The Live Fit Project

Bringing back one of my fave IG posts I wrote awhile back as we all get ready for the 🦃 feast ahead!

I know I’m not as active as I used to be here on IG but I’m still thankful for all of you continuing to follow and support this project of mine, both online and in-person, and allowing me to be part of your health and fitness journey. 💜

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Holiday season is my favorite time of the year and it kicks off today on Thanksgiving. I know there can be a lot of anxiety and stress when it comes to holiday meals and events but it def doesn’t have to be that way. ⁣
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There really is a way to enjoy your holidays without feeling like you’re derailing progress completely. Here are a few things I try to follow when it comes to special meals:
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🦃 Allow yourself to have whatever you want.⁣
🦃 Don’t feel obligated to fill your plate with the whole spread. Only put on your plate the things that you really want to try. Be picky. For me that means 🙅🏻‍♀️ on the green bean casserole but a most definite 🙋🏻‍♀️ on the stuffing and cranberry sauce.⁣
🦃 No one’s handing out memberships to the “Clean Plate Club.” You don’t have to finish everything on your plate. Or even anything that was just “meh.” Somehow my husband always ends up with a plate of partially-eaten foods that I wanted to try but wasn’t too into. 🤷🏻‍♀️⁣
🦃 But if you do find something you love, savor every bite and enjoy. ⁣
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Remember this is only 1 meal out of so many more. 1 meal won’t ruin your progress, just as 1 meal won’t make you skinny.⁣
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Give thanks. Cherish the time with your loved ones. Make memories. That’s where it’s at. ⁣
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I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! I’m grateful for all of you following along and supporting me on this project, and for an epic year of lots of learning, growing and teaching.

✨ Just S T A R T ✨

Every little bit adds up. Put in the time, do the work and you’ll see.

Disclaimer: OK so this didn’t happen exactly like that with any of my clients 😅 but I’ve been through many similar scenarios.

Listen, I’m not here to tell you what you can and can’t do on the weekends, or any day in general, really. You’re a grown adult. You make your own decisions.

But taking ownership of your decisions is vital to your progress and growth. You can pay me all the monies and I can give you the best nutrition plan there ever was, but if you’re not doing the things and following it consistently, yet expecting major results (usually within a short period of time), here’s how our conversation might go:

🧐 What are your goals and how important are they to you?
🧐 What are your expectations for yourself? Are they realistic?
🧐 What effort are you willing to put in for them?
🧐 And as you follow your plan, does your level of effort align with your expectations?

Most of the time if you are not getting what you want it is due to the effort you are giving (or not giving).

Too often we underestimate the effort we need to give. We underestimate the challenges we are going to face. And we underestimate the time needed to see the results we are looking for.

If you have goals that are truly important to you, you’ll do the things. All the time. Every day, one after the other, consecutively, in a row.

(Name that TV show quote.)

One of the biggest problems folks ask for my help with is figuring out meals that are convenient, easy-to-make and well-balanced (includes carbs, fat & protein), especially for their first meal of the day. Breakfast is my favorite meal, and in my opinion, the most important. Yet I often see folks struggle with it. Chaotic and rushed mornings, too tired or simply just not knowing what to have. I get it.

So that’s why I put together this list of my fave breakfast foods to buy on your next grocery shopping trip. If you’ve been following me for awhile you know that I do the majority of my family’s shopping at Costco, but you can find all of these things at your local grocery store.

🥚Eggs & Egg Whites
With so many health benefits, eggs are a protein-rich breakfast staple in our household. Add extra egg whites to your cracked eggs for even more protein. Hard-boiled, fried, scrambled, in breakfast sandwiches, burritos, casseroles, fried rice…there are so many uses. AND super easy to add vegetables to them. (You know I love my veggies. 🌱)

🥞Kodiak Cakes Pancake & Waffle Mix
Who doesn’t love pancakes and waffles? And with the added protein in the mix? No brainer. Top them off with some almond butter, fresh fruit and/or Greek yogurt and done. Make extra and stick them in the freezer so that you can easily toast or microwave them up the next morning.

🌾Oatmeal
Full of whole grains with lots of staying power to fuel your activity and get you through to your next meal. Toppings matter. Check my Reels to see how I make mine on the stovetop or overnight. Pro-tip: mix in egg whites for extra protein!

🇬🇷Greek Yogurt
High in protein. Add fruit, granola, nuts, seeds, nut butter and/or honey for a sweet morning meal. You can also use it in place of sour cream or mayo in burritos or tuna/chicken salad.

🥓Turkey Bacon
With a bit better fat-to-protein ratios than regular bacon (which I also love), turkey bacon is still 🔥.

🫐Frozen Fruit
Nutritious, convenient, great in smoothies and on top of above-said pancakes, waffles, oatmeal and Greek yogurt.

Hope this gives you a little inspo! Do you have any must-have breakfast foods I should be on the lookout for? 🧐

Not saying that there can’t be legit reasons why you are or aren’t doing something. It just means that those reasons are more of a priority to you — and that’s OK.

Accept that priorities can change — that you actually have a CHOICE in the matter of where you spend your time — instead of coming up with all the excuses of why you’re not achieving what you want to achieve.

If something is important to you, you’ll make time for and do all the things to back that up. Period.

If you have health, performance or body composition goals, be the grown adult that you are and eat your vegetables. I don’t care if they’re raw, cooked, fresh, frozen, steamed, roasted, sautéed, fried, air fried, mixed in with other ingredients, blended up or smothered in chocolate with a cherry on top. 🍒

Like, just eat them. Bye.

I spent the last couple weeks in Washington state visiting my family. It had been 20 LONG months since I had hugged my mom and dad. Needless to say, the trip was EVERYTHING.

It was just a solid reminder that these days and time with the ones I love is so precious and few and far between.

Did my best to stay present and enjoy my time with them, but that didn’t mean not working out and eating and drinking everything in sight. I knew if I did that I’d feel terrible, physically and mentally. And I didn’t want to be in that negative space, so I did the things that made me feel GOOD — so I could best enjoy my time with my peeps.

Here’s how I navigated through ~2 weeks on vacation, away from my normal routine while visiting family:

💫 Ate delicious, homemade meals the majority of the time.
💫 Barely tracked. If anything, I tracked protein just so I had an idea of where I was at.
💫 Prioritized protein in every meal.
💫 Ate vegetables every day, even if it was just 1.
💫 Packed supplements with me ( protein powder, reds + greens, creatine).
💫 Tried to get movement in every day. Luckily my parents have a couple cardio machines, and my brother and sis-in-law have a sweet garage gym with all the weights & equipment. Oh, and did I mention they live on a lake? So lots of wakeboarding, kayaking and paddle boarding.
💫 If I couldn’t get an actual workout in I made sure to spend time stretching and doing my Zero programming for my brokedown knees.
💫 Drank tons of water, especially if I was having alcohol.

Now I’m back home, and while I miss my family already, I’m looking forward to getting back to my regular nutrition and training routine.

Already hit Costco and eased back into training with a light lifting session last night.

No guilt or regrets from my trip, just a whole lot of love in my heart. ❤️

Snack life

You know I’m all about celebrating those client wins!

🎉 Every victory, no matter how small or big, remind me why I love being a coach so much. It is the most rewarding feeling helping folks see what they’re capable of, feel healthy, confident, strong, balanced, in control, and able to enjoy their BEST lives — FOREVER!

🤯 And guess what? Progress can come in so many forms besides what the number reads on the scale.

Your weight is just a number. And that number will not always reflect the consistent effort you’ve put in towards your goals and should not define you or your happiness.

It’s the feelings and actions like these shown,
👏🏽 having food freedom and still being able to enjoy the foods you love without depriving and restricting yourself,
👏🏽 feeling well-fed and not hungry
👏🏽 feeling healthy and stronger with less joint pain,
👏🏽 overall happiness,

that truly speak to your overall well-being, your quality of life and the life you want to lead moving forward. ⁣

🥳 So, let’s celebrate those wins beyond the scale — and KEEP GOINGGGGGGGGG!

PS. Looking for a way to reach your goals? Here’s the answer: your everyday actions ultimately determine your quality of life and longterm progress. ⁣Small improvements, every day = results. The end.

I’ll be the first to admit, I’m not much of a hiker. Ask me to go and it’s usually a hard no.

🏜 But here I am in Zion National Park on a camping trip with my family and friends, and to really experience this natural beauty, you HAVE to hike. And I was all for it.

🥾 Yesterday we hiked the Narrows which is a long hike through and IN (yes— in!) the Virgin River.

Look how professional I look. We even rented hiking boots, water socks and hiking sticks!

One word to describe the experience and views — ✨UNREAL. ✨

So while ya girl is more inclined to go lift weights or play volleyball for fitness, I think this trip just opened my eyes up to some new experiences that I might normally say no to.

💥 My point — say YES more often.

To things you’ve never tried before, to things you’re scared of, to things that might make you feel uncomfortable (ha, within reason) — but ultimately, to things that will help you GROW, LEARN and become a BETTER version of yourself.

Alright— back to this glorious place called Zion. 🏜🧡