Tag: fitness coach

Fitness Tips

Muscle: The Underrated Key To Successful Fat Loss

melaniewalessustainableliving

When I was a teen and in my 20’s I lost and gained weight more times than I can count.  Each time I repeated the cycle I regained even more weight.  I felt hopeless and broken as I tried to do what I thought worked.  Restrictive diets and lots of cardio.  Always with the focus on weight loss.  

What changed?  I had to switch the paradigm in my mind and habits that had me focused on weight loss.  Instead I had to focus my mind and habits on BUILDING MUSCLE.  

Eating for muscle, training for muscle, sleeping for muscle, hydrating for muscle, reducing stress and recovering for muscle.  

When I focused on muscle:  I lost fat, built strength, increased my endurance and drastically improved my overall health markers: blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose management, and triglycerides.  

To go on an empowering fitness journey I suggest this. Rather than focusing on losing weight, adjust your perspective and start focusing on building muscle.

The habits and behaviors needed to build healthy skeletal muscle will yield incredible results in overall health and physique development.    

It does not mean that the process is easy and will happen without effort. 

But those efforts, WORTH IT!  

If you have thought about having me as your coach to support you along your own fitness journey check out the Online Fitness Coaching page on my website for more info and how to inquire about my online fitness coaching service. Receive customized activity and nutrition plans, monthly virtual calls, and weekly email check in’s. 

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Follow me on Instagram for more tips, free recipes, and full days of eating.

www.instagram.com/melaniewales.sustainableliving

Fitness Tips

My Top 5 Healthy Fat Grocery Staples

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Foods rich in healthy dietary fats promote hormonal function and are dense with  energy. They also help make your meals delicious and satisfying. But remember, a little goes a long way!

Next are my top 5 healthy fat sources and portions. Include these in your cart on your next grocery shop so you always have the ability to create amazing and health promoting meals.  

  1. Chia Seeds– 15g 75 calories 5g fat
  2. Olive Oil– 15g 135 calories 15g fat
  3. Avocado– 50g 90 calories 7.5g fat
  4. Dark Chocolate– 15g 80 calories 5g fat
  5. Natural Peanut Butter– 15g 91 calories 7g fat

2 basic guidelines for enjoying healthy fats for overall health and wellness. 

  1. We should aim for a minimum of .8g of dietary fat per kg of our total bodyweight. (or .4g per lb)
  2. 10% or less of our total calories should come from saturated fat.

Looking for ways to make these healthy fat staples a delicious addition to your meals? My E Cookbooks are loaded with recipes and meal ideas to put these ingredients to good use. Click here to learn more about me E Cookbooks “The Art Of Meal Prep For Sustainable Living Volumes 1 and 2” dedicated to meal prep and to eating well without sacrificing enjoyment or flavor.

Fitness Tips

Stay Fit While Traveling: My Top 5 Tips

melaniewalessustainableliving

My top 5 fitness tips for traveling!

Guess what!? They are the same tips I recommend all year around no matter where you find yourself in the world. We bring ourselves anywhere we go and these basics will always help us reach, maintain, and level up our fitness. Even while traveling.

Stay proactive with these habits so you can feel good wherever life takes you.

1. Cook and prepare your own meals most of the time. Choose accommodations that have at least a mini fridge and microwave and you can make all kinds of delicious and healthy meals.

2. Grocery shop: upon arrival get to a local store. Grab some easy lean proteins, fruits, veggies, plus some healthy snacks.

3. Walk: Stay active by exploring new places on foot.

4. Don’t snack: Mindless snacking makes it so easy to overeat. Have a well rounded breakfast, lunch, and dinner centered around a lean protein plus a fruit and/or veggie.

5. Exercise: Don’t let the excuse of not having equipment or gym access stop you from training! A solid session of weight training is great, but you can do a lot with bodyweight only exercises. When my fitness coaching clients are traveling I always make sure to provide them with a fun and quick full body- bodyweight workout.

If you have thought about having me as your coach to support you along your own fitness journey check out the Online Fitness Coaching page on my website for more info and how to inquire about my online fitness coaching service. Receive customized activity and nutrition plans, monthly virtual calls, and weekly email check in’s.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Follow me on Instagram for more tips, free recipes, and full days of eating.

http://www.instagram.com/melaniewales.sustainableliving

Fitness Tips

Tips For Long Term Sustainable Weight Loss: 5 Proactive Habits You Can Start Now

melaniewalessustainableliving

Over the course of losing and keeping off 145lbs I have learned quite a bit about what it takes to make weight loss not only possible, but also sustainable.

Here are a few proactive habits you can begin doing now to help you get and stay fit long term.

1. Cook: make most of your meals at home.

2. Grocery shop: do this weekly to make sure you always have fresh fruits and vegetables and lean proteins available.

3. Walk: Move more often throughout the day. Bonus points if you can do it outside.

4. Don’t snack: Mindless snacking makes it so easy to overeat. Aim for 3-5 meals each containing at least 25g lean protein and a fruit and/or veg at consistent meal times.

5. Found Moment Exercise: Don’t let the excuse of not having enough time stop you from doing something! A solid session of resistance training is great. But if time is limited a set of push ups or bodyweight squats sprinkled throughout the day really add up!

If you have thought about having me as your coach to support you along your own fitness journey check out the Online Fitness Coaching page on my website for more info and how to inquire about my online fitness coaching service. Receive customized activity and nutrition plans, monthly virtual calls, and weekly email check in’s.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Follow me on Instagram for more tips, free recipes, and full days of eating.

www.instagram.com/melaniewales.sustainableliving

Uncategorized

Find yummy treats hard to avoid when kept in the house? Here are 4 ways to make it easier.

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Do you find it hard to avoid the yummy foods that are around for your kids and family?

I get it. My daughter and husband easily self regulate and do not over consume palatable foods such as chips, cookies, and ice cream. They are active and healthy, so I don’t limit what they keep around the house.

These are the 4 ways I’ve found helpful to manage my behavior and tendencies around highly palatable foods, since historically, I found it hard to regulate myself with these foods.

These are also the strategies I recommend to my clients with family’s to help them navigate their own food environment.

1. Make a mental barrier. In your mind, label the food as theirs. Not yours. That’s “the kids food or snack.”

2. Make a physical and visual barrier. The less convenient it is to access and the less we see it, the less likely we are to act on the impulse to grab it.

3. Make a swap. Will power is finite. Having snacks that better align us with our goals is another great option. Air popped popcorn instead of chips or a protein smoothie instead of ice-cream are nice options.

4. Make a pairing. Portion and pair a small amount to enjoy along with an otherwise high protein and satiating mixed meal.

If you have thought about having me as your coach to support you along your own fitness journey check out the Online Fitness Coaching page on my website for more info and how to inquire about my online fitness coaching service. Receive customized activity and nutrition plans, monthly virtual calls, and weekly email check in’s.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Follow me on Instagram for more tips, free recipes, and full days of eating.

www.instagram.com/melaniewales.sustainableliving

Fitness Tips

Fitness Transformation update and simple tips to make the most of your reverse diet.

melaniewalessustainableliving

I’m currently 5 weeks into my 5th reverse diet. Through my journey of losing and keeping off over 140 pounds since 2016 using both diet break and reverse dieting strategies have been instrumental in my success.

Being in a calorie deficit for long periods of time is hard. It has gotten more challenging the leaner I have gotten.

The process of dieting is as easy as it’s ever been because I have gotten more skilled at the process with time and practice. However my body and mind in a deficit does not function and recover nearly as well as when I am well fed. The food I have gained over the last few weeks has given me so much energy for life and I am able to really go for it in my training sessions to continue to develop my strength.

Progress does not end because the diet has ended. Fat loss has only been one facet and not the entire story of my transformation. Eating, building muscle, and getting stronger has been my primary focus and where I have devoted most of my time and focus. Not on dieting.

Here are 3 tips for those of you to help make the most of a reverse dieting phase:

1. Focus on how you feel each day. Not on how much you weigh. Before you weigh yourself, write down on a scale of 1-10 how your energy is that day. 10 being fantastic. This alternate scale number is an amazing indicator of your progress.

2. Create a performance goal for yourself and create a plan to work towards it. Use your added calories to help you get better at something you find enjoyable.

3. Remember that when it comes down to it, in life, our goals are to feel good, and to feel good, longterm. We want to be able to live a life we love and be there for the people who need us. I also plan to be a jacked and badass grandma one day. That will only happen if I keep working to make it happen NOW.

If you have thought about having me as your coach to support you along your own fitness journey check out my website for more info and how to inquire about my online fitness coaching service. Receive customized activity and nutrition plans, monthly virtual calls, and weekly email check in’s.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Follow me on Instagram for more tips, free recipes, and full days of eating.

http://www.instagram.com/melaniewales.sustainableliving

To guide you along your own fitness journey if you are interested in coaching yourself check out the resources listed below.

I highly recommend the programs, challenges and educational content by Coach Mark Carroll. Been using since 2019.

And for nutritional guidance: Carbon Diet Coach. Been using since 2020.

Fitness Tips

Simple and practical weight loss advice. The things I did and still do to lose weight and keep it off.

melaniewalessustainableliving

Over the course of losing and keeping off over 145lbs I have learned quite a bit about what it takes to make weight loss not only possible, but also sustainable.

Here are a few practical things I did to lose weight and what I still do to maintain my results.

1. Meet a daily step goal to ensure regular activity.

2. Resistance train with a focus on progressive overload to build muscle and strength.

3. Keep track of my total calories and prioritize protein and fruits or veggies with each meal to align my nutrition with my goals while still including some fun foods in moderation.

4. Do the above consistently.

5. Believe it is possible and that my efforts are worth it!

There is nothing quick or special about what I have done to lose weight or keep it off. At the end of the day, it comes down to diet and exercise, but our mindset is also so important. The process is slow. Some weeks we can feel like no progress is happening at all. Sometimes we need to make an adjustment to our plan while resisting the temptation to do something drastic. Knowing how and when to focus on fat loss, diet breaks, a reverse diet, or gaining muscle can seem overwhelming and confusing. Coaching ourselves while remaining objective to make the best choices for our unique circumstances and long term goals is easier said than done. Which is why I love helping others on their journeys!

If you have thought about having me as your coach to support you along your own fitness journey check out my website for more info and how to inquire about my online fitness coaching service. Receive customized activity and nutrition plans, monthly virtual calls, and weekly email check in’s.

www.melaniewales-sustainableliving.com

Follow me on Instagram for more tips, free recipes, and full days of eating.