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LESSON TIME π€ππ©π»π«
I should say, "if you don't want to count calories indefinitely" but that didn't sound as catchy.
If you are trying to manipulate your body composition for example, you will need to monitor your macronutrient and caloric intake to a variable extent with intention and commitment (As is true for any therapeutic diet).
But if you believe that a set of macronutrient grams or ratios is all there is to nutrition, eventually you'll realize you just taught yourself how to run on a hamster wheel.
Running in place is so boring. Really ridiculous if you think about it. Truly could only serve the purpose for endurance training and burning off some calories...
Anyway, calorie and macronutrient counting is your tool to engaging with your diet and creating a boundary you find live-able for your temporary agenda. It will expire however.
Especially if those calories are empty. And nothing is more hazardess than empty carbohydrates.
Besides, thinking so much is exhausting. Nature doesn't think, it just is and does.
So while this post makes many points, I'll sum it up as this:
Eat for your body. Not your mind.
But use your mind to build knowledge.
However, knowledge is not power;
Wisdom and discernment are.
#nutrition #realnutrition #wholefoods #qualityfood #hippocrates #health #bodywisdom
Last May, this client came to me at the end of her rope, but not without hope!
Back story; recently divorced, single mom, tight budget, living in the middle of nowhere, history of cyclical weight gain.
Money, Time, Food. These three resources will either make you or break you if you don't develop the awareness required of making real and lasting changes. If you don't learn to say no to your old ways, if you use your circumstances as excuses rather than opportunities, and if you allow your story to become your identity, then yeah, you'll always be a self-fulfilling prophecy subject to your reactive patterns and cyclical outcomes.
This woman is none of those things. And that impresses me.
I worked with her for a total of 14 weeks within the last year. Which means she did most of this on her own; her own time, her own budget, and her own free will. All I did was supply the tools!
She's lost 66# and as of today, hit a new low weight, dropping excess body fat, building muscle, and increasing energy. Time, money, and location have not been an issue because she doesn't make it one.
And it's that attitude that I am giving so much praise to. Her physical transformation is great, but the internal one is greater.
Inspo client above β¬οΈ
Living in a body that looks as good as it feels does not have to be strenuous. You do have to want it, and therefore you have to commit to the attitude it requires. This means that the real challenge is just in your choice to remain committed to yourself!
The above photo is of a returning client of mine. When we last worked together, she passed her Nutrition 101 basics with flying colors. Still one of my top clients to date! So this time around, we focused on de-stressing the body through simple nutrition strategies around healing the gut, balancing hormones, and of course, not taking a toll from the Holiday frenzy!
When your body is clear, so is your mind. And that makes life smoother. The key to success is the ability to be adaptable and self regulated; not regimented and disciplined. Plans, protocols, and prescriptions are all just means to an end, but they are not the end!
So hats π© off and cheers π₯ to this successful client who teaches us that true success is not from striving, but from, well, relaxing.
#happynewyear #success #nutrition #fitnessmotivation #transformation #relax #health
Happy New Year!
Did you wake up yesterday inspired or...meh...and your aspirations feel more like obligations?
Well, here's the thing; it IS winter, and winter is a season for death and decay. Now I am not trying to be morbid, but now is not the season for production, to take days off in order to "catch up", and I personally don't think anyone should put such high expectations of themselves in a season designed for renewal.
So, if you have New Year Resolutions, rather than adding in, try letting go. How can you become healthier simply by releasing or replacing an old habit?
Use this winter season to cultivate or nurture what you want to see come alive in the spring time! Spring is the fertile season, rabbits are unstoppable, flowers bloom, and the world is green again. Now is not the time for birth, rather it is the gestational season in which we should prioritize rest, contemplation, and digging our roots deeper into the earth (as the trees do in preparation for spring)!
Here is what I am doing personally: taking 1 month entirely off of alcohol and any processed food (even if it is an organic snack with just a few ingredients.) I don't have a problem with over indulgence, but I do love to unwind with wine a couple times a week. So this is not so much a mental reset, but a physical one to give my body a full 30 days of whole food and hydration. Why? Because my body deserves it! And I know my mind will thank me too. My hope is that the inevitable boredom will inspire creativity and writing βοΈ
Happy Renewal Year!
#happynewyear #renewal #creativity #nutrition #fitness #resolutions #winter
Stress drives addiction. So what is also dysfunctional is how the food industry is profiting off of addiction, and how the health care industry is profiting off of the symptoms of addiction.
The Standard American Diet's acronyms are SAD.
Stress = Sad food. Sad food = sad bodies. Sad bodies + more sad food = sad minds. Sad minds = more sad food.
Sad bodies + sad minds + stress = disease (obesity, autoimmune, mental health disorders, cancer)
Disease = π°π°π°out of your pocket and into their's.
#truth #truthhurts #eatrealfood #addiction
Losing body fat takes strategy, not necessarily discipline. Most people don't struggle with following a set of directions. Most people struggle with being adaptable.
Being adaptable means that you can embrace your shifting external environment without compromising your internal environment.
When you master that, you can master anything.
I am constantly impressed by this client and her ability to remain adaptable through all the various demands of day to day life! She is πͺMAGIC β¨
ππΌππΌππΌ
#transformation #nutrition #health #wholefoods #nourish
The human body never ceases to amaze me!
These photos are taken just two weeks apart, showing considerable changes in my body composition. The difference? The health of my gut biome.
Picture on the Left: Evidence of a poor quality diet.
Picture on the Right: Results from Body Alchemy's Gut Reset Protocol.
My friends, it's true:
Micronutrients > Macronutrients (although both matter relative to metabolism, body composition, and immunity).
Read the full story below β¬οΈ
The photo on the left is the culmination of increased alcohol intake, restaurant food, and travel. To put it simply; my liver, kidneys, and gastrointestinal track are working over time! I took this photo the day after I got back from a camping trip. My caloric intake was not excessive as I balanced it through fasting techniques and physical activity. However, the QUALITY of my diet decreased significantly. Less water, less fiber. Relying on meals from restaurants increased the exposure to gluten, pesticides, and seed/vegetable oils. For me, this usually results in constipation and inflammation, forming a little inner tube around the midline as if my body is truly lending me a life raft!
I used to come home from trips like this and panic. Worst of all, I'd feel regretful and stressed; the very antithesis of vacation!
But STRESS, punches your enteric nervous system quite literally in the gut, and only makes it worse on the little guy.
So my RESPONSE, oppose to REACTION, is to bring balance back to my system through nature's remedies. This is includes detoxing, incorporating pre&probiotics and fiber.
Within three days my gut was back to normal. Within seven days, my body dropped inflammation and my metabolism rose to efficiency. Within two weeks, I dropped the extra body fat I didn't need WITHOUT restricting my caloric intake.
When it comes to your body, there's really no need to ever panic. You just have to pay attention. Nutrition is simple! I promise.
#nutrition #eatclean #seedoils #gmofree #probiotics #prebiotics #fiber #guthealth #organic #transformation
PART FOUR.
Awareness REQUIRES acceptance.
Acceptance REQUIRES patience, grace, and taking responsibility.
Taking responsibility FREES you from blaming yourself and blaming others. It opens you up to opportunities that will help you.
FREEDOM requires you SIT DOWN AND GET QUIET so you can stop reacting to your inner and outer environment. Check your mental chatter!
The FIRST step to physical transformation is cultivating awareness so that over time, without stress, you can tune in to all of your needs, and address them one at a time.
Nutrition is simple. Eat real food. Period.
Losing weight, getting healthy, is therefore, also simple.
You, however, are complex. Which is why, you can't skip cultivating and mastering awareness.
#awareness #acceptance #freedom #transformation #sitthefuckdown
If I had a nickel for every time someone commented on my food choices..."oh wow you eat so healthy."
Now the reality is that when someone comments on your positive behaviors and lifestyle, it's typically that person projecting on to you. Meaning, you're a mirror reflecting back to that person about his/her attitudes regarding health. I'm sure you have noted how your friends and family loooooove to "make you feel bad" for the new decisions and boundaries you've set for yourself.
Well, no one makes you feel bad -that's your unconscious guilt playing out as if you are responsible for how that person feels. Ironically, no one in this situation is truly thinking about the other person! Funny how self absorbed we truly are! π«
Well it's time to WAKE UP and smell the flowers and the fuckery. I'm tired of eating healthy, being healthy, and STAYING healthy being such a challenge in our modern day era. It's not like I'm pointing out the sheer garbage most people eat like "wow you are so unhealthy" but I might start! π€
I want our food back! Organic, free of chemicals, toxins, pesticides, and full of nutrients as intended!! It doesn't have to be this hard. And no one needs to be this sick. And cancer DOES NOT need to be so prevalent (more on that later).
Thanks for coming to my Ted talk.
#waronfood #organic #eatrealfood #eatclean #eatlocal #foodismedicine #normalizehealth
PART 3 Body fat is a protective mechanism.
Recap: You can't skip steps by simply starting a diet plan and "eating healthy" (which needs to be defined but that's a another topic). When it comes to losing unwanted body fat, and optimizing health for the long haul, we have to start by looking at the health of the gut. The integrity of the gut depends not only on food quality, BUT the emotional quality of the individual.
Start reading The Body Keeps Score by Dr Bessel van der Kolk to learn more! @thebodykeepsthescore
#awareness #emotionalhealth #guthealth
The gut is your second brain. But honestly, it should be revered as your first. Instinct, intuition, and intelligence are all found in your lovely little digestive track. Thoughts, fear, and intellect (which can be rather stupid in terms of problem solving as it's often narrow minded, obsessed with proving or disproving, and can rationalize anything) is in your brain.
Use your brain to gather information. Read nutrition labels. And ask better questions. Use your gut to heal your body, optimize your biochemistry, and harness your intuition.
If you want to learn more on how to keep your gut integrity strong and healthy, keep following along with @bodyalchemynutrition
#guthealth #gutbrainaxis #guthealthmatters #gut #hormones #immunity #happybody #weightloss #transformation #truth
Lol nailed the end of that one π€ͺ
PART 2. GUTS. HORMONES. ADRENALS.
Are you addicted to stress?
Has your body been "running away from danger" for prolonged periods of your life?
Always being on the go, constantly busy, watching the clock, anticipating the future, and thinking of what's next doesn't mean your as productive as you think you are.
Stress is the greatest illusion of all time.
Stress is perceived and very much felt. But as your body is designed to adapt to our environment, a dissociative effect takes place. You no longer register that you are in fact, stressed. Or, you experienced physical/emotional stress due to a traumatic event, but never fully processed and healed from it, leaving the memory to your subconscious.
When that happens, the brain has fragmented these memories in effort to "move on" but the body is still of "stuck in time". Learn more from @thebodykeepsthescore
-a book written by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk
Either way, stress places great demands on the adrenals, and emotion places great stress on the guts.
Part 3 elaborates more on this! So stay tuned!
Awareness is your flashlight, your looking glass, and your journal.
Why do you do the things you do? Why do you do the things you don't want to do?
Awareness is more than a tool.
Awareness is your power.
Awareness puts you and your health back in control.
#awareness #nutrition #selfawareness #focus #intention #clarity #peace #power #why #healing #health #happybody #transformation
Losing body fat and increasing muscle can feel like walking across a tight rope. You need balance to be successful.
So you can't skip steps, but you can step with precision.
How does one achieve equilibrium or balance for the body?
By putting intention and care into each step:
Nutrition β
Physical activity β
Adrenal health β
Gut and digestion integrity β
Hormonal balance β
You cannot skip steps. Which means you cannot isolate one of these areas and expect real and lasting results.
When all 5 of these find equilibrium, you will glide across the tightrope with ease.
As a former CrossFitter, I find that I miss the high energy competition feel of work outs.
But what I don't miss is my sore loser attitude, my pride before the inevitable fall (aka injury), and how achy or unrecovered I felt most days.
This is NO hate on CrossFit. Just that I had to accept that once I turned 30, my hormones flipped a switch and no matter the mental fortitude, my poor body just couldn't keep up. Plus I was really hungry allllll the time. And too obsessed with both my aesthetics and performance; which are often in conflict with each other in terms of diet.
So it's 4 days strength training, 1 day of pylo and sprint style intervals, and good old fashioned walking for me.
I spent most of my life at war with my body.
Now that I've made peace with her, I realize she has never let me down.
I've developed 12 archetypes or Metabolic Profiles to help my clients navigate the wild ride of gettin in shape! And keepin it that way.
Ever completed a personality test such as Ennegram? Meyers Briggs? Human Design (not a test persay but by far one of the most outstanding personality charts)?
Well this is similar. I designed these "metabolic personalities" for the very reason you take a personality test. We all want to understand ourselves better so we can embrace, accept, and thrive as our most authentic self!
Body Alchemy guides you and your body through transformation by a simple yet profound truth (which is the definition of wisdom)...
KNOW THYSELF.
Now that's alchemy π¨π₯π§π
Can't wait to hand out these aesthetically pleasing materials and much more! Thank you for capturing my vision @capitalcontentco @cassidyjhnstn
Your metabolism has a personality.
Just like you do.
Body Alchemy calls this your Metabolic Mode.
Changing your lifestyle, and changing your body composition can feel like pulling teeth when both your personality, and your metabolic MODE are out of balance.
Your Metabolic Profile tells us what needs balanced in order to achieve Metabolic Efficiency. It includes working with your personality.
Success, progress, and positive changes are natural rhythms that can occur when we know how to sync up to them.
Body Alchemy introduces you to your body's innate patterns and designs to minimize resistance and create balance so that your goals are achieved with flow, not force.
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