Category Archives: wellness

How to use Temps & Pulses for metabolic health insights

Leave a reply

In Summer of 2020 my health began to take a dive. Years of chronic dieting, over-exercising, negative self-talk, and hormonal birth control was taking it’s toll. I was eating next to no carbs, minimal sugar, low fat, no dairy, lean protein only, working out 6 days a week, hours of cardio & felt terrible physically, mentally and emotionally. I had hypothyroid & adrenal symptoms. I began to take a hard look at the way I was living/eating/training and how it was working against my physiology. It was like my metabolism was ‘broken’ or ‘slow’. But it was actually because I was undernourished and over stressed.

I begin tracking basal temp yet did not include resting pulse rates. At that time, my average temps were 96.5 and pulse 44 bpm. It wasn’t until I found individuals in the “pro-metabolic” community who turned me on to Dr. Ray Peat and Dr. Broda Barnes research.

According to Dr. Raymond Peat a well-nourished, healthy human, should have a resting pulse of 85+ beats per minute. A high resting pulse (in the absence of stress) indicates good metabolic health and strong ability to repair.

That’s NOT what you hear in mainstream health and nutrition: “Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness. For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 beats per minute.”-Mayo Clinic

But is this a good thing? A lower resting heart rate & reduced basal metabolic rate?

Thyroid Health can be so confusing, especially because you don’t need to be diagnosed with a thyroid disorder to suffer from thyroid issues. Hypothyroidism or sluggish thyroid is much more common in women than hyperthyroidism.

These tests aren’t 100% accurate, other factors affect the results. It’s important to use the data as part of your overall biofeedback picture, rather than in isolation, to understand your current metabolic state and what you need to improve.

To read more about the doctor that pioneered these tests grab the book called Hypothyroidism: The unsuspected illness by Dr. Broda Barnes

✌🏼Looking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition? Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching ❤️

Sources 👇🏻

Special shoutout to the mentors that introduced me on to this amazing research, go give them a follow!

@fundamental.nourishment
@hormonehealingRD
@Jessicaashwellness
@kasey.goins

PMID: 28740582
PMID: 26792255
Dr. Ray Peat


#thyroid #thyroidhealing #thyroidhealth #tempsandpulses #prometabolic #prometabolicnutrition #prometabolicfitness #hypothyroidism #adrenalsupport #adrenals #exercise #fitnessjourney #onlinepersonaltrainer #onlinefitnesscoach

How your monthly cycle can impact body image.

Leave a reply

🌀Body Image & your cycle🌀

Something I’ve noticed with myself & with clients is fluctuating body image days. 🎢

The more we understand about our monthly cycles, the hormonal fluctuations & how they impact everything from our brain chemistry, energy levels and metabolic function, the better we can support our physiology during these more challenging times.

👉🏻Swipe through to learn what the research says, and my tips for working through this!

Have you ever heard of the term & concept cycle syncing? It was created by @alisa.vitti the founder of @floliving and it’s a practice of planning your life according to the phases of your monthly cycle. Like the foods you prioritize. The movement you focus on, the work project you take on, the social activities you commit to & so forth. It’s more intuitive than you may think!

❤️

Listening to @hormonehealingrd Are you Menstrual podcast 🔊 is informative as well!

✌🏼Looking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition? Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching ❤️

#bodyimage#bodyimagemovement#bodyimageissues#bodyimagehealing#onlinepersonaltrainer#onlinepersonaltraining#onlinenutritioncoach#nutritioncoach#pms#pmsproblems#womenshealth#womenshormones#womenshormonalhealth#fitnessjourney#dietculturedropout#period#periodproblems#periodtalk#cyclesyncing#womensupportingwomen#women

Food as Medicine: How food and diet impact the treatment of disease.

Leave a reply

🍽 FOOD AS MEDICINE 🍽
My heart skipped a beat when I saw this report released last week, Which also includes 10 key recommendations to stakeholders to advance food as medicine practices in the prevention and treatment of disease which are all very impressive calls to action. 👏🏻

This is the first of MANY posts I’ll be doing on this.

Let’s dive in👇🏻
In the 18th and 19th centuries, scientific investigation and innovation dominated Western understanding of medicine During that time, American medical education underwent notable advancements. In 1745, the first formal course in human anatomy was established at the University of Pennsylvania, and in 1829, the first American textbook on pathology was published.

These innovations, among others, ultimately inspired a shift away from nutrition-based medicine towards allopathic medicine.

Allopathic medicine is defined by the National Cancer Institute as: “A system in which medical doctors and other healthcare professionals (such as nurses, pharmacists, and therapists) treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation, or surgery. Also called biomedicine, conventional medicine, mainstream medicine, orthodox medicine, and Western medicine

However, the use of food as medicine is rooted in science and has been adopted and practiced by numerous cultures despite the fact that the history of food as medicine was largely ignored by academics until the 21st century.

Now, largely because of its increasing social media presence and online attention,academic study of the history and use of food as medicine has begun to gain momentum, finding its place in journals, conferences, and programs of study!

Last slide says it all 🙌🏻

SOURCE:
Platkin, C., Cather, A., Butz, L., Garcia, I., Gallanter, M., Leung, MM., Food As Medicine: Overview and Report: How Food and Diet Impact the Treatment of Disease and Disease Management. Center for Food As Medicine and Hunter College NYC Food Policy Center; March 30, 2022

Pro-metabolic Strength Training Guide 2.0

Leave a reply

🥁 Drumroll Please! 🥁I am so excited for this guide!

My intentions are to educate you on how to approach strength training while honoring your physiology.

When dealing with hormonal issues, PCOS, thyroid & adrenal issues, and autoimmune flare ups it’s important to be working WITH your physiology not against it.

👉🏻In these women, we typically see low thyroid hormone (either production, conversion or cellular uptake) and high cortisol. So, over-exercising or the KIND of exercise can potentially set you back, push you farther away from achieving hormone balance and reversing your symptoms. 🙅🏻‍♀️

As you know, my message centers on shifting away from the diet culture mentality, over exercising, and “earning” your food, and refocusing on learning to properly and intentionally nourish, appreciate & respect your body.

We can easily fall into the traps of the diet and fitness industry. We constantly chase perfection and the desire to alter our bodies because we live with the belief that we are not good enough. We want to be a smaller size, a smaller number on the scale. I’ve learned these lessons the hard way, as I’ve shared my fitness/health journey coming from a fitness/bodybuilding competition background & the health repercussions of competing.

Swipe through to learn more about it!
👉🏻slide 4 The Pro-metabolic Decision Tree: For clients and I, the top recommendations for non-negotiables prior to incorporating intentional exercise would be: close to ideal temps/pulses, adequate rest and nutritional intake. There is obvious nuance and context here, but this is a general guide.

If you’re low on rest, but really wanting to move your body more than walking/household chores, stick with the blue color-coded workouts which are more core & mobility focused, or a light yoga session. If you’re well rested and well fed, the purple color-coded Strength Training workouts are more appropriate.

LINK TO GUIDES HERE! Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching 

#onlinepersonaltrainer #personaltrainer #prometabolic #fitnesscoach #onlinefitnesscoach #onlinefitnesscoaching #fitnessprogram #pcosfitness #womenshealth #womensfitness #strengthtrainingforwomen #strengthtraining #fitfam #womensfitness #thyroidhealing

REMINDER: If you’re a woman adding intermittent fasting on top of exercise, can be harmful to both your performance and health!

Leave a reply

⚠️If you’re adding intermittent fasting on top of exercise, you aren’t gaining any extra benefits.

Low energy availability is extremely common in females.

A 2019 survey of 1,000 female athletes across more than 40 sports published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine estimated the risk of low energy availability in women athletes at more than 47%.

Nearly half the performance-minded women may not be eating enough for their body to perform basic functions like creating muscle, regulating metabolism, and maintaining homeostasis after accounting for the energy they use for training.

💥 Diets such as intermittent fasting and keto disrupt kisspeptin production. Women are more sensitive to kisspeptin, neuropeptide that’s responsible for sex hormones and endocrine and reproductive function.

💥 Adding exercise to the equation just adds to the stress of denying our bodies important fuel sources. Our thyroid activity is depressed as a result, which messes with your menstrual cycle.

💥 The long-term effects of intermittent fasting with exercise for women athletes is endocrine dysfunction, increases in abdominal fat, more prone to depression, and subsequent fat gain.

Pretty much the opposite direction of your goals.

I think back on before I truly grasped this concept, not only was practicing intermittent fasting days, fasted workouts/cardio, I was also chronically under-eating and over-training in general. 😟 Never again!

👇🏻LMK What’s your experience with IF?

I’m excited to expand more on this topic for Wild + Well Fed wellness Collective in July! @iamannikanicole@wildlyonswellness

Looking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition? Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching 💜

Sources:
PMID: 29860237
PMCID: PMC4818825
PMID: 27046965
Front. Endocrinol., 28 March 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2018.00123
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-020-0363-7
Dr. Stacy Sims
#intermittentfasting#intermittentfastingforwomen#womenshealth#womensfitness#onlinepersonaltrainer#personaltrainer#onlinefitnesscoach#fitnesscoach#fitnessmotivation#strengthtrainingforwomen#nutritionist#womenarenotsmallmen#womensfitness#fitnessforwomen#dietculturedropout#bodyneutrality#intermittentfastingdiet

How restrictive dieting (low calories) negatively impacts your thyroid

Leave a reply

Your thyroid is a 🦋-shaped gland that powers every cell in your body. It sets the pace for your body to function and operate.

Thyroid health can be so confusing, especially because you don’t need to be diagnosed with a thyroid disorder to suffer from thyroid issues. Hypothyroidism or sluggish thyroid is much more common in women than hyperthyroidism—see symptoms on slide 6.

Swipe👉🏻 to learn how chronic dieting, under-eating, under-nourishing can lead to impaired thyroid function.

It’s important to understand that the years of stressors (Like: undernourishment, overexercising, lack of rest, sunlight, constant stimulation, trauma, halogen exposure, etc.) will not disappear overnight.

Here are some areas to focus on to bring back balance:

Managing STRESS — Developing positive stress coping mechanisms like: journaling, getting outside, asking for help, breath work, taking a bath, therapy, &hanging with pets. Be sure to prioritize morning and bedtime routines, quality sleep, gentle exercise, and support your circadian rhythm by getting enough natural light (and less blue light exposure).⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
NUTRIENTS — Our thyroid requires specific minerals, like Vit. A, iodine, zinc, copper, selenium, etc. to properly function. Focus on nutrient-dense foods like shrimp, organ meats, bone broth, quality dairy, &fresh fruits.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
DIGESTION — We need to properly break down and absorb our food to get the nutrients our thyroid requires. We also need enough stomach acid for a healthy digestive process. Try adding in digestive bitters if you suffer from digestive issues.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
TOXINS — Specific chemicals called halogens (bromine, chlorine, and fluorine) compete with iodine and bind to thyroid receptors, preventing thyroid hormones from working properly. Filtering fluoride and chloride out of your drinking and bath/shower water helps those with thyroid dysfunction.⠀⠀⠀

Looking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition? Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching 🫶🏻

#onlinepersonaltrainer#onlinefitnesscoach#chronicdieting#hormoneimbalance#womenshealth#strengthtrainingforwomen
#thyroid#thyroidhealth#fitnessjourney

Movement creates HOPE! Let’s talk myokines aka ‘hope molecules’!

Leave a reply

❔Did you know your body can help your brain feel more hopeful through movement?
“Every time we move our muscles, we are giving ourselves an intravenous dose of hope.”— Kelly McGonigal, PhD

💥 Let’s talk The Power of Hope Molecules 💥 Swipe 👉🏻 to learn.

Exercise & movement are about much more than weight loss.

People who are active are:
-Happier & have more life satisfaction
-At a lower risk for things like depression & loneliness
-Better able to cope with stress & anxiety
-Feel more of a sense of purpose & social connection

Among its many life-altering rewards: the generation of hope, happiness, a sense of purpose, greater life satisfaction and rewarding connections with others, are benefits of exercise that go under appreciated.

Emerging research suggests that when exercised, your muscles become “basically a pharmacy for your physical and mental health.”

If you are willing to move, your muscles will give you hope. Your brain will orchestrate pleasure. And your entire physiology will adjust to help you find the energy, purpose and courage you need to keep going.

Recreating the relationship that we may have with exercise and why we do it is one of the most important aspects of shifting from disordered and restrictive-driven behaviors & cultivating a happy and lasting lifestyle that is pleasant to keep up 🤍

Looking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition? Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

✌🏼💯LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching

SOURCES:
Psychosomatic Medicine 62:633–638 (2000
PMID: 31142190
PMID: 30627775
Dr. Kelly McGonigal

#mentalhealth #myokines #muscles #moveyourbody #bodyneutral #dietculturedropout #onlinepersonaltrainer #personaltrainer #personaltraining #fitnesscoach #hopemolecules #fitness #hope #antidepressant #strengthtrainingforwomen #prometabolic #exercisemotivation #fitnessmotivation #womenshealth #resilience #trauma #mentalhealthawarenessmonth #explorepage #movementismedicine

Ever felt “low on motivation”? This post is for you.

Leave a reply

💡 If you’re frustrated about not being motivated, this SHOWS that you do actually have some motivation.

Because if you’re truly not motivated, you don’t give a 💩 that you’re not motivated. 🤣

We are complex beings who are rarely driven by only one type of motivation.

There are many qualities of motivation, and when people say they “lost motivation”, they usually mean they lost intrinsic motivation.
👉🏻(Intrinsic motivation refers to behavior that is driven by internal rewards. In other words, the motivation to engage in a behavior arises from within the individual because it is naturally satisfying to you.)

But that’s fine, we aren’t always going to feel intrinsically joyful to meal prep our food for the week, or to get in the 12-15 workouts on our program each month. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Taking motivational inventory is the ability to search for and leverage other reasons.

Maybe you:
-want to feel less aches & pains
-want to sleep better
-want to be a good role model for your kids
-want to have energy to play with your kids
-want to improve your performance & physique

ALL of those are motives, some are for external rewards for an outcome that feels rewarding.

Others are when you identify the outcome is meaningful to your current values, you may not want to exercise for FUN, or focus on your protein intake but you will do it because you want the outcome in the end.

You’re not always going to be motivated to workout.

Out of 12 workouts in a month:

Two workouts you might feel JAZZED and PUMPED

Seven workouts are like meh….

and three workouts you may have to force yourself to get it done. (Those are the ones that matter the most).

MOTIVATION

Simply put: Motive + Action

is the driving force behind your actions. It isn’t something you simply have and keep forever; motivation is like campfire that you must keep stoking to benefit from the warmth.

Because: 💯 Truth be told, you’re not always going to be motivated. It’s normal. Motivation itself is unreliable!

Looking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition? Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching 💛

#onlinepersonaltrainer#personaltrainer#onlinenutritioncoach#motivation#motivationtips#trainertips#trainertiptuesday#trainertip#originalaudio#fitnessmotivation

Unhealthy relationship with exercise VS a healthy one👇🏻

Leave a reply

Exercise addiction is a state characterized by a compulsive engagement in any form of physical exercise, despite negative consequences.

While regular exercise is generally a healthy activity, exercise addiction generally involves performing excessive amounts of exercise to the detriment of physical health.

It may also involve a state of dependence upon regular exercise, which involves the occurrence of severe withdrawal symptoms when the individual is unable to exercise.

Exercise addiction shows a high comorbidity with eating disorders with approximately 39-48% of people that have an eating disorder being addicted to exercise.

TLDR: An unhealthy relationship with exercise tends to involve rules and rigidity, be joyless, shame-based, and shame inducing.

A healthy relationship with exercise tends to be flexible and fulfilling. It varies in the type of movement we are doing and the amount of time we are devoting to that activity.

Over a year ago when the gyms shut down, it illuminated that I had obsessive compulsive exercise behaviors. I NEEDED the gym. It was my therapy. Now I know, therapy is therapy. And while exercise can enhance our mental state, for me how I was doing it, was destroying my mental & physical health.

🙌🏼Freedom is exactly what I wanted, I wanted to live my life full of joy and experiences, outside of obsessing about my food and workouts.

🙌🏼And now I am doing just that.

💯 I choose every day to nourish my body, to eat enough food, I give myself plenty of permission for rest days, I strength training 4 times a week max. My health is improving, my soul is thriving! Patience is 🔑

Looking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition? Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coaching 💛

#onlinepersonaltrainer#personaltrainer#healthylifestyle#relationshipwithexercise#fitnessmotivation#dietculturedropout#dietculture#onlinefitnesscoach#fitnesscoach#disorderedeatingrecovery#disorderedeating#nourishyourbody#movementismedicine

You’ve got to earn your right to diet PART 2 Reverse dieting & Nutrition periodization

Leave a reply

It’s common for new clients to hire a personal trainer wanting to lose weight (fat loss). While I understand the desire to do this, we can and will get there..
⁣
We usually have to enter a different kind of approach before we can actually “diet” for fat loss because ⁣our first intention must be to achieve optimal psychological & physiological baselines.⁣

Most clients have struggled with yo-yo dieting, binge eating, poor relationship with food, negative body image and sporadic consistency with their workouts.
When we first discuss the concept of dieting in reverse, they are naturally hesitant because it’s quite different than what they are used to. 😲

The amazing part throughout this process they realize that achieving maintenance is a massive progress flex! 💪🏻 It still requires lots of effort and consistency.

In maintenance phase you experience:

🔘Better sleep
🔘Improved performance
🔘More muscle
🔘Not 🤔 about 🥘 all the time
🔘Stable energy
🔘Less mood swings😃
🔘Ability to be social🥂
🔘Restore hormone balance
🔘Increased libido😈

It’s important to spend enough time optimizing your metabolism, building muscle, and enjoying your life, so that when & if the time does come to enter a diet phase, things will be easier, an the progress will be sustainable.

Curious to see what this process looks like for you? Apply for coaching here ✌🏼

#onlinepersonaltrainer#personaltrainer#onlinenutritioncoach#nutritioncoach#nutritionist#nutritionperiodization#reversedieting#reversediet#maintenancephase#chronicdieting#dietculturedropout#sustainablenutrition#eattonourish#nourishyourbody#fitnesscoach#newyorkfitness#hudsonvallyny#newyorkpersonaltrainer