"Do you eat before you workout?"

"Tara, do you eat before you workout?"

I got this excellent question recently on instagram. Here's my 1-minute video response. :-)



Everyone is different! Play around with meal timing around your workouts — or just in general — to find out what you feel best with.



For me, I used to feel awful working out while fasted. I also used to have PCOS, insulin resistance, and prediabetes. I was a metabolic mess!! So, feeling cr*ppy while working out fasted was one of the things that tipped me off to being “off”.



As I became healthier, more metabolically flexible, and more fat-adapted (no, I’m not keto), I started noticing I could do more and more intense exercise without fueling up first. Truth is, we all have sooooooo much fuel already on our bodies as stored body fat. Even if I’m lean, there’s no reason to “need” to eat before a workout.



Now, if tip top performance was the goal (a race, game, or competition), filling up my glycogen stores before said activity would give me a little bit of an edge. But in my daily strength training sessions, bike rides, runs, hikes, or HIIT ... it’s just not necessary.



Another important note: for the average person (not a pro / competitive athlete), protein timing isn’t nearly as important as people will have you believe. I don’t rush to get it in post-workout. I just make sure I get the amount of protein my body needs (about 80-105g per day) throughout the day in a variety of ways.



Second half of the video I’m showing you a pretty typical meal I break my overnight fast with.



Questions about protein, meal timing, metabolic flexibility, or ... whatever? Leave ‘em below!



XO,
Tara



P.S. Yes my lip is bleeding in this video. They were dry that day and happened to crack right before I shot this. Allllllll good. 😝 (You’d be surprised. People notice — and comment about — everything on social media! 🤣🤣).

Meal timing / spacing for fat loss

Meal timing + spacing for fat loss...

With all the talk about intermittent fasting and time-restricted feeding (did you catch last week's email?), what about the timing between meals? Is that important for fat loss?

Turns out, it is. When we eat, we spike our insulin levels. Insulin is a fat-storage hormone. While that's not necessarily a bad thing, it certainly can become a problem if your insulin is spiked to high or for too long if fat loss is a goal.

Think about exercise. Most of us know that exercise is beneficial for us, but we couldn't workout 24 hours a day without expecting lots of problems. Eating is a similar idea. It's absolutely necessary to eat and nourish our bodies, but we also benefit from giving ourselves some space between meals to allow that rest and return to baseline that's so important.


Check out my latest Workshop Wednesday video for more about meal spacing.


Do you already pay attention to the spacing between your meals or is this new to you? Hit "reply" to this email and let me know!


XO,
Tara


P.S. Have you gotten your copy of Smart Cookie: Healthified Holiday Desserts e-cookbook yet? Some of you have been messaging me and tagging me in your pictures and it's making me drool! :-) The ebook contains 42 gluten-free, dairy-free, and refined sugar-free treats that are upgraded versions of our favorites this time of year. You can grab a copy right here!

Is fasting healthy?

FASTING for 12 hours…yay or nay?

Have you ever been confused by nutrition - specifically around fasting? You may hear that it's ok, even beneficial but then are doubtful after hearing from another source that breakfast is the most important meal of the day or that you need to boost your metabolism by eating as often as possible.


If you are nodding your head right now, then you're going to want to watch (or listen to) this recent live video I did on Facebook all about it.


In the video I talk about fasting, what happens inside our body during a fast, and my recommendations for most people, most of the time.


Of course you need to make sure you discuss any changes with a healthcare practitioner that you trust. I have to say that. ;-)


Please note: the 6-week group program I mentioned in the video is no longer open for registration at this time. We are currently working hard on making incredible body + mind transformations. Stay tuned for a future email (likely a few months from now) if you'd like to grab your spot in the program next time!


In good health,
Tara


P.S. While this video is only 14 minutes long, we get a little nerdy with the science. Fair warning. ;-)

FAT LOSS and Meal Timing

Fat loss - when the heck should I eat?

It's a common misconception that we need to be eating a million times a day in order to increase our metabolism and burn more fat.


First of all, let's talk about who is looking to burn more fat? If you are looking to lose weight or even just "tone up"…you're looking to decrease the excess fat you have on your body. 


Watch my latest live video (or just listen - you don't need to see my face) as I get into how to tap into your fat stores to use them up as energy. We're discussing meal timing (when and how often) and we nerd out on what insulin is and the role it plays in fat storage and fat loss. It's a pretty unknown concept to most. Definitely worth the 35 minutes if fat loss is on your agenda!


Here's a quick summary:


1) Insulin is a fat-storage hormone that helps us carry sugar into our cells to use as energy. Whatever we don't use gets stored as fat to use at a later time.


2) If insulin remains elevated, our bodies remain in fat storage mode and do not switch over to fat burning mode.


3) Lowering insulin is what allows us to switch over to fat burning mode. We can lower our insulin by focusing on nutrition upgrades and timing our meals properly (hint: eating every 2 hours will not allow your insulin levels to come down for you to enter fat-burning mode).



Watch or listen to the video for lots more details and for the 3 tips I share at the end so you can get going on your fat loss goals right away!!

In good health,

Tara

P.S. If you’d like a (FREE) 3-day meal plan designed to help you with WHAT to eat and WHEN to eat for healthy fat loss, you can grab that right here! Enjoy!

How often should you eat for weight loss?

Hey there,

If you are on a weight loss journey, you may be wondering how often you *should* be eating.

Is it 6 mini meals?

3 meals and 1 snack?

Three squares?

Check out my latest video to find out!  I'm also chatting about meal timing, frequency, metabolism, real foods, intermittent fasting, balancing meals, detoxing, and more.  :-)

Do you find these videos helpful?  Let me know!  Is there something else you'd like me to do a video on?  Drop that in the comments below!

In good health,

Tara

7 ways to ADD stress into your life (yup...ADD stress)

Hey guys,

I'm sharing 7 (it's actually 8...shhh) tips that I use to varying degrees to add beneficial stress (called hormesis) onto my body.  This beneficial stress is enough to build a more robust immune system, allow my body to become more resilient, fight disease, and prevent some future disease.

Curious about this?  Check out my tips in this video.

P.S. If you want to make sure you don't miss any of my healthified recipes, workouts, and wellness tips, make sure you sign up for my newsletter list AND join my private facebook community. That's where all the fun is!  :-)

In good health,

Tara

I have PCOS and autoimmune issues...

A few days ago, I did a totally different kind of live video....I turned the lens on MYSELF!  

I get different versions of the same question from you guys A LOT.  It's something like, "Where are you at on YOUR health journey?" or, "How do you have the motivation to lead a healthy lifestyle?", or even sometimes, "You don't know what it's like to be unhealthy like me!"

So, I set up my iphone, took a seat, and spoke from the heart....for almost an HOUR!  It's raw, it's real, and it's me.  I take you through my PCOS journey, autoimmune issues, blood sugar issues, infertility and IVF, and share what I'm doing to combat these issues holistically.

Thank you for watching and if you're going through your own health struggles, please leave me a comment or email me at Tara@TaraAllenHealth.com.  I want you to know I read every one myself and I want you to know you're NOT alone!

In (search of) good health,

Tara