Being healthier, stronger, leaner, and fitter is so much FUN!
My journey has not been possible because I have felt deprived or miserable along the way.
It feels amazing to be capable, have energy, and be strong.
No, it is not easy. But easy it boring. Bring on the challenge!
The time will pass anyway.
What potential do we carry if this time we didn’t quit?
Over 8 years later and I’m just getting started.💪🏻
Below are 5 practical steps and mindset shifts to embrace daily to help you tackle your goals for sustainable and long lasting results.
Enter every day with a purpose and keep shattering self limiting beliefs.
Break big goals down. Then down even further.
Do hard things daily to build resilience and confidence.
Results are built through creating, planning, committing, taking action, consistency, and patience.
Let go of your version of self from the past that is seen through a glorified memory filter. Stop trying to get back. Embrace the new and continue to level 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.
We should get at least 30g of high quality protein in each of our meals even when we are on the go. Next are 3 high protein meal ideas that are great options even on the busiest of days to help you reach your protein goals and help you stick to your daily nutritional goals.
This post is inspired by my recent family medical emergency and are the exact meals I used to keep my highly stressed and sleep deprived brain and body functional as I cared for my daughter during her hospital stay.(Update: She is now fully recovered!!!)
Pack 2 scoops of protein powder and an apple or banana. Simply mix the protein powder in water, a coffee, or other preferred beverage while out and about. Add in a whole piece of fruit for convenience, fiber, and increased satiety. Very quick and easy to pack when you are rushing out the door.
Make a “yummy bowl.” This yogurt and fruit bowl is my favorite on the go option! (In my 2nd cookbook I call it the Overnight Dessert Recovery Bowl because I generally make it for my evening dessert) For ease at my house, I refer to it as my “yummy bowl”. It’s super easy to make and bring in a cooler. See below for a screen shot of the full recipe direct from my e cookbook.
Buy the best high protein options you can find. Sometimes we don’t have time to pack or an emergency occurs and there is no other choice. Read labels and opt for prepared foods that are high in protein and lower in fat such as greek yogurt, a turkey sandwich wrap, and Fair Life Core Power high protein milk. Add in a piece of whole fruit for more low calorie volume and satiety instead of opting for a side of chips or a cookie.
You have choices. Eating like crap never helps you feel better.
Whatever the day brings you can make the choice that aligns you with your long term goals and helps you feel your best.
Prioritize your health and well being and let the excuse of being “too busy” go.
Getting and staying fit is always worth the effort.
Screenshot from my E Cookbook “The Art Of Meal Prep For Sustainable Living Volume 2”
Need some more fun and delicious recipes to help you reach your goals? My e- cookbooks are available! Click below for details.
Find the Overnight Dessert Recovery Bowl in Volume 2 as well as many more delicious and macro friendly recipes for bulk prep, quick prep, sweets and snacks prep and so much more.
Find me on Instagram for more recipes, fitness tips, and meal ideas.
Earlier in my life I attempted to lose weight more times than I can count.
During an attempt I took up swimming. I had recently hurt my knee after a fall down my back garden steps. Swimming was a good fit because it allowed for movement while not aggravating my knee injury.
I started feeling better. I started feeling proud of myself.
Then I shared with someone how I’d taken up swimming and how I was focusing on losing weight again. This individual promptly told me that swimming was not going to help me lose weight. Great that it was helping me feel better, but not to get my hopes up for weight loss.
This conversation was devastating. I lost my drive to go swimming. I allowed it to set me back on my fitness journey for many years to follow.
Recently I’ve been sharing simple ways you can start to incorporate healthier habits into your daily routine. This is because getting started with something and then to BUILD off of that initial momentum is crucial.
We all have to start somewhere. We also need to believe ALL our efforts are worth it. Because they are.
Could our efforts be optimized and maximized? Of course! That’s what I do as a coach for my clients. I help my clients optimize their time and efforts so they can achieve amazing and long term results.
But, building a base of healthy habits through small daily actions and believing it’s worth it to do so creates both momentum and confidence to remain consistent.
Consistency is key for progress.
My turning point came after having my daughter. With an infant to care for I had to find ways to incorporate my health goals into my busy days. I had to get creative to make it work. I also started to believe in my efforts again no matter how small they were.
From 2016-2017, in less than ideal conditions, I managed to lose 40 lbs during my first year postpartum.
The momentum I created then still carries me through today. Sure, by deepening my education and experience I have learned how to optimize and maximize my efforts to take my results and that of my clients to the next level.
But never underestimate the power of ALL of your efforts towards a healthier version of you. Don’t be discouraged. Keep going. You’ve got this!
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.
Learn: What circumstances preceded the events that led to it?
Plan: Is there a way to make it easier for you to stick to your goals in the future?
Keep Going: Consistency not perfection. It’s what you do most of the time that matters.
Don’t be discouraged if you fall off track. Everyone does. The only way to discover your potential is if you keep going.
Remember, a fitness journey lasts a lifetime.
Reflect- Learn- Plan- Keep Going
You’ve got this!
Use these steps to help you reach your fitness goals and to help you maintain your hard earned results long term.
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.
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.
It’s the new year and that means many of us are keen to make our health and fitness a priority.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to do all the things, all at once, and to expect immediate results.
This approach is not sustainable. What if this year you tried to become consistent with a few basic healthy habits first?
Next are 3 habits you can start today to jump start your sustainable fitness lifestyle.
Create a daily step goal and make it happen everyday. 8-10k is a great goal for long term health. It doesn’t need to happen all at once. It’s actually better to include light movement and walking throughout the day.
Make your first meal of the day (breakfast) contain at least 30g of high quality protein. Starting with a high Protein breakfast helps you to feel fuller and more satiated for longer. This means you are less likely to overeat later. Great protein sources include whey protein, greek yogurt and eggs/egg whites.
Remove trigger foods and ultra processed convenience foods from sight. Think chips, ice cream, candy, cookies, etc… Either don’t buy these items in the first place or stick them in a cupboard so it’s not the first or even second thing you see when you walk into your kitchen. Put the food you know and should eat front and center. Hiding the treats and placing a bowl of fresh fruit on the counter, plus veggies, grilled chicken, and greek yogurt ready to eat (and staring you in the face when you open the fridge) will make it a lot easier to make better food choices.
Make realistic goals, commit, and then make them happen. 2024 let’s do this!
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.
1 year later and this amazing client never ceases to amaze me.
She show’s the power of staying consistent over time. She consistently reaches her step goal and fits in her workouts. She consistently meets her protein and calorie targets. All to maximize her ability to build muscle, get stronger and reduce body fat.
This is not to say that in the last year there have not been difficult days or even weeks.
As I remind all my clients, we do not live in a bubble when we decide to make fitness a priority. As a full time working parent and wife she still juggles life’s demands. But through all of it, she still makes fitness a priority.
And because she has, she is making incredible progress that is both maintainable and sustainable.
As I reminded her recently in our weekly email check in. She can do this. Because she has already done it.
Time and consistency will keep giving her the results.
Because the time will pass anyway. Why not make the most of it.
Let’s make the most of your time!
Melanie was my last ditch attempt at losing weight before I decided I would just give up. I had spent the previous 9 years since I had my daughter being told by doctors that I needed to lose weight, but them providing me with no or very unhelpful guidance in how to do so. This culminated with a doctor telling me the only way I would lose weight was if I went on a 1,000 calorie a day diet of protein shakes and veggies. Previous doctors had told me I would lose weight if I got a handle on my stress. One told me to start taking the stairs instead of the elevator after I told her that I worked out in the gym 6 days a week. I’ve worked out religiously for 20 years, but I never understood nutrition which led to a vicious pattern of restricting food and then binging because I was so hungry. Every time I tried something new to lose weight, I would end up gaining some more. Then came COVID. I was stuck in the house with a 7 year old trying to do virtual school and also work full time. My husband had to continue to work outside the home. My anxiety was through the roof and I ate all my feelings. I gained 30 pounds in a short period of time.
My goal has never been to lose a massive amount of weight. I just wanted to feel like myself again. Fit into my clothes again. So far, I’ve lost 10% of my body weight and the clothes that were packed away fit again. Best of all, I feel so strong and healthy and I feel like I’m setting a good example for my daughter.
Melanie’s greatest quality as a coach is her kindness. She is always supportive and never judgmental. Whenever I have a bad week and feel like a failure, she sends me motivating messages that make me feel like I’m normal and I can get right back to the plan. She takes all aspects of my life into consideration. Working full time, being a mom, hormone changes, sleep changes, holidays, and traveling are all acknowledged and considered when coming up with a healthy living plan. She doesn’t pretend like I live in a bubble and am unaffected by outside forces.
She doesn’t hold me to a plan of foods that I don’t like. I can eat whatever I want as long as it fits within my macros. Her workouts are very easy to follow and make the best use of my time. I actually spend less time in the gym now than I did before I started working with her. Working smarter, not harder. I’m still a work in progress, but I’m gaining my confidence back.
If you’re on the fence about hiring a trainer, I highly advise that you take the leap. Don’t give up on yourself. I promise that you will not be disappointed working with Melanie.
A.W.
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.
