How-To: Eat Healthfully for Two (or More!)

On February 25, 2019 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, UncategorizedLeave a comment

All right, I have to admit that this topic is going to be deeply interesting only for a special subset of my readers: mamas-to-be/pregnant mamas, this is all for you and your unborn babes.

Pregnancy can be a wild roller coaster of hormones, emotions and cravings. It can be the most amazing, joyful and wonderful experience OR it can be the longest and most excruciating 9+ months of your life. Or somewhere in the middle, depending on the day.

I really hope the former situation is true for you. Did you know that what you eat can actually make a difference to your pregnancy experience? You often hear, “you are what you eat,” and when you consider that all of your baby’s (or babies’) tissues are made up of building blocks from the foods that you consume, it’s literally true!

Of course, please discuss ANY nutritional recommendations or strategies with your primary health care providers. These are just my personal top tips as a nutrition coach AND as a mom.

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How-To: Break Through A Weight Loss Plateau

On February 17, 2019 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day (there, now this post is relevant no matter WHAT day I post it or YOU read it, unless I post it or you read it right ON Valentine’s Day). How are we doing with February? Was Valentine’s Day the final nail in the coffin of a slow and sugary decline since mid-January? Or did it revitalize you and give you renewed energy for your health and fitness goals for the year?

No matter which camp you’re in, this is the point in many fitness and weight loss attempts (aka the six-week mark) where you can experience a dreaded “plateau.” This can happen sooner for some and later for others. It can last days or even weeks (!).

What exactly IS a weight loss plateau? If you’re failing to see ANY sign of measurable progress after two weeks (this means NO change in measurements, NO change in how your clothing fits, NO change on the scales and NO changes in how you look in the mirror or in photographs and NO change in your performance in the gym), THEN it’s a plateau. If you’re still getting stronger in the gym (evidenced by lifting heavier weights and/or for more sets), or your cardio is improving (resting heart rate is decreasing) and/or you can go for longer and/or at a higher intensity than you could before, your progress hasn’t really “stalled” – it’s simply taken you in a different direction than you expected. Like just about everything else in life, fat loss isn’t linear, and there are a lot of routes to get you from point A (where you are now) to point B (where you want to go).

The good news if you really ARE experiencing a weight loss plateau? 1) It’s totally normal. 2) There ARE things you can do about it! I shared just some of those strategies in my weekly Instagram video series (and Facebook posts), and you can read about them in more detail, next!

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How-To: Make Time for Exercise, and Make It A Priority

On February 13, 2019 By The Golden Graham GirlIn How-To, Random, Uncategorized, WorkoutsLeave a comment

We’re all busy people, aren’t we? We’ve got jobs to go to, kids to take care of, meals to make and eat, workouts to do, and somehow, we’re squeezing in sleep and quality time with our spouses and ourselves. Wait – what’s that? You’re NOT getting workouts in?

I get it. You’re a busy professional working mother (like me). It’s amazing that you keep your tiny human(s) alive and fed and clothed and you meet your deadlines each day. Who’s got time for exercise?

I’ve shared about ways to sneak more activity into your day. I’ve come up with suggestions to juggle parenthood and fitness. I’ve even told you what to do when you finally find yourself in the gym!

If you’re still struggling to actually MAKE the time to exercise, this post is for you. I’ll share my top tips to not only squeeze it in, but also make it a non-negotiable priority in your schedule.

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Five Go-To Low-Carb Meals

On February 4, 2019February 4, 2019 By The Golden Graham GirlIn Dinners, Fitness Foods (Meals), Gluten-free, Grain-free, High-protein, low carb, Meals under 350 Calories, Random, Specialty Diets, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Alright, my low-carb lovers and lifestylers! Where are you? This round up of recipes is for YOU. Seems to be the “trendy” thing to do these days. But just because it’s trendy, does it mean it’s right for you? That’s a twist on the classic “if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you do it, too?” A dose of healthy skepticism is needed any time a trendy new eating fad rears its head. Here’s an intriguing read: “Carb Controversy: Why Low-Carb Diets Have Got It All Wrong” from my very own nutrition coaching certifying body, Precision Nutrition.

It’s not as though low-carb diets are actually new. Each macronutrient (carb, protein or fat) has gone in and out of vogue over the decades. Restricting any one or combination of macro-nutrients to take energy intake below energy expenditure is going to create weight loss. Those are the fundamental laws of thermodynamics. But the question is, what approach is going to work the best for YOU and make you feel, look and perform YOUR best?

Now, if you’ve done your homework and perhaps even consulted with a qualified nutrition coach (like me!), and you want to increase your repertoire of low-carb meals and snacks, who am I to deny you? One of the best ways to determine if a particular eating approach is going to work for you is to “play scientist” and try it out. Even if you just want to include these selections from time to time to create a more moderate intake of carbohydrates in your overall eating approach, you’re going to find these useful.

I think it’s safe to say that in my total repertoire of recipes, I have ideas for meals and snacks that suit just about any and every style of eating (except maybe macrobiotic raw veganism). And of course, as a busy professional working mother myself, these recipes are generally all kid- and husband-tested and approved, like my round up of family-friendly healthy recipes from just a few short months ago. I even went the extra step of going live every time I ate over the course of a “low-carb day” – you can check out my Facebook feed for that.

Now, if you want a single place to easily reference ALL of the recipes, be sure to bookmark this page.

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