as I had never done an extended fast.
It was definitely hard but I learned a lot & built up a ton of confidence in myself.
I shared my experience episode 310 of the podcast. That’s probably a good episode to check out if you have questions about fasting.
It’s been nearly 100 podcast episodes since then and I’m fasting again, starting yesterday. It won’t be a 5 day fast, but I’m planning for at least 3.
Why?
I feel a strong need to detox.
It’s been almost 2 weeks since my procedure to remove & freeze my eggs. There was about a month of various (intense) hormone treatments before that and the post-procedure recovery was a lot more challenging than I expected.
I had serious digestive challenges after general anesthesia that left me feeling super sick for over a week.
My breasts are still huge (my bras don’t fit) and sore.
I can physically feel that my uterus & ovaries are enlarged.
As I said: I need to detox.
It’s totally cool if fasting isn’t for you – it’s definitely an extreme approach and for most of my life it wasn’t for me, either.
Eating clean consistently needed to be my focus before I would even consider dipping my toe into the world of fasting.
However, since I eat clean very consistently and understand the signals of my body, I feel comfortable with short fasts every once in a while.
I’m not doing it for weight loss and I have no expectations of outcomes, which is part of how I decide if it’s a good idea for me to fast.
(If I was doing this because I wanted to drop 5 lbs fast, that would be a huge red flag to not do it and I wouldn’t.)
…
A very common question about fasting is “what can you eat?” There are a million ways to fast and all that matters is how you choose to do it. How I’m choosing to do it isn’t “right” or “wrong”, it’s just what I’m choosing to do.
I will drink black coffee & water. Don’t worry, I understand that coffee has toxins. I’m drinking it.
I’ll add some salt to my water after workouts because yes, I am continuing to workout.
I’ll avoid calories in all forms (MCT oil, bone broth, kombucha, etc).
My fast began late yesterday afternoon & so far I feel good (but it’s early).
I’m hungry, but it’s not significant. I’ve had moments where I really, really wanted to eat but I know I’m stronger than any urges or impulses.
My focus is good – that was my biggest struggle with my fast last spring. I felt like it was really hard to focus on work. I haven’t experienced that, yet.
I felt great through my workout, too. That doesn’t suprise me, though, since I wasn’t even 24 hours into the fast when I went to the gym.
It was a pretty tough workout!
“Ball Hogs”
AMRAP 20:
Teams of 2:
3 Wall Balls (20/14)
3 Kettlebell Swings (53/35)
3 Calorie Row
Next round is 6’s, then 9’s, etc…
Partners complete full rounds
I felt a little hungry after the workout so I stopped & got a coffee and felt pretty good after that.
As with every food choice I make, I’m really paying attention to how I feel. If I start to feel awful, I’ll eat. It’s that simple. And I’ll definitely end the fast on Sunday at the latest because I’ll be down on the Cape for the Patriots game!
After you listen to episode 310, let me know if you have questions!
Should you be taking a supplement? Do you need one? How do you know what you need? How do you know what quality supplements are?
In today’s episode we’re tackling a series of questions to help you decide if you need a supplement, which one you need and if it’s improving your health (or you’re wasting your money).
Before you buy dietary supplements, listen to this episode!
For other episodes I’ve done on specific supplements & nutrients, check out the links below in the Resources section.
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.
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!
What’s the difference between primal and keto? How do I know if I’m in ketosis? Do I have to be in ketosis to burn fat?
We’re tackling these questions and a whole lot more in today’s episode.
In episode 387 I laid the foundation for our week of discussion around ketogenic diets. I defined ketosis, ketones and talked a little bit about “clean keto” versus all those keto plans touting ketogenic treats & desserts.
Today we’re doing a bit of a debrief on those episodes to answer some questions and dive deeper into some of the powerful points we rushed through in episode 388.
If you’ve got questions about fat burning, ketosis or anything we talked about in episodes 387 or 388, don’t miss this episode!
Reminder: next week I’m hosting a free mindset & motivation masterclass. The more we talk about nutrition & consistency, the more I feel the need to tackle mindset and the ability to create motivation because we can know a lot about nutrition strategy but not have the mental muscle to consistently implement it.
The mindset side of change cannot be overlooked. If you struggle with the consistency we talk about in today’s episode, make sure you sign up for the free mindset masterclass next week!
Ketosis is a state of metabolic efficiency where you are able to burn stored energy in the form of body fat and ketones & not be dependent on regular high carbohydrate meals to sustain your energy, mood and cognitive focus.
Ketones are an energy source just like carbs, fat & protein are energy sources. Ketones can be used by your brain, your heart, and your muscles. Ketones are produced by the liver as a byproduct of fat metabolism.
Ketones produced under certain conditions:
blood sugar is low
insulin is low
muscle & liver glycogen stores are low
To understand more about this, listen to the following episodes of the Primal Potential podcast:
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.
Here are some of my favorite Primal Kitchen Products:
I have created a lot of suffering in my life. I was unhappy with my weight, I lacked confidence, I felt frustrated and hopeless. I was really afraid that nothing would ever change – that I would never change.
If I hadn’t done the work to change how I think, I wouldn’t have been able to change my life.
If you’d rather listen to this blog than read it, please click here to listen on Anchor.
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Looking back, I was the source of my own suffering. It was my very own choices that were creating the feelings I hated.
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I was unhappy because I wasn’t taking care of myself. I was isolating myself because I was unhappy. ⠀
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It was powerful to ask myself, “Why am I unhappy? What choices am I making that create these conditions?“⠀
If I’m being honest, it was tough to swallow my pride and own the fact that I was the source of my own suffering.
By saying yes to temptation, by saying yes to laziness, by saying yes to fear, I was saying no to happiness.
If you want to solve a problem, you must first stop participating in it’s creation.
What would it look like if you refused to participate in your own suffering? What would need to change?⠀
Last night I had a video chat with my Primal Potential Masters Club and we were talking about phrases we use to talk ourselves out of hard work or talk ourselves into staying in our comfort zone.
One client shared that she works so hard & is so driven in her career & home life that she just doesn’t have the energy to be motivated & driven with regards to her health.
I suggested a reframe.
Perhaps you don’t have the energy you think you need precisely because you aren’t taking care of yourself. It’s very likely that your focus & motivation in other areas are NOT to blame for your lack of energy and self care.
It’s your lack of self care that is to blame for your lack of energy. And investing in taking great care of yourself would boost your energy, it would create more vitality and happiness – it wouldn’t take from it.
The thinking you used to create the problem cannot help you solve it. You need to think differently.
Guys, change is much more a mindset than it is a skill set. We’re too focused on tactics and not focused enough on mindset.
That’s why next week I’m hosting a free mindset & motivation masterclass. I want to help you create these shifts I’ve been creating in my own life and with my Fat Loss Fast Track & Masters Club clients.
If you know you’ve got to change your mind in order to change your body – if you know you’ve got to think differently to be truly happy, I hope you’ll join me!
I love Wednesday workouts because they’re primarily strength days. Welcome to my wheel house! These are the workouts I enjoy the most.
“Weightlifting Wednesday”
EMOM 10:
0:00 – 5:00: 3 Pausing Snatch Grip Deadlifts
5:00 – 10:00: 3 Snatch High Pulls rest 5 minutes
10 Minutes:
Build to Heavy Power Snatch
then
“Head to Toe”
AMRAP 8
8 GHDs
10 Burpees
The AMRAP was hard as heck – those GHDs sneak up really quick! Here’s an example of what these bad boys are for those of you who aren’t familiar. I had these in a workout last week & my abs were sore for more than 5 days! Love that!
On the food front:
I shared with you guys a couple days ago that I’m playing with Mark Sisson’s Keto Reset concepts to help increase mitochondrial biogenesis, increase fat burning and decrease inflammation.
Don’t miss episode 388 of the podcast for more info on it, but here’s the short version:
No more than 50 grams total carbs (this is total, not net)
0.7 grams protein per lb lean body mass (around 110 grams)
It is a phase – a cycle – not a permanent restriction or limitation
Today was pretty easy on the food front. I planned to have my salad bowl around noon but I was hungry right after my workout so I ate it early. It absolutely satisfied my hunger until early afternoon when I had some celery and Primal Kitchen Chipotle Lime Mayo.
I had the Divine chocolate bar just about an hour later because I wanted it.
For dinner I had last night’s leftover chicken thighs with the rest of the chipotle lime mayo.
