Metabolism and Hormone Support for Women

“But, what if I don’t like to count macros?”

Here is the thing. If you are struggling with reaching your goal-whether that is to lose fat or increase muscle mass; macro counting may be what you’re missing.

Why? Because even if you eat a clean diet, if you are not eating the right amount of energy you will not see the results you want!

• Fat loss requires a calorie deficit.
• Building more muscle mass requires eating at maintenance or in a slight calorie surplus.

For most of us-if you want to look a certain way, macro counting is key! So….that being said, I’m addressing common concerns that women have about macro counting.

Macro counting is a skill that you can develop to help you give your body exactly what it needs. It's also a way to hit your goals, and keep the foods you love in your diet.

Not losing fat even though you are eating very little?

You CANNOT live in a calorie deficit! Even if you have body fat you want to lose!

Although this goes against conventional wisdom, reverse dieting up to a maintenance level of calories is THE WAY to restore metabolism so you can see fat loss results.

In this episode we discuss the shit storm that can go down with chronic calorie restriction and how to get out of it. Yes, this issue is totally fixable!

Although this is a simple process, but it can be challenging mentally. Working with a coach who specializes in techniques such as reverse dieting can help you avoid unnecessary fat gain, and help you stay focused on the goal. Don't go at it alone.

Ready to stop eating thousands of calories at night? Tired of self-sabotaging with sugar? This episode discusses nutrition strategies along with brain-based strategies, to help you conquer your night cravings for sugar. And stop binge eating at night-for good!

I am on mission to show a different perspective on macro counting and keto. When used correctly, macro counting and keto can be helpful tools, not a diet.

When these tools are used in the right way, you can stop yo-yo dieting, AND get the sustainable, long-term results that you desire.

Changing your nutrition habits and reaching your body composition goal doesn't have to be complicated-or depriving!

In fact, by giving your nutrition a little bit of forethought; you can make nutrition easy! This is important because if nutrition is too complicated or too difficult to keep up; then it is very likely we won't stay the course. And seeing the results you want with your body composition will require consistency.

In this episode, we discuss my three simple shifts to making nutrition easy:

1. Meal planning and meal prep. Good nutrition doesn't generally happen due to chance; it happens when we are intentional! Also, with meal planning you are able to fit in your favorite foods into your nutrition. Check out my own simple process for meal planning and meal prep in this episode!
2. Pre-logging food. Tracking macros ahead of time helps you stick with the plan! After you plan or prep your meals, try pre-logging your meals in your food tracking app. This will also help you save time too!
3. Setting three daily nutrition commitments. Each day, set three daily commitments for your nutrition. Your commitments should be easy, enjoyable for you, and effective to getting you closer to your goal.

Come hang out with me on Facebook in my private groups for women only:

Do you find yourself going off the rails after a diet? Or maybe you notice the weight slowly creeping back on after a fat loss phase? Unfortunately, I see this a lot-and the reason why this happens is because no one ever talks about what to do AFTER the fat loss phase is over. Having an exit strategy and a plan of action is crucial to avoiding weight re-gain and avoiding the backslide into old habits that don't serve you.

In this episode we explore the different stages of macro counting and body re-composition, and how to seamlessly transition to each these stages-so you are always improving and seeing results.

You don't have to stall or lose progress over the holidays. With a few simple mindset shifts and coming up with a doable plan, you can enjoy yourself and avoid weight gain this holiday season! In this episode we discuss:

• My three step process for navigating the holidays, in a way that doesn't feel too depriving and you can feel at peace with.
• My top ten tips for keeping eating under control during the holiday season, so you can continue to make progress towards your goal.

I understand the frustration and doubt when you feel like you're not making any progress in your fitness journey. Because I've been there in your shoes.

In fact, you're not totally alone on this. 

Every day, MILLIONS of women aged 35 and above struggle with their weight, their health, their confidence, and sometimes even their self-identity.

And a HUGE chunk of the reason why most of their fitness attempts fail is because of these common, preventable mistakes:

1. Too much cardio or HIIT
2. Not lifting heavy enough
3. Chronically restricting calories
4. Counting calories but not macros
5. "Muscle confusion" workouts
6. Overtraining

Sure, these can work for a while; but are not long-term solutions for sustainable weight loss. Tune in to discover what does work!

Today I wanted to chat with you about why the keto diet can be so beneficial for women. Through my research of the keto diet, along with experimenting with the keto diet for the last two and a half years-I have discovered that keto is THE solution to.....

• Losing stubborn belly fat
• Faster, easier weight loss
• Get rid of uncomfortable belly bloat
• Increasing lean muscle mass
• Decreasing cravings and desire for sugar
• Balancing hunger hormones
• Stopping the need to eat every couple of hours
• Improving insulin sensitivity
• Balanced blood sugar
• Managing perimenopausal symptoms 

In this episode we explore other ways women try to lose weight and get healthy that do not work long-term including....

1. Counting calories but not macros. It does come down to calories at the end of the day. But the problem with counting calories but not looking at macros, is because of the way you feel on a physical level. You see, the quality of your diet; the amount of carbs, protein, and fat that you consume can absolutely affect you on a physical level. Unfortunately, I see a lot of women only look at calories and that can require a lot of willpower in order to see results. Willpower is limited, and depending on it long-term generally doesn't work for most women. 
2. Exercising more. Increasing physical activity and challenging yourself with training is a good thing. But if you are not somewhat willing to work on improving your diet; and putting all of your efforts into "burning it off" with a lot of cardio or overtraining in general-this can turn into a shit storm rather quickly. Increased hunger and cravings, loss of lean muscle mass (resulting in a skinny-fat look), weight gain even with a lot of exercise.... are symptoms of this common overcompensating behavior. 
3. Low calorie diets. Putting yourself on a 1200 calorie diet may work for a while, but there is issues with doing this long-term including: loss of lean muscle mass, and a slowed metabolism are just to name a few. A better solution is discovering your body's unique needs and put yourself in a more modest (15-20%) calorie deficit, (which is likely higher than 1200 calories a day) if fat loss is the goal. 

Registration is closing soon for the FREE, LIVE 5-Day Keto Kick-Start Challenge! Challenge starts Monday November 6th. I will be sharing with you easy, actionable steps you can take to become a fat burner, so you can improve your metabolic health and body composition. Hurry, space is limited!

Macro and calorie tracking can be a powerful tool to use to attain optimal body composition. I understand it can be confusing and overwhelming, so today I would love to break down macros for you, step-by-step!

But you may be thinking, can't I just count calories to lose weight? 

Here is why it's not only calories that matter, but also your macros (amount of fat, protein, carbs you are eating) that influence body composition: Macros matter because how many carb, protein, and fat energy you consume, affects how you feel on a physical level. Eating too many carbohydrates can increase hunger due to blood sugar spikes. It can also increase desire and cravings for highly palatable foods (carb-heavy foods and high starch/high fat foods).

When you eat the right macros for your own unique needs, you can manage your hunger and decrease carb cravings. In addition…. 

• You just can't know for sure how much you are truly eating without tracking calories and macros. Fat loss requires a caloric deficit, and tracking calories and macros will help you achieve this. 
• Bring awareness to your current eating habits. It can be easy to forget those little bites, licks, nibbles, and grazing throughout the day. 
• Help you lower carb intake to get into a ketogenic (aka fat burning) state. Manage carbohydrate intake to get into ketosis. Yes, it is totally possible to do keto without tracking macros, but macros are a helpful tool that can get you there faster, and more easily.

Tune in for my five step process for tracking macros-so you can make macros (and fat loss) easy!

As an exercise fanatic, I previously shied away way from the keto diet because of the fear that it would be impossible to work out on a low carbohydrate intake. 

But, I have discovered that by making personal adjustments; that it is absolutely possible to to keep up exercise on keto! 

But, don't you need carbs for energy?

Not necessarily. On a keto diet, you make the shift from using carbohydrates as fuel, to using fat (dietary fat you consume, as well as stored body fat) as fuel. In addition, some types of exercise works better on a keto diet than others. And, even if you engage in exercise that is better fueled by carbs, you could still do a low-carb or keto diet; and add some strategic carb-ups in, to better fuel your workouts. 

In this episode, we discuss how to do a ketogenic diet with different types of exercise, transitioning to a keto lifestyle to avoid keto flu symptoms, and also the debate on whether or not you can gain lean muscle mass on a keto diet.

It can be difficult to change eating habits or try another way of eating when your partner or family doesn't seem interested, or you can't get them on-board with you. 
This can be a major stumbling block for women who want to reach a particular goal with their body composition. Not only can it cause tension in any relationship, but it make it more difficult for the person who does want to change; to stay on track. I know for a lot of women (myself included-I've totally been there!) this is enough to put change on the back burner. 

If you wait on everyone to be on-board with you and the changes you want to make; you will likely be waiting a long time. 
If you wait for the time to be just right or for your circumstances to change; you will likely be waiting a long time. 
But-it doesn't have to be this way. There is another way. Actually a couple of ways around this! In this episode we discuss:

• Spend your energy changing yourself, not your partner or your family.
• Your family likely isn't trying to sabotage you.
• Your plate can look different from your partner's or your family's
• If you can't control your environment.....see it as an opportunity to change your relationship with food.
• You can get support from other like-minded people

So many good nuggets in this episode!

The ketogenic diet is the most effective way for women to lose fat and improve their hormone and metabolic health!

Unfortunately, a lot of women try the ketogenic diet but they don't experience the amazing benefits due to making these common mistakes. In this episode, we discuss these common mistakes and the fixes, so you can shift to a ketogenic lifestyle and become a fat burner! Key points in this episode:

• How to easily increase your dietary fat intake as you decrease your carbs; which is key to success on the keto diet.
• Swaps for sugary beverages and sweets. Sweetened beverages and sweets can be an issue if you want balanced blood sugar and/or fat loss. In this episode I share the recipes to my Keto Lemonade, my protein and fatty coffees, and my Coconut Almond Vanilla Fat Bombs!
• How to actually make the shift to a low carb lifestyle without keto flu symptoms, or losing your mind.

Perimenopause, the onset of menopause, can present challenges with acheiving optimal body composition. As we age, muscle mass may decline, we generally move less; and we may begin to put our own health aside to care for kids, or care for aging parents. It is very common to struggle with weight loss plateaus or weight loss resistance during this time; but it's certainly figure-outable. If you are not seeing the results you want, such as getting leaner and building more muscle; Then you are likely making these common mistakes with your nutrition, lifestyle, and training:

• Too focused on eating "low-calorie" and "low fat" foods. Yes, calories matter, and they matter a lot. But sticking to only low-calorie foods just does not provide the same nutrition and satiety as foods higher in protein and fat. When we focus on eating low-calorie, low-fat foods, we generally run into the issue of not feeling satisfied and end up reaching for more carbs and sugar as a result.
• Too much eat less, exercise more. Most of us ladies spend way too much time restricting calories. This can be not-so-great for our physique for a few reasons. One, when we have a large calorie deficit, hunger can set in setting us up to overeat or binge. Two, when we restrict calories too much, we can lose lean muscle mass, not just body fat. And finally, metabolic rate can slow leading to frustrating plateaus. Incorporating calorie cycling or reverse dieting can be helpful at restoring hormone  and metabolic health; and help push you past plateaus. 
• Not moving enough. Even if you exercise most days of the week, if you are sedentary the rest of the day, your calorie expenditure will suffer. This goes hand in hand with eat less, exercise more. Restricting calories for a long period of time can cause us to unconsciously move less, meaning we will fidget and blink less; for example. A lot of this work is finding an optimal energy balance of calories in versus calories out. 
• Crap thinking. “I work out and eat right, but nothing ever works". "I'll change when life slows down, when my spouse or family is onboard, when x happens...". This is actually the BIGGEST mistake I see women make. Why? Because how do you think this kind of thinking makes you FEEL? Defeated? Unmotivated? And how do you think you would act if you felt this way? You would likely stop taking action completely, causing you to backslide into old habits that don't serve you. 

In this episode, find some simple solutions to fixing these common mistakes; so you can stop spinning your wheels and start seeing results.

What makes a huge difference in the results that you get? Be a data nerd and track your progress! 

The biggest difference between those that are successful with their transformation and those who are not is the willingness to track habits, behaviors, and progress-and be able to look at these markers in a neutral light-as much as possible.

If you don’t have the actual data in front of you when it comes to your habits and behaviors; it makes it really difficult to figure out what you need to do in order to reach your goals! Think of it this way-if you are driving somewhere and you want to get there as quickly and easy as possible; you wouldn’t just wing it and guess which route to take! You would plug the route into your maps!

What I track, and what I suggest tracking:

Sleep. Sleep habits can greatly impact body composition. Use a fitness tracker such as a Fitbit to get an idea of the quality and quantity of sleep you are getting.
Movement and calorie expenditure estimate. Haha I was blown away how little movement I was getting before I started using my Fitbit. I’m much more motivated these days to get my steps in!
Workouts. I’ve been able to drastically increase my lifting loads by tracking my lifts. It’s motivating to see things like a 40 lb. lifting increase in a little over a month!
Nutrition. Even eating in a slight surplus for muscle gain-I still track to make sure I am hitting my protein goal and keeping my nutrition as clean as possible.
Progress photos! Take the photos, you will be glad you did! Although my progress is slow in muscle building season, I am still floored at how my posture is completely different building more muscle to my back side! By taking pics, you are able to notice these things you may not notice day to day.

The hard part of tracking progress: seeing it as neutral data! This is a skill to develop to be able to look at your own habits, behaviors, and progress without judging yourself. I will admit it’s much more difficult to do than it seems. I know I have struggled a lot in this department. Most of the time when we judge ourselves and feel shame, we may sabotage or overly deprive ourselves. But by looking at habits, behaviors, and progress as scientific data-you can make faster and easier progress towards your goals. You can check out my episode, "Getting Real with You About My Macros" where I talked about how I got past self-judgement and carting about what others think when it comes to tracking habits and behaviors.

Plus! Exciting things are coming! In this episode-updates on my upcoming digital training and coaching products! Listen for the scoop!

If you are struggling with seeing the results you want, have you considered trying an alternate approach? 

Even if getting lean is your ultimate goal, there are a few different ways to achieve this.....

Cutting-This is incorporating a calorie deficit (eating less energy than you burn) in order to lose weight and body fat. 
Maintaining-This is eating at maintainence (eating the same amount of energy than you burn) in order to maintain current body weight. 
Building-This is eating in a slight surplus (eating a little bit more energy than you burn) in order to gain more muscle mass. 

I know for me, up until recently, I have been stuck in a cutting phase for a loooonnnngggg time. But I recently have pivoted to a maintainence phase and plan on moving slowly into a building phase-even though I still want to lose body fat. Why? Because well, I haven't been super thrilled with the results of my cutting phase. And the reason why a cut isn't cutting it for me is because of the state of my current metabolic health (due to chronic dieting which has slowed down my metabolism), and my training status (I have been training consistently for 20 years). So, it just doesn't make sense to keep going with a cut, which is inhibiting my ablility to gain lean muscle mass and keeping my metabolism a little on the slow side. So, my plan is to gradually up my calories to build lean muscle over the span of several months, then once I have that muscle, go back to a cutting phase to drop body fat. 

My point is-is that everybody and every body is different. Whether you need to cut, maintain, and build is going to depend on:

• Dieting history-Chronic dieting can lead to a decline in metabolic rate and energy (calories) burned.
• Training-People newer to training generally gain strength and build more muscle more quickly (and can usually lose body fat at the same time) than people who have been training consistently for a long time. 
• State of metabolic health
• How much fat and lean mass you currently have-leaner people will have a more difficult time putting on lean muscle mass.
• Your goals-If you want to put on serious muscle, a slight caloric surplus may be neccessary.

I want to share this with you because I have been fooled by it too. If you want to lose weight or body fat; or change how your body looks, it doesn't neccesarily mean you should do a cut. Sometimes spending time in another season to restore hormone health, improve metabolic health, and to build lean muscle mass will give you the results you really want-it's just a longer-term process that is absolutely worth it IMO.

Today I want to chat with you about the best way to train in your 30's, 40's, and 50's, so you look and feel your best!

There is so much conflicting/lack of information out there about the best exercise techniques for women-what works best for optimizing hormone and metabolic health, while obtaining optimal body composition.

I have struggled with a past history of chronic dieting and having an unhealthy relationship with exercise; and know I am not alone here. I have personally experienced negative consequences of the diet industry making us believe that weighing less is always better; and the answer is to simply to eat less and exercise more. These beliefs only trigger women to chronically diet; and to use exercise as a means to burn calories and lose weight. Being stuck in this thinking can cause us to lose lean muscle mass, inhibit the ability to gain lean mass; while being miserable stuck in a diet mentality. What’s worse, is that women generally don’t see the results they want when stuck in these limiting beliefs that society throws on us.

As a personal trainer and a woman in her 40's who has tried everything when it comes to exercise-weight training, cardio, HIIT, group fitness classes....Here is what I have seen the best results with:

1. Prioritizing weight training: I recommend women weight train 2-4 days a week, lifting heavy enough weight to feel fatigued by the end of each set. 
2. Progressive overload: To keep seeing results, you should be progressing gradually by adding more weight, more sets/reps to your lifts. 
3. Skip (or cut back on) the HIIT: Cardiovascular and HIIT training can actually break down muscle tissue. So, if you want to build a rounder, more shapely booty, skipping or cutting back on cardio can be helpful with maintaining and building more muscle mass! The other issue I am seeing with high intensity training is that it can be too stressful on the body, and on the adrenal glands; particularly for women in their 40's and 50's. 
4. Walk daily: Even if you workout most days, you can still be sedentary if you are not moving enough outside of your workouts. Walking is literally the best exercise you can do for weight loss, to build up bone density, and also to relieve stress! 
5. Skip the group classes and hit the weight room: I do think group classes can be great to get started. But if you have been doing group classes for years and have stopped seeing results, then get into the weight room! Why? Because strength group classes generally will use lighter weights, higher reps, and short rest periods. If muscle building is your goal, you will want to lift heavier weights, reduce the reps, and have longer rest periods so you are fully recovered to lift as heavy as possible for each set. 

Part two of Reverse Dieting! You can check out part one which released August of 2022.

Have you been dieting for weeks, months, or even years? Have you seen a stall, or a complete stop in your progress? If so, reverse dieting may be exactly what you need to do; in order to get past the plateau, and start seeing results! 

Reverse dieting is a technique myself and my coaching clients do to increase resting metabolic rate and NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). The metabolism is very adaptable to our caloric intake. Chronic dieting can lead to metabolic adaptation; which the metabolism down-regulates to adjust to the low caloric intake. We burn less energy, and in-turn, we unconsciously move and fidget less. It will then take less and less food to lose weight; and weight loss becomes difficult, nearly impossible. 

In part two, I talk about my own season with reverse dieting! Yup! Metabolic adaptation got me! For the last 8 weeks, I have been back in the gym lifting heavy, tracking my calories and macros, and eating in a calorie deficit. I knew after not seeing any more results after four weeks, some kind of adaptation has taken place. TBH, I have done A LOT of calorie restricition in the last two years. I know that at this point, if I keep lowering my caloric intake, that I will have to drop it super low to keep seeing results.....So, my plan is to eat at maintainence, (eating roughly what my body is expending) and keep gradually increasing my caloric intake in order to get my metabolic rate back up. Although some weight/fat gain may initially and temporarily take place, this reverse diet is necessary for restoring my hormones, increasing my non-exercise movement, and get my body back to burning what it should be. Plus, it's actually pretty tough to build muscle in a calorie deficit, so I am curious to see if I can build more muscle in my reverse diet season. I will keep you posted on how it goes! 

In part two of Reverse Dieting, we talk about the psychology of it; and why it's important even for lifestyle clients-so that they can maximize metabolic health, restore hormone health, and increase non-exercise movement! Besides, who wants to diet if it's not actually working? By implementing this strategy correctly, you can see better results when you do go back to dieting.

Are you experiencing stalls with fat loss? Or maybe what worked for you before, just isn't cutting it anymore?

The metabolism is designed to respond and adapt to stressors. Our lifestyle (e.g. chronic dieting, poor nutrition) can cause stress to the metabolism, which can trigger the metabolism to push back and sabotage fat loss efforts. 

Check out the four stages of Metabolic Adaptation:
1. Metabolic Compensation-Hunger and cravings increase, fat loss results slow or stop. Metabolic rate begins to decline, movement declines (blinking, fidgiting), motivation to exercise may wane. 
2. Metabolic Resistance-Same as above, plus sleep and mood may become affected. You may also experience "wired but tired", your body may feel tired but your mind is overactive. 
3. Metabolic Dysfunction-Same as above, plus you start to experience digestive symptoms such as constipation, and/or libido issues. Periods may also become irregular. 
4. Metabolic Disease-Diagnosed with Low Thyroid, Hashimotos, PCOS, IBS. 

If you are experiencing any degree of metabolic adaptation, know this: You can still change your body and reach your body composition goal! 
Yes, losing body fat during times of metabolic stress can pose an additional challenge; but it’s certainly not impossible!  Genetics play a role with our health and body composition, but your lifestyle has a bigger one. Take control of your health and body composition by continuously working on simple behavior changes, and finding the sweet spot with your nutrition and exercise. 

If you want to change your relationship with food; no matter what your ultimate goal is-you need to start talking to yourself more than you are listening to yourself.
When we are in unconscious habit loops with eating or consuming (like when it seems to just happen); we are running a broken record in the background. And we may not even realize we keep listening to these thoughts over and over and over again.
“One more won’t hurt.”
“F-it, I deserve it after the day I’ve had.”
“It’s not fair!”
Guess what? When we listen to these thoughts, and don’t question them, we get a reward! So it’s no wonder we find ourselves struggling with breaking bad habits and changing behaviors.

But if you can slow down and shine a light on that very moment right before you gave into a craving; that very moment right before you broke that promise you made to yourself (that you wouldn’t order dessert, or that you would just have one bite)-that’s where change can happen.

It’s all about gaining awareness and understanding why you do the things that you do.

I understand that it can be painful to go back in time and look at your behaviors more closely. I know for me when I screw up, I just want to move on and pretend it never happened. But I also know if I don’t go back and try to understand why I didn’t follow through with my plans, why I had yet another f-it moment; I am losing out on learning an important lesson. And I’m missing another opportunity to grow and become the woman I want to be.

A few months ago I was noticing a slow weight creep coming on and I was taking a harder look at how calories were sneaking into my diet. I realized it was likely my selective macro counting-I would regurlary not track things like little nibbles, sugar, and the biggest one-alcohol. I have been tracking this way for months and months! I had to get to the root of this. The reason? I didn't want the self-judgement; and I certainly didn't want my clients to judge me either. It kind of felt like if it wasn't tracked, it didn't count. But not being 100% honest with myself was keeping me stuck from my goal, which doesn't feel good either. In this episode I get real with you on this subject. We talk though my protocol of how to deal with self-judgement if it comes up; including how to shift your perspective from negative to seeing things in a more neutral and clinical light.

Lowering your carbohydrate intake while increasing protein and/or fat can give you many benefits including:

• Lowering your insulin levels
• Balancing your blood sugar
• Feel more satiated and less hungry or hangry
• Drastically reducing sugar cravings
• Improved muscle protein synthesis
• Decreased inflammation

In this episode we dive into my low carb/high protein protocols, and why I teach it and follow it myself! We also explore classic keto, incorpororating carb-ups, and meal frequency. Plus, how you can transition to these protocols without the unpleasant side effects of jumping into low carb too quickly. 

A lot of women make these mistakes when it comes to losing weight:

• Taking diet and exercise to the extreme. Cutting calories more and more, doubling down on cardio, and obsessing over carbs. Extreme behaviors just lead us down the path to the other extreme.
• Being way too hard on themselves when they can't keep up juggling all the craziness! Self-judgement doesn't feel good and just leads to guilt and shame, and loss of motivation.
• Focusing on using willpower instead of changing behaviors. Willpower fluctuates and depending on it doesn't always work. By focusing on changing behaviors, you really can get to a point where making healthy choices are easy.
• Moving on to yet another diet, or chasing the next shiny object which just keeps women in a frustrating yo-yo diet cycle.
• Get stuck in all-or-nothing thinking. "good" and "bad", "on the diet" or "off the rails" This type of thinking definitely puts a stall on progress.

When the truth of the matter is that all it takes to acheive what you want is to keep showing up for yourself consistently, and keep putting one foot in front of the other. 

When it comes to fat loss, a lot of women increase their exercise intensity, exercise frequency, or exercise volume-or sometimes all three! This is due from messaging from the weight loss industry, "Just eat less and exercise more". The problem with eat less, exercise more is that too much exercise can increase hunger and cravings, leading to overeating. This can cause women to try to correct by exercising more. This can become a vicious cycle of overeating and overtraining, which can cause us to hit frustrating fat loss plateaus. 

While training is important, in order to push past fat loss plateaus, we need to look at other areas of our health and wellness. I think of this as the hierarchy of fat loss. If one of these areas are lagging, that could be the reason why you are not seeing the results you want to see.

Here is the hierarchy of fat loss in order of most importance:

1. Nutrition
2. Sleep
3. Stress Management
4. Non-Exercise Movement
5. Training

When working towards fat loss, it's so important to look at the process as a team effort with your team being nutrition, sleep, stress management, movement, and training. If you make small improvements to any of these areas that are lacking, it will definitely add up over time!

A lot of us reach for food automatically, even when we are not hungry; for a variety of reasons. We may be eating because it is "meal time" or "snack time". Or we may turn to food to "take the edge off" after a hectic day. It can be incredibly easy to find ourselves eating while distracted or reaching for food for emotional reasons rather than physical hunger. This can become a problem because if we are not mindful as we eat, we may overeat; which can lead to unintended weight gain. Not only that, mindless eating can become an unconscious habit over time.  Incorporating mindful eating practices can help you make progress towards improving your health and body composition. By developing the practice of mindful eating you can: 

• Eat the right amount of food for your needs at the time.
• Better digestion. Eating more slowly and thoroughly can help you improve digestion.
• Avoid overeating. Eating too fast or eating mindlessly can make it easy to overeat.
• Build a healthier relationship with food.
• Get out of habit loops that are carried out on auto-pilot.
• Walk away from your meals feeling good, rather than sluggish from eating too much.

The good news is, mindful eating is super simple to practice; and yields huge results! In this podcast episode you will learn:

1. How to decipher between physical hunger and cravings
2. Eating slowly and eating to enough
3. About emotional eating

Every woman should vary her calorie and carb intake! Why?

• Our metabolisms are great at adapting. This is why even if you have been following a low calorie diet for a long time, you may experience a stall in progress. The metabolism will adapt to a low caloric intake, and resting metabolic rate will decline. In addition, when there is not a lot of energy coming in, movement will decrease unconsiously. 
• Long-term adherence. Make it a lifestyle! By having some days of a larger caloric and carbohydrate intake, it makes it so much easier to stick to long-term! 
• Our hormone health. Having a large calorie gap as with agressive dieting paired with a lot of exercise; this can be stressful on our bodies. It can put our body in a sympathethetic mode and activates a fight or flight response. By varying your calories, carbs, (and physical activity), it can greatly decrease this stress response on the body, that isn't so great for our hormones. 

Even if you haven't quite reached your goal yet, incorporating some strategic calorie and carb cycling strategies can be super beneficial-and can help you actually get better results, and avoid frustrating plateaus! In this episode we go over lots of options for implementing this powerful nutrition tool, so you can make it work for you!

Do you know what to do to acheive what you want, but just can't seem to follow through consistently?

What is behind this common dilemma? Trying to make too many changes at once.  

The diet industry definitely doesn't help, as they try to convince us that we have to go all-in, or go hard or go home; in order to see results. This can cause us to fall into all-or-nothing thinking. In my own personal experience, and also seeing this pattern as a coach; 9 times out of 10, this approach ends in disaster. 

Here is where the problem is: our motivation and energy varies day to day. Life will happen and get in the way at some point with these elaberate plans. Trying to juggle 2 workouts a day or trying to adhere to a strict meal plan can get to be too much. At some point we will likely have a stressful day and juggling all this craziness becomes overwhelming; and we end up feeling like we failed. 

This is usually the point where we do one of two things:

1. We throw our hands in the air and say screw it, and stop taking action completely.
2. Or we overcompensate by vowing to cut out all sugar, over-exercise, or some other crazy extreme.

The other issue here is that both of the above also usually comes with an ass-kicking to ourselves. We may judge ourselves which can trigger guilt and shame. And keep us in a frustrating yo-yo diet cycle.

In this episode I share with you:

• My three step process for finding the grey when you are stuck in black or white thinking.
• My big 6 rocks of behavioral change that will help you improve your metabolic health and body composition. 
• Exploring not just your reasons to change but your reasons not to change. 
• Looking not only at how your negative habits are not serving you, but also how they are serving you. 
• How to see the things in your life as neutral. 

Some things to consider for the new year if you are truly commmitted to transformation!

I want to share a little secret with you today about why women struggle with reaching their goals. 

It’s not what you might think. It's not….

Lack of time ,lack of willpower, or lack of motivation.

It’s because we don’t have a back-up plan for when life throws us curve balls.

Does this sound familiar?

1. Life gets busy.
2. You can't seem keep up with new healthy behaviors.
3. So you throw your hands in the air and give up completely.

This is 100% why women don’t see results! Because results come from the actions we do on a consistent basis, not what we do for short periods of time.

Try this instead: Have a backup plan! Because it’s not IF life happens and gets in the way, it’s WHEN. You can prepare for when life happens by thinking this:

“If this happens I will do this instead….”

“Can I just….today?”

This is a skill you can develop so reaching your goals becomes SO much easier. You can learn how to continue to keep showing up even when life gets in the way-which is key to transformation.

You don't have to stall or lose progress over the holidays. With a few simple mindset shifts and coming up with a doable plan, you can enjoy yourself and avoid weight gain this holiday season! In this episode we discuss:

• Mindset shifts you can make with holiday eating to enjoy yourself this season without guilt.
• Key tips for avoiding overindulging and weight gain.
• How to plan ahead for when you know temptations will arise.
• Actionable steps you can take to handle cravings, and eat in moderation this holiday season.

What sets my approach apart from others is that I am not just sharing the stuff you already know (eat off a smaller plate, bringing a healthy dish to a potluck, etc). In this episode I discuss how to shift your mindset-especially away from the scarcity mindset and the all-or-nothing mindset. When we have these mindsets in place, our actions don't align with what we want; and we end up getting undesirable results. Even simply shifting from negative thoughts to more neutral thoughts can make all the difference with how you show up for yourself this holiday season.

One thing that I have learned from my experience coaching and training women for over a decade; and as a 41-year old woman myself.....

Weight loss isn't simply a calorie deficit. 

There is much, much more to it than that. We can't always just exercise and diet our way to weight loss. 

There are two camps when it comes to body re-composition. One camp believes it comes down to a correct energy balance. The other camp believes it comes down to hormone balance. I am in both camps. 

It can be easy to overlook things besides just calorie input and output that can affect body composition. In this episode we take a look at some factors that may influence body composition in our 40's and beyond. 

1. Wonky hormones. You may have heard me talk about how fat loss comes down to a correct energy balance and hormone balance.This is because our hormones have a huge impact on how we feel-our energy levels, motivation to move and exercise, motivation to make healthy choices with diet, hunger levels, cravings, mood, and more. 
2. Hypothyroidism. The thyroid gland is the master of the metabolism. When the thyroid gland isn't producing enough thyroid hormones, or isn't stimulated properly; this is hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism can cause a decline in resting metabolic rate, which can make weight loss more difficult. 
3. Insulin resistance. As we get older, we become less sensitive to the hormone insulin. This means that it's important to manage carbohydrate intake with a low carb diet, and to take strides to make improvements to the quality of diet (more whole foods, less processed foods).
4. Chronic dieting. Eating a very low calorie diet for long periods of time can lead to a decline in resting metabolic rate (aka burning less calories). The other problem with chronically dieting is that you may unconsciously move less, expending less energy. 
5. Sleep. When you don't get enough sleep, it can affect hunger hormones such as leptin. Have you ever noticed an increase in hunger, or maybe more carb cravings after a night of not-so-great sleep?
6. Stress. Busy is a badge of honor. We work, raise our children, keep up with our friendships and relationships, yet we often neglect ourselves. Stress can cause a rise in the hormone cortisol. When our body is under excess cortisol, our body will not make fat loss a priority, but will prioritize survival. 

It can be easy to point the blame to hormones when struggling with weight loss. And yes, our hormones can have a huge impact on weight loss results. But, ultimately weight loss is actually really simple. Weight loss is essentially getting to a correct energy balance. We can do this by weighing and tracking food intake, as well as making sure we are getting enough movement. But of course, it's not always that easy. This is because a lot of weight loss is behavioral, and developing the skill of changing behaviors and habits. Using willpower is not a sustainable way to lose weight. Slowly building habits that will drive you towards your goal, while letting go of the habits that do not serve you is the way. 

In this episode we go over my top 5 fat loss tips:

1. Do not exceed your calorie budget. Creating a calorie deficit is needed for fat loss. You can develop skills such as calculating your caloric needs and learning how to track your food intake. These are tools that can help you achieve a calorie deficit. 
2. Move more. As we get older (especially with calorie restriction), we may unconsciously move less. Being more generally active during the day can help you keep your calorie expenditure up. 
3. Prepare most your meals at home. It is difficult to know the nutrition info on meals dined out. Even if a restaurant does list nutrition info, that info is not always accurate. You can limit excess calories by preparing most meals at home. 
4. Weighing and tracking food intake. Most of us (even coaches and nutritionists) are not great at eyeballing portions. Underestimating food intake can keep us from our body composition goal. Learning and developing the skill of weighing and tracking food intake is key if you are struggling with fat loss. 
5. Get support. Sometimes you know what to do, but don't always follow through. That is why it is important to have some kind of support system; whether it be a workout partner, or hiring a trainer or coach. We can't always count on our family or loved ones to take on this role, so it's important to find like-minded people with similar lifestyles and goals; to turn to for accountability and support. 

One big change I have made with my nutrition is shifting to a low carb diet. I’ve been successful with this approach by increasing my fat intake-this is where a lot of women run into issues going low carb. When you lower your carbohydrates, it’s necessary to increase fat intake. In fact, dietary fat should be priority when following a keto diet.

Unfortunately, fat has a bad reputation. But getting enough dietary fat is important for optimal hormone health! Remember that not all fats are created equal. A healthy keto diet emphasizes high quality fats such as avocado oil, coconut oil, grass-fed meats, salmon, walnuts, and flax seeds. Not getting enough fat can lead to drop in cholesterol (cholesterol is actually necessary for the insulation of brain and nerve cells; and the production and development of functioning hormones); and can play a role in depression, anxiety, and inflammation. 

In this episode we discuss why you want to increase your fat intake, along with my top picks for dietary fat! 

The holidays are quickly approaching, and it can be easy to choose holding off on changing eating habits until they're over. But I can assure you, now is always the best time for making changes! Before January rolls around you could...

• Feel confident making healthy decisions at holiday parties and events.
• Learn how to include your favorite holiday foods without going off the rails.
• Learn how to quickly get back on track after a setback, and back to making progress towards your goal.
• Make small changes to the quality of your diet that will help you curb cravings, improve digestion, and give you more energy.
• Become more metabolically fit. 
• Make progress towards your body composition goal. 

It is officially the last three months of the year! This is the time when we may notice our motivation beginning to wane. Life keeps happening; and obstacles may get in the way of what we want to achieve. So, how can you get your motivation back to do the things you need to do; in order to start building your dream life? In this episode we discuss:

• How to become more aware of your thoughts and what you are making mistakes and setbacks mean.
• Uncovering excuses and fears that are standing in your way of taking the right actions.
• How to focus on doing what is doable for today, and not what you think you should be doing.
• Having a backup plan when things are out of your control and don't go as planned. 
• Easy is earned. Everything is hard before it's easy; but with practice, healthy habits can become easy! 

Mindset is the missing piece in a lot of weight loss programs. I laugh sometimes at the fact that a lot of the stuff I teach has nothing to do with food; and everything to do with understanding how our brains work. Unwinding the habit of reaching for food to cope, and building a healthier relationship with food and ourselves. If you have tried everything to lose weight, I can almost assure you that mindset is the missing piece. You can know exactly what you need to do to reach your goal. Maybe you even have extensive knowledge about nutrition. But if you have a story running in the background, or letting excuses get in the way of taking action; you will likely continue to struggle. Mindset really is everything. 

One of the most debated topics in the low carb space is, does the keto diet affect thyroid function? In this episode, I want to clear a few things up! 

The keto diet, or even just managing carb intake can provide lots of great benefits including:

• Manage blood glucose levels 
• Improve insulin sensitivity
• Use your stored body fat as fuel
• More mental clarity
• Shutting down hunger to make eating in a calorie deficit easy

But, what you need to know is that it's a good idea to make tweaks to the keto diet if you have any hormonal imbalances such as low thyroid or adrenal issues. Because although managing carbs when you have hormonal imbalances is important, we need to realize that dieting can be a stressor on the body-which can lead to making symptoms even worse. In fact, we can do this to ourselves unintentionally. Too much stress; such as overtraining, poor quality of diet, or chronically restricting calories and carbs; can all cause issues with thyroid and adrenal health. 

In this episode we discuss:

• Common hypothroidism diagnoses 
• Symptoms of hypothyroidism
• How we can manage symptoms better, and how we can make them worse with our lifestyle choices. 
• Decreasing inflammation and symptoms by improving quality of diet and managing carb intake.
• How to approach keto and low carb if you have low thyroid.
• How to incorporate carb and calorie cycling for better hormonal balance. 

I will admit, even just a few years ago I was very hesitant about the keto diet. Before I understood how this way of eating worked and the science behind it; I had a lot of limiting beliefs surrounding keto. I found this eating pattern to be a little restricitive, and not a way of eating that would work in the long term. I also was very wary of things like eating "all that fat" and what it would to things like cholesterol levels.

For the last two years I have been researching keto and low carb diets; and also trying them out on myself and my coaching clients too! Today I want to share with you four common limiting beliefs about the keto diet!

1. There is only one way to do a keto diet. 5% carbs, 15-20% protein, 75-80% % fat.....Although these are the traditional keto macros, this is not the only way to keto! This approach is the one to transition to initially to become adapted to keto and to reach ketosis; if that is the goal! But it's definitely not the only option. There is other low carb and ketogenic approaches including a paleo/autoimmune keto, a high-protein keto approach; and keto with carb-ups for athletes or for women with hormonal imbalance issues.
2. All that fat can't be good for you. Don't fear fat! If you are in my age bracket (40's) you probably remember all the stigma back in the day around fat. Fat does not make you fat-unless you overeat it (as with any food or macro)!  As far as from a health standpoint goes, not all fat is created equal. The keto diet can actually help push processed foods out of your diet. Processed foods are notorious for being high in trans fats. So, by going low carb you can decrease the amount of unhealthy trans fats in your diet; and swap for healthier fats such as coconut oil, avocado, fatty fish, olive oil, nuts, and seeds.
3. "Once you go keto, there is no turning back.", said one of my clients. I know exactly what she meant. The fear that once you eat a carb-rich meal that all your low carb efforts will be in the toilet. I once had this same belief too. Why it's not true: 1. Fat loss comes down to caloric intake, not carb intake. And 2. You can train your body to become more "metabolically fit" where you can switch from using fat as fuel, to using carbs as fuel. And 3. This limiting belief would only prove true with an all-or-nothing mindset!
4. Keto increases risk of heart disease. This belief comes from a truth: keto can raise total cholesterol. Generally on a keto diet total cholesterol goes up, triglycerides go down, HDL increases; which are all good things! Keep in mind that you will want to look more at your HDL and LDL levels and make sure those are in range; rather than to look at total cholesterol. You will also want to look at the ratio of triglycerides to HDL. The other thing to remember is that cholesterol kinda has a bad rep. Cholesterol is actually neccesary for a lot of essential body functions such as insulating brain cells and nerves. It is also needed for the production, development, and functioning of hormones.

When it comes to diet and exercise, it can be easy to feel like you are not doing enough to reach your goals. Or if you are like me, maybe you have had this reaction after seeing some initial results: "Oh, this is working! If I double up on my workouts, and cut my calories even more; I bet I can see even better results!"

The problem is, it never works the way we think it will. In fact, the approach of doing more can easily backfire; causing burnout and exhaustion. Not to mention, frustrating stalls in progress. 

Is more really better when it comes to improving body composition, health, and fitness? In this episode, I break down four problems when it comes to the more is better approach: 

1. Doing more isn't sustainable long-term. Even if you love to exercise, dedicating too much time to exercise and diet can drain your energy, productivity, your schedule, and your social life. We can end up neglecting important areas of our life including family, work, and relationships. 
2. Your caloric intake and output can start to work against you. When we over-exercise; generally one of two things generally happen: we undereat or overeat. Undereating can be a problem with losing lean muscle mass; and can cause a decline in exercise performance and recovery. Overeating is a problem because we end up hitting a plateau (or even worse, gain weight/body fat) and spinning our wheels with fat loss. 
3. Metabolic adaptation. Eating a very low calorie diet for long periods of time can cause the metabolism to adapt. When this metabolic adaptation takes place, metabolic rate slows. In addition, eating a low calorie diet generally causes us to unconsiously move and fidget less; causing a decline in caloric output. We end up burning less calories, leading to weight/body fat gain. The other issue here with eat less, exercise more is that it can lead to hormonal imbalances. Going too extreme with diet and exercise can reduce active thyroid hormone, decreases sex hormone production, and raises adrenal stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. All of these hormones have an impact on our body composition because our hormones control things like hunger, energy, cravings, mood, and motivation to move and exercise. 
4. Increased risk of injury. Overdoing it at the gym can make us more susceptible to injuries. If you are doing high intensity training on an almost daily basis, or never take a rest day; then it is almost certain that at some point you will run into chronic muscle soreness, fatigue, and joint pains and aches.  This can be a big problem because when we are in this cycle, we can sometimes tune out our body's signals; exacerbating injuries even more. 

If you are....

• A woman over the age of 35
• Have been diagnosed with hormone imbalances such as low thyroid
• Want to better manage perimenopausal symtoms such as weight loss resistance
• Wanting to see changes in body composition

Meal planning can solve just about any nutrition problem! LOL as a trainer for over a decade I have heard just about every excuse to why people make poor nutrition choices or fall off the diet wagon. 

"Making good choices while traveling is nearly impossible."

"I didn't have anything with me so I had to stop for fast food."

"I couldn't help myslef, I had a major craving!"

When people don't have a plan for nutrition, they usually don't make good decisions. They end up caving into cravings, or go for easy, processed food choices. We can get out of the habit loop of making poor choices by having a plan! When we make better choices, we take control of our health; and see better results. In addition, meal planning and prep can actually help to lower overwhelm; and help you spend less time in the kitchen! 

In this episode I share my own process of meal planning and meal prep. We also talk about how to easily structure your meals to ramp up the fat burning and satiety, while keeping hunger managed and cravings at bay. We finish off by discussing easy meals that you can make at home in just minutes. 

Have you been dieting for weeks, months, or even years? Have you seen a stall, or a complete stop in your progress? If so, reverse dieting may be exactly what you need to do; in order to get past the plateau, and start seeing results! 

Reverse dieting is a technique myself and my coaching clients do to increase resting metabolic rate and NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis). The metabolism is very adaptable to our caloric intake. Chronic dieting can lead to metabolic adaptation; which the metabolism down-regulates to adjust to the low caloric intake. We burn less energy, and in-turn, we unconsiously move and fidget less. It will then take less and less food to lose weight; and weight loss becomes difficult, nearly impossible. 

That's where reverse dieting comes in! You don't have to diet forever to get lean or stay lean! In this episode we learn how to know if you need to do a reverse diet or not. How to do a reverse diet, and also how to incorporate calorie cycling moving forward, so you can avoid metabolic adaptation in the first place. 

Intuitive eating is a non-dieting approach to changing eating habits. Intuitive eating is about learning how to listen to your body and making food choices that feel good to you; without using diets or tracking calories and macros. Although I believe that dietary protocols and macro tracking can be helpful tools to help you get you to your goal-most of us along the way can become disconnected with our own bodies. We may stop being mindful of our own hunger and fullness cues. We may also become less trusting of our own intuition when it comes to our personalized nutrition; with the influence of diet culture, our friends, family, and the media. 

In this episode we explore the pros and cons of taking an intuitive approach; and a more structured dietary approach. We talk about the basics of taking an intuitive approach by practicing mindful eating. We also discuss some simple tools and frameworks that will help you take an intuitive approach; and structure it to your own unique metabolic blueprint and personal preferences. 

Tracking macros is a powerful tool that can help you on your body re-composition journey. I know it can be confusing and overwhelming; so in this episode, I will be breaking down macros step-by-step! 

Why would you want to track macros?

• You just can't know for sure how much you are truly eating without tracking calories and macros. Fat loss requires a caloric deficit, and tracking calories and macros will help you achieve this. 
• Bring awareness to your current eating habits. It can be easy to forget those little bites, licks, nibbles, and grazing throughout the day. 
• Help you lower carb intake to get into a ketogenic (aka fat burning) state. 
• Get better, faster results. 

We break down macro tracking in five easy steps:

1. Get your feet wet with this work by learning my favorite tools to get started: The Daily Meal Plan and Daily Nutrition Commitments. 
2. Begin logging your food for at least 7 days to get a baseline. During this time, don't worry too much about the numbers, and focus on gathering info on your current eating habits. 
3. Weigh and measure food intake.
4. Calculate your personal caloric needs. 
5. Macro range suggestions. We discuss protein intake, beginner macros, classic keto macros, and how to make adjustments to your macros as you go on this journey. 

Taking a short break from dieting-the tracking, weighing, measuring, and counting can help you....

• Clear up mental space and free up time. Sometimes tracking macros and counting calories can become obsessive and too consuming for some women. Taking a step back from dieting can help keep put a healthy boundary in place. 
• Practice eating more mindfully; so you are not eating around the clock, or eating because myfitnesspal tells you have calories leftover. Use a diet break to get more in tune with hunger and fullness cues. 
• With long-term adherence. Chronically dieting backfires for most women because it's too restrictive. A lot of us go from one extreme to the other-and end up overcompensating by bingeing or overeating. Taking short diet breaks can help bring more flexibility into your diet and lifestyle, and keep you out of the all-or-nothing mentality that can keep women stuck from their body composition goal. 

In this episode I share my own personal recent experience with taking a diet break. We also discuss shifting our mindset around a diet break; and how to pull it off without a lot of loss in progress. As well as specific things to watch out for when taking a break from dieting. 

Did you know you can be a sugar burner or a fat burner? Using your own body fat and dietary fat you consume as your primary source of fuel (rather than using carbs) can help you....

• Burn fat more easily. In ketosis, cell walls are able to stay open ready to release fat through lipolysis. When we are fueled by carbs, insulin stays in our bloodstream, keeping cell walls closed; making the lipolysis process more difficult.
• Increase mental clarity
• Acheive blood sugar regulation. This will help with energy surges and crashes, and help prevent out of control cravings or that hangry feeling. 
• Correct your appetite. Ketosis can help you feel more satiated. 

In this episode we explore:

• The difference between being in a ketogenic state (ketosis) and being fat adapted.
• The keto flu, and how to avoid it.
• How to know if you are fat adapted without having to measure blood, breath, or urine ketones. 
• Trouble shooting for getting fat adapted. 

Are you experiencing stalls in weight loss even with sticking to a low calorie diet? Have you seen progress slow or even stop; even with hitting the gym five, six, even seven days a week? So frustrating! 

Although exercise can help build muscle and help you create a calorie deficit; depending on it solely to lose weight is not the best long-term strategy for fat loss. This is especially true as we move into our 40's and beyond. 

In this episode we talk about three simple shifts you can take to start seeing results again:

1. Less focus on exercise and more on nutrition to create a calorie deficit.
2. Less focus on structured exercise, and more on movement. 
3. Matching your calories to your physical activity with metabolic toggles. 

You can't out-exercise your diet. LOL, trust me, I have tried! 

Emotional eating (eating when not physically hungry) can make changing your eating habits and reaching your body composition goal more challenging. In this episode we discuss the think, feel, act cycle; how our thoughts and feelings influence the actions we take (or don't take). We also explore how our brains work, dopamine, and how we can easily get into unconsious habit loops with eating; and how we can break free of them. 

Does eating several mini meals a day boost metabolism? Is breakfast really the most important meal of the day? Is having a fast metabolism a good thing? In this episode we debunk common myths about the metabolism. 

"Breathing seems to put weight on me!"

This is what one of my new clients said to me the other day as she was explaining her recent weight gain to me. Even women who have managed their weight all their lives may experience weight gain or weight loss resistance during perimenopause. 

Perimenopause is the transition before menopause (which is defined as one year without a menstrual period); which typically begins around age 35-45. Perimenopause can last up to 10 years in some women. Common symptoms may include irregular periods, hot flashes, digestive issues, changes in mood (anxiety is common), decrease in energy, brain fog, and yup; you guessed it, weight gain or weight loss resistance.

But, with the right lifestyle and nutrition changes, you can decrease symptoms of perimenopause. Our bodies are changing during this time; so our nutrition and lifestyle should change too! In this epiosode, I share the secrets to managing your weight during perimenopause; and beyond. 

A low carb lifestyle can offer many great benefits including increased insulin sensitivity, managed hunger, and can help you improve quality of nutrition for better digestive health. A lot of people struggle with going low carb because they try to make too many changes at once. Rather than to try to depend on willpower and try to overhaul your diet all at once (which is never lasting); you can make doable, small shifts to gradually change your nutrition habits over time. In this episode we explore five simple ways you can begin transitioning to a low carb lifestyle.