Self Care Simplified

Why do you workout? Why are you trying to eat healthy? What's motivating you to do these things? How you answer these questions greatly determines whether or not you can stay consistent and actually enjoy the process.  I can't help but notice how deeply afraid many gym-goers and healthy-eaters are, even the extremely fit ones. They're scared to death of what their body would be without it all, the...

Achy knees, a tight and painful back, abs that are missing in action, and hips that are all out of whack. While all these sound like very different issues and disconnected problems, you might be surprised to find that the solution is usually the same.  Moms tend to "just live with" nagging aches and pains like these, not realizing that complete relief may be a mere two weeks away. The bottom line...

This is the plight of every mom: trying to decide what to make for dinner (and other meals), feeling crunched for time, the mounting pressure from the kids, all while still wanting to make something healthy. Can you relate?  On this episode, we're going to directly pinpoint the problems that we encounter at meal times, especially dinner, which include "decision fatigue", time constraints, picky ki...

Weight loss has always been the gold standard for measuring progress. We use it to determine whether a workout program or set of eating habits are working or not. But, if we're holding out for that scale to budge, we're probably missing out on all the other changes that are happening. We find ourselves discouraged and frustrated, assuming that all of our hard work is in vain.  You need to see that...

It's no secret that Intermittent Fasting is gaining in popularity these days. If you ask someone that has been IF for a while, they will sing its praises and say "it's the best thing they've ever done". The results and health benefits that people are experiencing are awfully convincing, but is it a great option for everyone?  Scott and I wanted to see for ourselves. For two weeks, we followed a sp...

There's a general fear among women: lifting weights, especially heavy weights, could potentially turn them into the hulk, making them look bulky and thick and masculine. But is this actually true? Perhaps your own experience says, "Yes! This happens to me!"  On this episode, we're talking all about the different body types and their potential to gain muscle mass, the different muscle fiber types,...

When you "eat healthy", do you simply follow a checklist of rules and strategies and hope for the best? If being healthy is something that you want to be a lifestyle and last forever, then you need to become more intuitive. Intuitive Eating (and Training) means beginning with a set of healthy guidelines, but then using your own wisdom and discernment to ultimately guide your food and exercise choi...

Mom-guilt is not healthy nor appropriate in any situation, yet we feel it all the time. We're constantly aware of a general sense that we're dropping the ball or we're not "good enough" at managing life. Whether we feel this pressure of inadequacy internally or from our social circles, we need to be aware of it and learn to let it go.  The most obvious areas of mom-guilt are parenting choices, hou...

This is how we get confused and stuck with the all-or-nothing mindset: we have this impression that if we want to be fit and healthy, we're supposed to go "all-in" and become obsessive fitness fanatics. We think we're supposed to like it, to be passionate about it, and have a desire to workout all the time. But what if we don't even like it?  Feel the pressure lift!! Being fit, active and sprinkle...

When it comes to nutrition problems, most people confess that they probably eat too much. They'll admit that if they could just get their portions under control and stop overeating, then they'll experience the results that they're looking for.  The most common and obvious methods of controlling portion sizes are: Calorie counting Macronutrient counting "Point" counting But each of these methods ar...

We’re going to cover a lot of ground on today's episode, because we’re answering YOUR questions!! I'm going to answer listener questions about:  goal setting in the new year, dialing in your nutrition for more results, staying motivated when you get discouraged, C-sections and the core aftermath, knee pain with lunges, what to eat when you’re breastfeeding, and then balancing all the things in lif...

When you're feeling sick, should you "sweat it out", or completely rest? Will certain foods actually help you heal quicker and others won't? And what can you do the rest of the year to create an iron-clad immune system?  As we're at the threshold of cold and flu season, these are the questions that you'll need answers for. So, whether you're currently battling a cold or not, you should have a good...

This episode is going to blow your mind. Well, it might blow up most of what you know about nutrition and bring intense clarity to where you're at, personally, and what nutrition things matter and what things don’t. I believe that our biggest failure with nutrition is failing to see that there are different skill levels with healthy eating. Some eating habits are ideal for someone that's just begi...

How can you keep up with your workouts during the holiday season so you stay fit and strong? On this episode, Scott and I are chatting all about when you get thrown off your normal rhythm and can't seem to find the time to workout.  We're going to discuss the most common fitness mistakes people make during the Christmas season, including putting it off until the new year, not utilizing "maintenanc...

What if this holiday season was different? What if we made a handful of better decisions and purposefully avoided some common mistakes this season? What if we entered 2020 feeling content and at peace with our bodies, rather than feeling in need of a drastic health overhaul? On this episode, we're tackling 8 common nutrition and mindset mistakes we make during the holidays, from mindless overeatin...

Not liking our bodies, or having a negative body image, is so common that we usually don't give it much thought. However, thinking negatively about your body can feel like it's rotting your soul, if left to its own devices.  I know that one of your deepest desires is to get to a place where you don’t have anything negative to say about your body...where you can be wonderfully content, and grateful...

We all crave to be supported, especially by the ones we love the most. But we don't often get this luxury. Usually, we're trying to make healthy choices in an environment that may not be very conducive to our success. More often than not, our own home and family members can feel like the biggest obstacles standing between us and our goals. And not only that, but we truly desire for our family memb...

How does your menstrual cycle affect your eating habits, your hunger, and your cravings? How does it affect your ability to workout hard and get the most from your training sessions? And how does it affect your mood and enthusiasm? The truth is that your menstrual cycle can impact just about everything, so it's foolish to ignore it and not plan for it effectively. On this episode, we're going to c...

Let's have an honest conversation about candy, sugar, and all sorts of sweet treats! As we come into the holidays, especially Halloween, sweets abound. It's helpful if we can enter this season with a good knowledge base to help influence our choices about treats. On this episode, Scott and I are going to discuss: The short- and long-term dangers of eating a diet high in sugar How much sugar is too...

How can we become more consistent with our eating and exercise habits? Because clearly, consistency is crucial for achieving our goals. If we approach our "consistency" from the perspective of “faithfulness”, we can see that this is as much a quality and maturity of personal character as much as it is about habit choices.  On this episode, we'll see that as we're being refined to look more like Ch...

Are weight loss plateaus inevitable? Are they predictable? Is there a way to avoid them? And what's the best way to bust through a plateau when it happens? That's what we're talking all about on today's episode!  When we’re talking about a plateau, we’re usually referring to a stall out in body composition changes, even when our habits are still on point. It can feel like all the things that worke...

You asked, I'll answer! This entire episode is dedicated to answering all of your questions about exercise, nutrition, and the balance and interplay of these things in our lives. We're going to talk all about carbs, fasting, bad knees, running, how to be more consistent and setting a good example for our kids. The scope of topics we're covering on today's episode is incredible!  (5:25) Are all car...

Get a behind-the-scenes look at what a professional's own workouts actually look like! I'm going to pull you into my workout space and show you how I lay out my own personal workouts, what my week of workouts look like, and how long I train. I'll reveal my complete training history (including a random, terrible triathlon!), and even all the injuries that I've battled. We'll chat about yoga, runnin...

Today's episode is all about "cheat meals", splurging, and how to find balance so you can still see results and be healthy. It's human nature, isn't it? As soon as we know what we should be doing, we immediately want to know how much of the wrong thing we can do before facing the consequences. In order to make a breakthrough here, we need to completely change the conversation. Let's move away from...

“Working out and eating healthy isn’t supposed to make you cry.” We've been told that self care, exercise, and good nutrition is strictly physical. It's just surface-level actions and behaviors. But then why on earth are so many of us falling apart into a ball of tears in the middle of a workout? Whether the feelings we have are sorrow, anger, a sense of being overwhelmed, or pure rage, the fact r...