Running Lean

When you think of discipline, what comes to mind? For some, it conjures up images of obeying rules and doling out punishment for anyone who disobeys. But when I think of discipline I think of training myself to do something day in and day out, usually something I don’t feel like doing. I never think of discipline as punishment, but rather a method of achieving whatever worthwhile goal that I want...

We often think of stress as being something annoying, a mental or emotional issue, but stress can also have serious implications on our physical health as well. The NIH (National Institutes of Health) says continued strain on your body from routine stress could lead to serious health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, anxiety disorder, and other serious illn...

Self-sabotage is one of those terms that you hear and you think you have a pretty good handle on what it means. But do you really? Because if you find yourself engaging in self-sabotaging behavior, then you may not understand it as well as you think. Until you have a better understanding of what self-sabotage really is and how it shows up in your life, you can’t change it or prevent it from happen...

Desire is one of those things that most people struggle with, mainly because they just don’t understand what it really is. Desire can feel very strong and very powerful, and it can lead you to do things that are not in alignment with your goals – like eating or drinking. You may think that having an intense desire for something like alcohol is normal and just “the way it is” and there’...

When it comes to habit change, there’s this idea that if you do something every day for a period of time – 30-60-90 days – then you will automatically develop a new habit. I cannot tell you how wrong this idea is. It just doesn’t work this way; there’s a lot more to habit change than doing a behavior every day. How many times have you ever had a streak going like you’ve given up sugar...

There’s a lot of talk out there in the personal development world about happiness. There are so many books on how to be happy all the time and how to be happy about everything, and honestly, I see this as a problem. My take on happiness is a little different – I believe happiness is overrated. I don’t think the purpose of your life is to be happy and content all the time. I believe you are h...

It’s vacation season! The kids are out of school, COVID travel restrictions are easing up, and you are going on a trip. And taking a vacation means you go completely off the rails, eat and drink your way into oblivion, and come back hating yourself right? At least that’s what I used to do, you probably don’t ever do that. But if you’re thinking there’s no way you’ll be able to get through yo...

I have a very special guest joining me here on the podcast today. A few months ago, Latisha Simmons was facing some pretty serious health issues and decided she needed to make some big changes in her life. She changed her entire approach to diet, running, and strength training. But most importantly, she changed her mindset around all of this. She’s worked really hard on making being healthy her ne...

If you’re like most runners, you probably don’t fully understand the importance of protein in your diet, and you might not be getting enough. Protein is one of those topics that can divide people in the health and fitness community, so I wanted to take a comprehensive look at protein, including some new research on the topic. In this episode of the podcast, I’ll be answering the questions I...

This is part two of a two-part podcast series called “Becoming a Lean, Fat-Burning Machine and Making It Last For Life”. As a Sports Nutritionist, Weight Loss Coach for Runners, and Master Life Coach, I help runners transform themselves into lean, efficient fat burners so they can end the yo-yo dieting and finally get to their ideal weight…and stay there for good! I have a vested interest in...

This is part one of a two-part podcast series called “Becoming a Lean, Fat-Burning Machine and Making It Last For Life”. As a Sports Nutritionist and Weight Loss Coach for Runners, I help runners transform themselves into lean, efficient fat burners so they can end the yo-yo dieting and finally get to their ideal weight. This subject is near and dear to my heart since I gained over 40 pounds in ju...

I recently decided to do a little nutrition experiment on myself. I trained for a marathon while following a zero-carb diet, and then I ran that marathon without carb-loading and without the use of any fuel at all. Why would I do this? How did my training go? How was the race? Did I crash and burn? Is this something you should consider trying for yourself? In this episode of the Running Lean podca...

There’s one big difference between people who consistently reach their goals and those who do not. It doesn’t have anything to do with how bad they want it or how early they get up in the morning. It’s more about whether or not they are living their life as an emotional adult. So yes, this episode of the Running Lean podcast is all about feelings! I will be talking about the very important role yo...

Honestly, there are probably more than 5 ways you sabotage your own success, but in this special edition of the Running Lean podcast, I’m talking about the BIG ones. I coach a lot of runners on nutrition, weight loss, and overall health and fitness, and I see the same self-sabotaging behavior over and over again. Why do you do these things to yourself? Why can’t you ever seem to make any significa...

When it comes to health and fitness, there’s no topic more controversial or more complicated than which foods we should eat, and which we should avoid. Some experts tell you this diet or that diet is the best one for everyone, or that it’s not about the food at all, it’s more a problem of willpower and self-control. Eat whatever you want, just eat less of it and exercise more and you’ll be fine. I...

I hear a lot of runners talk about strength training, and honestly, not all of what they say makes sense. For example, runners tend to think they need to do a lot of reps with super light weights or they’ll get too jacked and it will hinder their running performance. Really? I get it though. I’ve bought into a lot of these ideas over the years, but I’ve come to realize that there’s a lot of inform...

I’ve seen a lot of social media posts and comments lately where people are sharing their frustration around the scale. They weigh themselves and if the scale hasn’t moved in the right direction, they get down on themselves, feel disappointed, and they often give up. All of this drama because of a number on a bodyweight measuring device. The suggested solution to this problem? Weigh yourself less o...

Making lasting changes like permanently losing weight is not an easy thing to do. It requires you to do more than just change a behavior. Any kind of meaningful, lasting change requires three key things, and you have to have all three or it just won’t work. Think of lasting change like a three-legged table – if you’re missing one of the legs, the darn thing falls over! In this episode of the...

Overtraining is something that a lot of runners experience but very few actually know that it’s happening. You might be feeling overly sore or fatigued but you keep pushing through those tough workouts because that’s what you do as a runner, right? The problem is that if you keep it up it can result in overtraining, which leads to all sorts of health issues like poor performance, burnout, even inj...

Today on the podcast, I’m going to break down my experience running the David Goggins 4x4x48 Challenge. I’ll share some things I did right, some things I could have done better, and how this whole challenge has changed me. Whether or not you would ever consider doing an event like this, I think you’ll get something out of this episode. Because here’s the thing: it’s less about how many miles you r...

March is motivation month over in the Running Lean Podcast Community on Facebook! All month long, I’m offering up helpful tips and challenges to help get you motivated to hit your health and fitness goals! Whether you want to run faster or farther, dial in your nutrition, or lose those winter lbs – you need motivation to make it happen! But most people severely lack motivation! They are moti...

I think you all know that in order to become a healthy human, you need to change your habits. You need to break bad habits and create good ones. The problem isn’t knowing which habits are bad and which are good, it’s knowing how to make those good habits stick. Anyone can eat healthy for a day or two, but how do you do it day in and day out? How do you make it automatic? In this episode of t...

Runners love to get their drink on! They are especially passionate about coffee, beer, and their magical sports drinks. In this episode of the Running Lean Podcast, I’ll be covering a few beverages that seem to be at the forefront of runner’s minds these days. Namely alcohol, coffee, and water. These seem to be the most talked-about beverages amongst runners, and probably the most misunderstood. B...

There are a lot of myths and misconceptions floating around out there around the topic of carbohydrates and running performance. Some say you can’t run without them, others say you should ditch them altogether. With all the conflicting information out there, how do you know which answer is right for you? Today on the podcast, I hope to clear up some of the biggest misunderstandings, myths, and mis...

Stress is not something that can be avoided, it’s just a fact of modern life. In fact, we all need a certain amount of stress to function normally. We’ve evolved as humans to handle stress; we have built-in mechanisms that kick into gear to help us deal with stressful situations very effectively. But too much stress, or the wrong kind of stress, can have serious health consequences. Stress can mak...