Eating healthy on-the-go

Eating healthy on-the-go...

We've all made those proclamations. We're going to make better choices when we're out for the day. Maybe we'll bring food with us. Or we'll just choose the 'healthiest' option available.

But then we slowly get confused by the choices, our food prep game goes quiet, and we're right back where we started.

In my latest Workshop Wednesday video (below), I spoke about eating health on-the-go. There are 3 tips that you've heard before (but are still valuable)...and one that you've likely never considered. 

Short and sweet today. If you check out the video, drop a comment and let me know your thoughts!

XO,
Tara

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!

Avoiding unwanted holiday weight gain...

Avoiding (unwanted) holiday weight gain...

While the same principles apply to gaining excess weight and / or body fat any time of year, the holidays do bring a unique set of circumstance for many of us.



OVEREATING. This is simply eating more than your body requires for fuel and is the case if you are at a weight or body fat percentage that YOU believe to be greater than you'd like it to be for optimal health and mobility. Emphasis on YOU here because I strongly believe YOU are the only one that gets to decide this.



Here are a few of the reasons weight gan can be accelerated this time of year:

• Baggy clothes help us 'forget' about our body and hide.

• Seasonal Affective Disorder and / or lower Vitamin D levels wreak havoc on our emotions and ability to choose our long-term goals over short-term satisfaction.

• Heightened emotional states - both positive and negative - usually exist this time of year. Where you have big emotions, you will often find overeating.

• A false promise of a clean slate coming on January 1st tends to 'allow' us to throw caution to the wind between now and then.

• Greater access to comfort foods, social events, alcohol, etc.

Here are 4 tips you can start to implement to help right away...


1) Stop over-restricting. When you focus so hard on avoiding certain foods, and then have more access to them (such as this time of year), it often has an 'opening of the floodgates' sort of result. Allow the 'fun' foods to exist in your life at a frequency that you look forward to, but also that allows you to move closer to your goals.



2) Trigger Foods. Remove any food from your house that you just cannot control yourself around. Maybe it's peanut butter? Maybe it's ice cream. If you love ice cream but can't control yourself around it, remove it from the house and just go out to get a cone - or single serving - when you want it.



3) When you find yourself reaching for the food that you don't want or need, ask yourself this series of questions:

• What's going on with me right now?

• Will food help? (If the problem is not hunger, then food is not the solution)

• If not food, then what WILL help right now? (Maybe you just need a break)

4) Delayed gratification. Allow yourself to have whatever it is you're craving....but only after 5, 10, or 20 minutes. Even if you end up eating THE SAME amount of food after that time, it's still a huge win because you are teaching your toddler brain that it won't always get what it wants, when it wants it. In turn, the intense cravings (tantrum) will slowly dissipate, reduce in duration, frequency, and intensity. Win!



I'd love to hear from you now...do you struggle with overeating? I don't know anyone who doesn't at least sometimes! I'd love to help. :-)




XO,
Tara

Does your timeline need to go?

Does your timeline need to go??

The holidays are upon us and everyone and their mothers are talking about having a snack before you leave the house so you won't overindulge at the holiday party.



It's not that that advice is bad, but just that its probably something you hear a million times - especially this time of year, am I right?!?



I want to share a less popular opinion about how you can stick to your goals during the busy holiday season. And it has nothing to do with snacks...and everything to do with your unrealistic timeline.



By the way, did you know that the version of you that you can SEE and FEEL today is the result of the habits you had 2, 3, 6, 9 months ago?! It's true. There is a huge lag time in your habits and the outcomes showing up.



I'm talking about both of these topics and how they are related in my latest Workshop Wednesday video (below).



For those of you here in the United States (where I live), Happy Thanksgiving!! Enjoy it. No guilt about food. No playing small or letting others make you feel crappy at the dinner table. You do you. Are you a kind person? Awesome. Beyond that, your life and decisions are none of their business. ;-) (Just a reminder for those that have trouble on this holiday. It's pretty common).



XO,
Tara


P.S. Are you in need of a last-minute / healthified / gluten-free / dairy-free / DELICIOUS dessert to make for the holiday? I've gotcha covered! My new cookbook, Smart Cookie: Healthified Holiday Desserts, is available and full of all kinds of recipes (42 of them!). There are lots of baked goods, but also plenty that involve the slow cooker, stovetop, or are NO BAKE. It's instantly downloadable and printable, so no waiting for the Amazon delivery person. ;-) GRAB YOUR COPY HERE.

Are you tired of the weekday restriction / weekend indulgence cycle?

Happy Monday!

Or should I say, "Happy 3.5 days until it's weekend mode"?!

If you're like many of the ladies I talk to, you might find yourself stuck in a weekday restriction / weekend indulgence cycle.

This is you if you recommit to a "plan" every Monday that's unmanageable enough to have you breaking up with said plan by week's end. Then one happy hour, a baby shower, and a big Sunday dinner leaves you feeling bloated and unhappy with your affinity to overdue it every. single. weekend.

Or maybe you're experiencing shorter cycles - daily cycles. You restrict most of the day only to find yourself out of control by the time the sun goes down.

There are many reasons for this happening and, thankfully, many tools we can put in place to be able to take back control. Side note: make sure you're popping inside my Facebook group, Healthy, Fit, & Strong with Tara Allen Health often so you don't miss any of these tools!

For today's purpose, I want to focus on one, important tool…MODERATION.

Moderation is a word we hear tossed around all the time and often think it's for those of us who are already at our goals, right? Like, can you possibly practice moderation AND STILL make more progress?

Yup!

In fact, you'll be making it much easier to reach your goals if you practice moderation.

Moderation in this case means allowing some "fun foods" into the mix on any day that ends in a "y" if you feel like it.

Moderation means no foods are off limits (unless, of course, it's an allergy or sensitivity that will make you feel like garbage - totally not worth it).

But just because something might be higher in calories, or more rich, or higher in carbs…it doesn't mean it should be shunned Monday through Thursday only for you to be left pining for it come Friday night. I see you chocolate, wine, chips and dip, ice cream...

Is there a way you can nourish your body and also allow a little flexibility for some things that you really enjoy?

If this is something you struggle with, you're like 90% of the people I know. ;-) Leave a comment below and let me know. I'd love to help you get to a place where you're not just comfortable with moderation, but you enjoy it and thrive with it.

In health + happiness,
Tara

Fat loss is just ONE reason to optimize health...and not even the best one.

There are a million reasons to optimize your health…and fat loss is just one.


"But Tara, aren't you really into body love and body positivity and body neutrality…?"

YUP!

"But Tara, are you saying it's ok to want to lose excess body fat too?"

YUP!

"Ummm…is that confusing?"

Nope! I mean, typing this email in the third person in hopes that it's as entertaining to you as it is to me right now is a little confusing. But fully embracing body love / positivity / neutrality alongside believing wholeheartedly that we all have the right to choose whatever goals we want to work on for ourselves? That's not confusing to me in the least!

If you want to hear 12 minutes of my thoughts on the topic, check out this recent video.

Or, just understand that fat loss is just one of many reasons to optimize health. Fat loss is not particularly motivating either in the long-run. So, if you want to stay in the game for a while, you may want to consider chasing some additional goals. I just saved you the 12 minutes. You're welcome. :-D

If you fall in the camp of women that do have fat loss as a goal, but also would like to focus on feeling better, improving your energy, and living long enough to watch your grandkids drive your own kiddos crazy, leave me a comment. Tell me your goals. The simple act of writing them out and sharing them with someone (me!) will help you to get started.

XO,

Tara

Your Type A-ness is interfering with your results

Are you a ‘control freak’?

I am too! Well, trying hard to let go a bit, but it’s definitely a part of my personality. And just in case it’s a part of yours, too, I wanted to share why you may be finding that you’re successful in other areas of your life - career, family, business, relationships - but can’t seem to figure out how to hack your way into the health or body goals you have set for yourself.

That’s why I recorded a live workshop video for you on exactly this topic. And as always, I share in the video what you can do about it; how to learn to work WITH your personality type. ;-)

In good health,

Tara