Nutrition, Fitness Ashley Beaver Nutrition, Fitness Ashley Beaver

The Best Way to Measure Body Fat

Manipulation of body composition is a common goal in a variety of pursuits, but how do we accurately and objectively measure and track changes over time? Body composition devices and techniques offer a solution here. However, people often place undue confidence in both the accuracy and precision of body composition values that they get from techniques that are regarded as high-quality.

Read More
Nutrition Ashley Beaver Nutrition Ashley Beaver

Freeing Yourself From Food Guilt

In my work, both at the hospital and with my clients here at BIN, it really strikes me how much emotion and guilt surround the foods we eat, making us “good” or “bad” people in any given moment. We've been conditioned into a world that treats food as an "indulgence" to be restrained, instead of something we literally need to survive, live our best life, and yes, achieve the goals we want to achieve, whatever they may be. So, how do you break that cycle of guilt when everyone around you, in the media, on the internet, and maybe even in your own circle, is pushing that on you?

Read More
Nutrition Ashley Beaver Nutrition Ashley Beaver

Sodium 101

Why do we care? How our intake can add up. Where should my levels be? What about supplementation? Can I still salt my food? What should I change?

Read More
Nutrition Ashley Beaver Nutrition Ashley Beaver

Calories in vs Calories Out, It’s That Simple (or is it?)

If you have ever struggled to lose or gain weight, I guarantee you have at some point heard the advice: 

You just need to eat more/less than you burn”

The person that typically says this kind of thing most likely also holds the belief that being overweight or having obesity is a result of pure laziness or a lack of morals. At the surface level, this advice is correct. However, it is correct in the same way that going to a football game and telling the head coach of your team “Hey pal, you just gotta score more points than the other team and you’ll win” is correct. Correct, but very unhelpful and lacks any understanding on what contributes to the scoring of points. 

Read More
Fitness, Nutrition Ashley Beaver Fitness, Nutrition Ashley Beaver

2023 Crossfit Game Open Nutrition Strategy

It’s the ~Most Wonderful Time of the Year~!!! The OPEN! The Open is a celebration. It’s a time for every crossfitter to test themselves, to immerse more deeply in their community, to compete, have fun and learn some stuff. Whether you’re trying to get to the next stage, or trying to get your first muscle up or string those dubs together, we are here to help you make sure you don’t have to stress about the food side of things.

Read More
Nutrition, Fitness Ashley Beaver Nutrition, Fitness Ashley Beaver

Sleep: The missing piece in your health & fitness puzzle

In the world of health and fitness, there's a lot of emphasis on exercise, nutrition, and supplements. But there's one crucial factor that often gets overlooked: sleep. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking that more exercise, more supplements, or a new diet plan will be the solution to your health and fitness goals. But the truth is, without enough sleep, all those efforts may be in vain.

Read More
Nutrition Ashley Beaver Nutrition Ashley Beaver

Are you eating enough?

Many people are quick to blame nagging health issues on their food habits and often rightfully so. But they’re more likely to pin it on over-eating when often the root of the issue is actually the opposite. Under-eating is VERY common. We’ve conditioned ourselves to believe that eating less  = better life. The truth is that’s not always true. I know, I KNOW, this is the opposite of what you’ve believed your whole life! Eating too little is just as unhealthy as eating too much.

Read More
Nutrition Ashley Beaver Nutrition Ashley Beaver

Your nutrition should be periodized – just like your training

While I'm not proud of it, when I first started losing weight, I was 100% into cut mode every day 24/7. I didn't have the slightest clue as to what a real maintenance period was, because I thought that was something you only did once you reached your ‘goal weight’. I also didn’t realize I was doing more harm than good by trying to be in a straight deficit for a majority of the year. Maintenance is where so much of the magic happens; habits are built, there’s more flexibility with food choices and social gatherings, cortisol levels are lower, and energy is higher.

Read More
Nutrition Ashley Beaver Nutrition Ashley Beaver

Want to lose fat and keep it off?

We know the statistics. The majority of our clients come to us with fat loss as their main goal. Before joining Black Iron Nutrition, many have tried every diet under the sun. Keto. Paleo. Intermittent Fasting. Carnivore. Vegan. Vegetarian. They’ve tried other nutrition companies – and have found themselves on dangerously low calories. And while we won’t deny that they saw results initially – they weren’t able to sustain their results in the long-term. Many end up right back where they started.

Read More
Nutrition Ashley Beaver Nutrition Ashley Beaver

New to tracking macros?

Overwhelmed by all of the nutrition information out there?

Do you find yourself constantly giving up because you find dieting to be too stressful and complicated?

We understand! There is a seemingly endless amount of advice out there when it comes to nutrition – as well as a lot of conflicting information.

Read More
Mindset, Nutrition Ashley Beaver Mindset, Nutrition Ashley Beaver

How to change your thoughts around food and diet culture

When we start making nutrition changes, I think we all start looking for “progress”, and that’s fair! Progress photos and measurements are so useful, but we CANNOT overlook our mental progress. We can't only feel good about ourselves when we’re eating all the “right” foods, or when we’ve seen progress in the form of a smaller waist. If we’re solely focused on eating “healthy” and “good” foods all of the time, and then hate ourselves the second we eat something “unhealthy,” I’d argue that’s not very healthy at all.

Read More