Winter Services

It's that time already! The fall group is wrapping up and that means I will have availability for Winter! I'm going to do things a little differently this time around, as my education increases and as my availability changes. For this next 10 weeks, I am not going to offer a "group" challenge. I find I focus more on the individual, keep tighter track of their progress and build better relationships when it's one on one.  In this past group, I feel that the majority of time put in was trying to keep everyone motivated and on track vs actually helping them make true progress and move forward! I want that connection and trust with my clients- and I don't feel the groups have been promoting that well. This was a hard call to make as I've been having groups for over a year now! But I truly believe the one on one services will be a positive change and bring greater understanding and relationships.

If you were a group lover, no fear. I may bring another back in the future!

Winter 2017
Jan.1-March 1

One On One Nutrition Plan: 

During your 30-minute one on one initial session, I will work with you to assess your current relationship with food and your body. Including self-care, eating, exercise, and sleep patterns. You and I will develop a plan together that moves you toward your goals while promoting normalized eating and a freeing relationship with food. Each session includes an individual plan with long-term goals, actionable steps, helpful resources and email support between your initial consultation and your seven follow-up sessions.  If you have been curious about some of the intuitive eating posts I have made or want to get on the path to a better relationship with food, and discover how to do these while still having goals, this is for you!

 $95 for 8 weeks (initial 30-minute session, plus once a week follow-ups ups for 8 weeks)


Accountability Plan: 

This is for the person who just needs the extra accountability and less of the "fluff" while working towards their goals.  During your 15-minute one on one initial session, I will work you to determine and set up your goals and an actionable plan of how you are going to achieve them. Included are also four random "pop-in" accountability checks a week through the course of your eight weeks to help keep you on track. You will not know when I will be checking in, helping to keep you on your "A-game".  This is the perfect plan for the highly motivated and determined person!

$75 for 8 weeks

All or Nothing: 

This is a combination of the first two plans (initial session, 7 follow-ups, and 4 weekly accountability checks) PLUS:

Local Clients: 4 workout sessions WITH ME. They will be tailored to your ability and level of fitness and I will be doing them with you, not just watching you.

Distance Clients: 2 virtual weekly step challenges with me! Twice a week we will connect and compete in a step challenge for 12 hours that day, your goal is to beat ME in your daily steps.


$160 for 8 weeks

To register, email me at emailthepotters@gmail.com 

Leave a Comment

Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This has quickly become one of my favorite meals, it's easy and versatile and so good! You can make the peanut sauce or buy it, whichever floats your boat. The veggies you add are completely up to you! The first time I made this I used carrots, mushroom, and onion. The second time I used zucchini and carrots. It's really whatever you have on hand and like! 

What you need :
Lettuce (I use romaine hearts)
Cooked Chicken diced or shredded
Veggies of your choice, grilled or sauteed
Peanut Sauce (make your own with PB, rice vinegar and soy sauce or buy it)
Salt/Pepper


Cook chicken and veggies (I actually cooked a batch of chicken in the crockpot all day, then sauteed the veggies and added the chicken to it)
Add peanut sauce to the pan and stir
Serve in the lettuce wraps, add extra peanut sauce if desired)

So simple and so good! Enjoy!

Leave a Comment recipes, weighing food

Week 2 + 3

This week is suppose to be THE week. We are (fingers crossed!) getting colder weather! I'm excited silly! I have my candles ready, I've baked and froze bread, new throw blankets for the sofa, coffee, fall oils, I ordered my new fall boots and now we wait. Oh, I also had to start burning one of my candles...what can I say...dry run?:

This week held a bunch of busyness for us, starting with dentist appointments for all eight kids! Since when was going to the dentist fun? Our office has TV's mounted on the ceiling for the kids to watch TV  while their teeth are being cleaned. Not to mention the interactive waiting room decked out in pirate ships and games and a movie theater. I'm not making this up! It's great because it's somewhere I can take eight children to and they can play and have fun since we are there for 1-2 hours at a time. On the other hand, talk about constant entertainment for children.  Gone are the days of having to sit quietly in a formal waiting room for your turn, and your "prize" for having your teeth cleaned was a sticker and toothbrush. Last week my kids brought home spinners, toy monster trucks, and paw patrol puzzles! 

Sunday's are date days for us. We have a little system, every other Sunday we run and then get coffee. The Sunday's in between that, we take one of our kids out to dinner for some 1:1 time with us. Last weekend was "Sunday-runday" and this weekend we took our oldest out to dinner. 

 (hubby + I before a 4-miler last weekend) 

Our sweet and caring oldest! Seriously, she is amazing. She chose to eat at Plums, a waterfront restaurant in our town. She chose the gouda mac and cheese that was to die for. We then preceded to one of our favorite places to shop where she found some cute things before we had to pick up the rest of the crew. Date your kids. 

My kids have also been spending oodles of time outside making a fort/house. It's a full blown 2 bedroom "home" right now. Pictured is the "living room". Kills me. For one, they have adapted my love for neutrals and two, I remember vividly doing this as a kid. It's also been awesome because they have been spending hours and hours outside at a time. 

School is in full force now and I've settled into a study routine. I'm currently taking a Math, and English and a Basic Nutrition class. Next semester my course load will be heavier with a 2nd math, 2nd English, Anatomy and Physiology, Intro Chemistry, and an elective. It will also be my last semester before transferring to Eastern Michigan University which I can't wait for! Enough of my jabbering- I have recipes to post!!! 

Leave a Comment life

Life + School Week 1

This week we celebrated Miss O's 9th Birthday, nine! Come March I will have three 9-year-olds! Time flies and she loved every little bit of her big day. 

I was also able to sneak away to dinner for a friends birthday the following night. Pimento burgers: my favorite "splurge-type" food ever. 

Here is rundown of how life+school went: 

The first week is an orientation week.  Read the syllabus, get familiar with the course and expectations, college policies and the like.  I was able to knock all of this out on Day 1 and immediately began working ahead in each class (so the work that I am doing now is actually not due/expected until next week and I hope to keep this up as long as I can).  On average I would begin studying at 8:30 and get in bed right before midnight. I wake up at 7am, so I still get a full seven hours of sleep this way. This worked well for us.

For those of you wondering, in the morning I look over my emails and assignments that I need to complete that day while my kids are still asleep. Then I put it all out of sight and we continue our regular day of school, gym, field trips, housework, meals, etc. until 4pm. At 4 it's downtime for all the kids and I can do whatever I please. Today I am using it to blog, yesterday I used it to complete a unit of math practice. If I have any reading that needs complete now would also be a good time to do that.  5pm begins the dinner grind (which is already prepped for at lunch time), my husband comes home and we eat, have family time, baths, prep for the next day etc. Right around 8pm all of the kids are in bed (the older ones are allowed to stay up in their rooms as long as they are quiet) and I can use the rest of the night however needed. 

(my two kindergarteners & BOB books)

There are a few key factors that I have noticed are huge game changes in the ease of this for us. 

-My youngest is fairly independent now (insert tears). I do not have babies to feed and change and chase after. I would imagine this would make it a little more difficult, but not impossible. I mean, everything is a little harder when you have a little one anyway and you just adjust. 

-We have family chores. We all pitch in around the house and get things done every day. With a family our size people assume it chaotic and messy and it's actually the opposite. We are pretty structured and because everyone has things they have to complete each day, it means that the trash is taken out as soon as it's full. Dirty dishes are rarely ever in the sink. Laundry gets cycled through really fast. Floors are swept after each meal, etc. This lifts a huge weight off of my shoulders because I don't have to do it all (nobody does), I do not have to and don't spend my days cleaning the house or trying to stay on top of the laundry. 

-My husband is really supportive. I mean, he is ALL IN. He is team me and I am team him. We help each other however we can. He has more opportunities to study at work during the day so at night he puts the kids to bed so that I can get started right away. I make sure his lunch is made the night before so that he can spend his night and morning before work however he needs to. Small things like this make a huge difference. If you are a mom you KNOW that bedtime can take over an hour some nights! A supportive husband makes it or break it in my opinion. Not a husband who just agrees and says "yea do it". But a husband who agrees and then supports you in his actions and encouragement. 

In the end, every family is different and every person is different. I have friends who are single with no children who tell me that there is no way that they could ever manage school and a family while I have friends who homeschool full time, teach and go to school full time no problem. If it's something you are passionate about you can absolutely make any situation work. 

I will be posting more about juggling it all as I get deeper into the semester- but for now it's Algebraic equations while my fam sleeps :-) 

--my typical desk view, less cluttered than normal for you!--

Leave a Comment

Health + Weight

This morning we trekked to church and enjoyed a stop at our favorite coffee shop afterward (coffee is our favorite thing). We may travel further than most people do for everything but when the view is as beautiful as it is here, we really don't mind. Except for the fact that it takes more effort to actually be on time for everything (ok, to be fair, that is mostly because we have eight kids to get ready as well!).

The kids had hot oats with toppings before church. Mom? Oh ya know, yogurt with berries and an "energy" bite on the way to the car. #wouldnttradeit

Two things: we love pour over/drip coffee (no kuerig or fancy machine here) and who knew that there were disposable pour overs? Genius.

Second: I love these hanging bottles. As we waited for our order I studied how they were hung and I am pretty certain the only thing keeping them afloat is the knot in the rope. Where could I put this in my house?!

Now, I don't have any pretty photos to accompany this next set of info, be warned! A few months back I started reading a blog written by a dietitian not far from me in upstate SC. Frequently I saw her referencing "health at every size" or "HAES" and ditching diets. Assumably dietitians and "diets" go hand in hand, so I started looking more into HAES and ordered the book. I should clarify that dietitian does not = dieting, but DIET in the form of everything that you eat: your daily "diet".  Also that dietitians play a number of roles from working in school settings to working in the NICU to nursing homes, not every dietitian works in a field that involves weight and weight loss.

Book in hand, I was amazed. As someone who has gone through my own season of weight loss, years of my early adult life obese. As someone who aids women through their own periods of weight loss and health basics, the facts and the research behind the harm of purposeful calorie restriction intrigued me.  My entire life I've always "heard" and "known" that fat=unhealthy. With the billion-dollar diet industry and advertising, it is safe to assume that the general population agrees, if you are overweight you are unhealthy.  The HAES organization debunks that myth.

Here are a handful of facts that intrigued me the most while studying this book (which is available for you/anyone to read for yourself and I encourage you to do so!):

-We are not experiencing an "obesity epidemic". As a matter of fact, obesity rates have been the same for women and children since 1999, men since 2003. As a nation, we are all getting larger, not just in weight but in height as well. There is no evidence to support the claim that this weight gain is a crisis, and to quote the book... "our bodies have adjusted to our current lifestyle habits and environmental conditions and are now kicking in to maintain us at a new setpoint, albeit a higher one than our ancestors, who experienced different conditions."

-The idea that weight plays a large causal role in disease is unproven except with sleep apnea, osteoarthritis and a few cancers in morbidly obese individuals. The author has full chapters where she digs into all of the science, the studies, the articles and the evidence that would be impossible for me to relay into a blog post. She digs into obesity and cancer, obesity and type 2 diabetes, obesity, and atherosclerosis, obesity, and hypertension and more. At the end of the section about cancer she quotes the CDC epidemiologists that there is "little or no association of excess all-cancer mortality with any of the BMI categories".  To sum it up simply for you- there is no evidence or research that actually proves that being obese increases your risk for the above-mentioned diseases. Obesity has been greatly misrepresented and exaggerated as a risk.

-The only way for overweight individuals to improve health is to lose weight, is false. "Most health indicators can be improved through changing health behaviors, regardless of whether weight is lost". 

-Overweight and obese people die sooner than leaner people, also false. "Almost all epidemiologic studies indicate people in the overweight or moderately obese categories live at least as long or longer than people in the normal weight category". 

You guys, there is just so much good information in this book. I could go on and on, but if you have any interest in health, weight, diets, or nutrition snag this book and read it. It is not just chock full of opinions, no. In the back of the book the author has listed 437 references and eight pages of resources. Not to mention that the HAES studies were also government funded.

-Lower body weight and/or BMI does not equal healthy.
-Losing weight does not make you "healthier" (actually, you may be surprised to find out what kind of effects losing weight actually has on the body).
-Health does not equal weight/vice versa.
-When people say "healthy", they usually just mean "thin", assuming that "thin" means they are healthy.


*please note that these studies, research and reference is to the general population of people. Not the tiny percentage of people who are so obese they can barely walk or stand, etc. That is not the majority of our nation.* 

If you have an opinion or question or thought to share about any of the above quoted from HAES with me, reach out! I love talking about this stuff with people. Now, we are off to my nieces 2nd Birthday Party!

Leave a Comment dieting, food, freedom, healthy eating, intuitive eating, weight loss

Part 2: HOW to Eat Intuitively

I have been putting this one off for a little while now because intuitive eating is not a step-by-step "program" or plan, it's just a way you live and that is hard to explain to anyone (without sounding totally crazy).

In a nutshell. YOU are the best person and the only person who knows best about what to eat, when to eat, how much and what to avoid. Yes, YOU know this whether you think you do or not. If you don't believe this then you do not trust your body and your God given instincts, which is totally normal and common for most people and it's how we end up in this place to begin with.  Our natural instincts are disrupted and over ruled and disregarded and we no longer know how to eat or how to listen to our bodies. We don't trust ourselves and our body to not go crazy with food.

The basics: 

-Get rid of all of your ideas about diets and plans and programs. Be done with them. The longer you listen to a plan or a diet or diet expert about what to eat- the further and further away you are getting from being able to listen to your body about what to eat. Before you eat anything, honestly ask yourself what it is that you truly feel like eating. When you pay attention to your body's cues you may notice that your body will naturally crave foods that are nourishing and healthy. Your body is not going to tell you that it truly wants to eat 10 oreo cookies. Not because oreos are bad, but because your body knows how it will feel after you've eaten that amount of a sugary processed food.

-Eat at the early signs of hunger- do not let yourself get truly hungry. That is when you are most likely to over eat, binge, eat until you are stuffed etc. I always carry around a snack in my purse to avoid getting to that point of hunger when out and about.

-Food is not your enemy. Even sweets. Or those savory snacks. Stop labeling foods into categories of "can" and "cannot" eat or "should" and "should not" have. If you TRULY want  something, you will be able to eat it and be satisfied and move on. Those oreos I mentioned above? No, you will not want 10, but you may want one or two if you are feeling the need for something sweet, that is totally ok! Food is not good or bad, and you are not good or bad by what you eat.

-Listen to your body when you are eating. You will know when to stop eating. You will know when you have had enough and need to stop.

-Pay attention to your feelings. Pinpoint those times that you are feeling emotional and instead of eating, intentionally choose to do something else. Choose to be in control. Take a walk. Pray. Clean or organize something. Call a friend. Water your plants. Journal. With everything, sometimes we just simply have to say no and resist the urge. Food is not the answer to emotions.

-Exercise. FEEL good. Not militant exercise or doing it out of obligation. Exercise because of how it makes you feel. When you feel better about yourself and in general, this will spill over into all areas of your life.

A good place to begin is to wake up in the morning and before planning out breakfast or mindlessly eating- ask yourself what your body truly wants to eat that morning, and eat just that. Don't eat because you feel that you have to, if you are not hungry, don't eat. At the same time, don't let your hunger get too far and you get to the point where you are out of control with your eating because you are so hungry. Do not eat to the point of being stuffed- listen to when your body tells you that it's comfortable. Choose foods that you know are nourishing and healthy but also taste good.

You will find that after a while this becomes easier and easier, your body will tell you what it needs and if you are not at your natural healthy weight already, your body will begin to shed pounds naturally to get you there.

I know that this is completely foreign and crazy and opposite of everything you've probably ever done or thought to do when wanting to lose weight, and some of you may not be able to mentally let go of the dieting mindset right away which is why I have given a calorie cap to begin with, and remember that it will take time for your body to shift from "dieting" and restriction to being fed what it needs and wants. It's not an overnight change but eventually you can get out of the mental strain that dieting has on you! Part 3 to this "series" is going to be about just that: WHY do this and NOT what I/WE have been doing???

Leave a Comment

Part 1: So, what IS intuitive eating?

Over the past week I have been asking questions and taking polls, trying to get a feel for where the ladies in my group are at mentally with weight loss and body image. I have mentioned intuitive eating a handful of times and so now I'm going to begin a blog post series about "what" it is, "why" it's important, and "how" to become an intuitive eater.  Starting with, what IS it exactly?

God designed us, every single one of us, with an instinct to feed ourselves when we need fed and how much we need fed, and when given choices even what we need fed. Think of a brand new baby. They are born knowing exactly when to eat and how much to eat as needed for their growth. But our culture has disrupted that instinct and it starts at birth as well, when the nurses tell you to feed your baby every three hours. If they are sleeping, wake them up. I remember with my first baby the nurse would even take off my daughters clothing so that she would respond to the coldness- to wake up and eat.  Don't let them fall asleep eating, make sure that they are eating __ amount of ounces or feeding for ___ amount of minutes on eat side. Disrupting from birth their natural instincts to eat intuitively- when and how much their body needs. With my last few babies- I learned to tell the nurses what they wanted to hear and let my babies eat when they were ready, they never starved and they definitely will let you know the second they want to eat. I understand that there are situations where a baby may need to gain weight quickly for health reasons or premature issues or an upcoming surgery etc, and of that I am not referring to. Just an average, healthy baby.

The disruption only continues through our lives. Start solids at ___ months old, even if she shows no interest in them yet. As we get older our portions are given to us and our diets micromanaged by someone else. If we wake up at age 5 and tell our mom we are not hungry, she makes us eat anyway. Disruption. If your child is not hungry for breakfast, they will not starve to death. This pattern continues and worsens with age when the cultures standard of thinness and health begins to influence us and all of sudden, we don't know how to eat anymore. We can't listen to our God given instincts, we've never in our lives been able to. This person eats this way and look how amazing they look, this person raves about this diet or this program. It all begins with that disruption and we are here. Overweight and looking for answers, trying to figure out HOW to eat, HOW to lose weight and keep it off, trying every diet and program available only to gain the weight back.

Intuitive eating is so well described here :

"It means eating until full and satisfied; without the need to envision ‘fullness scales’, ‘hunger charts’ or chewing each mouthful in a slow, meditative trance; stopping at 80% full (whatever that is) and re-evaluating in 20 minutes. It means aiming for complete and utter satisfaction: a stomach that has no desire to eat more. It means relying on your body to gauge fullness signals well, without second-guessing or panicking about getting it ‘right’ down to the exact mouthful: knowing that if you eat too much at one meal, you will be less hungry at the next – and vice versa: that your body will sort it out."

So intuitive eating is getting back to the place where we listen to our bodies cues and trust our bodies instincts to eat when we need to eat, how much and what. Your body wants to be healthy, and if you pay attention to it- you will naturally eat when you are hungry, you will naturally eat foods that are nourishing, you will naturally stop eating when your body is "full" (and that doesn't mean when you feel full/stuffed). 

So how does this work with losing weight? First, you have to throw away any preconceived ideas about how much you should weigh based on any charts from any organization. Throw them away.  Your body will settle you into your natural healthy weight and it is most likely not what the online charts tell you you should weigh, because they continue to lower the standards of the BMI charts. 

In the book "Health at Every Size", the author writes about her time as a PhD candidate at the time the BMI standards were lowered.  Her mentor was on the NIH Obesity Task Force. The author expressed her surprise and concern about the standards being lowered (when I say standards being lowered it means that if the chart currently says you should weigh 145lbs, they are now lowering that weight and saying that now you should be smaller-etc). There was significant evidence in support of raising the standards, not lowering them. She presented her review to her mentor, which was laughed at. In the end, her mentor told her "we were pressured to make the standards conform to those already accepted by the World Health Organization." The decision to lower the standards of the BMI charts and tell you that you need to be even smaller, was made for political reasons. Not because it was supported by science or for the betterment of health.  Stop looking at charts and online weight calculators.  Also in her book she traces back further with the WHO BMI standards and it becomes even more disturbing. I cannot recommend this book enough. 

Second,  you have to accept that what your natural body weight is may not align with what YOU want it to be.  Just because YOU want to be 130 lbs doesn't mean that is what YOUR body should weigh (and is also the reason why if 130 is not your natural body weight, you will have to fight forever to maintain that weight). Often, our expectations are not realistic for our bodies OR genetics. 

If you are eating intuitively, eating when your body tells you and only eating as much as your body tells you, your body will stabilize and maintain at it's natural healthy weight. If you are 160 pounds and begin to intuitively eat, and your natural healthy weight is 150, your body will naturally shed those pounds because you are giving it exactly what it needs to do that. 

There is so much to explore in this subject and I am excited to be exploring it all alongside my current group! In part II I am going to explore HOW to start this way of life. 

Leave a Comment dieting, food, freedom, healthy eating, intuitive eating, weight loss

finding the true balance

I want to start this off by saying that every single person and every body is different. With that, each person has their own preferences and styles and certain things that work for them. I do not believe that there is any one perfect way to lose weight and keep it off as long as it's a program that is focused on foods that nourish, forming good relationships with food and good habits to sustain you through life. And when you add in all of those qualifications, your list of "programs" becomes very slim. You know my mantra on things like shots, shakes, pills,drops and restrictive food lists and now after three years of being in the dieting world, battling obesity and being able to keep the weight off, I am changing up the game, per say.

I am no longer a macro-tracking advocate.  There. I said it. It's not because tracking macros is bad. It's not because it doesn't work or that it's unhealthy or any of the above. If you are cutting and trying to lean out for something like a body competition, a weight lifting competition, to have six pack abs or be "cut", then I do indeed believe that macros is the best plan you can follow! You can also add in people who have an OCD personality and/or mentally need to meticulous about every aspect of their diet to that list. But for people who are not going for the "cut" look, or trying to bulk up or have no desire to have that bikini competition figure- we do not need to be that detailed and controlling over our diets. 

What do we need? True freedom in our food choices. It's too easy to get caught up in the numbers and rules, obsessing over the weight of a food and forget to trust the instincts God gave us to know what our body needs and when it needs it. Not to mention, I was tired of my face always being in my phone trying to figure out my numbers for the day!  I don't know about you, but in the past two years tracking macros I have encountered many different unhealthy relationships with food and the way we think about it. I have eaten much too many weird combinations of food because it was all that "fit" my numbers that day. I have been so tired of protein, so tired of it. But I couldn't swap meats out for healthier things like beans because I didn't have enough carbs for beans. Did you ever turn anyone down for lunch out or a slice of a friends homemade bread because you couldn't track it correctly or you just didn't have room for it? (raises hand). Totally not ok. Not only is it not ok, but even the Lord thought it was important enough to write about:

“When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is provided for you.”

— Luke 10:8

When you are going to enjoy food with someone, you do not want the conversation to be about your diet. You also do not want your host or friend or family to worry about offering something that you "can" or "cannot" eat.  Let's not make it all about us and our diet- enjoy the time and eat what is provided. That doesn't mean that you cannot make wise choices- moderation and portions are key to being able to live in balance. They offer you a slice of pie, that doesn't mean that you need to eat 3 and 4 slices, it doesn't even mean you have to eat one entire slice. It's totally appropriate that you could have a few bites and leave some on your plate. Listen to your body.  No whipping out your phone or asking for recipes to track your macros. No worrying about how much that pie weighed. Eat and move on. 

Tracking macros can be a very slippery slope into obsession, especially if you do it for a long period of time. If you cannot imagine your day without tracking your food, something needs to change. 

So what do I do now? 

Eat intuitively. Eat what you want. Bare with me here, I know most of my readers are actively trying to lose weight, bare.with.me. 

There are different types of "intuitive eaters". Ones who chug soda and binge on cake all day and do gain weight, and ones who eat healthy but allow themselves the freedom to have really whatever they feel like having. If you tune into your body and really ask yourself every day what you truly feel that your body needs that day, rarely ever will you end up eating 2 rows of Oreos because you know how icky that is going to make you feel afterwards. However, if you fill your body with foods that nourish you and make you feel good all day and then a friend ask's you to get ice cream- you have the freedom to grab a small ice cream completely guilt free/track free/macro free. If you want a banana before a long run, you do not need to think twice about your carb allotment that day, eat the banana. Now- there is a little more to it than this which I will cover in other posts like "binging", fear of not being able to trust yourself, and how will I know if I'm eating too much? 

Really, this is how everyone should be living. There shouldn't be a term that names balanced eating because it should be natural to us like walking and talking (and actually, it IS natural to us but we've strayed so far from that). I am excited to begin helping women get back to eating. To get back to health. To get away from the numbers and tracking mentality and get back to having a healthy relationship with food. The Lord gave us food for nourishment and also for enjoyment, open up your bible and you will find that it is full of eating and sharing in meals together. Food was never meant to be bondage, it was never meant to be obsessed over and tracked meticulously. Let's get back to eating the way we were intended to eat- let's get back to the JOY of eating and how you can do this and still meet your weight loss goals because weight does play a role in your health and wellness! 

Leave a Comment calories, dieting, FAQ, freedom, healthy eating, intuitive eating

facelift, changes & more

    I am ecstatic to announce that the Healthful Pursuits brand will be getting a facelift! Not only does this facelift mean a new look online, but also it's purpose. I am just a few weeks away from celebrating a full year of coaching women in weight loss and nutrition- using my own experience in fighting obesity, losing 100lbs (and keeping it off) and endless hours of research, trial and error. I have been blessed to be able to help these women become healthier versions of themselves, it is truly my passion.

When I began my goal was to get a nutrition certification and continue coaching and hosting groups, but over the summer I decided that I wanted to push it further. I want the most knowledge that I can get so that I can help people on a deeper and broader level. Most certification programs are not highly spoken of, you basically pay for a certificate and the word "nutritionist". There is no regulation in our state for "nutritionist". Meaning, anyone can call themselves one. Honestly, that is not something I want to be a part of. I want to know the science.  So next month I begin my first semester in a Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) and will eventually graduate with a Bachelors in Food and Nutrition to become a Registered Dietician (RD) from the University of Alabama (they have a distance program for my course of study, so all of it will be online except clinic hours!) is it too early to yell ROLL TIDE?!

The fact that it takes FIVE years to become a registered dietician proves just how amazing food and nutrition, and the impact they make on your body is! There is no way you can truly learn all that is needed to get the full scope of nutrition and your body in one book and quick test! I am blessed because I have such a flexible study schedule because I am at home with my kids,  I can create a study schedule that fits into my days.

In the meantime I will still be doing coaching and educating women and teens with all of the science based information that I can, but with focus being on wellness- not solely weight. My groups will be a little different because of that, but for the better! Because diets don't work. 

So be on the lookout for a bunch of good changes and follow along! My next group Joyful Eating is 10 weeks to a healthier and happier relationship with food and your body.  There are just TWO spots open right now and we begin September 1st. So if you want a spot, snag it now!

Leave a Comment about me, FAQ, healthy eating

what to do next?

We have three weeks left in this challenge!

So many have seen such great results and I am a firm believer that you get out what you put in. Those who put in the most have seen the greatest results! Those who are putting in a portion of effort are only seeing small portions of results, if not even a bit of yo-yo-ing! If your effort yo-yo's, so will your results. If you are off track and on track, off and on, do not expect your results to be anything different. I can't do the work for you, I can't eat and exercise and shop for you, YOU have to put in the work. I hope to see 100% effort these last few weeks, remember why you began this!

My next challenge will begin September 1st, labor day weekend, and it's going to be a scale-LESS challenge! We will weigh in AND take photos ONCE at the very start, weigh in once at the half way point (week 5) and then at the very end weigh in and take the last set of photos! Over the summer I took a big break from weighing in and it was so freeing! I could not tell you my exact weight right now, but I can tell you that if you continue to stay on plan and workout- you WILL have results. There is no reason to be obsessed with the scale, to get upset over ounces and let it consume you. However, weighing IS a great measure of progress and that is why we are not completely giving it up. The goal is to stay on track with our eating and exercise, and to discover that weight loss is possible without weekly weigh ins and that changes in your body CAN and DO happen without loss on the scale. I cannot wait!

A friend recently told me that she was taking a break from dieting (healthy! healthy!) but that after one week she needed to go back on it because she cannot handle NOT being on a diet. Ladies, that is super unhealthy. It is NOT normal and not ok to always be on a diet and to always be dieting. This is the exact mindset that I am passionate about breaking. It's healthy and ok and good to lose weight, but we have to be careful about how we are doing this and to what extent we are letting it consume us!

As always, spots are open FIRST to current ladies in this group! Then as we approach labor day I will open it to everyone! If you are thinking of joining another round, be ready to GIVE IT YOUR ALL!

Details:

Group Dates: September 1st to November 3rd
Rate: $75
-3 weigh ins
-4 challenges with prizes
-weekly 1:1 personal evaluation
+ everything that is normally in the challenge groups: your plan, exercise, motivation, group support, MFP log checking, weekly discussion topics and workout challenges.
Open to 8 ladies!

Leave a Comment counting calories, diet break, FAQ, weight loss

why do i need to eat all of my calories?

There can be such confusing information about "under eating" or, not eating all of your calories. Some say it's good- the less you eat the more weight you will lose. They are right, to an extent.  But not eating enough also leads to other success dampers.  The main one being binging.

This is one of my biggest reasons for telling my clients to please, eat all the calories you are given in a day! If you can eat 1500 calories, eat them! They are set to 1500 for a reason. Eventually, you are going to get hungry. Your body needs those 1500 calories- that is already a deficit for you and your body is in stress eating just that 1500- it's using every single calorie! So when you are eating even less than you are told, you are putting more stress on your body. You will eventually get hungry and it will lead to you binging one day and completely ruining your entire week in ONE day! OR you may not do it all in one day, you may be a snacker and ruin your deficit over days by going over a little each day to create one big deficit by the end of the week. Even when I don't "feel" hungry I always try to make sure I get at least 50 calories within my goal because I know that if I let myself get to the point of feeling that hunger- I am putting myself at major risk of over eating and making poor food choices.

There is also an issue with under eating when it comes to plateaus.

If I tell you to eat at 1500 calories, when you hit a wall, and you will, I need to lower your numbers. So the next level down let's just say would be 1400. But wait, you've already been eating at 1400 because you haven't been following your numbers. So 1400 wont get you moving again, I have to put you even lower than that. And it's a cycle- you end up eating LESS and LOSING LESS. You quickly go from losing at 1500 calories to not being able to lose at 1250.

Trust your coach. Eat what you are told! That's why you hired someone, to tell you what you need to do to be successful, so listen! If you are not losing weight and following your plan 100%, there are SO MANY reasons and factors for this! Your coach would be the best person to evaluate and help you figure out the WHY and get you back on something  that will work. Sometimes, you have to go UP in calories to get your body moving again.

Happy Monday, ladies!

Leave a Comment calories, counting calories, diet break, healthy eating, macros, plateau, snacking, weight loss

self control

Many times throughout the past three years on this "journey" I have gotten weary. I have wanted to stop and "just eat like a normal person",  I would say.  What did I really want? To just eat and not worry or think about how much I was eating or what I was eating, I wanted to be "free" of that but also be able to do that and not gain weight.

So lately I have been thinking about that, especially as I took the majority of my summer off from tracking and weighing and I've been able to examine my eating habits after two and a half years. My thoughts may be all over the place but hopefully you can get an idea of where I'm coming from.

Self control is the key. People who are dieting are successful because they are controlling their intake of food. They have self control. People who do not track or "diet" and just eat (without gaining) also have self control. They do not go crazy and eat everything in sight. They find a balance in their diets and exhibit self control by not over eating, therefore allowing themselves to be able to "just eat" and not gain weight. They have self control.

Therefore, there is no such thing truly, as eating completely freely for anyone. Just because I want to eat 10 oreos with milk every day does not mean I can or should, and this is true for every single person alive whether you are 100 pounds or 500 pounds (unless you are TRYING to gain weight, of course).  We cannot do and eat however we feel, because in doing that it leads to where? Where almost everyone who reads this blog is or has been: overweight, battling food addictions and trying to lose weight.

The same goes for so many other things in life. You cannot do whatever you want because you want to or because you feel like it. Yes, there will come a time when your calories can go up a bit more and you can train a little less and maintain your weight. Will there ever be a time where you can eat anything all day for weeks and expect not to gain? No, most likely not, and this is even MORE true for anyone who has been obese and lost a large amount of weight (another post on that to come). You will always have to live with self control, whether you are tracking and trying to lose or just maintaining your weight.

So get into practice that this, being in control of your food choices, is lifelong. It is TRULY a lifestyle, there is no end. If you do end it and you lose that control you are going to go back to where you were.

Leave a Comment eating, weight loss

Losing Weight is Hard Work

It's a big deal when people lose weight. And the more weight and bigger transformation in a person the more praise and recognition for it they get. In part because yes, they may look better, but also because losing weight is hard work. People know that, it's a huge accomplishment because it takes so much dedication, focus and commitment.

There are hundreds and hundreds of weight loss products, systems and plans to help people lose weight- because it is not easy and these products and systems are trying to make it a bit easier for people. We have support groups, there are live-in rehab type programs for weight loss. Doctors. Clinics. Studies. All trying to combat and figure out the same thing. When someone sets out to lose weight, they are committing to discipline, to focus, to self control, to consistency and to hard work for as long as it takes.

Why then, do so many of us expect this journey to be easier? Less frustrating, Faster. We are not happy when the scale doesn't move enough. When our body does what it is suppose to do and fluctuates our weight and water we get mad and often give up. We set a goal of 2-3lbs a week and are dissatisfied when we lose 1lb a week. When we diet for 8 weeks and don't see a huge change. Our clothes become loser and people notice that you are slimmer and YOU are the only one who is upset because you only lost a few ounces this morning vs the 2 you were hoping for.

We are setting out to do one of the hardest things that people ever do- and we expect it to be easier and faster. It's like climbing a mountain and getting upset with weather conditions, alternative routes, run ins with animals, injuries, physical exhaustion and everything else you encounter when climbing a mountain. Mountain climbers mentally prepare themselves for the challenges they will face on their journey and do not quit when it begins to rain and they are set back days.

So can I just lovingly say: stop it. Stop. Expect to work your behind off. Expect to have to give up a lot of foods. Expect to not see all of the changes on the scale that you had hoped every single week. Expect for your weight and water retention to fluctuate. Expect for it to take longer than you planned. This is not a race, you want to accomplish something and you want it to last. Adjust your expectations now and enjoy the journey, because it's not just about weight loss. SO much more of you changes through this than just the scale number!

And most importantly, don't give up.

Leave a Comment calories, fluctuation, healthy eating, plateau, weight loss

About Me: My Journey through Weight Loss & Wellness

I cannot tell you how many times I tried to make a video for this post today. Between my voice being hoarse and coughing (recovering from the flu), my phone cutting me off because I didn't have enough memory for a 10 minute long video (haha!) and my kids walking in the room talking- I finally decided the video was a no-go and to share my heart on here.

I am a wife to a network engineer (computer nerd!) and a stay at home, homeschooling mom  to 8 children. Nutrition coach, weight lifter, runner, and occasional crossfitter. My husband and I have planted our roots in a tiny Carolina town but have the love of cities deep in our hearts (we love visiting cities!)

My passion and desire is to help women change their lives from the inside out- and it began with my own journey of losing 110 pounds naturally.  After five pregnancies and two adoptions within a seven year span, I found myself 80 pounds heavier and never able to lose enough of that weight before welcoming a new child! I set out to pursue a healthier me after discovering that I had high grade pre cancerous cells that had to be removed after my last pregnancy. This was my wake up call, I was only 25/26 and a slight cell grade below stage 1 cancer. I knew that it wasn't just about the weight that had to change, but my relationship with food and what I was putting into my body had to change if I was going make a lasting difference in my life.

(circa 2009, love that hair flip too, bahaha!)

From there I began reading and researching. Books, articles, blogs, studies all helped me make the decision that I was going to do this by eating real foods and exercising. No shakes, shots, pills, drops, wraps or crash dieting. I began running and doing at-home workouts with hand weights. I ran a few races and joined my local crossfit box. There I learned so much more about my body and proper nutrition to fuel your workouts than I knew existed.  I love to challenge myself and push my limits, so I am always in search of new ways to train and new sports to pursue. After a year of crossfit I dedicated myself more to running and this spring I completed a 31 mile ultra marathon. It is amazing what our bodies can do! There have absolutely been days that I truly want to give in, to sign up for a 2-shake-a-day program or to run to the nearest clinic for phentermine and b12 shots. Looking back on those days and those options, it is so empowering to know that I did this all the right way, the wasting way and changed my entire life.

My journey is long but shows that patience pays off. My health and my weight effected so much of my life that I never realized. I was insecure and self conscious and that spilled over into my marriage, my parenting and my friendships. I am a completely different person than I was just 3 years ago in greater ways than just being leaner. 

250ish- 225ish- 185ish

Healthful pursuits came alive in the very start. The more I learned, the more I wanted to get this information out to everyone. The desire for women to know more about their health and their bodies was embedded in me as I was journeying through it myself. When I did share bits and pieces- emails and messages would flood my inbox from women feeling defeated and confused, unsure of what to do and where to begin to regain their health and bodies back.  So I began to study for my fitness nutrition certificate and began taking on women to coach and help meet their goals. I am not a coach that is going to put you on a diet of eating nothing just to see numbers on the scale drop- but give you the tools, the information and the motivation you need to regain total body health.  I have been there, and some days I am there- I am not free from struggles and poor eating habits but have learned that this is truly a journey and a lifestyle.

165ish 

Leave a Comment about me, transformation, weight loss

Snacking: is it worth it?

I want to chat a little about something that is a problem area for me personally, and something that I have also seen a little bit of in other's logs and food pictures: snacking!

Let me start by saying that there is nothing wrong with having a snack. There is not even anything wrong with "snacking" as long as you are tracking how much you are having. This is an example of me on a bad day, total calorie allowance of 1675.

Breakfast: 2 eggs, toast, coffee = 315 calories

+ the handful of life cereal I snagged while pouring my kids = 400 calories. 

Snack 1: Protein shake, banana: 260 calories

+ 10 pretzels, again, serving my kids = 325 calories 

Lunch: Tuna, mayo, relish, tomatoes, wheat wrap, string cheese = 350 calories

Snack 2: Apple, 1tbsp of PB =195

+ one tablespoon? Yea right- i know I can't handle myself with PB, add another TBS. = 290

**it's right before dinner time. everyone is coming in from swimming and playing and they all want ice cream. I can't have any because I chose to have 295 calories in a handful of life cereal, a few pretzels and 1tbs of peanut butter. None of which filled me up- it was just habit. For 295 calories I could have enjoyed AN ENTIRE PINT of Halo Top Ice Cream with my kids 0R a skinny cow ice cream OR a cup of regular ice cream.** 

Dinner: Mexican Chicken (and all the toppings) = 300 calories


Daily total: 1,665

This was actually the perfect timing to do this evaluation on myself! It doesn't have to be ice cream, it could have been anything. A change of dinner plans leaving everyone going out for dinner, I would have had much more calories to use out had a I not snacked  them away.

Again, it's not that snacking is bad, if that is how you want to spend your calories that is totally fine! For me, it's a struggle area because it's habit for me and NOT the way I want to spend mine. I would much rather have a pint of ice cream over a few pretzels and some life cereal.  Next time you are tempted to take a handful of goldfish, think first about your day and whether or not those snacking calories will be worth it!

Leave a Comment calories, counting calories, eating, macros, snacking, weight loss

Summer Challenge Group

This year has FLOWN by! We are now just 19 days away from the start of the Summer Challenge Group which beings on the first day of summer, June 21st! Some people have the mindset that there is no point in starting in the middle of summer- their opportunity to lose their extra weight for summer is gone. That's completely untrue! If you put in hard work and determination, there is no reason why you can not be down 8 or more pounds in just the first month, and even more by the time school starts back in mid August. Imagine if you started now, what progress you will have made by the time holiday season begins and you are shopping for family gatherings and Christmas card photos.

With that said, my groups are not eat very little and lose a ton of weight in a few weeks.  There is no fad or quick fix that I support- instead I focus your plan around eating a healthy amount of food based on your body, lifestyle and activity level. Erasing the un healthy mindsets of "less is more" and debunking common diet myths (like: carbs are bad when trying to lose weight). A true lifestyle change that may not yield the extreme results like some of the low calorie and supplement programs out there, instead you will learn how to get to a healthy weight by eating all kinds of foods (no strict food lists!).

This group will run for 10 weeks, June 21st to August 30th. It includes a personalized plan for you to follow, an online group setting for encouragement/tips/discussion, three group challenges to participate in with prizes like my favorite water bottle, workout tanks, rx bars, etc. A weekly discussion topic, accountability for what you eat daily, support and your questions answered.  This group is also special because I am adding a 2nd coach (who is also Crossfit level 1 certified) to help me moderate the online group, encourage and answer questions. You will have access to two sources throughout the day for any of your questions and needs! The cost is $85 for 10 weeks (nothing else is required to be purchased except your regular groceries!). This equals to $8.50 a week.

In my previous 10 week challenge groups participants lost anywhere from 7-20 pounds and I am a firm believer that what you put into it, you will get out of it! I am not a doctor or certified nutritionist/dietician. I am a Mom helping other women meet their goals using what I have studied, learned, and experienced over the past three years losing 110lbs and over 10 previous years living obese with disordered eating habits. Ashley is a Mom who has lived with anorexia then obesity and has lost 61 pounds in the past few years using the same methods we promote to others. She received her level 1 crossfit certification in early Spring 2017.

Leave a Comment

Vacation & Your Diet

Summer is just weeks away and many people are gearing up for summer vacation! Whether you go all out and travel, go to the next town over or do a stay-cation, the purpose is the same: to relax and create memories with your loved ones. So where does your diet fit into this?

What I tell people is that it is truly an individual and personal decision whether or not you should try to stick to your diet on vacation. You really have to consider and weigh out the pros and cons and choose which one you want to do.

Will you be able to relax, have fun and enjoy this short amount of time that you have to the fullest if you have to say no to the ice cream shops on the beach and order a salad when everyone is going out for burgers? I can't answer that for you, and there is no right or wrong choice. Some people would feel deprived if they had to sit and watch their family enjoy big ice cream cones, and others would be perfectly ok with it.

Is it going to be hard to track your foods or have access to healthy options? Will you be at a place that is full of restaurants and fast food (think theme parks) where healthy options are scarce or will you be somewhere that you will have more freedom and be able to even cook some meals yourself (think renting a beach house or cabin).

Is it going to be stressful tracking your food while exploring a city or will the lack of control and not tracking create anxiety for you?

Do you have a competition or a bet coming up that you have to be a certain body weight or body fat percent by? Or is your goal self set and flexible?

These are all things to ask yourself if you are having a hard time choosing what to do on vacation. My personal thought is:
Vacation is a really special time and for most families, it is not often that you take them. If you don't have a bikini competition or challenge deadline coming up, then I always vote to take the time off of your diet and enjoy these days food-worry free. Memories and fun for me, are worth more than losing my 1-2 pounds that week.

Keep in mind when you go that you have freedom, but don't go crazy and have 5 cheeseburgers and 3 dole whips a day. Also that you will typically see a rise in the scale when you return but if you get back on your plan right away, drink your water and be strict, any extra you gained can typically come off in a week because unless you do go absolutely crazy- it will be water retention.

Enjoy your vacations! Enjoy your family and friends and food! We want weight loss and we want our bodies to change but lets remember what really matters in the big picture.

Leave a Comment Dining out, healthy eating, vacation, weight loss

Starvation Mode & Dieting

I am sure we've all heard the theory of starvation mode, no? If not, basically it is when people think/assume that if they don't eat enough their body will go into "starvation mode" and you won't lose weight because your body thinks it's starving and needs to hold on to everything.

What does this actually even mean? Is it real?

Yes and No. It is named wrong, because what happens during "starvation" mode is not your body starving. If you truly do not eat enough your body will lose and you will starve to death, so that portion is incorrect.

What actually happens is that while dieting (eating in a significant caloric deficit) everything slows down, including your NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis: the amount of energy you use living and doing your day to day routine). Your body slows everything down in order to maintain homeostasis.  Typically, the stress of dieting and hunger will increase the cortisol levels in your body which will cause muscle loss and water retention...which will mask fat loss.

Sometimes there are people who are not losing weight despite their strict food intake on very low calories and exercise.  The reason for this is that the very low calorie intake is actually their current maintenance level (the amount you need to eat to maintain your weight) because of the decrease of their NEAT and the INCREASE of their cortisol levels. When you increase your calories you are less stressed (eating in a caloric deficit is a stressor on your body) and you have more energy. You will be able to do more and have more energy which will raise your NEAT and restore some of your cortisol levels and you will lose again. This is why some people can lose weight "eating more" than they previously were.

Here is an example of this situation I found from a nutrition coach group I am in:


Molly is eating 1400 cals a day. She is tired and not as active, her NEAT is decreased which means her total daily energy expenditure is low. She is no longer losing weight at this. 

Her coach bumped her up to eating 1800 cals a day. She has more energy and is less stressed and is moving more during the day. Her NEAT and TDEE has risen and she is losing again. 

I hope this helps not only explain "starving" (if you don't enough you will starve to death, period) and what happens when you diet and stall in general. I really love reading new information like this!

Leave a Comment diet break, eating, FAQ, fluctuation, macros, plateau, weight loss

A Few of My Favorite Things

I am asked often about my favorites. Of everything. Bars. Protein. Apps. Workouts. Shoes. Gear. Foods. Stores. Places to eat. Which is funny to me because I am always asking my athlete friends what THEIR favorite things are so I can try them out as well! (I actually JUST asked a runner friend over the weekend about her faves). Maybe I just like shopping and trying different things, my husband would say that is the reasons <----. However, I do have my tried and trues and things that I stay loyal to for quality and price or just because I really like them! These of course, are just my opinion and I'm not paid for any of it! :-D

Let's start with my favorite, foods!

FOODS

-overnight oats with nut butter, almond milk and berries

-tuna salad with pretzels or a low fat wheat cracker

-baked chicken with sweet potatoes and zucchini (all in the same dish, drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with seasonings and a little butter) 

-banana with peanut butter 

-i love snacking on the cherub salad tomatoes! 

-grilled chicken nuggets with a large super food side from chic fil a 

-halo top ice cream

-"my wifes salad" from grouchos deli

-banana, honey and PB toast! 

-pop-chips if you are in a chippy mood

-walnuts, blueberries and almond milk with WARM peanut butter drizzled on top

-I only drink water or sparkling water like pelligrino, perrier, la croix or an occasional unsweet tea. 

PROTEIN

Ascent Whey Protein!

Progenex PB smash is great too but very pricey, Ascent wins in this for sure.

BARS 

I recently tried PICKY Bars and I love them! 4:1 Carb/Protein ratio make them perfect to fuel before or after a hard workout 

RX Bars 

If you want a high protein bar, I love PRObars especially coffee crunch flavor (but they are all good!). Target sells them but only HALF the size and protein! Whole foods has the full bar with 20g of protein.

FUEL:

C4 pre-workout 

Glukos gummies

GU stroop waffles 

GU gels

Nuun hydration tablets 

I prefer the gummies over gels- I like to eat! The waffles are yummy and perfect for an intra carb or long run! *please consult your doctor before using any kind of nutritional supplement!*

ACTIVEWEAR 

I spend more on leggings than tops, my bottom half NEEDS support of a great pair of leggings. I have tried so many pairs- even ones that range up to $98! No thanks! I found the "Zella" line at Nordstrom, their "live in" leggings are THE BEST and half the price of lulu. Also a fun fact: the designer use to design for lululemon. 

Tops I get from anywhere! I have no favorite because I don't need it to do much but look good :) 

Shoes...get fitted. I know, you don't want to spend the money on an expensive pair, but if you are running you will NOT regret it! If you are not running and just lifting- you just need a flat pair. Converse are widely popular among lifters. If you are crossfitting- Nike Metcons are loved by all. 

Socks do matter. Swiftwick, Stance and Feetures socks are all I've tried and I have no complaints! You do not want to run a long distance in cotton. 

GEAR 

All Nathan running gear for hydration. 

Box Stalker weight lifting belts.

RPM speed rope

WODtape

Garmin Forerunner 235 

APPS: 

Strava (for running)

Runkeeper (for running)

HappyScale (for recording weight fluctuations)

Myfitnesspal (obvs!)

Spotify (music)

Wodify if your box uses it (wod tracker)

Leave a Comment activewear, FAQ, favorite items, products, supplements

WEIGHT FLUCTUATION

"Yesterday I weighed 160 pounds, but today I weighed 162! What am I doing wrong? Do I need to cut back on my carbs?! How did I gain two pounds?!"

This is a common, yet frustrating scenario. I'm sure most of us have been there, I know I have! It's really important for women to understand weight fluctuations when they begin a dieting program so that they do not get frustrated, discouraged and worried they are doing something wrong if the scale is up a little bit one day. 

There are so many things that come into play when you weigh yourself. You are not just weighing fat- you are weighing everything! Where you are in your menstrual cycle, salt intake, water retention, hormones, stress all have a play in weight fluctuating day to day. 

If you are eating in a caloric deficit (staying on plan- not binging, not sneaking in snacks etc) then there is no scientific way for you to gain FAT. You actually have to eat a decent amount of food to start gaining fat, and my guess is that if you are eating that amount you will not be surprised that the scale is up, you will expect it. 

So rest assured that even if the scale is up a little bit while you are on plan, it is OK and it is NOT fat! Typically what I do after this happens is have the person be really strict on their plan for the next few days and drink every ounce of their water then weigh again. Every single time their weight had returned to normal, and mine as well when this happens to me. 

Another "problem"/factor is weighing in the day after a really hard/intense workout. For instance last weekend I ran 12 miles and the next day I was UP 5pounds. You would think I would be down! But it was water- my muscles were sore and swollen from the intensity and strain which causes them to retain water. Even more so if you are lifting weights (causing tears in your muscle that fill with water). A day or so after my long run my weight was back to normal. 

We will also not be weighing in daily, but weekly. This way, you may not ever see your weight fluctuate! You may just see consistent loss the entire time! Our weigh days are Monday's because knowing that you have a weigh in Monday helps keep you accountable over the weekend! 

Leave a Comment FAQ, fluctuation, weight loss

WEIGHING VS MEASURING

Welcome to the world of WEIGHING food! Why do we weigh? Why can't we use measuring cups and spoons? This has a really short explanation: because measuring can be extremely inaccurate and you could be eating much more than you think you are actually eating.

The nutritional information on a label is almost always based on the weight of the product. The measurement is just an estimate. By weighing your food, you know exactly how much you are eating. I found this photo example below from active.com : 

Using a measuring cup VS weighing your foods can be throwing you off by hundreds of calories a day. The serving size of oatmeal is 40g or 1/2 cup for 140 calories. If you weigh out 40g, you actually get a bit less than a 1/2 cup but you know you are getting 150 calories. 

On the right, they filled the half cup up and then measured it. It came out to be much more than 40g AND almost 50 calories more as well when you think that you are only having 150 calories. 

If you do not have a food scale, I cannot recommend you get one soon enough! You can get one for around $10 online or in any big box store. If you have been dieting and using measuring cups and spoons, try weighing and see what a difference it makes! 

What should I weigh? 

Everything you can! The only things I do not weigh are eggs, breads, and spices. 

Example:

 Breakfast is two eggs, a slice of toast and half of an avocado. Well, how much is a half? Avocado's can vary in size from fairly small to large. Half of a large avocado is not going to be the same as half of a small one. To accurately track this, you will take the skin off of the portion you want to eat. Weigh it (grams is the most accurate but use whichever unit is best for you) and then log that weight for your serving size. So your log will say "60 grams of avocado" or "2 oz" of avocado. Not just "half" because half can be a large difference of calories depending on the size! 

Also, weigh as much as you can RAW/Uncooked! If the package SAYS that the serving size is for a cooked product, then cook it and weigh it. Otherwise the package is stating the serving size for the product AS IS in the package. 

Leave a Comment eating, FAQ, food, plateau, weighing food, weight loss