Tag Archives: personal training

Are popular fitness lifestyles destroying our fertility?

๐—ฌ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—น๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ณ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ธ๐—ฒ๐—น๐˜† ๐—ป๐—ผ๐˜ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—น๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐—ฒ๐˜€๐˜ ๐˜€๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ณ!

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 its 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 began to take a hard look at the way I was living/eating/training and how it was working against my physiology.

When I began my healing journey and found the “pro-metabolic” community, I wasn’t looking for more diet dogma, but to improve my overall metabolic function and support progesterone creation and a healthy ovulation. Gaining weight was a necessary part of the equation. and when Discussing this with @fundamental.nourishment she brought this research to my attention ๐Ÿค“

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.

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

โœŒ๐ŸผLooking 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 โค๏ธ


#womenshealthย #prometabolicย #prometabolicnutritionย #prometabolicfitnessย #fitnessandfertilityย #fertilityย #womensfitnessย #dietculturedropoutย #hormonehealthย #hormonebalanceย #fitnessforwomenย #onlinenutritioncoachย #onlinefitnesscoachย #workoutplanย #metabolismย #progesterone

Diet Culture Fitness VS Body Neutral Fitness

Where my diet culture drop outs at? ๐Ÿ™‹๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ

Re-evaluating our approach to fitness and exercise is a crucial part of any journey. But just because something like strength training or HIIT cardio can be abused, doesn’t make it “bad”.

Each one of us has a different metabolic identity, depending on past and current behaviors, and it can be very difficult to convey context and nuance for each individual through a social media post.

As you know, my message centers on shifting away from the diet culture mentality, over exercising, and โ€œearningโ€ 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 repercussion of competing.

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

โœŒ๐ŸผLooking 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 โค๏ธ

More info on http://www.meganmefit.com

#bodyneutral#dietculturedropout#dietculture#bodyneutralfitness#onlinefitnesscoach#fitnesscoach#onlinenutritioncoach#prometabolic#workoutplan#fitnessjourney#fitnessmotivation#mindsetmatters#prometabolicnutrition#prometabolicfitness#womenshealth

How your monthly cycle can impact body image.

๐ŸŒ€Body Image & your cycle๐ŸŒ€

Something Iโ€™ve noticed with myself & with clients is fluctuating body image days. ๐ŸŽข

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.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸปSwipe 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 itโ€™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. Itโ€™s more intuitive than you may think!

โค๏ธ

Listening toย @hormonehealingrdย Are you Menstrual podcast ๐Ÿ”Š is informative as well!

โœŒ๐ŸผLooking for more support navigating your cycle with fitness & nutrition?ย Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coachingย โค๏ธ

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

Pro-metabolic Strength Training Guide 2.0

๐Ÿฅ Drumroll Please! ๐Ÿฅ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 itโ€™s important to be working WITH your physiology not against it.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐ŸปIn 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. ๐Ÿ™…๐Ÿปโ€โ™€๏ธ

As you know, my message centers on shifting away from the diet culture mentality, over exercising, and โ€œearningโ€ 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!
๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿปslide 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!ย Check out my FREE guide & pro-metabolic strength training guide available for purchase!

LINK to apply for 1:1 coachingย 

#onlinepersonaltrainerย #personaltrainerย #prometabolicย #fitnesscoachย #onlinefitnesscoachย #onlinefitnesscoachingย #fitnessprogramย #pcosfitnessย #womenshealthย #womensfitnessย #strengthtrainingforwomenย #strengthtrainingย #fitfamย #womensfitnessย #thyroidhealing

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

โš ๏ธ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.

๐Ÿ’ฅ Diets such as intermittent fasting and keto disrupt kisspeptin production. Women are more sensitive to kisspeptin, neuropeptide thatโ€™s responsible for sex hormones and endocrine and reproductive function.

๐Ÿ’ฅ 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.

๐Ÿ’ฅ 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. ๐Ÿ˜Ÿ Never again!

๐Ÿ‘‡๐ŸปLMK Whatโ€™s your experience with IF?

Iโ€™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 ๐Ÿ’œ

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

Your thyroid is a ๐Ÿฆ‹-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 donโ€™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 hyperthyroidismโ€”see symptoms on slide 6.

Swipe๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿป 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 โ€” 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).โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €
โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €
NUTRIENTS โ€” 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.โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €
โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €
DIGESTION โ€” 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.โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €
โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €โ €
TOXINS โ€” 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.โ €โ €โ €

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 ๐Ÿซถ๐Ÿป

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

Supplements you may want to reconsider:

Let’s talk about SUPPLEMENTS and which ones may be causing more harm than goodโ€” this is something I’ve learned A LOT about in the last few years!

The point of this post is NOT to demonize or cast any judgement for taking them. (Hello, I have too!!) but to make you think, and create informed decisions about how and why you would use certain supplements.

As always, challenge the status quo. ๐Ÿ’Š

Mother nature knows what she’s doing. When we try to outsmart nature by isolating nutrient compounds for convenience, we’re losing out on the health-boosting rewards that REAL foods have to offer.

Food>Supplements

If you don’t agree, that’s okay! You do you, boo! But please don’t @ me in the comments. As ALWAYS, this is NOT medical advice. Please consult with your dietitian before stopping or using any supplement.

Information sourced from: Morely Robbin’s book: Cu-RE your fatigue and @Kasey.goins@wildlyonswellness@meg_langston@hormonehealingRD@the_nutrition_statistcian please give them a follow & you’ll learn a TON!

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

#supplements#fitness#onlinefitnesscoach#onlinepersonaltrainer#womenshealth#fitnessjourney#prometabolic#functionalnutrition#functionalmedicine#challengethestatusquo
#nutritioncoach

How to create a meal and recipe on My Fitness pal

MEALS:

For foods that you regularly eat together, saving them as a Meal lets you easily add them to your diary as a group. For example, you can create a Meal called “Two eggs & toast ” consisting of two eggs, sourdough toast with ghee and OJ. You can then add this as a group, instantly, instead of adding each item separately. You can also save a single item as a meal, if finding that item in your Meals list adds convenience.

To create a Meal, just log the items you’d like to combine to one section of your diary, then:

On the Web

  • Click “Quick Tools” then “Remember Meal”
  • Give the meal a name.
  • Click either the green “Save Meal” button to save as a new meal, or click the green “Or, Replace An Existing Meal” button to do as the name suggests. 

In our iOS apps and our Android app

For items already logged in your diary…

  • Tap the “Edit” or Pencil button
  • Tap the selection box next to each item you’d like to include in the remembered meal. You can select items from the same diary meal, or include items from multiple meals.
  • Tap the “Save Meal” button (fork and knife around a plus symbol). In Android app, you need to tap the three dots on the top right to select “Save Meal”.
  • Give the meal a name and tap “Save New” or tap “Save as..” to replace an existing meal (iOS apps, tap the check mark)
  • To quickly create a meal from all of the items logged in one diary category, tap the “More” button under that meal. 

Creating meal from scratch…

  • Go to the drop down menu or more page
  • Tap My Meals, Recipes & Foods
  • Select Meals tab
  • Tap “Create a Meal”
  • Then add Meal name, photo (optional) and food items
  • When finished, make sure to hit the Save button on the top right.

When you are logging food in the future, you’ll find your remembered meals in the “Meals” tab of the food search screen.

RECIPES:

Learning this MFP feature allows you to quickly import recipes from popular recipe websites, or to easily match lists of manually entered ingredients, to help make tracking your meals/snacks quicker and easier!

There are two ways to add recipes in our Mobile apps:

From the Diary:

  1. Go into your diary and Add Food
  2. Select the Recipes tab then click on the + (top right)
  3. Select Create a Recipe then Enter Ingredients Manually or Add From Web
  4. Enter the recipe Name and number of servings**
    • If you choose Bulk Import, put in the list of ingredients and the system will choose the best match. You will be able to check update these later
  5. Select Add Ingredients (you can either scan the barcode or type in the search field)
    • You will not be able to use items from your recent/frequent/my foods list
  6. Select Next then review your recipe and Save

From Recipes, Meals & Foods

  1. Open the Menu or More…
  2. Select Recipes, Meals & Foods or My Meals, Recipes & Foods
  3. Make sure you are on the Recipe tab then select Create a Recipe
  4. Then Enter Ingredients Manually or Add from Web
  5. Enter the recipe Name and number of servings**
    • If you choose Bulk Import, put in the list of ingredients and the system will choose the best match. You will be able to check update these later
  6. Select Add Ingredients (you can either scan the barcode or type in the search field)
    • You will not be able to use items from your recent/frequent/my foods list
      Select Next then review your recipe and Save

** If you’re not sure how many servings a recipe will produce, enter a best-guess number when you first create the recipe.

After the recipe is cooked, you can evaluate the number of servings that have been produced. Then, the recipe can be edited, and the correct number of servings can be entered. This article contains additional information on editing recipes.

Check out my other blog for more tips on tracking!

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

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

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

๐Ÿ’ฅ Let’s talk The Power of Hope Molecules ๐Ÿ’ฅ Swipe ๐Ÿ‘‰๐Ÿป 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 ๐Ÿค

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

โœŒ๐Ÿผ๐Ÿ’ฏLINK to apply for 1:1 coaching

SOURCES:
Psychosomatic Medicine 62:633โ€“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

Your thoughts and beliefs directly impact your body! Let’s talk mind over milkshakes:

๐Ÿง  Mind over Milkshake๐Ÿจ

It may sound woo-woo to say that your thoughts & beliefs can impact your body.

In this study we see that:

โ€ขThe way food is labeledโ€” โ€œindulgent, decadent, and richโ€ or โ€œhealthy, nutritious, and fat- freeโ€โ€”strongly influences our beliefs/thoughts And those mental cues can even prime the body to metabolize a meal differently.

โ€ขIf our thoughts & beliefs about the food we are consuming can impact our digestion- what else is impacted by negative self-talk or limited self beliefs?

โ€ขThe usual metabolic model โ€” calories in and calories out โ€” may need some rethinking, because it doesn’t account for how our beliefs about our food may impact our physiology.

I found this study so fascinating ๐Ÿง and would love to hear your thoughts below ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿป

PMID: 21574706

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 coaching๐Ÿ’›