Just because you hired a nutrition coach and put “fat loss” as your goal, it doesn’t mean you’re going to start a caloric deficit right away. I try to put my clients on maintenance calories most of the time when we first start together (excluding special scenarios like yo-yo dieters and chronic dieters/under-eaters).

There are two types of people in the world – those that LOVE to grocery shop (me!) and those that DREAD it (most people). If you are part of the latter group, I have put together some strategies to make your life a bit easier. When embarking out on your grocery journey, it is important to find a store that is a “one-stop-shop”. If you are going to multiple stores to do your grocery shopping, it is very likely you are going to get distracted, pick up one too many “snacks” that don’t need to be in your pantry, and likely overspend as well.

Do you ever go out to happy hour with co-workers, and then you feel upset afterward because you feel like your choices pulled you away from your goals? Or, have you come home stressed from work, and immediately dove into your pantry? And then suddenly you're surrounded by empty food wrappers?

Do you hear the words “Meal Prep” and instantly cringe at the thought of all the time and effort that needs to be put into that task? Let’s be honest, those Instagram pictures of Tupperware perfectly lined up on the counter with every meal for the week specifically weighed out are beautiful, but a bit hard to execute without wasting a whole day! Well, I am here to offer some assistance and help you prep for the week ahead in a very efficient and realistic way.

Dietary fat is one of the three macronutrients that make up our diet. It is an essential part of our nutrition but can be pretty complex to understand. There are so many subgroups of “fat”, that we, as a society, have formed these stigmas or preconceived notions on what is “good” and what is “bad”.

Hi. Can we talk willpower, motivation, whatever you want to call it? It's pretty common to see clients going ham on 400+ extra calories, not getting movement in, etc due to "no motivation." Listen... I get it. I really do. You're not alone, and not a single one of us is perfect.

Vegetables are packed with micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) that are responsible for a lot of our bodily functions. They affect our mood, energy levels, how our muscles/organs function, how we sleep, and so much more. Red veggies help with heart health, yellow with skin health, orange with inflammation, green with cleansing your body, blue/purple veggies supply you with antioxidants, and white veggies help your immune system (the same goes for fruit by the way!).

Here is a little message I sent my clients about the holiday and some tips I try to live by during this time of year! Do not fear the holidays. How sad is that? I used to almost hate birthdays, Christmas, events because I felt like I was messing up. I didn’t want to see my family because I couldn’t control my food.

With Christmas approaching quickly, we know you’ll be attending a lot of parties, get-togethers, dinners, and more. Coach Manders has put together her best tips and advice for navigating the holiday parties. Because the last thing we want is for you to be nervous or anxious at this time of year. Hopefully, these tips will help you relax so you can truly enjoy yourself.

There’s nothing worse than getting home late after a long day and realizing you have nothing in the fridge to eat. It’s times like this when a lot of us succumb to less than ideal food choices, or expensive takeaway. Having a backup plan for times like these is important. And it can be as simple as having nonperishable food items in your cupboards like pasta, rice, quinoa, canned vegetables, and frozen food in your freezer like seafood and vegetables, all of which can be cooked quickly in a pinch.

Check out The Ultimate Health & Nutrition Gift Guide!

Ah, The Holidays! It’s the most wonderful time of the year! It’s also when nutrition tends to become an afterthought for most folks for a few reasons…

This is a 30 day journaling & mindfulness project, designed to improve your relationship with food, abandon food guilt, & help you gain full control over your eating habits. Our goal is for you to come out of this more in tune with yourself, what is on your plate, & your eating behaviors. Your next 30 days with us are going to show you a lot about yourself, particularly your relationship with food. Each day, you will have a journaling prompt to complete, along with a mindfulness task to carry with you throughout the day.

New Year's resolutions are the traditions in which we commit to changing an undesired trait or behavior in ourselves, in order to accomplish a personal goal or otherwise improve our quality of life. Until I was 27 years old, my New Year’s Resolution was always weight loss related (along with 90% of the population) with the hope to get the holiday weight gain off. I set myself up for failure, year after year, starting in October, by throwing in the effort towel a little early. I would overindulge for nearly three months straight, only to waste a time meant for personal growth on superficial nonsense that was brought about by my own hand (and mouth).

Each week we choose an ingredient and challenge our clients and community to come up with an exciting recipe featuring the ingredient. Sometimes the ingredient is more challenging and sometimes it’s quite simple to incorporate. The point of the challenge is to encourage everyone to try something new and to get comfortable with being uncomfortable in the kitchen. It’s easy to make the same things over and over out of convenience, but it can become monotonous and boring. Adding variety to our diet is so important for sustainability and overall health.

Fats help us make hormones, and they're the most satiating macronutrient - they slow down digestion and keep us full.

Let me preface this by saying that food, and your relationship with it is deeply personal. There isn’t a right or wrong answer, approach, or solution. Oftentimes we spend too much time and energy focusing on, “what’s next” in regards to our nutrition instead of acknowledging how our current approach is serving us.

It’s the start of a new week and that means there’s a new ingredient challenge. And this week it’s the most basic fall ingredient of them all. Hello, pumpkin! Pumpkin’s incredibly versatile and I urge you to explore with it this week. It’s great in sweet and savory dishes and it’s rich in vitamin A, potassium, vitamin C, and fiber. You can’t go wrong with this one.

This gut-healing chocolate, date, and sweet potato mousse are so quick and easy to make and requires no baking! My VERY sizable serving ended up being around 20g of carbohydrates, 6g of fat, and 8g of protein, making it a great pre-workout or post-workout treat.

Here are some quick, go-to options for carbs when you’re in a bind and don’t have time to cut up your own potatoes or wait 30 minutes for your rice to cook!