Tag: Macro Tracking

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Life Truths and Real Steps to Successful “Dieting”

You know what’s really, powerfully sexy?

  • A sense of humor
  • A taste for adventure
  • A healthy glow
  • Openness
  • Depth
  • Confidence
  • Intelligence
  • Humility
  • Appetite
  • Intuition
  • Ambition
  • Presence

I’d choose the above over abs any day.

You see there are different seasons of life I’ve in catagories:

The Mundane – the everyday “boring” stuff. Routine, chores, work, etc.

The Mess – the chaos, the road blocks, the f*ck ups, the contrast, the things & shadows we don’t like about ourselves.

The Magic – the sweet spots, the little things, the peace, the moments that make your heart sing with joy & make everything else melt away.

We must learn to nurture & love every season with grace. They make us – US.

My body has been all shapes and sizes through the years.

When I first started struggling with body image I was around 8 years old.

I was labeled as the “fat” girl and that label stuck with me for years. It paralyzed me from reaching my potential. Total mindf*ck. When you’re attached with a powerful label, it’s hard to simply pull that label off like a tag on a new pair of leggins. It takes the dirty work to remove.

I’m almost 60lbs lighter now today, after going meat-based with my diet over a year ago to manage my crohn’s. I’m a lot less f*cks lighter too than I was decades ago. Most of all I’m proud to love ALL my seasons, and I know my worth is not based on a number on the scale or my barbell.

My biggest pain point of criticism – I loathed my legs. I hated the way they looked. I hated the way they rubbed together. I hated the cellulite, the stretch marks. I hated the way they jiggled.

I spent years trying to attain slender legs with fasted cardio, strict low fat & low calorie dieting, binging, purging, running and walking often 30,000 steps a day – that’s not a typo.

What did I lose? Not the legs I was trying to get rid of. I lost friends, and memories, my health, and MYSELF along the way.

Here are some life truths I discovered along my journey that I hope can help reframe your life wherever it may be…

1.) You will never become the person you want to be if you don’t take care of your body. Do you perform, feel your best, & serve your family at your highest when you’re tired, overweight, your gut is a mess, and/or you’re obsessed with food, exercise, & basically hating life? Didn’t think so. Invest in yourself, it’s not being selfish.

2.) You are the sum of your surroundings. This includes your friends, your work, your hobbies, your food, and what you mentally consume. Are they nourishing you or depleting you on your path to who you want to be?

3.) A wish is not a goal. Make a plan and ACT. THAT is when your dream becomes a goal. You know my MO, you either DO or you DON’T. You wanna be a DOer or a DON’Ter?

4.) The most important relationship you have is with yourself. Noone can make you happy but yourself. If you can’t love the reflection in the mirror with tummy rolls, you can’t love the reflection with a six-pack. Appreciate your seasons. Losing lbs is not the answer to gaining your happiness. It’s a band-aid.

5.) The beauty is in the mess. It’s ok to try and chase the best version of your life, but if you’re constantly dreaming & searching for the perfect life you’re never truly living in the now. You’ll be forever unsatisfied.

6.) Rich is in the eye of the beholder. Rich doesn’t always mean money or material things. In fact, the most important things aren’t seen or felt. They’re experienced-freedom, peace, pride, laughter, love.

As we grow older, and hopefully wiser, we realize that a $300 or a $30 watch both tell the same time. You will realize that your true inner happiness does not come from the material things of this world. Whether you fly first class or economy, if the plane goes down-you go down with it. -Steve Jobs

7.) The most important food in the world is soul food. You can’t pour from an empty cup.

“Find what makes your soul sing with joy & try, as much as you can, to let that happen as often as possible. Listen to the inner-workings of your mind and be honest with yourself when things don’t feel right. Leave what doesn’t sit well and walk into new relationships, connections, & places with open arms. Forgive yourself for the shortcomings you’ve had (or think you’ve had) & celebrate where you will go next. And most of all, know that what you have to offer this world is valuable. And noone else can do it.” -Marisa Donnelly

Real Steps to consider for Successful “Dieting”

Everyday I have beautiful women come to me wanting to lose body fat. Absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to see what your body can do. Change is good. Change is energy. We are entitled to see what our bodies can do no matter what season we choose.

The question: have you earned the right to lose body fat and are you mentally ready?

Avoid Common Mistakes:

  • Not being clear about what your goal really is? Do you want to gain muscle or lose fat? Two different things. Two different requirements, one a calorie surplus, one a calorie deficit.
  • Not setting a realistic goal and not being honest about how flexible or strict you want to be. Eating for general health and wellness is more flexible. You can go out with friends and have those occasional cocktails. Cutting for a photo shoot or competition? That means strict diet, training, and minimal “cheats.”

These require different levels of commitment:

  • Not periodizing your nutrition. You should not be “cutting” or “dieting” forever. Keep cuts 8-16 weeks MAX, limit to 1-2 times per year. Follow up with 4-6 months of maintenance or surplus calories to upregulate body systems.
  • Automatically assume you need to cut carbs to lose weight. Carnivore, low carb, & keto absolutely have their place. They work wonderful for people who need an insulin reset, an elimination diet, have autoimmune disorders, poor relationships with carbs, etc, but they’re also not “right” for everyone if they don’t suit your needs or preferences. What kind of training are you doing? Are you doing CrossFit, HIIT training, Orange Theory, Bootcamps, marathon training? You may do better utilizing some quantity of carbs in your diet. All of our bodies are different. YOU have to eat for YOU!
  • You think punching numbers in myfitnesspal, an online calculator, or following a template will spit out magic macros to solve all your problems. Do you think a calculator or template cares you’ve been surviving on poverty macros, struggle with work stress, travel, kids back talking and getting in trouble at school, gut issues, and can’t sleep at night? All affect your mindset, digestion, recovery, relationships with food, relationships with other people, and most importantly yourself. INVEST in a qualified coach! I offer consults every single day, even weekends and holidays for YOU. Inquiry HERE.
These were from a fat loss cut for photo shoot prep. I reversed for 3 months prior and then ate at surplus (2300 calories daily) for 2 months prior to going into my cut. I didn’t have to drop below 1500 calories during my 12 week cut BECAUSE I did my due diligence to heal and recover FIRST.

Truths about Fat Loss:

  • Healthy, nourished bodies lose body fat. Eating 1000 calories a day, surviving on sugar-free jello & lettuce is not a balanced diet, nor a protocol to set you up for a successful fat loss phase. You need to work on yourself for months to get your calories up & your body functioning like a normal human being.
  • All your systems should be in check BEFORE considering diving into a cut: your metabolism, your hormones, your period, your mindset, your stress level.
  • Ladies, your period is like your internal gauge your body is functioning properly. If you’re not having a period that is the biggest red flag. Did you know your body can conserve 30,000 cal/year by not having a period. Why? If your body takes away a natural process to conserve energy, that’s called survival because reproducing is not a priority. This also goes for down regulating your metabolism, your thyroid, & your sex hormones.
  • Your metabolism is not one singular thing like your brain or your arm or your liver. Your metabolism encompasses everything it’s everywhere. Your brain, your digestive system, your reproductive system – they all contribute. It will adjust to low calories and this is when you plateau. We can’t cut you any lower as a coach when you come to us eating 1200 calories a day.
  • Your body will not respond to a cut if you have not properly taken care of it before hand. This could take months or even years. Your body does AMAZING things on the daily. Appreciate it. It’s main priority is keeping you alive & guess what?

Your body gives two f*cks that you want to have abs & look good in a bikini. #REALtalk

I empathize with your frustrations. It took me years to work my calories up to true maintenance, 4 years to be exact. Took me even longer to heal my gut, manage triggers, and most importantly, step into my worth and cultivate a growth mindset.

My door is always open. Feel free to message, dm, or email. I would love to help you on your journey!

If you’re ready, start HERE! 🥰

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Fitness truths I’ve learned and why you may be gaining weight

Fax Friday. I am really glad I keep LEGACY photos now of my fitness journey.  For decades I would’ve cringed at the thought of taking a picture of myself. 

Now I use them as a tool to adjust my nutrition protocols for my health & fitness goals. It all comes down with your relationship with things, fam. Change your perspectives!

I want to make the most evidence based progress related changes possible. Because my health fxcking deserves it.

I will continue to harp at all of you to educate yourselves, find mentors, find coaches, people to help you along your health & fitness journey. 

None of us know everything but there are plenty of free resources & awesome people out there to help you make the right decisions when it comes to your goals. 

These cookie cutter programs & templates don’t give you the tools to help you make informed choices when you’re finished. 

That’s the point of trying new things & hiring people to help you. We don’t want you to need us forever. If you need us forever we’re not doing our jobs.

I don’t believe in any perfect way of eating — only the perfect way of eating for YOU.

You’ve asked about things I’ve learned through my fitness journey & why you may be gaining weight on low carb.

THINGS IVE LEARNED ALONG MY FITNESS JOURNEY:

💓 Carbs are not the enemy, your relationship & application of them is what determines their meaning. Higher carbs will give you more energy, help you recover from higher intensity activity, they make your muscles fuller, sometimes an insulin reset is needed for specific symptoms, dis-ease, & seasons. 

Consult with a coach or practitioner beforehand if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

💓Higher fat & protein diets keep you more satiated, they keep your energy levels & blood sugar more stable, they will help with insulin resistance, they are not necessary to follow forever.  For some, like myself, they help with digestive symptoms & help you lean out around your stomach as long as your calories match your needs & energy balance. 

💓 For me, gluten free, dairy free, low fodmap, low lectin, low oxalate, animal based, low fiber work best to control digestive symptoms & my Crohn’s. I have worked with a functional medicine doctor to rid myself of SIBO & CANDIDA years ago. Symptoms were much better after undergoing a 12 week protocol. GET TESTED, QUIT GUESSING. Through trial & error & decades of experience I figured out what works best for my body. Which will be different from your body. 

💓Educate yourselves. I’ve had to adjust my nutrition & training numerous times with specific food choices & workout modalities — it’s OK to experiment. That’s the only way you’re going to learn what truly works for YOU. There are no magic sets of macros or diet camps or fasting protocols, etc — they’re all simply tools for your toolbelt & puzzle pieces that will either fit or they don’t. Go your own way. 5 things that ALWAYS MATTER no matter what diet you’re doing: Your mindset, sleep, simple movement, & the quality & quantity of food you consume. 

REASONS YOU MAY BE GAINING WEIGHT ON CARNIVORE OR LOW CARB:

🥩You’re eating in a surplus. As with ANY diet you choose if you are eating in a surplus chances are you will put on body fat. It’s part of it. This is when you should be focusing on muscle gain & strength.

🥩You’ve been eating in a chronic deficit & your body is finally getting the nutrients it needs to function & grow muscle. You WANT muscle growth. More muscle=more food=more badass. You can’t  have the athletic body without building the muscle underneath FIRST. This weight gain is actually weight restoration.

🥩You’re snacking too much on things like pork rinds, fat bombs, or fake keto junk like Atkins bars. They’re easy to overeat & nutrient deficient. Even no cal artificial sweeteners can trigger hunger, water retention, & over eating. Go back to the basics for a while & experiment. Simplify. Meat, water, coffee, no sweeteners. 

🥩You’re choosing highly palatable meats & foods like ribeyes, bacon, cheese, butter, processed meats, etc. they are delicious, YES, but can trigger over eating when you’re not really hungry. It’s like when you’re not hungry but then they bring out dessert. Most of us will have that extra piece of cake. Choose foods that are satisfying & get the job done. My choice (FOR ME)  is ground beef & ground chicken cooked in the air fryer. Fuggin delicious & satiating, but not so much I’m triggered to eat more for pleasure & not true hunger. 

🥩You’re overly fasting, overly training, not sleeping, still eating foods you don’t digest well, &/or over caffeinating or consuming excess alcohol. All these things are stressors which increases our blood glucose & cortisol level. Chronically high cortisol & hormone imbalances affect your weight, recovery, energy, & fat loss. Reduce your workout intensity & volume, SLEEP, reduce caffeine/alcohol, cut out foods & habits that hinder your digestion, shorten your fasting window or STOP fasting. Get a @nutrisenseio continuous glucose monitor to track blood sugar levels. It’s a wealth of information & will help you more accurately make adjustments!

🥩You’re eating too much protein, throwing hormones & your biofeedback off. Try increasing your fats & start with protein around 1g per lb of LEAN BODY MASS or 20-30% of your daily calories. Our energy sources come from fats & carbs. Play around with it, you’ll find your thresholds. Play around with different kinds of meats & macros ratios. There’s no one-size-fits-all. If in doubt, invest in a coach or practitioner to help!


xoxoxo’s y’all, happy Friday!

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Healing and losing the weight often means doing things you don’t want to do

“Your appetite will correct itself.”

Used to think this was bullshxt.

When I started an animal based nutrition approach this is what I heard. In this photo I was about 10lbs heavier on vacation, embracing the journey.

Had many of you ask about this yesterday & my recent weight loss.

I’m excited many of you want to try a more animal based approach & YES I absolutely believe its a wonderful lifestyle of eating which corrects many health issues, but I also want to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons & not just wanting to hop on the “bandwagon” because you seek weight loss. 

It’s not for everyone’s lifestyle needs, some of you NEED specific kinds of carbs in your diet to feel & function better. Just because I prefer this style of eating doesn’t mean I think everyone should do it. No diet dogma here. We’re all different.

I had a question from a follower yesterday asking what she needed to do to heal gut issues & finally see weight loss. 

I responded with some hard truths.

You will most likely have to do things you don’t wanna do. Things I had to do:

  • Reduce workouts: no more 2 hrs of CrossFit & 20k+ steps a day. More rest days. I have to modify, reduce intensity & steps. Requires me swallowing my ego & not picking weights & movements I don’t need to do anymore for LONGEVITY as a goal.
  • Ate in MAINTENANCE & SURPLUS for almost 8 MONTHS. GAINED 15lbs in the process. Experimented with intuitive eating, macro ratios, fasting, meat, portions, tracking glucose & ketones, etc. Figured out I get better results tracking macros. Ground meats work better as far as tracking, simplicity, & satiety. Carb refeed days via rice cakes or white rice work great when I need them with minimal negative feedback. My appetite did “correct.” I eat slower & know know when I’m truly full.
  • Different fasting windows affect you differently. Don’t recommend any newby to fast, just get adapted to the way of eating 1st. You’ll find what works best. I can fast longer now. I don’t do extended fasts. The longest I go is about 20hrs.
  • What gets TRACKED gets MANAGED. I know a lot of you don’t wanna track but HOW ARE YOU GONNA KNOW WHAT TO CHANGE IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY AWARENESS OF WHERE YOU’RE STARTING? Quality & quantity matter. After a while you master it & won’t have to track but you need to learn quality & quantity & how it affects you 1st. It’s about making EDUCATED choices.
  • If you’re having gut/hormone issues, do a true elimination diet & stick to something longer than a few days or 2 weeks. This takes TIME. You didn’t have these issues after 1 day &/or put on the weight in 1 day. There are no quick fixes or magic. Put in the work. Get help from a coach or practitioner, get tested! Quit guessing. I worked with multiple practitioners, coaches, protocols & diets, & tracked symptoms/trigger foods for DECADES.

Do the DUE DILIGENCE — experiment, eat more, educate yourself, sleep more, have patience, seek help, fix your relationship with food & self 1st, quit binging on the weekends, overtraining, & treating your body like a dumpster fire.

Here’s to embracing the journey!

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Carnivore Questions Answered and Some Things You Won’t Want to Hear

People are gonna tell you you CAN’T do a lot of things. They’re gonna tell you THEIR way is better than YOUR way…

You’ve asked great carnivore questions over the weekend. I’ll summarize  for those I haven’t had the pleasure to chat with & tell you some things you may not want to hear…

▫️I don’t ‘treat myself.’ My view of food has changed since going animal based. I “treat” myself everyday, enjoy every bite & it all serves a purpose — nourishment & fuel. Food is not a reward/something to earn.

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▫️You must experiment with different meats/food/fats, eating/fasting windows, meal sizes/freq, tracking macros vs not, & macro ratios. Your experience will be different than mine.⁣ It takes TIME. It took me an entire year to fully adapt &, yes, I gained 15lbs initially.

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Common Q&A’s:⁣⁣

⇢ Majority of my meals are 85% ground beef, ground chicken, & salmon. Avg 2lbs of meat/d, 2-2 1/2 meals/d. Yes I drink coffee. Ground meat is easier to digest & track. I removed pork & dairy, I found I don’t digest’em well. I only consume them on occasion in small quantities.

⁣⁣⇢ I stick to beef bc it’s satisfying & delicious but not SO delicious I want to over eat. For those who struggle with food addiction, like me, find foods that are satisfying & get the job done without triggering over eating or bingeing. We typically do better with food rules, we are abstainers. (Food addicts tend to have issues controlling carbs, sugar, sugar free substitutes, keto treats, dairy, butter, cheese, bacon, pork rinds, hyper palatable & processed meats)

⇢ I track macros loosely. It keeps me accountable & I know where to adjust. Rice cakes/white rice on occasion post workout or in the evening if I need them, portioned carefully, rarely above 50g/day.

⇢ YES, you can CrossFit & carnivore, CAREFULLY. Comes down to allowing yourself to fully adapt to being fat-fueled, meal timing, eating ample calories, & RECOVERY (sleep, rest days, deloads) Macros 10% C – 30% P – 60% F for ME**

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⇢ Sleep is a MUST. 7 hrs min. Zzyquil helps. It is what it is, I’m transparent here.

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⇢ Still hit 13-15k steps/day⁣, even on rest days, drinkin a ton of water + electrolytes, reduce alcohol, fasting when I’m not hungry (~18hrs avg), eating when I am.⁣⁣ No extended fasts, no snacking.

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It’s taken me 38 yrs to understand where my body is at mentally & physically.

And I’ll have to keep figuring it out every day for the rest of my life.

Have patience. Take care of your body it’s the only forever home you have♥️🏠

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Easy Fat Loss Tips for Any Diet

Me today🦾

It took me over 3 decades to figure out my gut issues & relationship with food. 

I know now I lived with a food addiction the majority of my life, I’m just a little over 1 yr on a carnivore, animal-based diet.

For those of you working on increasing your food after chronically dieting, it took me nearly 4 yrs to reverse to maintenance calories. Including a poor relationship with self & scarcity mindset.

Years of tweaking food, training, & daily habits to restore health, have patience, healing doesn’t happen overnight—you can do hard things!

A reminder, you shouldn’t be living in a constant calorie deficit, dieting more than 1-2x/yr, working out 7 d/wk, never sleeping, eating sugar free diet food to cut carbs/cals. It will catch up with you, trust me.

BIOFEEDBACK to check before dieting:

✅Period normal

✅Quality sleep & energy

✅Have eaten maintenance &/or surplus calories for an extended period of time

✅Lifestyle aligned, stress managed, mindset in a positive space

HELPFUL TIPS

**We want stress as low as possible. Caffeine, life stress, trigger food, cutting food, excessive fasting & HIIT training=all stressors**

✅Reduce caffeine, <200mg/d

✅Set calorie, protein, & step goals. Stay rigid during the week to allow flexibility on the weekend. Set controlled refeeds if needed.

✅Eat slowly until 80% full.

✅Sleep!

✅Prioritize proteins & fat. Keep meal prep basic & simple & REPEAT.

✅ Reduce intensity of workouts. Quality is quality, more doesn’t mean better.

✅Track food accurately. Licks & extra bites count.

✅ Stick to nutrient dense whole foods you can digest & absorb efficiently.

✅ Try intermittent fasting if it works with your schedule/preferences. It’ll allow larger meals in a deficit, you’ll feel more satiated

✅Hydrate!

✅Invest in a coach. I offer free quick strategy calls. Link here:

https://forms.gle/tqjsEmeYPDRs4zYo6

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Training lessons learned the hard way

Had someone tell me yesterday, “I want to look like you. How do you eat & train?”

I replied with, “You can’t look like me & I can’t look like you.”

This mornin before work, I had about 40min. So this is me, a shameless gym selfie, committing to me.

Some important things I’ve learned the hard way I want to pass along when it comes to training.

Listen, I’m not the expert, but I have been one to make all the wrong moves first.

I’ll lead off with hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard. You know the saying. I’m not just talking about this in the aesthetic sense, same thing goes to your healing protocols & taking time off too.

Here goes…

1️⃣Genetics play a big part & if you hate what you’re doing you won’t stick with it. Consistency & adherence get you results with nutrition & training.

We’re not genetically made to all look the same. Thru trial & error, you will find the aligned nutrition & training program that work for you. INVEST in coaches & trainers to guide you. Quit your diet & program ADD.

2️⃣Be intentional about your training. Just because you go to the gym doesn’t mean you’ll see results if you’re not really doing the work. Just like hiring a nutrition coach, you still have to do the work. Stop trying to out supplement shitty nutrition, over training, & putting more work into posing in the squat rack or being more concerned if your hair & makeup look on point in your IG video.

→ Follow your program.

→ Nutrition & recovery build your foundation. 

→Supplements aren’t really that important. The basics are. SLEEP.

→Prioritize HEALTH first. Eat food. Get your gut & hormones in check. 

3️⃣MOST important, manage your mindset. You can wish all you want but if you don’t commit to yourself, don’t believe you can achieve, & still tell yourself you fxck up all the time — you’re gonna fxck up all the time.

We all have cups we fill: self care, career, relationships, body goals, financial goals. Choose which cup to drink from & which one to refill. Your seasons will change & that’s ok. But commit fully to that season so you can truly reach your potential.

I wish you all the best!